"Uh... I actually fell asleep last night."
Xu Lin rubbed his eyes and realized that he had originally planned to wait until everyone had finished watching to see their first reactions and opinions.
But unexpectedly, he had fallen asleep. However, watching in the morning is just as good. It's only 5:30 AM now, so it's been 6 and a half hours since the video was released.
He opened his video and found that the view count had reached 50,000 overnight.
Although not very high, for a new blogger like him, it was quite impressive. And it was overnight; the growth rate during the day would definitely be faster. Of course, it also helped that Xing Mimi had shared it.
Most of the viewers were still those who had watched his first video. The comments, favorites, and likes had become more stable.
The top comments were jokes, but after scrolling down a bit, he saw some discussions about the video content.
'Last time I commented, hoping for something easy to make with a tutorial, and the uploader delivered. Egg pancakes, nice, I'll try making them tomorrow morning.'
'But can you flip it?'
'Heartbreaking, bro~'
There were also praises for the background music and his simple style.
Although they didn't know, it wasn't that he preferred simplicity; he was just too poor to do anything more elaborate.
Xu Lin continued scrolling and took out a notebook to summarize about ten pieces of feedback.
Someone also noticed he had changed the title and left a comment that Xu Lin pinned.
'I noticed the uploader added a title. This one is "Let Me Cook 001." The other one became "Traveling Gourmet Chronicles 001." Looks like it's going to be a series.'
The replies were all about looking forward to more, saying it was good to have choices, and asking when the next episode would be released.
"But what should I do for the next episode?"
To keep things interesting, Xu Lin thought he should alternate themes. So, the next episode would focus more on the visually appealing "Traveling Gourmet Chronicles."
Oh right!
He had promised Qin Yunhe to make 'Snow Beauty'. He could definitely do that, and the girls would surely give him lots of likes.
Just as he made up his mind, there was a knock on the door. Xu Lin thought it was Class Monitor Ji, so he ran over, but when he opened the door, he saw an unexpected face.
"Li Bin?"
"What's with that look? Is it strange for me to be here?"
Li Bin smiled and handed him a rice porridge. Xu Lin took it.
"Of course it's strange. Don't you always come to class right on time? It's not even 5:30 yet. Couldn't sleep?"
"No, I just came to go to school with you. I got up early today, had nothing to do, and figured I'd lose some weight."
Li Bin touched his stomach. He was 183 cm tall and weighed 165 pounds, not exactly fat, just a bit chubby around the stomach and thighs. You couldn't really tell when he wore his school uniform.
But recently, seeing Ma Zhiyu and Xu Lin, he felt envious and wondered if being slim might attract more girls. If so, losing weight would be worth it.
Even if he couldn't find a girlfriend now, slim and tall guys were definitely more popular in college.
"Weight loss is more about persistence than the intensity of exercise."
"I can definitely persist."
"I don't believe it. Run for ten days first."
"Xu Lin, don't look down on me. I can handle running!"
"Fine, but I won't be running for the next few days. I injured my hip."
"Really? I wondered why you were riding a bike yesterday."
Li Bin reached out to touch him, but Xu Lin swatted his hand away.
"My girlfriends can touch me, but you, a guy, shouldn't be doing that!"
Seeing Xu Lin roll his eyes with a slight pout, Li Bin was momentarily stunned.
He hadn't noticed before, but Xu Lin was quite good-looking, with skin as smooth as a girl's. He had red lips and white teeth, and if his hair were longer, he'd be as attractive as Ji Yun.
But the next second, Li Bin pinched his thigh. What the hell was he thinking?!
Li Bin, you must be jealous of everyone having girlfriends. Don't be impulsive and go astray! Stay away from such thoughts!
"What's wrong with you?"
Xu Lin looked at Li Bin scratching his head and couldn't help but find it strange, though this guy always had a bit of a reckless demeanor.
"It's okay, it's okay. You're so handsome, it's no surprise you're popular. But even Ma Zhiyu, looking the way he does, can find a pretty girlfriend."
"Stop being sour. Just study hard now. When you get to college, there will be plenty of good-looking girls. Trust me."
"Don't lie to me. My cousin thought the same thing, but when he got to college..."
"Uh, that really sounds like a sad story."
"Forget it. Instead of thinking about that, let's focus on studying. Maybe I can get into a top-tier university. My parents would be so happy."
Li Bin said this with a silly smile and patted Xu Lin on the shoulder.
"Let's go. You ride the bike, and I'll run behind you."
"Can you handle it?"
"I walked here, why can't I?"
"Wow, impressive. It's quite far from your place. Let's go call Ji Yun and the others."
"Who else?"
"Just Chu... the teacher." Xu Lin quickly stopped himself before revealing too much about Chu Qingchan.
He hurriedly took out his phone and sent a message to Chu Qingchan: "A friend and I are coming over. You should wear a mask."
Chu Qingchan quickly replied, "Can I take a day off today?"
Actually, everyone started exercising for their health, but now Ji Yun and Xu Lin are both in good shape. Only Chu Qingchan is still trying to lose weight.
Since she has a desk job, if she doesn't exercise and eats normally every day, she will definitely gain weight. But it seems like it's been several weeks already.
It wouldn't hurt to let her rest for a day, Xu Lin thought, and decided to reply with "Okay."
Chu Qingchan then replied, "Just kidding, I can't slack off. It's hard enough to maintain my weight at 99 pounds."
"Alright then."
"Messaging Ji Yun?"
"Yeah, telling her to dress warmly. Let's go."
"Okay."
Xu Lin changed his clothes and informed his parents before heading downstairs with Li Bin.
Downstairs, as they were heading out, a girl in a yellow dress walked in.
Both Xu Lin and the girl were slightly surprised. The girl nodded at Xu Lin, and he just walked out without saying anything.
As the elevator doors closed and they walked out, Li Bin asked, "Who was that? A neighbor?"
"No, it's the daughter of one of my dad's friends, Qin Tiantian."
Xu Lin hadn't expected to see this girl again. Though their first encounter wasn't pleasant, she was now a victim of online harassment.
Unfortunately, it was due to her own poor choices that led to this outcome.
Xu Lin's dad had mentioned that to thank old man Qin downstairs for saving her life, she and her dad often came to visit him.
"I think she's really pretty."
"She is."
Although Qin Tiantian couldn't compare to Chu Qingchan and the others, she was at least a 6 out of 10. With makeup, she could probably rival Ji Yun without makeup.
"Do you think I could..."
"Li Bin, she's not an ordinary beauty. You can't handle her."