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“Give me the toughest, most grueling sleep environment. Tonight, I’m going to make sure everyone realizes how terrible sleeping can be.”
Luo Yu sat at his desk, pretending to sort through the professor’s “99 Historical Sleeping Environments” photo collection, while secretly drawing for a random item in his mind.
[Randomly selecting item…]
[Congratulations! You’ve drawn a C-level item: Grandpa’s Broken Woven Mat!]
Luo Yu was mid-sip when he couldn’t hold back a laugh, spraying water everywhere. Under the professor’s stare, he quickly ran to grab a mop.
“Well, that’s rough enough.”
[^^ As requested.]
Now that he had the prop, how would he stream?
After mopping the floor, Luo Yu returned to his seat, glancing absentmindedly at the stack of photos nearby.
As he looked through them, an idea came to him.
That night at eleven, after picking up his anti-sleep medication and heading home, Luo Yu took out Grandpa’s old, worn mat from his personal space to inspect it.
It was indeed battered—not only was it faded, but it also had several holes, with the edges fraying. Perfect for the job.
He put it back in his space, grabbed his phone stand, and took the elevator downstairs.
The neighborhood was peaceful under the bright moon. A few kids were arguing over a ball, and an elderly voice called out from behind, “What are you fighting over? Just play together—wait, is that Luo the streamer?”
Luo Yu froze, turning to look.
An elderly lady with white hair, a colorful scarf around her neck, adjusted her reading glasses and craned her neck to see him better.
“Luo the streamer! It really is you!”
She waved her phone excitedly. “Oh my, I was just watching a replay of your stream from last night. You were sleeping so soundly.”
Luo Yu: …
He didn’t need another reminder of that!
He smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Grandma.”
“Luo the streamer lives in our neighborhood!”
With a sudden wave of her arm, the elderly woman called out loudly.
In an instant, a dozen elderly folks appeared from all directions, crowding around Luo Yu, all wanting a photo with him!
So, this was what fame felt like?
Luo Yu put on his best well-behaved expression, letting them pose him for pictures.
As they took photos, he suddenly realized there seemed to be an unusually high number of elderly residents in this neighborhood.
Every time he lined up for his anti-sleep meds, it was mostly elderly folks in front or behind him, too.
“Luo the streamer,” a younger-looking auntie whispered beside him as they posed for a photo, “even though it’s been thirty years, I still think anti-sleep medication is inhumane! Sleep is the best! You’re my hero for speaking out about sleep!”
“No, no, I’m not promoting sleep! I’m just sharing its history!” Luo Yu waved his hands. “Anti-sleep meds have their benefits, and sleep does come with risks…”
The auntie winked. “No need to explain. I get it.”
Luo Yu: …
No, you don’t get it!
Using his upcoming stream as an excuse, Luo Yu finally managed to escape from the group of elderly fans.
The warnings from Wen Shu and Professor Tao echoed in his mind again.
He hadn’t expected his sleep streams to actually fuel the public’s growing discontent with anti-sleep meds.
If this sentiment kept spreading and IUHP began investigating, wouldn’t he end up as the main culprit behind this uprising?
But he had no desire to get mixed up in the struggles of this world! All he wanted was to complete his one hundred sleep missions and live a peaceful life!
Luo Yu stood at the entrance of the neighborhood, with traffic flowing and people bustling around.
He rented a shared bike and rode in the opposite direction of the school, following the map until he reached a riverside area.
Unexpectedly, there were more couples strolling along the riverbank than frogs in the river.
In this world, finding a quiet, deserted street at night wasn’t easy. People spent their days working, only venturing out at night.
Luo Yu kept riding, and after nearly half an hour, he finally found an isolated area beneath a bridge.
He got off the bike, leaned it against the bridge, took out the worn mat from his personal space, and laid it on the chilly concrete ground.
Using the streetlight’s glow, he set up his streaming phone at the spot with the best lighting and sat cross-legged on the worn mat.
He clicked “Start Live Stream.”
This time, he didn’t share the link with his fan groups or sponsors—too much attention would be risky!
But it was clear the stream’s popularity was beyond his control now.
[Comments started flooding in right away:]
Luo Yu blinked a few times, and the viewer count had already shot up to over 100,000!
He skimmed through the rapidly scrolling comments, picking a few to respond to:
“Welcome, City A Art Troupe, University B Alumni Association, and everyone with ‘@Luo Yu Is My Husband’ in the family chat—does that family include me too? Right, I’m not at home tonight. Guess where I am?”
Luo Yu smiled warmly, moving slightly to show the dark bridge arch behind him and the cold concrete ground in the background.
Luo Yu quickly clarified with a laugh, “Not near University A! Remember, I was in the Southern Hemisphere yesterday, and I haven’t come back yet!”
Luo Yu: “Tonight’s theme is sleeping outdoors. To explain, it’s about outdoor accommodations.”
He glanced away from the comments, chuckling softly:
“Skipping classes to nap, falling asleep after a nice bath to music, cozying up under warm blankets in winter… You all thought my previous sleep streams were dreamy, didn’t you?”
Suddenly, the smile faded from Luo Yu’s face, his eyebrows lowering as his tone grew unusually somber:
“But not all sleep experiences are as pleasant as what I showed you recently!”
“Some of you even mentioned that buying a bed is expensive. It’s always been that way, even many years ago!”
“Buying a house was expensive, buying a bed was expensive, and buying a house big enough for a bed was even more so. Many viewers are remembering these fond sleep experiences, but the truth is, only a privileged few enjoyed them.”
Luo Yu closed his eyes, spinning a story:
“According to historical records, many people couldn’t even afford a bed. A single square meter of a bed could cost thousands! And if they did buy one, it was often second-hand or a painfully hard, uncomfortable plank… None of you in the stream have probably ever bought a bed yourselves, right?”
