Chapter 65: The Release of “Youth Odyssey”

Chapter 65: The Release of "Youth Odyssey"

Upon returning to his neighborhood in the afternoon with some free time on his hands, Chen Bai embarked on a thorough cleaning spree at home. He took advantage of the supermarket's Spring Festival sales to stock up on daily necessities he would need, lugging everything back to his place.

With nothing else to do and time on his hands, he decided to turn on his computer and start streaming early, making up for the woefully inadequate hours he had been broadcasting lately.

The days leading up to the New Year were consumed by Chen Yibai's affairs, as he rushed from one money-making engagement to another, following the tightly packed schedule provided by his partner. Then came the work for Caishen, and when he calculated the time, this was actually the first time he had streamed in what felt like an eternity.

He felt this way, and so did his fans.

Streaming again after such a long hiatus, this time spontaneously without prior notice, his live room was surprisingly bustling with people. The barrage of comments flew by rapidly; at a glance, they seemed to be filled with accusations, interspersed with New Year greetings and congratulations on winning awards.

Not understanding what award they were referring to, he set that aside for now. Chen Erbai maintained a positive attitude, explaining that he had been busy with work, and reciprocated the New Year greetings.

Once the frenzied pace of the comments slowed down, he opened the chat window with his friend Qingzhou that he had already pulled up earlier, and began inviting him online.

His friend hadn't responded yet; they had been chatting before but must have temporarily stepped away for something.

"You two really don't treat us as outsiders, having your chat window open like this (nodding) (thumbs up)."

"What is that turtle in the photo above? Is it snowing where you are, Erbai! (southerner's voice)"

"You two have clearly been in contact privately."

"That's not a turtle, that's a dog."

It was already the umpteenth time he had been mistaken, but Master Chen had learned to remain calm. Calmly correcting the mistake, calmly continuing the conversation, he said, "There's been a heavy snowfall this year, I'm sure many people have been playing around with it."

A series of "I'm sorry" and "hahas" appeared in the comments.

Being apologetic wasn't necessarily genuine, but the "hahas" certainly were.

Glancing over the comments, still without a reply from his friend, Chen Erbai originally intended to click into the game. But then he remembered something, moved his mouse, and clicked open the streaming software instead.

He initially wanted to check how much streaming time he owed for the month, but while moving the mouse, his coat sleeve accidentally brushed against the keyboard, and he didn't know which key he pressed, ending up on the backend.

Backend messages fell into two categories: system messages sent by the platform and private messages. The interface that automatically popped up upon switching to the backend was the system message page.

Seeing a string of unread red dots, he realized just how long it had been since he last opened this backend.

Messages too old were past their expiration date and no longer necessary to read, so he glanced at the recently sent ones.

He finally understood what the congratulations about winning an award in the live room were all about.

Although he didn't fully comprehend it, nor had he received any information through other communication channels, it turned out he had won a newcomer award in the current gaming section. The newcomer award was determined based on a combination of new followers, influence, streaming hours, and other factors. His overall performance was decent, ranking first, hence he won the newcomer award, which was what the previous congratulations were for.

So that was what it was about.

Sitting up slightly straighter, he read the notification more carefully, distilling the main points: the award was for show, could be automatically displayed in the honor bar, and the winner would receive a featured spot on the homepage of the section.

In simpler terms, it was a flashy thing with no money attached.

Chen Erbai leaned back into his chair again: "Oh."

He said, "That's nice."

"Visible disappointment, ha-ha-ha, no money is disheartening."

"Excluding celebrity arrivals, Erbai's fan base has grown the most, spanning the chat and ASMR sections. If you hadn't taken that four-month break, you might have gotten the station-wide newcomer award (pointing fingers)."

"No worries, there's no difference between the section and the whole station, neither comes with money x."

"Chen Erbai, look at the system messages below! They're all reminding you about your streaming hours deficit! Wake up quickly!"

Chen Erbai was reminded and remembered that he was here to check his streaming hours deficit, so he switched the interface.

Switching interfaces, he saw a number that made his eyebrows jump. After reading it, he decisively closed the page and directly opened the game.

Having not logged in for too long, the game's interface had changed significantly.

Adapting to local customs, it looked much more festive and jubilant, making one feel as if they could start making dumplings in the next second.

Two minutes later, Chen Erbai put aside his initial prejudice against the loading screen and believed that adapting to local customs was indeed the right decision.

Because the game gifted him a New Year's mega gift pack, containing a blind box worth 288 with a skin inside.

After collecting the other small gifts, when the netizens in the live room were betting on what he could possibly get with his cursed hands, he chose to keep the blind box that remained valid for a long time after claiming it, saying, "I'll wait for my friend to come back and help me open it."

