The air fell silent for a moment, then everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Su opened his eyes.
Aponia, who was chopping vegetables, froze.
Even Elysia's smile became somewhat forced.
Kevin pulled Mei, who was heading toward the kitchen, aside. After much persuasion, he finally stopped Mei from showing off her "cooking skills" and convinced her to go upstairs and shower first.
Why did Kevin like instant noodles?
Because instant noodles were the only thing Mei could make that was edible.
Only after Mei went upstairs did everyone finally let out a long breath.
Yaqing wiped the sweat seeping from his forehead. He had nearly thought that he would die of poisoning the moment he returned to the courtyard.
"What's going on? Why is the atmosphere so strange?"
Sakura, who had returned just before Kevin, wore a women's suit. Beneath her skirt suit were a pair of long legs clad in black stockings. With pink hair and teal eyes, she looked doubtfully at the crowd as though they had just escaped death.
A little head poked out from behind Sakura. With an adorable face and blue eyes, Ling looked at Yaqing and sweetly smiled. "Big Brother Yaqing."
"Sakura, Ling, long time no see."
Sakura smiled. "It really has been a long time. The last time Ling and I went sightseeing in Europe, someone used work as an excuse and did not even meet with us sisters once."
Ling nodded her little head seriously and chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! Big Brother Yaqing, you're so mean!"
"Sorry, sorry." Yaqing pressed his palms together and smiled bitterly.
Ling leaned close to Yaqing. "Is an apology enough?"
Yaqing pinched Ling's little cheek and comforted her with a smile. "Ling, you really are quite the little schemer. How about Big Brother Yaqing gives you some practice exercises as an apology?"
Ling slapped Yaqing's hand away, hid behind Sakura, and puffed out her cheeks. "Big Brother Yaqing is bullying me."
"Alright, Yaqing, stop teasing Ling." Sakura rubbed Ling's little head.
"Welcome back."
"Mm."
The two smiled at each other. Only Ling had been hurt in this world.
"Dinner's ready, hmph!" Kalpas, wearing a face mask, carried out the final dish and roared loudly.
"Coming, coming!" Ling trotted toward the dining table.
Sakura grabbed her. "Wash your hands first!"
"I know, Sis~"
A huge round dining table stood in the living room, covered with more than thirty dishes that all looked incredibly delicious. Everyone sat around it.
Kosma returned right on time as well. He set down his backpack and sat down without saying a word, but the way he kept glancing at Yaqing revealed the turmoil in his heart.
"Let's welcome Yaqing back. Cheers!"
Elysia was the first to raise her glass of juice.
"Cheers~!" ×N
"Let's take a photo!"
Vill-V set up the camera, then hurriedly ran back.
With a click, time seemed to freeze at that very moment.
Collapse Project Approved
After the wild party, moonlight streamed through the window and fell upon Yaqing's handsome face, flushed red from drinking as he slept. The door quietly opened, and Kitty crept inside. She opened the wardrobe, hugged her "treasure" close, carefully slipped away, and finally let out a long breath.
Early the next morning, another new day began. The residents of the courtyard became busy once more. Freshened up, Yaqing rubbed his messy hair.
"Morning, Brother Kalpas."
Still half-asleep, Yaqing looked at Master Kalpas, who was busy in the kitchen.
"You're getting lazier and lazier." Kalpas spoke harshly, but still pushed an extravagant sandwich he had made early that morning in front of Yaqing.
"Brother Kalpas, your cooking is getting better and better."
Taking a bite of the sandwich, Yaqing felt its wonderfully delicious flavor burst in his mouth. He narrowed his eyes in bliss.
"Hmph." Kalpas gave a cold snort, but the expression beneath his face mask still seemed to carry a smile.
"Brother Kalpas, I'm heading to work first."
Yaqing hurried upstairs, changed out of his dinosaur pajamas, put on a well-fitted suit, and added his gold-rimmed black glasses. When he came downstairs, he saw Elysia, who had just woken up.
"Mm~, good morning, Yaqing~?"
"Good morning, Elysia."
At Destiny Far East Entertainment, Yaqing looked at the beautiful female employees before him, smiled, and said, "Patrick, how are the concept art and character model for our president coming along?"
Patrick, a tall mature woman with gray hair and purple eyes, could not help laughing. She teased, "Yaqing, do you have some kind of grudge against the president? His setting is either a clown or a fool, and his character model even comes with a clown mask."
"Pfft."
Laughter rang out endlessly.
Even Salome, who normally wore a cold, expressionless face, laughed.
Shub bared her sharp teeth in a grin. "Boss Yaqing, isn't our voice acting department recruiting? I'm the only commander without an army right now."
Yaqing spread his hands. "It's not that we aren't recruiting. It's just that for this anime, I plan to use real-life prototypes. Naturally, the prototypes themselves should do the voice acting."
Cheng Lixue blinked her beautiful eyes and asked curiously, "Brother Yaqing, we still haven't seen the script."
"I already made the script into a document and sent it to everyone's email." Yaqing opened the PowerPoint presentation. On the blank page, several large words stood out in mechanical-looking font.
"Collapse: Second Eruption"
The honest Cheng Lixue raised her hand and asked, "Brother Yaqing, are we in the script?"
Immediately, the beautiful girls turned curious gazes toward Yaqing, who was both the president and screenwriter.
"Of course." Yaqing smiled faintly. "Members of the Snow Wolf Squad under Destiny's S-rank Valkyrie, Cecilia Schariac:"
"Genius, Patrick Highsmith."
