Pretending To Have A Certain Persona Can Be Tiring - Chapter 15

“Hello, private commissions range from 800 to 3,000, depending on the level of detail. Commercial use is triple the base price. My commission queue is currently booked until next January.”

The moment Song Yang saw the price, his fingertips stiffened. These past few days had truly made him realize the agony of being broke.

The first step to becoming an independent VTuber was creating one’s own Live2D avatar. For this, Song Yang had reached out to several artists online, only to be scared off by the exorbitant costs.

He hesitated, wondering if he should increase his budget, but then remembered the mountain of debt he was already buried in and quickly dismissed the idea.

He stared at his phone screen, feeling conflicted. Was there really no cheaper way to go about this?

Just then, his gaze swept over the streaming app, and a thought suddenly occurred to him: “Don’t I have a big shot on my follower list? Since he is a fan, asking for a friendship discount is reasonable.”

He logged into the app, created a new account, and searched for Lis’s profile. He gritted his teeth and hesitated for a long time, unable to bring himself to click on the private message button.

Although this big shot had a rather unusual thought process, commissioning him just once should not cause any major issues.

For the sake of survival, I will go for it!

[User 409022: Hello, Lis. May I ask if you are taking commissions for character designs?]

After thinking for a moment, he added:

[User 409022: I am Ceil. I am planning to start a streaming channel soon and need someone to draw a new model.]

He exited the app and checked back periodically to see if the other person had replied. After an hour of patient waiting, he finally received a response.

[Lis: Not taking commissions.]

Song Yang felt disappointed, but he still wanted to try one more time.

[User409022: Could you reconsider? I really love your art style, and I am not in a hurry, so you can take your time.]

[Lis: And the payment?]

[User409022: You name your price, and I will see if it is within my budget.]

[Lis: I am not short on money.]

Song Yang: “?”

The implication was that he wanted a different kind of compensation. Song Yang’s brows knitted together as a bad premonition washed over him. His fingers stiffened as he slowly typed:

[User409022: Then what do you want? As long as it is not illegal and does not go against public order or morals…]

[Lis: Add me on my personal contact first.]

Song Yang was completely confused. He did not know what game this rich guy was playing. It felt like being interrupted right in the middle of eating a bowl of noodles, which was frustrating. Suddenly, he felt a chill and hurriedly wrapped his jacket tighter around himself.

[User409022: Um, Lis, I have not turned twenty yet. I sell my art, not my body.]

[Lis: Who told you to sell your body?]

Although he did not feel secure, for the sake of his streaming career, he decided to add him to test the waters.

He successfully added Lis on WeChat. His avatar was a drawing he had made of “Little Dai,” and his Moments were completely empty. Song Yang suspected this was the rich guy’s alt account and regretted being naive enough to add him with his main account.

His phone buzzed.

[Lis: So, your name is Song Yang.]

[Song: ???]

[Song: How did you know that?]

[Lis: You forgot to blur your admission letter when you posted it on your Moments.]

Song Yang thought, “What the hell.”

He had lost his anonymity the moment he started. Not wanting to be completely exposed, Song Yang quickly set his Moments to be invisible to the other party.

[Lis: What kind of character design do you want?]

[Song: I have not decided yet. Why do you not just freestyle? Make it look cool. I trust your aesthetic.]

[Lis: Fine.]

Seeing how readily he agreed, Song Yang felt skeptical again and hurriedly typed:

[Song: Um, Lis, should we not discuss the payment first?]

[Lis: Regarding the payment…]

The other side stalled. Song Yang stared at his screen tensely, listening to his own heart beating like a war drum. After two minutes of stalemate, a message finally popped up.

[Lis: Your insults are quite interesting. I want to hear you say one again.]

[Song: …]

Song Yang was so horrified he nearly threw his phone out the window. He could not tell if the guy was being serious or just trolling.

“Are you kidding me, bro?” he muttered, his head full of question marks. “Human fetishes are free, sure, but I am a decent guy. I do not have those kinds of tendencies.”

Before he could decide how to refuse politely, a sudden ringtone startled him. The other person had initiated a voice call.

He straightened up abruptly, a chill running down his spine. His fingers trembled as he hovered over the decline button, but after a moment of thought, he realized that avoiding this would not solve anything. He pressed accept.

“Uh, hello,” Song Yang said, his throat tight, his voice sounding completely unnatural.

Lis muted his microphone and typed in the chat box instead.

[Lis: Start.]

Song Yang felt awkward. “No, man, just out of the blue like this? I cannot just start cursing.”

[Lis: Is that so? I thought you were quite good at it.]

“Ha, haha,” Song Yang gave an awkward, dry laugh. “I only get good at it when I am angry enough. How about we keep it simple and just talk about money?”

[Lis: In that case, I do not think we can collaborate. Let us hang up.]

“Wait! No, do not. How about you think of something else? I will do my best to satisfy you, as long as you do not ask me to do anything inappropriate. My threshold is actually quite high.”

Before he could finish, another message popped up.

[Lis: Call me brother.]

“Ah, ah?” Song Yang’s voice cracked at the end.

[Lis: Say goodnight, brother.]

