Chapter 40

Bai Siyi, his face red and ears burning, fled from the kitchen. Under Qiu Bo’s puzzled gaze, he dashed into his room and slammed the door shut.

He leaned against the door, his heart pounding. Even though there was no one around, he still felt embarrassed.

Huo Xingming actually…!

Huo Xingming’s messages kept coming. Bai Siyi took a sip of water and slowly walked over to the bed. Nervously, he sat down and picked up his phone, reopening the chat with Huo Xingming.

In addition to the earlier half-naked photo, Huo Xingming also sent a picture of himself in a bathrobe, lying on the bed, taking a selfie with an incredibly narcissistic expression.

Piupiustar: 【Xiao Bai, I’m lying down now. What about you? Getting ready to sleep?】

Bai Siyi stared at the selfie for a while. He zoomed in to take a closer look. Huo Xingming’s features were really striking. He definitely looked like a mixed-blood, with deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and a very chiseled, handsome face.

The more Bai Siyi looked, the more he liked it. He felt a little pleased inside. He scrolled through again and reopened Huo Xingming’s macho photo.

He still felt a little shy, but Huo Xingming’s body really was incredible. Huo Xingming was already tall and had built an impressive physique. His chest and abdominal muscles were clearly defined. Because his skin was pale, the two points on his chest even looked a bit pinkish.

Bai Siyi stared at the photo for a while, then looked at the V-line abs and the part blocked by the marble counter beneath.

Although it was obscured, just this photo alone was already enough to spark the imagination.

Bai Siyi blushed and his heart raced. This WeChat account had been registered by the show’s production team. After he left the show, he would have to return the account to them. So, Bai Siyi forwarded these two photos that Huo Xingming sent to his personal WeChat account and deleted them from the chat history.

He then replied to Huo Xingming’s message: 【I’m getting ready to sleep too. Good night.】

Bai Siyi lay in bed, hugging the blanket, staring at the message Huo Xingming had sent.

Piupiustar: 【Xiao Bai, I’ve sent you pictures. Can you send me one too? Please, pretty please. Poor kitty.jpg】

Piupiustar: 【Prince, please take a photo. Poor kitty.jpg】

Bai Siyi: “…”

Bai Siyi didn’t really want to take a photo: 【Don’t, it’s so late already.】

Although Bai Siyi originally thought he and Huo Xingming would get to know each other again and eventually be together, now, before they even left the show, Huo Xingming was already doing all this… Bai Siyi was starting to feel like he and Huo Xingming were already an old married couple…

But Huo Xingming wasn’t willing to stop. Although they had just separated, Huo Xingming really missed Bai Siyi.

Piupiustar: 【If you’re not taking a photo, can we video call?】

Before Bai Siyi could reply, Huo Xingming initiated a video call.

Bai Siyi jumped in surprise. Huo Xingming was really enthusiastic!

Helpless, Bai Siyi could only click on the video. Once the call connected, he saw Huo Xingming lying on the bed, shirtless, with the bathrobe he had just put on nowhere in sight. The thin blanket only covered his waist. Upon seeing Bai Siyi, Huo Xingming immediately widened his eyes and shyly said, “Wow, Xiao Bai, you look so beautiful like this. I want to get close to you.”

Bai Siyi: “…”

Bai Siyi, wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts, with his hair down, sat on the bed. He didn’t feel like there was anything particularly special about his appearance—it was just like usual.

Huo Xingming’s mouth was truly too much. Bai Siyi didn’t even know if this habit of Huo Xingming constantly complimenting people was innate.

Huo Xingming kept rambling on: “Xiao Bai, you really look so good. Your hair looks so soft. By the way, did you put on makeup to video call with me? Otherwise, how could your cheeks be so rosy? Oh no, are you blushing because you’re shy? Xiao Bai, I knew you liked me too.”

Bai Siyi: “…”

Bai Siyi couldn’t help but roll his eyes: “Can you just speak properly?”

At this point, he really couldn’t continue with all the mindless flattery.

Huo Xingming lowered his head shyly and said embarrassedly, “Ah, Xiao Bai, I’m just telling the truth. By the way, your collarbone is really beautiful too.”

Bai Siyi, wearing a loose T-shirt, had clear collarbones visible on both sides.

The more Huo Xingming looked, the more embarrassed he became. Although he wasn’t wearing clothes himself, it didn’t stop him from thinking that Xiao Bai was very sexy.

Bai Siyi was getting exasperated: “Alright, it’s getting late. I really have to go to sleep now.”

Huo Xingming reluctantly looked at Bai Siyi: “Xiao Bai, we agreed to have a meal together tomorrow. You have to wait for me.”

Bai Siyi nodded: “Got it.”

Huo Xingming was so clingy that Bai Siyi couldn’t handle it.

However, after the video call ended, Bai Siyi’s smile lingered. As he lay in bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Huo Xingming was so talkative and annoying. Who could stand him?

The next morning, Bai Siyi was dragged by the program staff to do the final interview.

They asked him what he thought about this online relationship and what his feelings were toward his online romantic partner, Huo Xingming.

