Chapter 4

During the first week of online chatting, the male guests do not participate in the live broadcast. However, cameras and directors follow them to record, and the footage from these seven days, along with the live broadcast videos of the female guests, will be edited into eight episodes, which will be aired on satellite TV and major video platforms.

Huo Xingming runs an animation company abroad, which has been operating for just two years. He started it secretly without telling his family, so he hasn’t asked them for any investment.

He put all of his savings into the business, and over the past two years, it has made some progress. Now, he wants to expand and explore potential new talent.

The reason he returned to China wasn’t only because of work-related arguments with his father but also because he had been following a female voice actor streamer online for several months. Her name is Xiaoyang Baibai. He had become her top fan and even sent her a million in tips. He had planned to meet her, but the meeting time hadn’t been confirmed yet. In the past few days, Xiaoyang Baibai hadn’t been online and hadn’t replied to his private messages. So, with nothing better to do, he followed Jiang Fengjing’s suggestion and joined this online dating reality show.

As a gay man, he shouldn’t be participating in this type of dating show. However, after Director Liu found out about his sexual orientation, he even came to visit him personally and reassured him. He told him that he didn’t need to hold hands with the female guest. As long as they made it to the end of the recording, they could break up amicably during the confession segment!

Director Liu even assured him that he had already discussed it with the female guest! This contract, don’t worry—just sign it with confidence!

Moreover, at the end of the show, Director Liu asked Huo Xingming to reveal his sexual orientation to the female guest, as this would create a big moment for the program!

Huo Xingming agreed.

At this moment, Huo Xingming was sitting on his sofa at home, wearing a black One Piece collaboration T-shirt and jeans. The wall behind him was covered with various anime posters, and a glass cabinet occupying an entire wall was filled with various anime blind boxes.

He wore a gold earring on his left ear, several black and gold rings on his long fingers, and a snake-shaped necklace around his neck. He was fond of all kinds of jewelry and would even have custom-made accessories based on anime characters. Although expensive, Young Master Huo was not short on money.

Even the phone the production team gave him, he had personally made a resin phone case for. The case was covered with 3D Minions.

Feeling bored while waiting, he asked the assistant director beside the camera, “What kind of person is she?”

The assistant director, looking at the tall and handsome Huo Xingming, blushed slightly and replied, “Sorry, we can’t reveal that.”

Huo Xingming, who was of mixed race, had very sharp features, and his amber-colored eyes seemed to shimmer with gold in the warm yellow lighting.

Bored, he opened WeChat, but before he could receive any messages, he asked again, “How old is she? What does she do? Does she know I’m gay?”

The assistant director: “…”

The assistant director patiently said, “Mr. Huo, we can’t reveal information about the guests. Just like you don’t know her information, she doesn’t know yours, so she doesn’t know you’re gay.”

Huo Xingming nodded. Although he knew this was all part of Director Liu’s plan and script, he still felt a little guilty.

It seemed that Director Liu had only told the female guest that they wouldn’t hold hands in the end, but hadn’t explained why.

At this moment, a message notification sounded, and Huo Xingming was so surprised that he almost jumped up. “Ahhh! She’s here! She’s here!”

The assistant director and the cameraman exchanged looks and couldn’t help but laugh.

Indeed, regardless of the outcome, the excitement of online dating itself was enough to get people hooked.

Huo Xingming clicked “Accept” and then, in surprise, said, “Her name is ‘Most Loves Macho Man’? Isn’t that just me?”

As he spoke, he raised his arm and flexed his biceps at the camera.

However, he thought seriously to himself—he couldn’t let the other person know he was a “macho man.” Since he wasn’t straight, he couldn’t go around flirting with girls, even if she knew this was a BE (Bad Ending) script.

After Bai Siyi added the other person on WeChat, he thought he’d have to wait a bit for approval. But in less than two seconds, the other person had already approved the request.

Piupiustar: 【I have accepted your friend request. Now we can start chatting.】

Bai Siyi sat on the couch, staring at this message on his phone. He hesitated for a few seconds, wondering what to say first when the message alert started ringing again.

Piupiustar: 【Hello, I’m Huo Xingming, 22 years old, 190 cm tall, 75 kg. Nice to meet you! 😊】

Bai Siyi: “……”

He thought to himself, judging by that height and weight, the guy must have a pretty good physique. He’s also quite young. What a shame—he’s straight. He probably doesn’t even know I’m a crossdresser.

Oh well, sorry, brother. For the sake of 500,000 yuan, my heart is already colder than the knife at the fresh fish counter in ^[1]Darunfa = RT-Mart, a popular supermarket chain in ChinaDarunfa.

Before Bai Siyi could even reply, another message popped up.

Piupiustar: 【Just between us… were you also chosen?】

Huo Xingming asked this because he figured Bai Siyi must be in the same boat as him—brought in just to fill the numbers, handpicked by Director Liu. If that was the case, he could perform without any guilt.

When Huo Xingming asked this question, he actually thought Bai Siyi, like him, was someone brought in just to fill numbers, selected by Director Liu. This way, he could start the performance with no psychological burden.

