A live stream that dramatically transformed a depressed schoolgirl shocked netizens across the count

The long table in the Bai family courtyard was filled with bowls and plates, and the hot soup of sour papaya and fish was boiling in a clay pot.

The juices from the meat on the grill drip into the charcoal fire below, sending up plumes of smoke that smelled deliciously charred.

Ye Xingyu sat at the table holding her phone, the screen showing the background of her new account.

The number of fans has exceeded five million.

The total number of views has exceeded 180 million.

The phrase "five yuan happiness" remains firmly at the top of the trending list.

Su Niannian peeked out and whistled.

"Just a few days ago you were asking me with your old phone if I could record a video. Now you have five million followers, Teacher Ye, how about an autograph?"

Ye Xingyu tucked her phone into her clothes.

"A signature costs five yuan."

Bai Weiwei walked over with the freshly baked milk fan and placed the plate on the table.

"You're raising prices faster than the price of your followers. She's a freelancer now, so she has the power to set her own prices."

Ye Xingyu lowered her head and smiled.

She wore a red string on her wrist, and the silver bells tapped against the edge of the wooden table, making a soft tinkling sound.

Over the course of three days, she photographed sticky rice on the street, the breeze by Erhai Lake, and mint leaves sold for one yuan a bunch at the market.

She doesn't need photo editing, and no one forces her to delete shots where her smile isn't refined enough.

Su Niannian put down the beer bottle, grabbed Ye Xingyu's phone, and swiped her fingers across the screen a few times.

"By the way, have you guys seen Chen Lang's short video?"

Bai Weiwei pulled out a chair and sat down.

Which one?

Su Niannian flipped the screen over, and the light shone on the top of the desktop.

The video cover freezes on a single frame.

The brazier was burning brightly, and smoke was rising. Shen Qingci sat at the other end of the long table, her gaze passing through the smoke and landing directly on Chen Lang, who was playing the guitar.

The pale red beauty mark at the corner of her eye was made translucent by the firelight.

The image is accompanied by a line of text.

"I would spend my whole life wanting to meet eyes like that."

The number in the bottom right corner of the video remains there—1.03 million views.

Bai Weiwei braced herself against the edge of the table and leaned closer to the screen to watch for a while.

"One hundred million?"

Su Niannian tapped the edge of the clay pot with a wooden spoon.

"It's more than 100 million. This video was posted three days ago, and it surpassed 50 million in the twelfth hour. It exceeded 100 million last night, and it's still rising today."

Ye Xingyu snatched her phone back and went to the comments section.

"The comments are almost eight million. 'What do men really crave? Nothing more than to fight tooth and nail, only to turn around and find a girl who still cares about you.'"

She underlined a few lines and then continued reading.

"I've seen too many people looking at cars, houses, and future prospects. All I want in my life is to meet a girl who only has eyes for me."

"When you're tired, someone is there to wait for you; when you're working hard, someone is there to accompany you; and when you look up and meet such a gaze, you can say you've lived a worthwhile life."

Ye Xingyu stopped speaking and looked up at Shen Qingci.

Shen Qingci's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air. The tea sloshed and hit the cup, making a soft, crisp sound. She placed the cup back on the table, interlaced her fingers on her knees, and rubbed her thumb against the knuckles of her other hand twice before releasing it.

Gu Qingshang picked up the purple clay teapot and poured tea into his cup.

"I've seen the data report under that video. There were over 120,000 derivative works, and it ranked first in the entire platform in terms of the number of references by emotional bloggers. One wedding planning account used that screenshot as its cover and gained 800,000 followers in three days."

She put down the lid of the teapot and looked past the edge of the teacup.

"The whole platform is talking about the way Shen Qingci looked at Chen Lang."

A thin blush rose from the back of Shen Qingci's neck, spreading down her earlobes. She raised her hand to brush away the stray hairs by her ear, the back of her hand brushing against the tip of her ear, the heat making her fingers recoil.

Ye Xingyu stared at the comments section and continued scrolling down.

"Someone even edited this video together with the stunt car video from the Nine Turns Bend, and titled it 'He flew for her, she stayed for him.' The number of views is almost 10 million."

