Chapter 13

Bai Siyi had a great night’s sleep and got up early the next day to clock in for work at the factory.

Even though today was their long-distance date, Bai Siyi still had to go to work. After all, his supervisor had already cut his workload in half—if he didn’t show up, he’d probably lose his attendance bonus for real!

As usual, Bai Siyi wore his work uniform and a mask while working on the assembly line. When his live stream started, he greeted the audience, “Good morning, everyone. I’m Bai Siyi, and I’m at work.”

He greeted them the same way every morning, so the viewers were used to it:

【Once the show ends, Xiao Bai could totally start his own live stream! His personal style is way too distinct.】

【Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing. Why didn’t Xiao Bai start streaming earlier? He’s gorgeous, he cross-dresses, and he works on an assembly line—any one of those would be a trending topic! If he had started streaming earlier, he’d already be famous by now.】

【I’m so excited, I’m so impatient—I can’t wait to see Xiao Bai and Piupiustar’s long-distance date!!!】

—

At this moment, it wasn’t just the live stream viewers who were eagerly anticipating the date.

Huo Xingming had just returned from his morning run, a towel draped over his head. Facing the camera, he said, “Last time, she didn’t send me a gift. This time, she’d better find me a decent date location, right?”

Behind the camera, the accompanying director asked, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t buy him an amusement park ticket? If he picks a really good place for you, won’t you feel guilty?”

Huo Xingming, completely justified, responded, “Guilty? Of course not. A man who wants a bad ending is bound to be cold and heartless.”

The director: “……”

Alright then. But a cross-dressing pro aiming for a dramatic collapse? Even colder. Even more ruthless!

When Bai Siyi had nearly finished his work, he saw a message from Piupiustar pop up:

Piupiustar: 【Good morning, macho guy. I just woke up. Kitty rolling around.jpg】

Bai Siyi: “……”

Damn. Sleeping in until ten every day? His million-yuan debt really didn’t seem to stress him out at all.

Piupiustar: 【Yesterday, you gifted me a heavy rainstorm, so I couldn’t go work in construction. Today’s meals are all on you. Finger heart.jpg】

Piupiustar: 【I’m guessing a macho guy like you wouldn’t leave me starving in the cold wind, right? Smiling bean emoji.jpg】

Bai Siyi: “……”

Damn it. He saw that coming!

The live stream chat erupted:

【Hahahaha, he’s learning! He’s blocking all of Xiao Bai’s escape routes in advance!】

【If he can’t give him the northwestern wind to eat, how about a southwestern one?】

【Ever since joining this online dating show, Xiao Bai has looked like an old man on the subway staring at his phone every day! He’s gonna get wrinkles at this rate! Crying laughing emoji.jpg】

—

To be honest, when Bai Siyi got annoyed with Piupiustar last night, he really did think about it—why bother buying any meal vouchers? Just let him drink the northwest wind instead!

But now that Piupiustar had said it first, Bai Siyi absolutely couldn’t admit it.

Most Loves Macho Man: 【How could I, brother? Am I that kind of person?】

Most Loves Macho Man: 【Just wait and see—I’ll definitely make sure you get something to eat today!】

At this moment, Huo Xingming had already finished his morning training. He had freshened up, changed into a new outfit, and was sitting at the bar in his villa having breakfast—or rather, lunch, since it was already 11 o’clock.

Seeing “Most Loves Macho Man’s” reply, he smugly looked into the camera and said, “See? I knew she had at least a little bit of conscience. The gift-giving segment already embarrassed me enough—there’s no way she’d leave me hanging for our virtual date too.”

He glanced at the time and added, “The long-distance date starts at 2 o’clock., right? Then we should get ready to head out now.”

He was eating late today because, when he went for his morning run, he got curious about what “Most Loves Macho Man” had said about collecting bottles. So, he actually went out of his way to pass by a market just to check the trash bins for bottles!

The staff, terrified that their high-fashion-clad celebrity might actually start digging through garbage, were on edge. If he really did it, the camera crew would probably be too embarrassed to keep filming.

