Chapter 8: The brilliant game designer and her foster father 8
1068 Words
After a few seconds of analysis, 001 replied,
“He overheard the conversation between you and Fiona and realized that you also have talent in programming. Out of appreciation for your ability, he wishes to cultivate you.”
Valeria let out a cold laugh.
“It’s not appreciation for talent. It’s appreciation for a golden goose. A man who was only twenty-seven years old adopting a twelve-year-old child from a group home, what do you think the reason was? Don’t tell me it was paternal love.
“The truth is, that same year, Fiona won first place in a nationwide game programming competition for teenagers in the United States. He saw her potential and brought her home. Do you know that in just five years since he adopted Fiona, she has developed three mobile games? They were only casual games, but every single one of them ranked at the top in revenue within their category.
“Now imagine this, if Fiona’s body were healthier, if she could live longer and participate in larger-scale projects, how much more money do you think Ralph could make?”
“So because the female lead is about to die from her illness, the male lead brought you back to replace her, raising another golden goose?” 001 asked.
Valeria wasn’t sure why, but from 001’s usually flat, electronic voice, she seemed to catch a hint of panic. She curved her lips into a mysterious smile and replied,
“Who knows?”
In truth, she had an even bolder conjecture, but thinking of her naïve little companion, 001, she decided it was better not to let it know too soon.
Although Fiona’s recurring heart condition threw the household into chaos for a while, by the end of the day Ralph still didn’t forget to have a computer installed in Valeria’s room. Not only that, he also brought her an entire stack of materials on programming languages and game design.
It seemed that he had already made up his mind to cultivate Valeria, to test whether she truly possessed the ability to completely replace Fiona.
Lying in her own room, Fiona kept listening for any movement outside. With servants constantly reporting back to her, Ralph’s every action was laid out before her as clearly as the lines on her palm.
Her chest rose and fell violently as her hands clenched the blanket. She kept reminding herself to stay calm, otherwise, her fragile heart wouldn’t be able to take it.
But how could she possibly remain calm when she saw the favor Ralph once lavished on her about to be stolen by someone else? Even if that person was her own elder sister, she simply couldn’t accept it.
She didn’t believe Valeria could ever surpass her in programming or game design. What her sister had shown off was nothing more than the most basic introductory knowledge, hardly worth Ralph’s attention, let alone such regard.
Perhaps she should find an opportunity to demonstrate her true abilities in front of Valeria, make her sister see the gap between them, feel thoroughly humiliated, and learn not to boast in front of Ralph ever again.
Two days passed, and Fiona’s condition gradually recovered. Her chest no longer hurt, she could walk normally, and as long as she didn’t engage in overly strenuous activity, there would be no problem. Fiona felt this was the perfect time to let Valeria understand what a true genius really was.
That afternoon, after Valeria returned home from school, she didn’t see Fiona sitting by the first-floor window waiting as usual. Instead, Fiona was neatly dressed, looking as though she was about to go out.
Valeria stepped forward and asked curiously,
“Are you going out?”
Fiona smiled and replied,
“I’m getting ready to go to Dad’s company. Do you want to come with me? Haven’t you been playing with the computer these past few days? Let’s go visit the programming department, it’s very interesting there.”
This was a plot point that had already appeared in the original storyline. Seeing how much her older sister liked programming, the female lead brought her to their adoptive father’s company for a visit. After that, the incident occurred in which Valeria supposedly stole Fiona’s game and claimed it as her own.
Valeria raised an eyebrow, her eyes filled with keen interest. She was still skeptical about this so-called “theft” described in the original work. This time, she was determined to go with her younger sister and see for herself what had really happened.
“Is that really okay?” Valeria asked, pretending to be delighted.
“Of course,” Fiona replied. “I occasionally go there to work as well. I’ve already designed three mobile games together with Dad’s team, right now they’re all considered classics within the company.” Fiona didn’t forget to exaggerate her achievements.
“You’re amazing,” Valeria praised her generously.
The two girls got into the car, and the driver took them straight to Stella, one of the country’s leading game companies.
The moment Fiona stepped into the Game Development Department, she was warmly greeted by everyone inside.
“Our little genius is here!”
“I heard you were sick, are you feeling better now?”
“Do you have any new ideas yet? When do we start the next project?”
“And who is this? She looks so much like you!”
The praise and flattery from the employees filled Fiona with immense satisfaction. Smiling, she answered each of them gently,
“I’m much better now.”
“I do have some ideas, but they still need a bit more polishing.”
“This is my older sister. She’s just started learning programming and was curious, so she wanted to come and see how everyone works here.”
Fiona pulled Valeria down to sit beside her, then began chatting animatedly with the members of the Game Development Department. Throughout the conversation, Fiona deliberately steered everyone toward professional terminology and specialized concepts, things that an outsider would certainly struggle to understand. This, in fact, was one of her aims all along. She wanted Valeria to see just how vast the gap between them was, as wide as heaven and earth.
Sitting quietly at her side, Valeria observed every subtle expression on Fiona’s face.
So this was how Fiona planned to put her opponent down?
How childish.
- Writer