Remembering the exhilarating games of flying chess a few months ago, where he consistently placed last, and his friend who was either avenging him or on the way to avenge him, the viewers agreed that this was the right decision.

"A clear understanding of the essence of his cursed hands."

"The friend party wins big! You must stream when you open it! Curious about the friend's luck!"

"I want to see flying chess again, no other meaning, just want to see Erbai cry for help [cat eyes.jpg]."

"So when is your friend coming back?"

Streamers with a somewhat substantial fan base usually have a group of fans who voluntarily edit videos for them. After the recording team, while Chen Erbai was busy with other work, he effectively already had his own editing team.

Even after being offline for several months, his fan base continued to grow steadily, partly due to the god-level editors of the editing team.

The video with the highest views on the editor's homepage was originally a compilation of precise coordination with Qingzhou, but it was unexpectedly surpassed by the flying chess video, which was initially just edited for relaxation. Because of this video, the friend party, which once consisted only of Yuzhai Riqing alone, had swelled and was now quite established.

"When will he be back," Chen Erbai smiled sincerely, answering, "in a month."

The viewers: "?"

How long?

Assuming they hadn't heard him clearly, the well-intentioned Chen Erbai repeated himself once more. His diction was solid, enunciating each word clearly, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

Indeed, it was a month.

Chen Erbai consoled, "A month actually passes quite quickly."

A WeChat notification popped up; Little Boat, who had temporarily taken a call, came back online. The two connected their microphones and officially started the game.

Regardless of how it was for the stream's viewers, at least for the chosen working man, the month flew by incredibly fast.

He spent four days at Aunt Jiang's house, which was about the size of God of Wealth's home. On the last day, his agent, who had flown back to City A, directly whisked him away.

The beginning and end of the year were the busiest times of the year. His agent handed him a schedule that was packed from the start of the month to the end, with only a few blank days left.

After the brief holiday ended, the focus returned to work. Upon returning from the break, his stylist also arranged his looks.

The drama "Youth Journey," which he had finished filming the previous year, after nearly half a year of post-production editing and review, finally entered its promotional phase. His last day of the month was reserved for the "Youth Journey" press conference.

Similar to "Fate Inquiry," the press conference would also be held as an online live stream, starting promptly at 8 PM. Relevant personnel needed to arrive on-site in the afternoon. This time, the actors didn't even need to prepare clothes; according to the production team's wishes, wearing the school uniforms from filming was fine.

After a long time apart, Chen Yibai met his study partner Zhou Jing again.

At 3 PM, five hours before the press conference began, the main cast was mostly gathered. This time, slightly different from before, he had his own exclusive dressing room.

Although it existed, it might as well not have. Before the makeup artist and stylist arranged by the production team arrived, he went to see his long-unseen study partner. Both sides' teams, who had a good relationship, held a friendly meeting.

The staff was already fully aware of his habits. When they needed to find him for something and didn't see him in the dressing room, they instinctively looked for him in Zhou Jing's dressing room and found him without surprise.

Until just before a rehearsal, when he needed to change clothes and tidy up his hair that had become messy again, he said goodbye to his study partner and returned to his dressing room.

When "Youth Journey" was announced to be remade into a TV series, the director, screenwriter, and cameramen were all part of the original crew. The actors were temporarily unannounced, and online public opinion didn't have a clear direction. There were voices of anticipation, but also those predicting failure.

Opinions took a sharp downturn after the actors were revealed. The movie had already been made well, with a smooth and concise plot. However, when it was split into a TV series and the actors were replaced, especially when it was announced that the leading male and female actors were notorious for their poor acting skills in the industry, including the second male lead being a newcomer who had just entered the business, the pessimistic voices gradually gained the upper hand. Among them were the handiwork of some industry insiders, and some movie fans began to resist the remake.

Fortunately, the producer and director had a good mindset and weren't affected by public opinion at all. The actors continued to film as planned.

Public opinion first warmed up when the stills were released. Although each actor looked significantly different from the original movie's cast, from the stills, they all seemed to fit their roles. The actors' faces weren't heavily made up, adhering to the setting of high school students being simple and clean.

Mainly because they were all good-looking, looking at them was pleasing to the eye.

Public opinion truly turned around in a large arc, and the tide completely shifted to a positive direction during the release of "Fate Inquiry." Zhou Jing, whose acting was questionable, directly exploded with acting prowess in the play, surprising even his fans. The newbies, who weren't favored, had astonishing learning abilities and didn't fall behind when acting alongside seasoned veterans. Once the drama became a hit, the main leads also skyrocketed in popularity. The female lead directly entered the film industry, Zhou Jing took another step forward, and the other main leads' salaries increased.

With the turnaround in reputation, the two main leads collaborated again, and "Youth Journey" rode a wave of free publicity. The buzz continued until now, successfully becoming the most anticipated TV series of the year among netizens.

