Pretending To Have A Certain Persona Can Be Tiring - Chapter 5

Song Yang felt he was useless at everything except gaming.

Once “Jungle Realm” began, his operations were as fierce as a tiger, and his reflexes were lightning-fast. Several times, Xiao Dai was so frightened by the horror scenes in the game that she screamed, and Song Yang would go on a killing spree, wiping out the monsters for her.

Xiao Dai was shocked and impressed: “Ceil, you are amazing.”

Ceil said: “It is your first time playing, Sister. Being able to reach this level is already very impressive.”

[Can you stop making Dai Dai play this? She has been scared several times already. My heart aches for my Dai Bao.]

[Playing a game you are good at during a collaboration is not respectful to Dai Dai.]

[Do not come to her livestream room to talk nonsense. Streaming is their freedom, and I think Dai is having a lot of fun.]

[Sali, I do not want to watch this game anymore. Just chatting or singing is fine.]

Song Yang: “…”

Ceil: “Please make sure you spell my name correctly.”

[Okay, Sali.]

[Sabi brother, let Dai Dai sing. We want to hear her sing.]

Song Yang’s eyelid twitched, and he suddenly felt his fists clench.

I will endure it!

Ceil: “Sister Xiao Dai, should we stop here? Your fans want to hear you sing.”

Xiao Dai said: “Babies, do not go to Ceil’s room and talk nonsense. Be polite.”

Ceil: “They are not talking nonsense. Maybe they are just tired of watching us play games for so long, so they want to hear you sing. Go ahead, I also really want to appreciate your singing voice, Sister!”

[Sabi is actually a very kind person.]

[The one who just cursed Sabi for being disrespectful, come out! See that? You just got slapped in the face.]

[Sabi brother, I want to hear you sing too. Why do you not do a duet with Dai Dai?]

[Sabi, just mute your mic and listen quietly.]

Song Yang: “…”

I hope you all made a typo by accident, rather than having your brains and intestines connected, Song Yang thought.

Xiao Dai said: “Alright, what would you like to hear, Ceil? I will sing a song you like first.”

[You should have Dai Dai sing “Starlit Summer Night”! Hurry, hurry, hurry!]

[I want to hear “Starlit Summer Night!”]

Ceil: “Um… let us sing ‘Starlit Summer Night’ then.”

Xiao Dai: “Okay, let me find the accompaniment.”

Ceil: “I have pulled up my little stool and am ready to appreciate it.”

[Babies, I just noticed that Lis followed Sabi!]

[What, what? Teacher Lis is here too?]

[New fan asking, who is Lis?]

[Lis is Xiao Dai’s famous big fan, number one on the wealth leaderboard, and often creates fan art.]

[Oh, so the big patron is him.]

Watching their chat, Song Yang felt slightly surprised. He casually flipped through his own homepage and found that he had gained over five hundred followers. Furthermore, the big fan named Lis had indeed followed him.

[Teacher Lis, can you see this? You followed him, so please do not switch favorites. We are still waiting for your content.]

[Teacher Lis, please urge Dai Dai to release the birthday art; the kids are starving!]

[God L, you have not updated your art in a week. How am I supposed to live without you?]

[Stop messing around, my Dai Dai wife is about to sing.]

[Wifey! Wifey! /starry eyes]

Xiao Dai began to sing, and the chat box became even more intense. It was so lively—the livestream room had never been this bustling before. Song Yang muted his mic and leaned his chin on his hands, watching the chat box silently. For some reason, a sense of loneliness suddenly welled up in his heart.

After ending the stream, Song Yang checked the data. This collaboration had indeed brought him a lot of traffic—at least much better than his solo streams.

Although tonight had left him physically and mentally exhausted. Sigh, pretending is too tiring. If I keep holding back these swear words, I am going to develop a mental illness.

He rubbed his throat, which was sore from his fake voice, drank a large glass of water, and took out his phone to search for the popular “Lis.” This person actually had over 50,000 followers. He scrolled through Lis’s homepage and saw a dazzling array of drawings, all of Xiao Dai.

This person seemed to have a distinct personality, casually throwing out a drawing with a tag related to Xiao Dai, with no extra text. His paintings were meticulously detailed, the colors were comfortable, and the style was unique. He looked very professional; calling them art pieces was no exaggeration.

