Chapter 17

Although Bai Siyi didn’t have a great impression of Piupiustar, he was still quite curious about what he looked like.

It wasn’t for any special reason—just pure curiosity.

But the ones who were the most curious were the viewers.

During this “photo reveal” segment, the live stream’s comment section completely exploded.

【Let’s see if he’s a horse or a mule—time to put him on display!】

【To be honest, even if he turns out to be somewhat decent-looking, it still won’t change my image of him as a greasy, lazy man.】

【Xiao Bai, don’t send such a good-looking photo! What if he falls for your looks?!】

—

The “photo reveal” was a major highlight of this online dating reality show. Both the audience and the contestants were eagerly anticipating it.

Up until now, the live stream had always focused on the female contestants’ perspectives. The male contestants’ side had remained a complete mystery, leaving the viewers to piece things together based on their interactions with the female contestants.

Among the other three male contestants, things were going relatively well. Regardless of their appearances, they at least seemed to have decent personalities and backgrounds. They had also given the female contestants thoughtful gifts and shared enjoyable virtual dates with them.

But Bai Siyi’s situation… was another story entirely.

As soon as the “photo reveal” segment was announced, Bai Siyi’s live stream shot straight to the trending searches.

#Hurry up! Come witness the oily PP man‘s ugly face!

This hashtag firmly took the number one spot on the trending list.

When Director Liu saw it, he was grinning from ear to ear.

The “photo reveal” was just the first climax of the dating show—the second one, the in-person meeting, was coming up soon.

With this level of hype, wouldn’t the audience completely lose their minds when the meetup finally happened?

Jiang Fengjing burst into loud laughter the moment he saw the trending hashtag.

It was just too funny.

When he first suggested that Huo Xingming join the show, it was purely because of his good looks. Plus, since Huo Xingming had run away from home and was strapped for cash, this was an easy way for him to make some pocket money.

At the time, Jiang Fengjing had no idea that Huo Xingming was gay.

Now, not only did he know, but he also found out that Huo Xingming’s online “girlfriend” was actually a crossdressing guy.

That made it even funnier.

If Huo Xingming found out that the “macho man” he adored was actually a guy—and one who liked men as well—would he be banging his head against the wall in regret?

Jiang Fengjing laughed so hard he rolled on the floor.

He even saved a screenshot of #Hurry up! Come witness the oily PP man’s ugly face! so he could use it to tease Huo Xingming for the rest of his life.

Jiang Fengjing then called the phone that Huo Xingming was currently using.

Huo Xingming was in the middle of filming. It was a crucial moment—he had finally picked what he considered the perfect photo and was just about to send it to Most Loves Macho Man when the call came in. He didn’t even feel like answering.

But the number was Jiang Fengjing’s. Jiang Fengjing knew he was filming yet still called, so it might actually be something important.

Huo Xingming stood up and gestured to the staff. “I’m taking a call.”

A production team member quietly reminded him, “Mr. Huo, this phone is connected to the program’s system. All texts and calls will be recorded.”

In other words, whatever he talked about on the call could be heard by the show’s staff. If it was anything business-related or personal, it was best to switch to his private phone.

Huo Xingming nodded in understanding and answered the call. “Hello?”

Jiang Fengjing was clearly in a great mood. He sounded amused as he asked, “Nothing much, just wanted to ask—you said last time that you’re into guys, right? What’s your ideal type?”

Huo Xingming’s expression darkened. “Why are you asking that? I already told you I’m not interested in you.”

Jiang Fengjing: “…”

Speechless, Jiang Fengjing retorted, “Damn, can you stop bringing me up? You’re making me nervous.”

Huo Xingming: “…”

Still, they were childhood best friends, so after pausing for two seconds, Huo Xingming reluctantly answered, “I like fair skin, thin build, someone who’s clingy. Best if he’s shorter than me. Of course, with my height, finding someone shorter shouldn’t be too hard.”

At this point, he couldn’t help but show off a little. “Ah, but what can I do? I am a 1.92-meter-tall man.”

Jiang Fengjing nearly exploded. “Alright, alright, can you stop bragging about your height?!”

Guys naturally love to compare things—height, muscles, even that size.

And in all of those, Jiang Fengjing simply couldn’t compete with Huo Xingming.

He suddenly realized that asking this question was just self-inflicted humiliation.

But then, Jiang Fengjing thought about Huo Xingming’s ideal type: fair skin, thin, clingy, and shorter than him.

He glanced at the live stream, where Bai Siyi was sitting in loose, casual clothes. Even without makeup, his skin was so pale it practically glowed.

Jiang Fengjing burst out laughing again.

Huo Xingming grew impatient. “What exactly are you trying to do by asking this?”

Jiang Fengjing chuckled. “Nothing, nothing. Just asking so I can introduce someone to you later. Alright, I won’t hold you up. Go back to filming. Bye!”

With that, Jiang Fengjing hung up and immediately called Director Liu, instructing him to clip the part where Huo Xingming described his ideal type and edit it into the scene where he found out Bai Siyi was a guy.

That would definitely be chef’s kiss quality content.

It might even become First Heartbeat’s most legendary “instant regret” moment.

After hanging up, Huo Xingming opened WeChat again—only to find that Most Loves Macho Man had already sent the photo!

He went back inside, utterly shocked, and told the staff, “Macho Man is way too pretty! With such a gorgeous female contestant, why did they pair her with me?!”

What he meant was that Most Loves Macho Man was so beautiful that if she had been paired with a decent straight male contestant, the outcome might have been different.

He tapped on the photo and examined it carefully. He had to admit—his online date was really gorgeous. Her features were exquisite, her skin was incredibly fair, and she was wearing a reindeer-inspired makeup look, complete with reindeer bells and antlers. She looked absolutely adorable.

