At 8 PM, Chen Xiang logged onto 'Whale TV' on time.
Chen Xiang is from Northeast China. After graduating from a local third-rate university last year, he moved to the capital city to make a living. He has changed jobs several times, and only recently has he finally settled down, becoming part of the "drifting ants."
Regarding the future, Chen Xiang feels very confused and he hasn't thought much about it. It's unrealistic to settle down and start a family in the capital city, so he aims to earn as much money as possible, knowing he will eventually go back home.
Thus, he lives a very frugal life, staying in a cheap basement and eating at inexpensive fast-food places. He has no girlfriend and doesn't go out to have fun; his only leisure activity is surfing the internet.
He enjoys watching movies and reading novels, listening to pop music, and chatting in forums, finding joy in these simple pleasures.
In the past two years, live streaming shows have become popular online, and Chen Xiang enjoys them, especially lifestyle and entertainment shows, where many pretty girls flirt with the screen, fulfilling his fantasies without costing him anything.
As a result, he frequents various live-streaming platforms and quickly becomes an experienced viewer.
However, the downside of being an experienced viewer is that he quickly becomes desensitized after seeing too much.
The girls he watches usually have double eyelids, sharp faces, false eyelashes, colored contact lenses, and a thick layer of makeup. Even their flirtatious actions seem to have been collectively trained, making him lose interest after a while.
Chen Xiang's taste isn't very refined either, and fearing he might be compromising his health, he soon discarded these unattainable girl streamers in search of new pleasures.
A little over half a month ago, while browsing 'Whale TV', Chen Xiang accidentally clicked on a newcomer recommendation on the homepage, entering the live streaming room of a streamer named "Lu Fei."
From that moment on, he became a part of the Lu family army.
What touched Chen Xiang back then was that Lu Fei lived in a place very similar to his own, and through their conversation, he learned that Lu Fei was also trying to make a living in the capital city.
Perhaps it was a case of kindred spirits or shared hardships, but he ended up donating 1,000 Fish Balls to Lu Fei for the first time, equivalent to the money he would spend on a meal!
He loved listening to Lu Fei's performances, enjoyed the streamer's optimism and humor, and was particularly fond of their original folk songs.
He felt that the lyrics resonated deeply with his own heart.
Given his limited financial situation, he couldn't donate like the wealthy do; all he could offer was a small token of support while watching the live streams.
Knowing that Lu Fei would be participating in the upcoming 'Whale TV' PK theme show, Chen Xiang decided to take action to support him. From early in the morning until nightfall, he posted hundreds of promotional messages across various forums.
Though these posts were swiftly crushed and his accounts banned, Chen Xiang remained happy, sharing in the joy of battling in the online world with thousands of fellow fans.
Moreover, he was lucky enough to snag a few red envelopes worth dozens of yuan from the group leader "Li Bai"!
Chen Xiang decided to convert all these red envelopes into Fish Balls to donate to Lu Fei.
At the same time, he hoped that Lu Fei's theme show that night would be exciting and that he would win a spot in the PK Top 5!
So, as soon as it turned 8 PM, Chen Xiang, along with countless fans, rushed into Lu Fei's live streaming room.
They were first met with a 3-minute advertisement.
"I can't believe it; 'Whale TV' is getting more shameless with each passing day— roll the ads away!"
"My life has been wasted for another 3 minutes."
"Exactly, 3 minutes is enough for the brother before to finish, including undressing and dressing!"
"Hahaha!"
"Everyone, stop talking. Let's just watch the ads. All the companies above have gone bankrupt!"
"All the companies above have gone bankrupt! All the companies above have gone bankrupt!"
"All the companies above have gone bankrupt!"
"All the companies…"
Even during ad time, with so many humorous comments flying by, it wasn't boring at all. Chen Xiang happily typed away on his keyboard, joining in with the same content, flooding the screen with comments that covered the advertisement.
At that moment, the online popularity in Lu Fei's live streaming room surpassed 300,000, reaching an all-time high!
