On the other end.
It was already late at night.
Xia Wen was holding his phone, while Aventurine and Topaz beside him were listlessly yawning.
These past days, Furina had been giving Xia Wen live updates about Okhema's situation.
He judged that the moment had come.
And just today, when Furina said she had to go to a meeting, Xia Wen worked overtime in his office and conveniently called over two unfortunate souls to accompany him.
Things went exactly as he predicted. After Furina tentatively brought up the acquisition request, the desperate Okhema Theatre agreed.
"It's fine, isn't this… just normal chatting?"
Xia Wen rubbed his nose and smiled: "So, are you all in the meeting room right now?"
Xia Wen's words made the atmosphere a little more serious.
Furina gave a small "mm" over the phone: "That's right, everyone's in the meeting room now. I, I thought you knew I would hand the phone directly to Aglaea…"
This time… Furina had overestimated the tacit understanding between the two of them.
"No worries, giving the phone to her now works just as well."
"T-then I'll hand it over…"
A brief silence on the line.
Then, from the receiver, Aglaea's voice came: "Hello, Mr. Xia Wen."
Even Aglaea couldn't help being a little nervous at this moment.
Xia Wen replied calmly: "Alright, Miss Aglaea, no need to be nervous. I believe we've essentially reached a consensus, haven't we?"
He switched into work mode instantly.
However, Xia Wen knew, this wasn't a negotiation. To him, Aglaea, to Okhema, were no different from anyone else in MiHoYo.
Even if they were not employees yet. So he placed them on equal footing with himself.
Inside the theatre.
Everyone in Okhema stared intently at the phone in Aglaea's hand.
Aglaea took a deep breath, straightened her posture, and said solemnly: "Mr. Xia Wen, regarding the acquisition, we've made our decision, but we still have some doubts we hope you can clarify."
Xia Wen on the other end didn't hesitate at all: "No problem, go ahead."
In Aglaea's mind, several of the theatre's current difficulties flashed by.
"First… after joining MiHoYo, the future of everyone in the theatre, and, most importantly, our script 'Amphoreus'. We hope it can receive support from MiHoYo."
The topic was a bit too realistic, almost like poking at the very foundation of Okhema's dream.
But Aglaea knew that practical issues had to be settled clearly. Amphoreus was the crystallization of the theatre's ideals, it must not be shelved or abandoned so easily.
Hearing Aglaea's words, the others grew worried.
They didn't know what kind of person Xia Wen was, nor whether it was appropriate to get this direct before even meeting in person.
However, the reply that came from the other side arrived swiftly.
"MiHoYo only has one type of actor contract, and it's not what you might usually imagine."
"After the acquisition is complete, everyone will automatically receive this contract. It includes a signing bonus and a dividend system established within MiHoYo."
"In the future, if you have personal clothing brands or other derivatives, you'll automatically receive more than half of the shares. That depends on whether you want to be personally involved."
"Your only obligation is to work together with everyone else at MiHoYo to complete the creation of Honkai: Star Rail. That's all."
Hearing Xia Wen's long reply made Aglaea pause for a few seconds, digesting the content.
If the speaker weren't MiHoYo's boss, she would have thought he was a scammer.
Who would ever give such a wildly unbalanced contract, where rights and obligations were completely disproportionate?
It wasn't that they were being forced to shoulder unreasonable responsibilities.
It was that what they were receiving was far too great compared to what they had to give.
This was basically charity. Unless… there were demands tucked away later?
At that moment, Xia Wen continued: "As for Amphoreus… honestly, that's exactly what we're after~"
"Believe it or not, even before Furina described the story of Amphoreus to me, it felt like I had already seen it."
"So we absolutely won't shelve the script. In fact, we'll put it directly into Honkai: Star Rail, its story will become the official main plot of the next arc."
"All of MiHoYo's financial power and resources will be poured into Amphoreus."
Silence filled the meeting room. Aglaea held her breath.
The others were the same. They had imagined many possibilities, good ones, bad ones, and had even prepared for the worst-case scenario mentally.
They still remembered discussing the compatibility of Amphoreus with Star Rail back at the theatre.
Like how the philosophical ideas in Amphoreus might correspond to various Aeons in Star Rail.
But they had never expected such a heavy promise.
This wasn't just "helping in a crisis."
"Mr. Xia Wen… this, isn't this a bit too much?" Aglaea felt her voice trembling.
"Too much? A good story deserves the best resources. And Amphoreus clearly belongs in that category," Xia Wen said seriously.
If he could actually say it his own words,
He would've told her: Don't worry! If you don't come soon, Star Rail is literally going to run out of chapters!
Hearing Xia Wen's earnest words, Aglaea leaned back in her chair, blinking in disbelief.
This exceeded her understanding of negotiations and acquisitions.
No demands. Not only none, he even intended to fully support Amphoreus.
Was the sun not up yet? Was she still dreaming? The greatest obstacles seemed like nothing in front of MiHoYo.
Aglaea shook her head lightly and said: "If that's the case… then we have no objections here."
Xia Wen said: "Then it's settled. I'll have Aventurine draft the relevant contracts immediately. And if there's anything you need help with, just tell us now."
"Help…?" Aglaea thought for a moment. The biggest problem seemed solved already.
But there was still one troublesome matter. She hesitated, then said: "The theatre is currently being suppressed by Cinnati, that is, the Art Committee. I'm not sure if you're aware?"
Xia Wen replied: "Furina told me."
Aglaea didn't hold back anymore: "Because of that Art Committee member's personal greed, the theatre is currently unable to perform. In this place, we really have no ability to fight back."
"Oh~ that guy."
