After a night of fermentation, the duet video of "Euterpe" by Chu Lian and Inori finally surpassed 30,000 views.
It couldn't be helped—despite it being the weekend, when people often stay up late, most of them spend their time gaming or going out with friends. Very few actually pay attention to celebrity updates.
So getting around 30,000 clicks overnight—from those who saw Chu Lian's recommendation or got curious after noticing she followed Inori's Weibo—was actually a pretty impressive result for Chu Lian at this stage. Of course, if she had finished the video before 7 PM, the numbers might have been even better.
A good number of people eat dinner at home before heading out, and during that post-dinner downtime, they might browse social media and check up on their favorite celebrities. Those who saw Chu Lian's post would easily spend a few minutes watching the video and contribute a view.
Unfortunately, Chu Lian didn't finish editing and uploading the video until almost 9 PM.
That said, M Station staff had sharp eyes and recognized the potential immediately. The song's quality was excellent, its message aligned with mainstream values, and it featured two ethereal, heavenly voices singing in harmony. They had every reason to believe this video would go viral.
After all, this was likely Chu Lian's first time collaborating vocally with someone else in a video—and the partner was another girl.
The opening tag, "Twin Lotus Blooms," clearly wasn't random. It seemed this might be the official name of their duet group. Just the fact that someone was singing alongside the now-famous literary prodigy Chu Lian gave people tons to talk about.
So, when Chu Lian reopened M Station, she saw that the video had already been promoted to one of the six featured spots on the homepage. From a little over 30,000 views earlier, it had now passed 50,000, and favorites had crossed 2,000. Judging by the pace, it was only going to climb higher.
For a first video, these were outstanding numbers, and Inori's follower count on M Station had also surged. A few hundred fans might not seem like much, but for a total newbie with no prior exposure, no backlog of great work, and no appearance in the video, it was a solid start.
"Phew, looks like I'll need to buy Inori her own computer," Chu Lian muttered, stretching her arms. "She needs to learn how to use one. Otherwise, I'll be the one monitoring everything, and that won't help her development."
As she stretched, her hand brushed against something soft behind her.
Startled, she turned to find Inori holding a tray of food. The front of her white blouse was a little rumpled—clearly the spot Chu Lian had just touched.
"Ahem… morning, Inori…" she greeted awkwardly. In truth, it was already close to 10 AM. Chu Lian had gotten up earlier than usual today because she wasn't used to sleeping in without Ayase beside her. She'd naturally woken up around seven.
After washing up, she'd planted herself in front of the computer—partly to keep track of the video's performance, and partly to catch up on the novel draft she'd skipped last night. With a trip to another city starting tomorrow, she knew she'd have little time to write. Better to build up a buffer now than risk running dry later.
But Inori didn't understand any of that. All she saw was Chu Lian busying herself at the computer—sometimes deep in thought, sometimes breaking into a brilliant smile, other times looking listless or wildly excited. The constant change in her facial expressions piqued Inori's curiosity.
She had already been here for a while, so if not for Chu Lian accidentally touching her, she might've just continued standing there quietly. Hearing Chu Lian greet her, she softly replied, "Mm, Lian, morning... this is breakfast..."
Inori didn't seem to mind that Chu Lian had accidentally touched her chest. She gently set down the breakfast tray, then picked up a bowl of porridge and handed it to her.
"Mmhm, is this Mom's lean pork porridge?" Chu Lian took a bite and immediately recognized the taste. "Only Mom makes it without a single bit of fat. She knows me—once I eat fatty meat, I get nauseated and end up throwing up..."
"Aunt Mingxue woke up at nine. The meat was bought by Chu Chu when she went out at eight," Inori said. She'd been up early too, though unlike Chu Lian who had become increasingly introverted, Inori had spent the morning watching TV downstairs. So she had a good grasp of what had happened.
"That girl... seriously..." With a warm smile, Chu Lian finished the porridge in one go and handed the bowl back. "Thanks, Inori. I still have some work to do."
"It's an honor," Inori replied with a tiny smile. The phrase surprised Chu Lian a little.
She chuckled, "Yes, yes, what an honor—thank you very much~"
Inori probably realized she used the wrong expression, and tilted her head in confusion at Chu Lian's laugh.
"'It's an honor' is usually reserved for formal situations," Chu Lian explained patiently. "Like when receiving a significant accolade or being entrusted with an important task. It means something like 'an immense honor that I don't dare accept.'
"Sometimes it's used to say 'I don't deserve the honor, but I will accept it anyway.' The meaning changes depending on the context."
"In this case, you should've just said 'you're welcome,' not 'it's an honor.' This isn't some grand accolade—it's just helping each other out. I'm sure someone as smart as you can understand. Alright, I'll get back to work. You take care too."
"You're welcome... it's an honor... got it..." Inori repeated to herself as she picked up the tray and walked out, leaving Chu Lian alone at her desk.
"Alone again, huh... But it's good for Inori to watch TV and learn more about this world. Just hope that Chu Chu doesn't lead her astray..." Shaking her head, she pushed the thought aside. There were still plenty of things to take care of.
She opened another tab, logged out of M Station, and switched back to her own account. As "BlackNeko," she left a comment on Inori's video:
"Did you like this song? Want to hear more of our duets? Then follow Inori~
All of our collab videos will be posted on her account. I'll share and support them on Weibo, but won't post them to my own M Station. So if you want to stay updated, go follow her!
I know you're all curious why I'm singing with her, but hey, there are a lot of complicated reasons behind that. You don't need to know them—just know that she's amazing.
Oh, and if you're wondering what she looks like—well, I'll let you in on a secret: she's not any less beautiful than Sister Ayase. You've seen Ayase's beauty, right? Inori won't disappoint. She's stunning in a completely different way.
Where is this beauty now, you ask? Would I tell you she's at my house? ╭(╯^╰)╮ Hmph, I'm definitely not going to say we bathe together and sleep in the same bed~
She's a foreign girl who's been in Huaxia for quite some time. If not for certain events, we wouldn't have met or lived together. Sorry, I can't share the details. You'll have to uncover the story yourselves~
I know you snoops will dig things up anyway →_→ Hmph, if I ever find out who's leaking my info, I'll definitely… o(￣ヘ￣o#)
Please support her! She's planning to debut as an online singer here in Huaxia. Gaining popularity would really help her.
Oh! Secret tip: once I convince her, she'll show her face. I promise—you'll love her. She's really, really, really beautiful~"
Whenever Chu Lian posted as BlackNeko, she habitually went into cutesy mode and threw away all dignity. And yet, she didn't think anything was wrong with that.
Clearly, the effects of "Loli Heart" were gradually kicking in—making her subconsciously express a sweet, childish charm. Just another sign of how much effort Ayase had put into helping Chu Lian find the perfect item to suit her stage of growth.
Still, an item was only as effective as its user. Chu Lian's natural loli qualities enhanced the artifact's effects, making her charm all the more powerful.
After posting the comment, Chu Lian returned to writing her novel—so absorbed she didn't even notice when Inori came back again...