And that wasn’t even the end of it—after checking the trash bins, Huo Xingming even went to a nearby construction site to watch the workers. No one knew what he said to the supervisor there, but he ended up exchanging contact information before finally heading back.

One of the accompanying directors whispered, “Mr. Huo… you’re not actually planning to work here, are you?”

Jogging slowly toward his villa, Huo Xingming chuckled. “Nah, but I’ve already built up this persona—I can’t let it fall apart now. So I’ll just drop by every day to take a few pictures. That way, if Macho Man asks, I’ll have something to show him.”

The director suddenly understood, then hesitated before adding, “But Mr. Huo… you’re about to meet in person soon. You won’t need photos anymore.”

Huo Xingming nodded. “Exactly. Once Macho Man sees me in person and immediately ghosts me, I can finally leave. This whole act has me feeling like I’m about to split personalities.”

Lately, he’d even been dreaming about working in a factory—except in the dream, there was a little girl in a frilly dress following him around, calling him ‘brother’ over and over. The nightmare had scared him awake in the middle of the night!

But he was born gay! He’d known he liked men since he was a kid. And now, he was dreaming about little girls calling him ‘brother’? Absolutely horrifying.

Was Macho Man… actually turning him straight?

No way. Right?

Huo Xingming shook his head with a sigh. It was all Macho Man’s fault—chatting with her was way too addictive. That old saying was true: what you think about during the day, you dream about at night!

Huo Xingming made up his mind. Once this show was over, he was definitely going to find himself a boyfriend!

—

By the time Bai Siyi had finished his work, it was already 1 o’clock.

Since he had to go on the long-distance date in the afternoon and probably wouldn’t be able to come back, he decided to finish all his tasks in the morning.

Standing for hours without rest had left his neck stiff, his back aching, and his legs unbearably sore.

Leading the show’s staff out of the assembly line, he took off his mask, revealing an exhausted face. “You guys have worked hard following me around all morning. Sorry, sorry—let’s hurry and go eat. The cafeteria closes at 2.”

The production assistant accompanying him said, “Xiao Bai, just following you around was exhausting for us. You’ve been working non-stop all morning—you must be even more tired. Want us to grab your food for you? You could go rest in the dorm for a bit.”

Bai Siyi shook his head. “No need. The dorm is a bit far from the cafeteria, and packing would cost extra for the takeout box. Let’s go.”

Eating in the cafeteria didn’t cost anything, but taking food out required paying for the takeout box, so Bai Siyi never packed his meals.

The viewers in the live stream felt bad for him:

【Xiao Bai, just pack it to go! I’ll pay for the takeout box!】

【Seriously, I’d rather this be part of the script written by the writers. Otherwise, Xiao Bai is really working too hard. And it’s not like he only has this job. I heard he also dances at a bar at night to make money.】

【What? A bar? Which bar? Which bar? Someone tell me!!!! I want to find Xiao Bai!!!!】

【I don’t know which bar, but there are only a few gay bars in Haicheng. Just go to them one by one, and you’ll figure it out.】

—

Bai Siyi had mentioned in a conversation with Piupiustar that he went to the bar every night to work as part of the atmosphere team, dancing to make money. So many fans had already started staking out different bars.

But Bai Siyi had no idea about this.

Since joining the online dating reality show, he had uninstalled all social media apps like Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin from his phone, planning to reinstall them after the show ended.

His phone was old and slow, and he was too busy with work to spend much time online, so this didn’t really affect him.

When he went to the cafeteria with the staff, the accompanying assistant director sat across from him, eating while talking to Bai Siyi. “Xiao Bai, Director Liu said you should register for a Weibo account. Do you already have one?”

Bai Siyi, with food in his mouth, was surprised when he heard this. “Huh?”

He did have a Weibo account.

But that account was a secret one used for voice acting, under the name “Xiaoyang Baibai.”

It had tens of thousands of followers, so he definitely couldn’t tell the production team about it.

Bai Siyi pushed his food around for a moment, then hesitated before asking, “Why do I need to register for a Weibo account?”

