Chapter 22 – Enter v
Bai Jinyan suddenly changed his tone, and there was no trace of the coldness from earlier.
The viewers in the live broadcast room were puzzled, and even the loyal fans were left scratching their heads. They expected him to at least mock Jin Zirui, who had bad acting and caused so many incidents, but instead, he kindly advised him to learn better?
The barrage was filled with “…” and scattered with skeptical comments like [“Bai Jinyan doesn’t seem right in this state, get an exorcist to ward off evil.”]
[“No hope, just bury him.”]
[“Brother Bai, this isn’t like you! You’re still young, how did you grow out of your reckless youth so quickly?”]
[“Wait! Who is that special user in the chat? Why do I feel like I haven’t seen this account before?”]
The prompt messages from the chat appeared, visible to everyone in the live broadcast room.
Moreover, the special user account in question was at the top of the VIP guest list, firmly occupying the first position. It was hard not to notice.
Ignoring the barrage in the live chat, Bai Jinyan glanced at his assistant and calmly said, “Leave.”
“Okay.” The assistant, who was already nervous, stood up and hurriedly walked out of the resting room. As he left, he closed the door behind him.
Bai Jinyan stood up, turned away from the camera, and said with a serious tone, “Good afternoon, everyone.”
Barrage: [“You only remember to greet the audience now after livestreaming for so long and not greeting your old man?”]
[“…Something’s not right, definitely not right!”]
[“Why do I feel like he’s speaking much more gently to us? Is it just my imagination?”]
[“It’s not my imagination… I sent a barrage earlier asking him to sit up straight or adjust the camera, but he ignored it. Why is he sitting properly now?”]
Among the barrage, the red-named special user replied, [“Good afternoon. [LittleCatPaw.jpg].”]
This message was displayed in large font at the top.
Audience: [“Who’s that? Why does he have more prestige than even my VIP status?”]
[“Hiss… Could it be? Is it my wife! Wife, I kiss you!”]
Bai Jinyan looked at the screen, and in the next moment, the barrage disappeared.
Barrage: [“…OK, the big account is gone again. It’s confirmed, it must be the wife.”]
[“Hahaha, he doesn’t dare to even curse ‘go away’ when his wife is around.”]
[“Come on, let’s put Bai Jinyan’s submissive wife on display.”]
Qiao Huaiyao took a cushion from the side and hugged it, tapped the screen with his fingertips, and sent a small gift.
Bai Jinyan saw it and smiled, saying, “Thanks for the candy from the blank name.”
Chat: [“What are you doing?! What are you doing to my old man!”]
[“I send a hundred yuan gift and don’t get a single glance, but my wife sends a one-cent candy, and he specially thanks him?”]
[“Brother, call me ‘Brother’! Behave a bit! So many people are watching, don’t stare at my wife’s messages all the time.”]
Bai Jinyan casually leaned on the table and chatted with Qiao Huaiyao, “Isn’t it late? Have you had lunch?”
Qiao Huaiyao: [Not really hungry. I’ll wait until evening and have dinner together.]
Bai Jinyan tapped on the table, seemingly absentmindedly, and said, “Go check the cabinet to the left of the TV.”
Cabinet? Qiao Huaiyao was suspicious but still put down the cushion and did as Bai Jinyan said, opening the cabinet.
When he saw what was inside, his eyes widened. He had never opened this cabinet before, and it was supposed to be empty. But now, it was filled with snacks, and the shelves on both sides of the cabinet were neatly arranged with beverages. The lower two layers were filled with low-oil, low-sugar snacks, cereals, and some instant food.
It was as if Bai Jinyan had anticipated that he might not eat on time, so he prepared all of this in advance.
Qiao Huaiyao’s lips curled up into a smile, and he took a photo with his phone, sending it to Bai Jinyan with a message: [Thank you, Brother!]
Bai Jinyan replied with a [head pat.jpg], and Qiao Huaiyao took two bags of dried fruit and chips, sitting back on the sofa to watch the livestream while eating.
After a while, he noticed that when he didn’t send any messages in the chat, Bai Jinyan didn’t talk much either. He just kept reading the barrage from the viewers.
