Zhou Yi felt, for the first time, an urge to howl in despair.
He even started to wonder if he really was just too idle.
And did Li Xu really go exercise? Did she actually start slimming down?
Sigh, why did he even care about these things?
Even while complaining to himself like this, he still couldn’t resist clicking on Li Xu’s Wechat profile again, checking her Moments, only to find them completely empty.
In fact, it even seemed like she’d blocked him, because at the top was two horizontal dashes and a comma.
Good grief, the joke’s on him after all.
Zhou Yi felt miserable inside.
It wasn’t as if his Livestream Room didn’t have Bai Fumei throwing money at him, and he’d added plenty of top-ranking big sisters on Wechat.
Those people couldn’t wait for him to see even the very last post in their Moments—every time they exercised, made a low-fat meal, or went out to eat something pretty.
They’d be sure to snap a side profile, show off their figure, and post selfies. Unlike Li Xu, who was utterly unmoved, like Tang Sanzang.
Respect.
He even started to think—maybe it really was his own problem. Was he just not attractive enough to draw people in?
With these thoughts, Zhou Yi couldn’t sleep well at all that night.
He got up in the middle of the night and posted an emo, late-night, sentimental Moment, with a handsome side-profile selfie.
As soon as it was posted, lots of friends and fans liked it, but all the way until it was almost time for his livestream the next day, he still didn’t get a like from Li Xu.
Zhou Yi was completely maxed out on frustration.
Li Xu, on the other hand, slept exceptionally well—she slept straight through for eighteen hours.
When she woke up and saw the time on her phone, she thought she’d time-traveled again.
Who on earth sleeps eighteen hours in one go? Isn’t that basically just passing out? Though after waking up, she did feel extremely refreshed, as if she could go downstairs and run for two hours…
It wasn’t an illness, it was just that she’d just come back from the world inside the book, so the strain was great, and her body’s protective mechanism put her into a deep-sleep mode.
Plus, you exercised excessively yesterday to speed up body purification and fat burning, which is why you slept so long.” The System quietly explained Li Xu’s confusion.
Li Xu moved a bit and felt that her body had indeed sweated a lot.
So she ran to the bathroom and took another shower.
***
After coming out, she stepped onto the Electronic Scale and found her weight had already dropped from 149 to 147. In less than twenty-four hours, she’d lost two pounds.
With this rate of weight loss, she figured she’d be able to meet her brother’s teammates at the Training Camp in less than a month.
Because of this, Li Xu felt in a pretty good mood.
But her stomach was still very hungry.
At this moment, her phone started vibrating again.
Zhou Yi: [Aren’t you livestreaming today, Old Boss?]
Zhou Yi seemed afraid he’d annoy Li Xu again today. After asking, he sent a cute bear sticker.
Li Xu: [I’m livestreaming, but haven’t cooked yet.]
Zhou Yi: [Huh? Why haven’t you cooked again, though?] Even his filler words now sounded a bit cautious, but clearly, Li Xu didn’t care about his sensitive tone. After thinking for a moment, she started the stream.
This time, not even a minute after she went live, the Livestream Room was almost at five hundred people.
Li Xu wasn’t in the Bookroom but had brought her phone to the kitchen, setting it on a stand facing the stove.
[Hey, what about today’s meal?]
[No food today?]
[Why are you in the kitchen?]
[I’m a new fan, just asking—will there still be a segment where you review the Male Host today?]
Li Xu glanced at the barrage, adjusted her sunglasses, and said calmly, “I overslept again today… Slept for more than ten hours…”
“So I’m making a simple meal today, will do it during the livestream, it’ll be quick.
“What Male Host? Zhou Yi? I can’t connect with him right now, wait a moment…”
As soon as Li Xu finished speaking, Zhou Yi’s request for a livestream connection came through.
Li Xu put her phone on the stand, thought for a second, and accepted the connection.
Zhou Yi’s face appeared on the big screen. Today, he was wearing a black fox-ear headband, his eyelids seemed to have a hint of red makeup, and he looked delicate and attractive.
As soon as he saw Li Xu, he moved closer to the camera, those puppy eyes blinking, making all the female viewers in the Livestream Room’s hearts flutter.
“Jie… uh, Old Boss, you’re finally online, I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
He deliberately changed his tone, making his voice sound a bit seductive.
Li Xu was thinking about what to eat for dinner—cold shredded chicken or Chicken Drumstick with Scallion.
Hearing Zhou Yi’s affected voice, she frowned and looked up, seeing Zhou Yi with those suggestive props, gazing at her eagerly.
“Waiting for what? Didn’t I say I was going to cook?”
Her tone was flat, not the least bit tempted.
She even took a step back upon seeing Zhou Yi on the screen, as if to keep a distance.
She looked away, glancing at the fridge thoughtfully.
After a while, she looked back at the camera, her tone perfunctory.
“Alright, enough talking, go play by yourself.
“I’m going to cook now.
“Hanging up.”
Zhou Yi blinked, but before he could say anything, the call was cut off.
The shattered smile on his face froze, and he felt a huge, muddy block well up in his heart—he’d been passed over again.
Many viewers who came to the Livestream Room for the clips thought it would be a while before the main event, but unexpectedly, it started right away.
[“Go play by yourself.”]
