Chapter 56: Live Streaming

Chapter 56: Live Streaming

The rural road was slick with rain as the convoy moved at a snail's pace.

In one of the vehicles in the middle, the windows were closed, and raindrops streaked past outside, blurring the glass.

The agent sat next to Chu Mingyuan, his hand supporting his face as he looked down at his phone, scrolling through information. Halfway through, he glanced sideways at the person beside him and said, "You must have enjoyed shooting today."

Others might not notice, but as an agent for nearly a decade, he could tell that after the first scene, this person was in high spirits.

Finding chemistry on set was a mysterious thing. Sometimes, an entire production wouldn't find a single actor who clicked well with others.

But this time, it seemed they had hit the jackpot. Otherwise, the mood wouldn't be so good.

Chu Mingyuan didn't deny it, twirling his phone around his fingers before turning to look out the window.

The agent looked at him. "Waiting for a message?"

Chu Mingyuan replied, "Waiting for a friend request to be accepted."

The agent took a moment to process this, realizing whom the friend request was directed towards. He chuckled and said, "Looks like you've added them after all. I did say he was fun, didn't I?"

Curious, he asked, "Who did you get the contact information from?"

Chu Mingyuan answered, "The director."

He then added, "Haven't been added yet."

The agent laughed. "It's unlikely he won't accept it. He'll probably approve it when he checks his phone."

The journey lasted nearly an hour, but the friend request remained unaccepted.

Without passing by the shooting location near the inn, the vehicles headed straight back to the hotel, where lunch would be delivered later. After returning to the hotel, Chen Yibai entered through the makeup room and came out again, his long hair now short. He immediately went back to his room to take a shower.

When he finished showering, his assistant happened to deliver the lunch sent by the crew to the hotel.

After thanking him and closing the door, he returned to his room with the lunch. He sat down on the sofa by the window, casually rubbing the towel on top of his head.

He felt like he had forgotten something.

"…"

The sky outside was gray, while the room was brightly lit. As he dried his hair, he thought for a moment and finally remembered what it was. During lunch, he casually picked up his phone.

It came to him.

It seemed like quite some time had passed since he last checked up on Chen Erbai's situation.

His finger paused on the phone screen for a moment before he clumsily opened Weibo.

There were 999+ unread messages in the background. He pondered over the small red notification for a couple of seconds before deciding to check which account it was from.

Indeed, it was Chen Erbai's account.

Taking a bite of his food, he lowered his eyes and tapped into the comments that had exceeded the limit.

"Chen Erbai! One month and three days! Do you know how I've spent these one month and three days?!"

"Has anyone seen Chen Erbai occasionally streaming and chatting? (Grabs passerby) (Shakes) (No) (Grabs next passerby)"

"Erbai, you can't have really joined some weird organization and can't come back, right?!!"

"A mere one month and three days, no worries, I can still hold on [Resilient Smile.jpg]"

"…"

Chen Erbai, who had indeed joined some strange organization, stopped scrolling down.

It had already been one month and three days since he last streamed.

He checked the time, then exited the app to look at his tentative schedule for the upcoming days. It seemed there wasn't much free time available for streaming in the near future.

And so, a problem arose.

He had just had a profound conversation with his good neighbor in the car, and both of them had time between the afternoon and evening. They agreed to play everyone's favorite board game, Ludo.

The evening was reserved for his routine research and script memorization, which couldn't be moved or shared with anything else.

Between streaming and playing Ludo, he chose to use the time for a meal to explain his part-time streaming job to his good neighbor, starting from the beginning of time.

His good neighbor listened, accepting everything without much surprise.

After a brief exchange, the final decision was to stream while playing Ludo, and the clever Master Chen successfully combined the two activities.

After finishing his meal, Master Chen logged back into his account. After one month and three days, he finally posted a live streaming announcement.

Due to previous comments pointing out that his announcements were too short and somewhat stingy, he had learned to add a picture.

He selected the image from his photo album. Although professional photographer and videographer Master Chen didn't have many portraits in his album, he had plenty of pictures of meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—all in abundance.

Setting the live streaming time, he randomly chose a photo from over a month ago when he was still in City A, having dinner with his good neighbor. He then noted that it would only be chatting, no games involved, and the live streaming announcement was complete.

Despite being inactive for over a month, this account, akin to a living zombie, still had quite a few people waiting. After posting the announcement, a pile of comments popped up below.

"? I actually waited and it's real!"

"Grandma, the broadcaster you follow is streaming!"

"Am I the only one who thinks the food in the picture looks delicious?"

With two hours until the broadcast, how could this be! How am I supposed to endure these agonizing two hours!"

...

The two hours were allocated for Chen Yibai, who woke up at four in the morning, to catch up on some sleep.