Xia Wen let out a disdainful chuckle on the other end, and said lightly: "Just leave him there."
"Ah?" Aglaea didn't understand what Xia Wen meant.
"I said, the theatre, no need to worry about that."
Xia Wen repeated, cheerfully: "There's an old, prestigious theatre in Thessaloniki that's currently up for sale."
"The location and facilities are top-notch. I've sent Topaz to negotiate for it. It'll count as MiHoYo's Greek branch. In the future, whenever you want to perform stage plays, you can go there."
"Before that's settled, all of you pack up and fly to Paris first. Didn't Furina say she would arrange things for you there? Let her make good on her promise."
A collective hiss of inhaled breath filled the meeting room.
Everyone seemed to know what kind of extravagant style Furina had, a true, living, breathing tycoon.
This problem that had forced everyone to endure endless manipulation before, Xia Wen resolved with an utterly unreasonable method.
He didn't tell the people of Okhema to give up the theatre; he simply put the theatre there.
Cinnati wanted to use the theatre to threaten them? Well, here it is, check it ten times a day, or a hundred, it doesn't matter.
"Conveniently… mm… my sister has some connections in Thessaloniki."
"I'm actually curious, how much authority does this Mr. Cinnati from the Arts Committee have in a different city?"
"I'm actually quite looking forward to him trying to investigate me."
"Okhema will still be the Okhema Theatre."
"As for the new one, I think calling it Amphoreus sounds pretty good."
Xia Wen added lightly and cheerfully, causing the last bit of cool air in the meeting room to be practically sucked away by everyone.
"Hah… I…"
Aglaea wanted to say something, but discovered she had nothing left to say.
In a daze, she noticed everyone looking at her.
All their gazes held the same feeling.
"I'm very grateful for MiHoYo's help." In the end, Aglaea could only express her agreement in a tone full of admiration.
"If there are no other issues, I'll have MiHoYo's legal team continue following up."
Xia Wen said finally: "For the signing ceremony, I'll fly to Greece in person."
Aglaea blurted out: "Actually, there's no need for you to come personally. We can go to Paris, or anywhere else convenient for you."
"No. In Greece. And it has to be a grand event."
"Make it as big as possible. I want to complete the acquisition of Okhema under the spotlight, in full view of everyone."
Xia Wen's voice came clearly through the speaker: "From the moment you joined MiHoYo, your enemies became MiHoYo's enemies, the enemies of all of us. If you get bullied and I can't even get justice for you, then what kind of boss would I be?"
The meeting room fell silent.
Ever since this unconventional acquisition meeting began, Xia Wen had been overturning everyone's impression of him.
Originally, they imagined someone who kept to himself, spoke concisely, and as the head of MiHoYo, would evaluate everything with cold calculation.
Not someone young, carefree, humorous, protective, and openly vengeful on their behalf. He even said bluntly that he would help them regain their dignity.
A warmth beyond words flowed through everyone's hearts. This acquisition was not charity, not rescue, but acceptance.
Hyacine was utterly dumbfounded.
Wow… he really does have the aura of an overbearing big boss.
So this is what MiHoYo's boss is like. No wonder a studio under such a boss could create a series like Honkai: Star Rail.
Phainon and Mydeimos exchanged glances, seeing relief, and yearning, in each other's eyes.
Especially Phainon. He felt that his new boss was simply… too cool!
Castorice secretly lifted her head, gazing at the phone that carried his voice, recalling the recent days of messaging him in the group chat.
To be protected so firmly by someone… was such a reassuring feeling.
The wise, professional consultant in the group chat was slowly overlapping in her heart with the voice she heard now.
"Hum hum!!"
At some point, Furina, sitting, had stood up straight, chest puffed out, even tip-toeing.
She raised her head proudly, full of smug delight.
As if saying: Look! Look! That's my boss! That's my boss!
In that moment, all anxieties and doubts evaporated. No one knew who let out the first excited, relieved cheer.
Aglaea slowly put down her phone. Seeing her companions celebrating around her, her long-tense mood finally relaxed.
She had always borne everything alone. Now, she finally understood that feeling,
So this is what it feels like to have someone backing you up.
So this is what it feels like to be on the overwhelming side, crushing the opponent?!
Just like that, amid the cheers, Xia Wen continued casually discussing further details with Aglaea.
Such as the Okhema Theatre. It couldn't host performances for now, but later, once everything was resolved and after filming Amphoreus, they could return anytime to resume performances.
And Amphoreus, the most important matter, the script would be discussed in person once they returned to MiHoYo.
All sorts of matters, one after another. Only after a long time did Xia Wen finally hang up.
"Click. Fate really is just..."
After he hung up, Anaxagoras also let out a relieved sigh and looked at Aglaea: "So that's it, right? Next, we ignore that idiot and just fly to Paris? The theatre…"
"The theatre is still in our hands."
"It just needs to take a short rest."
Aglaea shook her head and said, "Once resources are available… it turns out solving these problems is actually so simple. Cinnati can no longer do anything to us."
Saying this, she lifted her head, suddenly letting out a soft laugh, muttering with a mix of helplessness:
"I spent over ten years exhausting myself, calculating every coin spent, weighing the cost of every compromise, protecting Okhema like safeguarding a flame…"
"Only to find out that the end of this path… is simply clinging to a generous boss who's good at solving problems."
Seeing her like this, Anaxagoras teased: "Oh? Our resolute Miss Aglaea, have you finally understood the true essence of pies falling from the sky?"
Aglaea originally intended to give a tactful reply, but after thinking for a moment, she responded in an unprecedentedly relaxed tone: "Mm. Living off soft pies… doesn't feel bad at all."
This meal… is delicious!