Note: Pineaple is changed to Bilibili; and all the In-game name to chinese
Chapter 51: Three Ground Rules
Summer vacation had begun.
Together with Li Youran and the others, the four of them went to Zhizhi Education, paid their tuition, got their receipts, and officially enrolled. Classes would begin the following Monday, running from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., with weekends off. They were also given their textbooks that day. Carrying several books home, Chi Zhen flipped through them. His major courses didn't worry him. Politics didn't either—it was mostly memorization. But the moment he looked at mathematics and English, his head started hurting.
He tried to study ahead, even searching Bilibili for lecture videos. Half an hour later, his brain was already overloaded.
Nothing made sense. At first, he'd been full of ambition. He'd set himself the goal of getting into the best science and engineering university in the province among the universities that accepted transfer students. There were no Project 985 or Project 211 universities on the transfer admission list, but the Provincial University of Science and Technology was one of the province's oldest and most prestigious public universities. Aside from the elite 985 and 211 schools, it was widely regarded as the best.
The problem was… Last year, the Digital Media Technology major had accepted only 15 transfer students. The lowest admitted score had been 508.
For science-track transfer exams, students had to take Advanced Mathematics, English, Politics, and Fundamentals of Information Technology, with a total possible score of 600. Thinking about his disastrous math and English...and then thinking about 508...
The odds felt impossibly slim.
Even so...He really wanted to get into that university.
It reminded him of how he'd felt during his second year of vocational school—that overwhelming inferiority complex that had eventually turned into stubborn determination.
No matter how small the chance was… He wanted to fight for it with everything he had.
At exactly seven o'clock that evening, he started his stream.
He had finally made up all the streaming hours he owed and was entering a new month, so he'd returned to his usual schedule of four hours a day. The moment he went live, however, his viewers started complaining.
[Summer vacation's here. Why are you still only streaming four hours?]
[I mean, you're playing games anyway. Just stream while you're playing. What's the problem? It's not like we're going to spy on you and Wujin Shi having se—]
Chi Zhen sprayed a mouthful of water everywhere. He nearly soaked his keyboard.
Ignoring the mess, he immediately grabbed his mouse and muted the shameless viewer before hurriedly checking both his friends list and the YY channel to see whether Wujin Shi had logged in. Only after confirming Wujin Shi wasn't online yet did he frantically grab some tissues to wipe off his desk. Then he warned everyone, "It's fine if everyone jokes around normally. But comments like that cross the line. I'll mute anyone who says things like that. Mods, please help me keep an eye out. If anyone uses inappropriate language like that, mute them immediately."
In just those few minutes, several hundred more viewers had entered the stream. Since they hadn't seen what the first muted viewer had said, the chat instantly filled with questions.
The screen was flooded with:
[What inappropriate language?]
Naturally, the troublemakers answered.
[Verbs that describe... going in and out.]
Click.
Chi Zhen slammed his mouse down. Muted.
[Words describing piston motion.]
Muted.
[Words describing what you and Wujin Shi will eventually do if your relationship keeps progressing.]
Muted. Muted. Muted. Every single one of them.
[Holy crap, Xiao Chi is merciless! Farewell, brave soul. May you rest in peace.]
[Wait! If that's something you and Wujin Shi would eventually do, why does it have to be muted? Is it some unspeakable secret?]
[Wow! Xiao Chi, you've got some wild ambitions!]
Chi Zhen knew there was no point arguing with chat. He'd never win. The viewers were, after all, the people supporting his stream. He couldn't just start banning people left and right. Besides, the longest mute was only seventy-two hours. The chaos-loving viewers didn't care in the slightest about being muted for three days. One after another, they charged forward without fear. It was almost magnificent.
Deciding to change the subject, Chi Zhen answered the very first question instead. "I've signed up for the college transfer exam. I've also enrolled in a prep course. Classes start next Monday. I'll attend class during the day and stream at night as usual. So it'll still be four hours every evening."
