In Episode 13, Friend #1 Old Man notices the used coffee mugs and teases Nai about them. “Looks like the department bell was here.”

He reports that the other company Zhenyi hasn’t contacted him since his last meeting with them, and Nai reveals that Zhenyi stopped because the other company FengTeng stepped in.

#2: They backed off so easily? I was hoping to see what Third Bro would do to Zhenyi.
Nai: The feedback from FengTen on the mobile game is pretty good. We should get a clear answer when we meet tomorrow. So now, our goal is to win development rights to “New Chinese Ghost Story.”
#1: Third Sister-in-law sold the video in exchange for rare monsters for us. Fengten seems very interested in that idea. If we use this as leverage, would they be more likely to collaborate with us?
Nai: It’s not a decisive idea. It can’t sway Fengteng’s decision. The abduction feature (or “the gameplay of marriage of abduction” on Netflix) can be designed to be complex and interesting. It needs the support of a more powerful engine. It will be better able to demonstrate our strengths. We’re prepared. Zhenyi is not.

The guys like that idea. Nai picks up his couple mug.

Nai: Of course, it will also make Weiwei happy.
#2: That’s obviously the main reason.

He sips tea. (He’s channeling Kermit the frog and his lipton tea.)

I’ll have to explain this “sipping tea” gesture of Nai here.

It means he’s disclosing something significant to his friends, BUT he doesn’t care what they have to say about it. He’s saying without words, “I’ll quietly take a sip here of my drink while you absorb what I just said.” lol.

I didn’t include this in my earlier Highlights for Episode 13 because I thought it deserved a separate post.

There are three things I’d like to point out here. I’ll do two now and post the third later as an edit…because I’m pressed for time.

1. Nai’s vision and Weiwei’s inspiration

It needs no further discussion that Nai’s a prodigy. For someone who’s so young, he shows exceptional talents, originality, foresight, and organization. He has a vision of his company and a pathway to make his vision a reality. He knows what he’s doing.

But I think Weiwei’s impact on his organization is overlooked.

Mind you: I haven’t finished watching the movie. But if my sense of the trajectory of the plot is accurate, the movie version of Weiwei will portray her with an active role in the creation of the video game. Like him, she will design and code parts of the videogame.

This is my argument with this expectation of “female participation” in the gaming world, and I made this argument, too, in the Memories of the Alhambra. Played by Park Shin Hye, the female lead Heejoo was panned for not fighting side-by-side with the male lead. I said that it was stupid to EXPECT her to engage in one-on-one combat alongside her lover when 1) she was never a gamer and 2) the result of defeat online meant death in real life.

I argued that we should stop presuming and demanding that the only way a woman can be considered a “badass” or as good as a man is to think and fight LIKE A MAN. This kind of mindset fails to recognize and appreciate that women have their own unique strengths (and weaknesses). Instead of molding ourselves to become and emulate men, and compete in their male-created paradigms, it will be better if we find confidence and understanding in our own abilities.

This “putdown” on women like Heejoo who opted to be the nurturer or sidekick/silent partner/assistant is again visible in other blogs when they compare the tv and movie Weiwei’s. Honestly though, I’m beginning to see that there’s a bit of cattiness, too. hahaha. Angelababy is pretty (naturally, I think) and Zheng Shuang is known to have had drastic facial reconstructions.

Anyway, where was I?

Weiwei’s impact on the “New Chinese Ghost Story” cannot be written off or depreciated. Her story line of an abduction will be their pièce de résistance. According to Nai, her original idea will be the basis of the new game they’re developing. Not only will her plot provide the framework for a “complex and interesting” narrative, but it will also showcase the capability of their game engine needed for such a complex story.

To me, the game Nai’s designing is like that popular Xbox game, “Halo 5: Guardians.” It was developed by Microsoft. The game is about the sudden disappearance of the Earth’s leader, the only one who can save the remaining colonies from mysterious attacks. No one knows if he’s gone rogue or been ABDUCTED. lol. The mission of the game is to locate the leader and save the colonies. (Sidenote: this game was released in 2015, a year before the Love O2O came out.)

Thus, even if Weiwei doesn’t do a single line of coding for the game, she is the inspiration and co-creator of this game.

2. Justin Timberlake

I don’t  always quote Justin Timberlake but when I do it’s because of Xiao Nai.

In 2012, Justin Timberlake said this about his wife, Jessica Biel. “We have a couple of rules in our relationship. The first rule is that I make her feel like she’s getting everything. The second rule is that I actually do let her have her way in everything. And, so far, it’s working.”

lol. Justin Timberlake reminds me of Nai when he tells his friends smugly that the game will make Weiwei happy.

He’s going to design the game for his wife’s story, and develop the technology  for the game to make his wife happy. He doesn’t care if his friends think that his girlfriend has him wrapped around her little finger. He’s besotted with her. Just like Justin Timberlake with his wife.

Isn’t that swoon-worthy of him to dedicated this whole game software project to her?? Sure, it’s not like the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum ordered built by a Shah for his beloved deceased wife but I don’t need an edifice. That whole construction-as-homage is sooo 17th century anyway and a pain to upkeep. hahaha.

3. Abduction

I’m breaking this post up because it’s too long.

The second part is here: Love O2O: Coffee Mugs and Abduction, pt 2