Don't Get It Wrong, Beethoven. You're the Challenger!

"You've got it wrong. We're not a couple!" Toyokawa Sakiko froze, then turned to see Riki's face flush beside her and hurriedly explained.

As if! What idiot would date Riki?

He was indeed pretty handsome, had a decent temper, and often made her laugh. He barely counted as her type... But that didn't mean she liked him!

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

"Yes, we're just good friends of noble character!" Riki said solemnly, then felt his foot get viciously stepped on. He turned to look at the expressionless Toyokawa Sakiko beside him.

What was that supposed to mean?

"Sorry. I stepped on you by accident," Toyokawa Sakiko said expressionlessly, annoyed inwardly.

Who said you could deny it?

Damn it, Teacher Da Xiang was actually humiliating me like this.

You've earned a death sentence!

When Toyokawa Sakiko glanced over again, Riki subtly turned toward the police officer and said, "We were just about to go home. By the way, I'm already an adult."

A respectable university student who danced at bars.

The police officer sneered. The sour stench of romance had already filled ninety-eight percent of the surrounding space, and they were still claiming not to be a couple. After giving them a casual warning, he continued carrying out the duties of the FFF团—no, the righteous police.

"By the way, by the next time we come to my place, we should be able to withdraw the money from the video sites," Riki said. Toyokawa Sakiko's piano performance had surpassed two million views on the site, earning them quite a bit of money. Besides, he had uploaded it to more than one platform.

Of course, some of that was thanks to the boost from the beautiful Toyokawa Sakiko. More importantly, though, it was because of Riki's score.

Toyokawa Sakiko had to admit that although Riki could be unreliable at times, he really did seem to be a gifted talent. No wonder he could say something like, You're the challengers.

"How much money are we talking about?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked.

"At least tens of thousands of yuan, I think," Riki said after considering it.

Toyokawa Sakiko was tempted.

This seemed like a good way to make money. There was just one problem: whenever she appeared on camera, the comments were always filled with things like "Teacher Da Xiang." She could understand those characters even without a translation app!

Toyokawa Sakiko was a little conflicted.

The two of them pushed their bicycles home, their legs aching from all the walking.

"It's all your fault for going somewhere so far away," Toyokawa Sakiko complained.

"Who was the one crying her eyes out?" Riki shot back.

"Who broke the chain by pedaling too hard?" Toyokawa Sakiko narrowed her eyes.

"Isn't it because you're too heavy?" Riki said thoughtfully.

Could this be Wide-Bodied Teacher Da Xiang?

Toyokawa Sakiko's expression darkened, and she punched Riki in the arm. Her fist was small and soft.

She seemed to have become much more cheerful. She wouldn't have joked around with me like this before.

Riki was thinking about that as he pushed the bicycle back into place. Suddenly, he saw a silver-haired girl crouching there, with different colors in her two eyes.

Riki recognized the beautiful girl at a glance.

Innate Meow Meow Holy Body, Kaname Runa!?

"Do you know her?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked.

"No, she doesn't know me." Riki shook his head. He was also puzzled about why Kaname Runa had appeared here.

Kaname Runa noticed Riki approaching and stared straight at him.

Kaname Runa: (゜ー゜)

Riki: ∑(っ °Д °;)っ

What was going on? He hadn't done anything to attract cats, had he? He wasn't carrying catnip, either.

"Bicycle, mine." Kaname Runa pointed at the bicycle Riki was pushing.

Riki: w(?Д?)w

Holy crap, the case owner had come knocking!

Riki hurriedly explained, "Sorry. I had an emergency just now, so I borrowed your bicycle. I also broke the chain by pedaling too hard. I'll get it repaired."

"It's fine. I hardly use it," Kaname Runa said calmly.

It took Riki a moment to realize that she meant she rarely used her bicycle and usually walked to school. That was very fitting for her humanoid cat persona.

Kaname Runa took her phone from her pocket and opened her photo album. One of the pictures showed Riki riding through traffic just now, with Toyokawa Sakiko hugging his waist from the back seat.

"Interesting man," Kaname Runa said as she looked at Riki.

Accurate. Fair. Straight to the point.

Riki considered himself handsome, suave, and extremely funny, but the bicycle case in his hands seemed more important right now. He was just about to speak when Kaname Runa took his phone from his pocket on her own and added her contact information.

Riki: "?"

"Can you play an instrument?" Kaname Runa asked.

"I can play a little..." Riki said modestly.

"Then remember to come to Ring. I'll wait for you." After saying that, Kaname Runa trotted off, leaving him completely unable to figure out what she was thinking.

Am I going to sink deeper and deeper into the whirlpool of bands? Riki was a little worried.

The gravitational vortex probably hadn't captured him yet.

Good. Starting today, I'll enter Zhang Beihai mode. If a gravitational crisis appears, I'll be the first to run!

You know, Toyokawa Sakiko is my bro. We've defeated countless opponents side by side. I've known Mikumura Shioka for a long time, and she's unbelievably strong. I think the three of us could create some great chemistry. I've decided to bring my talents to Mujika. As for Mygo, I wish them all the best at Ring.

Riki rambled inwardly. He had no intention of getting deeply involved with either Mujika or Mygo. After all, he only wanted to help Toyokawa Sakiko. Who could blame him? She had suddenly appeared at his home.

Surely no other beautiful girl would descend upon his home after this, right?

