The final decision

Over the next few days, Firefly streamed as usual, while Lin Yu had no time to stream. Until Firefly could truly make videos independently, he had to keep both accounts updated, and with his drawing schedule to catch up on as well, he had no time to go live at all.

Streaming had never been his main source of income anyway. He only did it because his fans kept asking him to. After all, he wasn't particularly entertaining, and watching him was fairly boring.

Sometimes he genuinely couldn't understand how bored his fans had to be to want him to stream, but there was nothing he could do. When his fans asked, he had to do it whether he wanted to or not.

Firefly's streams had been smooth sailing these past few days, and her follower count was growing visibly. It wouldn't be long before she broke the ten-thousand mark. It had to be said, even I couldn't hope to match that growth rate.

But after watching the replay of her first stream, he immediately felt it made sense. While making stream clips, he noticed someone had asked whether Firefly was using her real voice or a voice changer. Once Firefly explained that it was her natural voice, the attention began pouring in.

He had to wonder why he hadn't thought of that himself. If he'd done that back then, he wouldn't have needed to stream or do any collaborations.

Although it was a good thing, it still depended on how Firefly handled this influx of viewers. If she could hold on to them, she'd strike it rich. If she couldn't, all she could do was perform a streaming speedrun.

Fortunately, after observing things, he found there wasn't much drama. Over the past few days, he'd made an alt account and quietly slipped into Firefly's streams. After buying a Captain subscription, he occasionally sent small gifts to make his presence felt. Of course, he hadn't made an alt specifically for this sort of thing. Really!

Still, what Firefly had said was true. The account with the ID [I Am Flying Firefly's Servant] would usually appear during her streams and send large amounts of gifts. The strangest thing was that it only sent gifts and never said a word.

It gave him the impression of a shill, but the probability of it actually being one was almost zero.

Calling this account a devoted fan made sense, but he'd genuinely never seen someone gain a devoted fan after just one stream, so he still needed to keep an eye on this person.

But all that could wait. There was something more important to do today. He had to go to the university and speak to Professor Zhou about that matter. He'd already gotten his phone number from Counselor Su and arranged to meet him today.

After telling Firefly not to wait for him for lunch, he headed out. Lin Yu rode out of the residential complex and toward the university. Not long after he left, a girl with shoulder-length hair and black rectangular glasses came looking for him.

The girl said, "It should be somewhere around here."

The girl raised her hand and began looking around. "Where exactly is it?" As she looked around, she spotted a milk tea shop. She glanced at the blazing sun overhead. Since she hadn't found the place yet, she might as well have a milk tea to cool off first!

Meanwhile, Lin Yu had already arrived at the university. He passed along the bustling campus paths toward the lounge beside the computer science office. At the door, he took a deep breath, raised his hand, and knocked. A mature, deep voice came from inside.

"Come in."

He entered the lounge and saw a man sitting there, looking down at his phone. He seemed to have been waiting for quite some time.

Lin Yu said, "Hello, Professor Zhou."

The man put down his phone and looked at Lin Yu, his penetrating gaze seeming to see right through him. "Come sit here."

"All right." Lin Yu walked over and sat down opposite Professor Zhou, looking a little nervous.

Zhou Fuheng was a professor at Jiang University's School of Computer Science. He was quite famous at Jiang University-for his temper, of course.

Lin Yu had had the good fortune to take Professor Zhou's classes. The atmosphere in class had been very, well... serious!

So much so that whenever people saw Professor Zhou in person, they would steer clear of him. Thus, Professor Zhou had earned the title of "demon teacher."

But there was no denying that Professor Zhou was unmatched in computer science at Jiang University. As long as you paid attention in even one of his classes, you were sure to learn a great deal. That was why spots in his classes were basically snapped up the moment they became available, which showed just how valuable they were.

Professor Zhou said, "All right, what did you want to see me about? Or have you decided to become my apprentice?"

That was the only thing Zhou Fuheng could think of, and just as he'd thought, Lin Yu had indeed come about that. Only...

