Chapter 17 Livestream

Chapter 17: Live Stream

After lunch, Samuel was made to take a nap, while the livestream he had left running was posted on the StarNet during this time. The sensational title of the stream hit right during the lunch break, attracting hordes of curious viewers.

All the viewers came in with the thought of seeing just how absurd this livestream could be, only to be left completely flabbergasted.

Thus, when Samuel woke up refreshed, opened the streaming dashboard, and prepared to continue writing, the comment section had transformed into a chaotic dance floor, with colorful text flying wildly across the screen.

"Bah!! Daydreaming!"

"What kind of nonsensical wish-fulfillment fiction is this!"

"I don't believe it! Reporting the streamer for deception!"

Samuel skimmed past the screen full of report flags without lingering too long. He muted the barrage comments and continued typing.

[With Phoenix's help, I successfully completed my assignment.

I was overjoyed that day. I dragged Phoenix to a cake shop, ordered a whole row of little cakes, and ate until I was stuffed. However, Phoenix didn't seem to like the sweet treats and didn't touch a single one, yet he stayed with me the entire time.

After that, our relationship grew much closer.

Knowing my foundation in mecha knowledge was shaky, Phoenix proactively lent me his notes. It's rather funny—a student from the Mecha Maintenance Department needing help from an insect in the Mecha Department.

But there was no helping it; Phoenix was just that outstanding. He was pursuing a double major.

...

With Phoenix tutoring me every now and then, I gradually grasped some fundamentals of the major, and my assignments became smoother and smoother. Perhaps the teachers noticed I had a slight talent for mecha maintenance, and they began assigning me some auxiliary testing tasks.

This was a rare opportunity to directly interact with mechas, something many sub-female insects in the same department vied for. Yet I, a late-blooming sub-female insect, had managed to get ahead of them, which made them extremely unhappy.

They started targeting me, including but not limited to deliberately damaging my books, poaching my group members, and sometimes even setting up small traps to frame me.

Most of the time, I didn't pay much attention to their petty actions. I could understand the jealousy and anger that arose when something you desperately wanted was possessed by someone else.

Just like how I envied them constantly—envying their autonomy over their own lives. But envy aside, I didn't miss a single opportunity for counterattacks or warnings.

I thought those warnings would carry some deterrent effect. But I underestimated the malice of the sub-female insects; they actually tried to find someone to cripple me.

If Phoenix hadn't appeared in time, my hand would have been ruined for sure. The thought of it almost happening left me trembling with fear.

I knew I couldn't keep forgiving indefinitely, so I compiled a file documenting everything the sub-female insects had done and submitted it to the teacher. I said the school had better give me a reasonable resolution. If not, I would handle it my own way.

During those years at the ancestral estate, my Sire hadn't only taught me how to treat others with grace.

After it was over, Phoenix noticed my low spirits and took me back to the dorm. He wasn't a talkative insect, often quite silent, but that day he chattered incessantly like a fly.

He told me funny stories about fighting with other insects in his childhood, shared his embarrassing moments and hilarious anecdotes he'd heard, and even bought my favorite little cakes.

He pulled out all the stops to cheer me up.

At that moment, as I gazed at Phoenix, who was talking a mile a minute, I suddenly found his attempt to make me laugh while keeping a straight face utterly adorable. It was like a cream-filled candy—you only taste the sweet, flowing center after biting through the sugary shell.

I wondered, is this what friendship is like?

I have a friend too.

Overwhelmed with excitement, I leaned forward and hugged Phoenix. Moving close to his ear, I whispered, "Phoenix, what should I do? I suddenly like you so much."

Phoenix froze for a moment, then frowned with a look of disgust, pushed me away, and pinched my cheeks, pulling them left and right, telling me not to be so mushy.

You sound disgusting.

I was speechless, glared at him, then scowled and buried my face, eating all the little cakes as if they were him. After finishing, I even bared my teeth at him, pretending to bite.

Phoenix didn't dodge, just propped his head up and watched me make a scene.

There was a depth in his eyes that I couldn't understand.

...]

When writing about the emotional changes between Anatole and Phoenix, Samuel gradually slowed down. He really didn't understand much about how couples interacted.

Samuel paused, lost in thought for a moment, and decided to draw from reality, incorporating his own daily life into the story in a modified form.

[At the end of the academic year, I successfully squeezed into the top five of the Mecha Maintenance Department.

The moment I received my transcript, I was ecstatic! I had never imagined I could reach this point. I excitedly ran back to the dorm. Phoenix was sitting by the balcony, polishing a mecha model.

Sunlight streamed in from the side. He looked down, and the golden light around him softened his somewhat sharp features, giving Phoenix a gentleness rarely seen in daily life.

What was my reaction at that time?

Oh, I froze at the doorway, my heart pounding like a drumbeat, uncontrollably racing. At the time, I thought I was sick and even foolishly touched my forehead.

Perhaps it was at this moment, or maybe when Phoenix first proactively helped me, or when he saved me and made me laugh, that I fell for him.

I just didn't understand it then.

The sound of the door opening startled Phoenix. He stopped what he was doing and asked me, puzzled, what was wrong.

I pushed aside the strange feeling and rushed eagerly to him, waving my transcript, beaming as I told him I had done it—I ranked in the top five of the Mecha Maintenance Department.

Upon hearing this, Phoenix smiled, reached out, and ruffled my hair, his eyes filled with affirmation and admiration.

His voice was soft yet firm as he said, "I knew you could do it."

Phoenix's affirmation struck my heart like an electric current again. I couldn't control myself and leaned closer, not really sure what I wanted to do, just instinctively wanting to be nearer to Phoenix.

