Rebirth Must Be Happy

Xu Jinhuan already had 10 followers on Weibo, which was considered a small influencer in 2012. Nowadays, Weibo users are very active, and he had already promoted the event several times in advance. When he posted on Weibo at night, the number of comments and reposts exceeded 3000 by the time the draw was held the next day at noon.

As expected, many people complained that there were too few spots available. Xu Jinhuan then posted on Weibo that evening, saying, "My brothers are so enthusiastic. I finally managed to secure the last 100 spots."

Perhaps because the number of spots increased, more people shared and commented this time. However, after drawing these 100 people, some people complained that they were not selected, so he stopped drawing spots.

The game underwent a small-scale test with a total of 200 participants for half a month. In December, the scale was expanded and the test was conducted for another week. In late December, Subway Surfers was finally officially launched.

The English-compatible version was launched on overseas servers almost simultaneously, and a new operations team was added in Hangzhou, mainly to promote it through online trolls.

Unfortunately, the budget was limited, and media promotion was too expensive.

"Let me explain it to you briefly. We'll split into two groups. For example, Wang Youzhi, your group is the affirmative side, responsible for promoting the game and saying good things about it."

Before the game officially launched, General Manager Xu personally conducted employee training via video, saying, "Liu Duanyang, your group is the opposing side, mainly responsible for smearing others, but you must exaggerate to the point of being idiotic, you know why?"

Liu Duanyang thought for a moment and asked, "So that people will know it's fake?"

"almost."

Mr. Xu expressed his appreciation, saying, "You guys are supposed to play the bad guys, and you have to be able to tell at a glance that you're bad guys, just like in TV dramas. You can create an atmosphere where 'Xu Jinhuan has offended someone, and someone is deliberately trying to smear Xu Jinhuan and his game.'"

"As long as what you say is outrageous enough and stupid enough, someone will definitely be unable to resist refuting it. Once they refute it, you will have achieved your goal."

"This has two effects. First, when this person says this, subconsciously they are on our side. Second, this statement becomes a real battleground, and you can criticize them and debate with them. The energy and time this person spends arguing and debating with you, and even their anger, will become sunk costs, gradually making them stand on our side..."

"If no one bites, the two groups can start arguing and attract other onlookers..."

Xu Jinhuan spoke eloquently during the video conference, leaving several employees, including Kong Wenbo, dumbfounded.

Damn, it's just a game promotion, and they do this?

Mr. Xu is awesome!
Later generations of online trolls used various tactics and impersonations, but the methods and principles were actually quite similar; in the end, it all came down to human nature.

The online army is not just a few employees; each of them also has part-time students helping them.

While personally training his online army, Xu Jinhuan didn't rest either. He continued to learn from Lei Jun, posting incessantly on Weibo to share the story behind the game's creation, such as how he personally went to the Jiangning subway station to gather material and how much effort his team put into making the game's animations so smooth...

These are all nonsense; insiders can see through them at a glance. Unfortunately, in any industry in this world, there are few insiders and many outsiders. He imitated Lei Jun and gave a popular science explanation, which actually fooled quite a few people.

The results were quite good, even surprising. The game was downloaded over 10 times in just three days after its release.

And it also brought an unexpected surprise:
Xu Jinhuan's name is trending again!

This is not surprising. Just like when he created "Flappy Bird," his status as a high school student naturally generated buzz and attention.

Moreover, this time he's no longer an ordinary high school student. He earned hundreds of thousands a month from his first game, won the national championship, and is a Weibo influencer with 100,000 followers. He's even had verbal battles with several influential Weibo users...

In short, the advantage is in my hands!

In this situation, it's natural that other media outlets would follow suit and report on it.

"The high school student who developed Flappy Bird has released his second game, claiming it to be the most fun game in the Eastern Hemisphere."

"The second game by the Chinese prodigy who once attracted widespread foreign media attention has been released; he is currently preparing for the college entrance examination."

"In-depth analysis! Looking at the crisis in Chinese education through the lens of the Xu Jinhuan phenomenon"

"Subway Surfers surpassed 100,000 downloads in just three days. What makes it so special?"

"Chinese high school students are creating hit games one after another, earning hundreds of thousands of yuan a month. Is this a success for Chinese education?"

……

As these media reports circulated, Xu Jinhuan's Weibo followers increased daily, exceeding 15 by New Year's Day.