He had woken up at four before during hectic filming schedules and could adjust, managing to film an entire day's worth of scenes. He could have skipped rest today as well.

But he chose to take a light nap, determined to present his best self when rolling the dice.

Reflecting on his previous flying chess experiences, he concluded that his losses were objectively due to his subpar condition.

This time, after a two-hour power nap, he was certain to clinch the first place upon waking.

After lunch, he stretched his old back and walked around to aid digestion. Feeling it was about time, Chen Bai set his alarm and lay down on the bed, burying himself under the covers and falling asleep instantly.

The rain outside continued relentlessly, the heavy clouds turning day into night.

The person who woke up at four slept soundly, swatting away the alarm when it rang.

"..."

A breeze blew through the room, caressing the fingers that peeked out from under the quilt, causing them to involuntarily curl.

As his hand moved, the person buried under the quilt stirred, his eyes opening for a moment, catching a blurry glimpse of his phone. The phone, and the alarm that seemed to have been silenced.

—He was fully awake now.

He sprang up, flicked on the room's lights, and propped himself up on one arm. Grabbing his phone, he checked the time and found there were still a few minutes until the broadcast. Heaving a sigh of relief,

He nestled back into the blankets, quickly familiarized himself with the mobile streaming process, and followed through. With half-open eyes that still struggled to fully open, he contacted his good neighbor.

His mind was still groggy upon waking, but the rational cells in his brain remained. After staring at the chat window for a while, he ultimately changed the chat background from a screenshot of a video call to a brief snapshot of him not finishing last in the flying chess game.

Preparations were complete.

At the unremarkable hour of two in the afternoon, the account that had lain dormant for over a month went live right on schedule.

Fans who had received prior notice crashed into the livestream, expressing their intense emotions regardless of anything else.

"You actually dared to come back, Xiao Zhi!"

"Look what I found! I dashed in the moment I saw the broadcast notification!"

"Huh? What's this?"

Viewers rushed in and discovered that instead of the usual computer screen, they were faced with a mobile interface.

The phone was paused on the screen of a simple game, colorful and vibrant.

It was a very simple game, easily recognizable at a glance.

"It's not like you'd think I've been kidnapped by some strange organization and couldn't return."

"This is flying chess," Chen Erbai, chin resting on his hand, snuggled in the blankets, said, "I'm playing some small games with friends today."

He chuckled. "I'm barely a gaming streamer."

"With Qingzhou? It's been ages since we've seen you two together! My OTP!" [Cat covering heart.jpg]

"Qingzhou has been solo for over a month (sad)"

"Erbai just woke up? How can your voice still be like this (gesture) (recording) (saving)"

"No, it's with my friend."

Tucking the corner of the blanket under him while lying on the bed, he tapped the icon to invite a friend.

Having played together many times before, his dear friend was already the default invitee, requiring only a single tap to send an invitation.

After sending the invite, a WeChat call came through.

Answering the call, the courteous Chen Erbai initiated a greeting.

His good friend asked, "Just took a nap?"

Though phrased as a question, it was stated matter-of-factly.

Erbai nodded, curious. "How can you all tell?"

There was a moment of silence from the good neighbor, as if pondering, then briefly replied, "It's different from usual."

He didn't elaborate on how exactly it was different, nor did he seem inclined to continue.

"My friend's voice is surprisingly pleasant! Someone stop me, I'm starting to believe what Erbai said about the handsome guy!"

"So does Erbai choose friends based on looks (not really)"

"First time hearing my friend's voice! So that's why Erbai eats so well normally!"

The stream had only started a few minutes ago, and more viewers were still pouring in, the barrage of comments never ceasing. Having woken up not long ago, his vision hadn't quite caught up, so he temporarily ignored the comments and, along with his good neighbor, clicked on random matchmaking.

Few people were playing games at this hour, so matching would take some time. He reached out from under the blankets, grabbed the water placed on the bedside table, took a sip, and then retreated back under the covers.

After drinking, the match was made, and the game began.

He vigorously rubbed his hands twice and boldly proclaimed, "I'm definitely going to win today."

The informed good neighbor didn't explicitly respond, merely acknowledging with a simple sound. Unaware viewers laughed, saying victory was within reach.

In competitive games, he could always win, easily taking down minigames. The viewers never thought that Chen Erbai, who dominated the map on a regular basis, would struggle with such a simple minigame.

--- And indeed, Chen Erbai didn't manage to win the minigame.

It was proven that winning or losing had nothing to do with one's condition; his luck was just genuinely bad, an undeniable fact.

After two rounds, the viewers in the live stream finally recognized that this person's luck was truly abysmal.

