Xu Kaiming had, after all, been called the school heartthrob for years in his private school, and on top of that, he was shameless.
He even started arguing with people in the livestream: “What I do is called the original ecological singing method. Why do you want to poison me mute?”
Netizens teased him back: “Anchor, looking at your face, we can give you tips. But listening to you sing, you should pay us compensation.”
When Xu Kaiming read the first half of the comment, he grinned widely, but when he got to the second half, he immediately fell silent.
“Anchor, when you sing, even my father who’s been in a coma for six months would wake up to turn off his phone.”
Clearly, this was supposed to be a talent livestream. But because of Xu Kaiming’s singing, it was almost turning into a comedy show.
The number of online viewers in the livestream kept rising unexpectedly, reaching an astonishing five hundred people. The middle-aged man, seeing the viewer count, really wished he could take a screenshot. No wonder people say young people grow their accounts fast.
Xu Kaiming was still bickering with the netizens over there. The middle-aged man looked at Gu Yanqiu and whispered, “Do you want to sing a song?”
Gu Yanqiu hesitated for a moment, but Chen Duo, standing beside him, could tell—he was very tempted.
Last time, at the café concert, only about twenty people had shown up. But now, there were five hundred people online simultaneously.
To be seen by so many people at once…
Perhaps because everything today had been so comfortable, he actually agreed to the suggestion.
He then went to connect to the middle-aged man’s external Bluetooth speaker. All his accompaniments were on his phone.
Meanwhile, Xu Kaiming was still bantering with the netizens. The viewer count had increased to a thousand, and even small gifts like ten-cent and one-yuan donations were flying across the screen. He stared at them, dumbfounded. The netizens, thinking he liked it, started sending even more.
But Xu Kaiming said, “Stop sending gifts! I can’t see the comments anymore!”
He just had a knack for making his fans hopping mad.
Many were new followers who thought Xu Kaiming was some rising internet celebrity. They clicked follow, only to find the profile featured videos of a middle-aged man singing, so they promptly asked what was going on.
The comment section was highly active, and the livestream was getting promoted.
After Gu Yanqiu connected to the Bluetooth, Xu Kaiming suddenly felt a surge of pride: “Think my singing is awful? Come on, let me introduce you to someone who can actually sing.”
He had been arguing with netizens in the comments, and they were still teasing him.
“Shh…”
“Don’t believe it…”
“Hope it’s not worse than your singing.”
Then the music started. Xu Kaiming stepped aside.
Gu Yanqiu came forward.
The netizens were caught off guard. After one handsome face, here was another.
For a moment, even the scrolling comments slowed down noticeably.
Gu Yanqiu was handsome in any timeline.
On a phone with no filters, the impact of suddenly seeing such a face was incredibly high.
Then, upbeat music began to play.
Chen Duo recognized the song almost instantly. It was “Bad Girl,” the song with the highest popularity in his own timeline.
It was somewhat of a bubblegum pop tune, but it represented the youth of many.
“The paper airplane behind the classroom, hiding our summer secrets…” His voice carried a slight huskiness, yet it was incredibly captivating, like an evening breeze.
The song told the story of a top student boy and a rebellious girl in a youthful campus romance.
Paired with his face, it even made people feel a twinge of jealousy toward the “bad girl” in the lyrics.
“The teacher said you should be well-behaved, yet you rebelliously confessed your feelings. This made my heart skip a beat.”
“Why aren’t you obedient, why do you misbehave. How can I remain rational in the face of this.”
He was handsome. His gaze seemed to hold deep affection for everyone he looked at.
Though not famous, he had been on stage before and possessed an incredible sense of camera presence. Combined with years of training, his fashion sense and performance in front of the camera were exceptionally strong.
Even the slight curve of his smile was captivating.
As a fan photographer, Chen Duo maintained high professional standards. Almost the moment Gu Yanqiu connected to Bluetooth, she had her phone camera trained on him.
The night offered only scattered starlight. He stood before a simple phone stand singing, yet carried an incomparably charming aura.
If Gu Yanqiu was an unknown minor idol in this world, then in this moment, Chen Duo was almost one hundred percent certain he would become famous.
He had star quality, stage presence, and songs that could spread widely. More importantly, he had that face.
Chen Duo watched him through her lens. Even in such a humble setting, one could feel his happiness.
The joy of having an audience, the happiness of being on stage.
No one present understood Gu Yanqiu better than Chen Duo.
