After Xie Lan stepped off the mic, a wall of long bullet comments suddenly appeared, dominating the livestream room.

【Front row info dump!! SilentWaves: Famous faceless YouTube violinist, lost contact on [Date], found today, switched account to Mainland China’s Xie Lan_em, alias Er-mao (exclusive to Big Cat), nickname Lan-zai, real-life handsome guy. Please @One Little Black Shiba stop maliciously leeching clout!!!】

It was as if they had coordinated; a group of people spammed the same message, overlapping infinitely until the screen completely crashed.

Xie Lan recognized a few IDs among them; they were all fans who held badges in his and Dou Sheng’s livestream rooms.

“Post a status update suggesting they stop,” Xie Lan said.

Dou Sheng shook his head. “People have emotions. You have to realize, the other side spent money on water armies, plus those who just followed the herd to watch the drama. These people who genuinely like you have been pushed around and beaten down for days; you have to let them vent for a while.”

As Dou Sheng spoke, he turned up the speaker volume.

One Little Black Shiba was obviously panicked. He sat in his chair, dazed for a long time. He bent down as if trying to pick up his violin, but shrank back halfway, his eyes staring blankly at the bullet comments.

After a long time, he spoke, forcing himself to appear calm. “Stop spamming the comments. If you want to spam, go to someone else’s place. This is my livestream room.”

No one paid him any attention. The info-dump comments continued to massacre the screen. These people didn’t use profanity; they just spammed endlessly, as if determined to hammer the nails of shame into every corner of the livestream room, hammer by hammer.

Conversely, the comments that were buried underneath, barely visible, were full of curses.

These were likely the group of people who had followed the trend to scold Xie Lan earlier.

• Unfollowing, bye-bye.
• Does your face hurt? I’m utterly speechless.
• The streamer is invincible when he is shameless.
• Still pretending nothing happened?
• I will… never speak up again in the future.
• Pure passerby here. I sent two comments asking for an explanation total, didn’t label Xie Lan, but even I feel my face hurting.
• I will use my whole life to heal from today’s awkwardness.
• Manual goodbye, cutting internet and running away.

Black Shiba watched those comments, his expression increasingly unable to hold up. A few seconds later, a loud clatter came from the speakers.

The livestream screen went black.

“Slamming the keyboard and running away? Fair enough.” Dou Sheng nodded. “This guy’s mental state collapsed.”

Xie Lan couldn’t help but glance at him. “After all, no one can beat you.”

Charging into the opponent’s livestream room to declare war directly—Xie Lan had roamed the British Empire and the land of China, yet this was unheard of.

Truly high-level.

Dou Sheng looked full of modesty. “Indeed.”

---

The situation had taken a turn. Although there would be more to deal with later, they could catch their breath for now.

Xie Lan stood up. “I’m going to take a shower first.”

Dou Sheng gave a hum. “I’ll heat up some more porridge to drink. I might start a stream for a bit tonight to chat with the fans. Oh right, since there are no classes tomorrow, you can sleep soundly tonight.”

If Dou Sheng hadn’t mentioned it, Xie Lan would have almost forgotten. The city-wide Junior High quality inspection was taking over the Yinghua exam halls, so the first and second-year high school students had the day off tomorrow, connecting with the weekend.

He walked to the door, but Dou Sheng suddenly stopped him.

“Xie Lan.”

“Hmm?”

Dou Sheng walked over from behind, gazing at him. His eyes shifted slightly, and after a long time, he whispered, “I didn’t expect this to be your final decision. Actually, there was no need to go this far.”

Xie Lan made a noncommittal sound.

In the draft box of the S Twitter account lay another statement.

Roughly, it said that he had received a plea from Xie Lan of Bilibili China, listened to the demo, and personally believed there was no imitation or plagiarism.

Dou Sheng had come up with this method for him. It wouldn’t reveal his secret identity (dropping the horse), but it would still salvage the situation. Dou Sheng had even nitpicked every word of that short statement to ensure it was foolproof.

But Xie Lan still recorded that video. Two plans: one lying on Twitter, one lying on YouTube. He ultimately chose the latter.

He was different from Dou Sheng.

He used to play on YouTube for his mother. Now, joining Bilibili was purely for himself; he liked being with Dou Sheng, and making some money was a bonus.

