Chen Xu pointed at the dartboard and asked one of the girls who looked like a store clerk, "Do you have darts here?"
"Yes, I'll get them." The clerk went over to the counter and brought back a box of darts.
After taking them and thanking her, Chen Xu walked over in front of the phone's camera.
"Damn."
Chen Xu was startled when he saw himself on the screen. Is this really me?
He had long heard that short-video apps had powerful beauty filters, but this was his first time filming. It was really outrageous.
His eyes were a size bigger, his face was a size smaller, and his skin had become whiter and smoother. He was completely unrecognizable.
"No wonder every woman on short-video apps looks pretty. So that's how they do it."
He clicked his tongue in amazement.
With that, all his previous worries were unnecessary. Even if someone who knew him saw this short video, they definitely would not recognize him.
After only looking for a few moments, a flood of comments surged in and filled the entire screen.
"Your fans are really enthusiastic."
Chen Xu was a little surprised. He had not expected Dai Zixin to have so many fans.
To be honest, it was his first time standing before a camera with so many viewers on the other side. It felt quite novel. "Hello, everyone. I'm Zixin's friend. I threw everything in those earlier throwing videos. It was one hundred percent real."
Then, he noticed a huge number of identical comments. Though the text was small, everyone posting the same thing caught his attention.
Looking closely, he saw that they said, "Bouncy Ball Bro finally showed his face."
Chen Xu's eye twitched as he asked Dai Zixin beside him, "What the hell is Bouncy Ball Bro?"
Dai Zixin's gaze darted away as she explained, "Well, that's the nickname they gave you. The one holding watermelons is called Watermelon Girl, the one selling pomegranates is called Pomegranate Bro, and the one playing with bouncy balls naturally became Bouncy Ball Bro." The more she spoke, the less confident she sounded.
The girls nearby were already laughing themselves silly.
What kind of stupid nickname was that?
Chen Xu cursed Dai Zixin out in his heart, but in front of the camera, he could only keep himself under control.
He decided that he would throw the bouncy ball in his pocket into the trash later.
Ignoring that annoying name, he took out a dart and got to the point. "Zixin said someone doubts whether the videos are real. How about this? I'll put on a dart-throwing demonstration for everyone."
"Come on, let's go over there." Chen Xu had Dai Zixin bring the phone as they walked over to the dartboard.
He examined it, then stopped about three meters away from the dartboard. He had never played darts before, but he felt fairly confident at this distance, and it would be easier to film. Any farther away, and the shot would not be clear.
Dai Zixin held up the phone beside him and followed closely as she filmed.
"In a moment, you tell me which spot to throw at, and I'll hit it." As Chen Xu spoke, he felt that this was inappropriate and added, "Of course, there are too many comments. How about this? Whoever sends a gift, I'll listen to them."
Then he saw the phone screen fill up with comments calling him "Gift scammer..." once more.
His face twitched slightly. This was tiring. Livestreaming was not easy either.
Suddenly, he spotted one comment. "If you hit it, no problem sending gifts. But what if you miss?"
An idea struck him, and he said, "Of course, if I miss, I'll accept a punishment too. As for what punishment..."
"That works." "If you miss, eat the dart on stream." "Eat shit on stream." "Fuck an electric fan on stream."...
Before Chen Xu could finish, he saw the comments offering all sorts of suggestions. They became increasingly disgusting, and his face darkened.
The audience these days was really no good. Their standards were too low.
"If I miss, I'll admit that I'm a fraud," Chen Xu hurriedly said, lest even more disgusting comments appear. Then he saw many comments agreeing, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Before we officially begin, I'll warm up first."
After saying that, Chen Xu pinched a dart between his fingers, aimed at the red bullseye in the center, and threw it.
The dart hit the board, but it landed off to the side, right on the number "6."
His brows furrowed slightly, clearly dissatisfied with that performance.
It was his first time throwing darts, and it felt very different from throwing other things. He had to grip the front of the dart with three fingers, a posture he had never used before.
Dai Zixin had been filming him the entire time, and she captured that scene as well. A massive stream of comments instantly floated by, all saying, "Was that a wipeout?" "666, welcome to this spectacular wipeout scene..."
The girls nearby began looking at Chen Xu strangely.
Even Dai Zixin, who had the most confidence in Chen Xu, looked deeply uneasy. If he really messed this up, her account would be finished too. Of course she was nervous.
Just then, Chen Xu caught sight of Dai Zixin's expression. An idea struck him. He had originally been aiming for the red bullseye in the center, but this time, he deliberately aimed at the number "20" at the very top.
He threw the dart, hitting the number "20" dead on.
He even deliberately frowned. Seeing Dai Zixin's worried expression, he secretly found it amusing.
Next, he tried several more darts, each one more ridiculous than the last. Several even missed the board entirely. Dai Zixin's expression grew uglier and uglier, until she was practically on the verge of tears. "Chen Xu, why don't you throw bouncy balls instead?"
Chen Xu had begun to feel a little sorry for her, but upon hearing her bring up bouncy balls again, that trace of sympathy vanished into thin air. He deliberately said, "Wouldn't that be inappropriate? We agreed to throw darts. How can we change our minds halfway through? Besides, they wouldn't agree either, would they?"
Dai Zixin's whole face fell as she pouted. "If you screw this up, I won't let you off."
Chen Xu said in surprise, "Even if it goes wrong, I'm the one embarrassing myself, right?"
Dai Zixin said with a frantic expression, "This is my account, my account..."
At that moment, the livestream comments became even livelier. "Another one has gone crazy..." "Poor streamer..." "Shocking: A beautiful streamer driven insane by a man who likes playing with bouncy balls..."
"Alright, I'm starting the performance now."
Chen Xu felt the timing was about right. He cleared his throat and announced it.
"I'll go first. Hit sixty points." Someone quickly sent a gift.
Chen Xu froze slightly. There were only numbers from one to twenty on the board. Where would sixty points be? Following the principle of asking when he did not understand, he asked, "Which spot is sixty points?"
The livestream was once again filled with comments, practically becoming a sea of joy.
Dai Zixin's vision darkened as she said despairingly, "Don't tell me you've never played darts before?"
It was the girl in uniform who explained it to him. "See those two circular rings on the board? The outer ring is the double-score area. The middle ring is the triple-score area. The part overlapping with twenty points is sixty points."
With that explanation, Chen Xu understood.
PS: Thanks to several readers for their tips.
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