Sometimes, Xie Ci had to admit the devastating power of a soft girl's screams on otaku guys.

Especially girls like Ye Li whose voice could be both commanding and sweet.

In the afternoon they had gone out to buy some things needed for the school term. After returning, Xie Ci began editing the live stream video recorded last night.

Xie Ci stared at the just-published live stream video. The progress bar reached the seven-minute mark where the game character was holding up a lighter toward the end of the corridor. Suddenly the screen went white, the ghost's shriek was deliberately turned down by Xie Ci, and the headphones were almost entirely filled with Ye Li's soft screams.

The trailing tone went wild, even carrying a bit of barely contained crying.

Sweet, tremblingly sweet!

Xie Ci couldn't help but look back. The person in question had her hair in a cute bun, wearing a loose white T-shirt that hung baggy on her body, perfectly covering her little bottom. A pair of tight, long, pale legs were folded as she sat on the black carpet, making them appear even whiter.

She was watching an Overwatch 2 game guide while eating the jelly they had just bought that afternoon, one after another. Even though she had been the one who couldn't walk away when she saw them, insisting at purchase time that she was buying them for Xie Ci while she was dieting, once they got home, she was the one eating them most eagerly.

Except for the very first jelly that Ye Li had peeled and fed to Xie Ci, she had nearly finished all the rest by herself.

As if noticing Xie Ci's gaze, Ye Li suddenly turned around. Her amber eyes met Xie Ci's directly, and she froze, her mouth still holding several jellies she hadn't had time to swallow, her cheeks puffed out.

Her little face reddened, and with a gulp she swallowed the jellies. Her tender little feet pattered across the floor as she ran over.

"Sorry, little Ci, I accidentally ate too many jellies. N, next time I'll buy more for you, okay..." Ye Li tugged at the corner of Xie Ci's clothes with her small hands, speaking in a soft, sweet voice.

"It's fine, it's fine. You can eat as many as you want. Go look at more guides. We'll be playing Overwatch 2 with Ling Xi tonight."

"Mm-hmm! I won't hold you back!" After saying this, she gave Xie Ci a quick peck on the cheek, then her little feet went pitter-patter as she quickly ran away again.

Leaving Xie Ci sitting in his chair, stunned.

How did it feel like... over these past two days, Ye Li was becoming more and more like a little child?

He wiped away the slight dampness on his face. Mm, it still had a bit of the jelly's sweet fragrance.

Without realizing it, the video was nearing its end. In the video, the character controlled by Xie Ci was holding a lighter as he walked toward the end of the corridor. After bypassing the white-clothed NPC nearby, he picked up the badge next to it and inserted it into the groove in the wall. With a click, the mechanism activated, revealing the control lever.

Next was meeting up with the character controlled by Ye Li to activate the mechanism together.

"Ah!"

"Haha, look how this NPC walks with the wrong gait, so funny."

"Let go first, we're about to clear it."

"No,"

"I, I'm scared. You can clear it by yourself..."

Finally, synchronized controller sounds rang out from the screen. Both characters' operations became sharp and precise. The game's ending screen appeared, and the video ended.

Xie Ci took a deep breath and closed his computer. The video had just been published so no data was visible yet, but he seemed to already see the bullet comments scrolling energetically along with Ye Li's soft, sweet voice.

Tonight's comment section would probably be dominated by that soft voice.

For some reason, Xie Ci suddenly felt warmth in his heart. His arms seemed to still retain Ye Li's warm body temperature and pleasant scent. She had burrowed into his embrace like a little cat, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Her figure was slender and well-proportioned, but unexpectedly felt so plump when held, so soft...

Stop!

Xie Ci slapped his forehead hard.

Where was his mind wandering!

He took several deep breaths to steady his mind, while the culprit responsible for his state was lying on the bed, watching her tablet with great interest. Her two tender, white little feet swayed in the air, patting against the soft, fluffy big bed.

How long had it been since he felt like this?

Looking back over the brief four years, he had almost treated this social media account as a spiritual anchor.

Back then, he lived alone in that small room, not knowing where he came from, much less knowing where he was going.

Every day eating, going to and from school, working part-time jobs at night to earn living expenses. This unchanging life made him feel incredibly numb.

His heart seemed dead, or rather, he was already a walking corpse.

At that time he kept asking himself what the meaning of life was. Did people live in this world just to satisfy basic physiological needs and then reproduce?

Life was like stagnant water, unchanging, yet also like an endless ocean with no end in sight.

Back then, he desperately thought but couldn't find answers. He desperately worked part-time jobs to earn money, but physical exhaustion couldn't fill the emptiness in his soul.

Until he downloaded the pink app on his phone and clicked in. Here people freely expressed their thoughts. Various niche hobbies and unique viewpoints could all find their place. People made videos of their opinions and perspectives and threw them onto the internet, seeking spiritual resonance.

When a person expresses themselves, they are declaring "I am here,” my thoughts have meaning. When one person's thoughts align with another's, they create a "connection" with that person.

Even then, Xie Ci already knew that he had indeed despaired of reality, but he hadn't despaired of himself.

What determined whether the present was boring or joyful, ordinary or extraordinary, wasn't reality.

It was himself.

As long as there was hope, nothing was impossible.

And what he hoped for was expression and connection with people.

Thus, his account was created.

Through his careful management, the account's followers broke through one million in just a few years.

But he had turned off live stream gifts and video donations, and never accepted advertisements.

Heh, what childish persistence.

Xie Ci couldn't help but mock himself. With over a million followers, normal operations could have brought him considerable income. He wouldn't have had to work so hard, much less agree to Miss Ye Li's "role-playing" part-time job.

He had always treated this account as his "safe space." Besides Ling Xi who was far away in Country M, Ye Li was the second person to know he operated this account.

And she was also the second person to make videos with him.

The first was Ling Xi...

But she barely wanted to talk in videos, just silently killing enemies. Although it looked quite satisfying, the entertainment value was far inferior to Ye Li's style. If viewers weren't observant, they probably couldn't tell that his teammate in many live streams was the same person.

After this video's release, many people would probably think Ye Li was the first person to record videos with him.

Speaking of which, it was almost the appointed time. Why hadn't Ling Xi sent any messages?

Xie Ci opened his phone. Only the usual two photos of pale thighs lay in the chat box. The pure black arrow-through-heart tattoo on the thighs was still so conspicuous, with several black plum blossoms decorating the sides, stunningly beautiful.

But the send time was already half an hour ago, right when he had just published the new video.

Xie Ci: Are you there? When are we playing?

(Twenty minutes later)

Xie Ci: ??

(Thirty minutes later)

Xie Ci: Can't play? Say something?

Xie Ci logged into the game they often played together and saw in Apex that she was currently in a match.

But right after he came online, she immediately went offline.

Xie Ci: ???

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