Meanwhile, Yaqing and the women split into two groups and entered different screening rooms. Cheng Lixue led Kiana and the others, while Yaqing took the remaining group.
The moment Yaqing and the others entered the screening room, they were greeted by a wave of cheers.
After thanking the audience for their support, it was time for audience questions—the part Yaqing dreaded most as a social recluse.
"Director Yaqing, what made you decide to come back and continue making films?"
Sure enough, that question came up.
Yaqing truly did not want to answer it, but he was too embarrassed to refuse. Nor could he say that the previous film had not actually been made by him, but by President Otto.
Whether anyone believed him or not, the moment he said it, even if Otto stepped forward and admitted it, no one would believe them. They would only think President Otto was protecting him.
With that question and answer, the premiere came to an end.
Chapter 81: Yaqing Mocked Across the Internet
After watching the movie, everyone celebrated together. Naturally, Yaqing paid the bill. The next day, after waking up, Yaqing saw the internet flooded with mockery saying he was unfit to be a screenwriter.
"Let Walter Yang be the screenwriter instead. If Yaqing keeps writing scripts, he'll only ruin this Honkai."
"Honestly, the movie released yesterday was worlds apart from the previous one. The emotions weren't rich enough, the characters weren't developed enough, and the whole thing was confusing. Even the power scaling collapsed."
"Exactly. When Queen first appeared in the previous movie, you could immediately feel how terrifying a Herrscher was. But Wendy, a Herrscher herself, got knocked unconscious by a mech in this one. How is that not broken power scaling?"
"Yaqing Schariac is completely unfit to be a screenwriter!"
"The whole movie was baffling. It wasn't even as good as the post-credit scene. Don't tell me Walter Yang wrote that scene?"
"It was nothing but plot armor. It can't compare to the previous film at all."
"Cecilia's sacrifice in the previous movie moved me to tears, but this one... all I can say is, heh."
Inside Golden Courtyard, everyone worried that Yaqing had seen the online comments. One by one, they poked their little heads out and silently waited outside his door.
"He isn't going to do anything stupid, is he?" Kevin's imagination ran wild.
"Little lackey, can't you think of something nicer?" Mobius said irritably.
"I think we need someone to go in and check on him," Kitty suggested.
"Pardo is right," Su agreed.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Mobius noticed everyone staring at her.
Yaqing's door was pushed open. Mobius saw him sitting in his gaming chair with his back to her, his shoulders trembling. Her heart immediately softened, and she quietly closed the door.
Everyone: "???"
Everyone was dumbfounded. They had asked her to check on him, yet she had not even left a crack in the door for them to listen through.
Yaqing's room had excellent soundproofing. After that probably very expensive door was shut, not a single sound from inside could be heard outside.
Mobius walked behind Yaqing, about to comfort him, when she saw the instant noodle cup in his hands. He was viciously slurping down noodles.
Yaqing raised his head in confusion. After swallowing a mouthful of noodles, he asked, "Senior, why are you in my room so early? Did you need something?"
"Nothing." Mobius waved her hand and sat on Yaqing's bed, not knowing how to begin.
The atmosphere fell silent again.
"Did you... see the comments online?" Mobius asked.
"I did."
"What do you think?"
"I don't think anything." Yaqing shook his head. "I admit this script was truly bad. Even I think so. How can I expect the audience to praise it against their conscience?"
"Then... are you still going to keep creating?"
"The post-credit scene is already out. How could there not be another movie?" Yaqing looked at the flood of insults on his computer screen and smiled meaningfully. "They think I didn't give them enough emotional pain? Then the next movie will make sure they get more than enough."
Seeing Yaqing's smile, Mobius shivered. Then she leaned closer and asked curiously, "What bad idea do you have this time?"
"No spoilers, Senior." Yaqing pushed away Mobius's pretty face.
To put everyone at ease, Yaqing and Mobius went outside together. Very soon, Yaqing received imperial treatment, because no one believed a person could remain unaffected by online abuse.
