The three women were waiting for the elevator.
"What a pity. If Kira had gone a few days earlier, she could have met Director Cecilia. If she went to Shenzhou today, Director Cecilia would be heading back to the European headquarters. She'd probably already boarded by now."
Shenzhou, Canghai International Airport.
Cecilia linked her arm through Siegfried's. Dressed in a white shirt and loose-fitting jeans, with her long hair tied into a high ponytail, she looked exceptionally capable as she listened to the boarding announcement.
"Darling, it's time to board. Did you bring the gifts we bought for little Sirin and the President?" Cecilia reminded him.
Siegfried replied, "Of course I did. Otherwise, Sirin will cry and throw a tantrum again."
"Mhm~"
After boarding, Siegfried and Cecilia switched their phones to airplane mode.
Half an hour later, the passenger plane from Nagazora's Third Airport to Canghai International Airport had only just landed. Carrying no luggage, Shigure Kira hurriedly jogged into the waiting hall.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off..."
Hearing the emotionless female voice from her phone, Shigure Kira froze. Still unwilling to give up, she went to the ticketing hall to ask.
"Excuse me, has the flight from Canghai Airport to Munich already taken off?"
The female receptionist at the ticketing counter smiled politely. "Yes, ma'am. The flight to Munich that departed at 12:48 has already taken off. Would you like to reschedule for the next flight at 1:36?"
Hearing that answer, Shigure Kira seemed to have all the strength drained from her body. Dark energy practically radiated from her as she muttered, "Why... Why, again and again... Why... Why..."
The receptionist was frightened, thinking she had encountered some sort of psychiatric patient.
"Yaqing, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!"
Unable to contain her emotions any longer, Shigure Kira threw back her head and roared.
Everyone in the waiting hall who had been awaiting announcements jumped in fright. They stared at Shigure Kira strangely, then silently moved farther away from her.
Calling Walter Yang Again
"Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"
Yaqing sneezed several times in a row, rubbing his sore, itchy nose as he said irritably, "Who the hell is cursing me behind my back? It must be Kevin. Damn Kevin!"
Kevin, who was coding at World Serpent, sneezed and muttered to himself, "Could Su be talking about me again?"
In an office somewhere on the third floor of First-Class Hospital, Su sneezed several times and wondered if those two idiots, Yaqing and Kevin, were cursing him.
"Ah-choo!"
Yaqing pulled out a tissue and blew his nose.
"Has Lord Yaqing caught a cold?" Rita asked with concern. On the tray in her hands were delicate pastries and a cup of coffee with sugar and milk.
"Maybe. I keep feeling like someone's cursing me."
Rita smiled, but inwardly she thought, There are plenty of people cursing you. The whole internet is full of them.
As the perfect secretary, Rita naturally did not say that aloud.
"Lord Yaqing, if you need anything, Rita can go buy you some cold medicine." Rita set down Yaqing's afternoon tea and left his office.
Only Yaqing remained in the office.
Yaqing looked at the phone on his desk, feeling somewhat conflicted. Just as Shub had said, he really did intend to make Walter take the blame again. But as Patrick had said, he had no other choice.
After an intense internal struggle, Yaqing picked up his phone and called Walter Yang.
"Mr. Walter, I'm sorry to disturb you on such a lovely afternoon. I hope I haven't interrupted your afternoon tea."
In a café in some North American city, Walter Yang listened to Yaqing's frivolous voice over the phone. Veins bulged on his forehead as he said coldly, "Yaqing, if you still can't learn to speak properly, I'm hanging up."
The red lobster-haired doctor seated across from Walter Yang silently mouthed, "Who is it?"
Walter Yang covered the phone's microphone and mouthed back: Yaqing Schariac.
Tesla nodded to show that she understood.
"Sorry, sorry, Walter. I forgot that you don't like this sort of attitude."
Walter Yang did not look any friendlier at Yaqing's entirely unapologetic answer. He remained as cold as ever. "Let's be straightforward. You wouldn't call me unless you needed something from me."
"Heh, as expected, you do understand me." Yaqing chuckled. He rose to his feet and looked down at the traffic below before continuing, "I imagine Dr. Tesla is listening to our conversation as well. Dr. Tesla, I've long admired you."
"How did you..." Walter was stunned. Tesla had not made a single sound, so how did Yaqing know she was sitting across from him?
"Huh?" Tesla was confused too.
"I happen to have something I'd like to ask Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein to do."
"What are you planning?" Walter Yang became wary.
"I merely wish to invite the two doctors to provide voices for some characters in a film."
"What characters?"
Tesla did not agree immediately. After what had happened with Cocolia, she was worried that Yaqing would assign her some loathsome villain role that would make people grind their teeth in hatred.
"Please rest assured, Dr. Tesla. In screenwriting and directing, the two of you are practically my life mentors. I grew up watching the Ahalato you directed."
"What do you mean, you grew up watching the Ahalato I directed? Are you saying I'm old?!"
"If I've offended you in any way, Dr. Tesla, please forgive me." Yaqing apologized without a shred of backbone.
His apology left Tesla, who had deliberately been picking a fight, dumbfounded. She had originally intended to crush him in terms of momentum, but he had dissolved her attack in a single move.
Walter Yang helplessly took the phone back from Tesla and said, "If you want them to do voice work, send over the script first. Let them decide for themselves whether they're willing."
"A perfect suggestion. I'd be more than happy to oblige." Yaqing agreed immediately.
"Is there anything else?" Walter Yang had no desire to talk with Yaqing any longer. He only wanted to hang up and enjoy his afternoon tea.
"Of course, I have one more question." Yaqing smiled. "Mr. Walter, it seems you haven't sent me Anti-Entropy's script or character settings. How am I supposed to find suitable actors for you?"
