Pretending To Have A Certain Persona Can Be Tiring - Chapter 7

Song Yang had already accepted his fate. Whenever he crossed paths with Ji Ting, he was bound to have bad luck. He could get caught even when bad-mouthing him in secret, so he decided to keep his head down and live a quiet life from now on. If he saw that iceberg face, he would simply hide. If he could not afford to provoke him, he could at least afford to avoid him.

After getting off the subway, he picked up the local specialty snacks sent by Auntie Xu at the parcel locker and headed home. He took a few pictures of the snacks to send to her and then collapsed into a recliner to enjoy them.

While scrolling through his phone, he suddenly saw a status update from Xiaodai stating that she had taken some time off because she had fallen ill.

He quickly sent a private message to express his concern and mentioned that since his friend had already grabbed the merchandise, he decided to keep the figurine for himself.

Thinking of this, Song Yang took the figurine out of his backpack, displayed it in a prominent spot on his desk, and stepped back to admire it. He was delighted with it, so he took out his phone to snap a few photos.

He then updated his feed on his Ceil account:

Ceil: The figurine sent by Xiaodai is so beautiful! It is already set up on my computer desk. [Image] [Image]

Ten minutes later, he received a comment:

Is it really sent by Xiaodai to you?

Who else would it be sent to if not me? Song Yang thought.

Ceil replied: Of course, I just received it.

Uh, have you noticed that Xiaodai has not mentioned you once since the collaboration ended? She does not even want to work with you; it is you who is leeching off her popularity.

Song Yang was confused. As soon as that comment appeared, several others followed suit:

Exactly. Xiaodai probably forgot who he is. Sending him a gift? No way.

It is truly malicious to leech off her popularity while my darling is sick and offline.

If you want to be famous, do it yourself. Always relying on others to take shortcuts will only keep you living in their shadows.

You failure, stop leeching off Sister Dai.

Song Yang: “…”

Song Yang did not know whether to laugh or get angry. “Are they crazy?”

He kept receiving new comments, all of them piling on the abuse. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to delete the post, but then decided to let them be. I, Song Yang, have a clear conscience; why should I pay for the actions of a bunch of brainless people?

After being on the internet for so many years, Song Yang had lost interest in arguing with people online. People only believed what they wanted to see or what they already thought. It was hard to convince anyone, and his defense would only act as a catalyst for a chaotic brawl.

Those keyboard warriors were not seeking the truth; they just used the internet as a shield to watch the drama, vent their emotions, or satisfy a sense of belonging by ganging up on others. Once he realized this, Song Yang could not be bothered to fight with them.

He gritted his teeth and cursed: “You jump off the walls in a frenzy just because I posted a few pictures? Do you usually rely on jumping off walls to lose weight? Your brains are just decorations. Even donating them to a barbecue stall would be more valuable than stuffing them into your skulls.”

Song Yang slowly developed an indifferent mindset. He did not hold grudges for long with these netizens; he was used to scolding them in private and moving on. It relieved his anger and saved him the trouble of wasting his breath.

Feeling much better after venting, he tossed his phone onto the bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up while humming a tune.

When he returned to his bedroom, towel-drying his hair, he opened the app and saw that Xiaodai had already replied.

Xiaodai: Ceil, thank you for your concern. I will focus on recovering. I saw your update; I am sorry. Let me apologize to you on behalf of those unreasonable fans. I hope this does not affect your mood. [Crying]

Ceil: It is fine. You do not need to apologize. I did not take it to heart at all; my mindset is actually quite good.

Not only that, but Song Yang also saw a comment from Xiaodai in the thread:

Wow, it arrived so fast! Remember to send me some when you release your own merchandise in the future. Let us collaborate again once I feel better.

It was a solid slap in the face for those fans. A sense of warmth flooded Song Yang’s heart.

Sure enough, once Xiaodai spoke up, the tone of the comments shifted instantly.

Whatever Darling says is right! May your friendship with Brother Ceil last forever!

Stop yapping, everyone. See? They have a great relationship.

