Marry a female star at a bargain price

Chapters 325 and 326. Two Boys
Lin Xiao arrived at the conference room on the first floor.

As soon as he entered the room, a young man immediately stood up, looking at Lin Xiao with great unease and nervousness.

"Hello, Mr. Lin..."

The young man was so nervous that he stuttered.

Lin Xiao quickly glanced at him. The young man was very handsome and young, and what was even more remarkable was his fair skin, which seemed out of place in this remote mountain area.

With his looks and skin, it's no wonder he's made a name for himself online and become a minor internet celebrity.

However, his awkward demeanor makes him seem very "un-internet celebrity-like".

To put it bluntly, in Lin Xiao's stereotype, internet celebrities are a bunch of shameless people.

Although in a sense he is now a super internet celebrity.

But this did not change Lin Xiao's perception, because he felt that he was becoming more and more shameless, otherwise he would not have been able to let loose in an S+ variety show.

This was something he would never have dared to even think about before.

Lin Xiao: This is the power of faith!

Far away.

In short, Lin Xiao looked at the shy and fair-skinned young man in front of him and became more and more curious about him.

"Chen Dong, right?" Lin Xiao extended his hand.

"Yes!"

When Chen Dong heard the other person call his name, his tense emotions eased a little.

He quickly took Lin Xiao's outstretched hand, a slight smile appearing on his face, and said, "Mayor Lin, it's been a long time... a long time since I've heard of your name!"

These words sounded very scholarly, with a touch of martial arts novel style, which made Lin Xiao, who was studying Chinese, smile with relief.

"I've heard so much about you! On my first day in Xingguang Town, I heard that there was a big internet celebrity living in our town. I've always wanted to meet you, but every time I go to your Chenjia Village, it's just not the right time!"

Lin Xiao smiled.

Chen Dong scratched his head, his face growing even more shy: "Mayor Lin, you're too kind... I just stumbled upon this online success by sheer luck, I have over 400,000 followers, but that's nothing compared to your popularity. You're the real internet celebrity..."

At this point, Chen Dong suddenly panicked, his nervousness leaving Lin Xiao completely bewildered.

"what happened?"

"Mayor Lin, I...I...I misspoke! You are a government official and an outstanding music creator, I...how could I have called you an internet celebrity? I'm so sorry, Mayor Lin..."

The young man was so frightened that he trembled, his face turned bright red, and he even bowed in the end.

This exaggerated behavior startled Lin Xiao, who then realized that the young man had a strong prejudice against the term "internet celebrity." No wonder he didn't seem happy at all about becoming a minor internet celebrity, and instead appeared somewhat timid.

Lin Xiao began to understand the contradictions within this young man.

At this moment, Yao Jun, the office director, laughed and said, "Xiao Dong, don't be so nervous. Our town mayor is very easy to talk to. We usually call him a big internet celebrity, but he's not that serious. Don't scare yourself!"

Lin Xiao feigned a frown: "Old Yao, it's one thing for you guys to make fun of me in private, but in front of outsiders, at least give me some face!"

Yao Jun also got the hang of it, immediately putting his legs together and giving a very imperfect military salute, shouting loudly, "Yes, Mayor!"

Lin Xiao rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky.

This amusing interaction caught Chen Dong off guard and made him laugh, immediately easing his tension and anxiety.

"This Mayor Lin seems to be quite different from what I imagined..." Chen Dong thought to himself.

Lin Xiao patted Chen Dong on the shoulder and offered him a seat, then sat down next to him without waiting for Chen Dong to sit down.

This startled Chen Dong again.

Because he is the most prominent internet celebrity in the town and even the county, he has been to both the town government and the county government. When leaders meet with him, whether it is formal or not, the seating arrangement will never be disordered.

After a few times, Chen Dong was able to distinguish which side was the host's seat and which side was the guest's seat, as well as which chair the even-numbered leader sat in and which side the second-in-command sat in.

This was the first time he had ever encountered a scene where Lin Xiao sat down next to him right away.

Chen Dong was completely stunned.

Before she could react, Lin Xiao pulled her down to sit, their knees touching.

