Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Time flies, a week has passed, and the spring breeze has swept through Ping County.

The warm sunshine in early April dispelled the spring chill, and people on the streets and alleys put on light spring clothes.

Old Street, a web series studio.

"boom--"

Colorful confetti flew everywhere.

"Alas!!"

The four energetic young women jumped up in unison and cheered.

Chen Tingting took off her heavy winter clothes and put on a black tight-fitting cropped T-shirt, revealing her slender waist.

Lin Xiaoshuang was wearing a light yellow knitted cardigan over a white camisole.

She was already petite.

As she ran and jumped, the youthful energy of her collagen, untouched by the ravages of time, shone through her body with unparalleled vitality.

"Our first phase of web series has finally wrapped up!"

Lin Xiaoshuang clutched the empty firework tube in her hand, her baby face brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

Bai Li threw away the paper tube in her hand and brushed away the ribbon fragments that had fallen onto the shoulder of her trench coat.

Li Mengmeng stood not far away.

The little girl stood on tiptoe, clapping her hands and laughing along.

Wang Wei slumped back in his gaming chair, completely sprawled out.

He's been working day and night editing and rendering, and he's lost a bit of weight.

"Brother Li."

Wang Wei pointed to the long progress bar on the screen:

"How about it, brothers? I didn't let you down, did I? The post-production quality is top-notch even in the entire short drama industry."

Bai Li stepped forward and patted his broad shoulder.

My eyes swept over the computer screen, admiring the exquisite graphics and smooth transitions.

"Very good, very satisfied." Bai Li's tone was gentle and sincere, giving his approval.

"The entire review process is complete, and we can now directly upload the first part of the story."

Bai Li tapped the edge of the computer desk with his finger:

"Whether it's a mule or a horse, we'll see how the market reacts."

Li Mengmeng ran over with small steps, her little hand naturally taking Bai Li's arm.

"Brother Bai Li can definitely do it!"

Li Mengmeng's voice was sickeningly sweet, and her big eyes sparkled:

"Guaranteed to go viral across the entire internet!"

Several people crowded around the computer.

Li Jiaxin wore ripped jeans today, showing off her long, straight, and slender legs. Her eyes, hidden beneath her purple hair and bangs, remained unblinking.

"Big brother, hurry up and upload it." Zhang Qianlan's hair fell across her collarbone, and she clasped her hands together in a prayerful gesture.

"Let's quickly see how the results of our labor are!"

Without hesitation, Bai Li gripped the mouse and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, clicked the upload button.

The progress bar spun for two seconds.

A green message popped up saying "Upload successful".

The air in the room became quiet.

These five women, who are usually noisy and argumentative, were all bending over and staring at the data on the screen.

No one dared to utter a sound.

Bai Li couldn't help but chuckle at their alarmed expressions.

"Alright, alright, don't be so tense."

Bai Li leaned against the edge of the desk with his long legs crossed, looking relaxed.

"Now that we've done this much, we can leave the rest to the platform for promotion. Have faith in your efforts."

Li Mengmeng rolled her eyes at him unhappily, her little mouth pouting.

"How can you, the director, lead actor, and investor, be so carefree!"

She stretched out her fair, delicate finger and poked Bai Li's chest:

"After all this time and effort, this is something everyone worked on from dawn till dusk!"

Bai Li chuckled and spread his hands out nonchalantly.

"I've always had a good attitude. Success or failure is all up to fate."

He raised an eyebrow and casually cracked a joke:

"Besides, even if I fail, I'll just start doing nighttime pet transport tomorrow. I can still afford to feed you all."

"That's fucking dog theft!"

Li Mengmeng placed her hands on her slender waist and raised her voice an octave.

"Hahahahaha!"

The girls who had been tense all burst into laughter.

After a brief moment of joy, Lin Xiaoshuang brought her head back to the screen.

She bit her lower lip, her fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the mousepad.

"Why are there no comments yet... and the video still has zero likes."

Zhang Qian chimed in from the side:

"Yeah, not a single view count has increased, I'm really worried."

Chen Tingting bit her nails, her red ponytail swinging irritably.

In the past...