"Big Brother Yaqing, have some candy." Little Griseo took a piece of candy from her pocket.
Since it was Sunday, the courtyard was especially crowded.
It was not only the people in the courtyard who worried about him. Yaqing's phone had not stopped ringing all day. First it was President Otto, then Theresa, then his sister, and finally even Welt called to comfort him.
Faced with everyone's concern, Yaqing did not dare turn off his phone.
"Come to think of it, should I hold a press conference?" Yaqing said.
The moment he thought of it, Yaqing did not even want to eat. He prepared to head to the company, only to be stopped by Elysia.
"No. You have to eat lunch first!"
Yaqing obediently sat back down. It was not because Elysia had persuaded him, but because Kalpas's eyes were already blazing with anger.
Yaqing had a feeling that if he did not take a bite of the meal Kalpas had made today, he might get punched.
After lunch, Yaqing prepared to head to the company. Everyone was still worried, so they had Kevin accompany him.
"Ahhh, seriously, why did it have to be me? I was planning to go on a date with Mei this afternoon." Kevin sat in the passenger seat, utterly annoyed.
"Kevin, what do you think the meaning of life is?" Yaqing suddenly asked while driving.
Kevin was instantly terrified when he heard that. They were on the highway, moving at incredible speed. If Yaqing suddenly jerked the wheel, neither of them would survive.
"No, Yaqing, bro, godfather, don't joke around like that." Kevin looked at the scenery streaking past outside and nearly cried from fright.
"I never joke with people, Kevin." Yaqing's tone was low.
"Yaqing, think about your family, think about your friends, think about everyone in the courtyard. Please, don't do anything stupid." Kevin tightly gripped the handle above the passenger seat.
Mei, it looked like he would not be going home for dinner tonight.
Only when he saw Kevin was really about to cry did Yaqing laugh. "Just kidding, Kevin. Why are you crying?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kevin roared, his face and neck flushed with anger.
When they arrived at the company headquarters, it was Kevin's second time visiting the Destiny Far East Branch.
With an urgency far beyond his usual manner, Yaqing had Rita arrange a press conference.
At the press conference, Yaqing apologized to viewers who loved Honkai and promised that the next movie would fix every major flaw from the previous one. The character development and scriptwriting would definitely shock everyone.
As soon as Yaqing's press conference was uploaded online, the insults seemed to lessen somewhat. Still, some people mocked him for overestimating himself.
"Shock all of us? Judging by this movie, forget shocking us—even if you forced us to praise it, we couldn't."
"Just looking at this Ode to Wind Colors reminds me of Yaqing Schariac's debut work, Saintess Redemption Chronicle. So this really is his true writing ability."
"Hurry up and get Walter!"
"Hurry up and get Walter!"
Afterward, Yaqing posted an update on his own account.
"Since everyone thinks it wasn't painful enough, then I'll sharpen my blade and wait for you all at the theater in the next movie."
And with that press conference, Collapse I: Ballad of the Wind Colors finally came to a complete close.
Chapter 82: Yaqing Holds a Grudge
"Heh... hehehehahahahahaha!!!"
His laughter began low and then turned into completely unrestrained cackling. Listening to the laughter coming from Yaqing's office, Salome and the other women exchanged looks. No one dared speak first, and the atmosphere was awkward.
"Boss... he hasn't gone crazy, has he?" Shub asked cautiously.
"It is entirely possible for someone to suffer a mental breakdown from being unable to endure online abuse. If we don't check on Lord Yaqing, he may do something stupid." Rita spoke as she looked at incidents she had searched up on her phone.
"Should we take him to the hospital?" Patrick suggested.
"To psychiatry?" Cheng Lixue asked.
"To neurology!"
As the highest-ranking among the women, Director Salome shoved the door open.
Yaqing, who was video-calling Kalpas, looked up in confusion. He held a cup of instant noodles in his hands and had just taken a bite, but had not even bitten through the noodles yet.
This scene somehow felt familiar.