Sob, Xiaodai, I apologize.

My darling, I miss you so much. Get well soon!

Song Yang pouted and muttered softly: “Tch. The humiliation is only temporary. Once I make it big and get my own fans, we will see if you people still dare to bully me.”

The next day there were no classes, so Song Yang slept until he woke up naturally. The bright sunlight shone through the window, feeling warm. After the continuous light rain in Nanzhou City, it had finally cleared up, and he was in a great mood.

However, the moment he opened his phone and clicked into the Literature Department’s WeChat group, he received terrible news.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Student Union: I need the contact list and class schedules for your department. Someone, pick a classmate to compile both and send them to me.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Student Union: How about Song Yang?

Department Head He Jia Miao: @Song Yang

“You mother…” Song Yang threw off his quilt, jumping out of bed in a hurry.

The bed frame creaked loudly. Song Yang held his breath for a second, then sat down carefully. He could make the form, but the bed could not collapse; if it did, he would have to pay for it.

Song Yang flipped through the message history, teeth itching with hatred. Picking a classmate randomly? They are not even pretending anymore. This bastard is really abusing his power to settle a personal score! Is my life of suffering starting today?

Forget it! I really cannot afford to provoke this master now. If I endure it, this will pass.

Song Yang: Your Majesty, your servant has received the order.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Student Union: I need it tonight.

Song Yang: Your servant obeys.

Sang Ling: Song Yang, why are you like this? You are killing me, haha.

Li Muyang: Are you playing cosplay?

Zhang Yu: 6

Department Head He Jia Miao: Song Yang, stop being sarcastic. Everyone, please private message your contact info and class schedules to Song Yang so he can compile them.

Department Head He Jia Miao: I will send the student union work manual later. Please download and study it carefully. We might have a surprise quiz on the manual content during the regular meeting.

Quizzes, quizzes… every day they only care about these superficial things.

Song Yang felt absolute despair. He had planned to play games after lunch, but that was now ruined. He had to sit in front of the computer and open Excel, spending the entire afternoon creating the spreadsheet while silently greeting every generation of Ji’s ancestors.

After submitting the list, Song Yang felt like he was falling apart. He slumped in his chair for a while and checked the time; it was almost eight o’clock. He still had to livestream today.

Just then, Xu Man sent him a message.

Boss Xu: Did you get scolded for leeching off Xiaodai’s popularity last night?

Song Yang: “…”

song: I do not know if I got scolded, but I definitely want to scold you right now.

Boss Xu: Alright, I know what happened. Here is the thing: the company thinks your collaboration livestream performance was lackluster, so we have come up with a new growth plan for you.

Song Yang’s eyes lit up. He could not believe it and felt a surge of surprise as he quickly typed back.

song: Are you finally going to change my persona?

Boss Xu: No. We are preparing to have you take the controversy-driven fame route.

The smile froze on Song Yang’s face. He furrowed his brows, suddenly hit with a bad feeling.

song: ?

Boss Xu: Since leeching off Xiaodai gets you scolded, continue leeching off her to attract more attention. Getting scolded generates traffic. First, boost your engagement, then slowly convert them into loyal fans, and then use some rebranding methods. You will succeed.

Song Yang clicked his tongue, the corner of his mouth twitching as his smile evaporated.

I knew this crappy company would not come up with anything good. A bunch of people making decisions on a whim—they should pack up and switch to selling tea leaves.

song: Does your esteemed company call this despicable method a growth plan?

Boss Xu: Why is it despicable?

song: Xiaodai is my friend. You are asking me to use a friend to achieve my own goals. Is that not despicable enough? Besides, her company just agreed to collaborate with us. You want me to turn my back on them? How did I never notice you were this ungrateful before?

Boss Xu: Do not talk to me about loyalty right now. Xiaodai is your only connection in the V-Tuber circle. There is no such thing as pure friendship in a place of fame and profit; it is just mutual benefit. You are still young, you do not understand.