"Xiao Dong, what brings you here?" Lin Xiao asked with a grin.

"..."

Chen Dong tried hard to recover from his surprise, and by this moment, all the tension in his heart had dissipated.

He scratched his head: "Mayor Lin..."

Lin Xiao waved his hand.

"You're not a town official, so don't use your official title; it sounds presumptuous! Since I'm a big internet celebrity and you're a small one, and I happen to be a few years older than you, then just call me 'brother,' okay?"

"Is this...appropriate?"

"Why not? I happen to have a younger brother who is about your age. He just finished the college entrance exam and is about to go to university!"

"Oh...that's good!"

Chen Dong smiled with a hint of disappointment. Both his parents had passed away, and after finishing high school, he failed to get into university and went out to work.

He had always longed for but also regretted going to university.

Lin Xiao already knew about Chen Dong's background. Looking at his eyes, he knew that he had accidentally touched on Chen Dong's secret and felt a little ashamed.

"Get to the point, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Uh, there really is!"

Chen Dong chuckled and scratched his head. "Brother Xiao... It's like this: In the past two years, every time navel oranges are in season, I help the village committee do live streams to sell oranges. But being an internet celebrity sounds impressive, but actually, I don't have much online influence, and it doesn't really help the village's navel orange sales much."

"It's September now, and the oranges from our Xingguang Town will be on the market soon. I started live-streaming pre-sales the day before yesterday. This year, the number of viewers in the live stream is much higher than last year, and I was quite happy, thinking that the online sales of oranges would be very good this year. But when I looked at the comments section during the live stream, I found that the netizens who flocked to the live stream weren't there to buy oranges, but to ask about you, Brother Xiao. Not many people placed orders..."

As Chen Dong spoke, he scratched his head helplessly and ashamedly.

Lin Xiao understood the whole story and also found it outrageous, which increased his goodwill towards Chen Dong.

"So, you want to invite me to your live stream to sit in your room and personally encourage netizens to buy oranges?" he asked.

"No, no, no!"

Chen Dong was so frightened that his face changed color. He waved his hands repeatedly and said excitedly, "No matter how ignorant I am, I know that you are very busy, Mayor, and have many important things to do. How could I possibly invite you to my little live broadcast room?"

"What do you think?"

"I was thinking of borrowing a song from you, Mayor, to use as background music for my live stream!"

Chen Dong chuckled and said, "Since netizens are all here because of you, I might as well take advantage of the hype. Anyway, I can't answer the gossip they want to know, but if everyone listens to your songs in my live stream, they might be in a good mood and place an order. That should also increase our navel orange sales, right?"

Chen Dong spoke with great insecurity, his head practically bald from scratching.

Lin Xiao burst into laughter after hearing this.

"That's a great idea! I agree!"

"what?"

Chen Dong was a little stunned that things went so smoothly.

Lin Xiao patted his shoulder: "What? Which song do you want? I bet you want 'Rice Fragrance'?"

Chen Dong continued scratching his head, chuckling sheepishly, "You're really amazing, you guessed it right away. This song is the most popular on the internet right now, but there's only your version of it, the one you sang in 'Rebirth,' not the official version. I was thinking if you had the official version, could I borrow it for a bit..."

“There is no official version!” Lin Xiao said.

"Oh……"

"But I can ask the production team for the single-track recording of my performance during the original recording. It will definitely be clearer and have a better effect than the final version that was broadcast with various sound effects mixed in!"

"Oh, is it...is that okay?"

"Can't!"

"Oh……"

"Just kidding, of course you can!"

Lin Xiao smiled helplessly. This child may be innocent, but he's a little too innocent!

These few short sentences of conversation were like a rollercoaster ride for Chen Dong, and he still couldn't be sure whether what Lin Xiao said was true until the very end.

Yao Jun laughed and gave him a push: "Aren't you going to thank Brother Xiao!"

Chen Dong, still somewhat bewildered, said, "Thank you, Brother Xiao!"

Lin Xiao smiled and looked him up and down, making Chen Dong feel a little uneasy.

