Chapter 8

Bai Siyi fell while dancing tonight and had to leave early, getting scolded by the team leader. Originally, he could have earned five hundred, but two hundred was deducted.

Riding a shared bicycle back to the pink little house, Bai Siyi spent the whole night cursing that mixed-race male fan in his mind.

It was all his fault! Why did he tip a million? Now he had to bear the guilt on his conscience and lost two hundred.

When he got back, everyone had already gone to bed. Bai Siyi quietly finished his evening routine and went to sleep.

He had to go work at the factory tomorrow. He couldn’t afford to be late.

As for the live stream, Bai Siyi had already asked for permission from his supervisor at the factory. If the supervisor had disagreed, he would’ve responded to Piupiustar’s messages during his break.

But the supervisor agreed, hoping to use the dating show’s live stream to increase the factory’s visibility, so he had high expectations for Bai Siyi.

The supervisor reduced Bai Siyi’s workload by half and allowed him to use his phone during work hours. If he was late or left early, his salary and attendance wouldn’t be affected.

This kind of benefit was unprecedented.

Bai Siyi was very grateful.

He woke up at seven in the morning. Today, he wasn’t wearing women’s clothes but dressed in jeans and a work jacket, with his hair tied up in a simple bun, no makeup.

He put on a baseball cap and a mask, finished washing up, and rode the shared bicycle out.

The staff quickly followed him out.

The director following him couldn’t help but sigh, “Xiao Bai, you’re really hardworking.”

He remembered that Bai Siyi came back around one or two in the morning last night, and today he was up at seven to head out. If it was only once in a while, it would be fine, but Bai Siyi had been doing this for over a year.

He was truly dedicated.

Bai Siyi smiled and said, “It’s okay. I want to earn more while I’m young. Plus, we have a lunch break at the factory. I rest for an hour after lunch, so it’s not too tiring.”

This was the first time the director worked with factory workers. He followed Bai Siyi to the clothing factory. When they arrived, they saw some workers starting their shifts. However, most of the workers in the factory were middle-aged, and young people like Bai Siyi were rare.

In this environment, Bai Siyi didn’t feel out of place at all. On the contrary, he was quite popular, with uncles and aunties talking to him all along the way. He sweetly greeted them as he went.

He also took the staff to the factory cafeteria for breakfast. “Our factory is really good. They provide meals and housing, and they even pay for our social security and housing fund. We have one day off a week, but as long as we finish our work, we can rest. There’s overtime pay too.”

Bai Siyi sat down with his bowl of white porridge and steamed buns and continued, “By the way, our cafeteria doesn’t just provide three meals a day. We also have late-night snacks. We don’t have to pay for any of it. It’s all free.”

Two cameramen, a director, and Bai Siyi sat together, observing the cafeteria’s environment. The cameramen filmed some footage, and the director commented, “The cafeteria is very spacious and clean. It’s really nice.”

The all-inclusive meals and housing could win over any office worker.

Even the production team staff wasn’t an exception.

Bai Siyi also said, “I’m thinking about bringing Piupiustar here.”

The staff member responded with silence.

Bai Siyi spoke to the camera, “Really, meals and housing, plus social security and housing fund. Isn’t that better than working on a construction site, earning 120 a day? I think he should just work here with me and, on weekends, do some odd jobs at the construction site.”

The staff member was speechless.

After finishing his breakfast, Bai Siyi said, “Let’s go, time to work.”

As soon as Bai Siyi started work, the live stream began.

Once his live stream room opened, hundreds of thousands of viewers flooded in.

【Ahhhhh the live stream is finally open! I really couldn’t sleep last night, I wanted to see how Xiao Bai would reply to the other person!】

【”I’m waiting for you to make money to pay off my debt,” hehe, that sentence kept me up all night, who understands?】

【Wow, Xiao Bai changed into men’s clothes today! Oh my god, it’s a seamless switch! Xiao Bai looks so cute in men’s clothes!】

—

Instead of angering the viewers, it was actually Bai Siyi’s words that triggered them.

The sentence “I’m waiting for you to make money to pay off my debt” even made it to the trending topics, and for an entire night, hundreds of thousands of viewers were criticizing it.

Since his internet access was restricted, Huo Xingming had no idea.

Bai Siyi spoke into the live stream, “Hello everyone, I’m at work today. The factory environment isn’t great, so just bear with it.”

The clothing factory was large, with many assembly lines. Bai Siyi was responsible for ironing. The process started with fabric, where someone would cut the patterns. Then, other workers would merge the front and back pieces of the fabric. After that, someone would sew the merged fabric together with a sewing machine…

By the time a complete pair of pants was made, it would reach Bai Siyi, who was responsible for ironing it. Once the pants were neatly ironed, he would pass them to the next person, who would inspect them and trim any excess threads. The final steps included attaching tags and packaging the product.