Seeing Yaqing's clear eyes, with no sign of mental confusion whatsoever, Salome, Shub, and Patrick, who had just barged in, were immediately stunned.
Meanwhile, Rita and Cheng Lixue had deliberately lagged a step behind. Seeing that things were off, they slipped away at once.
The two sides stared at one another in confusion. It was unbelievably awkward.
In the silent office, only Kalpas's wild laughter came from the video call. Yaqing had deliberately let Kalpas see him eating instant noodles. In the eyes of a five-star chef, that meant someone would rather stay at the company and eat instant noodles than go home for a meal.
"Hahahaha, Yaqing, you've angered a—"
"Bye, Brother Kalpas. Something suddenly came up." Yaqing ended the video call, wiped his mouth with a tissue like a gentleman, and asked, "Why did you three suddenly come to my office?"
"Um, Yaqing, I came to deliver the proposal. And while I'm here, I wanted to ask whether the script has been finalized. Does it still need revisions?"
Salome truly deserved to be a director. Unlike Shub and Patrick beside her, she lied without changing expression, somehow pulling a proposal booklet out from behind her back.
Patrick also came to her senses and chimed in, "That's right, Yaqing. I came to get the upcoming script. The modeling department and concept art department need the character settings from the script to design the characters."
Only Shub stared blankly at the two women who had suddenly acquired legitimate business. Clearly, all three of them had been sneaking off during work hours to satisfy their curiosity outside the office.
"The script is finalized." Yaqing rested a hand on the keyboard built into his laptop. Thinking of the negative reviews of the previous movie, he smiled faintly and turned the laptop toward the three women.
Seeing that familiar smile on Yaqing's face, Salome and the other two stiffened. They had worked with Yaqing at Destiny for seven or eight years. Every time they saw him smile, it meant someone was about to have bad luck.
Patrick could not help muttering inwardly.
Could Yaqing have written the ending so that everyone in the main cast gets killed by Kiana after she becomes the Herrscher of the Void, and then the awakened Kiana can neither live nor die? No, am I being a little too extreme?!
Patrick shook her head.
The three women leaned closer and began reading the script. There were no visual descriptions in it, only lines of dialogue. It did not even qualify as a novel. There were only emotional notes, without any descriptions of settings.
After reading the script, the three women fell silent.
They looked at Yaqing as if he were a demon.
Yaqing spun a coin between his fingers and gazed at the three women staring at him with an ambiguous smile. His eyes seemed to ask: Want blades? Since the audience thinks it isn't enough, then I'll increase the dosage.
"That's too ruthless." Shub let out such a sigh. The audience had angrily criticized him for not being tear-jerking enough in the previous movie, and he had responded by making the entire movie tear-jerking. He truly held a grudge over every little slight.
"Ruthless? I don't think it's ruthless enough." Yaqing sat on the sofa.
"Are you the devil?" Patrick could not help saying.
Yaqing spread his hands.
Salome, Patrick, and Shub did not remember how they left Yaqing's office. By the time they came back to their senses, they were already standing outside the door.
"He really has gone crazy..." Shub whispered.
"Don't say that. I think the failure of the previous movie got to him, so he's preparing to take revenge on the audience." Patrick told Shub not to bring up the subject again.
"First, he used the first movie as the blade, and then he... forget it. I won't say any more. If this plot keeps developing, whoever is listed as the screenwriter will get cursed by the audience." Salome shook her head.
"Heh, would Boss really put his own name in the screenwriter credit?"
"He has no other choice." Patrick explained, "If Walter is still credited as the screenwriter for this movie, then in the audience's eyes, it will confirm that Yaqing is inferior to Walter. That would be far too great a loss."
"By the way, has anyone seen Kira?" Shub asked. Shigure Kira was currently assigned to the voice acting department and counted as her subordinate, but Shub had not seen her come to work today.
Salome said, "I remember Kira asked Yaqing for leave yesterday. Apparently, she went to Shenzhou."
"What did she go to Shenzhou for?"
"I don't know. Maybe she went sightseeing."
Before you continue