Gu Yanqiu’s singing was far weaker than his dancing. But since appearing on the show “I Am a Singer,” his ability to interpret songs had greatly improved.
Major platforms truly hone one’s skills.
From Chen Duo’s perspective as a dedicated fan, Gu Yanqiu’s abilities ranked above average among artists. Not to mention when compared to online performers – it was simply overwhelming dominance.
What should have been a sweet, simple campus love song was infused with an incredibly sweet feeling.
Hazily, the audience seemed to witness the top student’s uncontrollable fondness for the bad girl.
She was the one playing pranks, she was the one smirking while confessing. She passed notes in class, she got scolded by teachers. Yet she was also the one who captivated everyone.
“In the graduation photo, your fingers tug at my shirt, you said we’d meet again years later…”
Despite the cheerful melody, the listeners’ smiling faces froze.
Fortunately, in the end, the top student mustered courage and chased after her. The song played in their ears like scenes from a movie.
Though this love was immature and mismatched, who could say this wasn’t the best interpretation of youth?
…
Apple Sweet was a wealthy young woman who spent her days tipping male streamers. She had even added many to her WeChat. They’d send morning greetings, goodnight messages, order her milk tea, and invite her to meals.
The exclusive favor from streamers beloved by thousands online made her particularly obsessed.
Once obsessed, she would casually spend hundreds of thousands in pocket money. This time, a close friend shared a live stream link with her.
She hadn’t planned to click it. At this hour, she usually helped a new male university student streamer win PK battles. Time was almost up.
She hesitated briefly, but curiosity ultimately won over everything else. She decided to take a quick look anyway. After all, watching for one minute before going over would still be fine.
What she encountered upon clicking was an extraordinarily handsome face.
In all her years navigating the internet, she had never seen anyone this handsome.
He didn’t even have his own dedicated streaming setup. He was performing outdoors, with crackling audio full of static. Honestly, it wasn’t even as good as square dancing speakers.
He occasionally smiled slightly, occasionally glanced at the screen. Though she had just clicked randomly, she found herself rooted to the spot.
Completely unable to look away.
That college guy she’d promised earlier kept bombarding her with messages. The constant buzzing disrupted the rhythm of the singer’s performance. For the first time, she felt this guy had terrible timing. Though supposedly a “new flame,” he was already turning her off.
When he saw the wealthy lady hadn’t shown up, he even tried calling her.
This infuriated Apple Sweet. She immediately switched apps to hang up on him, even blocking his number.
Then she clicked back in. Gu Yanqiu’s song was already nearing its end—her app-switching had been quick, really only making her miss a line or two.
But Apple Sweet felt the loss was enormous. Such a beautiful song, the immersive atmosphere she’d been enjoying—all ruined.
It made her livid.
As the song concluded, the comment section finally came alive.
“Your voice is amazing, streamer.”
“Do you have your own account?”
“You’re so handsome, streamer.”
“Streamer, do you need more girlfriends? Even if you don’t, count me in. The three of us can live happily together—that’s what matters most.”
One after another, they all seemed bewitched by Gu Yanqiu’s good looks.
“Honestly, I didn’t even hear what he was singing—I was too busy drooling over the screen.”
“So handsome! Aaaaaah…”
Gu Yanqiu grew somewhat shy from the praise, and his flustered expression made the online fangirls scream even louder.
Then they saw Gu Yanqiu leave the livestream. Xu Kaiming watched the frenzied fans in the chat and teased, “Handsome, isn’t he?”
“Handsome…” the fans chorused almost in unison.
Xu Kaiming continued, “But he’s not yours.”
The fans: “…”
Chen Duo had to admit—this guy was first-rate at stirring up trouble.
She quickly dragged him away.
The middle-aged man took over the stream again. Glancing at the simultaneous viewer count—5,000+—he felt almost dizzy…
Once Gu Yanqiu and the others left, the middle-aged man was left to explain repeatedly: “They were just passersby.”
“I don’t know them, really.”
“I don’t know their Douyin IDs either.”
“Don’t unfollow, please don’t…”
“I don’t know the name of that song either.”
Flustered and frantic, he deeply regretted getting so absorbed in the song that he’d forgotten to ask for their contact info. Trying to placate the fans, he offered, “Then how about I sing ‘The Sky Over the Grasslands’ for you?”
“Oh, not interested… Then I’ll sing something else…”