Offside game

To date, Lechang's paid subscription plan has been in effect for nearly a month, with nearly 500,000 subscribers across the three VIP services. Among them, the Chatting VIP and Battle Platform VIP services, being the earliest implemented, account for 450,000 subscribers, while the Space VIP service, launched relatively recently and also a paid service, has only about 50,000 subscribers. All VIP services are priced at 5 Lechang coins per month.

The Lechang password protection card is selling like hotcakes, with over 5 million cards sold so far. The card is priced at 10 RMB domestically, with approximately 500 million cards sold, and priced at 350 USD internationally, with approximately 160 million cards sold. Therefore, the profit from the password protection card alone exceeds 6600 million RMB. Adding to this the significant number of VIP users overseas, especially those on gaming platforms, Lechang's profit from just one month of charging fees reached nearly 8000 million RMB.

Of course, such high profits won't be seen every month, because the security cards, which make up the majority of the profits, will be used for a relatively long time. To ensure account security, each security card can be used approximately 1500 times. In other words, even if you use it ten times a day, it can last for about six months. Generally, no one will use the security card that many times every day. Therefore, the security card usage time for ordinary users is estimated to be one to two years.

On the positive side, analysis of various pricing data shows that the number of customized services for Lechang Noble is continuously increasing. In particular, with the popularity of Lechang Personal Space among young people, the customization of Lechang Space Noble is also gradually gaining momentum, which greatly encourages the company's members.

Another major piece of news for the gaming industry this Christmas was the announcement from Blizzard Entertainment that, after numerous delays, the Diablo II expansion, Lord of Destruction, would finally be released on Christmas Day. This has generated considerable anticipation among gamers, and many media outlets are speculating about the outcome of a clash between the two games, Mechanical Civilization and Lord of Destruction.

Christmas is here. On Christmas Eve, Beijing experienced its first snowfall of the winter, with large, fluttering snowflakes gently falling, further enhancing the festive atmosphere under the night sky. The neon lights tonight are even more dazzling than usual.

Many shops on both sides of the street displayed banners offering holiday discounts, making one suddenly realize that Christmas has become a significant holiday in China. Perhaps sometimes people just use it as an excuse to add a touch of joy.

Su Yi and An Jing walked hand in hand down the street. Looking at the dazzling lights in the shop windows beside them, An Jing suddenly remembered the fantasies she had as a child when she read fairy tales: a little girl amidst a blanket of snow, facing the lights in a shop window—how similar this scene was to today's moment.

Yet it's different; it's a more beautiful fairy tale, a warmth held in one's hands, Cinderella's prince...

Watching the children playing and frolicking with snowballs on the street, throwing them back and forth with laughter and joy, it was a simple and innocent world of childhood.

Putting aside work today, Su Yi specially picked up An Jing to go shopping. As the first snow fell, An Jing watched the snowflakes fall, just like in Dongdu. The girl cheered and jumped for joy, seemingly trying to shake off the heavy workload of her studies. The two strolled warmly through the street, casually looking at things they wanted to buy and didn't. Only when they were tired did they find a cozy little restaurant. After dinner, they continued carrying their bags to the parking lot.

"Brother, let's buy a flower so we can give it to this pretty lady."

Su Yi looked over and saw a girl of about ten years old, dressed rather simply and lightly, shivering in the snow. The girl was carrying a basket filled with various flowers, which she had carefully wrapped in a bag.

Meeting the girl's timid gaze, Su Yi gave her a sunny smile and said, "Little sister, how much are all these flowers for? I'll buy them all."

"But brother, there are too many flowers..."

She was such a simple girl. Su Yi felt a pang of pity for her and said softly, "It's alright, I just like flowers. Little sister, sell them all to me."

Finally, Su Yi bought all the flowers. Seeing the girl's rosy cheeks and happy smile, his mood improved as well. But after the little girl left, they suddenly had a headache about what to do with so many flowers. Anjing giggled and casually handed the flowers she was holding to passersby.

So, on this Christmas Eve, many people encountered an angelic girl who gave them flowers.

After delivering all the flowers, An Jing kept only a single red rose in her hand, a faint smile on her face. Su Yi looked at the girl who seemed to radiate light, stepped forward, and gently embraced her.

