Pretending To Have A Certain Persona Can Be Tiring - Chapter 2

“Oh, it is…” Song Yang offered an awkward smile. “I just do some livestreaming on the side, selling tea and things to pass the time.”

“You must make a lot of money as a streamer, right?” Sang Ling looked at him with envy.

“Only the top streamers make big money; do not even think about it for someone like me who is barely scraping by. Anyway! Are we not here to discuss the proposal? Let us get back to the point.”

Tao Ziyi opened his laptop and clicked on a Word document. “I downloaded a template for the proposal. It should not be difficult to write if we follow this.”

Sang Ling propped her chin on her hand, looking troubled. “We are all newcomers; we do not know anything about the competition process. How are we supposed to write it?”

Tao Ziyi replied, “Senior Jia Miao said this is an introductory assessment. We do not have to write it perfectly, but our attitude must be right. If our plan gets selected, we will be able to hold our heads high in the student council in the future. Come on, everyone!”

The three of them took a deep breath, determined to give it their all, but they were stumped on how to start.

Song Yang suggested, “Look at the first column of the template: event theme and name.”

“For the theme…”

Sang Ling: “A Hundred Forms of the Voice Actor?”

Tao Ziyi: “Seems a bit too broad.”

“Dubbing Japanese anime with passionate themes.”

“Not many students know Japanese.”

“Restoring awkward laughs from childhood TV dramas.”

“Are you here to embarrass us…”

Tao Ziyi nudged Song Yang. “Yang Yang, you come up with one.”

Song Yang felt his mind go blank. He was terrible at coming up with ideas, so he shrunk his neck and placed his fingers on the keyboard. “I cannot think of one. You guys talk, and I will type.”

The other two began to brainstorm wildly. Song Yang listened quietly, chiming in occasionally. Perhaps it was because the café was too warm, or perhaps because he had not rested well last night, but drowsiness washed over him after a while. He rested his chin on his hand, his consciousness gradually blurring. He yawned several times, the surrounding conversation stopped registering, and finally, he slumped onto the table and fell into a deep sleep.

It was Tao Ziyi who woke him up. Song Yang struggled to lift his head, blinking his heavy eyelids, and murmured softly, “Sorry, where were you in the discussion?”

“We are still stuck on the theme.”

Song Yang was shocked. “You guys really are lightning fast.”

Tao Ziyi teased him, “You have the nerve to say that to us? Are you here to write a proposal or to sleep in the café to steal their heating?”

Song Yang pressed his hands together in apology. “My fault, my fault. It is the spring fatigue, you know… I am going to the bathroom to splash some water on my face.”

Song Yang dragged his feet toward the restroom, pulling out his phone to check his messages. His livestreaming app received a notification—it was a private message from Xiao Dai.

[Xiao Dai: Ceil, are you free tonight? We could test the connection first.]

Song Yang’s eyes lit up instantly. His drowsiness vanished, and he became so excited he stuttered as he typed his reply:

[Ceil: I am free whenever you are convenient.]

Hehe, a collab with a pretty lady!

Song Yang was in a great mood. Suddenly, he was full of energy, happily jogging toward the corner of the restroom. At that moment, a shadow fell over him. It was too late to brake, and he slammed into someone violently, followed by the clatter of his phone hitting the floor. He had bumped into someone!

Song Yang looked up at the person he had collided with. The other party was a tall male student. A gentle dark-gray sweater accentuated his cold, fair skin. He was lean and tall with parted bangs, a high nose bridge, and thin, sharp lips. He had a classic, intense look—beautifully aggressive. Anyone who saw him could not help but look back twice, only to be intimidated by his natural aura.

Song Yang froze for a long time, meeting the boy’s gaze. His slightly upturned tail of the eye held a cold “do not approach” vibe. He gave the impression of being handsome but bad-tempered, as if he might yell at any second: “Can you not see, you idiot?”

To avoid being scolded, Song Yang wisely and quickly helped him pick up his phone: “I am sorry, I did not mean it!”

At that moment, the screen lit up as he lifted his hand. The lock screen showed a purple-haired anime girl. Song Yang was stunned for a moment, then recognized who it was instantly.

“Oh, Xiao Dai? Are you a fan of Xiao Dai?”

The boy glanced coldly at Song Yang, his dark, ink-black eyes deepening like a whirlpool ready to drag someone in. Song Yang swallowed; he could not guess the boy’s mood, but he vaguely sensed that he was displeased. The other party did not speak, snatching the phone from Song Yang’s hand and frowning at the cracked screen.

“Ah… sorry man, I was running too fast. Let me know how much it costs, and I will pay for it.”

“No need.” The boy’s voice was low, and his tone was impatient. Leaving those cold words behind, he walked past Song Yang.

He returned to his booth in the café, and Song Yang followed him: “No, brother, my conscience will not let this go. Give me your WeChat, and I will transfer the money to you.”

The boy ignored him. His slender fingers began typing on his laptop keyboard, entering a learning state as if wound up like a spring.

Song Yang sat in the booth opposite him: “Or I can help you contact a phone repair shop? You are a fan of Xiao Dai, and I am also a fan of Xiao Dai. We are quite fated. We are all on the same side, are we not?”