Song Yang lay on the bed, scrolling as his gaze gradually drifted. He threw the phone aside and stared at the chandelier on the ceiling, the warm yellow light gradually blurring before his eyes.

It must be so happy to have such a fan. If someone drew pictures for my Ceil, I would definitely frame them and hang them on the wall at home to admire, or turn them into body pillows to keep by my bedside and treasure every day.

He suddenly envied Xiao Dai—someone cherished her, someone loved her, and there was a big shot drawing for her, plus Nendoroids and merchandise. When would he have that?

Current goal: It will be a blessing if no one curses at me.

The road is long and arduous.

At this moment, his phone rang. He clicked on it and found that his mother had sent him a dozen travel photos—blue water and blue skies, beautiful scenery, with a few selfies of his mother mixed in.

Xu Man had only bought his mother the camera in the first half of the year. Aunt Xu did not really know how to use it yet, and the selfies were all at unflattering angles, but with a silk scarf on her head, she was smiling brightly. She truly looked happy.

[Song: Where did you go with your girls’ group again?]

[Mom: Beidaihe, Beidaihe.]

[Song: Heartless auntie, you only remembered to tell your son after you finished playing.]

A voice message popped up on the other side: “Mom did not want to disturb you, knowing you were busy with college and doing food livestreams. You even joined the student council. How is college life? Is it fun?”

[Song: It is alright. Everyone is pretty good, and life is fulfilling. I just finished my stream.]

Soon, she sent another picture—a bag of fresh clams.

“These are the clams you liked to eat when you were little. I mailed some to you; stir-fry them yourself. You can stream this during your food broadcasts; you need to change things up, otherwise, what are fans going to watch?”

[Song: Forget it. Even if you mail them, I will just keep them as pets. Do I look like someone who can cook?]

“Then I will mail you some other local specialties. Speaking of your food livestreams, I have been thinking about creating an account to do the same recently. You have to help me repost it when the time comes.”

[Song: Sure, sure, sure.]

Song Yang understood Ms. Xu Ying; she was just having a sudden whim and definitely would not follow through, so he agreed offhandedly.

“Are you tired from streaming? Pay attention to rest, and do not eat too much during your food broadcasts; it is bad for your stomach. Go for a walk after eating to help digestion.”

Song Yang cut off the voice message before she finished. Aunt Xu still loved saying those old platitudes, and his ears were already calloused from hearing them.

Yet, his nose still felt sour. He suddenly realized that when people mentioned livestreaming, the first thing they asked was whether he made money or had many fans. Only his mother would care whether he was tired.

Song Yang sniffled, replied with “Got it,” and once he was done, he did a kip-up from the bed. In an instant, he was full of fighting spirit.

I, Song Yang, will never be defeated! I will break through on the path of virtual streaming! I will earn travel funds for Aunt Xu and let her live a good life!

The Nendoroid Xiao Dai mailed arrived. Song Yang hurriedly inquired about Ji Ting’s class and schedule and chose a beautiful, sunny afternoon to wait for him outside his classroom.

He stood on his tiptoes, looking through the corridor window. On the PPT were two art pieces, and an old professor was slowly analyzing them.

With a glance, Song Yang immediately saw Ji Ting sitting below. He was writing something on a tablet. The sunlight outside the window traced the smooth outline of his side profile, casting dappled golden light and shadow, brightening the hair on his forehead. As a light breeze blew, strands of hair brushed across his nose bridge a serene and beautiful picture.

Song Yang, however, lacked such visual sensitivity. What he was thinking was: This jerk king is studying quite seriously.

He felt the packaging box of the Nendoroid in his hand and thought: Little guy, will this handsome merchandise not take down a jerk king like you?

After thinking this, he realized something and quickly slapped his own mouth a few times, self-correcting: “What jerk king? You have to call him Ting-ge!”

To prevent a reflex slip of the tongue, Song Yang paced in circles, muttering in a low voice: “Ting-ge, Ting-ge, Ting-ge…”

“Yang Yang!” Tao Ziyi appeared from nowhere. “What are you doing? Reciting some spell?”

“I am trying to form muscle memory.” Song Yang glanced at him, noting he was wearing light makeup and was exceptionally well-dressed today. “Why are you here?”

Tao Ziyi flipped the hair on his forehead: “I am waiting for my husband to get out of class.”

“Your 18 cm, here?” Song Yang pointed at the classroom in front of him. “He is in the same class as Ji Ting?”

