Chapter 18

After Qiu Bo’s reminder, Bai Siyi opened Piupiustar’s photo again and examined it carefully.

After looking at it, he went online and searched for the clothes Piupiustar was wearing. That outfit was actually from two years ago and was no longer available in brand stores.

However, what he did find was that this brand was a well-known international outdoor gear company, and every single product was very expensive.

Bai Siyi was silent for a few seconds.

Qiu Bo lowered his voice and said, “See? I told you, all that ‘construction worker’ stuff—it’s definitely a persona set up by the production team.”

Bai Siyi was still skeptical.

Before he could even send a message to ask, Piupiustar sent one first: 【That photo was taken two years ago. I look pretty different now.】

Huo Xingming wasn’t exactly lying—at the very least, he wasn’t as tanned anymore. His skin had gotten much fairer.

He had also grown two centimeters taller, and his hair was longer now.

Bai Siyi took a screenshot of the brand’s official store page and sent it over: 【You don’t really look like a construction worker, though?】

Huo Xingming: “……”

Panic set in. He turned to the staff and said, “I already changed the subject—why isn’t he asking about how I look different?!”

Why did he directly ask about the clothing brand?! How was he supposed to explain that?!

Huo Xingming scratched his head. He had never deceived anyone like this before, and now, he kept slipping up—it was so frustrating.

Grabbing his hair in distress, he paced in circles before typing: 【Good question.】

After sending that, he had no idea what else to say.

Bai Siyi saw his reply and casually sipped his milk while waiting for Huo Xingming’s response.

Meanwhile, viewers in the live stream chat were speculating:

【Be honest, with that face and that outfit, does he really look like a construction worker? What if he’s been lying to Xiao Bai this whole time?】

【This reminds me of that rich heir who pretended to be poor in Season 1. Given Director Liu’s usual tricks, this seems highly likely.】

【To be honest, rich or not, his reputation is already ruined. Next!】

—

Since Piupiustar still hadn’t replied, Bai Siyi scrolled through their chat for a while before opening Piupiustar’s photo again.

As he stared at it, he suddenly furrowed his brows.

Huh?

Why did this guy… look kind of familiar?

Bai Siyi had a feeling something wasn’t right.

He suddenly sat up straight with such a forceful movement that Qiu Bo, who was sitting next to him, was startled.

Qiu Bo turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

Bai Siyi felt a little awkward. “Nothing… I’m just going to get some water.”

As he spoke, he got up and walked to the kitchen to get some water. While filling his cup, he kept staring at Piupiustar’s photo. The more he looked, the stronger his sense of unease grew.

Since they had just spoken on the phone today, he still remembered the other person’s voice. More importantly, he had been puzzled by the guy’s accent at the time—it had sounded strangely familiar…

Then, Bai Siyi suddenly recalled something.

Two nights ago at the bar, when he was dancing, he had almost bumped into someone!

Bai Siyi: “……”

His eyes widened in shock. His grip on his phone loosened, and with a loud thud, it slipped from his hand and crashed onto the floor.

The cameraman following him whispered, “Xiao Bai, what’s wrong?”

Bai Siyi hurriedly bent down to pick up his phone. No way was he going to let anyone see the stunned and flustered look on his face.

Grabbing his phone, he quickly turned to leave. “Nothing, just an accident…”

The cameraman quietly reminded him, “Xiao Bai, your water.”

Bai Siyi: “……”

Awkwardly, he turned back, picked up his cup, and walked out with it.

Of course, the viewers in the live stream immediately noticed his odd behavior.

【Xiao Bai looks off. Did something happen?】

【He was staring at the male guest’s photo for so long—don’t tell me he’s interested in him! That would be a huge problem!】

【Come on, Xiao Bai is obviously not the type to be love-struck. He’s probably just thinking about something else.】

—

When Bai Siyi returned, the three female guests were still sitting on the couch, chatting with their matches online.

Well, this was an online dating reality show, after all. Until the stream ended, they had to keep chatting, no matter how much they didn’t want to. Even if they took a break for an hour or two, they still had to get back to it—otherwise, they couldn’t just sit there staring at their phones in silence.

Bai Siyi glanced at the three female guests. They all seemed to be enjoying their conversations. He had no idea what they were talking about or how popular their chats were in the live stream.