Luo Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as he’d thought, although there were many middle-aged viewers, those who had bought a bed decades ago were likely in their 50s or 60s now—not the majority here.
“Exactly. Beds were costly, and in some families, a bed might be passed down from grandparents to grandchildren… So, how did people sleep if they couldn’t afford one? Many had to sleep on the ground!”
Luo Yu’s gaze turned resolute.
“If they had a home, they’d sleep on the living room floor. Those without a house would sleep under the open sky, with the ground as their bed.”
“Sleeping on the concrete by the roadside was uncomfortable, so they’d search for grassy spots. Every night, people would scramble to claim a good patch of grass to sleep on!”
Luo Yu smiled, taking out some prepared photos and holding them up to the camera:
“If you don’t believe me, here are some old photos. Back then, day or night, people would sleep on the ground, competing fiercely for good spots.”
“Here, let’s start with one in the daytime.”
The first photo showed a cozy spring afternoon, a group of kids crowded together on a woven mat in a courtyard.
The second photo showed people sprawled across a sunny park lawn, enjoying a nap.
Some lay on mats, some on hammocks, and others simply stretched out on the grass.
“Stop joking, don’t be fooled by the streamer; back then, people slept outside to get some sun!”
“We still sunbathe now, but why would you sleep in the sun?”
“If you get sleepy while sunbathing, you just nap! Ugh, I can’t explain it to you kids who’ve never had to sleep outside!”
“Sure, some people did it just to enjoy the sun. But there were also many who had no beds, so they had to sleep wherever they could. Don’t jump to conclusions, everyone.”
Luo the streamer lied with a straight face, showing no shame.
He watched his own calm smile in the live stream and felt satisfied. Then, he shoved another photo in front of the camera.
“Of course, most people still slept at night.”
In the photo, a small hillside under a starry sky was packed with tents. The lights were off, and you could just make out people sleeping inside.
“Even at night, so many people slept outside. Anyone who thinks it was just for the sun, take a look!”
“My memory’s getting fuzzy. Was it only because my family had some money that we didn’t sleep outside?”
“I’m forty this year, and I vaguely remember lots of people sleeping outside. I thought they liked it.”
“Oh, come on! Camping is an experience!”
“But if you had a comfy bed at home, who would go sleep outside? Why would anyone put themselves through that?”
More mature fans were already stepping in to help him cover up the lie.
Luo exhaled in relief.
“Basically, back then, only the wealthy could afford beds. Most poor people had to sleep on the ground.”
As he spoke, Luo lay on a worn-out mat on the ground, facing the camera.
“This is the kind of mat an average person used to sleep outside on decades ago. Look at it, it’s torn up, yet they kept using it.”
“The mat’s thin, and even if you’re lying on soft grass, it’s still not comfortable.”
“If you couldn’t grab a patch of grass, then you’d be like the streamer here, sleeping on the bare cement ground. I just lay down, and my back is already aching!”
“And there were so many bugs outdoors; even with a tent, it was hard to keep them out!”
He slapped his leg and showed a small red mark appearing on his calf.
Luo lay down for a few minutes, eyes closed, before quickly sitting up again:
“No, no, I can’t sleep here today! How did people put up with this back then?”
“Life now is so much better! Whether rich or poor, no one has to suffer through sleeping in harsh environments anymore, and we save a ton on beds and bedding too.”
“Oh, modern life is truly wonderful!”
The live stream ended quickly since Luo didn’t actually fall asleep.
Lying on the mat, Luo felt completely relaxed.
After this, his viewers would likely lose much of their fascination with sleeping outdoors!
Even if they still found it interesting, that wouldn’t be his problem anymore!
Luo smiled contentedly, lay down for a bit, then packed up the mat and biked home through the night breeze.
Once he locked the door, he took a sleeping pill and fell into a deep, sweet sleep on his bed.
He woke up at 4:30 a.m., noticing faint light outside.
He got out of bed and, relieved that no one had come looking for him while he slept, casually checked his phone.
His eyes widened—
“#SleepingStreamer” was still trending at the top!
The views had surpassed 200 million, even higher than yesterday!
Could someone have bought fake views to mess with him? Who’s doing this?!
Luo clicked into the trending topic, nervous and in disbelief.
“A City’s Fountain Garden Lawn is Full.”
“B City’s Night Garden Center Lawn has two spots left; bring your own mat.”
“C City’s Yaoyan Mountain Foothill Slope: Sleeping Group of Thirty—Blankets Sold on Site!”
What are these people doing?!
Luo quickly scoured the internet for the last two hours’ worth of posts about him.
Then, he collapsed back onto his bed.
—In the past three days, although his sleeping streams were popular, they hadn’t caused a mass following.
The biggest reason? Beds were expensive and hard to come by, so most people simply couldn’t join in!
But during his fourth stream, he mentioned that most people didn’t sleep in beds and had to sleep on the ground instead.
The barriers to joining in suddenly plummeted!
People who’d been on the fence before sprang into action!
At this moment, all over the world, various lawns and hillsides were packed with people. Those who couldn’t find a spot on the grass ended up sleeping along the sidewalks on concrete.
They brought mats, blankets, even plastic bags, lying on the ground, eyes closed, recreating life from decades ago.
Initially, it was just influencers and curious students hopping on the trend. Then students brought skeptical parents along.
Eventually, even middle-aged people who insisted that sleeping in beds was historical truth, and those who’d given up after failing to get a bed, joined in.
Like mushrooms, they spread across the ground.
Luo’s fourth stream, meant to discourage outdoor sleeping, ended up doing the opposite.
And as dawn broke, the world had fully embraced a revival of outdoor sleeping!
Lhaozi[Translator]
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