Every worker at each step worked hard, and the dust was heavy, so Bai Siyi always wore a 3M dust mask.

His ironing work required him to stand, and due to the heat from the irons, it was very warm in that area.

The factory couldn’t afford to install air conditioning, so only fans were blowing air. However, during autumn, it got cold, so the fans were turned off to save on electricity costs.

While others were wearing long sleeves, Bai Siyi wore short sleeves. Within just an hour, he was drenched in sweat. The iron was black, and Bai Siyi’s hands were pale and delicate. Holding the black iron, his hands were very striking.

The viewers in the live stream chat expressed their sympathy:

【Wuhu, Xiao Bai in men’s clothes is not only handsome but also has a beautiful voice and pretty hands. I really love him!】

【Such a handsome guy, but he’s not debuting? What a pity.】

【Oh my god, I didn’t feel much when Xiao Bai said he was a factory worker, but now seeing it, it’s really tough.】

【The iron is really hot. Xiao Bai is sweating all over. And the key is, he’s still wearing a mask. Won’t he get heatstroke in this summer?】

【My heart aches for Xiao Bai. Seeing him working so hard, I just think of the male guest’s words, ‘I’m waiting for you to make money to pay off my debt,’ ahhh, I just want to wash his mouth out!】

—

After more than an hour of work, Piupiustar finally sent a message: 【Good morning, sun.jpg】

Bai Siyi’s workload wasn’t heavy, so when he heard the message notification, he picked up his phone and took a look.

Most Lovable Macho Man: 【Good morning? Did you sleep in until now?】

Bai Siyi put down his phone and glanced at the wall clock. Good, it was already ten o’clock in the morning.

The other person said he was in debt for millions, but he sleeps early and wakes up late every day, earning 120 a day. Did he really expect his wife to help him pay off his debt?

Could it be that he actually matched with someone this extreme?

Although he knew they were only chatting for seven days, this kind of person? He couldn’t even chat with him for an hour, let alone a whole day. Smiling.jpg

Huo Xingming didn’t understand the implied meaning. After all, as the young master of a big family who studied abroad, he hadn’t experienced the intense competition in China, so he didn’t think there was anything wrong with waking up at 10 AM.

Piupiustar: 【Yeah, this room is a bit sunny. I usually wake up around 11 o’clock.】

Bai Siyi took off his gloves with an expression like an old person on the subway looking at their phone and replied to the message:

Most Lovable Macho Man: 【You really are something. You’re in debt for millions, but you’re not even worried. Not only do you sleep soundly, but you even sleep until this time every day. No wonder you only make 120 a day. Smiling.jpg】

Live Stream Comments:

【Xiao Bai is really my internet mouthpiece! I also want to ask Piupiustar, how do you sleep so soundly with all that debt? So annoying.】

【Xiao Bai’s words are still too gentle. If it were me, I’d be cursing already!】

【No need to curse, it’s online dating. If it’s not a good match, just block him. He’s not your boyfriend, no need to talk so much.】

【Looking forward to Xiao Bai blocking him and the show arranging a second male guest to pair up with Xiao Bai!】

Huo Xingming also wanted to be blocked! Isn’t this the show’s minimum duration? Hasn’t a week passed yet?

Huo Xingming rubbed his eyes, sat up from the bed, and the cameraman had already entered. He looked at the camera and the staff, still sporting a messy bedhead, and said, “Ah, I made another mistake.”

Tsk, creating a persona for yourself is such a hassle, you have to forget about it several times a day.

Huo Xingming always forgot about his million-yuan debt and his work on the construction site. Now, once again, he had to make up for it.

He quickly searched on Baidu “daily life of a brick mover on a construction site” and similar terms. The camera diligently recorded all of his searches.

Two minutes later, Huo Xingming replied.

Piupiustar: 【Ah, I didn’t explain clearly earlier. Actually, I don’t sleep this late every day. It’s just that recently the work on the construction site is almost done, and I’m looking for another one, so I’ve had some free time. I’m taking the opportunity to sleep more, because once I start working at the next site, there will be no time to rest.】

When Bai Siyi saw this reply, his expression softened a little. “Turns out I misunderstood him.”

Bai Siyi found a chair and sat down, replying to Piupiustar: 【Brother, why don’t you stop working at the construction site and come work at our factory? We offer meals, accommodation, social insurance, and housing fund. You’ll get a stable salary of 4,000 every month. You can use that to pay off your debt, and on Sundays, you can work part-time at the construction site for some extra cash. Isn’t that better than your current situation?】

Huo Xingming saw this and sighed again. “She really is a good girl, sincerely thinking about me, while I… am deceiving her.”

Huo Xingming exaggeratedly pressed his hand to his chest. “Ah, my conscience is aching, this must be divine punishment.”

The staff: “…”

Stop acting already, it’s too much.

