Chapter 33:
The ship docked at Hai City’s Nanwan Pier.
The sky was clear. Although it was already early autumn, the weather in Hai City showed no signs of cooling down. The sun was still scorching hot, almost melting people.
As soon as they got off the ship, Bai Ranran dragged Wen Shu to a nearby beauty salon for a spa treatment, saying that the temperature and climate on the island were different from the mainland, so they had to do some maintenance.
Chi Xiasheng and Wen Nian, the two little followers, were left to wait in the lobby.
After drinking his seventeenth glass of juice, Wen Nian finally lost his patience and pulled Chi Xiasheng to go out.
“I don’t want to wait anymore. It’s been more than two hours. Mom is probably already asleep inside! Let’s go out and play too, Xiaxia!”
Chi Xiasheng also didn’t expect a beauty treatment to take so long. Seeing that Wen Nian couldn’t sit still, he suggested taking him out to buy a phone first.
Wen Nian cheered. “Is it that little square thing? I’ve seen a lot of people with them! If I have a phone, can I earn money from games in the future?”
Chi Xiasheng thought it might be a bit difficult to earn money, but he didn’t want to discourage Wen Nian, so he said vaguely, “Let’s go first. You can try playing some games when you get it. There’s no hurry to earn money.”
The two of them left the beauty salon and, after turning two streets, they arrived at Hai City’s bustling commercial street.
Hai City was a veritable first-tier city, with skyscrapers reaching into the clouds, shops lining the streets, and heavy traffic. On a huge screen, an advertisement for the popular artist Pei Zhixuan was playing.
Wen Nian looked up and saw the handsome and elegant man on the screen, feeling that he looked a little familiar. He wanted to take a closer look, but the advertisement had already changed to someone else.
“Niannian, don’t run around. We’re going into the store to buy a phone.”
Chi Xiasheng pulled the still-dazed Wen Nian into a phone store.
The glass counters in the phone store displayed phones of different models and colors. The moment Wen Nian entered, his eyes were almost dazzled. But he didn’t know much about them, so he followed Chi Xiasheng’s advice and chose a phone that was good for gaming.
Because Wen Nian didn’t have an ID card, Chi Xiasheng used his own to get him a SIM card.
Wen Nian was excitedly playing with his new phone on the sofa when he caught a glimpse of Pei Zhixuan’s advertisement playing on the big screen again. His eyes lit up, and he quickly ran over.
But the big screen, which seemed to be right in front of him, was actually several streets away. After walking for a while, Wen Nian didn’t know where he had turned.
The big screen also went dark. Wen Nian, having lost his target, stopped in confusion.
He looked at the strangers coming and going around him, but couldn’t find the phone store he had just been in.
A wave of panic washed over him. He wanted to go back to find Chi Xiasheng, but because he couldn’t remember how he had gotten there, he ended up getting more and more lost.
Looking at the red glow of the sunset on the horizon, Wen Nian pouted, wondering if he would be able to find Chi Xiasheng, or if he would be taken away and sold by a bad guy.
Just as Wen Nian was standing helplessly on the street, a sharp-eyed uncle stopped him.
“Hey, young man, what are you doing standing here?”
Seeing a human talking to him, Wen Nian was so scared he jumped back a few steps.
The uncle laughed heartily and rubbed his shaved head. “Don’t be afraid. I may look fierce, but I don’t mean any harm. I just saw you wandering around here for a while. Are you looking for someone?”
Wen Nian swallowed and, seeing that the uncle really didn’t seem to have any ill intentions, said in a small voice, “I’m looking for Xiaxia. I ran off and got lost.”
“What? What Xia? Oh, I know!”
The uncle hadn’t heard the boy clearly and had only heard him say the word “Xia.” He thought he was also here for the Summer Online Live Streaming New Star Selection and kindly pointed him in the right direction.
“Go into this building and ask the front desk. She’ll take you there!”
Wen Nian’s eyes lit up. He was grateful and bowed to the uncle, then quickly ran in the direction he had pointed.
As he ran, Wen Nian thought, Humans seem to be quite nice, not as scary as I imagined. It seems what Mom said before about humans loving to kill little fish was a lie!
He ran into the building and caught up with the front desk lady who was leading the last group of people for an interview. Seeing the red-haired boy rush in, she directly told him to follow.
“Come on, you’ll miss them if you’re any later!”
The front desk lady was talking about the interviewers. It was the last round of recruitment for the summer season, and the selection would end today.
But Wen Nian thought she was taking him to find Chi Xiasheng. The little koi, who didn’t understand the human world, just foolishly followed along.
In front of Wen Nian, there were several young men and women talking in low voices.
“I heard the selection is very strict. I wonder if I’ll be chosen.”
“Sigh, I don’t think I have a chance. They look at your appearance when they sign internet celebrities. I’m just here to accompany them.”
Wen Nian was still confused. What internet celebrity? What drama? Why are they talking so strangely?
Just as he mustered the courage to ask them where Chi Xiasheng was, the interviewer called him in.
Wen Nian walked in in a daze. The people interviewing him were impressed. They looked at the handsome and delicate boy and nodded in satisfaction.
“What’s your name?”