[Lis: Tell me that from now on you will listen to brother, that you will always stay by brother’s side. Use a cuter voice.]

Cute your grandma!

It took me so much effort to get rid of that cutesy boy persona from that terrible company, and now you want me to act cute? No way!

Song Yang was rendered speechless, feeling disgusted. In his mind, he labeled the other person as a parvenu who had watched too many dumbed-down CEO dramas.

After several seconds of silence, Lis seemed to sense Song Yang’s hesitation and urged:

[Lis: Do not want to say it? Then go find another artist.]

You son of a…

He pressed his lips together, his teeth clicking. The two scorching words were stuck in his throat, impossible to voice.

No, if I say it today, I will have nightmares for the rest of my life. This stain will haunt my future. My glorious reputation as an unyielding man is going to be ruined by this one “brother.”

But what about my new model? What about my path to wealth? Is my life really destined to suffer this humiliation?

“Cough, cough,” he cleared his throat, feeling as if something repulsive was stuck there. “Bro… ther…”

He heard his own voice, trembling and slightly hoarse. A faint echo came through the receiver, making their private space feel strangely close and creating an odd, almost ambiguous atmosphere.

[Lis: Say it louder, Yangyang.]

Seeing the word “Yangyang,” Song Yang felt the world go black.

[Lis: Yangyang said it well. Brother will draw you something even more beautiful.]

“Bro, that is enough!” He exploded like a triggered landmine. “I am sorry! I cannot say it! I can only mimic a monkey from Mount Emei. If you want to hear brother, go to a chicken farm. The chickens there can say cluck-cluck while laying you an egg. You know the saying: a forced melon is not sweet. You have not even been in the city for two years, and you are already spouting lines this cheesy. Even the arrogant CEOs nowadays are playing mahjong; here you are trying to raise a little delicate wife.”

His heart stopped for a second as he realized he might have said the wrong thing. I am doomed.

However, the air remained silent for a moment before Lis sent a short reply:

[Lis: Pleasure doing business with you.]

With a thump, the voice call ended.

Song Yang stared at the frozen chat interface for a long time, only realizing afterward that he had been set up. It was a trap. This masochistic pervert set me up on purpose.

He turned off his phone, buried his head in his pillow, and pulled his quilt over his head.

Why did I lose my cool again? If he did not have such a unique fetish, this deal would have been off the table. Oh, Song Yang, why do you do such stupid things every single day?

At that moment, his phone pinged again.

[Mom: Link: Ten Laws of Emotional Management: Do not let impulsiveness ruin you.]

Song Yang: “…”

[Mom: I just saw this great article, sharing it for us to read together. Try to be less angry in life; do not be a slave to your emotions.]

Mom really knows her son best.

Song Yang felt completely drained. He pulled a stiff, forced smile onto his face and slowly typed:

[Song: I cannot manage it at all. Poisoning me dumb would be faster.]

The second regular meeting of the Literary Department was on Sunday evening. Song Yang rushed over right after his part-time job.

The department’s first competition had concluded successfully, and the meeting was a post-mortem review. Each team leader gave their summary reports. It did not involve Song Yang, so he could have slacked off, but he felt like he was sitting on needles the entire time and did not dare to let his guard down.

Tao Ziyi spent some time scrolling on his phone, felt drowsy, and turned to see Song Yang’s state, asking suspiciously, “Did you take the wrong medicine?”

Song Yang sat stiffly, looking frozen. “I feel a chill down my back.”

Tao Ziyi did not understand, so he instinctively looked back. He suddenly caught the gaze of Ji Ting in the last row and shivered, pulling his face back as if electrocuted.

Ji Ting was sitting alone in the back, leaning lazily against the chair, his tablet propped against his thighs, scribbling constantly.

He kept his eyes slightly lowered, looking languid, but occasionally lifted his lids to glance toward where Song Yang was sitting.

“Is the president looking at you?” Tao Ziyi whispered.

Song Yang moved his eyes slightly to peek at the back row. Sure enough, he locked eyes with Ji Ting’s piercing gaze again. Ji Ting’s thick brows were lowered, the corners of his eyes slightly tilted, and the dark, unreadable emotions in his eyes reminded Song Yang of a poisonous snake quietly flicking its tongue while stalking its prey.

“Sexy, venomous snake-man,” Song Yang cursed. He quickly turned back and whispered cautiously, “That snake-man has been staring at me like a surveillance camera ever since he got here. It must be because he caught me eating noodles earlier. He is probably looking for an excuse to find fault with me and yell at me. No way, not happening.”

“Who told you to eat noodles during work hours anyway?”

Song Yang felt annoyed. “Are you even my best friend? Why are you taking his side?”

Up on the podium, the team leader was still rattling on. Ji Ting only heard a fraction of it. He looked up, observing Song Yang from a few rows away. His gaze traced Song Yang’s outline like a paintbrush. After a moment, he lowered his eyes and began sketching on his tablet: the youth’s soft hair, delicate frame, and a slender, snow-white neck.

He tilted his head slightly to observe the composition. Inspiration struck, and an anime character resembling Song Yang manifested in his mind. He immediately began drawing on the blank space beside his notes.