"Xiaodong, you have a kind heart, you even helped the villagers sell oranges!" Lin Xiao said with a smile.

"Ah, this..."

Chen Dong scratched his head sheepishly, "My parents passed away a long time ago. I'm so grateful to my uncles and aunts for taking care of me. They would give me food here and clothes there, and that's how I grew up safely. Now that I have a little bit of ability, I'll help everyone if I can. It's nothing!"

Lin Xiao nodded repeatedly.

Chen Dong's words, while logically sound and illustrating a simple principle of mutual help, highlight the fact that in today's world, there are too many ungrateful people and too few who repay kindness with enmity. There are too few truly grateful people, and on the contrary, there are more and more wicked individuals who repay kindness with enmity.

This is an era in which traditional value order is facing severe challenges.

In the torrent of this era, it is already extremely precious to be able to hold onto one's original intentions.

Lin Xiao saw a reflection of himself in Chen Dong and couldn't help but feel a deep sense of emotion.

"Xiaodong, I appreciate your good intentions!"

Lin Xiao laughed and said, "Go ahead and do the live-streaming orange sales with confidence. As long as you can sell the oranges, you can play any of my songs, including 'Rice Fragrance,' and even my wife's songs, for free! You can also spread the word that I'll be a guest on your live stream to boost its popularity. With more viewers, sales will naturally increase!"

Chen Dong's eyes widened in astonishment at what he heard.

"Brother Xiao, you...you really want to come to my live stream?"

"Of course!"

Lin Xiao laughed and said, "This is a righteous act of helping farmers through the internet. To put it bluntly, it's relieving the pressure on me as the town mayor, so of course I have to give it my full support!"

Chen Dong said in a flustered manner, "That's true, but your support is too much..."

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Of course, I also have conditions!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dong breathed a sigh of relief and listened attentively.

"My condition is that you become the online ambassador for helping farmers in Xingguang Town, and help sell all the fruit farmers and navel oranges in the town through live streaming. Is that okay?"

"Ah, all the fruit farmers?"

Chen Dong suddenly felt immense pressure.

He's just a minor internet celebrity with limited abilities. In the past two years, he's only helped a few dozen fruit farmers in Chenjia Village sell oranges, and the sales generated through his live-streaming channel account for less than one-third of the village's total navel orange production.

This is certainly related to his personality.

After all, the live-streaming e-commerce market is already very crowded, and not everyone who becomes famous by making short videos can make money through live-streaming.

Chen Dong was well aware of this, so he never accepted invitations from various organizations.

If it weren't for helping the villagers, he would never have gotten involved in live streaming, because he knew his personality was simply not suited for it.

But now.

He not only had to sell oranges from Chenjia Village, but also from the entire Xingguang Town. Even with the help of Lin Xiao, a super internet celebrity, Chen Dong still felt immense pressure. However, after only a moment's hesitation, he made up his mind, inexplicably filled with courage.

"Okay! I'll do it!"

He said with a resolute expression.

Lin Xiao was overjoyed and patted Chen Dong on the shoulder. The two smiled very warmly.

"You've managed to recruit another capable lieutenant, that's great!"

Mayor Lin the Fox smiled broadly, overjoyed!

……

That same evening, Chen Dong received the lossless single-track audio of "Rice Fragrance".

Although it is not the official arrangement version.

But with no official version available across the entire internet, having a sound source that is clear, of excellent quality, and doesn't require visuals is simply a game-changer.

In addition, Chen Dong announced in the live broadcast that "Lin Xiao will be a guest soon," which instantly boosted the popularity of the live broadcast.

Some netizens were skeptical of this news, but the background music "Rice Fragrance" in the live stream accurately and undoubtedly explained their doubts.

After all, Chen Dong, a minor internet celebrity, absolutely could not afford the copyright fee for this hit single. In particular, the version played in his background sounded exceptionally clear and pleasant, clearly indicating the power of "backdoor" access.

Netizens naturally didn't believe him.

The news spread rapidly, and the number of viewers in the live stream increased exponentially, soaring from a few hundred to tens of thousands, and it continues to rise.

This terrified Chen Dong.