“Is that surprising?” Tao Ziyi shrugged. “I told you earlier that my husband is a junior art student, and the president is also a junior art student. Isn’t it normal for them to be in the same class? What about you?”

“I am waiting for Ji Ting, that jerk king, to finish class. Just because of that previous matter, I am here to apologize.”

Tao Ziyi raised an eyebrow: “Woohoo, good luck.”

“Baroque is an art style that was widely circulated in the 17th century. Because its service targets were mainly upper-class figures and aristocrats, it possesses luxurious characteristics.”

The professor’s speaking speed was comparable to a lullaby, and the students below were drowsy.

A capacitive pen spun around Ji Ting’s fingers. He observed the drawing on his tablet, and then continued to color the image of Xiao Dai on the canvas. The brushwork in his drawing of Xiao Dai was delicate, the colors brilliant, and the expressions cute and lively. Under his emotionless shading, he rendered an extremely strong vitality.

“The male student in the first row wearing a sweater vest.” The professor pulled down his reading glasses, his sharp eyes looking straight at Ji Ting, who was doodling. “You, tell everyone about the characteristics of the Baroque style.”

Ji Ting immediately lifted his finger, swiped up to exit the painting software, and stood up calmly.

“Oh ho, Ice Face got called on.” Song Yang eavesdropped at the window, pushing Tao Ziyi, who was playing on his phone, with interest.

“Why do you have so many nicknames for him?” Tao Ziyi did not even lift his eyes. “As long as he does not call on my husband, I am fine. I am afraid he will not be able to answer, which would ruin his mood.”

Song Yang rolled his eyes in silence: “Sick, get lost.”

“Baroque has strong Romantic and religious characteristics. It breaks the rational tranquility and harmony emphasized during the Renaissance. It emphasizes a sense of movement, and its expressive language is comprehensive.” Ji Ting’s voice was as cold as frost, as if he were just a machine reading a textbook.

Song Yang saw the professor nod and tell him to sit down, and he could not help but grit his teeth: “He got it right, damn it.”

Tao Ziyi narrowed his eyes at him, deeply skeptical: “Are you sincere about this apology?”

“It was never sincere in the first place.” Song Yang did not hide it at all. “It is just to avoid being bullied in the student council in the future. You cannot suffer if you do not want to be miserable.”

Not long after, the bell rang. Students filed out of the classroom. Tao Ziyi spotted his boyfriend at a glance.

“Cheng Ran!” Tao Ziyi waved at him, and the man walked over.

Song Yang observed the other party quietly. He saw the man with a cross-body bag, one hand in his pocket, swinging his elegant hair while walking. He did not forget to act coy, swaying his body to look cool, pushing his cheek out with his tongue, and winking in their direction. The whole set of actions was meticulously designed and flowed like water.

“How is it?” Tao Ziyi asked in a low voice.

So greasy, Song Yang thought. He felt like he was watching a giant walking order of french fries, oozing oil while winking. Compared to that, Ji Ting, that jerk king, was truly refreshing.

But out of politeness, Song Yang did not say it. He tried hard to find another adjective, and after a few seconds, slowly said: “Hmm… he looks very smooth in his dealings.”

Cheng Ran walked over and raised an eyebrow at Tao Ziyi: “Have you been waiting long, baby?”

“Not long, not long. I missed you so much, husband.”

Song Yang felt nauseated and held back the urge to retch. He only wanted to escape. Taking advantage of the moment Tao Ziyi reached out to hold Cheng Ran’s arm, he turned to run, but was grabbed back by Tao Ziyi.

“This is…” Cheng Ran scanned Song Yang up and down, a meaningful smile appearing on the corner of his mouth. “Your friend?”

“Let me introduce you. This is my best friend, Song Yang.” Tao Ziyi turned to Song Yang. “Yang Yang, this is my boyfriend, Cheng Ran.”

“Hello, Yang Yang.” Cheng Ran raised an eyebrow at him again, revealing a hint of cunning laughter.

Does this guy have eye spasms? I really want to drip some cooling oil into them. Song Yang felt disgusted, but considering he was Sister Tao’s boyfriend, he endured it!

“Hello.” Song Yang greeted him perfunctorily. Then, seeing the jerk king, Ji Ting, he hurried to say, “Sister, I have something to do, I am leaving first.”

Song Yang buried his head and chased after Ji Ting, shouting loudly: “Jerk king, wait!”