[Rain: Call me brother, and I’ll give you…]
After Wen Xiyu sent his contact card over, he quickly received a friend request on WeChat. The name and avatar were identical to those on the Douyin account. Upon clicking into the Moments, it was completely blank, a burner account at a glance.
…Why use a burner account to add him? That was not sincere at all.
Wen Xiyu saved Rain’s contact note as “Top Supporter Boss” and sent over an emoji of a little cat poking its head out.
[Piece in the Rain: Hello Boss~ Thank you for gifting me the Carnival yesterday ><]
[Rain: You’re welcome, it wasn’t much money.]
Wen Xiyu: “…” How was he supposed to respond to that?
[Piece in the Rain: How could it not be? To me, it’s already a whole lot!]
[Rain: Has no one ever gifted you a Carnival before?]
[Rain: No, you’re the first.]
[Rain: Mm.]
Why was he so stingy with his words? Wen Xiyu thought about it for a bit and decided he still needed to take the initiative to retain this big client: [Is Boss coming to watch my livestream today?]
Only after a long pause did the other side reply to him.
[Rain: I’ll be there.]
It was good that he was coming.
At eight o’clock in the evening, Wen Xiyu turned on his computer camera, entered the livestream room right on time, and greeted the viewers with a beaming smile.
“Good evening, everyone~ How was your day today?”
[Xiaoyu, you’re here! Sob sob, I just finished taking the CET-4 today, and I feel like I failed. It was so hard!]
[The streamer is so punctual today; why do you look so happy?]
[Anyone who runs into a boss gifting Carnivals would be in a good mood.]
[It’s nice to see. A while ago, the streamer looked so downcast; he always had a broken vibe about him.]
[Has Rain-ge arrived yet?]
[Who is Rain-ge? I missed a few days and can’t keep up anymore.]
[Let me explain to the friends who weren’t here last time: Rain-ge is the current top supporter, the one who gifted the streamer seven Carnivals last time.]
[How many?!]
Rain-ge had not arrived yet. After chatting with the stream chat for a bit, Wen Xiyu opened his game as usual.
The fairy in the game was still wearing that expensive Merfolk outfit, holding that priceless Water Jade Zither in his arms. Before Wen Xiyu could even walk a few steps, he received several friend requests.
“A few days ago when I wore that outdated skin, nobody paid any attention to me at all,” Wen Xiyu grumbled. “What a realistic game, what realistic players!”
Just then, a notification popped up in the bottom left corner of the screen indicating he had received a private message. Wen Xiyu dragged his mouse over and clicked it open.
[Friend] Zhizhi Taotao: Xiaoyu, can you give me that Water Jade Zither that Han-ge sent you yesterday? [Pitiable] [Pitiable]
A question mark slowly floated over Wen Xiyu’s head.
[Friend] Little Cat Rain Falling from the Sky: Huh? But you’re a healer, and this zither is a mage weapon. You can’t even use it.
[Friend] Zhizhi Taotao: I know, I just want to collect it. Han-ge moved too fast yesterday; before I could ask for it, he already gave it to you. So…
[Friend] Little Cat Rain Falling from the Sky: …
[Friend] Little Cat Rain Falling from the Sky: Sorry, this zither was a gift from Yijianshuanghan. I can’t dispose of it on my own initiative. You should go talk to him about it.
[Friend] Zhizhi Taotao: Um, fine, it’s not like you got it from opening a chest yourself anyway.
[Friend] Zhizhi Taotao: Sigh, forget it, just consider it a gift to you then.
…?
Wen Xiyu, who had done nothing at all yet was smoothly hit with a combo of moral guilt-tripping by the other person, found it utterly baffling. Having been subtly mocked by this person again and again, he didn’t want to endure it any longer and directly deleted the other person from his friends list.
“Sick,” he muttered in a low voice.
Amidst a flurry of chat messages agreeing with him and bashing the other person, a high-level ID displaying a very eye-catching badge suddenly appeared.
[User “Rain” has entered the livestream room.]
Because he had spent twenty thousand in Wen Xiyu’s livestream room yesterday and joined the fan club, his level had jumped straight up to 35.
“Oh?” Wen Xiyu caught sight of his name, curved his almond eyes, and let out a genuinely sincere smile. “Boss Rain, you’re here! Good evening~.”
