"Wow! That's intense!"
Just then, the crowd nearby, who were discussing their individual filming plans, suddenly erupted in cheers.
Turns out, the discussion over personal projects had gotten very heated...
-----------------------------------------
The next day.
When Xia Wen woke up from the bedroom, the surroundings were already a mess.
Xia Wen, who was usually confident and full of spirit, now looked utterly exhausted.
A mature sister's strength was truly unfathomable.
Not to mention, there were two elder sisters.
Even Xia Wen had to admit that he barely managed to endure the whole ordeal.
And on top of that, Sparkle had even drugged the wine.
"I actually fell for Sparkle's trick…"
Xia Wen lay on the bed, sore all over, grimacing in pain.
"Awake?"
At that moment, Kafka's voice came from the side.
She was still wearing the same dress from yesterday and walked out of the bathroom while fixing her damp hair.
Elegant posture, deep gaze.
There was no particular expression on her face, as if nothing had happened.
Upon seeing Xia Wen, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"Mm… about last night…"
Xia Wen sat up, wiped his face, thinking about what to say.
Last night was way too crazy.
And he had to admit, he really enjoyed it.
"Don't overthink it."
Kafka had finished tying up her hair and came to Xia Wen's side.
She bent down, completely unapologetic. That dominant aura of a big sister returned to her once again.
"An accident—but of course, I was happy it happened."
"After all, I'm very satisfied." Kafka curled her lips into a smile.
All the hesitation and emotion from last night seemed to have vanished in an instant.
Her reaction was like someone who had just enjoyed a delicious meal.
It seemed that Xia Wen wasn't the only one who had fun…
Yet this reaction somehow felt perfectly reasonable to Xia Wen.
After all, it was Kafka…
Kafka blew a puff of air into Xia Wen's ear and let out her signature laugh.
Mature, confident, in control, seductive—
All these qualities were mixed into those two soft chuckles.
"Hiss…"
Xia Wen shivered from the warm breath.
This wicked woman was truly formidable.
"By the way, just so you know, the other one ran off early this morning. Hmm… Seems like something out of her control really flustered her."
Kafka waved her hand, the corners of her lips lifting again. "Well then, that's that. Better luck next time."
'Pfft…' Xia Wen almost coughed up blood.
What do you mean 'better luck next time'?
Damn it. Why does it feel like he got used for free?
"Wait a second, what do you mean by next time? Are we…"
Just as Xia Wen was about to ask, Kafka had already opened the door and left.
Before she left, she even gave a parting wink.
"Damn, something's wrong here."
Staring at the closed door, Xia Wen fell into deep thought.
Last night, when he realized something was off, he simply thought Sparkle was trying to pull something big.
Given her sinful and mischievous personality, she didn't tamper with the drinks early on but only after Black Swan and Kafka had already had some, only then did he realize the wine was spiked.
She left the choice to Xia Wen: Be a true gentleman and abstain.
Or take everything—
Party wildly and face the wrath of the two women the next day.
That painful dilemma was probably what Sparkle wanted to see.
But she never expected that his moral defenses would crumble so quickly.
He didn't hesitate at all and drank the wine straight down—cheers to the night.
And the next day? No battlefield of wrath at all.
Kafka's reaction was especially bizarre, as if she had already mentally prepared.
The look on her face earlier was pure satisfaction and ease.
She completely controlled the situation the next morning.
Could it be…
Kafka had known all along…
She was just waiting for an excuse?
So it wasn't him who seduced the big sister, but rather the big sister who took the opportunity to seduce and ravish him all night long?
"That's way too far-fetched. Shouldn't be possible."
Xia Wen shook his head, trying to dismiss the thought, when suddenly his phone buzzed.
He looked—it was a message from Kafka.
Kafka: Be sure to exercise and take care of your body~ /Photo/.
He opened the photo.
It was taken last night.
He was lying on the pillow, pale and completely passed out.
Kafka was right beside him, wide awake, face close to his, smiling slightly and flashing a peace sign.
Xia Wen: ?
Kafka: /Confidently savoring the wine/.
OK.