[The most inspirational streamer on Bilibili Live has appeared.]
[Xiao Chi! You could become a study streamer! Stream yourself studying!]
[Exactly! Turn on your stream while you're doing homework. I'll study with you!]
[Wait, there are actually people in this stream who still have summer homework?]
Just then, Sha Polang's excited voice rang out over YY. "What's wrong with having summer homework?! Isn't that completely normal?!"
Sha Polang truly had a gift. He successfully redirected everyone's attention. The chat immediately began asking how old he was.
Holding back his laughter, Chi Zhen asked, "Sha Polang, do you have a lot of summer homework?"
Sha Polang complained, "Yeah! Every morning I have to do homework from 7:30 until 11:30. My mom only lets me play games at night."
The livestream exploded with laughter.
[Then what do you do in the afternoon? Once your parents leave for work, can't you secretly play?]
Sha Polang: I have swimming lessons or tutoring classes in the afternoon. I don't have time to play.
[Everyone in Xiao Cai Guild is a comedy genius.]
[Is Sha Polang a high school student? I'm so jealous. His parents actually let him play MMORPGs for a few hours at night. When I was in high school, I lived like a monk. I wasn't allowed to do anything.]
"No," Sha Polang answered honestly. "I'm in the second year of middle school." (Grade 8.)
The livestream was stunned. So was Chi Zhen.
[Wait, bro. Your voice is this deep, and you're telling us you're only in eighth grade?]
Sha Polang sounded puzzled. "My voice changed."
[Eighth grade? Doesn't that mean you'll be in ninth grade next semester? You're taking the high school entrance exam soon! Your parents still let you play games for hours every night?]
Sha Polang answered matter-of-factly, "I do four hours of homework every day, and I have tutoring classes in the afternoon. Why wouldn't I be allowed to play a few hours at night? If I studied any more, my brain would stop working. As for the entrance exam, as long as my grades are good enough to get into the school I'm aiming for, that's enough. Anything above that is just wasted points."
[Damn... why does Sha Polang sound as confident as Qian Yu?]
[I've got a bad feeling...Is the Xiao Cai Guild leader going to end up being the only academic underachiever in the guild?]
Chi Zhen was on the verge of tears.
The viewers immediately began egging him on, demanding that he show Sha Polang his transfer exam textbooks to verify whether "the guild leader is really the only academically weak member of Xiao Cai Guild."
Seeing the gifts pouring in one after another, Chi Zhen reluctantly picked up his math textbook and held it in front of the webcam.
Sha Polang either suddenly developed remarkable emotional intelligence...or genuinely didn't know the material. "Hmm... I haven't learned advanced math yet. How could I possibly know this?"
I've learned a little...and I know exactly as much as you do. Which is nothing.
Then Chi Zhen held up the English textbook. Sha Polang cautiously commented, "English is... still kind of difficult. My vocabulary isn't that big yet."
Vocabulary? What's that? I've never possessed such a thing.
[I can't do this anymore. Xiao Chi's expression is priceless.]
[No way. Is an eighth grader actually stronger than Streamer Xiao Chi?]
[Vocational school textbooks are way easier than regular high school ones. If Sha Polang goes to a top middle school, there's a good chance his English is already better than the streamer's…]
[Be bolder. Maybe his math too…]
[That's so cruel. How can your 37°C mouth say something so cold?]
[But Xiao Chi's handsome.]
"Hm? What did I miss?" Wujin Shi's amused voice suddenly appeared. "Let me check the chat… Hm. That's right. Xiao Chi-ge is handsome. I agree. Are you all talking about the transfer exam? So Xiao Chi-ge's going to start studying? I'm not as good as Xiao Chi-ge when it comes to gaming… But for math and English… If Xiao Chi-ge has any questions, he can ask me. I should be able to answer them."
"I'll carry you."
[Why does everything this man says sound like he's flirting?]
[Drop the "sound like."]