This new catchphrase exploded and was spammed repeatedly by the viewers.
[Heart fluttering can’t compare to stomach cramps.]
[Food is the most important thing in the world.]
[Did the streamer really just step back when she saw the Male Host’s getup? Was that for real?]
[A role model for us all.]
[Zhou Yi: Even this can’t win you over.]
[Hahaha, came from the other stream, Zhou Yi was left speechless for a solid two minutes after being cut off. I think his eyes were about to turn red.]
[I don’t believe it, this must be scripted. The streamer is so plain, looks chubby and a bit rustic, and yet she’s totally unaffected by such a handsome guy??]
[Is she really not flustered? (suspicious)]
[Classic—heart fluttering can’t compare to stomach cramps.]
[The Male Host is so pitiful, to be humiliated by such an ordinary Female Host.]
[The previous comments, don’t love the Male Host too much.]
Topics about “script”, “male-female rivalry”, and “heart fluttering can’t compare to stomach cramps” quickly heated up, and the barrage became lively and noisy.
And Zhou Yi, who’d been cut off from the livestream, was at the peak of his unwillingness.
He composed himself, smiled at his female fans in the Livestream Room, and said, “Cut off again. How about we see what Mao Xu, Old Boss, is up to? Let’s spy on her.”
He bit down on the words “spy on” especially hard, sounding a bit gritted.
[Zhou Yi’s face after being hung up.]
[Why, Zhou Zhou, why can’t you let it go? Why tie yourself to her?]
[Why are you so devoted to her? Do you really like her that much? She’s just an ordinary mukbang streamer, and not even polite.]
[If it really doesn’t work, let’s interact with another Female Host, okay? I feel bad watching you like this.]
Zhou Yi thought: Of course I have to be devoted.
Just one day of streaming with her, and the clips alone got him nearly ten thousand new followers.
Zhou Yi comforted himself with this mutual benefit.
He told himself, he wasn’t really curious about Li Xu or wanted to conquer her—he was just spying on her for the sake of the show.
It was just for the program effect.
Li Xu didn’t pay attention to any of them.
She was starving and quickly took ingredients from the fridge, prepped them, started cooking, and in less than ten minutes, a fragrant, colorful, and delicious plate of cold shredded chicken was ready and in her hands.
She began eating heartily, completely naturally.
She stuffed a big bite of chicken into her mouth, then, while chewing, looked at the viewers in the Livestream Room and asked, “What are you all arguing about? Don’t you eat?”
“Heart fluttering can’t compare to stomach cramps… I wasn’t fluttering at all, my friends.”
Her tone was flat, completely unaware that Zhou Yi was spying on her. After hearing her say, “I wasn’t fluttering at all,” Zhou Yi felt his heart shatter.
Normally, when he appeared in this outfit, his female fans would call him a “charm demon.”
[Wuwuwu, feels like Zhou Yi’s about to break.]
[So she really didn’t feel anything, it was just plain old stomach cramps?]
[The streamer cooks so fast, it’s like she appeared with a bowl out of nowhere—like a ghost.]
[Wow, that cold shredded chicken looks so appetizing.]
As soon as Li Xu finished speaking, the gritted-teeth Zhou Yi couldn’t help but send another connection request.
Li Xu thought, Zhou Yi really was persistent.
But after thinking for a second, she still accepted.
Zhou Yi’s face, with those fluffy fox ears, appeared on screen again.
“Old Boss? Finally eating? Can I join the stream now?”
Li Xu stuffed another big bite of cold shredded chicken into her mouth, cheeks puffed out, looking a bit cute as she looked at the camera.
Zhou Yi paused and asked, “Is it good?”
Li Xu: “It’s good.”
“That’s all you’re having for dinner?”
Li Xu: “Dieting.”
[Huh? Really dieting? Just eating this? Not even having a staple food?]
[No way, my favorite mukbang streamer is starting to diet?]
[But Mao Xu still eats so deliciously. Watching her eat big bites is really satisfying.]
[Why does she look a bit cute? Is it the camera angle? Feels like Mao Xu’s face looks a bit slimmer.]
[Are the previous comments just forcing praise? Who’d watch a mukbang streamer eat this little? Now she’s doing a romance script and a slimming arc for traffic, isn’t this just a hard pivot for more views?]
[(+1)]
[I don’t get why some people are so negative. I think the streamer’s fine like this. And regardless of whether it’s scripted, the livestream is entertaining, isn’t it?]
Zhou Yi stared at the screen for a while, surprisingly at a loss for words.
As soon as Li Xu talked to him properly, he felt all his anger melt away, and even his smile became clearer.
Zhou Yi: “Uh, how about a tutorial? I’ll try making the same dish next time.”
Li Xu: “Maybe later.”
Zhou Yi felt strangely like he was being cold-shouldered. His mind spun for a while before he remembered the real reason he’d joined the stream.
That “I wasn’t fluttering at all” had shaken him to his core.
So this time, determined, he blinked at Li Xu, trying to activate his charm skill.
“By the way, jie, can I ask—what would it take for you to feel your heart flutter?”
Li Xu slowly looked up at him, and the moment she did, he felt his hands and feet go numb.
It’s over.
He thought.
Shouldn’t have called her jie, should’ve called her Old Boss.