"Hahahaha, no wonder he rolled a 1 so firmly and accurately when betting against Qingzhou before. Truly, it's you, Chen Erbai! (Tear)"

"What terrible luck, even worse than mine. I feel for you, let me send a gift as consolation. [Pat on Shoulder.jpg]"

"I'm curious about how Erbai can continue playing despite being so bad at it. (No Malice) (Stating Facts)"

"Hahahaha, I didn't expect it to be this funny before I clicked in. Help!"

"E-sports, mediocrity is... Wait, it's like this. Don't be sad, Erbai. You're just an ordinary person with extraordinarily bad luck. (Teary Eyes)"

The comments seemed like consolations, but upon closer inspection, they didn't quite taste right. Every sentence felt loaded, and nine out of ten "teary eyes" emojis were likely hiding laughter.

Chen Erbai decided not to argue with these people who were enjoying his misfortune and started another round with undying determination.

As soon as the next round began, the chat turned into a large-scale gambling scene, with everyone betting on whether he could win this time.

--- The gambling didn't last long. Because everyone bet that he wouldn't win.

His eye twitched fiercely. Tense and focused on the new round, Chen quickly glanced at the chat and sighed deeply, "The world is cold and human hearts are fickle... Bro, why did you step on me right from the start!"

Rolling an even number sent planes flying, and his only yellow plane, which had just taken off, was stomped back home by Little Hong following closely behind.

His plane hadn't even taken two steps away from home!

In a split second, tears welled up in his listless eyes.

Knocked flat onto the bed, after rolling a 1 and failing to take off again, he was barely hanging on, almost whispering, "Good comrade, help me get revenge."

In the short span of a few rounds, this was already the umpteenth time he had called for a good comrade to seek revenge for him.

After another couple of rounds, the good comrade overtook and stomped Little Hong back home, saying, "He's gone back."

His tone was unfluctuating, yet there was a strangely comforting quality to it.

Chen Erbai felt relieved, sinking into the pillows stacked to form a backrest, and continued rolling his dice. Rolling an even number, his plane bravely took off once more.

As the plane flew, he remembered something and said, "Today, I wore your clothes, the black ones. I asked my friends, but they didn't compliment me on how cool I looked at all."

He felt like an unparalleled cool dude when he put them on, but he didn't hear anyone else say he was cool from beginning to end, which was utterly disheartening.

"..."

Although the person on the other side wasn't present, they could probably guess why the others remained silent. After a brief silence, they said:

"You friend sent over photos. You look great."

Then they added, "Let's find suitable clothes together when you come back."

They similarly avoided discussing the word "cool," skillfully sidestepping it.

"Regular Erbai: Die if you must, Qingzhou, getting revenge isn't as important as racking up kills; Flying Chess Limited Edition Erbai: Good comrade, get revenge!"

"It's not you two... @Yu Zhirong, Sister Qingqing, I'm sorry, turns out you're the one walking the righteous path of humanity."

"My friend's voice sounds so much like Xu Sinian, I can't help but imagine it's Brother Xu. Help!"

"Erbai is indeed good-looking! Even Friend Brother says so! That means he's definitely good-looking!"

"+1 above. Honestly, Friend Brother has excellent fashion sense. I suggest Erbai move directly into Friend Brother's closet and stop thinking about your $39.90 stuff (closed eyes)."

...

Yu Zhirong remained silent and sent a Heart Rocket Cannon, instantly becoming the top spender.

Chen Erbai didn't see these comments. As Little Hong approached his plane again, his nerves were taut, not daring to make any mistakes, fearing that his hard-earned flying plane would be ruined in a single misstep.

It was a round more thrilling and intense than some first-person competitive games.

With bad luck, he made up for it with his brain. Through meticulous calculations, careful observation, and assistance from his good neighbor, he won third place by sheer skill, giving himself a small round of applause in gratitude for his efforts.

In a game of four players, he was third from the front, which was also second from the back.

His good neighbor cooperated in praising him.

The viewers manually cyber-clapped, mixing a minuscule amount of encouragement amidst a sea of "hahas," encouraging the King of Bad Luck to keep pushing forward.

The encouragement was still squeezed out through tightly clenched teeth, word by word.

They had imagined what a pure chat session without gaming might be like, considering every possibility, but they never expected it to be like this. They also never thought that they would genuinely feel happy one day because someone had placed third in a flying chess game.

For a moment, achieving a significant leap in ranking, the ever-resilient Chen Erbai planned to push further, flipping over and stretching his stiff wrists in preparation.

Before he could finish his warm-up, chaotic footsteps sounded outside the door, accompanied by someone speaking in a dialect, loud and clear though incomprehensible, heard clearly through the door.

Following the footsteps and speech came three knocks, neither light nor heavy. Pausing his hand ready to start the next round, Chen Bai got out of bed and said, "Hold on."