"Yi," the girl in his arms murmured, "Do you remember my birthday in our second year of high school?"

Su Yi lowered his head, looking at An Jing who was gazing at him gently, and listened to her soft whispers: "I told you I like snow, and then on my birthday night, you dragged me to the playground. You climbed to the top of the platform and then lowered down a lot of paper windmills. At that moment, it really felt like snow. That was my happiest and most unforgettable birthday. I stood below, looking at those paper windmills, looking at your radiant smile, and I had only one thought in my mind: I wanted to be with you forever."

After the soft words were spoken, the two remained locked in eye contact, and the snowflakes falling on the girl's face turned into a blush. Su Yi gently embraced the girl, his fingers running through her soft hair, and approached her shy face with her eyes slightly closed.

Beneath a huge billboard in the square that reads "Happy Live! - Happiness Every Day," a couple embraces and kisses sweetly...

On Christmas Day, Su Yi drove to the house near the Dream Technology Park again, found the middle-aged woman who ran the shop, gave her two thousand yuan, and explained that he wanted to rent the house for two more months. He left the shop amidst the woman's happy smile.

Back in his rented apartment, Su Yi changed all the locks on the doors, then opened the window facing the yard through the security bars a crack before leaving.

In the afternoon, Su Yi's car arrived at the gate of Mo Jin'er's elementary school. Mo Jin'er had just started first grade and it was almost time for school to let out, so Su Yi sat in the car waiting for them to finish.

As the school bell rang for a long time, the children from all over the school gradually gathered at the gate and dispersed. Su Yi got out of his car and looked for the girl, finally seeing Mo Jin'er walking out of the school gate with several other little girls. Su Yi walked towards her and called out to the girl. Mo Jin'er also saw Su Yi and happily shouted, "Daddy!" and ran towards him. Su Yi picked up the little girl and walked to the girls with her, gently asking, "Jin'er, are they your classmates?"

Mo Jin'er nodded her little head and said yes. Su Yi smiled at the girls; his handsome appearance made the little girls feel quite close to him. Su Yi said, "I am Jin'er's father. I hope you can be good friends with our Jin'er in the future, okay?" The girls looked curiously at the man who claimed to be Jin'er's father, and when they heard his question, they all answered at the same time, then affectionately called him Uncle. Su Yi called them over, took out some snacks he had prepared, such as fries, from the car—all the little girls' favorites—and then asked Jin'er to share them with them.

The girls felt even closer to Su Yi after receiving their favorite snacks, their faces beaming with joy. Then Su Yi and Jin'er said goodbye, helped Jin'er into the car, and drove away amidst the girls' envious glances.

Mo Jin'er felt envious of her friends for the first time, and she was very excited. When she saw the Christmas present Su Yi had given her—a limited edition teddy bear that was slightly smaller than her own, she was as happy as a little bird, hugging the teddy bear and looking at it from side to side.

After meeting up with Mo Yuqing and having dinner together, the three of them went to the amusement park. This time, Su Yi accompanied Xiao Jin'er on the roller coaster. Watching her daughter scream as the roller coaster went by, Mo Yuqing couldn't help but turn her gaze to Su Yi beside her daughter, her eyes filled with tenderness.

As New Year's Day approached, choir practice entered its final stage. During this time, Su Yi could sense Xie Li's several attempts to test his feelings. With An Jing by his side, he didn't want to get involved with other girls, but the key was that Xie Li always wisely maintained a friendship with him. Of course, to outsiders, their relationship seemed ambiguous, which was a major headache for Su Yi. Faced with Xie Li's persistent tactics, Su Yi had repeatedly hinted that he already had a girlfriend, but the result seemed unchanged. Sometimes, he simply couldn't understand girls' thoughts.

Two days before New Year's Day, each department of the university held its own internal choir competition preliminary rounds. The top team from each department then participated in the final round. It was unavoidable; Jinghua University was too large, and finding a venue would be a major challenge if all the teams competed at once. In the preliminary rounds, Su Yi's class performed exceptionally well, winning first place in the Computer Science department under Xie Li's direction, thus qualifying for the final round before the New Year's holiday. The entire class was brimming with confidence, and in the final round the following day, they achieved third place.

Su Yi didn't care too much about these things. Although he had put in a lot of effort, his current thought was that he was finally free.