From Bai Jinyan chatting with him earlier to now being silent, the viewers in the chat room noticed it too. They jokingly typed, [“Let’s change the livestream title to ‘Chatting with the Audience (Wife).'”]
Qiao Huaiyao blushed slightly at this teasing, and his fingers curled up unintentionally. Behind the screen, he looked at Bai Jinyan, but the latter’s expression seemed unchanged. He pursed his lips and silently added some chips to his mouth.
Bai Jinyan noticed this barrage, and he said coldly, “No, we’ll continue the broadcast.”
Barrage: [“???”]
[“Are you guarding against me? Are you?”]
[“OK, Bai Jinyan doesn’t deny calling Qiao Qiao his wife, I’m going down the ship, and they’ll get married within three years.”]
With Bai Jinyan’s interruption, the chat room’s barrage heated up again.
Various emoji flooded the screen.
Watching the barrage fill up again, Bai Jinyan’s gaze fell on the special user in the VIP guest list. He suddenly spoke up, “There’s an interview tonight, and it might go on all night. My phone will be with the assistant on silent mode.”
Qiao Huaiyao realized Bai Jinyan was addressing him, so he typed, [Alright. Take care of yourself, Brother. Don’t overwork.]
Bai Jinyan replied with a simple “Mm.”
Qiao Huaiyao continued, [Does my appearance on this variety show count as a cameo? Will I get points for it?]
Bai Jinyan hadn’t expected Qiao Huaiyao to be concerned about the points, so he looked at the barrage and seemed to see the person on the other side of the screen through the sparse words. He said with some hesitation, “Probably not.”
After a pause, he added, “I’ll find the director and ask when I have time.”
Qiao Huaiyao had been typing, but he received a notification in the group chat about tomorrow’s class and the swap between morning classes and lab practice. He needed to prepare the materials he would need for class in advance.
This was the first time he would be having lab practice since the beginning of the semester, and he couldn’t remember where the textbook was kept. So, he typed, [Brother, where did I put the lab practice textbook?]
Bai Jinyan glanced at the barrage, and without any hesitation, he replied, “In the lower left drawer of the TV cabinet.”
There were so many materials to prepare, and they couldn’t all fit in one cabinet. When Qiao Huaiyao tidied up, he put the materials he would need according to the schedule on top, where they were easily accessible, and the ones he wouldn’t need temporarily were placed inside the cabinet.
Seeing that Qiao Huaiyao didn’t send any more messages, Bai Jinyan said, “It might be cold tomorrow; the lab practice room won’t have a heater. Wear something warm.”
“Alright,” Qiao Huaiyao obediently replied, and then he realized Bai Jinyan’s voice came from the livestream and not from beside him.
He typed again, [Got it, Brother.]
“Your thick clothes are in the upper part of the wardrobe. Wear the white one tomorrow; when it’s hung up, there’s a coat on the outside. Just wear that.”
“The weather forecast said it might rain at noon, so bring an umbrella just in case.” Bai Jinyan hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit concerned, and added, “The umbrella is above the shoe cabinet.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded obediently, typing, [Noted, Brother.]
…
Unconsciously, there were only Qiao Huaiyao’s messages left in the barrage, and no one else contributed.
After a while, someone commented, [“After watching the livestream for so long, I still don’t know why I’m here.”]
[“I feel so redundant for the first time! I’m watching the livestream in my own house, but I’m being managed by him.”]
[“Tsk tsk, he’s taking care of his wife so well. He knows he has work to do and even informed in advance. This boyfriend knows how to treat his partner.”]
[“With his attitude, how can I not kneel? Wuuu… Even if it’s fake, I still want to kneel before him!”]
Qiao Huaiyao had intended to take a screenshot to keep as a memory, so he paused the livestream, not paying attention to what was being said in the chat room.
When he heard the knocking sound, Qiao Huaiyao’s typing hand paused. The assistant only opened the door slightly, not entering directly, and asked, “Jinyan, they said Jin Zirui wants to discuss something with you…”
Bai Jinyan frowned, his voice cold, “Tell him to go away.”
The barrage heard this and felt satisfied:
[“OK, I’m fulfilled.”]
[“A person with a wife speaks with civility!”]