Slipping into the slippers haphazardly kicked by the bed, he walked over to open the door.

Before he could ask who was knocking, the person at the door spoke up with self-awareness, "It's me."

It was the voice of his good colleague, Chu Mingyuan.

Chen Bai then opened the door.

A few hours hadn't changed much, but his good colleague had changed his attire, his drooping eyes carrying a deep affection, and when he smiled, he looked more like a playboy than Zhang Huahua himself.

Without any intention of standing guard at the door like a door god, his good colleague explained his reason for knocking, "My room is leaking, and the handyman is here to fix it now; it might get a bit noisy."

As he spoke, his gaze slightly lowered, tapping twice on the face of the person standing inside the door, still carrying a lingering smile. Then, he moved his gaze away, spinning the phone in his hand.

The message was delivered, but the man didn't leave. Chen Bai waited for two seconds, not hearing any further explanation, only hearing the neighbor's handyman discussing the leak situation. With another game waiting to be started, he proactively asked, "Is there anything else?"

"There's nothing else."

Chu Mingyuan's gaze turned towards him, and he asked, head lowered, "Can I have a spot as your WeChat friend?"

Chen Bai: "?"

His brain, already switched to gaming mode, struggled to return to normal, failing to understand what he meant. Just as he was about to ask, something flashed through his mind, reminding him of a fleeting WeChat friend request he saw that morning.

"…"

He slapped his forehead, rubbing his messy hair a couple of times.

He thought he forgot something today.

Turned out it wasn't just the livestream; there was this matter too. He had planned to check the message from his good neighbor after finishing, but then completely forgot.

Quickly agreeing, he said he would accept the request later.

Chu Mingyuan looked at his hand still gripping the doorknob and asked, "Are you busy right now?"

Chen Yibai nodded honestly, saying yes.

Busy playing Ludo with his good neighbor.

Fortunately, his good colleague had the self-discipline of a colleague. Upon hearing this, he nodded, not lingering at the door, bidding farewell before leaving.

Seeing him off, Chen Yibai politely waved, watching him enter his room before quickly closing the door.

"Wait, this guy has a nice voice too. Erbai, are you making friends based on voices?"

[What! Let me hear it! What does 'Can I have a spot as your WeChat friend?' mean? Erbai, you're having an affair while away!]

"He's busy: meaning busy playing Ludo, and playing terribly (nodding)."

"So, the question is, should we shout 'Lightboat in danger' or 'Bro Friend in danger'? [Pensive.jpg]"

"We can shout both, can't we? [Shy.jpg]"

"What are you guys thinking about?"

Closing the door, he glanced down at his phone, only to see some beyond-comprehension messages. Chen Yibai's eye twitched as he said, "It's a colleague, he came to tell me about the leak in his room."

He added, "Don't mind the noise later; it's the sound of repairs next door."

He then nestled back onto his bed.

The voice of his good neighbor came through the phone, asking, "Is it the colleague you worked with today?"

"Yes," Chen Bai replied, "you can actually tell?"

The good neighbor said, "We've met a few times before."

His voice was calm, sounding no different from usual.

Chen Bai found it reasonable.

The circle was so small; although according to his agent, they were on different levels, they were both award-winning actors, so it was inevitable they'd cross paths.

With this topic concluded, a new game began, and as expected, he ended up last again, his face often adorned with tears of a wide noodle.

Next door, they seemed to have found the source of the leak and started repairing, accompanied by the sounds of heavy objects being moved. Objectively speaking, it was indeed quite noisy.

A game of Ludo took nearly half an hour, and they had played several rounds. The livestream duration was sufficient, so Chen Erbai returned to the initial interface, rapidly reciting the ending speech.

The end of the livestream came suddenly. The viewers realized something was amiss when he started the ending speech, instantly stopping their laughter, attempting to roll around cyberly to extend the stream.

Their cyber rolling tactic failed, and they only managed to cram in more gifts before the stream ended, not even getting the chance to ask about the next streaming time.

The livestream ended.

With a call and a livestream ongoing, fortunately, his phone's performance was good, showing little sign of overheating.

The room quietened down. Rolling over in bed, Chen Bai ended the livestream without hanging up the call, changing the voice call to a video call while switching to the contacts interface.

There it was, a new friend request, sent that morning.

Half-opening his eyes, he labeled the person, placing them in the colleague group.

His good neighbor asked, "Did Chu Mingyuan ask for your contact information after finishing filming today?"

Chen Yibai nodded, "Sort of."

Although Chu Mingyuan didn't directly ask him for contact information, judging by the timing, it was indeed after filming.

He sidled a glance at her and asked curiously, "How did you know?"

The good neighbor seemed to sigh, closing his eyes as he replied, "Just a guess."