BWXS CH107
Chapter 107: Side Story 7
The newly rented apartment was in an old residential area near T University. He Xiu and Ye Si lived just two floors below, but this unit was significantly larger than theirs.
The monthly rent wasn’t cheap. Dou Sheng had searched the entire vicinity and found this to be the only one that met his requirements: a second-hand home that had been renovated and never lived in, with all rooms facing south. Making videos required space and light; he dreaded cramped rooms filled with furniture. Thus, the living room had only a sofa, the bedroom only a bed, and even the workstation at the foot of the bed was newly purchased.
Xie Lan was woken up by the brilliant sunlight. In his dazed state, he felt as if he were back under the scorching sun of military training.
But then, he heard the familiar clicking of a mouse. The bedroom window was open for ventilation, but a lingering scent of beef-tallow hotpot remained. Memories of last night’s gathering with friends flooded back into his consciousness, accompanied by a lethal headache. His head felt like a giant ball named “Pain,” throbbing with every beat of his heart.
“Hiss—” He pressed his temples and rolled over.
Sitting at the computer with his back turned, Dou Sheng looked over. “Awake?”
Xie Lan gave a hum. “Your voice sounds a bit raspy.”
“I almost blacked out from drinking last night… I don’t even know when the four of them left.” Dou Sheng’s throat felt like it was stuck with a ball of fire; his voice trailed off into silence.
Xie Lan got out of bed. “When did you wake up?”
“A little before you. Just finished cleaning up last night’s mess.” Dou Sheng rubbed his throat. “Oh right, I boiled water. Go chug two glasses. I’m preparing to make up for the livestream I flaked on yesterday.”
Xie Lan reached the door. Hearing the word “livestream,” he felt a momentary trance for some reason. The phone in his pocket vibrated twice—a delivery notification.
“The rug is here.” Xie Lan pushed the dazed feeling to the back of his mind. As he walked out, he said, “I’ll go down and get it. You get ready for your stream.”
“Mm.”
He had only received one text, but upon arriving at the pickup point, he realized there were over a dozen packages piled up—all soft furnishings for their home.
Outside, the sun was like fire. Xie Lan had always been sensitive to heat, but after the tempering of military training, he surprisingly didn’t feel irritable. He used tape to bundle the boxes into a stack and dragged them all the way back to the apartment.
Entering the house, a wave of cool air washed over him. It was very comfortable.
“Dou Sheng—” he shouted from the door. “Are you streaming now or tonight? I’m hungry; should we eat first?”
Dou Sheng didn’t reply.
The sound of mouse clicks continued in the bedroom. If it wasn’t an illusion, the frequency of the clicks sounded somewhat… hesitant.
The phone vibrated again. It was Ye Si.
“Bro, what kind of ‘performance’ did you pull behind our backs last night???”
Xie Lan stared at the message for a long time before replying with a question mark. He tapped out of the chat to check his message list—999+. The military training group, the Math Department group, the dorm group, the Yingzhong group… all of them were exploding as usual. Additionally, several fellow UPs he had befriended had sent messages, all collectively asking, “Have you sobered up yet?”
Confused, Xie Lan suddenly heard Dou Sheng call out, “Xie Lan. Come here for a second.”
His tone was calm, yet somehow abnormal.
Xie Lan put on his slippers. “What is it?”
The camera light was on; he had already started the stream. No wonder Dou Sheng hadn’t replied earlier. As Xie Lan approached, he found the volume of the bullet comments was substantial, rolling across the screen in waves—comparable only to Dou Sheng’s highest-energy moments.
And currently, they were all spamming the same sentence:
– Douzi is here
– Douzi is here
– Douzi is here
“What do they mean ‘Douzi is here’? Haven’t you been sitting here the whole time?” Xie Lan muttered with a frown, glancing at the main screen.
The screen showed the familiar planet-building interface—the hardcore space infrastructure game Dou Sheng had gone crazy for before training. Xie Lan didn’t think much of it, but once again, a subtle sense of familiarity arose. This familiarity prompted him to look closer, and he spotted an out-of-place Ferris wheel. He mumbled, “Why did you build something like that?”
The chat changed instantly:
– Because Xie Lan will definitely like it
– Because Xie Lan will definitely like it
– Because Xie Lan will definitely like it
…
Xie Lan frowned. “What do you mean I’ll like it? What’s wrong with the chat?”
Dou Sheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He looked up at him.
His tone was gentle: “You have the nerve to ask.”
Xie Lan: “Huh?”
Dou Sheng looked down and opened the Core Energy Storage. He stared at the number “24” and remained silent for a very long time. Then, he silently exited the game, opened a new browser window, and went to the Bilibili homepage. The hand controlling the mouse to click on “Trending” trembled slightly.
