Thanks for bringing this up to this point; and releasing both 16.1 and. 16.2 together was a good move.
Unfortunate that it got axed but I guess both author and editors can't make it anymore interesting than it is and can't warrant a longer life for it.
But yeah, as far as axed works go, even the conclusion is kinda cringey. And I always find it baffling some stories go for this "did not see each other for a long time" theme (like that one route in Seiren) but in this case, Eiji just did himself a self-denial or self-deprival by not seeing Aoi for 5 years and will only see her once he actually debuts as a true author by his own abilities. Like isn't that kind of "dangerous"? He's lucky Aoi is truly loyal to him. Well, I guess they tried to create the "went for a long journey" theme so that their reunion will be much sweeter (even though he just avoided seeing her for 5 years).
Well, anyway, I just hope that Eiji will do better than how his father did in his career.
P.S. RIP Hikari (twin-tail girl and supposedly Aoi's romantic rival). - you are the main casualty of this axe; you only appeared in the final flashback and was never heard from again