Phoenix's eyes held a smile. He didn't dodge or retreat. Just as I got close enough to almost kiss him, he turned slightly, wrapped an arm around me, patted my shoulder, and encouraged me to keep up the good work, like an elder brother.

I scowled and shoved Phoenix away, grumbling for him not to treat me like a child. Phoenix smiled good-naturedly and, as usual, asked me what I wanted to eat.

So, I took full advantage and made him treat me to a feast.

I only found out later that during those few seconds I was leaning in, Phoenix was wrestling with himself internally.

He wanted to kiss me, to confess that he liked me, but he was afraid of scaring me, so he put on that elder brother act.

Phoenix is such a coward.]

"Why does Phoenix have such good luck!"

[Phoenix and I maintained this subtle atmosphere until the end of the second academic year.

Around that time, Phoenix suddenly became very busy, and I couldn't see him for more than half the week. After Phoenix stayed out all night again, I agonized for a long time before finally sending him a message asking what he had been so busy with lately.

Phoenix did not reply.]

This wasn't the first time Phoenix hadn't replied to me promptly, but this time I felt particularly irritable, and my homework wasn't going smoothly at all. So, I decided to go out for a walk.

I followed the tree-lined path on campus all the way forward. When I reached the café near the school, I saw Phoenix sitting by the window with a male.

They were chatting and laughing, getting along really well.

Right then, I don't know what came over me, but I instinctively assumed they were on a date. They seemed like a good match, I told myself. As a friend, I should be happy for Phoenix.

But I was so upset I could hardly breathe. I stumbled back to the dorm, hid under the covers, and cried for a long time.

It was then that I realized I had fallen for Phoenix, but this crush was doomed from the start. My family would never allow me to freely choose my own spouse.

More importantly, Phoenix didn't like me.

After that day, I began intentionally keeping my distance when interacting with Phoenix. I stopped hanging around him all the time, blowing up his phone, or frequently asking him questions.

Phoenix invited me out several times, but I always declined, saying I was too busy. When he asked what was wrong, I avoided answering.

Perhaps my rejections hurt Phoenix's feelings, and for some reason we started a cold war.

...

After setting the stage for Anatole and Phoenix's growing affection, Samuel paused at the point where the two entered a cold war.

Outside the window, the sky had darkened. Having written all day, he decided to give the net bugs a break and continue tomorrow.

Thinking this, Samuel opened the barrage. Instantly, the livestream was flooded with continuous white light, making the comments in the chat section unreadable.

"User YS gifted the streamer 10 Star Trails!"

"User YS gifted the streamer 10 Explorer Battleships!"

"Who is this big spender? That must be millions of star credits!"

The gift spree caused Samuel's livestream popularity to skyrocket to the top of the livestream category rankings. The sudden appearance of the livestream and its explosive title quickly drew the attention of net bugs once again.

A male?

Suicide?

A guy is going to livestream suicide?

A large number of clueless viewers were terrified by the title, breaking out in a cold sweat. Without even reading the livestream subtitle clearly, they hurried into the stream.

Some bugs even screenshotted and posted it on StarNet, tagging the Male Protection Association (MPA) without fully understanding the situation. Of course, there were also those who saw the title clearly and entered the stream to see what the fuss was about.

In short, during the boring afternoon tea time when everyone was bored out of their minds, net bugs flocked to the livestream.

For a while, some were entering giveaways, others calling the authorities, some arguing, some gifting, and some secretly snacking on insect food—the livestream was total chaos.

Not only did the popularity surge again, but the viewer count also rose from the initial few thousand to tens of thousands, with signs of continuing to climb.

These numbers were nothing short of a miracle for a streamer with no following to start with! The Super Administrator lurking in the livestream was also stunned by this insane traffic.

Initially, he hadn't paid attention to the data, solely focused on nitpicking the article and debating whether to ban the livestream for featuring a male and a female living together.

But when he looked up, he was dumbfounded. After recovering, he took a screenshot and immediately DMed his supervisor. Banning was out of the question now; it wasn't a violation anyway, so he could only wait and see.

The blend of white light and colorful text was so bright it made your eyes water. Samuel endured the discomfort and turned off the light-up chat. When he could finally see the chaotic comments clearly, his eyes went wide.

So many comments!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Your Excellencies would never like military men!"

"Where's the Male Protection Association? Quickly arrest this vile bug who's slandering His Excellency!"

"Wah, His Excellency Anatole is so adorable! Like a sweet piece of soft candy!"

"Phoenix, what's wrong with you? If not, step aside and let me take over!"

"I felt so sad when His Excellency Anatole decided to distance himself from Phoenix, it hit me in waves."

"Phoenix, do you know what you lost the moment you turned away? Ahhh! You lost His Excellency's kiss! In reality, which Your Excellency would ever actively kiss a male?!!!"

Seeing the net bugs' lamenting and emotionally shattered comments, Samuel couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This livestreaming thing could actually work! Excited, Samuel picked up his water glass and drank it all in one go. His hanging heart finally settled.

"Thank you all for your support. That's all for today. See you tomorrow!"

After saying goodbye, Samuel felt there was nothing more to add and raised his hand to end the stream, but he was momentarily frozen by the screen full of question marks.

"Wait, author! Is it right to end the stream at the peak of popularity?"

"Don't, Streamer! I haven't read a single word yet! Wait a moment!!"

Author? Streamer? Calling me?

Samuel looked at the screen, utterly confused. *Click*, he ended the livestream.

The Male Protection Association staff member who had already typed out his message: ...

Author's Note:

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Wah, did everyone like the first story? [Let me see]

(They say that praise gives the author more motivation [pleading])