As a newcomer to the live-streaming e-commerce industry, he had never seen anything like it before. The comments section refreshed so quickly that he could barely read the words.

However, the thought that he was already the online ambassador for helping farmers in Xingguang Town made him feel a sense of responsibility and honor, and a surge of courage welled up from the bottom of his heart.

He used to be a bit stuttering and timid in front of the camera, but now he is full of energy and interacts with netizens back and forth.

At least one live stream was never dull.

Although most of the viewers in the live stream were there for Lin Xiao, and asked about his gossip and tidbits rather than the Starlight Navel Orange.

But the sheer number of people is overwhelming!
Even if only one out of a hundred people places an order, that still results in several hundred orders being sold.

This is just the amount for one night.

After the live stream ended, a backstage inventory revealed that over 2000 kilograms of oranges had been pre-sold that night.

This figure is higher than the sales volume of an entire quarter last year.

Chen Dong was both excited and proud, and he was even more confident in his arduous mission as the online ambassador for helping farmers in Xingguang Town!
Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.

The third recording of "Back to the Good Life" officially began this morning, and the third episode will air on Hunan TV tonight.

This is another day that everyone is eagerly anticipating.

Tonight, Lin Yu had no interest in watching TV. Instead, he took a small amount of luggage and boarded a train to Jingzhou.

Lin Jianping and Zhou Xiuping took him to the high-speed rail station.

The couple originally intended to escort him all the way to Jingzhou, but Lin Yu forced them to stay, saying, "If you go, I'll have to take care of you."

The elderly couple didn't feel heartbroken, only powerless.

At the entrance to the high-speed rail station, they watched their youngest son skillfully swipe his ID card to pass through security, then turn around, wave goodbye to them nonchalantly, and enter the station without looking back.

Lin Jianping and Zhou Xiuping both felt a void in their hearts.

The two stood at the entrance of the bustling high-speed rail station. The high roof resembled the cosmic dome, and the standardized floor tiles and pillars showcased the progress of modernization. The ample air conditioning inside the station completely blocked the sweltering summer heat from outside the huge glass walls.

This is a great era of vigorous development, and a departing train speeding forward.

Two aging rural people watched their children leave one by one, heading off to the vast world and a bright future, while they themselves remained forever in the place they called "home".

They know they should be happy.

But all I felt was disappointment and helplessness.

Half an hour later, Lin Yu boarded the high-speed train, put away his luggage, and took his seat.

He put on his headphones, and the song "Rice Fragrance" by his older brother was playing in his ears—the audio source was one he had dug up from the show himself, and the sound quality wasn't as good as the one in Chen Dong's live stream, but he was still completely absorbed in listening to it.

Lin Yu is not actually a person who likes listening to music, and he is tone-deaf when he sings.

Ever since he learned that his older brother was Ma Yao, the famous and talented musician, he was quite depressed and doubtful for a while, seriously doubting that he was not his parents' biological child, otherwise how could there be such a big difference between him and his brother in terms of musical literacy.

Ultimately, through careful observation and comparison, he denied his own conjecture.

Although the two brothers are completely different in every way, their faces are so similar that adoption is ruled out.

Lin Yu could only helplessly conclude: It seems that my parents were too old when they had me... so the quality wasn't good!

This tragic and helpless conclusion left him feeling heartbroken and speechless, but he could only reluctantly accept it.

"What else can we do if we don't accept it? We can't exactly travel back eighteen years and make my mom give birth again, can we?"

Lin Yu was helpless.

He opened his mobile banking app, secretly glanced at his account balance of over 16 yuan, and smirked.

This huge sum of money came from three sources.

The 10 yuan was given to him by his older brother last Friday, enough for his tuition and living expenses for four years, so he could pursue his dreams.

The 6 yuan was given to me intermittently by my sister-in-law, Han Xixi, over the past two years. 2 yuan of it was given last Saturday, and it was given secretly.

My sister-in-law's exact words were: "Your brother is so stingy, he definitely won't give you much money. This 2 is a donation from your sister-in-law. Use it first, and if it's not enough, just ask me for more. Don't be shy!"

