After making sure Qingxue had arrived home safely, Xia Liang pressed the elevator button, ready to leave. Just as he was about to go, Qingxue suddenly called out to him.
Xia Liang turned his head and looked at Qingxue’s blushing cheeks, a little puzzled. "Is there something else?"
Qingxue’s face grew even redder, and her voice came out in a stutter. "Um, my parents are away on a business trip today. Can... can you stay with me? I’m scared."
She finished, looking at Xia Liang with a hopeful expression.
Xia Liang subconsciously swallowed. If I stay here tonight, I could probably...
He immediately looked back at Qingxue. "What? Your parents aren’t home? It’s so dangerous for you to be alone!"
Seeing Xia Liang’s worried gaze, Qingxue felt a surge of joy. This idiot has finally caught on! He’s actually worried about my safety today. Does that mean he’ll stay over tonight? At the thought, her heart skipped a beat.
However, under Qingxue’s expectant gaze, Xia Liang said anxiously, "In that case, how about we take a red-eye flight to where your parents are? By the way, where did they go on their business trip? I’ll book the tickets now!"
Is he serious? Qingxue rubbed her forehead, a headache coming on. What kind of logic is that?! Come on! Can’t you just say you’ll stay with me? Sending me all the way to my parents... isn’t that a huge hassle? Wouldn’t staying one night solve everything?
Although that’s what she was thinking, her girlish modesty wouldn’t allow her to say it so bluntly. The invitation she’d just made was already a huge step for her.
Lowering her hand from her forehead, Qingxue quickly waved him off. "No... you don’t have to."
Xia Liang still looked concerned. "But isn’t it very dangerous for you to be home alone?"
"It’s not dangerous," Qingxue said helplessly, pointing at the door. "I can double-lock it."
"Alright then!" Xia Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Then remember to double-lock it tonight, okay?"
"Okay," Qingxue replied listlessly.
She opened her door, no longer feeling the desire to invite Xia Liang in.
After waving farewell, Xia Liang entered the elevator.
After getting home, Qingxue went to her room and stared at the large Pink Panther plushie. She suddenly gave its stomach a couple of punches.
"Stupid Xia Liang! Dense Xia Liang! Why can’t you understand what I mean?"
If it had been anyone else, just hearing that my parents weren’t home, they’d probably find an excuse to come in for a glass of water. Then they’d shamelessly stick around, and who knows what might have happened tonight. Of course, the only reason I invited Xia Liang was because I trust he isn’t that kind of person.
Her punching eventually stopped. Hugging the Pink Panther close, she pinched its cheeks as if it were Xia Liang.
"Little Xia Xia, why are you so silly? You’re really just that innocent, aren’t you?"
Saying this, Qingxue suddenly kissed the plushie.
"Maybe that’s why I like you so much!"
A happy smile spread across her face.
Meanwhile, Xia Liang was heading home. He had actually been quite tempted by her offer. But then he thought of... Qingxue, Su Yi, Xi Yiqian. If I really did something... then when the time comes... Forget it... He still hadn’t made up his mind.
When he returned home and opened the door, he found the apartment pitch-black. Xia Liang checked the time; it was already past eleven. Looks like they’re already asleep. He moved quietly, careful not to disturb the other two. After washing up, Xia Liang went to his room.
After Su Yi got home, she started her PK match for the Feiyu Star competition.
This edition of Feiyu Star was a solo competition. It began with a three-day qualifying round. All gifts received during co-streamed PK battles would be converted into points on a leaderboard. After three days, the top 100 ranked anchors would advance to the official competition, where a series of brutal PK matches would determine the final winner.
Right now, Su Yi’s screen was split in two. Her opponent was a provocatively dressed anchor named Yezi Lamei.
This was the current score based on gifts. Clearly, Su Yi’s stream, with just over a thousand viewers, was no match for her opponent. The blue progress bar representing her gifts was being completely overwhelmed. A PK battle was purely a contest of which fanbase could spend more money, designed to spur on loyal fans.
As Yezi performed a hot dance, her score bar shot up at a visible rate. In contrast, Su Yi’s bar only ticked up by ten or so points at a time. Due to the event rules, this PK battle would last for half an hour, with the winner decided by the final scores.
As the end of the match approached, her opponent grew even more arrogant. After finishing a hot dance, Yezi sat down and spoke to Su Yi via the co-stream.
"Little sister, it looks like you’re about to lose."
Hearing Yezi’s taunt, many of her viewers swarmed into Su Yi’s channel, flooding her bullet chat with arrogant comments.
"You’re Su Sannian, right? You’re about to lose, so you’d better not back out of the bet!"
"Hahaha! It’ll be so much fun to see such a delicate girl do a hot dance."
"Honestly, this anchor is really pretty, but she dresses way too conservatively."
"Totally! Why don’t you change into white thigh-highs? I’ll send you an Airplane if you do!"
Seeing these arrogant comments, many of Su Sannian’s viewers exploded with rage. Their favorite anchor, Su Yi, was being mocked right in front of them.
"Who are you to act so tough?" The most update n0vels are published on novèlfire.net
"You think Sannian is helpless?"
"She just hasn’t called her whale yet!"
"If Summer God Hao shows up, you all would be nothing!"
This exchange piqued the interest of several viewers who had been about to leave.
"Oho? She has a whale?"
"Yeah, come on, call your whale out so we can see."
"What’s the matter? Your anchor’s getting crushed and her biggest supporter is still being a coward? Some whale he is!"
"Hahaha, I just checked her supporter rankings. The number one fan has only sent a single Rocket. Is that it? Is that all you’ve got?"
These viewers, who loved watching drama unfold, immediately went back to Yezi’s stream to report what was happening. Seeing the comments, Yezi covered her mouth and giggled. In an overly saccharine voice, she said, "Now, now, don’t be so harsh. Little sister Sannian is so pretty and innocent. You know, she only has a thousand viewers, and she already has someone sending her Airplanes."
Of course, everyone could read between the lines. On the surface, Yezi was praising Su Yi’s pure and beautiful appearance, but in reality, she was mocking her for having a pretty face that couldn’t attract any real money.
This only infuriated the viewers in Su Yi’s stream even more, but alas, there was nothing they could do. Yezi was right; Su Yi didn’t have a whale. Instead, many of her viewers would each send her a small gift. The gifts, worth over 3,000 mililiters, had all been contributed by this loyal crowd.
Seeing the mood in her chat turn negative, with many falling silent, Su Sannian began to comfort her viewers.