“I said no need. You are disturbing me.” The boy glanced at him sideways; his pupils seemed to radiate cold air. His naturally sharp eyes looked even more indifferent now, making people shudder.

“Fine…” Song Yang’s back stiffened. He did not dare to say anything more and left silently.

After walking a few steps, he quietly looked back. He saw the boy looking down, typing seriously. His smooth side profile exuded coldness, and the natural light outside the window fell on him, as if he were separated from all the noise. The phone on his desk flashed with a message the wallpaper of Xiao Dai was striking but the boy reached out and turned the screen off, as if he had noticed Song Yang stealing a glance.

“He has quite a bad temper.” Song Yang turned around, silently complaining in his heart. “If you like her, just like her. Why hide it? Could it be that you are afraid people will find out you are a two-dimensional otaku?”

Song Yang returned to his seat, where the other two were still locked in a war of words.

“Is the theme decided?” Song Yang asked.

“Here.” Tao Ziyi handed him a list. “Choose one of ten.”

Song Yang could not help but admire: “You two really have vivid imaginations…”

While he was choosing, Tao Ziyi asked: “I just saw you sitting over by the president’s booth. What were you talking about with him?”

“…” Song Yang paused, his brain spinning for two seconds. “President?”

“You do not know him?” Tao Ziyi looked at him like he was an idiot and pointed toward the window. “Did you not see him during the student council interview? He was one of the interviewers, our boss, Senior Ji Ting. Sang Ling and I greeted him when we arrived.”

“This…” Song Yang searched his memory hard but had no impression at all. “There was a whole row of interviewers; how could I remember?”

Tao Ziyi was speechless: “My God, his face is devastatingly handsome. How can you be face-blind?”

Sang Ling added: “Song Yang, do not worry. The interviews were all one-on-one. Maybe you do not remember Senior Ji Ting, but he might remember you.”

Song Yang’s breath hitched: “Then I am truly… relieved.”

Tao Ziyi teased him on purpose: “Running into a leader and not recognizing him. That is a major mark against you.”

Song Yang glanced in Ji Ting’s direction again and felt worried. He leaned in and whispered: “Friends, that is actually a minor issue. The important thing is… I just broke Ji Ting’s phone.”

The two were stunned. Tao Ziyi immediately said: “Okay, fine. Stop discussing. You will be expelled from the department tomorrow.”

“To hell with you, is it really that exaggerated?” Song Yang cursed. “He did not even make me pay for it. How could he abuse his power for personal vendettas? I believe Ting-ge is not that petty.”

Sang Ling said: “That makes sense, but I suggest you still compensate him. It will be awkward to see each other every day in the department in the future.”

“Makes sense.” Song Yang nodded.

Ji Ting had just closed his laptop when he caught a glimpse of a figure walking toward him out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw Song Yang with a friendly smile.

He saw Song Yang fold his hands in front, leaning forward slightly in a humble posture: “Ting-ge… no, wait, Senior Ji Ting, hello, hello. I am sorry, my memory was bad, and I did not recognize you earlier. I am Song Yang from the Literary Department. Let me apologize again; your phone was broken by me. I must take responsibility.”

Ji Ting looked away coldly, ignoring him completely. He packed his laptop into his bag and stood up to leave without even looking at Song Yang. Song Yang was not embarrassed. After Ji Ting brushed past him, he had a flash of inspiration and suddenly spoke to the retreating back: “Tomorrow at 8:00 PM, I will help you grab Xiao Dai’s laser standee!”

He had specifically checked that Xiao Dai’s official limited edition merchandise would go on sale at 8:00 PM on Sunday. If he wanted it, he might not need to compete with others at all; he could just go straight to Xiao Dai herself.

Ji Ting stopped his steps and looked back at Song Yang with an expressionless face. Seeing the fish take the bait, Song Yang seized the opportunity: “Since you will not accept my money, let me compensate you in another way. You will not have to wait in line for Xiao Dai’s merchandise sale this time. Whether you want a laser standee or anything else, I will get you all the goods!”

There was no two-dimensional otaku in the world who could resist the temptation of limited-edition merchandise. If there were, it would be because the artwork was poorly drawn.

Ji Ting looked at his confident demeanor, raised an eyebrow slightly, stepped closer to him, and said in a calm voice: “If you are so idle and have time to grab goods, you might as well finish the proposal. I am the one reviewing your preliminary submission next Friday. Let me make this clear: my requirements are very strict.”

“Next Friday?” Song Yang was shocked. “You are only giving us five days? Even a donkey on a production team would not be worked that hard!”

Ji Ting said coldly: “Do you not check the group notifications?”

After he finished speaking, he walked away. Song Yang stood in place, stunned for a few seconds, and then slapped his own forehead in annoyance:

Didn’t recognize him impression score minus one.

Broke his phone impression score minus one.

Did not check notifications impression score minus one.

Failed to apologize and made it worse instead. Oh, his foul mouth! How terrible, how terrible! Sister Tao was right; Song Yang was probably not far from being expelled from the department.