This was said when the two of them were about to return to Mashan County.

Han Xixi got into the car as soon as she finished speaking, so Lin Yu didn't even have a chance to explain and could only accept the huge sum of money against his conscience.

The third sum of money, the "more" in the total of over 16 yuan, came from my parents.

My mom's exact words: "I know your brother and sister-in-law have given you money. You better keep it safe and don't touch a single penny. I'll give you your tuition, and I'll send you living expenses every month from now on. If I find out you've touched the money your brother and sister-in-law gave you, I'll beat you up!!"

After threatening him, he transferred 8000 yuan to Lin Yu.

That's why Lin Yu now has such a large balance in his bank account.

He had never seen so much money in his life. Although it was just a string of numbers on his phone instead of stacks of red banknotes, it was enough to make his heart race.

Lin Yu felt he was getting a little arrogant.

But when he thought of the task his brother had assigned him last week, he immediately lost interest in the huge sum of money and felt extremely melancholy.

"What is it that I truly love?"

He thought about it for a week, but had no answer.

The train slowly started moving, and my hometown gradually receded into the distance.

Although Lin Yu was not good with words, he suddenly felt reluctant to part with it.

This feeling is completely different from the feeling I had when I left for my last trip to Gyeongju.

Lin Yu knew that perhaps it was because last time he knew he would only be gone for a few days and would be back soon, but now he had been gone for four years, with only brief periods of time spent back in between. That familiar home would only drift further and further away from him in the future...

For the first time ever, Lin Yu felt a sense of melancholy.

My phone pinged; a new message had come in.

He clicked on it and saw a familiar profile picture.

[Liang Tian: Unlucky Lin Yu, are you on the bus yet?]

Lin Yu felt much better after seeing this message, but the thought that she might have sent the same message to Qin Jiapeng made him feel uneasy.

Today is also said to be the day Qin Jiapeng departs for Jingzhou to report for duty.

Logically speaking, the two are now friends, and they both got into the university in Jingzhou and even set off to register on the same day. What a coincidence!

But inexplicably, neither of them extended an invitation to the other to "ride together."

The reason was clear to both boys.

At this moment, Lin Yu looked at the message sent by Liang Tian, ​​and the inner turmoil in his heart was quickly put to the back of his mind.

He adjusted his mood and patiently typed a reply.

[Yu: Get on the bus]

[Sweet: We'll arrive at 2 PM, right?]

[Yu: How did you know?]

[Sweet: This king knows everything [smug]]

Lin Yu rolled his eyes and quickly guessed that she must have checked her train number and arrival time in advance.

Thinking of this, Lin Yu felt as if he were lying on soft cotton.

He didn't know how to reply for a moment.

[Sweet: You unlucky Lin Yu, where are you?]

[Yu: I'm here]

[Sweet: I thought you'd been abducted by aliens [doge emoji]]

[Yu: No]

[Sweet: [facepalm] Can you please stop being so aloof?]

[Yu: No, [smile]]

【sweet:……】

The chat was completely dead that day; the chat window remained silent for half a minute straight.

Lin Yu was a little anxious. He knew he couldn't always let the girl find topics to talk about, but he really didn't know what to say. Especially after Qin Jiapeng's confession last time, their conversations were always awkward.

Although they couldn't quite put their finger on what was strange, only the two of them knew that something was off.

Lin Yu felt that, both morally and logically, he should take the initiative this time.

[Yu: Can you pick me up from school this afternoon?]

As soon as he sent the message, Lin Yu regretted it. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his mouth.

He immediately went to press the undo button.

But he was also afraid that Liang Tian had already seen it, and that withdrawing his statement would only make him seem guilty.

After all, as a friend, it's only right for her to pick me up at her school when I visit her city; there's nothing wrong with that.

So after hesitating for a moment, Lin Yu actually pulled his hand back.

He stared at the screen, which remained motionless for a long time, feeling more nervous than ever before. He kept scrolling up the chat box and checking his phone signal.

After a long while, I finally received a reply from the other party.

Liang Tian: Hmph, dream on! [smug][smug]

(End of this chapter)