Pretending To Have A Certain Persona Can Be Tiring - Chapter 10

“That kind of thing sounds so strange coming from you,” Song Yang said, lifting his chin and squinting at him, his tone becoming a bit lighter.

Ji Ting slowly picked up the materials from the floor and said calmly, “I only care about objective facts. If it is wrong, it is wrong. That is my principle.”

The “King of Pretension” still finds a way to show off even while apologizing, Song Yang muttered to himself.

“Since His Majesty has apologized, I am magnanimous enough not to hold a grudge.” He glanced at the time and noticed it was almost seven o’clock. “I have to go; I have things to do.”

He turned to leave, but with a snap, the lights were switched on, brightening the room. Song Yang looked toward the studio entrance, and his expression darkened instantly.

“Yangyang?” Cheng Ran, who had flipped the switch, paused and then arched his eyebrows meaningfully. “What are you doing here?”

The way Cheng Ran said “Yangyang” made Song Yang’s stomach churn. With his face full of disgust, he took a defensive step back. “Are we that close?”

“What is wrong? You seem a bit afraid of me.” Cheng Ran approached, his eyes full of smiles. “What are you afraid of? I will not eat you. I am going to see Ziyi in a bit; want to come along?”

Cheng Ran leaned in, draped his hand over Song Yang’s right shoulder, and quickly slid it down his back to his left shoulder, naturally pulling him into his arms. Song Yang felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His pupils dilated in shock, and he reflexively shoved Cheng Ran hard, jumping back several feet.

He glared at Cheng Ran warily, brushed off the spot where Cheng Ran had touched his clothes, and spoke with utter contempt, “Go to hell! Do not get your grease on my clothes. I do not have detergent with me.”

With that, he shot Cheng Ran a lethal glare and stormed out of the studio.

“Heh.”

Cheng Ran heard a cold sneer behind him. He turned to see Ji Ting sitting by the window sketching. Ji Ting lifted his chin slightly, his eyelids drooping with a mocking glint in his expression.

Seeing the sarcasm, Cheng Ran adjusted his collar with forced composure and coughed. “Not bad. A fiery temper. I like that kind. It is more fun to conquer.”

His words sounded nonchalant, but they were merely a cover for his hurt pride, proving he had already been triggered. The pressure from Ji Ting’s pencil tip increased, and his disdain deepened. “Let us see if you can even win a war of words against him.”

Cheng Ran pulled at the corner of his mouth, sat down at his station, and began picking out pencils. He spoke again with a lazy attitude, “President Ji and Yangyang are quite close, huh? Could it be that after three years of abstinence, you are finally about to break your fast?”

“You are thinking too much.” Ji Ting stopped his pencil to observe the overall composition and added casually, “I just cannot stand toads who have hearts for two people.”

“Haha.” Cheng Ran laughed awkwardly, his eyes turning cold. “I might not be as noble as a white swan like President Ji, but what if I say I am certain I can take him? Just like I am certain I will get a spot in the national finals.”

Ji Ting’s expression remained indifferent. He added a few touches to the painting before speaking slowly, “Then talk less and do more. If you rely only on bragging, you will never get that spot in your lifetime.”

On his way home, Song Yang bombarded Tao Ziyi’s WeChat with messages:

song: You better break up with him! song: Break up, break up, break up! song: If you do not break up, you are not a real friend! Tao Sister: ? What nerve are you hitting? song: That French Fry just grabbed me with his claws! I want to shave off my shoulder! Do you know how traumatizing that is for a straight guy? I was so shocked I forgot to kick him in the balls! That rake got off easy! Ugh! Tao Sister: Huh? What happened?

Song Yang sent him a voice message, explaining the situation and adding a string of colorful curses. Tao Ziyi replied immediately:

Tao Sister: My God, I am speechless. Do not worry, I will go question him.

Seeing the reply, Song Yang almost knelt on the spot and kowtowed in gratitude. Heaven knows how hard it is to wake up a lovestruck fool!