Trending #1, 8.94 million views, gloriously unlocked with the “Many People Sharing” tag. The UP, however, was an ID Xie Lan had never seen: “Passionate Angel.”
He had seen far too many fan IDs playing off his “Indifferent Demon” persona, so he was particularly sensitive. He glanced at the video title: [0918 Livestream Recording Highlights: I am Douzi, Xie Lan will definitely like this].
Xie Lan’s frown deepened. “Is this a parody video of you?”
Dou Sheng pondered for a moment. “Maybe… in a sense… I guess… it might be.”
“Open it,” Xie Lan said displeasuredly.
Dou Sheng hesitated. He actually hadn’t watched the video yet, but based on the tragic state of his game save, the chat content of the last few minutes, and the non-stop WeChat messages from friends… he already had a general idea.
He contemplated for a moment, moving the mouse toward the “X” in the top right corner. “Maybe forget it. I’ll just stream the game first—”
“Watch it.” Xie Lan leaned down and pulled back his wrist, saying firmly, “It’s already trending. Aren’t we going to see what happened?”
Dou Sheng: “…”
– Since you requested it…
– You’re going to regret this
– I would like to call this the moment of Lan-zai’s social suicide
– Ah… comforting my baby in advance
– Lan Lan, remember, a human life is actually very short
– Yes, a lifetime passes very quickly, it’s fine
– If Earth is no longer habitable, you can flee to Planet 0229XL
What was all this nonsense?
Xie Lan frowned at the screen. The first few seconds of the recording were black, then a voice suddenly sounded. Low, and slightly slurred…
“Hello everyone, I am Douzi, Peerless Handsome Dou dash Indifferent. I absolutely will not flake.”
This voice sounded a bit familiar…
The next second, Xie Lan’s eyes widened, his pupils shaking.
Last night… the divine nagging… Planet 0229XL… debating the masses in the chat…
Countless fragmented images suddenly flooded back into his memory. His brain gave a loud buzz. He reached frantically for the mouse, but the screen had already lit up. He froze, staring at himself in the footage.
The person in the video had flushed cheeks, clear dark eyes lowered in a drunken state, and gave a light drunken hiccup.
“Stop spamming the chat. Tonight I will definitely, definitely finish building this planet with you all. When has I, Douzi, ever flaked on you… Sigh, I’ll put it this way: if I don’t finish this little ball, I’ll wear a suit to the T University Moot Court and record a video.”
Xie Lan began to suffer from oxygen deprivation.
Dou Sheng suddenly sat up straight in his chair, looking impressed. “Oh, this… this seems even more spectacular than I anticipated.” He looked up at Xie Lan. “You like that? What kind of suit do you want to see me in? All black?”
Xie Lan: “…”
His brain was blank, and his hangover headache intensified. Despite being in an air-conditioned room, his hands were covered in cold sweat. His linguistic functions fled first, leaving him to stare dazed at the exploding chat.
– LOL, Douzi is starting to realize this is a treasure video
– Douzi: I’m hyped!
– Yes Douzi, you heard right
– Even while wasted last night, he didn’t forget to express his inner… cough… desire
– Since the (fake) boyfriend requested it…
Xie Lan’s ears were burning. He sat blankly on the bed, watching the “him” on the screen squander money in the game, forcing those flashy facilities into Dou Sheng’s sophisticated industrial city-state, while occasionally performing “IQ-extinguishing” maneuvers…
Like how he complained a dozen times about “Why is there ink on the screen?”, then pressed his face against the lens, blowing hot breath on tissues to try and wipe the bullet comments off the monitor.
Or how he repeatedly hopped between “I am Xie Lan” and “I am Douzi,” changing his mind ten times in a few minutes, even dazing out openly on camera, muttering to himself: “Who am I actually… Who am I? Who is talking to me on the screen? Why does this planet look so cold?”
Or how he forced an imitation of Dou Sheng on stream, calling the viewers “Audience Masters,” frowning affectedly in an impatient manner, saying things like “As for how I, Peerless Handsome Dou, will do this or that…”
– I’m fcking dying*
– I laughed until I wanted to puke last night; just now I actually puked
– Lan-zai is so pitiful
– Look at him, his eyes are vacant
– Pupils shaking, face white as paper
– Ears about to bleed, lips still trembling
– His soul has probably left his body
– Douzi, can you tilt the camera down? I want to see Xie Lan’s toes curling
– Question: If Lan-zai curls his toes, can he scratch out a musical score on the floor?