Not only did Bai Siyi try to convince Huo Xingming to join his factory, but he also sent two photos of the factory.

Most Lovable Macho Man: 【Look, the environment is really not bad.】

Well, if he’s going to rely solely on the 4,000 a month to pay off his debt, he’d need 20 years to pay off the principal without even considering interest. It might be tough to pay it off with just this salary.

But Bai Siyi thought, no matter what, it’s still better than Piupiustar’s current situation. At this rate, even thirty years might not be enough to pay off his debt.

Huo Xingming knew exactly how to make people dislike him.

Piupiustar: 【Thanks for your kindness, but I don’t need it. I don’t like stability, I prefer challenging jobs. Dangerous construction sites are perfect for me. For the thrill, I don’t even wear a hard hat when moving bricks. Hehe.】

Bai Siyi: “…”

Live Stream Comments:

【…】

【Help… crowdfunding one dollar to put this extreme person in his place!】

【This has to be a script, right? Is this a script? Someone come tell me this is a script! Otherwise, I’m going to assassinate Director Liu!】

【During the first season, some people also said it was a script, and then Director Liu responded by saying: ‘The audience is overestimating the screenwriters, the screenwriters don’t have this kind of talent.’ It really made me laugh to death at that time.】

【Exactly, this male guest is just too extreme. A normal person wouldn’t think of having such a conversation.】

—

In the backstage office, Director Liu, who was monitoring the live stream dynamics, rubbed his bald head and smiled smugly, saying, “Ah, I’ve told you so many times there’s no script, no script! Why don’t the audience believe it?”

He had only put some thought into selecting the guests, and then when signing contracts with the guests, he set different restrictions for each one, and that led to this effect.

In fact, not only could Bai Siyi not “die” when meeting his match, even Qiu Bo was required to stick to the confession segment until the end of the live broadcast and couldn’t just pass on the other person during the meeting.

Because Qiu Bo’s match was a woman disguised as a man, and she was also into girls, but Qiu Bo didn’t know and thought the person was a man. So, when chatting, he was very impatient and even a bit rude.

Quite off-putting.

The woman disguised as a man had already started disliking Qiu Bo. By the eighth day of their meeting, she was definitely going to block him, but!

The twist came—she was actually Qiu Bo’s fan, eh, so they might still have a next step.

These were all setups by Director Liu. He had already told the audience before that in “First Heartbeat,” there was no script, no screenwriter, no personas, everyone was real, and all reactions were genuine.

But unfortunately, the audience didn’t believe him.

Director Liu smiled as he watched Bai Siyi in the live stream and said, “Ah, I really can’t wait to see the scene when Xiao Bai and Mr. Huo meet, I’m getting a little impatient!”

He couldn’t wait to see his “First Heartbeat” trending on the hot search, couldn’t wait to see it become popular all over the country once again!

Bai Siyi looked at Piupiustar’s reply and rolled his eyes in frustration.

Most Lovable Macho Man: 【Then be careful, brother, don’t have an accident on the construction site! Yellow bean smile.jpg】

Piupiustar: 【Ah, no need to worry! Hard hats are 20 yuan each, and the better ones are 50 yuan. Why would I waste that money, right?】

Bai Siyi: “…”

Bai Siyi instantly thought about himself. He used to go to the bar to dance every day, but because it was a few kilometers away, and the buses didn’t run late enough after work, he couldn’t walk all the way. He didn’t even want to pay for a shared bike monthly pass, so he spent 50 yuan on a very old scooter on a second-hand platform.

The scooter was really old, with problems with the brakes and wheels, but it was still barely usable for commuting.

He hesitated for a long time before spending that 50 yuan, and after spending it, he felt bad for a long time.

Poor people understand poor people.

For an ordinary person, spending fifty yuan might be a quick decision without a second thought, but for Bai Siyi, it could go a long way, like recharging his phone card or buying daily necessities for his mother.

Bai Siyi had just gotten angry at Piupiustar’s words, but now, he felt a bit guilty.

Most Lovable Macho Man: 【Oh, I see. But safety is the most important. You can keep that ten yuan from yesterday. Brother, you can use that twenty yuan to buy a hard hat.】

Huo Xingming had no intention of sending him that ten yuan.

In fact, after a night of deep thinking, Huo Xingming felt that he hadn’t been harsh enough or annoying enough with his words.

So, he responded coldly:

Piupiustar: 【Hahahaha, there’s no twenty yuan left. I spent it last night on drinks. Sorry, little sister. I’ll keep working hard and moving bricks today. I’ll save up ten yuan for you! Yellow bean smile.jpg】

Bai Siyi: “…”

Bai Siyi expressionlessly turned off his phone. Let the world end.

Chatting with Piupiustar for an hour could cost him ten years of his life.

At noon, Bai Siyi’s mood was all over the place, up and down like a parabola, exhausting him.