He really had been treated like a toy.
Played like a puppet in the palm of Kafka's hand.
And that wicked woman, clearly knowing everything, still roped in her bestie to join in on the fun.
But why? A hundred question marks popped up in Xia Wen's mind.
Ring.
At that moment, the phone buzzed again.
It was a message from Ayaka.
...
Ayaka: My dear, last night Miss Sparkle invited me to try some new food, but I accidentally fell asleep and didn't come back. QAQ
Xia Wen scratched his head, hesitated, and replied: It's fine. I came back and fell asleep right away too.
Ayaka: ? ( ??? ω ??? )? You must've not slept well without me last night, right?
Xia Wen: Slept great… Knocked out the moment I lay down. I was just too tired.
Ayaka: ???
Xia Wen: Wait, where did you learn to act all cutesy like that?
Ayaka: Eh? You don't like it? Sparkle taught me this. She said it's a way to show my sweet and adorable side.
Xia Wen: In that case, it's fine.
Ayaka: By the way, everyone's gathered in the hall now, seems like they're discussing something and need you to come quickly. I'll take this chance to tidy the room a bit.
Xia Wen: No need. Ayaka, you just rest well. I'll take care of cleaning.
...
He put away the phone.
Xia Wen sighed.
He felt like his private life was getting more and more chaotic.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
He had to deal with company matters first, then sort everything else out.
With that in mind, Xia Wen got dressed and tidied himself up.
Looking at his young and handsome reflection in the mirror, he couldn't help but feel a little smug.
Leaving the room, he soon arrived at the main hall.
At this moment, everyone was holding their phones, buzzing with excitement.
Even Robin and Sunday were there, receiving congratulations from their friends.
Looking around—Black Swan, Kafka, and that little devil Sparkle, weren't there.
Probably trying to avoid seeing him.
"Boss is here~!"
"Boss, over here!"
As soon as they noticed Xia Wen arrive, the room erupted in cheers.
"What's going on?" Xia Wen walked over to join them.
Himeko and Welt were holding their phones, unable to contain their smiles.
"What else? All those people who bragged before are now utterly humiliated." Silver Wolf blew a bubble and glanced at the screen.
It was filled with interviews.
Only then did Xia Wen remember.
Before episode three aired, three extremely powerful voices had stirred up trouble in the public sphere.
Many people, including companies and platforms, were involved.
Wanting to get a piece of the market created by Honkai: Star Rail.
Meanwhile, Silver Wolf and he were secretly maneuvering behind the scenes, guiding public opinion, sabotaging themselves, leaking visuals, and pushing the fatigue of hype to its limits.
They even misled the judgment of many entertainment companies, prompting them to invest heavily themselves.
Looks like it's finally time to reap the rewards.
"Let me see."
Xia Wen sat down in front of Silver Wolf, took the phone, and opened the video.
The video showed various companies' press conferences following the broadcast of Episode 3.
"Mr. Zheng, your company's new drama is said to inherit the title of space comedy from miHoYo's Honkai IP."
"It's rumored that you previously said miHoYo wasted a great space IP, and that Honkai's series ended due to their arrogance."
"You claimed you would revive the glory of mixed-theme dramas."
"Now that the Penacony arc has concluded successfully, do you still think the same?"
The first reporter went straight for the critical hit.
Every question hit Mr. Zheng like a dagger to the heart.
This person, Xia Wen, and the whole miHoYo team were no strangers to him.
He was Zheng An, the person in charge of ABC, who declared war on miHoYo when Honkai: Star Rail had just launched.
He had signed deals with another hit novel, Moon Warriors rights, but in the end, nothing came of it.
He was also one of the first to jump on the anti-miHoYo bandwagon for clout.
"Ahem."
Zheng An's face was already as dark as it could be.
But facing so many reporters, he had no choice but to force a reply:
"My previous comments were not a denial of miHoYo's achievements, just... overly blunt personal opinions. Please don't take them out of context."
The crowd of reporters almost couldn't hold in their laughter.
What do you mean "taken out of context"?
The reporter literally just quoted what Zheng An had said before.