With sufficient promotional funds, after nearly half a month of promotion, the live stream room was already packed with people by 8 PM when the press conference officially began.

"Has it started? Has it started?"

"What year is it today! Brother Zhou and Yibai are finally going to appear together again, waaah!"

"The food for watching the live stream is already prepared, so when will it be eight o'clock!"

It was eight o'clock.

The live stream's picture flickered off and then lit up again. As it lit up, several main leads stepped onto the stage.

The people in the live stream room glanced and saw blue and white school uniforms, paused for a moment, and opened their eyes wide when they realized these weren't high school students who had wandered into the wrong place.

Following Zhou Jing wasn't the person familiar to most people.

Due to a sudden situation, Chen Yibai was the last one to step onto the stage. To keep up with the pace, he slightly quickened his steps, taking a small run-up.

His bangs swayed slightly with the movement. The blue and white school uniform fluttered as he moved, and the person wearing a blue and white wristband leaped onto the stage in a few steps, seemingly bringing along the cicada chirping of midsummer and the mottled tree shadows of a sultry afternoon.

The others on stage had already subconsciously left a spot for him. He stood there, fitting perfectly.

"A while hasn't passed since we last saw you, Chen Yibai, but how did you get even more handsome, kid!"

"What is this? A living high school boy! Bite it off! What is this? A living high school boy! Bite it off!"

"A row of school beauties and heartthrobs, good, good, good!"

Following the routine opening remarks, when the creative team also took the stage, Zhou Jing put down the microphone, turned to look at the person standing beside him, and asked, "How is it?"

The sudden situation referred to when someone was hurrying past right before stepping on stage. Not paying attention, the instrument stand they were carrying swept towards the person preparing to go on stage.

Chen Yibai also put down the microphone and chuckled, saying, "I'm alright, but my waist isn't too good."

As the stand swept over, his reflexes were decent, and he dodged it. But dressed in a school uniform, he acted as if he was really back to being himself in high school, not controlling the force of his dodge properly. It was obvious that he could feel his waist strain under the burden.

So he stood in place for a moment to recover, becoming the last person to step on stage.

Zhou Jing nodded. "That's good."

Objectively speaking, this waist wasn't originally in great condition, so getting a little worse didn't make much of a difference.

Chen Yibai smiled and gave a thumbs up, praising that his study partner's speaking skills had improved significantly since they last met.

After the main cast and creative team took the stage, what should have been a rather traditional segment of sharing interesting stories and insights from the set, but the planning team added a twist, changing it to a tense and exciting lottery segment.

It was indeed quite tense and exciting, regardless of any perspective.

When the segment began, the staff brought out a cardboard box filled with small slips of paper. The box was an ordinary cardboard box, and the slips of paper were also ordinary slips of paper. They were drawn on-site and broadcast live, meaning that no one knew what slip they had drawn until it was truly pulled out. It was a significant test of improvisational skills.

The professional and kind staff member, when moving the box, also used his unremarkable yet powerful arm to shake the box vigorously a few times, making it as evenly distributed as possible. Afterward, he gently placed the box down and left, not taking a single cloud with him.

Compared to the nervous anticipation of others, Chen Yibai stood aside, appearing much calmer and more composed.

It wasn't that he was particularly composed; rather, he knew there was no need to worry about drawing a difficult question. With his good luck, the questions would surely be right up his alley.

The aura around him wasn't one of calm composure but rather a faint air of death.

The director, not participating in the draw, took on a role akin to an umpire, responsible for overseeing the live reveal of their fortunes.

The first lucky participant was Zhou Jing. He stepped forward, setting aside the microphone on a nearby table, clapped his hands twice, closed and then opened his eyes before reaching into the box.

"…"

It was unclear if this routine comforted him, but it certainly ratcheted up the tension for everyone else.

Pulling out a slip of paper, he unfolded it in front of the camera, with the director leaning in to read along. The paper bore a short sentence: "Who do you get along with best in the group?"

A potentially tough question for others, but for him, it was a gimme. Before he could even answer, everyone else had already turned to look at the young high schooler standing to the side, his wrist guard catching the light.

The young man, momentarily distracted, reined in the air of death emanating from him and looked up. "Huh?"

Zhou Jing exhaled, saying, "Chen Yibai."

At the sound of his name, Chen Yibai, confused but responsive, raised his hand in acknowledgment. Zhou Jing returned with the microphone, gently pushing down the raised hand. "All done."

"Hahaha, Big Brother Zhou looks at him like he's caring for a special needs child."

"It's not just us! This feeling of knowing the answer before the person even speaks, who can understand it!"

"Front row reminder: don't fall into the pit that's destined to be buried. These two can study together in the same room at 1 AM (closed eyes)."