Whenever Bai Siyi got anxious, his mind tended to wander.

Just then, his message notification chimed.

He looked at his phone, feeling a little nervous. It took him three tries to unlock the screen with his slightly shaky fingers.

It was a message from Piupiustar.

The last thing Piupiustar had said was: 【Good question.】

Maybe Bai Siyi had taken too long to reply, because now Piupiustar had sent another message, sounding a little guilty:

【Sigh, fine, I’ll be honest with you. I used to be rich, but now I’m so broke I can barely afford to eat. I’m sure a macho man like you can understand, right? insert pitiful soybean emoji】

Huo Xingming swore—he wasn’t lying! Every word was true!

Once he became an adult, he was entitled to dividends from the family business. His mother also owned several industries, so he had never had to worry about money in his life.

Ever since he secretly started a 2D animation company behind his family’s back and was preparing to build his empire, his father discovered it.

His strict father saw it as a waste of time and forced him to join the family business immediately after graduating from university, making him work 996 while also taking over part of the company’s operations during his postgraduate studies.

Huo Xingming, being extremely rebellious, left home without a second thought. The once-wealthy young master now had no choice but to stay in a villa his mother had given him, with barely a penny to his name.

He was currently broke and down on his luck. So when Jiang Fengjing offered him a chance to join the dating show in exchange for investment in his company, he agreed without hesitation.

Bai Siyi stared at the message, thinking, Of course, I can understand. After all, I used to be rich too.

Going bankrupt could happen overnight—Bai Siyi had experienced it firsthand. So when Piupiustar said that, he immediately resonated with him.

But the most important part was—!!!!

Piupiustar claimed to be a million yuan in debt, yet just a week ago, Bai Siyi had received a one-million-yuan tip from him.

Bai Siyi: “……”

Everything suddenly clicked.

Piupiustar had said that his emotional support came from beautiful streamers. Bai Siyi’s “Xiaoyang Baibai” account had never shown his face, but the profile picture was a photo of him in women’s clothing, and on his voice-over account, his gender was listed as “female.”

Piupiustar had also mentioned being a million in debt. Coincidentally, just last week, he had tipped Bai Siyi a million.

Holy shit.

Bai Siyi nearly swore out loud.

When he first received that massive tip, he had been uneasy about it. He had planned to return half of it next month after the platform took its cut.

But now? Not only had the guy chased him all the way to this city, but he had also joined the same online dating reality show and ended up matched with him?!

What kind of cursed fate is this?!

Bai Siyi’s mind was in complete chaos. Looking at Piupiustar now, he didn’t just feel annoyed—there was also a tinge of guilt and unease.

It was his crossdressing streamer account that had charmed the guy so much that he ended up tipping him a million, only to put himself in massive debt, forcing him to work hard labor jobs just to survive.

Even though Piupiustar had clearly done this to himself, Bai Siyi couldn’t shake the feeling that he was responsible for his misery.

Now, even his replies became cautious, afraid of hurting Piupiustar’s feelings: 【I can understand. But don’t be too discouraged—this month might be rough, but who knows? Maybe next month things will turn around.】

After all, next month, he planned to withdraw 500,000 from his account and return it to Piupiustar. As for the other half that the platform had taken, there was nothing he could do about it.

Piupiustar, as an adult, had to take responsibility for his impulsive decisions. But in the grand scheme of things, 500,000 in debt wasn’t much. Compared to Bai Siyi’s millions in debt, it was practically nothing.

Piupiustar: 【You’re right, man! I feel like next month will be my lucky break too!】

After all, next month, Jiang Fengjing’s investment funds would come through.

The photo reveal segment was coming to an end, and they were getting ready to log off for the night.

Bai Siyi checked the time, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally sent a message to Piupiustar: 【Had a great chat today. Brother, don’t drink anymore, go to bed early. Goodnight.】

After sending the message, Bai Siyi let out a long sigh.

This is a disaster, an absolute disaster!

He didn’t even dare to imagine what would happen if Piupiustar ever found out that he was actually Xiaoyang Baibai.

Terrifying.

He would take this secret to his grave!

