Chen Xu listened to the applause around him, took off the Eye Mask, and looked at the astonished expressions on everyone's faces. At last, he understood why so many people liked showing off.
This feeling was actually pretty great.
Keep it together.
He silently reminded himself, trying hard to control his expression. He could not smile, much less look smug. At a time like this, the more calm and indifferent he seemed, the loftier his image would appear in other people's eyes.
Of course, he could not just stand there like an idiot. He walked over to the waitress and handed the Eye Mask back to her. "Thanks for the Eye Mask."
"You're welcome." The girl was a little excited. The way she looked at him was completely different from before, as though her eyes were shining.
A pleasantly numb feeling rose in Chen Xu's heart.
To be honest, the girl was fairly average-looking, just ordinary bystander level. But when she looked at him with flushed cheeks and a hint of admiration in her eyes, it really gave him a strange feeling.
It was the first time he had received such a look from a woman. To him, it was worth remembering.
"Chen Xu, they want you to perform another one."
Suddenly, Dai Zixin called out loudly, sounding rather excited. "They've sent so many gifts."
Chen Xu shook his head. "No, I haven't even had breakfast yet."
He knew that at times like this, he had to play it cool. He could not perform whenever people asked, or it would not seem valuable anymore.
"Oh. Then Jia Jia, help me look after him. Ask him what he wants to eat. I'll pay the bill later."
Dai Zixin was clearly a little disappointed, but she still reminded her friends.
The waitress warmly ushered Chen Xu over. "Come sit over here."
"What would you like to eat?" The girl named Jia Jia picked up a menu and asked.
"What about you?" Chen Xu politely asked the other two girls.
The two girls ordered drinks, while Chen Xu asked for a sandwich.
After Jia Jia placed the order, she left.
Chen Xu chatted with the other two girls for a while and learned that they were quite close to Dai Zixin, probably best friends.
Dai Zixin had worked here during a summer break in college, and they had met at that time.
He was not particularly surprised. With Dai Zixin's personality, she was bound to have loads of friends. During the past half month in the New Department, she had been the most popular one. Even Luo Xiyun had been especially kind to her.
After chatting for a while, Jia Jia came over carrying their order. After setting it down, she sat down beside them and asked curiously, "You must be a professional darts player, right?"
Chen Xu smiled. "Actually, I'm not."
"How did you train? You could hit the target even blindfolded. That was seriously amazing." Jia Jia looked at him with admiration. "I've been practicing for months, but even with my eyes open, I still miss all the time."
"It's probably talent." Chen Xu told the truth. Without that Talent Card, he definitely could not have done it.
"You acted so convincingly just now. At first, you even fooled me. You deliberately pretended not to know where the triple section was. I really thought you were a beginner and was worried about you."
Chen Xu merely smiled without saying anything. He did not say that it really was his first time playing darts. No one would believe him anyway; they would just think he was forcing it.
He picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Mm, it tasted pretty good.
"By the way, since you're so good, why don't you compete?" Jia Jia seemed especially talkative. Once she got started, she could not stop.
At the word competition, Chen Xu paused in the middle of eating and asked, "Darts has competitions?"
"Of course." Seeing that he really seemed not to know, Jia Jia explained, "Darts is an indoor sport. It's very popular overseas, and there are plenty of competitions. But more and more people play it domestically now too. Quite a few competitions are held every year, both professional and amateur."
Chen Xu asked again, "Then if you win these competitions, there's prize money, right?"
Jia Jia answered as if it were obvious. "Of course. The top international prizes are several million. Ordinary domestic ones can pay over a hundred thousand too. Oh, there was an amateur competition last week. First place got fifty thousand."
Chen Xu fell silent.
He felt like he had been unbelievably stupid. After discovering his talent, he had never even thought about darts. Wasn't this the sport most perfectly suited to that talent?
If he had thought of it earlier and entered the amateur competition Jia Jia mentioned, would the fifty-thousand-yuan prize not have been his for the taking? There might even have been other competitions.
At that thought, his heart seemed to bleed. It felt as though he had lost a hundred million.
"What's wrong?" Jia Jia found it a little strange when he suddenly fell silent.
"Have there been any amateur competitions like that recently?"
"You want to enter?" Jia Jia asked in pleasant surprise, taking out her phone. "I'll ask in the group."
Chen Xu waited patiently. By the time he finished his sandwich, Jia Jia had finally gotten an answer. "The people in the group said that since it's the end of the year, there aren't many competitions in the country right now. The soonest would be after Spring Festival. There are some overseas, but it's pretty hard to qualify for them."
"Oh." Chen Xu was deeply disappointed. He would have to wait until after the New Year. He had originally planned to enter a few competitions before the year ended and make some money.
"Let's add each other on WeChat. If you hear any news about Darts Competition, let me know right away."
"No problem."
Dai Zixin treated him to lunch. She was quite generous and took him to a rather upscale restaurant.
There were only the two of them for this meal. The other two girls had gone on dates with their boyfriends, while Jia Jia still had to work.
Chen Xu did not stand on ceremony with her either. He ordered three dishes and a soup. Anything they could not finish could be packed up anyway.
"Chen Xu, how about we work together?" Halfway through the meal, Dai Zixin suddenly suggested, "You can handle the performances, and we'll split all the earnings from this account fifty-fifty."
"Forget it. Doing one livestream was exhausting enough. I'm not cut out for this." Chen Xu did not even raise his head, more interested in the food on the table.
Seeing him refuse without hesitation, Dai Zixin looked somewhat regretful. After eating a few more bites, she said, "No matter what, we received quite a lot of gifts today, and that was mainly because of you. I think I should give you half the money."
Chen Xu was a man of principles too. He shook his head. "Forget it. You already treated me to lunch. How could I take your money too?"
"That won't do. Business is business." Dai Zixin was very firm. "I calculated it. The gifts should be worth over two thousand yuan. I get thirty percent, which is six hundred. I'll transfer three hundred to you on WeChat later."
Suddenly, Chen Xu stopped moving his chopsticks and looked up at her. "What did you just say?"
Dai Zixin was a little confused. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'll transfer three hundred to you on WeChat later?"
"A little earlier."
"I should give you half the money?"
"Earlier."
"How about we work together?"
Chen Xu held out his hand. "Pleasure working with you."
Before you continue