Riki and Toyokawa Sakiko returned to the rental apartment. After a while, they received a message from Nagasaki Sose.

Nagasaki Sose (saved as Scheming Little Sister): [Where is Sakiko-chan now?]

In a high-rise apartment, Nagasaki Sose lay on her bed as she received the reply.

Riki (saved as Annoying Guy): [In my heart.]

Nagasaki Sose's expression darkened. She was just about to reply when her hand slipped, sending the phone crashing into her nose. She immediately covered her reddening nose and cried out in pain on the bed.

This guy was seriously annoying!

When Riki woke up, he found himself back at his own home. But why did his chest feel so heavy?

He looked down and saw Toyokawa Sakiko sleeping soundly on top of him.

Teacher Da Xiang, what a perfect sleeping face.

Toyokawa Sakiko woke up groggily. The moment she looked up and saw Riki's face, she panicked and slapped him.

"Aren't you being a little unreasonable? You're the one who took advantage of me by sleeping in my room," Riki complained.

"...Sorry." Toyokawa Sakiko was embarrassed and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, the video. How is the video doing?"

Riki was about to turn on the computer as well. After several days, the video's views should have increased again.

The moment he opened the site, he saw that his video had been pushed onto the trending page.

Riki: "?"

*******

If you have votes, please cast them. They're really important for this new book. I'll do anything!

Chapter 8: Don't Get It Wrong, Beethoven. You're the Challenger!

Riki realized that he had underestimated the Chinese netizens' love for Toyokawa Sakiko. He had thought that the video wouldn't get many views after just a few days, but he hadn't expected the new video to shoot straight onto the trending page after only two days. The likes, comments, and shares were also absurdly high.

Riki checked the backend and discovered that, because the video's data was so good, the system had already begun heavily recommending it a day earlier.

Uncle, I...

There were also a great many commenters.

"Customer Service Xiao Xiang has to secretly practice piano when she isn't working. I'm crying."

"This coser is so accurate. Is she really not Sakiko herself?"

"Teacher Da Xiang's piano fundamentals are incredible!"

"Is this the White Moonlight Sakiko? I'm about to fall into Sakiko's embrace..."

"No one's praising how good the piano score is? Oh, no one is. Sakiko is so cute."

"The beautiful girl is such a feast for the eyes. Could she perform a tearful escape next time?"

"These people are a little too..." Toyokawa Sakiko hesitated. After using a translation app to read the comments, she was deeply shocked by the absurdity of the Chinese internet.

As a veteran double agent of Xiaohongshu and Sun Bar, Riki merely smiled faintly at this beginner-level absurdity. He acted like one of the girls on Xiaohongshu and like a little mouse on Sun Bar. He understood all of it.

"Ahem." Riki scolded them angrily. "These people are too despicable."

"But it looks like a lot of people like it." Toyokawa Sakiko carefully read the comments beneath the video. If she had been the only one appearing on camera, it wouldn't have reached this many views. Half the reason was that Riki's score was exceptionally pleasant to listen to.

Although the many people shouting the insulting nicknames "Teacher Da Xiang," "Customer Service Xiao Xiang," and "Camel Xiangzi" made her very unhappy, she smiled when she scrolled down and saw people praising Riki's composition.

So there were still people who knew what they were talking about.

Toyokawa Sakiko noticed that Riki's account already had fifty thousand followers. He had previously uploaded nothing but instrumental music videos, so most of his followers were serious music fans. They were pure and innocent, and highly respected Riki as a teenage musical genius. After the new video was uploaded, they were dumbfounded when a large group of unhinged fans suddenly flooded in.

I thought I was following a wholesome music uploader, a refined young man. Why did so many absurd people suddenly appear?

"Let me see. We gained twenty thousand followers, and the views paid pretty well too." Riki looked at the backend, and Toyokawa Sakiko's face lit up with joy as well.

"Then should we continue playing new pieces?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked excitedly after tasting the benefits.

"I haven't finished thinking up my new piece yet. How about we film something more ordinary?" Riki said after thinking it over.

Toyokawa Sakiko considered it, then curiously browsed the video site. "What is the Don't Laugh Challenge?"

"A pile of crap."

"What about Genshin?"

"Holy crap, '原'!"

"Then reading the comments?"

"Just a water-churning loser trying to pad his video."

The two of them went back and forth for half an hour. Toyokawa Sakiko didn't find it boring at all. For someone burdened by the pressure of her family's sudden upheaval, nothing could ease her stress better than this. Seeing Riki rant, she couldn't help smiling.

"It's about time to eat. Why don't we film a cooking video?" Riki suggested.

"Cooking? The thing I'm best at is probably spaghetti," Toyokawa Sakiko said after thinking about it.

I'm good at Italian cannons too. We're made for each other.

Riki figured he might get beaten up if he said that aloud.

They went to the supermarket and bought some spaghetti. Then Riki took out the camera he had bought earlier and began filming. Since it was an everyday-life video, they could be more casual.

"Today, my live-in roommate is going to make dinner for me. Her name is Sakiko. Yes, that's her real name. Since she's only just arrived in China and isn't good at Chinese yet, I'll be translating everything for her."

Although he called it translating, it was really only thanks to his wondrous ability to cheat and translate for him.

As for what would happen after he uploaded the video, Riki could already imagine the crowd's envy and jealousy.