So, he actually never cared much about fans.

But Dou Sheng cared. Because Dou Sheng’s original intention for creating an account was different from his; Dou Sheng’s intention was to bring happiness to more people.

This intention was noble, something Xie Lan felt he couldn’t possess.

He didn’t want this intention to be buried.

Xie Lan paused, then simply said, “Of course, it was necessary to prove my identity. Only a clarification more explosive than the rumors will make people remember the truth.”

Dou Sheng was stunned.

After a long time, he clicked his tongue. “Perceptive, Second Cat. I have to say, you said that sentence quite fluently.”

“…”

Xie Lan gave an indifferent snort and turned around. “In this industry, I am your senior.”

Unexpectedly, Dou Sheng hugged him from behind, skillfully resting his chin on his shoulder.

Xie Lan’s scalp tingled. “What are you doing?”

Dou Sheng held him lazily. His movements were casual, yet he pinned Xie Lan’s arms so he couldn’t struggle.

“Then aren’t I profaning the senior?”

“…”

Xie Lan felt his cheeks heat up rapidly. Although he didn’t fully understand, he was 100% sure Dou Sheng wasn’t saying anything good.

He could only struggle in despair. “Let go, I need to shower!”

“If Senior promises to cover me in the future, I’ll let go.” Dou Sheng gently blew air against his neck, seemingly on purpose.

Xie Lan was exasperated. “I promise you! Hurry up and get off.”

Dou Sheng dawdled for a long time before reluctantly letting go. Xie Lan, red-faced and panting, went back to his room, shut the door, and locked Dou Sheng’s muffled laughter outside.

Damn it, so annoying.

---

This shower took a bit longer, the water temperature slightly high. When Xie Lan came out, he sat on the bed, spacing out a bit.

It was raining heavily outside. It had been a clear, windless night before he went in, but now the white noise of the crashing rain filled the whole world.

Thick mist rose from the river outside the window, refracting the neon lights from the opposite bank into something psychedelic.

This week had passed in a trance. Exams, rumors, bearing his heart to Dou Sheng, clarifying, and accidentally shaking out S’s identity.

Many things caught him off guard, just like this heavy rain. Like two cats roaming the world together, running through the rain, soaking wet.

Running with tails held high. Even if stained by rain, they carried an air of openness and pride.

After a long time, Xie Lan remembered something and picked up his phone.

Terrifying little red dots still lit up Weibo and Bilibili. He didn’t have the energy to clear those notifications, so he just let them be.

Unexpectedly, there was also a terrifying red dot on WeChat.

The “Class 4 Eyes Shining Brightly” group had exploded.

Xie Lan had been @-mentioned hundreds of times.

• Che Li Zi: Come out and explain? God S?
• Dai You: Good lord, I’m calling it ‘Good Lord’!
• Dong Shuijing: I’m numb.
• Liu Yixuan: So you are this kind of Xie Lan.
• Wang Gou: Lan-er, exactly how many surprises do you have that We (Royal ‘I’) do not know about?
• Herring (Yu Fei): …This world is absurd. Forget it, I’m going to sleep.
• Che Li Zi: Calling Xie Lan, calling Xie Lan!
• Vincent: You’d better come out quickly, or we’ll pluck you bald when school starts!
  …
  …

He couldn’t scroll to the end. Xie Lan skimmed it briefly and only replied perfunctorily with an emoji.

• Bing Ru Gao Huang: Owl Staring Blankly.jpg

As soon as the sticker was sent, the people below immediately started following the formation. Owl Question Mark Head Tilt took over the screen for a full five minutes.

The phone was scalding hot. Xie Lan had to throw it on the bed. He went to blow-dry his hair, and when he came back and glanced at the phone, he saw Che Li Zi had said something.

• Che Li Zi: Good lord, you’re on the Hot Search.
• Liu Yixuan: Hmm?? I’m rushing to see!
• Dong Shuijing: Ahhh so excited, can people around us actually get on the Hot Search?!
• Dai You: Probably many people posting on Weibo with emotion at the same time, hitting the keywords.
• Yu Fei: …Woke up and the world is even more absurd. Forget it, I’ll continue sleeping.

Hot Search?

Xie Lan was confused for two seconds before realizing they meant Weibo Hot Search, not the Trending on Twitter.