The viewers in the live stream were also tired of this.

【Right now, there’s only one thought keeping me watching: On the eighth day of the meeting, Xiao Bai must give him a good beating. I’ll pay for the whip. Smile.jpg】

【I’m different. I’m really curious what the other person looks like. Someone so extreme must have caught Director Liu’s attention somehow, enough to invite him as a guest. Smile.jpg】

【Usually, these extreme types have a decent appearance. I bet he’s got a good-looking face.】

【Hehe, who’s as good-looking as Xiao Bai? Please let me know in advance where Xiao Bai’s meeting his online dating partner, I want to go give him a personal beating. Smile.jpg】

—

Piupiustar was so infuriating that Bai Siyi ignored him all day.

In the afternoon, Piupiustar even had the nerve to send a message asking what Bai Siyi was doing and why he hadn’t replied to his texts.

Bai Siyi replied with a serious face:

Most Lovable Macho Man: 【Sorry, I met an extreme type in online dating and beat him up, so I didn’t have time to reply.】

Piupiustar: 【…】

Piupiustar: 【Little sister, you’ve got good connections. With your situation, someone’s still willing to play matchmaker for you?】

Bai Siyi: “…”

Bai Siyi sneered: 【Of course, aren’t you one of them? Smile.jpg】

Huo Xingming looked at the reply, sitting in the garden of his villa. He was wearing a limited edition collaboration T-shirt and sneakers, sunglasses perched on his head, lying on a lounge chair soaking up the sun. The necklace and rings on his fingers sparkled in the sunlight.

He furrowed his brow, staring at it for a moment, then pushed his sunglasses up onto his head and turned to the assistant director following him, saying, “What does this mean? Is he subtly insulting me?”

You just figured that out!

The assistant director was a little awkward. After all, Huo Xingming had lived abroad for a long time, and his Chinese wasn’t perfect. Daily communication wasn’t a problem, but sometimes, when things weren’t said directly, he truly didn’t understand.

Bai Siyi had been sarcastic for a while, and Huo Xingming could pick up on some of it, though not all of it.

The assistant director awkwardly nodded. “It seems like it.”

But even if it was, it was Huo Xingming’s own fault—he had mocked the other person first!

Curious, Huo Xingming replied:

Piupiustar: 【Little sister, what kind of person is he? How could he make you so mad that you beat him up?】

Bai Siyi sneered:

Most Lovable Macho Man: 【Owes a lot of money, lazy and greedy, arrogant and self-righteous, untrustworthy, so poor that he only has ten yuan left in his pocket, still thinking about getting drunk, sleeping until noon the next day. Do you think someone like this deserves to be beaten?】

Huo Xingming: “…”

Huo Xingming stared at the message for a long time, then turned to the camera and the assistant directors, saying, “Hiss, this, this sounds a bit familiar…”

Great, the young master finally didn’t lose his memory. He slapped his thigh and said, a little angry, “Is he talking about me?”

After two seconds, he scratched his head. “But I didn’t sleep until noon…”

Staff: “…”

However, even if it was about him, Huo Xingming wasn’t mad, in fact, he was a little excited. He happily jumped up and spun around in place. “Aha, is he implying me? Is he insulting me? He’s finally mad at me, starting to hate me!”

Staff: “…”

Finally, Huo Xingming sat back down with a smile and said, “If he hates me like this, then I’m relieved.”

Looks like his method worked.

Being hated isn’t too hard to achieve.

Huo Xingming pressed on with his reply:

Piupiustar: 【Ah, little sister, why are you like this? He’s just a bit lazy, arrogant, self-righteous, and untrustworthy, it’s not a big deal.】

Piupiustar: 【As for drinking, well, he’s going through such a tough time, wanting to drink and get drunk is understandable. You shouldn’t have beaten him up just because you’re angry, right?】

After sending these messages, Huo Xingming immediately turned to the camera and said, “Girls, don’t listen to any of the things I just said. Let me tell you, if you ever meet such a jerk in real life, make sure you stay far away, okay? Don’t pick up a boyfriend from a trash can!”

Staff: “…”

The young master is so dramatic. Does he even realize that everything he’s doing right now will be edited into the show in the near future?

Bai Siyi had finished his work. Thanks to the live broadcast, his workload was halved.

He had just deliberately made a sarcastic remark towards Piupiustar and was feeling quite pleased with himself.

He had also guessed that the other person would catch on, but it didn’t matter, he had already turned off his phone and put it in his pocket, deciding not to check for any replies until after dinner.

The viewers in the live stream comment sighed:

【This man is too much, I really can’t hold back anymore!】

【It’s only the second day, and thinking about how Xiao Bai has to tolerate him for another six days makes me feel sorry for him.】

【I just hope Director Liu can be a decent person and arrange for a normal guest for Xiao Bai next time. smiling.jpg】