Chen Zhao entered the livestream to chat with his viewers, have a drink of water, and take a short break.
A lot of viewers were unhappy. They thought Chen Zhao blowing himself up had been way too outrageous. In esports, there was no distinction between men and women; on the battlegrounds, there was no mercy. How could he just hand over a chicken dinner that was already his?
Of course, some viewers supported Chen Zhao's decision. They thought it was only right to let a cute girl win a chicken dinner. If a sweet, adorable girl had teamed up with you all the way, taking bullets for you, shouldn't you let her have the win in the end?
After finishing his water, Chen Zhao chatted with his viewers for a bit. Just as he was about to start another match, a friend request notification suddenly popped up.
Little Bamboo Shoot had requested to add him as a friend.
In an instant, the livestream chat exploded!
Oreo and Lao Gan Ma: "No wonder the streamer blew himself up! So that was why!"
Gan Gouyu: "Wow! I've learned something!"
Coffin Carrying Expert: "Tsk, tsk, tsk. It was all part of the plan!"
Little Bamboo Shoot's Friend: "It's over, it's over! Little Bamboo Shoot took the bait!"
All the viewers thought Chen Zhao had blown himself up to win Little Bamboo Shoot's favor. Now that she had taken the initiative to add him, he should have accepted without a second thought, and been over the moon about it.
But to everyone's surprise, Chen Zhao did the opposite and hit reject!
"Friends aren't useful for anything. Her skills are too bad, and she can't help me rank up. I'm not adding her!" Chen Zhao explained coolly to his viewers.
His viewers were stunned!
Was he really that committed to esports? Was ranking up all he cared about?
He wouldn't accept a friend request from a gorgeous woman?
If he didn't like beautiful women, why had he blown himself up just now?!
He was downright baffling!
Chen Zhao's reasoning was actually very simple: he added friends who were useful and didn't add those who weren't.
He thought Little Bamboo Shoot was so bad at the game she could barely hold a gun. If he teamed up with her in the future, she'd just be dead weight and no use to him. Sure, she was a female streamer, but she probably wasn't all that pretty. Her cutesy voice made him think of Certain Biluo, and just remembering Certain Biluo gave him the creeps. Weren't the truly beautiful streamers all in the dance and music categories? Game streamers had chaotic schedules and spent all night playing games in front of a computer screen. It would be a miracle if they were pretty. And given how bad and timid Little Bamboo Shoot was, she probably didn't have many followers, either.
So there was absolutely no need to add her.
Chen Zhao suddenly needed to use the bathroom, so he told his viewers over the mic, "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back," then got up and left.
In the livestream chat:
Oreo and Lao Gan Ma: "It's not the same time!"
Desert Lone Eagle: "But it's still the same bathroom!"
I Am So Handsome: "Chen Zhao, I'll show everyone how to eat shit!"
Yali Shanda: "Aoligei, get it done, brothers!"
Muzi Li: "Ugh—"
Chen Zhao had no idea his viewers were making fun of him in the chat. He went to the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and let loose. As usual, he pulled out his phone to play around with it.
Suddenly, he remembered Little Bamboo Shoot. Could he find her online? He was kind of curious what she looked like and how many followers she had. If she had a few thousand, maybe adding her as a friend wouldn't be a bad idea.
So he opened his browser and typed "Fighting Panda Live Little Bamboo Shoot" into the search bar.
Search.
The next second, Chen Zhao took one look at the results on his phone screen and went pale. Even the stream of pee he'd been halfway through came to an abrupt stop!
Little Bamboo Shoot had... eight million followers!
Not eight hundred. Eight million! How had someone as bad at the game as Little Bamboo Shoot ended up with a whopping eight million followers? What was going on?!
Chen Zhao scrolled down and found a picture of Little Bamboo Shoot.
One look at the photo and he immediately understood why she had eight million followers.
It seemed to be a screenshot from one of Little Bamboo Shoot's livestreams. She wore a simple white short-sleeved T-shirt and large white headphones. Her skin was as pale as the underside of a shrimp, her eyes were bright and lively, and her lips were red and tempting. Her hair fell in golden waves. Anyone would believe it if someone said she was a movie star! And Little Bamboo Shoot was anything but little. Her chest was enormous—the kind of woman who could rest her breasts on a table, just like in the stories!
Chen Zhao stared at his phone screen, stunned. Little Bamboo Shoot was nothing like the Certain Biluo he'd imagined. She was a genuine beauty! An innocent face with a voluptuous figure, both alluring and adorable!
She was a wildly popular, top-tier streamer!
So popular she was practically glowing red!
So red she was turning black!
So black she was—All right, all right, enough joking around.
Why had he rejected her friend request just now?!
At that moment, Chen Zhao wanted to slap himself across the face a few times and knock the water out of his brain. Other streamers would have been falling over themselves to suck up to a peerless beauty with eight million followers. She had taken the initiative to add him, and he'd rejected her?! If that wasn't a screw loose, what was?
He'd lost all interest in finishing up in the bathroom. He pulled up his pants and sprinted back to his computer.
As soon as he sat down, another friend request popped up. It was from Little Bamboo Shoot. Chen Zhao had probably rejected her once, but she hadn't given up and had sent another invitation.
The viewers in the livestream saw the request and began discussing it:
"Our streamer isn't some ordinary mortal. Little Bamboo Shoot won't sway him."
"Chen Zhao is the new abbot of my temple. He's been a monk for years and doesn't care for women. Please leave, female devotee!"
"She got rejected and sent another request anyway. Little Bamboo Shoot must be so embarrassed!"
"The streamer's definitely going to reject her again. Why put herself through this?"
"Ugh, she's had the bad luck to run into a streamer who takes the game so seriously."
Chen Zhao accepted in a flash, as if he'd miss his chance if he waited even a moment longer.
Livestream viewers: ...
After a brief silence, the viewers started teasing him again:
"What the heck? Didn't he just reject her? Why is he accepting now?"
"Our streamer's a lunatic!"
"Absolutely baffling!"
"What on earth is the streamer thinking?"
As soon as they became friends, Little Bamboo Shoot immediately sent him a team invitation.
Chen Zhao accepted instantly.
Desert Map, duo mode, matchmaking started.
"Big Bro, thanks for last round!" Little Bamboo Shoot said excitedly. "Could you help me get a chicken dinner?"
"No problem, no problem!" Chen Zhao nodded enthusiastically. "I'll make sure you win. Just stick with me."
Little Bamboo Shoot froze. She was a little confused. Just a few minutes ago, Chen Zhao had been so cold and heartless toward her, forcing her to jump around in the Final Circle at gunpoint. Why was he suddenly so warm and eager now?
"Okay, okay, thank you! I'm clinging to the big shot's leg!" Little Bamboo Shoot quickly snapped out of it and answered happily. She'd seen Chen Zhao's skills last round: every shot was a headshot, and he had the poise of a professional player. With a sturdy leg like that to cling to, she didn't have to worry about failing to reach the Final Circle.
Soon, the game screen appeared: a sandy spawn island blanketed in yellow dust.
Chen Zhao figured he should chat with Little Bamboo Shoot and get to know her a bit better. She had eight million followers. If they got along, he might attract some of them to follow him, too.
But he had no idea what to talk about. And when he thought about how harsh he'd been to Little Bamboo Shoot earlier, guilt and awkwardness welled up, making it even harder to speak.
After thinking it over, Chen Zhao had no choice but to stick with his usual streaming style: aloof and taciturn.
Before you continue