However, Bai Siyi looked at this overly cheesy message and felt speechless. He turned his head and asked the camera in his live broadcast, “Do you guys know what this means?”

Since they added each other as friends, the four female guests’ live streams had begun. Viewers could choose to watch the main live stream or head to the dedicated live streams of the female guests. In the dedicated streams, viewers could see the guest’s phone screen, so the audience had already started to split.

Live Stream Comments:

【I know this! This is a code for anime nerds! If you say yes, he’ll drag you off to save the world!】

【Help, this heavy middle-school vibe feels so out of place for Xiao Bai.】

【Xiao Bai likes Macho Man, so it looks like the middle-schooler has no chance.】

【But Xiao Bai, being a cross-dressing master, must have a task from Director Liu. Wonder how Xiao Bai will flirt with him!】

—

Everyone was eager to see Bai Siyi’s reply. Pretty cross-dressing master vs. tall, macho, middle-school straight guy—wow, this is exciting!

Bai Siyi calmly replied to Huo Xingming’s question:

Bai Siyi: “No.”

Huo Xingming, seeing the one word “No,” frowned and felt disappointed. “Huh, why did she say no?”

Huo Xingming scratched his head. It seemed that Director Liu had only told her that they wouldn’t hold hands, but hadn’t explained why.

Since this reality show didn’t have a script, the bad ending had to be created by him.

Ah, in the end, it turned out that only he was chosen. The responsibility is so great.

On the other side, Bai Siyi had sent another message:

Most Loved Macho Man: 【Hello, let me introduce myself as well. I’m 19 years old.】

Bai Siyi typed super fast. After seeing the message the other person sent him, it seemed like they had some expectations of him, which was dangerous!

He must squash this feeling the moment it begins!

He wanted the other person to lose interest and curiosity about him from the very first moment they added him, to the point where they would even want to block him a hundred times every day!

Most Loved Macho Man: 【My situation is simple, I can sum it up in one sentence: didn’t go to college, love watching Douyin, work at a factory with social insurance, don’t do serious stuff but love chasing stars, earn four thousand a month and still pay off online loans.】

Most Loved Macho Man: 【Brother, you won’t mind me, right? Although I’m not educated, I do have debts, hehe. Cute kitty.jpg.】

Live Stream Audience:

【…】

【Help, Xiao Bai, don’t do this! I wanted to watch your live stream for two more months. If you keep going like this, I’m worried you’ll be blocked tomorrow!】

【What’s that comment above? Online dating is all about honesty! Xiao Bai is just telling the truth.】

【Actually, people like Xiao Bai, the key guests, won’t be eliminated. I hope the male guest gets eliminated, then the show can set Xiao Bai up with a new online dating partner, hehe.】

—

On the other side, Huo Xingming was shocked after reading Bai Siyi’s reply.

Hmm? Didn’t he say he wasn’t one of the chosen ones?

Why did the performance start so soon?

Huo Xingming pondered. Could it be that the other person really had those conditions?

He was skeptical.

But no matter whether the other person’s persona was real or fake, it wouldn’t hurt to go along with it.

If the other person was really poor, then there was no way they would find someone even poorer than themselves.

If the other person wasn’t really poor and was just pretending, then he could also pretend to be poor. That would be playing along with the other person to create more buzz for the show, which could be good too.

Huo Xingming sat down, feeling deeply that his plan was brilliant: “This way, whether she’s really poor or pretending, in the end, she’ll definitely block me!”

Yes, that’s it.

He was the one who had to personally create the bad ending! This task only had one chance, he couldn’t fail!

Huo Xingming then typed each word slowly:

Huo Xingming: 【Eh! What a coincidence, my situation is similar to yours: I graduated from college, worked at a construction site, my spiritual support is a beautiful streamer, earn four thousand a month, owe a million in debt, and looking for a wife to help pay it off. Smile.jpg.】

Piupiustar: 【We’re really a perfect match, aren’t we, little sister? Smile.jpg】

Live Stream Comments:

【…】

【Damn, what kind of amazing match is Xiao Bai getting here!】

【It’s on purpose, it must be on purpose by Director Liu! He never does things the right way! I knew he wasn’t that kind-hearted.】

【Hiss, one chases stars, the other chases streamers. Yeah, that’s quite a match, haha, sweating soybeans.jpg】

Bai Siyi stared at this reply for several seconds.

He thought to himself, “What the heck, is this really happening? Can something this coincidental exist?”

He thought his own situation would scare off 99.9% of men, but it turned out that Piupiustar’s situation was almost the same as his!

So now, neither of them could really look down on each other, could they?

From the way the other person seemed, they didn’t think he was awful at all, and even said something like that.

Help!

Bai Siyi stayed silent for quite a while, and the live stream audience, watching his phone screen, all had the same expression as an elderly person riding the subway, looking at their phone.

Live Stream Comments:

【Director Liu is really ruthless.】

【Haha, I really want to laugh, family. Xiao Bai’s expression is just too cute, so silly.】

【Xiao Bai must have been shocked. If it weren’t for the live stream, he probably would’ve smashed his phone on the spot.】