“Wen Nian.”
“What are you good at?”
Wen Nian now sensed that something was wrong, but there was a row of people in front of him, which made him a little scared. He was too nervous to run away and could only answer their questions with his neck shrunk.
“I’m good at games.”
Catching small fish and picking fruits games, Wen Nian added silently in his heart.
The interviewers were even more satisfied.
Online game streamers were very popular now, and those who were good-looking and good at games were even more likely to be popular. Not to mention, this boy’s red hair was bright but not gaudy, making it very easy for people to remember him.
“Alright then, you’re it. Go with Agent Zhang to sign the contract and try out the live streaming effect.”
Wen Nian was completely bewildered. ???
Live streaming? What’s live streaming?
Wen Nian was taken away by a neatly dressed woman. She led him through several corridors and stopped in front of a room that was about to start live streaming.
“Um, I’m not here to live stream. I’m here to find Xiaxia…”
Before he could finish, the woman told him to be quiet for a moment, took a deep breath, and led him inside.
“Sister Yang, Young Master Su, hello. This is a newcomer we brought. He’s here to help you out.”
Sister Yang nodded in understanding. It was probably a newcomer, here to see the live streaming process under the guise of helping.
Sister Yang had also come up this way before. She pointed to Su Chimian and told Wen Nian to follow him.
“Chimian’s little assistant is sick and didn’t come. Let him learn from Senior Su first.”
Su Chimian still had a polite smile on his face. He glanced at the dazed Wen Nian, feeling a strange sense of unease.
He didn’t know why, but the moment he saw him, he felt that they were definitely enemies and instinctively disliked him.
Coincidentally, Wen Nian felt the same way.
He rarely had such a straightforward feeling of dislike, but he couldn’t bring himself to like Su Chimian at all.
The two of them met each other’s eyes. Su Chimian let out a light snort and, with a smile, lifted his chin. “Come here first and hand me the teacup.”
Wen Nian didn’t want to, so he didn’t move.
He now understood that he had probably made a mistake and had come to the wrong place. He wanted to leave and find Chi Xiasheng.
But Agent Zhang, who was trying to help him, poked him and told him to go over quickly.
Wen Nian didn’t want to get so close to people. He took two steps back to avoid them and walked to the teacup.
“I want to drink cold water.”
Su Chimian showed his dimples and smiled very cutely, tilting his head to look at Wen Nian.
Wen Nian found him a bit greasy and frowned, picking up the teacup.
“You should drink some. My mom says tea helps with greasy food. You’re probably too greasy, which is why you’re so hard on the eyes.”
After spending so many days on the island, Wen Nian had also learned a lot of new words and threw them all at Su Chimian.
A little girl in charge of holding the cue cards, seeing Wen Nian’s sharp tone, couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
Su Chimian looked at everyone’s “enjoying the show” expression, and his face instantly turned green.
He felt that this boy was here to curse him!
A wave of anger welled up in his chest. He wanted to sneer, but he was afraid of ruining his persona and could only grit his teeth and hold it in.
But Wen Nian was straightforward and even gave him a tip. “If you want to curse at me, don’t hold it in. Your expression looks like you’ve eaten poop, it’s stinky.”
Inheriting his mother’s sharp tongue, Wen Nian was also effortless when it came to insulting people.
Su Chimian cursed inwardly, really wanting the person who brought him here to throw him out!
And he wants to be a streamer!
The audience would be angered to death by him!
Agent Zhang’s mouth was also wide open. She never expected the sweet and innocent Wen Nian to not even give Su Chimian any face.
Just as she was about to pull Wen Nian away, Su Chimian smiled with a hidden meaning and told him to stay.
“The live stream is about to start. We’re short on hands here. Let him stay for now.”
Agent Zhang could only nod sullenly and agree.
When Chi Xiasheng found that Wen Nian was missing, he anxiously looked everywhere for him.
But after searching several nearby streets, he still found no trace of him.
Just as he was about to call the police for help, he inadvertently glanced at a girl’s phone screen next to him.
It was a live stream.
But the person in the live stream looked a bit familiar. It was his fake brother—Su Chimian.
Chi Xiasheng had originally wanted to look away and continue searching, but he was attracted by the figure that flashed across the screen.
The person behind Su Chimian, why did he look so much like… Wen Nian?!
Chi Xiasheng instantly felt that this world was too fantastical. Wen Nian was actually in the same frame as Su Chimian?
And it was in a live stream?
Chi Xiasheng’s mind was full of question marks.
The girl next to him, seeing this person in a mask looking at her phone, moved away a little strangely.
“Excuse me, I was wondering where I can watch this live stream?”
Chi Xiasheng quickly asked.
The girl looked at him a few times and felt that he looked a little familiar. And for some reason, even though he was a stranger, she inexplicably had a good impression of him.
“Huyue Live. You… look a bit like Chi Xiasheng.”
Chi Xiasheng never expected to meet someone who could recognize him in real life. After all, his fame was rather illusory, and although he was active online, most people probably didn’t know what he looked like.
So, Chi Xiasheng quickly thanked her and ran off.
Holding his phone, he searched for the live stream while rushing to the scene.