The staff even asked if he regretted rejecting Huo Xingming, to which Bai Siyi answered, of course, he didn’t regret it.

It was Bai Siyi, the female version, who rejected Huo Xingming, not him. He clearly separated the program from real life.

After Bai Siyi left the program, his Weibo followers grew again, and now he had millions of followers.

The audience didn’t believe that he and Huo Xingming had a bad ending.

【Xiao Bai, don’t think I don’t know that you’re secretly seeing Huo Xingming! You two must have left the show to date because you thought there were too many restrictions, right?!】

【During the confession segment, their expressions were all clingy and sticky. When Piupiustar found out Xiao Bai was a guy, the look on his face was like seeing his wife! Don’t think we didn’t notice!】

【I heard after they left the show, there will be a behind-the-scenes egg! “Bai Xing Yi Yi” has hope!】

【What egg? What egg? Can we just fast forward to the do part? Starry eyes.jpg】

—

The audience didn’t want Bai Siyi and Huo Xingming to leave, but there was nothing they could do. These were the rules of the program, and besides flocking to Bai Siyi’s social media account, they could only urge the production team to hurry up and film the bonus scenes. They wanted to see Bai Siyi and Huo Xingming in a relationship.

Bai Siyi returned the phone to the staff, then quickly packed up his things, threw on his backpack, and left.

Qiu Bo was also leaving the Pink House today. She was a star with an agency, so a chauffeur-driven car would pick her up, and there were even fans outside to send her off.

There were too many people. Bai Siyi had originally planned to ride a shared bike to work, but now he had no choice but to take the vehicle arranged by the production team.

The staff member said to him, “Xiao Bai, your popularity is very high right now. After you leave the program, try to stay home as much as possible.”

After all, his identity had changed, and it would be easy for him to encounter unexpected situations if he went out alone.

Bai Siyi nodded, “I know. I live at the factory. The factory has strict access control, and ordinary people can’t get in.”

The staff member was surprised and said, “Xiao Bai, why not take this opportunity to sign with an entertainment company? With your current popularity, if someone helps you with the management, things would be very different. You actually don’t need to go back to working at the factory.”

The work at the factory was too grueling. These staff members had followed Bai Siyi for several days during the live broadcasts, watching him work every day, seeing how tired he was. They all understood how hard he was working.

They all thought Bai Siyi would take this opportunity to debut and leave the factory.

Bai Siyi was also thinking about this. He smiled and said, “I might leave the factory in the future, but for now, I still need to keep working. At least until I find another job, I won’t leave easily.”

After all, jobs with free meals and accommodation were not easy to find, and he had already worked at the factory for two years. Although it was exhausting, he had gotten used to it. So, working another half year or a year wasn’t a big deal for him.

He couldn’t go back to the bar, and he had to make sure he had an income.

The income from his voice-over account wasn’t much. Maybe in the future, he could manage a video account. After all, he had gained some fame, so he could use his popularity to register on various video platforms, post some daily videos, and see if anyone would watch them.

Or, he could also try singing and dancing, since he could do both.

As he spoke, Bai Siyi picked up his phone and went online to check out some influencer videos. He needed to establish a persona and positioning for himself. After all, video accounts were content-based, so he had to figure out his direction.

By the way, he could maybe become a beauty blogger and bring Huo Xingming along!

Huo Xingming’s looks and physique were undeniable, so they could run a beauty couple account together. It might even attract followers.

Bai Siyi thought about it, jotted down his ideas, and then outlined three possible plans, waiting to discuss them with Huo Xingming once they met.

When he arrived at the factory gate, Huo Xingming was already waiting there.

Huo Xingming looked a bit anxious, holding his phone and pacing around.

Bai Siyi got out of the car and looked at him in confusion. “Huo Xingming, what’s wrong?”

With that frown, it looked like something major had happened.

As soon as Huo Xingming saw Bai Siyi approach, he relaxed, letting out a big sigh of relief. He quickly walked over, threw his arms around Bai Siyi, and said with a distressed tone, “Ahh, Bai Siyi! I thought you were lying to me again. I came here early to find you, but you didn’t show up, and I couldn’t contact you. The production team took my phone back, and I realized I didn’t even have your WeChat. I couldn’t find you, and I was really panicking.”

Huo Xingming grabbed Bai Siyi’s arm with a wronged look on his face, pulling out his phone. “Xiao Bai, add me on WeChat, and send me your phone number too! Hurry up.”

Bai Siyi: “…”

Seeing how anxious Huo Xingming was, Bai Siyi couldn’t help but laugh. He took out his phone. “Alright, alright, I’ll add you now…”

But then, Bai Siyi suddenly pulled his phone back with a swift motion.

When Huo Xingming had given him a one million reward, he had sent Huo Xingming his WeChat contact card at the time, intending to chat with the top donor or properly thank him.

But after that, he went to the production team and hadn’t logged into the platform since.

Now, he took a quick glance at his WeChat, and sure enough, there was a red dot indicating a new contact request.

He clicked on it and saw that a man named Piupiustar had requested to add him as a friend a month ago, but he had never accepted.

Bai Siyi: “…”

So, just how many other streamers had Huo Xingming given rewards to and added on WeChat?