This situation was quite normal; first, the organization of the Lu family army was exceptionally strong, and the promotional efforts before the PK were quite effective, drawing countless loyal fans and casual viewers in at the same time, complemented by the homepage theme recommendation, leading to a significant number of curious onlookers.
However, whether or not these visitors would stick around depended on the streamer's skill.
Although 'Whale TV' had promoted this event for a long time, resulting in a brief surge in popularity was expected, if that attention was spread across 24 live streaming rooms, fierce competition would ensue.
Chen Xiang suddenly became worried; he knew that Lu Fei's opponents were extremely strong, and making it to the Top 5 was genuinely difficult.
Amidst his concerns, the 3-minute advertisement ended.
The live streaming screen instantly displayed familiar scenes with familiar faces.
On the screen, Lu Fei was smiling while holding his guitar, with a confident sparkle in his eyes.
"Good evening, everyone! I'm your host, Lu Fei. It's great to reunite with all of you for the theme show tonight."
"Tonight, I'll bring you a live-streaming theme called 'Graduation Season'!"
"I believe that everyone in front of the screen have experienced graduation moments."
"I also believe that you either have or once had wonderful times on campus."
"I'll use my singing to help everyone cherish and reminisce about the beauty of student life!"
"Thank you!"
That was a fantastic opening statement that not only clarified the live-streaming theme but also easily stirred Chen Xiang's memories.
Suddenly, he wasn't worried anymore!
In the next moment, the host's image shrank and switched to the top right corner, while the main interface displayed edited movie clips.
"The first song is called 'Dust in the Wind,' an original campus folk song. I hope you all enjoy it."
The gently strummed introduction, along with scenes of young boys and girls laughing and chasing each other in the movie, instantly transported everyone back to their youthful school days.
"That day, at dusk, the snow began to fall."
"Sadness blooms on the hills, waiting for youth to disperse."
"The midnight movie tells of ancient romances, singing for the young in the dark."
The beautiful, moving melody, coupled with a slightly melancholic voice, made those youthful memories suddenly vivid and clear.
Like the over 300,000 viewers in Lu Fei's live streaming room, this was Chen Xiang's first time hearing the song "Dust in the Wind," and the comments on the screen flooded in like a broken waterfall, leaving only a thin line of water.
It wasn't until Lu Fei finished the first round of singing, just past the halfway point of the story.
Enrollment, meeting, getting acquainted, first love, misunderstandings, breakups— a series of images perfectly framed the lyrics.
The comments began to flood in again.
"Nineteen years of youthful commemoration, I've seen this movie. It's so touching."
"Did the host write this song himself?"
"Of course! Our Lu Fei is a master of originality and the prince of folk songs; all his songs are self-written!"
"He outshines the movie's original soundtrack by three streets!"
"Outshine by Three Streets +1; it's making me want to cry. Host, compensate me!"
"Such a beautiful song; I love it."
"..."
Lu Fei ignored all the comments, completely immersed in the song's atmosphere, and continued to sing the second round.
Graduation, going far, striving, missing, reuniting— this long movie of true love was condensed into just a few minutes.
"'Nineteen Years of Youth Commemoration'" was a youth film released in domestic theaters earlier this year, with a box office of 290 million, setting a record for its genre. Many people had watched this movie.
The story in the film might be clichéd, but no one cared because listening to the song at that moment was enough.
"...Believing in the age of love, the song I couldn't sing for you often haunts me throughout my life!"
As the song approached its conclusion, the tone of the comments shifted.
"Chen Xiaoyi, I love you!"
"Sun Yahan, I miss you; I really, really miss you!"
"Class 7, Grade 3, Li Miaomiao, I'll be waiting for you by the little grove after class!"
"Wang Qiang, you're a bastard! But I like you!"
"Zhang Jie, I want to love you well again."
"..."
The words that people usually wanted to say but didn't dare to suddenly erupted, pouring out freely from their hearts and onto the screen.
Though it was just the opening, it was already approaching its climax!
After one round of "Dust in the Wind," the comments surged in like a tide, with gifts raining down!
At 8:10 PM, in 'Whale TV''s Lu Fei live streaming room, online popularity reached: 392,017.
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(End of this chapter)
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