Afternoon.
A phone call reminded William of something he had almost forgotten.
He told Cynthia that Zach would be coming to Earth Games for an interview. On Zach's side, he also explained why he didn't come yesterday—he had argued with Aunt Lisa.
According to him, on Sunday night, he told Aunt Lisa that he wanted to switch jobs and join Earth Games. At first, the conversation went fine, but when she heard that Zach had asked William to put in a good word for him, she got a little upset. Then Zach said a few harsh things himself, and the two ended up in a fight.
Yesterday, Tiffany stepped in to try to calm things down. After playing peacemaker all day, she finally managed to cool Aunt Lisa's temper, and Zach got the green light to go for the interview.
William still hadn't figured out how to explain his identity. It was easy enough with people who didn't know him, but Aunt Lisa's family had seen his whole journey from the start. Suddenly becoming a developer was bound to raise questions.
For now, he could only take things one step at a time and let it blow over.
Zach's interview went smoothly. He was only a little surprised to hear that William was their boss, but didn't comment further.
His past work was mainly making CG videos. If he had asked to join earlier, William probably wouldn't have hired Angela, since CG and animation aren't that different—just a matter of style. With some adjustment, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Then just use my computer for now."
Zach's arrival was sudden. Even if the guys at the computer shop built one for him right away, it wouldn't be ready until the evening. William could still work fine in his private space without a computer, and later he could just say he was working from home.
"Alright."
His work would be the same as Angela's, and with the two of them splitting tasks, the development of Journey could move faster.
"The boss looks bored."
People in the office were quietly whispering about William, who was sitting at the dining table.
At that moment, William was actually in his private space, fully focused on creating scenes for the next chapters of Journey. In the real world, though, he just sat there blankly, staring into space.
"How about we play some mahjong?" Claire said, eager to start.
It was as if mahjong had flipped a switch in her personality, making her a completely different person.
Tina, still working seriously, said, "I'm busy."
Leon kept his head down, quietly working on the next character's concept art.
As for Chris, he rarely spoke at all and was always deep into engine research. In the studio, Claire and Marcus were the most idle, along with Cynthia, who popped out from time to time to slack off.
That said, Claire had been having headaches over her new task lately. The more people online called for new levels, the more restless she became.
These days, she often discussed design ideas with Marcus. While Marcus didn't have much skill in other areas, he was a pro at playing games and had some unique insights on level design—especially when it came to increasing difficulty.
Seeing that no one responded, Claire had no choice but to give up with a bit of frustration and go back to work.
By the time it was almost closing, the guy from the computer store finally brought a new computer.
Earth Games was now one of his biggest clients, so he didn't dare slack off at all.
Once the computer was set up, it was placed in Cynthia's office. There really wasn't any extra space, so they'd have to wait until they found a new place before things got less cramped.
"Come over for dinner tonight," Zach invited William before heading off.
William didn't refuse, since this was something that had to be dealt with sooner or later. Dragging it out wouldn't do any good.
Aunt Lisa seemed to have already expected this and had prepared a big table of food. Jenny was overjoyed to see William. During dinner, no one brought up work at all. It wasn't until Jenny went to bed that the conversation between adults officially began.
"I really didn't see this coming."
Zach had been holding that in all day.
Aunt Lisa handed him a wine glass and, at the same time, turned to William. "If your Uncle Zach hadn't gone to Earth Games, how long were you planning to keep it from us? You even tried to trick me, didn't you?"
William felt a little embarrassed under her questioning and explained, "I honestly didn't know how to tell you. I'm sorry."
"You…" Aunt Lisa shook her head. "You could've just told me the truth. Whatever you say, I'm not going to doubt you."
William looked at her.
Aunt Lisa said, "Did you forget what I told you? I'll always support you."
"Thanks."
"We're family. No need to be polite." Zach's face was already red from the alcohol.
"Family…"
William thought of that night, the night he got "The Omniscient Guide." He had tossed and turned, unable to sleep, until a sudden thought made him do something.
His family—or to be exact, this body's family.
In the inherited memories, they were almost nonexistent. But with "The Omniscient Guide," it was easy to look them up.
His parents weren't far away, living in the countryside of a southern province, deep in the mountains.
When he found that information, the long-buried memories in this body were awakened, letting him once again feel the bond of blood.
But he didn't know how to face this family in another world, because those roles in his heart already belonged to someone else. Accepting and replacing them wouldn't be easy.
"What are you thinking about?" Aunt Lisa noticed the look on William's face.
"It's nothing." William glanced at the balcony.
"William, now that I'm part of the company, how about giving my account admin privileges?" Zach asked, looking drunk.
No tolerance at all, huh.
William felt a bit helpless. Aunt Lisa also looked tipsy, so this wasn't a good place to stay any longer.
Better let the couple have their fun. He needed to head home.
Even though it was only a little after nine when he got back, Cynthia was nowhere to be seen in the living room. But when he went upstairs, he heard movement on the second floor, meaning she was home.
The study.
William went in partly to make it look like he was busy, and partly to check trending news for ideas for his next game.
"Journey" was waiting for the animation to be done, so it didn't matter if the scene work was slow for now. He could put the rest of his energy into a new project.
"XXX releases new song."
"Photos from XXX drama."
"XXX Film Festival opens in…"
…
Almost all the trending topics were about entertainment. Games could be made around that too, but it felt like something was missing.
Maybe he should try connecting it with traditional culture?
Traditional culture… traditional crafts…
William was gradually finding a direction. The problem was, such a game might not be popular in the market. It wouldn't make much money, but it could earn a good reputation—still a worthwhile option.
"Teaching through fun, huh?" William muttered to himself.
The last game that did this was Classical Poetry Crossword, and it turned out to be quite a success.
But Classical Poetry Crossword was free and had official endorsement. It's unlikely the new game will have those advantages.