63: quarrel

This forum post successfully diverted most of the audience's attention.

Everyone turned into elementary school kids, feeling that while they lost in the animation, now was the time to prove the power of their fandom.

Some people even wanted to stir up more trouble and started a poll on Social Media Platform.

The poll was about which fandom among the Three Kingdoms—Wei, Shu, or Wu—was the strongest.

Currently, everyone was forming factions and flocking there, none of them willing to admit defeat.

This was a battle for their dignity!

In the study, a kind-looking old man was focused on watching the animated version of romance of the three kingdoms.

"Grandpa, are you still watching cartoons?" The little girl pushed open the door, ran over, and leaned against the old man's knees.

"Yes," Yin Cang smiled. "This animation is very well-made."

Yin Xiaoxue tilted her head. "Is it really that good? Is it better than the cartoons Daddy makes?"

She didn't understand why Grandpa liked watching other people's cartoons but didn't like watching the ones Daddy made.

Yin Cang patted her little head. "Grandpa asks you, do you like watching the cartoons your daddy makes?"

Yin Xiaoxue frowned and thought for a moment. "I... think they're okay?"

"Hahahaha," Yin Cang laughed heartily. "Then what do you specifically think about them?"

Yin Xiaoxue pouted. "I think because my daddy made them, I should like watching them."

"I see," Yin Cang continued. "Then what do you think of this animation?"

Yin Xiaoxue: "It's very good, but I don't really understand it."

Yin Cang shook his head and sighed. "It's normal that you don't understand it now, because this animation is meant for people at least twelve years old."

Yin Xiaoxue's eyes widened. "But cartoons are supposed to be for kids!"

She had been watching the cartoons her father made since she was little. She liked the ones he made when she was younger, but later... and she had seen this animation too, though she couldn't quite follow it.

But when the characters inside died one by one, she had secretly shed tears.

She just couldn't let her father know; otherwise, he would definitely be angry.

Yin Cang turned off the computer and looked out the window. "Cartoons aren't exclusively for children; it's just that those animation Producers got it wrong."

"They are always trying to guess—guessing the audience for the animation, guessing what those people like to see. It's all just their own imagination."

"Dad, what are you saying to Xiaoxue again!" A man in loungewear pushed open the door.

His hair was long and even a bit messy, and his tightly furrowed brow made it look like he was about to explode.

Yin Cang patted Xiaoxue on the back. "Go downstairs and find your grandma. Your father and I need to talk for a bit."

Xiaoxue glanced at her father's expression, pursed her lips, and turned to leave the room.

Just as she left the room, Yin Shuhua slammed the door shut with a wave of his hand, making a loud bang.

He approached Yin Cang, fuming with rage. "Dad, am I really that incompetent in your eyes?"

"You say I'm wrong, that I only know how to imagine things, but even so, I am the Vice Chairman of the Animation Association!"

"I admit this animation is good, but what he's doing is actually wrong. He has no idea what children like!"

"And cartoons are meant for children in the first place!"

Yin Cang listened to his roar, his face expressionless. "You are the Vice Chairman of the Animation Association because your old man paved a smooth path for you!"

"Who on earth told you that cartoons are only for children?"

"If that's the case, then children should be the ones making cartoons! Because you're an adult, and adults shouldn't be involved with animation!"

He looked up and sighed. "Do you still remember what you told me when you first started making animations?"

"You said you wanted to make sure children in this world no longer suffered from emotional illness, and that you wanted them to have a beautiful childhood."

"But is your so-called beautiful childhood just letting them continue to watch these mindless cartoons?"

He turned on the computer. "Look at this, look. Are these cartoons really for children?"

"Is there a plot? Is there any educational value? Can they bring joy to children?"

"Are you sure they like watching them?"

"Dad!" Yin Shuhua grabbed his hair and shouted. "But Xiaoxue said she likes watching the cartoons I make!"

For Xiaoxue and for the children, he racked his brains every day to try and enter their world.

He was going crazy, yet why did his father completely look down on the animations he produced?

Was he wrong?

Children just like watching this kind of animation.

"What can they possibly understand? Do you expect them to understand the animation you're talking about?"

He looked at Yin Cang. "I'm not wrong; you are!"

"You're the one who's wrong!"

Yin Cang closed his eyes and sighed. "Stubborn and deluded."

"Do you even know if Xiaoxue really likes them, or if she only likes them because her father made them?"

"How long has it been since you tried to understand what children actually like? Have you done any research?"

"Tomorrow—no, get out right now. Go out and see what those children like to watch. Go out and ask!"

Yin Shuhua said nothing more and turned to walk out of the study.

He thought about returning to his studio, but then he changed his mind and stopped. He walked to the balcony and saw his mother in the garden, patiently accompanying Xiaoxue on the swing.

Amidst the vibrant rose bushes, his lovely daughter let out bursts of laughter on the swing.

Watching this scene, his thoughts couldn't help but drift back to the past.

Back then, his wife was the same, accompanying Xiaoxue in the garden.

His wife, Yuxuan, loved flowers, so they planted them together. Every cluster of flowers in this garden was planted by them together.

Back then, Yuxuan would always praise him with a smile. "The cartoons you make are the best, right, Xiaoxue?"

"Xiaoxue likes the cartoons Daddy makes too, because Daddy makes them all for our cutest little darling~"

His wife's encouragement was his motivation. In those years, the animations he produced won many awards.

And the days when Yuxuan and he accompanied Xiaoxue to watch the cartoons he made were his happiest days.

But later, his wife's sudden passing made him feel as if he had lost all motivation in an instant.

Through countless days and nights, he seemed to still hear his wife's praise: "The cartoons you make are the best. Xiaoxue and I both love watching them."

"Love them..." he murmured to himself.

Did they really love them?

He used to make animations for his wife and child, and also to pursue his ideals.

His wife encouraged and supported him unconditionally, but why did she leave?

He could only make them for Xiaoxue now, and Xiaoxue said she liked watching them too.

But why did his father only know how to scold him? Was he not doing well?

Children are just like that; what could they possibly understand?

It was enough for her to grow up in a beautiful fantasy; she didn't need to understand so much.

Thinking of this, Yin Shuhua rushed downstairs. He stopped the swing and squatted in front of Xiaoxue. "Do you like the cartoons Daddy makes?"

Xiaoxue pursed her lips. "I do. The cartoons Daddy makes are the best."

"It's just... Daddy, I also wish Daddy could make..."

"...animations like the Three Kingdoms."