She put down her phone and looked at Shen Qingci.

"Qingci, your eyes are so beautiful."

Shen Qingci lowered her head. Her chin rested on her collarbone, and the fine downy hair on the back of her neck trembled slightly from the steam rising from the brazier. She reached for her teacup, the rim of which obscured most of her face below her nose, revealing only her eyes. Those eyes avoided everyone's gaze and found a place to rest on the table—the dish of dipping sauce next to the grill.

Su Niannian turned her body to the side and brought her face close to the teacup.

"Oh, Xiao Qingci's ears are red."

Shen Qingci turned her head away, raising her teacup even higher until the rim almost touched the lower edge of her eye socket. The tea was finished, and the empty cup was placed in front of her, its concealment more transparent than the cup itself.

Bai Weiwei covered her mouth and laughed.

"It's over, now a hundred million people know what you think of Chen Lang."

Shen Qingci put her knees together and rubbed her toes against the chair leg twice. She put down the empty teacup, cupped her cheeks in her hands, pressed her palms against her burning skin, and covered the beauty mark under her eye with her fingers.

"...I didn't know I was being recorded at the time."

The sound was muffled in the palm of the hand, and the tail trailed off lightly and shortly.

Chen Lang leaned back in the rattan chair, looking at her face hidden behind her hands.

"One hundred million people have good taste."

Shen Qingci parted her fingers a crack, revealing one eye to glare at Chen Lang. Her gaze barely met his before she quickly withdrew it, her hand closing tightly again.

Su Niannian grabbed a handful of peanuts and threw them over.

"Chen Lang, the person's practically buried their face in the table, and you're still praising them!"

Peanuts were scattered all over the table. One hit Chen Lang on the forehead, bounced onto the table, and rolled into Shen Qingci's plate.

Ye Xingyu picked up her phone, zoomed in on the cover screenshot, and held it up in front of Shen Qingci.

On the screen, Shen Qingci's eyebrows and eyes were softened by the firelight, and her whole person seemed to be sealed in amber. The gaze that fell on Chen Lang contained something that even she herself was unaware of.

Shen Qingci turned her head away from the screen.

"Stop holding it up."

"But it's really beautiful."

That's enough.

She removed her hands from her face, reached for the purple clay teapot on the table, and poured herself some tea. The spout was aimed at the rim of the cup, but the water spilled outside the rim, soaking a small patch of the tablecloth.

The girl quickly put down the pot, grabbed a tissue to wipe it, and after wiping it a couple of times, she realized that Chen Lang was watching her flustered movements. She crumpled the tissue into a ball and stuffed it under the plate.

"What are you looking at?"

Chen Lang's lips curled up slightly.

"Watch the navigator pour tea."

Shen Qingci grabbed Bai Weiwei's guitar and placed it between the two of them, blocking Chen Lang's gaze.

"One more thing, you'll have to serve yourself the soup tonight."

Bai Weiwei smiled and pulled the guitar back.

"My harp is not a shield."

Su Niannian slammed the beer bottle onto the table.

"Alright, alright, a hundred million viewers across the country are remembering this for you. Can we eat first?"

Gu Qingshang lowered his head to drink tea, a smile playing on his lips.

Shen Qingci picked up her teacup again. This time there was tea in the cup. She lowered her head and took a small sip, but her peripheral vision went past the rim of the cup and landed on Chen Lang, who was diagonally opposite her.

His gaze lingered for only a moment before quickly returning to its original direction.

She buried her face in the teacup, the thin blush on her earlobes lingering.

Chen Lang tapped the table, and the levitating ball slid down from the eaves and stopped above the long table.

Within ten seconds of the broadcast starting, the number of online viewers exceeded 200,000.

[Brother Lang, don't go! I haven't had enough of the Dali episode yet!]

[We are applying to permanently retain the Bai Family Courtyard!]

Teacher Ye has reached 5 million followers! Long live freedom!

[Brother Lang, leaving tomorrow? I hope we bump into each other in Fenghuang Ancient Town!]

I've watched that "Exhausting My Life" video 300 times! Will there be a sequel tonight, Brother Lang?!

[Sister Shen's gaze has become legendary online, with over 100 million views!]