Song Yang was speechless.

song: Please, my dear cousin. Connections are when you can support each other. One-sided exploitation is just freeloading. I cannot do that.

Boss Xu: You cannot do it, huh? If you do not follow the company’s arrangement, we will treat it as a breach of contract.

A surge of anger flared up in Song Yang. He held the voice message button and yelled at his phone: “Damn it! Breach of contract, then!”

Although he knew Xu Man was just trying to scare him—she was his cousin, after all, and would not go that far—he was still furious.

Song Yang admitted he was a bit utilitarian, but leeching off someone else’s popularity was beneath his dignity. He would rather disappear from the V-Tuber circle than be so shameless. He wanted to rely on himself; he did not want to use others as stepping stones.

I do not believe it. Is there really no way out if I rely on myself? I will not end up that badly.

Even if he failed, he still had a bachelor’s degree to fall back on; he could go back to his hometown and broadcast the weather forecast. It was not as if he had no options, so why resort to such unscrupulous means?

He composed himself, took a sip of water to soothe his throat, and turned on the streaming software.

After five minutes of warming up, the viewer list was still sparse, with the count hovering at twenty. Song Yang cleared his throat and turned on the microphone.

Ceil: Good evening, everyone. Did you miss Ceil?

Since Xiaodai is not streaming, I am lonely, so I came to check on you, failure brother.

Ceil gave an honest, awkward laugh: “Welcome to every baby who joined the stream.”

What program are you streaming today, failure?

Ceil blinked shyly: “Are there any songs you want to hear?”

Can you sing? Sing us a song.

Ceil: Alright. Let me look for something to sing.

He opened his music app, browsed for a moment, and said: “Ceil will bring you this song, Cloudy Day.”

Song Yang felt quite confident. Back during his art school entrance exams, he had almost considered majoring in music. He actually had some real talent when it came to singing.

The quiet music started. Song Yang hummed softly along with the melody and began to sing.

He was not used to pinching his voice while singing, so his vocal quality was closer to his natural tone—clearer and more mature than his usual disguised voice.

It sounds so good! I did not expect Failure to sing this well.

It is such a sad song. Failure brother, be happy!

The soothing tune blended with his gentle, slightly granular voice. The rhythm and emotion were just right, sounding like a surging fountain or a clear stream, naturally calming the listener’s heart.

Song Yang was immersed in the song, eyes closed gently, failing to notice that a big-time fan named Lis had entered the room.

When the song finished and Song Yang opened his eyes, he happened to see a dazzling light effect on the screen. White fireworks flashed across the display. He froze, failing to react immediately.

System Message: Lis sent Fireworks x10

System Message: Congratulations to user Lis for becoming the room’s top fan.

“Oh, shit!” Song Yang let out, failing to restrain his natural voice. Because of the shock, his voice sounded even rougher.

He quickly muted his microphone, terrified, and checked the price of the fireworks in the gift list. He started counting on his fingers: “Thirty yuan each, ten for three hundred… holy shit! This whale is a rich lady.”

Teacher Lis, you are here too! As generous as always.

It is nothing. The gifts L-God gives for Xiaodai never cost less than a thousand.

Am I the only one concerned about that oh shit from earlier? It sounded like his voice mutated. Where is my cute Failure brother?

Song Yang swallowed his saliva and turned on the microphone nervously, using his soft, girlish voice again: “Ahem, sorry, I have a bit of a cold these past few days. Thank you for the fireworks, Lis… um, Sis Lis. Please request a song; I will sing one for you.”

He did not know how else to thank the other person, as it was his first time receiving such an expensive gift.

Husband Lis, say something!

Friendly reminder: Lis is a man.

Ceil widened his eyes, his brain processing at high speed for two seconds before he said weakly: “S-sorry… then… Brother Lis? You pick a song.”

However, ever since sending the gifts, Lis never spoke again. Song Yang opened the viewer list again, but he could not find Lis’s account.

So they already left.

Dropping three hundred bucks and leaving so gracefully… what a mysterious person, Song Yang thought.