Seeing that time was running out, he rushed home, still two minutes late for his promised seven o’clock start. Too breathless to drink water, he dashed to his computer desk.

While waiting for the computer to boot, he sat in his chair to calm down and read through the script he had written on his phone one last time. After quickly testing his equipment, he opened the streaming app. His account was practically buried in red dots; he was being swamped by hate.

So much for seven o’clock? You coward. Come out, you failure. My keyboard is ready. I am going on a rampage tonight! Anyone who backstabs my Darling must die! My bottom line is untouchable!

He only took a casual glance; he could not bear to read more. His emotions had fluctuated too much throughout the day, and he was physically and mentally exhausted. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and prepared to face his final stand.

Just then, he received a message from Xu Man:

Boss Xu: Still not starting?

Song Yang’s blood boiled at the sight of her:

song: Get lost. Do not stalk me. Boss Xu: My good cousin, still holding a grudge? You and I are in the same boat now. We have sacrificed the company’s reputation just to make you a star. Cannot you see the company’s good intentions? song: Give it a rest! Stop with the moral kidnapping. Boss Xu: Fine. Start the stream now. I have Photoshopped a few pictures as evidence. Save them and show them during the stream.

She sent over a few pictures. Song Yang scanned them quickly and muttered, “Crappy company cannot handle real work, but you sure excel at these crooked schemes.”

Gathering his courage, he started the stream.

“Hello everyone, I am Ceil.”

Heh, finally started. Apologize! Apologize! Apologize! Can everyone settle down? We do not even know the facts yet. Do not ask him to apologize, we should just curse him into obscurity!!

Ceil lowered his eyes, his soft voice carrying a note of seriousness. “Thank you to the friends who came to the stream tonight. I understand your emotions, so I will not waste time. Let us get straight to the point.”

Point? Are you going to talk about your journey of leeching off others for popularity? Family, I just arrived. Are we following the script or just firing away?

The chat box rolled like a scroll, and Song Yang could not bring himself to look. He ignored that area, sat up straight, and leaned into the microphone.

“The company I signed with is called Muffin, or M-Agency for short. Recently, I posted the merchandise that Sister Xiaodai sent me, which some fans misunderstood as me leeching off her fame. M-Agency thought they had found an opportunity. That night, they sent me a message suggesting a controversy-driven fame route, asking me to actually leech off her popularity. I rejected the proposal on the spot because I did not want to hurt Sister Xiaodai.”

Why does that sound so fake? Stop acting, little brother. The smell of tea is overflowing from the screen. Rejected on the spot? Heh, were you possessed afterward?

“I thought the matter ended there. To my surprise, this morning, someone from M-Agency logged into my account without permission and did those things you saw, intentionally stirring up public opinion. I knew nothing about their actions from start to finish. After discovering the truth this morning, I immediately contacted them to condemn their behavior.”

Your agency’s PR skills are so bad. You are just going to brush us off with this crappy excuse? Did the company know you were shifting the blame onto them? The streamer’s real job must be a chef, you are so good at passing the buck. Truly both stupid and evil!

Song Yang paused for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and spoke again, “Believe it or not, that is the whole truth. Regarding the impact on Sister Xiaodai and the unhappiness caused to everyone today, I solemnly apologize. I have always truly regarded Sister Xiaodai as a good friend. She was the first streamer I collaborated with; I like and respect her, and I would never do anything to hurt her.”

You talk so grandiosely, but who knows if this clarification is just another one of your tricks? Yue! Stay away from Xiaodai! If you wanted to leech off fame, your goal has been achieved. This must be the most popular day since you started this business. Add to that, be bolder. This must be the most popular day of his life.

Song Yang felt a pang in his chest. The scrolling chat was driving him insane. Profanities were on the tip of his tongue, but he had to swallow them back down, feeling stifled and ready to snap.