And the miHoYo team watching the video couldn't hold back their laughter either.
"As for our new drama, it is also a space comedy,"
"But it will differentiate itself from Honkai in this genre. Our product is more grounded and pragmatic."
"It will address industry pain points, integrate narrative elements, and deliver a product that aligns with ABC's expectations and ours."
Zheng An spoke with a serious face, saying nothing but corporate fluff.
But inside, he was bleeding.
Back then, he saw this as an opportunity and went all in, securing funding. Currently, the script, cast, and special effects are all in production.
And to capitalize on miHoYo's peak traffic, he really did go all out to prove himself.
ABC invested far more than the market's estimates into this.
As of now, several hundred million have already been sunk in.
And it looks like not a cent will be recovered.
If he doesn't want to be humiliated now, he'll have to push through production—
Which means another massive investment.
And even after spending a fortune, can he make something better than Honkai: Star Rail? The answer is definitely no.
Even though Zheng An and CEOs like him are often mocked for not understanding storytelling, they actually know all too well.
They know that adding trendy idol actors will lower the quality.
But they do it anyway—because that's what makes money.
And for this "space comedy" meant to grab attention, he cast seven or eight popular idol actors.
Half of the investment has already gone into behind-the-scenes shady deals with their management companies.
There's no way this will outperform Honkai.
Now Zheng An has only two options: Either die now, or struggle until the release and die later.
"Damn miHoYo!"
"And that idiotic marketing division!"
"What kind of report did they produce?!"
Zheng An was already swearing internally.
He had trusted the market report from that department and thought miHoYo wouldn't be able to pull off Penacony's ending,
So he planned to ride the wave of their downfall and capitalize on their failure.
Looking back now, his actions were nothing but reckless gambling.
He bet on Penacony flopping, so he could release something hastily, leech off the negative publicity, push some articles, and still come out looking successful.
That's how he and his company have always operated.
They lack the ability to innovate, but they know how to kill innovation and feed off its carcass.
And now he feels like:
He dumped a few hundred million yuan to feed off a corpse, but the corpse (miHoYo) suddenly jumped up and punched him in the face,
And said, "Bro, what are you doing?"
No matter how reluctant he was, Zheng An could only force a smile and say:
"I believe in our drama."
"I want to tell everyone, if we take things seriously, we too can make a hit like Honkai: Star Rail."
The reporters barely held back their laughter.
One of them stirred the pot and asked:
"It's rumored that your show 'imitates' Honkai's setting, with three main characters. Based on online leaks, these three aren't played by unknown actors, but by a rather 'surprising' cast. Can you tell us more about them?"
Zheng An's face darkened even further.
He snorted and abruptly ended the press conference.
At the end of the video, several other companies that also tried to profit from the anti-miHoYo trend and invested heavily—
Their press conferences were no different from ABC's.
"Online, everyone's mocking them now."
Silver Wolf lounged on the sofa, sneering, "These CEOs of big companies really are dumb. They fell for something this simple."
"They finally got what they deserved for being so jealous! Let's see if they dare come at us in the shadows again!" March 7th snorted coldly.
"I'm actually really curious why that guy just walked out when asked about the leads." Xia Wen asked curiously.
"Here, boss, see for yourself." Silver Wolf tapped the screen and opened Weibo.
The trending topic read:
#CongratsToOurThreeDarlingsForLandingLeadRolesInAMajorDrama#
Xia Wen's expression immediately turned strange.
He couldn't imagine a big-budget sci-fi drama casting idols from a A-tier talent pool.
Scrolling further down, most of the trending tags were from various fanbases.
It was obvious they spent a fortune trying to suppress the hype for Episode 3 of Honkai.
Aside from the top spot, dozens of sub-tags were completely flooded.
"I want to pour more oil on this fire."
Xia Wen instructed Silver Wolf:
"Release our upcoming 'Myriad Celestia Trailer' footage and promo videos, oh, and Robin's new album too. Drop everything at noon today, no teasers."
"This time, we're not just dominating film and TV trends, We're going to crush them across the board!"
"Big star Robin! We'll make her live up to that title!"