Meanwhile, the viewers in the live stream comment were stunned:

【WTF? Xiao Bai, what’s up with you today? It was just a photo reveal, and now you’re suddenly being all gentle, telling him to drink less, sleep early, and even wishing him goodnight?】

【Confirmed. Xiao Bai is 100% a looks-oriented lover. As long as the face is good, nothing else matters! covers face.jpg】

【Sigh, still so naive. When you get older, you’ll realize a man’s most important trait isn’t his face! Xiao Bai is still too young.】

【By the way, isn’t the meetup happening tomorrow? AHHHH I’M SO EXCITED!!!】

【Same, same, same! Can’t wait for them to meet, then for everything to crash and burn, and a new male contestant to enter!】

—

When Huo Xingming received Bai Siyi’s goodnight message, he felt extremely guilty and uneasy.

“Sigh…”

Huo Xingming let out a heavy sigh. “I sold my misery to her again. She probably thinks I’m really pitiful. Look, she even sent me a goodnight message. A few days ago, I didn’t get this kind of treatment.”

The staff: “……”

After replying with a simple goodnight message, Huo Xingming sat there, battling his conscience, before opening his browser and searching: “A day in the life of a construction worker.”

After the photo reveal incident, he realized that just taking daily photos of himself at a construction site wasn’t enough.

First, he needed to buy some cheap clothes. Second, he had to remove all the jewelry he usually wore. Oh, and he had also dyed his hair.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, his newly dyed grayish-white hair catching the light, he hesitated for a few seconds before turning to the staff who were about to leave.

“You guys think… construction workers would dye their hair this color?”

The staff: “……”

—

That night, Bai Siyi didn’t go to the hotel to dance.

In the afternoon, he had spent over an hour at the children’s playground in his neighborhood, and his mood had plummeted. Even after taking a nap, he still hadn’t recovered. He figured that in this state, if he went dancing, he’d probably mess up. Then after working hard all night, he’d just end up getting his pay docked.

After washing up, he lay in bed, muttering softly to himself:

“Xiaoyang Baibai, you’re slacking off.”

Just because the show offered a payment of 500,000, he recklessly took leave and even skipped dancing.

Back then, even when he had a cold or fever, he never missed a single shift.

Bai Siyi closed his eyes, feeling immensely guilty as he silently scolded himself. But soon, his thoughts inevitably drifted to that oddball Piupiustar.

He let out an even heavier sigh.

After tossing and turning under the covers for an hour, he suddenly sat up, grabbed his pillow, placed it on his lap, and started punching it furiously.

“Is he insane?!”

Bai Siyi was absolutely furious.

Why pretend to be some rich young master when you’re actually broke? He even tipped a complete stranger—a streamer—a whole million, making Bai Siyi feel this guilty!

The worst part? That female streamer was just dubbing over some anime-style comic videos—she didn’t even show her face, post any short videos, or do any glass-wiping tricks!

So what the hell was Piupiustar even after?!

Bai Siyi racked his brain but couldn’t figure it out.

The only thing he did understand was that Piupiustar seemed to be a die-hard anime fan—after all, he had just gifted Bai Siyi three knives as presents.

Bai Siyi really wanted to rant to Meng Chen, but his personal phone was being held by the production team. Per the show’s agreement, guests weren’t allowed to go online and check any information related to the program while it was airing.

Unless it was for work or a personal emergency, they could only use the production team’s phones, which were linked to the backend. If any guest broke the rules, they would be monitored and flagged.

After venting his frustration by pummeling the pillow for more than half an hour, Bai Siyi finally cursed under his breath and drifted off to sleep.

Because of all this, he was sluggish at work the next day, lacking his usual energy.

The staff grew concerned. “Xiao Bai, are you really tired today? If you want to rest, do you want me to ask for leave on your behalf?”

The staff were quite considerate. They knew that if Bai Siyi requested leave himself, his supervisor might not approve it. Even if it was approved, he might lose his perfect attendance bonus.

But if the production team intervened, the supervisor might grant him a free day off as a favor.

Dressed in his work uniform, jeans, and canvas shoes, Bai Siyi parked his shared bike in front of the factory and shook his head. “No need, I don’t have much work today. If I finish it all in the morning, I can rest in the afternoon.”

