Under the comfort of daily life, time passes quickly.
The day Tang Hua and I agreed upon was set for Thursday. During their conversation, Lu Qing noticed that Tang Hua wasn’t as reclusive or sinking into negativity as he had imagined. Instead, she seemed to have returned to her previous state of being a 38-year-old unemployed doujinshi artist, carefree and indifferent, as if... she had put on a mask again.
“No, something’s off.”
Lu Qing wasn’t foolish; he understood the saying, “When things are unusual, there must be a reason.”
Although he had assigned her tasks, there was an underlying sense that she was... brewing something big.
Based on his understanding of Tang Hua, she was definitely up to something secretive at home. The last surprise visit had already revealed the problem, especially those shocking photos on the wall, which he still hadn’t figured out how to deal with...
“Leaving them in her hands like this isn’t good, right?”
Lu Qing sat in the 89 Degrees C milk tea shop, sipping his afternoon tea with a troubled expression.
—Today was Wednesday.
Since Bai Xing had gotten her life back on track, she rarely attended classes anymore. She spent all her time researching livestreaming, delving into the motion modules of “Mei Biya,” trying to find a rhythm of expressions that suited her better.
He had messaged her before, asking how she planned to deal with failing her courses.
Bai Xing’s response was carefree:
“If I’ve already failed, going to meaningless classes is just stupid! I need to spend all my time getting familiar with the VTuber avatar. Otherwise, when I go to take care of my grandma next week and come back after some time, I’ll be rusty! That’s absolutely unacceptable! I can’t let you down, can I?”
The girl’s intention was clear: for the rest of the semester, up until finals, she planned to slack off.
Lu Qing did the math. Aside from a few highly-regarded professors who never took attendance, Bai Xing had pretty much failed all her courses. She already had six subjects that required retakes, and the rest were barely passing. Missing one more class would seal her fate.
Though he wanted to urge her to salvage what she could, he also understood the immense pressure she was under. How could she possibly focus on school matters now?
“If I remember correctly, according to the hospital’s schedule, grandma’s chemotherapy is set for this weekend.”
“Hmm...”
“For Bai Xing, the real ‘exam’ isn’t happening at school, is it?”
Lu Qing saw things clearly, so there was no need for him to intervene.
As the only relative of her grandmother, Bai Xing would spend at least a week providing full-time care. During this period, she might only go home to shower or change clothes when absolutely necessary.
He had done some research and knew that a round of chemotherapy was calculated in cycles. Depending on the type of tumor, the number of cycles, potential side effects, and treatment outcomes varied.
However, in Bai Xing’s grandmother’s case, things were slightly more complicated. Due to her advanced age, the first round of medication would be administered over seven days, during which a family member had to be present at all times to monitor her condition and seek medical help if anything went wrong.
This meant that Bai Xing would be tied up at the hospital, unable to step away.
Which led to the next thought: “Mei Biya’s” livestreams would have at least a full week of downtime.
“What should we do?”
Lu Qing pondered the core issue.
He was well aware that the VTuber industry shared some similarities with novel writing—
For example, a novel couldn’t just stop updating without reason. Doing so would waste all the previous effort, cutting short months or even years of hard work, with no way to recover.
Of course, even with a valid reason, the algorithm wouldn’t listen. There was no point in arguing with the system.
Similarly, if a VTuber didn’t stream regularly, the audience wouldn’t wait around. They’d quickly move on to other streamers.
After all, society was harsh like that. If you didn’t stream, someone else would.
If you didn’t give them something good to watch, why wouldn’t they go watch someone else?
Even those who claimed to be loyal fans, with signatures declaring themselves “XXX’s one and only,” would secretly—or even openly—create alternate accounts or use their main accounts to watch other streamers.
Tsk.
“So...”
If they didn’t want to waste all the groundwork they’d laid, if they didn’t want to let this week go to waste, there was only one solution—
[They had to contact Tang Hua and have her step in as the second potential VTuber to fill in for Bai Xing.]
Obviously, this was a risky move.
“...I wonder if she’d be willing to step up.”
During that visit to her home, he had brought up the idea, and Tang Hua hadn’t shied away. In fact, she seemed eager to give it a try.
However, considering her complete lack of livestreaming experience, forcing her to dive in headfirst wouldn’t be wise.
The best-case scenario would be to “train” her before the day arrived, giving her some experience to work with rather than throwing her into the deep end with zero preparation.
“What should I do...?”
Lu Qing gripped his milk tea cup, slurping through the straw, downing an extra-large iced lemon black tea.
He thought carefully—
“Tang Hua’s understanding of the VTuber avatar far surpasses Bai Xing’s, as she’s the artist behind it. She’s familiar with every detail, and she’s the literal embodiment of a succubus. That’s undeniable.”
“But her ability to interact with chat, adapt on the fly, handle trolls, and manage stress during a livestream are all unknowns... She definitely can’t match Bai Xing in those areas.”
Lu Qing knew that Bai Xing had been tempered through trials by fire, her resilience unshakable.
Though she was somewhat fragile in real life, online and in work mode, she rarely broke down or lashed out.
But Tang Hua was different.
Tang Hua had a history of abandoning her Twitter account after being harassed by trolls and keyboard warriors, leading to a period of self-isolation and a dark turn in her life.
Lu Qing had no doubt that if he hadn’t given her commissions to ease her financial stress, she might have sunk into obscurity, falling into an irreversible abyss.
So now, he was left with only two options—
First, ask Bai Xing to share some of her professional tips before she left for the hospital, essentially “mentoring” Tang Hua.
But this could easily provoke resistance from Bai Xing, as it would feel like he was outright saying, “Can you teach her your secrets? I want her to replace you.” It was a low-EQ move, the worst of the worst strategies.
Second, take matters into his own hands and go to Tang Hua’s place to personally teach her how to handle special situations, how to time her expressions perfectly, and so on.
This was the more reasonable and feasible option. Even if Lu Qing wasn’t as skilled as Bai Xing in VTuber techniques, they could work together, combining their efforts to reach a decent level of competency.
This kind of collaborative growth had a certain charm to it.
“Hmm...”
Of course, Lu Qing knew that even if he chose the second option, he’d have to be there on the day of the stream, possibly even staying by Tang Hua’s side to prevent any mishaps.
“Bai Xing’s issue was that she couldn’t grasp the ‘essence’ of the avatar, which was a minor problem. But with Tang Hua, I’d have to hold her hand, guide her, and watch over her every step of the way. If she gets bullied, it could lead to major problems.”
Lu Qing’s thoughts were clear. “Yes, I mustn’t let her break.”
[I have to protect her.]
...
...
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
