Volume 1, Chapter 57: What is Dignity?
Zhou Shutong pressed her forehead, tears failing to come as she looked at me helplessly. “What you’re saying requires a solid foundation in the Ten-Year Sunflower Manual; without that, you really can’t train. Why don’t you try a different talent?”
I paused briefly, then said, “Alright, literature is also one of my strengths. I can compose poetry and couplets.”
Zhou Shutong took me seriously, completely missing the joke. She looked at me earnestly. “You’re serious? Then I’ll give you the first line, and you try to complete it.”
“Sure! Go ahead!”
After a moment’s thought, Zhou Shutong said, “Ten years of life and death, two oblivions.”
Without hesitation, I replied, “Five years of life and death, one oblivion.”
“...”
The chat room exploded with comments as we bantered.
[Learned something new, the streamer is amazing!]
[Darn, even though we know he’s wrong, that answer doesn’t seem off at all.]
Next, it was my turn to challenge Zhou Shutong. This kind of game was a must-have at our dormitory’s late-night chats in college—I could do it effortlessly.
Looking at her beautiful face, I gave a mischievous smile. “This time I’ll say the second line, and you complete the first.”
Unaware of the trick, Zhou Shutong nodded gently. “Okay! Let’s go!”
“What’s the first line to ‘The frost leaves are redder than the February flowers’?”
“Stop the carriage to sit… Yu Bin!!!”
...
The two-hour livestream passed as I talked and joked my way through it. Honestly, the fans loved this style; whenever I chatted casually, the interaction peaked.
After the stream ended, my head felt fuzzy, even a bit breathless. This experience made me admire Zhou Shutong even more—she streamed four hours daily; I couldn’t imagine how she managed.
Closing the stream, Zhou Shutong looked at the backend data, her eyes shining with excitement. “Wow! Your two-hour stream got great numbers!”
I smiled wryly. “That’s all thanks to the new product, not me.”
She laughed and retorted, “Don’t be modest. I actually think you have great potential as a streamer. You’re especially humorous, good at throwing and catching jokes. Why not consider partnering up with me for livestreams?”
I shook my head and declined with a smile. “I’m shameless, but you know, I only have one face—I have to use it sparingly.”
Zhou Shutong chuckled, her gaze intense. “I’m serious. Think about it. You’d be perfect.”
---
“I’m a man who sells himself, not his skills. By the way, are you feeling better? You’re still sick like this, yet thinking about work?”
Zhou Shutong sipped her hot water, smiling softly. “Much better now.”
Worried about disturbing her rest, I quickly got up to leave. Back home, I thought Lin Feifei had gone, but to my surprise, she was asleep on the carpet.
She looked beautiful asleep—long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings, black hair flowing like clouds, her chest rising and falling with each breath, a breathtaking sight.
“Hey, hey, wake up. Why are you sleeping on the floor? Go to the bed.”
I gently woke Lin Feifei. She blinked groggily and sat up with a startled “Ah!”
“How did I fall asleep? Playing games and suddenly I just nodded off.”
Seeing her sleepy eyes, I smiled wryly. “You should go rest in the bedroom.”
“And you?”
“Me? I’m obviously sleeping on the sofa.”
Lin Feifei stuck out her tongue playfully, embarrassed. “Sorry for bothering you tonight.”
I nodded seriously, pondering. “It really was a bit of a bother tonight. If possible, I hope such disturbances… happen more often!”
“Ugh!”
Lin Feifei rolled her eyes and sleepily walked toward the bedroom.
I was exhausted too, pulled a thin blanket over myself, and drifted into a hazy sleep.
Sleeping on the sofa was uncomfortable; I woke the next day with aches all over. Still, I got up early to make breakfast.
When I lived with Kuang Li, we had a clear division: I cooked, she ate. So I’d honed my cooking skills. Seeing Lin Feifei hadn’t touched the rice from last night’s takeout, I decided to make fried rice with eggs.
Waking up and seeing a stunning beauty asleep in the bedroom felt surreal.
Lin Feifei and I had “lived” together more than once and were used to this arrangement. I expected her to sleep late, but the aroma of the fried rice woke her up.
The sound of her moving made me listen carefully through the thin walls. When the bedroom door opened, I glanced over and first saw a pair of delicate, fair feet.
“Morning! What’s cooking? It smells amazing!”
Lin Feifei stretched like a cat drawn by the scent of fish and walked into the kitchen.
I smiled. “This is my ancestral secret: egg fried rice.”
---
Lin Feifei looked at the golden fried rice in the pan, her eyes full of anticipation. “Wow, that looks delicious. You’re amazing!”
Under her admiring gaze, I smiled. “You’ll see, I have more talents than just this.”
“Yeah? What else?”
I grinned. “I’m not only good in the kitchen, but also in bed.”
“Ugh!”
“Go wash up! I already put your toiletries in the bathroom.”
Lin Feifei rolled her eyes, then before turning away said, “I’ll take a shower and borrow your clothes for a change!”
With that, she sashayed out of the kitchen.
After she finished washing, the fried rice was already on the table. She exclaimed, then eagerly scooped a big spoonful.
Confident in my cooking, I still felt a little nervous waiting for her verdict. “Well? How is it?”
Lin Feifei nodded with satisfaction, a look of bliss on her face. “It’s unbelievably good. I didn’t expect you to make even ordinary egg fried rice taste this amazing.”
Relieved, I laughed. “Glad you like it. Eat as much as you want!”
Lin Feifei smiled slyly like a cunning fox. “Hehe, I knew you cooked well, but I didn’t expect your fried rice to be this good. You really are amazing.”
I felt a bit proud. “If I applied as a chef at a five-star hotel, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Lin Feifei rolled her eyes. “I’ve never seen anyone so shameless.”
“Well, now you have.”
She pouted. “I used to think your face was thicker than a city wall’s corner, but now I’ve changed my mind.”
Curious, I asked, “What do you think now?”
“I think you don’t have a face at all.”