As a cosplay enthusiast, Huo Xingming scrutinized Most Loves Macho Man’s features even more closely and even gave his professional assessment: “Big eyes, a high nose bridge—very versatile.”

If she entered the cosplay scene, wouldn’t she be popular with both men and women?

With that thought, he took another long look and muttered to himself, “With this face, even if she did a male cosplay, it wouldn’t look out of place at all.”

The staff: “…”

That terrifyingly sharp observation.

Too bad what he hadn’t realized was that it wasn’t that the person in the photo looked natural in male cosplay—it was because he was actually a guy.

The staff asked him, “Mr. Huo, what was your first impression after seeing your online date’s photo?”

Huo Xingming nodded. “A very beautiful girl. I’m surprised.”

He really was surprised. He had assumed that the female guest the show had arranged for him to interact with would have an average appearance—after all, this was just a contrast setup with no real outcome, so the production team probably wouldn’t have put in much effort.

But now, seeing her face, he was genuinely a little shocked.

With looks like that, she could debut as a celebrity. Wasn’t it a bit of a waste to use her as a contrast character?

Huo Xingming couldn’t help but ask the staff, “Has Macho Man signed with an entertainment company? Which agency’s rookie is she?”

The staff, looking a little awkward, replied, “Sorry, we can’t disclose that, Mr. Huo. If you want to know, you’ll have to ask her yourself.”

Huo Xingming: “…”

“Forget it.”

He muttered, “Knowing that doesn’t do me any good anyway. I was just asking casually.”

Saying that, he leaned back in the lounge chair in his garden and sent Most Loves Macho Man a meme of a dog staring in shock.

Piupiustar: 【Macho Man! You’re really beautiful!】

Huo Xingming’s compliments were always straightforward and unembellished.

Piupiustar: 【Your reindeer makeup looks amazing! This cosplay is absolutely stunning!】

Bai Siyi: “…”

Bai Siyi stared at the two messages, at a complete loss for words.

Meanwhile, the live stream chat exploded:

【Hahahahaha, this guy finally said something true.】

【Regret it now, huh? Back then, you wouldn’t even spare Xiao Bai a single steamed bun, and now you can’t even dream of reaching him!】

【But seriously, Xiao Bai is gorgeous. I can already predict he’s going to blow up in popularity.】

—

After a few seconds, Bai Siyi finally replied: 【What about yours?】

Piupiustar: 【image.jpg】

Piupiustar: 【I might be a bit rough around the edges, but my face isn’t bad, right?】

Piupiustar sent over a casual photo. Bai Siyi clicked on it in surprise and saw a young man, probably around 20 years old, wearing a thick outdoor jacket. His skin was dark, and he had a buzz cut. His deep-set features carried a hint of foreign ancestry, making him look somewhat like a foreigner.

To be fair, while he wasn’t stunning at first glance, a closer look revealed that his features were quite striking—well-defined, with a high nose bridge. Aside from his dark skin tone, he was actually quite handsome.

In fact, because of his complexion, he unintentionally resembled the currently trending “dark-skinned athlete” aesthetic. Bai Siyi figured the audience would probably like him.

Bai Siyi complimented him: 【Not bad, you look good. By the way, are you from ^[1]Xinjiang (新疆) is an autonomous region in northwest China, home to various ethnic groups, including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Han Chinese. People from Xinjiang often have distinctive facial features, … Continue readingXinjiang?】

He didn’t think the other person was actually mixed-race. If he were a Eurasian mix, his family’s financial situation shouldn’t be this bad, right?

Leaving home as a teenager to do manual labor—it couldn’t be that he had the same experience as Bai Siyi himself, where his family went bankrupt during his youth, forcing him into debt, right?

As expected, the live stream chat exploded:

【Holy sht, holy sht, holy sh*t! So oily PP man actually looks like this?! Did he steal someone else’s photo?!】

【He actually looks pretty fresh and clean? Did all the grease go to his brain instead??】

【Sure, dark-skinned athletes are great and all, BUT! His past words and actions can’t just be washed clean! Xiao Bai, be careful!】

【Hahaha, am I the only one who found Xiao Bai’s comment hilarious? But seriously, is he really from Xinjiang? crying-laughing.jpg】

【Wait, wait, hold up! Guys, look at his jacket! Look at his headphones! Look at his earrings! HOLY SH*T! Do you think someone doing manual labor could afford that brand?!】

—

When Huo Xingming received this message, he was stunned:

【I’m not? Xinjiang? Why are you asking? Do I look like it?】

Bai Siyi: “……”

To be honest, he did look like it. But at the same time, not exactly like it.

So Bai Siyi asked again: 【Oh, so you’re mixed-race?】

Just as he sent this message, Qiu Bo, who had unknowingly leaned over, stared at Piupiustar’s photo with hesitation. “Is he really a construction worker? With that face and those clothes, he looks like some rich heir.”

Bai Siyi only knew mid- to low-end brands—he couldn’t even recognize all the high-end brands, let alone those ultra-luxury international labels or niche designer brands.

Looking at the photo, all he could tell was that Piupiustar was good-looking and seemed like he might be mixed-race.

But as for Piupiustar’s outfit and headphones? He had no clue.

Huo Xingming had actually noticed this too, until a staff member quietly reminded him: “Mr. Huo, you’re breaking character again!”

Huo Xingming was still baffled. “What? How? I just said she was pretty—what’s wrong with that?”

Staff: “……”

Staff: “No, it’s the photo you sent. That jacket you’re wearing—it looks really expensive.”

Expensive was an understatement. The staff had just looked it up—it cost over 20,000.

Seriously, what kind of construction worker could afford a jacket like that?

And the headphones around his neck? Those were nearly 19,000.

Huo Xingming: “……”