Gu Yanqiu was a celebrity with very few friends.
The main reason he came out this time was to thank them. Little did he expect they would hit it off so unexpectedly well.
Xu Kaiming had an outgoing personality.
As for Chen Duo, she knew all the songs from his debut era inside out, even many obscure ones. When she brought them up, he was not only surprised but genuinely touched.
The meal was thoroughly enjoyable. It should have ended there, but Gu Yanqiu simply couldn’t bear to part with these two friends he felt he should have met sooner.
He suggested going out for a stroll.
“You’re a celebrity—is it really okay for you to go out like this?” Chen Duo said the words, but her expression made it clear how much she approved of Gu Yanqiu’s idea.
Gu Yanqiu was amused by her feigned politeness. “It’s fine, I’m not that popular anyway.”
“Then let’s go for a walk! The night market near Jiangbei Bridge is beautiful and always bustling with people.”
“Sounds great.” They drove to the trendy night market.
Gu Yanqiu looked around eagerly, fascinated by everything he saw.
As someone who had lived a sheltered life as a trainee, he had never had the chance to go out like this. Everything felt fresh and exciting to him.
Even the old-fashioned carnival games like balloon shooting and ring toss seemed thrilling.
*Click. Click…* Chen Duo pulled out her portable camera. Though not as high-definition or sharp as her cannon camera, this one was compact and portable, with a unique retro charm.
Chen Duo was practically bursting with joy.
She wished there were a parallel universe live-streaming channel so her friends back home could see the dream life she was living now.
She had just had a meal with a top-tier idol, and now she was strolling with him, taking photos freely.
Gu Yanqiu had a blast exploring the market, with Xu Kaiming keeping him company.
After all, Xu Kaiming’s main task was to maintain some distance between Chen Duo and him.
But he soon relaxed—Chen Duo only seemed interested in the Gu Yanqiu she saw through her lens.
This realization pleased him, and he enjoyed accompanying Gu Yanqiu even more.
The two of them played games all the way, while Chen Duo snapped photos from time to time. At first, Gu Yanqiu felt a little self-conscious.
“I’m not wearing any makeup—will I look bad in these?” he asked uncertainly.
“You look super handsome,” Chen Duo assured him.
“Do you want to join us?” Gu Yanqiu was having so much fun with Xu Kaiming but didn’t want to leave Chen Duo out. Still, he wasn’t sure how to interact with girls.
Chen Duo replied, “No need. I don’t really like playing games. I just enjoy taking photos—don’t worry about me.”
Hearing this, Gu Yanqiu breathed a sigh of relief.
Soon, they came across a man singing in front of a live-streaming setup. There weren’t many onlookers around. As he sang, he loudly greeted the viewers in his livestream.
Livestreaming was all the rage these days, and Gu Yanqiu was well aware of its benefits. In fact, some of his former talent show buddies had even suggested that if he terminated his contract with Orange Media, he should sign with their streaming company—they offered a one-million-yuan signing bonus.
For someone as broke as Gu Yanqiu, that was a fortune.
He had never tried livestreaming before.
Now, curious, he stopped to watch for a while.
To be honest, the middle-aged man’s singing was quite average—just raw, untrained vocals. He was sweating under the evening lights as he sang.
It was 8 p.m., peak traffic hours, but his livestream had only single-digit viewers.
The middle-aged man sang one song after another until his voice grew hoarse. Finally, he twisted open a bottle of water and took a sip. It was then that he noticed Gu Yanqiu, Xu Kaiming, and the others who had been watching from the sidelines.
The middle-aged man was taken aback. “Would you like to sing a song?” Although he livestreamed online, his viewership was low, and it was more of a solo pastime for him.
It wasn’t the first time a passerby had taken the microphone to sing.
But he had never seen anyone as handsome as this.
Xu Kaiming knew that Gu Yanqiu, being an artist, might not find it appropriate, so he stepped forward proactively. “Let me give it a try…”
He then asked someone to adjust the accompaniment. The moment he started singing, people around craned their necks to look.
Even the middle-aged man who had handed him the microphone stiffened. This young man was handsome and youthful—how could he sing so terribly?
Even worse than himself.
Xu Kaiming had been tone-deaf since childhood. Basically, whenever he sang, half the people in the room would flee. Chen Duo, his childhood friend, was always the first to run. Unexpectedly, today at this night market, just as she was filming with ease, Xu Kaiming’s sudden wail made her hand tremble.
Under the night lights, Gu Yanqiu’s silhouette was stretched into a blur by the glow, giving off a vibe reminiscent of a modern oil painting.
Although she had captured some godly photos, Xu Kaiming’s singing was truly awful.
But what the middle-aged streamer never expected was that, terrible as it was, that one shout brought in over a hundred viewers online. The interactions in the chat also increased significantly.
The middle-aged streamer pondered: if he couldn’t sing well, couldn’t he sing badly?
So this was another way to gain popularity.
After Xu Kaiming finished one song, he glanced at the screen and read aloud, “Who can poison the streamer mute? Please?” His handsome face paired with an innocent tone.
“Pfft…” Neither Chen Duo nor Gu Yanqiu could hold back their laughter.
The middle-aged man, aware that he now had some popularity—with many girls drawn in by Xu Kaiming’s looks—glanced at Gu Yanqiu, his Heart burning with excitement: there’s an even more handsome one over here.