He only had one phone, and if he had to create a Weibo account, he would need to buy another phone number. But what would be the point? Why spend the money?

The viewers in the live stream couldn’t take it anymore:

【Xiao Bai, register! Register! I want to follow you! Ahhhhhh!】

【Xiao Bai, you’re so silly! You should take advantage of the show’s popularity and quickly register a Weibo account to get exposure. Once you’re known, fans will follow you! This is your chance to become rich—grab it!】

【Xiao Bai doesn’t even have a Weibo account? Oh my god, what a poor, innocent soul.】

—

The assistant director also liked Bai Siyi a lot. Seeing how hard he worked every day, she really wanted to help him.

So she blurted out a few more words of advice. “Xiao Bai, the popularity of ‘First Heartbeat’ is still high. During these past few days of live streaming, your popularity has surged. You have a lot of fans, and they’ve been asking the production team for your Weibo account. You should register one. Once you have more followers, you might even get some business collaborations.”

The last two sentences, she spoke in a low voice.

She had made it very clear—fans meant traffic, and traffic meant money!

Xiao Bai was working so hard every day, and there were even rumors that his family was in debt. He had to seize this opportunity to go viral!

Bai Siyi understood. As he ate, he nodded, thinking about how he used his alternate account, “Xiaoyang Baibai,” to edit anime videos based on trending topics during his four days off each month. He hadn’t even watched most of those anime—he just saw they were popular, so he edited and dubbed them before posting.

The only reason he had gained fans was because of his outstanding voice-acting skills, where he played multiple roles on his own!

But even then, it had taken him nearly two years to accumulate over 100,000 followers. He barely took on any ads, yet he was exhausted.

He had originally joined this show just for the 500,000 yuan payment.

But now, it felt like life had suddenly opened up a new path. If he took this road, maybe his future could be different.

Bai Siyi quickly finished his meal and nodded. “Alright, I’ll go buy a SIM card later and register a Weibo account!”

The live stream comment exploded:

【Huh? Xiao Bai, why do you need to buy a SIM card just to register? Be honest, do you already have a Weibo account?】

【Come on, we’re all family here! Just tell us what your main account is!】

【LOL, it’s obvious Xiao Bai has no experience. The pros in this industry wouldn’t be so honest about buying a new SIM card for registration.】

—

By the time Bai Siyi finished eating, it was already 1:30 in the afternoon. The virtual date was scheduled for 2 in the afternoon. Unlike Huo Xingming, who was always relaxed, Bai Siyi had worked all morning, rushed through lunch, then hurried back to his dorm to change out of his dirty work clothes into a simple T-shirt and jeans. He put on a bucket hat and a mask before dashing out of the dorm building.

The production team was already waiting in the car for him.

Seeing Bai Siyi out of breath, the assistant director said, “Xiao Bai, you don’t have to rush. It’s just a virtual date, you two aren’t even meeting in person. Even if you’re a little late, it’s fine.”

Bai Siyi sat in the backseat, catching his breath as he nodded. “I know, I’m just used to it.”

After all, after years of working, he had learned that being even one minute late meant losing an hour’s pay. Being late three times meant losing his attendance bonus.

A humble worker like him was always running—he didn’t dare to be late!

On the way, Bai Siyi made a stop to buy a SIM card. Then, he immediately registered Weibo and Xiaohongshu accounts and followed the “First Heartbeat” official page.

The tens of thousands of viewers in the live stream were watching him change his SIM card and register his accounts in real time. What else could they do? Of course, they rushed to follow him!

【First fan reporting in!】

【Damn it! My internet was too slow, I missed the front row. I’m fan number 10,098.】

【Wuhu! Am I witnessing the birth of the next top star? It’s been less than two hours, and Xiao Bai’s Weibo followers have already surpassed 100,000!】

—

Bai Siyi was completely shocked.

He had worked tirelessly for two years on his voice-acting account to gain a decent following. But now, after being on this show for less than four days, his follower count had already surpassed his old account.

How could Bai Siyi still focus on a virtual date now?

Piupiustar? Who was that? Never heard of them!