[I smell pure love. [Starry eyes] I'm your one and only devoted viewer~]
[With looks like that, you should just do it for me to watch!!! Pure love is such a waste!!!]
[Girl, calm down. This is a slow-paced daily-life livestream variety show, not porn.]
[Don't worry, they'll be doing plenty in fanfic.]
[Handing the author a pen-]
"And mine!" Jiang Lele hurriedly cut into the conversation, afraid the two would leave him out.
Chi Li raised both hands high and stretched. "Well, thank you both."
When the three arrived at the karaoke room, Wei Xuan was inside interacting with viewers on his personal livestream channel.
This was a common way of maintaining relationships with paying viewers.
After all, without any content, he had to do something to keep viewers in his channel.
"Uh..." Jiang Lele began hesitantly. "Do you still have songs to sing for your fans?"
"Yes." Wei Xuan nodded, his gaze passing over the three in turn. "I promised to sing eight songs today, and I've only sung three."
"Okay..." Jiang Lele looked at Chi Li a little apologetically. "Then how about we go to the dance studio first?"
Chi Li didn't particularly mind. "Sure."
"Wait-" After glancing at the scrolling comments, Wei Xuan hurriedly called the three back. "Let's sing together."
...The viewers were flooding the chat saying they wanted a duet.
As someone who doted on his fans, he naturally had to meet their demands.
Besides, with more people here, he might even get some traffic from the main livestream.
"Shall we sing together?" Jiang Lele turned to look at Chi Li.
Although he really wanted some interaction with Shen Xunye, he knew he probably wouldn't get much of a response, so he could only settle for talking to Chi Li.
...Why couldn't he meet someone as willing to play along with him as Fang Jin?
"Sure. I haven't warmed up my voice today anyway." Chi Li picked a spot and sat down. "Let's take turns."
Shen Xunye sat beside him with an easy air.
Seeing how the two seemed to have a barrier around them, Jiang Lele had to put aside the idea of squeezing in for now and sat beside Wei Xuan.
"Um, I'll go first." Guessing that the main livestream camera had probably panned over already, Wei Xuan was eager to try. "I just finished chatting with my fans, and I was about to sing anyway."
"Go ahead."
Chi Li nodded lightly, casually picked up the song-selection tablet set to one side, and gently swiped his finger across the screen.
The backing track began, and Wei Xuan straightened his clothes and got into the zone.
Chi Li tried to speak to Shen Xunye, but the deafening singing drowned him out.
He simply leaned closer, his lips almost touching the rim of Shen Xunye's ear. "Any songs you want to sing? I'll queue them for you."
Warm breath mingled with the lingering scent of green tea brushed over the tip of his ear.
Shen Xunye turned his head, and their breaths briefly mingled in the dim light.
"No." He leaned close to Chi Li's ear too. "I'm here to be your audience."
"Mm..."
A little uncomfortable, Chi Li raised a hand and brushed his slightly warm earlobe.
Tsk.
Shen Xunye seemed to have even more of a talent for selling the ship than he'd imagined.
[Reporting in! Someone's whispering over here.]
[Whoever came up with Night Ashes Dawn yesterday was a genius... I admit I'm starting to ship it.]
[Whatever else you say, this couple is at least easy on my eyes. [Starry eyes]]
[Wei Xuan: So nobody cares about me performing my heart out?]
[Thanks for reminding me. The main livestream keeps cutting to close-ups of Wei Xuan's face. I need to head to the personal channel.]
Chi Li's personal livestream channel saw another small surge of paid subscriptions.
He queued two widely familiar songs, casually handed the song-selection tablet to Jiang Lele, and became an attentive listener.
Shen Xunye leaned back, his arm stretched along the back of the couch behind Chi Li, occasionally winding a lock of Chi Li's hair around his fingertips.
Chi Li watched the screen and listened to the song, while Shen Xunye tilted his head to watch his delicate face illuminated by the screen.
The atmosphere flowing between them was so impenetrable that they seemed enclosed in an invisible barrier, leaving no room for anyone else to step in.
[I don't believe for a second that this Shen Xunye has no other intentions. [Smile]]
[What are you doing! Put that hand away! [Angry] Stay away from my wife!]
[Please don't get possessive over my wife when you have no right to.]
[Why not look at it another way-this avatar is pretty good quality. I'll put it on and take it from here.]
Soon, Wei Xuan finished his impassioned performance.
He lowered his eyes to his phone screen, confirming that his viewer count had risen before handing the microphone to Chi Li with a broad smile. "Your turn."
Chi Li picked up the other microphone on the table. "Thanks, there's one here."
Wei Xuan withdrew his microphone a little awkwardly, looked at the song title that appeared in the center of the screen, and said excitedly, "You're singing this? I can sing it with you!"
Naturally, Chi Li didn't mind. "Whatever you like."
Holding the microphone, he rested his left hand on his thigh and tapped out the beat, instantly getting into the zone.
The moment he sang the first line, everyone in the room turned their gaze to him.
Chi Li used a certain vocal technique when singing, making his voice very different from his usual speaking voice.
His low notes were like the night creeping in, each word wrapped in a soft, velvety rasp that held his listeners' ears captive.
He made the vocal runs light and airy, like feathers brushing the heart.
Wei Xuan raised his microphone several times, trying to find a chance to join in, but each time, he merely opened his mouth without making a sound.
By rights, beautiful people generally shouldn't have much talent...
Why was Chi Li an exception?
He was certain that joining in now would undoubtedly be asking for humiliation.
By the time Wei Xuan quietly lowered his microphone, Chi Li had reached the high notes.
He tilted his head back with a slight furrow between his brows, his neck stretching into a graceful curve, his Adam's apple tracing a smooth line in the light.
His grip on the microphone tightened slightly, blue veins faintly surfacing on the back of his pale hand.
When he sang, "Perhaps you should give me a kiss right now," his gaze swept casually around the room before finally settling on Shen Xunye.
Receiving that look at the closest possible distance, Shen Xunye's lips immediately curved into the faintest hint of a smile.
Jiang Lele witnessed this.
Even as he thought, Just as I expected, he couldn't stop feeling jealous.
He wasn't just jealous that Chi Li had stolen Shen Xunye's attention. He was jealous of his... everything.
His height, his looks, his vocal tone, his talent... and that self-possessed personality that didn't need to please anyone.
To put it in the popular internet phrase-
Jiang Lele was supposed to have lived like Chi Li.
He pressed a hand to his tight, swollen-feeling chest, took a bottle of water from beneath the table, twisted it open, and drank more than half in one go.
As the final note faded, the room briefly fell silent again.
Shen Xunye revealed a flower he'd produced from who knew where and offered it to Chi Li. "A gift instead of cheers."
Chi Li reached out and accepted it. "Thank you. I really like it."
Mixed emotions played across Wei Xuan's face, but he still clapped hard. "Chi Li, you sing so well..."