If he didn’t do his work today, no one else would do it for him. That meant when he returned tomorrow, he’d have two days’ worth of tasks to handle—he wouldn’t even have time to rest in the afternoon.

More importantly, tomorrow, he needed to free up his schedule to meet Piupiustar in person.

—

While eating breakfast at the factory cafeteria, the production team did a quick solo interview with him.

“Good morning, Xiao Bai.”

Bai Siyi took a sip of soy milk. “Good morning. Good morning, live comment viewers.”

“After spending these past few days together, what do you think of Piupiustar?”

Bai Siyi cautiously answered, “He’s… alright, I guess. Lively… young man.”

A mentally unstable young man.

“During yesterday’s photo reveal segment, were you satisfied with his looks?”

Bai Siyi thought about Piupiustar‘s face.

To be honest, Piupiustar looked decent. They say a buzz cut is the ultimate test of a good-looking guy, and even with that hairstyle, he was still quite pleasing to the eye—just a bit too dark-skinned.

Bai Siyi nodded. “Actually, I don’t have high standards for looks. As long as someone scores at least a 5 out of 10, I can accept it.”

As long as their brain functions normally and our values align.

The staff then asked, “Oh? So does that mean he passed your standards, Xiao Bai?”

Bai Siyi: “……”

Of course not!

But he had an agreement—he couldn’t reject the other party outright. So… fine, let’s just say he passed.

With a conflicted expression, Bai Siyi nodded.

The staff chuckled. “Last question, Xiao Bai. Tomorrow is the day of your first meeting. I’m sure both of you must be very excited. You get to choose the meeting location! If you have any special requests, just let us know. The production team will cover all expenses and fully support you. Also, if you want to prepare a surprise for him, we can help with that too.”

Bai Siyi: “……”

Suddenly, the soy milk in his mouth lost its flavor.

He silently put down his cup, looked at the staff with a complicated expression, and asked, “Even for the first meeting… I have to prepare a surprise?”

Wasn’t the heavy downpour last time enough?

Tomorrow was going to be a see-their-true-self-and-lose-all-interest kind of day, and they still wanted him to bring a gift? What a waste!

The staff smiled. “It’s entirely up to you! If you want to prepare something, just let us know, and we’ll arrange everything for you.”

Bai Siyi nodded. “Alright, thanks. I should get to work now.”

Even though the other party had given him a million as a reward—and even gone into debt because of it—at most, Bai Siyi just felt a little guilty and was willing to go easy on him. But that didn’t mean he was going to spend money on him!

As for the meeting location…

The fast-food restaurant in front of their factory would do just fine.

“A surprise? What surprise? Do I look like someone who has money to prepare surprises?”

Huo Xingming, standing at the entrance of a wholesale clothing market with the staff, shamelessly declared, “Fortunately, the date location was chosen by macho man. If it were up to me, I’d probably just take him straight to the park.”

The staff: “……”

Let’s not be ridiculous.

Huo Xingming had come to the wholesale market to buy some cheap clothes.

After all, they were meeting tomorrow. Online shopping wouldn’t arrive in time, and going to a mall would mean buying branded stuff, where even the cheapest items cost dozens. That didn’t suit his current status.

Huo Xingming wasn’t picky. He walked into a random store and bought two oversized T-shirts and two pairs of obviously low-quality sweatpants. The total? A little over a hundred yuan—practically free.

After grabbing the clothes, he went to buy a pair of cheap ^[1]Lao Beijing (老北京) refers to “Old Beijing” and is often used in the names of traditional Beijing-style products. In this case, Lao Beijing cloth shoes (老北京布鞋) are a type of … Continue readingLao Beijing cloth shoes. Once he changed into his new outfit, he grinned in satisfaction. “Perfect. No issues now.”

As for his hair, he had already dyed it black. His natural color leaned toward brown, but now that it was black, he looked even more handsome!

Standing at the entrance of the clothing market, Huo Xingming suddenly had a thought and turned to the staff.

“Wait a minute. I’m this handsome. What if macho man gets mesmerized by me and doesn’t block me?”

The staff: “……”

Huo Xingming: “No way, I need to buy something else.”

With that, he headed upstairs and went straight to the bulk stationery section.

He searched around for a while, and when he finally came out, the staff saw him holding a stack of temporary tattoo stickers.

The staff: “……”