Xie Lan’s head was buzzing. Watching himself on screen start to “solemnly” deploy Planet 0229XL, he reached out to grip Dou Sheng’s shoulder, saying desolately, “Stop watching. Turn it off.”
Dou Sheng was engrossed. “In a bit.”
Xie Lan: “…”
The sight of the money-burning gameplay was a challenge even for him, not to mention Dou Sheng. His nerves were pounding. He instinctively glanced at Dou Sheng, who was watching with total focus. Every time the game deducted Core Energy, he would hiss in pain, but an instant later, he would struggle to stifle his laughter at Xie Lan’s nonsense. His expressions were incredibly vivid.
– Even though it already happened, my liver still hurts
– +1, I can still recall the trembling from last night
– Core Energy, the Core Energy!
– Have to say, last night was the first time I wanted to hit Lan-zai
– Not hit him, but my heart really aches
Dou Sheng rested his chin on his hand, index finger on his lip to hold back laughter. He glanced at the mass of “aching hearts” in the side chat and said casually, “There’s nothing to be pained about. It’s just a game.”
– You didn’t say that when you were saving up the energy
– You didn’t say that when you were buying things yourself
– “Just a game”
– (Fake) boyfriend’s money isn’t money, right? OK
In the video, Xie Lan slumped in the seat, dragged the shop list to the bottom, and stared at the [Planetary Center Ferris Wheel] in deep thought. The Xie Lan outside the screen began to tremble. Even though that thing was already in Dou Sheng’s game, he couldn’t help but plead in his heart along with the chat: Don’t buy it, don’t…
“Bought it.” The “him” in the video clicked the mouse decisively. “Xie Lan will definitely like this.”
Xie Lan: “…”
Just let him die.
The chat exploded instantly.
– Recalling the famous scene
– Recalling the famous scene
– Recalling the famous scene
“Pfft.” Dou Sheng finally couldn’t hold it in and laughed. He quickly pursed his lips, holding it for a while before looking back at him teasingly. “You really understand ‘me’ understanding ‘you’.”
“…” Xie Lan’s lips felt numb. “No nesting dolls allowed.”
The money-burning behavior had triggered resistance from all the old fans last night. Soon, the Xie Lan in the video slammed the mouse down and started debating the big spenders. Using that same affected “Dou-speak,” he lectured the fans: “Is something wrong with you all today? We’ve made videos together for four years, and you doubt my identity? If you don’t trust me, don’t follow me, okay? Should I call the police to verify my ID?”
Dou Sheng looked back and reviewed seriously: “Here, the phrase ‘call the police’ definitely exposed your true identity.”
“…” Xie Lan looked at him coolly. “Are you being polite?”
A question from “Hit the Dou-zi” scrolled past—“Then how do you prove you’re Douzi?”
The synchronized livestream chat also began to spam frantically.
– Incoming romantic confidence!!
– Conviction level off the charts ahead!!
– Last night’s high-sweetness moment is here!!
– AAAAAAH in advance!
Xie Lan felt as if a giant hand were squeezing his heart. He instinctively covered his eyes, but a sliver of secret curiosity drove him to peek through his fingers. Through the gaps, he saw himself on screen contemplating for a long time before saying, in a low voice identical to Douzi’s usual tone: “I will always love Xie Lan?”
“Is that enough proof? Everyone who knows me on Bilibili knows my motto.”
The current livestream chat instantly shattered, with pink font running across the entire screen.
– We all know
– We all know
– We all know
– We all know
Some passersby comments were sandwiched in between: “Didn’t know before, know it now.”
Xie Lan couldn’t take it anymore. He dropped a panicked sentence: “I… I… I’m going to unbox the packages.” He strode out of the bedroom, his hand shaking as he closed the door behind him.
The moment the door shut tight, Dou Sheng said inside in an extremely serious and earnest tone: “Indeed.”
The living room AC was blowing, but Xie Lan felt the heat on his face burn down to his neck. He swallowed several times, barely managing to walk to the door. He picked up the box cutter but stared dazed at the cardboard boxes for a long time. His fingertips were still tingling as if an electric current were passing through.
After a moment, he pulled out his phone, tuned the volume to “1,” and opened Dou Sheng’s livestream. There was a delay between the stream and reality; the internet in the new house wasn’t great, and Dou Sheng had set the delay high. He heard the tail end of the word “Indeed.”
Caught off guard, his heartbeat, which had just begun to stabilize, skipped another beat. Saying it like that… it was like a confession on stream. Though they always teased on the edge of saying it and the audience was accustomed to the unspoken agreement, the secret thrill at this moment was still intense.
A great wind seemed to rise wildly in his heart, and the chat was equally excited.