Just then, Qingtian Wai logged on. "Is Wujin Shi in heat again?" He immediately joined the viewers in talking nonsense. "Can you control yourself? I'm afraid the guild leader's going to get angry and kick all of us out of the guild! Please have some self-respect!"
Sha Polang chimed in immediately. "Welcome, everyone who's here for Wujin Chichi! Dried fruit is always welcome, canned fruit is always appreciated, and if you've got a Fruit Bomb, even better~"
Qingtian Wai kept the joke going "Is Wujin Shi gay or straight? Wow... that's such a personal question. How am I supposed to answer that? I can only say… It mainly depends on how attractive the other person is."
To everyone's surprise… Wujin Shi actually laughed. He laughed out loud over YY. Neither confirming nor denying it.
Watching the viewer count climb higher and higher, Chi Zhen found himself speechless.
Everyone in Xiao Cai Guild really was talented. Each of them knew exactly how to create entertaining moments and attract traffic. They were more professional at it than he was. Then a viewer suddenly posted:
[REPORT! Wei Yu Ning Qiu apologized to Han Jian Ying and An Yu in World Chat!]
[No way! Seriously?!]
[The forums already have screenshots! Go look!]
Chi Zhen hurriedly opened World Chat. Sure enough, he saw Wei Yu Ning Qiu repeatedly posting the same message.
[World] Wei Yu Ning Qiu: Apology Letter — I apologize to An Yu and Han Jian Ying for acting only according to my own whims.
[World] Wei Yu Ning Qiu: Apology Letter — I apologize to An Yu and Han Jian Ying for acting only according to my own whims.
[World] Gao Shou: 0.0
[World] Xiaoxiao: 0.0
[World] Chan Xue: Yo, what's the beauty trying to pull this time?
[Wei Yu Ning Qiu is absolutely determined to bring chaos to Xiao Cai Guild~]
[Chaos lovers are eating good today.]
[Uh... I just want to watch Wujin ChiChi. Please don't let Wei Yu Ning Qiu join the guild. Who knows if she'll try to become the other woman?]
[She hasn't even joined yet and people are already calling her a homewrecker. Some of you seriously have delusions…]
[Wei Yu Ning Qiu actually has fans??]
[Friend] Wei Yu Ning Qiu: I apologized. Does your promise still stand?
[Friend] Wei Yu Ning Qiu: Let's see how you play this game.
[System] Player [Wei Yu Ning Qiu] has requested to join [Xiao Cai Guild]. Accept?
After thinking for a moment, Chi Zhen clicked Accept.
[Guild] Welcome player [Wei Yu Ning Qiu] to Xiao Cai Guild! Now that you have joined our ranks, we are one family. United in purpose, we shall roam the world together and walk the Great Azure Path side by side.
[Guild] Qingtian Wai: Ooooh.
[Guild] Sha Polang: Ooooh. (No disrespect intended toward such a beautiful lady, but... are you a healer? Would you accept me as your disciple? I'm a new healer!)
[Guild] Gou Yao Zao Wo Bu Liu: Sha Polang, you unfilial disciple! Didn't you just become Qing Ning’s apprentice two days ago?!
[Guild] Sha Polang: Please calm down, Gou-jie. Master Qing Ning is my PvE teacher. This newly joined expert can be my second master and guide me in PvP!
[Guild] Wujin Shi: First, three ground rules. During your time in Xiao Cai Guild: You may not confess your feelings to anyone, You may not become cultivation partners with anyone in the guild, You may not stir up trouble.
[Guild] Wei Yu Ning Qiu: ?
[Guild] Wujin Shi: Rule #1 of Xiao Cai Guild: We seek only the Dao—not romance. (A play on words: "问道，不情道/天"—literally, "We ask the Dao, not matters of love.")
[Guild] Wei Yu Ning Qiu: Fine.
[Wujin Shi, weren't you flirting in Xiao Chi's stream literally two minutes ago?!]
[Man, you'd better remember what you said today. Don't regret it later.]
[Waiting for the day this comes back to bite you.]
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