"Hahaha, I almost forgot his real name is Chen Bai, given how often he's called Chen Yibai in private."

The second to draw was the female lead, visibly nervous as she slowly drew her slip and unfolded it, gradually opening her eyes to read.

The question asked which character she liked the most, an easy one to answer. She immediately relaxed, quickly responding and returning to her spot, her entire demeanor softening.

As she relaxed, it was Chen Bai's turn next.

Unlike the female lead, he strode forward, rolled up his school uniform sleeve, and reached in to draw without hesitation. After pulling out the slip, he didn't pause, unfolding it straight away.

Swift and decisive, the director leaned over to read along.

"What do you like the most?"

An unexpectedly straightforward question, requiring no thought at all.

"…"

The super unlucky hand stared in disbelief at itself, its half-open eyes now fully wide.

Before he could answer, the comments section had already spoken for him.

"Money"

"Money"

"Money"

A parade of 'money' responses streamed by, like a peculiarly uniform queue.

"Well, we've experienced firsthand what it's like when the person hasn't said anything yet, but everyone already knows the answer."

"So neat, as expected of you, Chen Yibai, whose profile picture is the god of wealth (open eyes)."

The director glanced at the screen held up by the crew below, then turned to the man still staring at his hand. Before he could answer, the director said, "The audience believes that what you like the most is money."

Hearing this, Chen Yibai finally lifted his head, incredulous. "So that's how you've always seen me."

The director pressed on, "So, what do you like the most?"

He scratched his head with a smile, honest and succinct. "Money."

After a moment of reflection, he added, "And friends, maybe they're tied for first."

Director: "Friends?"

Friend Brain nodded. "Friends. I spent a few days at a friend's place during the New Year."

"…"

Friend Brain delivered another steady performance, prompting the agent watching from the sidelines to wipe his face and avert his gaze.

With that, the question was considered answered, and now everyone knew he had a friend as important to him as money. The next person approached the box with trepidation.

The lottery wasn't a single round affair. There were more than a few slips in the box, and even without replacement, it would take several rounds to exhaust them.

Today seemed to be a day of extraordinary luck. In the second round, he reached in again, drawing the question, "What was your favorite scene while filming?"

An easy question to answer, Chen Yibai smiled, holding the small slip of paper. "The fight scene with the male lead."

Throughout the series, he had many fight scenes, but only one with the male lead, a scene also featured in the movie. The director and everyone present remembered it, as did the viewers who had watched the film.

The male lead was a studious genius, not adept at fighting. His character, Xu Yifan, was still a wayward delinquent at the time, striking hard and decisively, dominating the confrontation. The appeal of this scene was clear and unhidden.

Zhou Jing: "…"

Chen Yibai gave a faint smile.

The director chuckled, looking down at the small slip in his hand. "There's still half of it folded, why don't you open it and see."

Chen Yibai, hearing this, shifted his gaze, noticing the folded half for the first time. He unfolded it with one hand, revealing more text that he hadn't noticed earlier.

"And demonstrate it once more on the spot."

"..."

In the first moment, Chen Yibai reached out to cover his aching back.

Now he understood, achieving a great epiphany.

The truth about Chen Choushou remained unchanged. This lottery was just like him rolling dice; after a six, what followed were inevitably ones.

He struggled for a moment, tentatively suggesting, "What if I now say my favorite scene is the one where I sleep on the table?"

The director laughed. "No way."

This time, it was Zhou Jing's turn to laugh.

"Hahahaha, digging your own grave and jumping right in, Chen Yibai."

"Hahaha, hallucinating a Samoyed turning into a Sa Mo Ai."

"Smiles don't disappear; they just transfer from Chen Yibai's face to Zhou Jing's and mine."

"The director's decisive 'no way' was hilarious."

Fuming, Chen Yibai lifted the slip of paper high before gently placing it on the table, pushed up his sleeves, and said, "Let's go."

All that was needed was a table, which happened to be there, requiring only the removal of the paper box atop it. The staff member with the Qilin arm temporarily took it away, along with others who distanced themselves, automatically positioning themselves at the edge of the stage.

Zhou Jing, the one due for a beating, cooperated by stepping forward.

The scene fell silent as he watched the person clutching their back give it two final rubs before finally letting go.

No need for the director to speak or for any countdown. As soon as the hand released, the person straightened slightly, lifting their eyes, and the smile on their face transformed.

A shallow smile, still somewhat cheeky, carefree, and as they walked over, their posture was relaxed. It was still the same person, but their aura had completely changed.

Entering character in a second. The others hadn't even had time to react, only managing to see disheveled hair fluttering through the air, the sound of the school uniform's hem slicing through the air, amplified by the microphone on the table, swiftly passing by their ears.