– AAAAAH he said ‘Indeed!’
– The smile in Douzi’s eyes is so indulgent!!
– I’m dying here, I’m gone
– Thought it was Lan-zai who was dying, turns out I’m the one being slaughtered
– Damn, I let my guard down
– Let my guard down
– I don’t care, Big-Cat and Small-Cat are No. 1!
– Lan-zai don’t leave, the suspense is killing me
– Did Lan-zai hear that??
Xie Lan looked at his alt account ID and silently typed a sentence in the chat.
“Heard it.”
He clicked send and watched those small characters appear on screen, flying past Dou Sheng’s head before being submerged by the rolling comments. Then, he turned off the stream.
Xie Lan let out a soft breath and began unboxing. There were so many things: the plush rug for the sofa, wall art, a projector, a soft beanbag chair, replacement lightbulbs that were better for filming… some he bought, some Douzi bought. Everything needed to decorate this little home. Next weekend, Auntie Zhao would send Wutong over, along with a mountain of cat supplies…
University had just begun, and his life with Douzi also felt like it was only just starting.
Xie Lan put on his noise-canceling headphones, blocking out the sound of Dou Sheng’s stream from the room. That intense pressure finally faded slightly. He took a few deep breaths and buried himself in tidying the apartment.
That evening, as they brought back a cute little coffee table from the furniture store, Xie Lan checked his phone—his DMs were exploding again. Following the livestream highlight video, parodies, hand-drawn animations… all sorts of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary creations had crawled out. “Xie Lan will definitely like” and “Romantic confidence” became instant memes that broke out of their circle. Scrolling through the trending page, one could count seven or eight related videos at a glance.
Dou Sheng assembled the table and glanced at his phone. “Tsk, you gained followers again. Despite ‘fishing for three days and drying nets for two’ (being lazy), you always have this mysterious luck for trending and gaining followers.”
Xie Lan had developed a thick skin—or at least the ability to fake it. He pulled out his phone with a feigned lack of interest and checked the number: 9.42 million.
“This…” The number still exceeded his expectations. “No way, gained a million in a day?”
“It’s over two hundred thousand,” Dou Sheng sighed. “How long has it been since you checked?”
Xie Lan gave an “oh” and bent down to pick up foam from the floor. “Mainly because I haven’t posted a video in so long…”
He was the most famous “pigeon” among the Top 100 UPs. Over the entire senior year, he had posted three videos and streamed twice. He had once promised that during the post-Gaokao holiday he would be as diligent as Douzi, but the reality was he had only posted one violin cover and one promotional video for Young Swordsman 2. He hadn’t learned much, but he had learned how to shamelessly forward every one of Dou Sheng’s videos to his own feed, even mimicking Dou Sheng’s tone to remark: “Finally produced something.”
Fortunately, he was always in Dou Sheng’s videos, so the audience didn’t mind. Though his growth rate wasn’t as fast as Dou Sheng’s anymore, he could still ride the coattails; his career was on autopilot.
Xie Lan peacefully edited a status update:
@XieLan_em: I indeed drank too much after military training last night. This behavior is bad. I am sorry. Minors must not imitate this.
He stared at his phone for a few seconds after putting it down, then refreshed for comments. He thought the top comments would continue the memes or advise people to stop spreading the video. However, the viewers never failed to disappoint him. Every time, they exceeded expectations.
– Lan-zai is almost at ten million! Where is your ten-million follower benefit!
– One person petitioning with blood for ten-million follower benefits!
– Two people petitioning!
– 9.42 million people petitioning!!
– Proposing: All-black suit Dou and little skirt JK Lan.
Xie Lan stared at the last proposal for a long time. He slowly typed a question mark.
The nested comments were collectively hyper.
– SECONDED!!
– SECONDED!!
Dou Sheng put down his phone and came over, squeezing his shoulder.
“I second it too,” Dou Sheng laughed. “You can post whatever benefit you want, but give me a chance to wear something ‘Xie Lan will definitely like’.”
Xie Lan: “…”
Author’s Note:
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Quiet down!” Lan-Egg (Xie Lan) storms out of the egg nest: “What are you hammering?”
The hammer in the Keyboard-Thumper’s (Author’s) hand pauses. After a moment, she quietly taps in the last bit of the final nail.
She smiles profoundly: “I’ve hammered a plaque for you to use as your signature.”
Lan-Egg frowns and looks up, reading word by word—
L-a-n E-g-g S-o-c-i-a-l-l-y D-i-e-s T-o-d-a-y T-o-o…
“AH!!” Lan-Egg screams and rushes back into the nest: “When will an Egg’s life ever end!”