Even more outrageous is that, without anyone knowing who started it, quite a few fans have come to regard him as the future hope of Chinese games, and are even promoting him everywhere. Xu Jinhuan dares to swear to God that this was absolutely not his intention!
The studio's operations team is only responsible for game promotion and has no task of building Xu's image. His Weibo account is basically guided by his own alternate account.

But even when he uses a secondary account, he's mostly criticizing himself.

'Did I overdo the marketing?'

Xu Jinhuan reflected inwardly that the online environment was still relatively clear-headed, and netizens were like silly deer, biting at the first sign of trouble, far less shrewd than those who had been honed through repeated trials in later generations. He found it very easy to fish online.

As for whether doing so was right or wrong... Xu Jinhuan was someone who had started his own business and made money, so he had long since shed any moral burdens.

He doesn't feel ashamed about making money, since there are no regulations on that matter now.

Once the relevant regulations are implemented, he will definitely stay away immediately and never touch it again.

"Brother, what did you do now?"

Chen Xingzhu was preparing for the college entrance examination, and Xie Wanqing was about to take the postgraduate entrance examination, so they were both very busy lately. Only Song Zhiyu was still relatively leisurely and had time to go online. She quickly noticed this trend and asked Xu Jinhuan during dinner, "Why do I see so many people praising you online lately?"

Is it abnormal for someone to praise me?

Xu Jinhuan glared at her, saying she had no sense at all and had to bring this up in front of so many people. "I'm a genius, and now that I've made my second game, of course you should praise me."

Song Zhiyu probably understood his look, pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

Before Xu Jinhuan could even feel smug about his domineering aura, Chen Xingzhu said, "The monthly exam is coming up soon, you should focus on studying."

Xu Jinhuan glared at him again. The little girl met his gaze, blinked lightly, and pretended to be clueless, as if she didn't understand what he wanted to say.

"Huanhuan, you can't let your guard down just because the admission score has been lowered!"

Sure enough, as soon as Mom and Dad heard this, they started nagging, "Your midterm grades slipped, and we didn't say anything... You have another exam soon, you need to know your limits..."

"I think so too, you should start studying now."

Although Xie Wanqing was focused on preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination, she knew that Xu Jinhuan had been busy tinkering with games recently, so she gently advised, "Wait until after the college entrance examination to focus on making games."

"Okay, I know I was wrong!"

Seeing that he had angered everyone, Xu Jinhuan promptly admitted his mistake, saying, "I will definitely study hard!"

His busy schedule with the game's launch and operation did affect his studies, and his score in the December midterm exam dropped to 621, almost falling out of the top 12 in his class.

The monthly exam is coming up soon. If he slips up again, everyone at the dinner table will probably give him a piece of their mind.

It was already 2013, and the postgraduate entrance examination was held on January 5th and 6th. Xie Wanqing quickly finished the exam. Although the results were unknown, she was finally freed from the intense studying.

In recent months, in order to allow her to focus on her studies, Xu Jinhuan has almost suspended her work, only keeping her salary, and Xie Wanqing did not refuse.

Now that the postgraduate entrance exam is over, Xie Wanqing quickly began to take on her duties. With the combined support of her parents, Chen Xingzhu, and Song Zhiyu, she even cut off his contact with Hangzhou, requiring them to communicate with her first before informing Xu Jinhuan.

Xie Wanqing's 20 yuan interest-free loan from her school was just secured before New Year's Day, and the "Qingfanghao" online store has finally finalized its decoration style and is ready to open.

Amidst the busy atmosphere, Xu Jinhuan once again suffered a setback in his exams, with his score dropping below 600 to only 594 points.

This exam made not only their parents angry, but also Xie Wanqing, Chen Xingzhu, and Song Zhiyu. The atmosphere on their way to and from school was not right.

Xu Jinhuan naturally knew the importance of things. He made a profound self-criticism at a family meeting of six people, and then began to study diligently in seclusion.

The final exams came quickly, and I managed to raise my score to 627, which was barely enough to make a decent result.

Grades 10 and 11 students get their holidays first, while Grade 12 students have to take the exams, go through the test papers, and attend classes for another week before officially getting their holidays on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

After Song Zhiyu started her vacation, her mother took her to Mi Lai Jian, and she hasn't returned yet. Xu Jinhuan is also on vacation, and Chen Xingzhu has been summoned to the capital by Chen Xingruo. The once lively house has suddenly become much quieter, with only Xie Wanqing remaining... (End of this chapter)