Lin Yu steadied his breathing, then bowed his head and solemnly declined. "I'm sorry, Professor Zhou. Thank you for your kindness, but after considering it all this time, I've still decided to decline!"

After making his position clear, Lin Yu was a little afraid to look at Professor Zhou. To his surprise, however, Professor Zhou said nothing and merely let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh..."

"All right, Lin. I'm not going to force you. Don't be so nervous."

"Um, sorry, I'm a little nervous. Haha..."

"There's no need to be nervous. I respect your choice, but I'd still like to try to persuade you." As he spoke, Professor Zhou picked up the cup on the table and took a sip.

Lin Yu scratched his head awkwardly. He hadn't expected Professor Zhou to be quite so easy to talk to in person.

He wasn't as difficult to communicate with as the campus rumors suggested. Perhaps that impression had come from the rumors, combined with the fact that Lin Yu had barely ever spoken to Professor Zhou.

After all, Professor Zhou had approached him about taking him on at the end of his junior year, and even then, it had been his counselor who contacted him.

"I respect your choice, but can you tell me why?"

Lin Yu said, "I know you want to take me on because you're looking for an apprentice who can carry on your legacy, Professor Zhou."

"But honestly, Professor, I'm not actually that passionate about computer science, and I probably won't want to pursue further studies in the future either. So in the end, I decided to offer you my sincere apologies!"

Once he had finished explaining, Zhou Fuheng told him he could go. Lin Yu gave a slight nod and left the lounge. Just after he left, Su Qingyan came over from the office next door.

"How did it go, Professor Zhou? Did that kid agree?"

"Sigh..." Zhou Fuheng sighed and shook his head.

Su Qingyan said, "Professor, why are you so set on Lin Yu? You might meet someone more suitable later."

Zhou Fuheng rose and walked to the window, looking out over Jiang University's campus. "Xiao Su, you don't understand. It's been a long time since Jiang University produced someone like him. If I miss this chance, who knows how long I'll have to wait?"

Indeed, he'd only been at Jiang University for eight years, and he'd waited almost six for Lin Yu. There was no telling how long he'd have to wait for the next one.

Zhou Fuheng, who thought he would have to wait a long time, probably never would have imagined that this time, the wait would only be a year.

After leaving, Lin Yu didn't head home. Instead, he hurried toward the dorm. Old Wang had mentioned that he and Li Wei would keep living in the university dorms. After all, they didn't have much money to rent a place outside, so they'd chosen the more cost-effective dorms.

Since he was already at the university, he might as well catch up with them. They hadn't had a proper chat before because of time constraints.

Arriving outside Room 515, Lin Yu pushed the door straight open. "Miss me, Old Wang?"

The moment he stepped inside, he saw the two of them squatting on the floor with a small electric cooker between them, all sorts of food cooking inside. Two bottles of 8+1 sat on the chair beside them.

The three looked at one another and said in unison, "Huh?"

Meanwhile, Firefly was making lunch at home. "Hmm-hmm-hmm~ Hmm-hmm~"

After setting the last dish on the table, Firefly untied her apron and hung it up. Just as she was about to eat, she heard the doorbell.

Ding-dong~

At first, she thought Lin Yu had come home early. She was about to open the door when she remembered that Lin Yu had a key and knew she was home and hadn't locked the door, so he couldn't be the one ringing the bell.

Firefly went to the door and looked through the peephole at the person who had rung. As she'd thought, it wasn't Lin Yu, but a girl drinking milk tea.

Outside stood the short-haired girl with glasses. She'd rung the doorbell several times without any response. Taking a sip of the milk tea in her hand, she checked the address on her phone, then the number on the door.

This is the place. Is he not home?

Just as she was thinking that, the door suddenly opened. Seeing it open, the girl happily stepped forward.

"Bro..."

Before she could finish, she froze on the spot, because the person opening the door wasn't her brother, but a beautiful silver-haired girl. Everything she'd meant to say turned into bewilderment.

"Huh?"