Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sorry, That Was a Group Message!

Half an hour later.

Bai Qingming took a taxi back to his old apartment complex. The main reason for taking a cab was to avoid letting Wang discover that the car he’d been flaunting actually belonged to him—how embarrassing would that be? Of course, not knowing how to drive was a small part of it, but so insignificant it was hardly worth mentioning.

He went upstairs and knocked on the door.

When Wang opened it, Bai Qingming was surprised to see him holding up a cell phone.

“Welcome, newcomers to my stream! Don’t forget to follow your big brother here.”

So this guy had started livestreaming too.

As he spoke, Wang turned the camera toward Bai Qingming. “See, I told you the Godfather of Singles, your spiritual leader, would show up! We’re good buddies, aren’t we? See, I wasn’t lying!”

“Wang, what’s this about?” Bai Qingming was at a loss for words. This guy didn’t look heartbroken at all.

“Ahem, well, you know, I’m out of work right now, so I thought I’d ride your popularity a bit, start streaming and make some pocket money or something. You don’t mind, do you?” Wang turned the camera away from the stream, whispering to Bai Qingming. He couldn’t let his viewers know about this. After all, anyone who’d watched the “murderer at the door” stream knew Wang was a man of means.

Bai Qingming just smiled and said nothing. For all his posturing, Wang was a good guy.

So he stepped closer and greeted Wang’s viewers through the stream. But when Bai Qingming checked, only ten people were following Wang’s channel, and there were less than fifty watching live. It was even worse than his own stream back when he was unknown—downright pitiful.

After a moment’s thought, Bai Qingming pulled out his own phone.

“Wang, what’s your stream ID?” he asked.

He usually streamed at night, but for Wang’s sake, a short broadcast during the day wouldn’t hurt.

“952712138,” Wang replied, having no idea what Bai Qingming intended—maybe just a follow or something.

“Got it.”

Once his stream was live, Bai Qingming found a prominent spot on the screen to display Wang’s channel ID, labeling it “Old Wang Next Door.”

Bai Qingming’s popularity was undeniable; in just a few moments, over a million viewers had gathered in his stream.

“The spiritual leader is live? Ended so early last night—did he go out for a massage?”

“What’s the Godfather of Singles streaming today?”

“Wait, isn’t that Wang?”

“Did another fearless murderer come knocking?”

Messages flew across the screen, and it wasn’t long before people noticed Wang in the frame.

“Hey everyone, up top is Wang’s stream ID. If you like him, go give him a follow,” Bai Qingming said, getting straight to the point and giving Wang a wave of promotion.

In an instant, Wang’s viewer count soared into the thousands, and viewers began sending him virtual gifts.

“Well done, little brother. You’re a real friend. One of these days, I’ll take you to see the new development I just opened,” Wang declared, raising his voice for both streams’ audiences, grateful and never missing a chance to show off.

“What’s the host streaming today?” asked a viewer.

Seeing this, Bai Qingming realized he hadn’t planned anything. What was there to stream in broad daylight? Just him and Wang drinking and shooting the breeze? How dull.

“By the way, Wang, weren’t you heartbroken?” Bai Qingming remembered his original purpose for coming.

“Yeah, let me tell you, brother, this time I was so close. I added her as a friend, took her out to dinner and the movies a few times, but when I confessed, she still turned me down,” Wang replied gloomily.

“You got that far?” Bai Qingming was astonished. That didn’t seem like Wang at all.

“Exactly,” Wang sighed. “Brother, you’ve never tasted the bitterness of love. You couldn’t possibly understand how I feel right now.”

If he hadn’t said that, Bai Qingming might have let it go. But with those words, Bai Qingming was slightly offended.

So I’ve never been in love? Is that what you think of me?

Fine, you think of me as a brother, and you insult me like this. Well, I’ll have to show you what’s what.

“Wang, it seems you don’t know me as well as you think,” Bai Qingming replied.

“What do you mean?” Wang was confused.

Instead of answering, Bai Qingming turned to his phone and addressed the viewers.

“You all call me the Godfather of Singles, but you’re mistaken. In truth, I’m a master of romance.”

At this, the chat exploded, accusing Bai Qingming of bragging.

“A master of romance? I won’t believe it unless you prove it.”

“Who needs romance? Being single is the best. Host, sing us a song instead!”

“Stop bluffing. Godfather of Singles, our spiritual leader, never dates, always single, forever our king!”

Seeing this, Bai Qingming simply changed the stream’s title to “Master of Romance: Live Teaching.”

“Watch carefully, everyone. I’ll show you how to pursue a woman,” he announced.

With that, he set his phone at a good angle.

Once everything was ready, Bai Qingming turned to Wang.

“Wang, tell me, how did you confess to her?”

“On WeChat.”

“All right, let me see your chat history.”

Wang had two phones—the one he was streaming with and another. Without thinking much about it, he opened WeChat, found the girl in his contacts, and handed the phone to Bai Qingming.

To be honest, the conversation was almost unbearable to read.

Wang: “Are you there?”

Girl: “Yes.”

Wang: “Have you eaten?”

Girl: “I have.”

Wang: “What did you eat?”

Girl: “Noodles.”

Wang: “What kind of noodles?”

Girl: “Never mind, I’m going to shower.”

At the end:

Wang: “I’ve been watching you for a while and think you’re excellent. You qualify to be my girlfriend. Be with me.”

Girl: “Thanks for the compliment. I know I’m excellent, but we’re not right for each other.”

The chat ended abruptly, just over an hour ago.

After reading it, Bai Qingming couldn’t help but admire the display of amateurism. With Wang’s approach, it was a wonder he wasn’t single for life. Any woman in her right mind would reject such a confession.

“So, what do you think? You said you could do it. Do I still have a chance?” For some reason, Wang now seemed to trust Bai Qingming implicitly.

“Um…” Bai Qingming was momentarily at a loss. Judging by the chat, the girl had zero feelings for him. How was he supposed to turn this around?

“Got it!” Bai Qingming’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Wang, I’ll teach you a strategy: play hard to get. Change her impression of you, and then we’ll take it slow. What do you say?”

“What’s ‘play hard to get’?” Wang didn’t understand. “I didn’t study much. Don’t fool me.”

“Trust me. This will work,” Bai Qingming said, full of confidence.

“So what should I say?”

“I’ll reply for you. Just watch.”

With that, Bai Qingming took the phone and quickly typed out a message:

“Sorry, that last one was a group message!”