He muted his mic and blurted out, “Damn it! You will not believe anything I say, so why are you even listening? If you are so bored, shake the water out of your heads. A bunch of keyboard warriors hiding behind screens to bark. If you have guts, meet me offline and see if I do not punch your walnut brains into mush!”

After getting that off his chest, Song Yang suppressed his emotions, turned his mic back on, and forced his soft voice: “Ceil is a rookie streamer with no credentials or background; I only have a sincere heart. I never thought about taking shortcuts. I just want to do my job well and make the audience happy.”

Scolding you actually makes me quite happy. Stop scolding him, brothers. Our little failure brother is going to start playing the victim and getting depressed in a moment. In a minute, he will blame the netizens for cyberbullying him and post a medical diagnosis of depression. Hahaha, hilarious. You all know the script cues.

“I understand everyone’s dissatisfaction. You can vent your grievances appropriately here, but please believe in my character.” Song Yang paused, leaning on his stubborn willpower to force his voice to remain high-pitched, though the end of his sentences trembled. “Please do not let rumors prejudice your judgment. While Ceil may not have the highest moral character, at least I value affection and have principles and a bottom line. I will do my utmost to make up for the impact of this incident.”

Who the hell are you to ask us to believe you? I am dizzy. First time seeing a guy so fake. To the one above: that is called a Green Arrow, both fake and bitchy.

Song Yang clenched his fists. A fire rose in his chest, ready to burst out and explode. As he grew more anxious, his phone buzzed a few times:

Boss Xu: What are you doing? Boss Xu: Where are the screenshots? Send them, send them!

Song Yang was livid and typed back impatiently: song: Shut up! I told you not to stalk me! Boss Xu: If you do not post the screenshots, no one will believe you! Wait to be drowned in spit!

What is the point of fake screenshots? If I get caught faking evidence, I will never clear my name.

Song Yang felt a mess inside. The fury occupied his brain; he could not think straight about what to do next. He looked at the noisy chat area. Failure, Male Green Tea, Quit the circle—he caught all the dirty words. He felt as if he were surrounded by a group of people pointing, mocking, and cursing. He could only shrink helplessly in the center, curling up to protect his head, letting the waves of insults swallow him whole.

Why is the streamer silent? Inventing new lies? I was furious all morning, but tonight’s chat is so entertaining. Love you, fellow fans. Friends, after watching the joke, remember to unfollow. Do not give this male fake-voice guy more attention. The V-Tuber circle is not big, but it creates legends. Everyone followed you because of Xiaodai. Your fake voice is disgusting. Who could like that? Hahaha, I have been wanting to say this for a long time. Our little failure brother has a tongue-tied voice. Exactly, that fake voice is so annoying. Can you not speak normally? He is going to crush my walnuts!

Song Yang stood up from his chair in a flash, pointing at the chat area and cursing at the top of his lungs:

“Am I a grass-boat that you all have to shoot arrows at me?! Huh? A bunch of people with bean-curd brains! If you hollowed them out, you could make a soup, but stuffed in your skulls they are not worth a penny! Damn it, I had a shitty day today, and now a bunch of cowards who are meek in real life are using me as a punching bag online! If your ears cannot understand my explanation, go ahead and slice them off to eat as a midnight snack! And you, you unevolved monkeys, mocking my voice? Crushing walnuts? I will crush your eyeballs into pulp! You think I want to fake my voice? If it was not for that crappy contract, nobody would be acting like this! I am going to burn the contract tomorrow as an offering to the gods! Let whoever wants to do this shitty streaming do it! Grandpa here is NOT PLAYING ANYMORE!”

After his artillery-like bombardment, he raised his hand to flip the table, but found it was bolted down. So, he simply swiped the two stacks of books on the desk onto the floor.

Done cursing! Feels good!

However, throughout the entire outburst, Song Yang had completely ignored that the microphone icon in the bottom right corner of the computer screen was still green…