"I didn't send them to you?" Walter Yang asked doubtfully.
"Of course not, Mr. Walter. I'm not so young that I'd already suffer from dementia." Yaqing was making a pointed remark. Clearly, he was not entirely without a temper.
Walter Yang understood the jab, but he did not argue. It was not because he was magnanimous; he simply did not want to keep bickering with Yaqing. He wanted to spend time alone with Tesla as soon as possible.
"I'll send them to you when work resumes this afternoon."
Walter Yang hung up after saying that, leaving Yaqing no chance to reply.
Yaqing looked at the disconnected call. He did not understand such feelings—or rather, he did not understand love. In Yaqing's heart, there was only amusement, not women.
"What should I do next?"
Having decided that his workday was over, the Salary Thief left the company building under everyone's helpless gazes. Driving his luxury car, he headed straight for the suburbs and returned to Golden Courtyard.
At Golden Courtyard, those who needed to work were at work, and those who needed to attend school were at school. Only a few people without jobs—or those who worked from home—remained. Yaqing happened to run into Pardo when he returned.
"Pardo, are you heading out?"
Pardo, who was preparing to leave, was not wearing her Kitty pajamas. Instead, she wore a fitted shirt and black athletic pants, along with a baseball cap and a small cloth bag. She looked especially youthful.
"Brother Yaqing, you're back? Sister Nia asked me to buy some things and deliver them to the orphanage." Pardo replied while putting on her shoes.
"Want me to give you a ride?" Yaqing spun his car keys around his fingers.
"No need. The orphanage isn't far from here. I can just ride my bike there." Pardo declined. She took the key to her bicycle lock from the shoe cabinet and prepared to leave.
Yaqing entered the house and headed straight for the refrigerator.
Taking a gulp of ice-cold cola in the middle of winter instantly made him feel much better.
"Oh? Yaqing, you came back so early again today~?"
Without even turning around, Yaqing knew who it was. "What do you mean, again so early? When have I ever come back late?"
"Then your job is so easy~"
"My job isn't the same as Kevin's. He relies on his body; I rely on my brain." Yaqing sat down on the sofa, picked up the TV remote, and prepared to rewatch Collapse I: Ballad of the Wind Colors.
"Oh, don't watch that. If you don't have anything to do this afternoon, stream with me instead~"
Afraid that Yaqing would be provoked again, Elysia decided to pull him into a livestream with her.
"What?"
Streaming with Elysia
Yaqing looked utterly lifeless after being dragged into a livestream by Elysia.
Since she was streaming with Yaqing, Elysia could only take her laptop out of the bedroom and place it on the living room coffee table. Elysia and Yaqing sat together on the sofa.
The moment the stream began, a huge wave of viewers flooded in.
Starting from zero, the viewer count surpassed ten thousand in only a few seconds.
Miss Elf's Dog: "First!"
Leaves and Dog: "Second! I'm Miss Elf's real dog!"
"Third!"
Because the camera was only pointed at Elysia, viewers entering the stream could barely see Yaqing. However, some observant viewers still noticed a corner of clothing in the frame.
"Is someone sitting next to Miss Elf? I saw them!"
"I saw it too! Familiar black clothes—I'm guessing it's Eden!"
"No, I'm guessing it's Brother Kalpas!"
"Doesn't Brother Kalpas usually only fill in? I've never seen Brother Kalpas and Miss Elf on screen together."
"I really want Brother Kalpas to curse at me again~"
"The person above is such a pervert!"
Seeing the comments on the screen, Elysia turned her head and saw that Yaqing was practically shrinking beneath the sofa. She could not help laughing.
Elysia knew Yaqing had social anxiety, but she had always heard him say it was only mild social anxiety. Looking at him now, how was that mild? He was clearly a severe social anxiety patient.
"Yaqing, stop hiding. Come say hello to the audience!" Elysia pulled Yaqing over.
The moment his face appeared on screen, Yaqing's stiff smile instantly relaxed. Once he was in front of the camera, it was as though he had switched personalities. His temperament shifted from that of a socially anxious homebody to that of a Destiny director.
Elysia looked at him strangely. The difference before and after was far too great. Combined with the others at Golden Courtyard, she could not help wondering whether Yaqing also had multiple personalities.
"Damn, it's Director Yaqing. Director Yaqing, haven't you invited Walter back yet? /snicker"
"Director Yaqing, that Ballad of the Wind Colors completely disappointed us. How can you face us?!"
"Fuck you*, refund us!"
"Alright, everyone! Yaqing has already worked very hard, so I hope everyone can be more understanding. As for those overly agitated viewers, Miss Pink Elf has already shown them out! Please speak civilly." Elysia said angrily.
Seeing the filthy comments from some viewers, with people even beginning to insult Yaqing's family, even Elysia could not help getting angry.
Elysia began to wonder whether asking Yaqing to stream with her had really been the right choice.
Elysia glanced at Yaqing.
She found that Yaqing still wore a smile, as though he had not seen the vulgar abuse in the comments. That smile was clearly so gentle, yet his eyes were cold, as though he could see the people behind the screen.
If Mobius had been present, she likely would have clearly understood that Yaqing no longer saw the viewers in the stream as people. To him, they were merely monkeys dancing and flailing about.
Out of the camera's view, Yaqing had already opened a chat window with someone.
"Froglay, investigate who hired the paid commenters. Also, find the IP addresses of the people in Miss Pink Elf's stream whose comments involve my family, and then... have Butterfly Bee deal with them."
On the other end of the chat, Froglay replied quickly with only three simple words.
"Yes, Patriarch."
Yaqing knew the film's plot would definitely be criticized, but this was not ordinary criticism of him being stirred up. The only possibility was that someone was fueling it behind the scenes.
Yaqing did have one suspect in mind.
Before you continue