Lin Feng closed his laptop after finishing his daily lesson.
His phone buzzed on the desk.
He glanced at the screen.
Mom.
They had been talking earlier, but he had told her he needed to work. It seemed she still had something to say.
He leaned back in his chair, thinking about what had happened earlier that day.
He and Su Yue had gone to her house. He had been introduced to her parents as her "business partner."
They seemed to misunderstand their situation, but at least they seemed reassured that Su Yue wasn't involved with bad people. They shouldn't have any issues accepting her money now.
He hoped her situation with her dad would get better.
Maybe he should look into the matter.
Well, he would think about it.
"Mom," he called out as he picked up the phone.
"Mm."
They continued talking as he packed his things.
While the matter with Su Yue's parents was somewhat solved, what about him?
His mom was even more wild than Su Yue's. He would never hear the end of it.
He sighed internally.
"...that reminds me, why didn't you tell us you were on TV?"
Her voice cut through his thoughts.
Lin Feng paused.
"TV?"
"Yeah, your father's co-worker told him about it. Apparently he saw someone who looked like you receiving an award."
"Ah, that."
"What do you mean 'that'?" Her tone sharpened. "You're not involved with bad people, are you?"
"Come on, Mom. How can I be involved with bad people and still receive awards?"
She scoffed.
"I know all those people are just self-serving hypocrites. Don't rich people pay for their sons to get those awards?"
"How could they do that?"
"Hmph. You're still a child."
The line went quiet for a moment.
When she spoke again, her voice was more serious.
"That being said, while I know the kind of boy I raised is someone who wouldn't overlook injustice... I hope you won't get yourself in trouble trying to help others."
She paused.
"You're not a hero. Maybe you are, but before that, you're my Lin family's son. Don't forget it."
"I get it, I get it."
"Good, good."
Her tone lightened.
"Are you out of money?"
"Didn't you just send me some the other day?" He frowned. "Where are you even getting all this money from anyway? You're not taking dad's money, are you?"
"And what if I was? What's wrong with a son eating his father's money?"
She coughed.
"Ahem. Of course not. I'm using my own money. Are you looking down on me?"
Lin Feng facepalmed.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
"Actually... you don't have to send me money anymore."
"What?"
"After the award, I also received a cash reward."
"Cash reward?" She sounded suspicious. "How come I didn't hear about it?"
"Of course you didn't. It's the award that counts. If they gave money openly, it would send the wrong message. They needed to show that the act begets honor, not monetary value."
"Ah, I guess that makes sense."
"Anyway, as I was saying, the money was quite a bit. I was actually looking to start a small business. I don't know if I should..."
"What? A business? You should focus on your stud…"
"Maybe I'll just send all the money home then."
"...on second thought, maybe you should try it out."
Lin Feng's lips twitched.
"As long as you have your mind straight," she continued, "I'm sure you can make something great."
"By the way, where's Dad? I haven't talked to him lately."
She sighed.
"You mostly call at this hour. Your dad is always busy with work, so most of the time he comes back tired and just sleeps. Sometimes he doesn't even eat."
She paused.
"I'll have him call you tomorrow if you want to talk to him."
"Alright."
Lin Feng slung his backpack over his shoulder.
"I have to go to sleep now. Talk to you later."
"Goodnight."
The line went dead.
Lin Feng stood in the quiet office for a moment.
This should lay the foundation for when he eventually returned home with big money, right?
He was going to ask his father for advice on what to do with the 'award money'. Then he would use the advice given as the cover for why he earned the money.
He didn't like lying to his parents.
But with his mother's character, telling anything close to the truth...
He sighed.
Well, he would think about it later.
…
Su Yue waved at the camera.
"Alright everyone, that's all for today! Thank you so much for watching. See you next time!"
She blew a kiss to the screen and ended the stream.
The chat disappeared.
She let out a long breath and walked up to Lin Feng.
He stood up and gestured to the chair.
"Here."
She walked over and sank into it gratefully.
"You're getting used to this," he said.
She smiled tiredly.
"It's all thanks to you."
Lin Feng turned the laptop toward her.
"Today's numbers."
She looked at the screen.
Total stream duration: 1 hour 2 minutes
Peak concurrent viewers: 2,120
Average viewers: 1,055
Total gifts received: ¥15,960
Chat messages: 8,532
Lin Feng studied the statistics.
It was indeed slowly declining, just as he had predicted.
But wasn't this too slow?
Looking at it more closely, rather than declining, it seemed more like... stabilizing.
Maybe more people than he had initially thought liked Su Yue for who she was rather than just the bunny girl outfit.
Maybe he was being too shallow.
"It seems my prediction was wrong," he said. "Your views aren't dropping. They seem to be stabilizing. At this rate, they might even increase."
Su Yue looked up at him.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Well... yeah."
He paused.
"By the way, do you have enough time in your day to make room for training?"
"Training?" She tilted her head. "Oh, that."
She thought for a moment.
"It should be fine. I can find an hour or two."
"Well, that's good."
He looked at her.
"About your parents..."
Su Yue's face brightened.
"Thank you," she said. "It all worked out well. My mom isn't suspicious of me anymore."
A slight blush crept across her cheeks.
"Though... she might have some misunderstandings about our relationship."
"Well, as long as it's nothing harmful, it's okay, no?"
She nodded.
Then she looked up at him.
Her eyes met his.
"Wouldn't it be better if it weren't a misunderstanding though?"
Lin Feng held her gaze.
Then he nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so."
He picked up his phone.
"Ah, would you look at that. It's my time to leave."
He grabbed his laptop and shoved it into his bag.
"Have a goodnight."
The door clicked shut behind him.
Su Yue sat alone in the quiet room.
She buried her face in her hands.
What am I even saying...