[Wife, why are you smiling so sweetly at him!]
[What do you think? That’s a walking stack of RMB right there!]
“Don’t talk nonsense, okay?” Wen Xiyu glanced at the chat and said unhappily, “Where did I smile particularly sweetly at anyone? I clearly treat everyone equally.”
[Xiaoyu is right! You guys are just biased!]
[Exactly, exactly! The streamer smiles very sweetly at me too!]
[Rain: Is that so? Then do I not have any special privileges?]
Wen Xiyu froze for a moment: “That’s not it. You’re the top supporter, so of course you have special privileges. What would Boss like?”
[Rain: I want you to stop calling me Boss.]
Not call him Boss? Then what should he call him? Wen Xiyu stared blankly at the chaotic stream chat, where people were egging him on to call him all sorts of things.
[Ooh ooh ooh! I get this one! Call him Hubby!]
[No way, progress is this fast?]
[Rain-ge, keep guiding him!]
[No, Mama Xiaoyu won’t allow you to do this; you’re still a little girl!]
Amidst the complete chaos, Rain sent another chat message.
[Rain: Call me brother, and I’ll gift you a Carnival.]
The stream chat instantly began scrolling wildly.
[Holy crap, is this a proper stream room? Someone come control this!]
[Rain-ge got impatient this time; he should have started by chatting about family background!]
[Rain-ge, I understand you: first it’s brother, then it’s baby, and finally it becomes hubby, right?]
When Wen Xiyu saw that sentence sent by Rain, he only felt his face instantly grow hot, the heat burning all the way to the back of his ears, making them feel hot and swollen.
He only had a younger sister, and having grown up playing the leader among his friends, he had never called anyone “ge” before, let alone an intimate term like “gege” (brother).
However… his gaze fell on the latter half of the other person’s sentence.
Compared to a Carnival, what did calling someone brother count for? A person couldn’t possibly throw away money just for the sake of saving face, right?
Wen Xiyu took a deep breath for a few seconds, his eyelashes fluttering incessantly. He glanced at the camera and then quickly lowered his eyes, calling out in a shy, low voice: “…Brother.”
[!!]
[Holy crap, my bones went completely numb from that call!]
[Where is the name? Without calling the name, how would he know who you’re calling!]
Wen Xiyu felt they made sense, so he called out once more: “Rain-brother…”
[User “Rain” sent Carnival x1]
[User “Rain” sent Carnival x1]
…
The special effect of the Carnival flashed across the screen continuously ten times in a row, startling the other viewers in the stream room into spamming question marks.
Wen Xiyu was also taken aback and hurriedly thanked the other party for the gifts.
Strangely enough, even though he had gifted ten Carnivals and should have seemed very satisfied with being called “brother,” Rain left the livestream room without saying a single word right after finishing the gifts, and he did not return for the rest of the time.
,
It was another weekend with no classes. Wen Xiyu got up very early, specially simmered some soup, poured it into a vacuum flask, and pushed open the door, preparing to head to the hospital.
While he was still at the doorway changing his shoes, the door opposite suddenly opened, and Ji Jinghan walked out grandly, walking his dog.
…He definitely didn’t check the horoscope before stepping out today.
“What is that?” Ji Jinghan’s sharp eyes caught sight of his vacuum flask, his tone sarcastic. “A loving bento? Who did you make it for? A boyfriend?”
Wen Xiyu was no longer surprised by anything Ji Jinghan said; even if he were to unleash his dog to rush over and bite him right now, he wouldn’t be surprised.
He turned his eyes away in disgust and said coldly, “What business is it of yours?”
“Can’t I just express some concern for my neighbor?” The corners of Ji Jinghan’s lips curled up, genuine malice flickering in his light-colored pupils. “I only found out two days ago that my neighbor turned out to be you. What a coincidence.”
“Is that so? I thought you did it on purpose,” Wen Xiyu mocked. “Could it be that you only came out because you heard my voice?”
Ji Jinghan paused for a moment: “You think way too highly of yourself. I’m just coming out to walk the dog.”
Wen Xiyu didn’t bother to pay any more attention to him, picking up the vacuum flask, turning around, and leaving.