These young women wander the streets all day, barely scraping by, treating everything like a blanket if the sky were to fall.

If someone insults them, they can still laugh it off and insult back.

But right now.

They poured all their energy into these short, few dozen episodes of videos.

Because of expectations, and because of the genuine effort put in,

That anxiety about wanting to be recognized by others was so real that it softened Bai Li's heart.

This is the girl I raised and guided step by step onto the right path.

Only those with weaknesses are truly alive.

Bai Li stepped forward, put his arm around Chen Tingting and Zhang Qian's shoulders, and pulled them away from the computer.

"It's only been on the shelves for less than a few minutes."

Bai Li gently ruffled Zhang Qian's blue hair:

"How could there be any movement so quickly?"

"The audience may have only seen the beginning."

Bai Li casually pulled over a chair and sat down:

"Let the bullets fly for a while."

After calming down their emotions.

Seeing that the atmosphere was still a bit dull, Bai Li made the decision immediately.

"It's rare to finish a phase of work, so we must commemorate this day. Let's all take a group photo."

They heard that they were going to take a picture.

The girls finally perked up and ran to the mirror to fix their hair.

Wang Wei rummaged through the cabinet and took out a DSLR camera, set it on a tripod, adjusted the viewfinder, and pressed the ten-second delay shutter.

"Quick, quick! Get into position!"

After pressing the shutter, Wang Wei took off running back.

He squeezed himself to Bai Li's left and made a peace sign.

The right side is a strategically vital location that military strategists would fight over.

Taking advantage of her short stature, Li Mengmeng buried her head in Bai Li's arms.

His petite body clung tightly to his trench coat.

The four spirited young women were not to be outdone.

Colorful hairs crowded in front of the camera.

"Click—"

The flash went off, freezing the image.

The photos are fantastic.

Bai Li was in the center, with a group of beautiful women huddled together on her right, all of them laughing.

On the left, only Wang Wei's chubby face was making faces.

Bai Li imported the photos into her phone.

I casually opened WeChat Moments.

Editor's note: Phase one is complete. We await good news.

Add the group photo and click send.

The phone screen is not locked.

A red number "1" appears on the WeChat icon.

Jiang Ruyue's private messages came very quickly.

Jiang Ruyue: [Congratulations!]

Jiang Ruyue: [I'll come visit you in a couple of days when it's Sunday!]

Bai Li glanced at the calendar at the top of her phone.

It's only Tuesday, this girl should be sitting in the classroom.

Bai Li typed with one hand, maintaining a very steady and elder-like posture.

Bai Li: [Don't use your phone in class, pay attention.]

The message was sent and received in no time.

A picture was sent to me from the other side.

Click to view the original image.

Bai Li's lips unconsciously curled up into a smile.

This is a manipulated group photo.

It's the same picture I just posted on my WeChat Moments.

But Jiang Ruyue photoshopped herself into the group photo.

She even cunningly placed her own portrait at the very front, right below Bai Li's chin.

That spot, that angle.

The subject of the entire photo has changed; it now appears as if Bai Li is holding her in his arms.

Everyone else became mere background figures to highlight the young lady.

Jiang Ruyue: My heart has always been with you.

Jiang Ruyue: [The person is here now.]

That adorable yet self-righteous possessiveness softened Bai Li's heart.

I have to say, I haven't seen this girl for several days.

Bai Li really did miss her.

Bai Li's fingertips hovered over the keyboard, just about to reply with two comforting words.

Another message popped up from the other end.

Jiang Ruyue: [Are you guys having a team-building activity tonight?]

Bai Li answered honestly.

Bai Li: [We shouldn't have a team-building activity. Everyone's been exhausted after a few days of this. Let's just have a simple meal and then everyone go home to rest. What's wrong?]

Thirty seconds later.

In the back row of the classroom, Jiang Ruyue held her books up to cover most of her face and rapidly typed on her phone with both hands.

The last few lines of text popped up in the chat interface.

Jiang Ruyue: [Oh, that's good.]

Jiang Ruyue: [I'm really afraid you'll tell me tomorrow.]

Jiang Ruyue: [You were the team-building prize yesterday.]

Bai Li: [...]