"Frost Swordmaster, Cheng Lixue."
"Washer, Salome Jokanaan."
"Spawn of Chaos, Shub-Niggurath."
"Floating Solar Prominence, Shigure Kira."
Rita, seated beside Yaqing, looked at him resentfully. Even Shigure Kira had a role, yet she alone did not.
Rita's stare made Yaqing feel a chill. He coughed a few times and said, "Then everyone, get ready. The Collapse IP project is officially approved!"
"Yeah!!!"
After everyone left the conference room, Yaqing leaned back in his chair and looked at Rita. She sat on the conference table with her shapely hips, looking down at him over her ample chest.
"Rita, is there anything else?"
Yaqing stood up.
"Lord Yaqing, why is there no role for Rita?"
"Uh..." Yaqing choked on his words, then smiled and comforted her. "Don't worry, Rita. This film can only serve as a prequel. Your real debut will come when the main storyline begins. Like my sister, you'll be an S-rank Destiny Valkyrie who is 'powerful, invincible, and unbeatable.'"
"Mm-hm~" Rita gave a soft hum, then left the conference room in satisfaction.
Yaqing crossed one leg over the other.
Though it felt a little embarrassing, his description had not been wrong.
Invincible and unbeatable...
Yaqing tapped the table, producing soft thuds. He took out his phone and called his sister.
Elsewhere, Cecilia and Kiana walked arm in arm. They looked less like mother and daughter than sisters, both smiling beautifully, while Siegfried carried a huge pile of all sorts of goods they had bought with a miserable expression.
"Mom, will anything happen if Sirin is left home alone?" Kiana's beautiful eyes curved happily, like a fish-stealing kitty from the Sea of Quanta.
"Of course not." Cecilia held Kiana's arm, looking every bit like a delicate young woman. She blinked and said playfully, "Bella is taking care of her, after all."
Just as the mother and daughter were chatting, a phone rang at an inopportune moment. Cecilia took her phone out of her dress pocket and looked at the caller ID with a puzzled expression.
"Huh, it's Uncle?" Kiana leaned over to take a look.
Cecilia nodded, answered the call, and asked, "What is it, little brother? Your sister is out shopping with Kiana right now. Kiana~"
"Mm, Uncle..." Kiana pouted.
"Mm, Kiana, long time no see. Sis, do you have time?"
"Ah! I do. What is it?" Cecilia asked.
"I have a role here that needs your voice acting. And if Siegfried is there, bring him along too. We're still short one voice actor."
"Me?!" Siegfried looked utterly incredulous, as though he could not believe that Yaqing would actually give him a voice acting role. Then unease surged in his heart. It could not be some disgusting villain role, could it?
"I'm going too!" Kiana puffed out her cheeks, deeply dissatisfied that her uncle wanted her mother to work during the time her mother was supposed to spend with her.
"Today?" Cecilia glanced at her watch. "I might not have time. I promised Kiana I would play with her all day today."
"It's fine. Let Kiana come too. Besides, Sis, the president has transferred all your former subordinates over here." Yaqing smiled.
"Alright."
After Cecilia agreed, Siegfried called for a driver, and they headed toward the western district of Changkong City.
After hanging up, Yaqing straightened his suit, pushed open the conference room door, and went to the publicity department. He informed Rita that Cecilia would be arriving shortly and told her to go welcome her.
To Rita, Cecilia was merely an idol she admired. Rita was not like Shigure Kira, nor was she like Shub, who worshipped Cecilia to the point of obsession.
Kiana's Family Reads the Script
About half an hour later, downstairs at the company, Rita smiled as she led Cecilia's family into the elevator and up to the thirty-second floor. Many employees were busy working because the IP project had been approved.
Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, Shub, who was bored enough to spin a pen at her desk, seemed to sense something. Her Cecilia radar restarted. She pushed open the glass door, saw the arrivals, and shouted in surprise, "Director Cecilia!"
Cecilia, walking one step behind Rita and admiring the company's decorations, suddenly heard a familiar voice call her name. Delighted, she said, "Huh, Shub? Weren't you at the Europe headquarters? Why did you suddenly come to the Far East Branch?"
Shub grabbed Cecilia's hand and said happily, "It's not just me. Everyone except Kira was transferred here by the president."
"Hey, who are you?" Little Kiana, who was holding Cecilia's arm, puffed out her cheeks unhappily.
"Huh, you're little Kiana, right?" Shub leaned closer with a grin. "I even held you when you were little."
"Huh? Ah?!" Kiana froze, her little face turning red.
Shub was still grinning when she suddenly caught sight of a figure behind them. Her smile instantly vanished, and she coldly stared at Siegfried.
"Uh..." Siegfried felt uncomfortable all over under her gaze. He scratched his head awkwardly. "Why does everyone look at me like that?"
"Hmph, what bad luck." Shub gave him a disdainful look, then turned back with a radiant smile. "Rita, is Cecilia here to do voice acting today?"
Rita gently shook her head. "Lord Yaqing did not say specifically. He only asked me to welcome Lady Cecilia to see him."
"Alright~"
Cecilia was completely confused.
Voice acting?
What voice acting?
Kiana's beautiful eyes widened. Voice acting? Could Uncle Yaqing be preparing to enter the anime and gaming industries?
After leaving Raiden Mei, the Brainless Idiot's brain began spinning at top speed.
Before you continue