"Then tomorrow, I can come pick you up!" Jiangg Yao's voice was full of anticipation, as if she could already picture the two of them sitting and chatting together.
"Hmm... I have a full day of classes tomorrow, and I've already made plans to play basketball with my dorm mates in the evening. It would be too tiring to go out after that."
"The day after tomorrow! You must have some time then, right?"
"Nope. This burst of energy only lasts for two days. I need to rest the day after tomorrow and sleep in."
"I see... But you can't possibly be booked solid every single day, can you?"
"That's right. I'm completely booked. No free time to go out."
"Hah! Today you're busy, tomorrow you'll be tired, the day after you need to sleep early... I see you just don't want to meet me at all!"
"You guessed it." As Chen Yuan said this, he could clearly feel Jiangg Yao fall silent on the other end of the line. A wave of immense satisfaction washed over him, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
'Weren't you so high and mighty this morning?'
'Didn't you say you don't need anyone to teach you how to handle your own business?'
'Since you like to throw a fit, don't blame me for giving you a taste of your own medicine!'
Having vented his frustration, Chen Yuan was thoroughly satisfied. He said, "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up," and promptly ended the call.
"What's up, Third Brother? Who were you on the phone with?"
"It's nothing."
He responded with a smile and continued shoveling food into his mouth.
But everyone else at the table could see that Chen Yuan's mood had clearly improved by more than just a notch after the call. The corners of his mouth held the faint hint of a smile.
However, before he could finish his meal, his phone vibrated again.
Chen Yuan answered again, but this time, he didn't say a word, quietly waiting for Jiangg Yao to speak.
"You just hang up on me like that? Do you think I'm some kind of pushover?"
"Not at all."
"You really think I'm a pushover!" On the other end of the line, Jiangg Yao's tone, which had been indignant, suddenly shifted and softened. "Well, you've found your soft target then, Classmate Chen Yuan..."
"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare bully you, nor would I dare to teach you how to do things."
"I was wrong..." Jiangg Yao said meekly, biting her lip and clenching her fists. She had no idea what she had even done wrong!
But regardless of what she'd done wrong, apologizing was the right move.
'Men just need to be coaxed, after all!'
Now Chen Yuan was satisfied. "This attitude is more like it. What do you want? Spit it out."
"Ahem— It's nothing, really. It's just that winter's here, and it's so cold on campus. I'm worried you'll catch a cold. How about I buy you a couple of new outfits?"
"No need."
"What do you mean, 'no need'? If you're going to be my boyfriend in the future, you have to dress a little more stylishly, right? People who don't know better might think that my... that Jiangg Ning's boyfriend can't afford nice clothes! I'll get you a new one for every day of the week! I'll even buy one for each of your dorm mates!"
Chen Yuan thought she was being a bit dramatic, but he had to admit, that forceful declaration had a certain girlfriend-like charm.
"Forget about buying one for everyone," he said, glancing up at his buddies. "Just pick something out for me. I'll transfer you the money later."
Jiangg Yao eagerly agreed, her heart practically bursting like popcorn. She was ecstatic!
After two or three straight days of showing weakness, she had finally gotten a tiny bit of a response.
She successfully added Chen Yuan on Green Bubble, just as she'd hoped, and automatically ignored the message he sent: "Let's be clear, I haven't agreed to get back together. I just think girls have better taste in clothes."
'Are you kidding me? Not rejecting me is as good as an answer.'
Chen Yuan hung up for the second time and finished his meal in a few clean bites.
'Perfect, now I don't have to worry about buying clothes.'
As a stereotypical straight guy, picking out clothes every season was a huge headache. In the past, he'd basically walk into a physical store, pick out something that didn't look awful, and pay for it, or just randomly see something online and order it directly.
Jiangg Ning always dressed so beautifully; picking out clothes was naturally a piece of cake for her.
It wasn't that he planned to get back together so easily, but after witnessing Jiangg Yao's behavior these past two days, he suddenly became very curious.
'Just what kind of person was she? And how far was she willing to go for his sake?'
The group finished their meal and walked out of the cafeteria together. Before they even had a chance to open their umbrellas, Chen Yuan's phone started buzzing nonstop in his pocket again. He frowned, pulled it out, and put it to his ear.
"Can't you just say everything at once?" he asked impatiently.
"What do you mean, say everything at once?! What's that tone of yours, you little brat?" The voice on the other end was so piercingly loud it nearly blasted Chen Yuan's soul out of his body.
"Mom, let me explain..."
...
In a bright guest bedroom, a plush carpet covered the entire floor, comfortable enough to walk on barefoot. The curtains weren't drawn tightly, leaving a gap through which one could see the rainy view outside. All sorts of live streaming equipment filled the room.
Jiangg Yao walked in and turned off her phone screen, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.
"The streamer is back! Sorry to keep you waiting, my wives!"
As she spoke, a cat-girl avatar with a black dress and white collar tie could be seen on a secondary monitor, perfectly mimicking her movements and expressions. It was so cute it was lethal!
Jiangg Yao also had matching sensors attached to her hands, feet, and neck.
This was Jiangg Yao's profession. She was a homebody, and also a "Virtual Uploader," or as it's known, a VTuber.
The concept of virtual streamers emerged seven or eight years ago. In recent years, a large number of them have appeared on all the major live streaming platforms. The practice involves a real person wearing sensors, using an optical motion capture system to track their expressions and movements, and then broadcasting with a virtual anime-style avatar and persona.
Jiangg Yao had entered this line of work two years ago. Her role was a Singing Girl, with the persona of a young lady from a wealthy family who had run away from home due to dissatisfaction with her family situation.
Surprisingly, her popularity was exceptionally high!
Her stream had nearly 10,000 concurrent viewers! For a virtual streamer, that put her among the most popular. The bullet-screen comments flew by just as fast, though her audience was primarily female.
Jiangg Yao had gotten into this industry as a hobby. Back when she was withdrawn and isolated, the internet gave her a sense of belonging and many friends to be crazy with. Wanting to pass that energy on to others, and also just to find something to do, she told her older sister she wanted to become a virtual streamer.
Jiangg Ning, of course, agreed without a second thought. She bought the equipment for her, practiced singing with her, and even wrote a script for her first stream... though it didn't end up being used.
Thus, Jiangg Yao began her streaming journey. She learned all her terrible jokes from her interactions with countless viewers.
"Okay~" In her room, Jiangg Yao made an exaggerated fist-pumping motion, as if cheering herself on. "Next, I'll be performing one last song for everyone, and then I'm signing off!"
[What's the streamer doing, signing off so early?]
[You only stream once every three days, and you're leaving after just three hours? (sad)]
[Probably signing off to play Genshin Impact. That's just how OPs are.]
[I want the streamer to put her feet in my mouth (drooling)]
Having streamed for two years, Jiangg Yao had naturally developed an incredibly high tolerance and simply ignored some of her viewers' more outrageous comments.
She placed her slender fingers on the piano, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Her fingers began to dance nimbly, and a cascade of pleasant notes poured from the keys. At the same time, her gentle and sweet voice rang out.
A dazzling array of gifts flew across the bullet-screen.
'Who would have thought that a virtual streamer with six hundred thousand fans would be willing to act like a dog for some guy!?'
Jiangg Yao thought to herself.
'Chen Yuan really doesn't know how good he has it!'