Where he couldn’t see, Ji Jinghan stood in place, staring fixedly at his retreating back. His gaze was deep and dark, as if an unknown storm were brewing and boiling within it.
The German Shepherd beside him sensed its master’s mood, letting out a low, uneasy growl and constantly scratching at the ground with its front paws.
,
When he arrived at the ward, Xie Wan was surprisingly awake, leaning against the headboard, flipping through a book. Wearing a hospital gown with her long hair draped over her shoulders, she looked exceptionally gentle, giving Wen Xiyu a momentary trance as if he had returned to his childhood.
Hearing the footsteps, Xie Wan raised her head. An unnatural flicker flashed across her eyes as she closed the book and set it down on the bedside table.
“Mom.” Wen Xiyu placed the vacuum flask on the table, opened the lid, and served the soup. “I simmered some soup for you; have a little.”
“Thank you.” Xie Wan nervously clutched the bedsheet slightly. “Have you been busy with your studies lately? How are your classes going?”
The mother-son relationship was far too distant; even when trying to get close, they could only exchange superficial pleasantries.
“It’s pretty good.” Wen Xiyu helped her set up the overbed table, placing the bowl and spoon on it. “The teachers all praise me for being talented, and I’ve also been taking commissions recently.”
He glanced at the book Xie Wan had placed aside; it turned out to be a children’s picture book, probably because she truly couldn’t find any other books here.
Wen Xiyu felt a pang in his heart and continued: “If you want to read books, just send me the titles, and I’ll bring them to you next time.”
“No need, I don’t have the energy right now anyway.” Xie Wan took small sips of the soup. “Just focus on your classes.”
“Right.” Xie Wan asked again with concern, “My illness isn’t serious, is it? When can I be discharged?”
“…It’s not serious.” Wen Xiyu swallowed down the bitterness filling his mouth. “The doctor said you need to rest and recover for a period of time, so just stay here with peace of mind.”
Ever since Xie Wan woke up, Wen Xiyu had told her that her illness was just a minor issue that didn’t cost much money. He had even lied to her, saying that Wen Lin had actually left him a sum of money before departing, which was enough to cover their expenses.
In reality, Wen Lin had only left him a massive debt. A month ago, debt collectors pursued him relentlessly every single day, but later, for some unknown reason, they stopped showing up.
When Xie Wan was admitted to the hospital, Wen Xiyu was afraid she would be harassed as well. He went to find a friend from her youth, begging them to conceal Xie Wan’s identity information and transfer her into this private hospital, so that those people couldn’t trace a single bit of Xie Wan’s whereabouts.
Besides that, the other party had also lent him five hundred thousand yuan. Xie Wan and this friend had long been out of touch, and although the other party had never pressed him for repayment, Wen Xiyu felt uneasy about it in his heart, constantly thinking about saving up five hundred thousand as soon as possible to pay back the money.
“I want to be discharged early and start painting again,” Xie Wan said softly. “Although I won’t make as much as Wen Lin, it will still be enough to raise you two siblings.”
“Mom, don’t worry about this for now.” Wen Xiyu suppressed the choking sob in his voice. “Rest well; I will take care of my sister.”
Wen Xiyu’s younger sister was named Wen Mianshuang, three years younger than him. She studied at a private aristocratic high school in Jincheng and stayed at school even on weekends. Thinking that his sister should have finished school by now, he opened his pinned WeChat chat and sent a message.
[Piece in the Rain: Are you out of class, Shuangshuang?]
[Shuang: I’m already out of class. I’m doing my homework in the dorm, Brother.]
Wen Xiyu transferred a thousand yuan to her: [Use this first, tell me if it’s not enough.]
A few seconds later, Wen Mianshuang returned the money intact: [I don’t need that much money, Brother.]
Wen Xiyu sighed in his heart. His younger sister was mature and intelligent; she was fully aware of everything that had happened, so naturally, she was unwilling to use his money.
Fearing that his sister was living frugally without speaking up, he thought about it and ordered some clothes and daily necessities for her online, having them shipped to her school.
After returning home from the hospital, Wen Xiyu received a message from Tan Jingzhi, reminding him to attend the club activity tomorrow afternoon.
…Damned club activity, but surprisingly it offered three academic credits. Wen Xiyu quickly yielded.