Xie Yizhi changed into his pajamas and comfortably sprawled on the bed. He skillfully opened his phone; it had become a habit to scroll through his Moments before bed.
The first thing he saw was his cheap old man's Monkey King avatar.
Eight minutes ago, 'We didn't become lovers, we just talked for a long time.'
Xie Yizhi's mouth twitched.
No, wait… Is he going through puberty? Or does he have an aunt he can't forget?
But if he could see it posted here, couldn't his mother see it too?
So Xie Yizhi left a comment, 'Old man, are you trying to die?'
Soon, a reply came, 'It's fine, son, I've already been beaten.'
Xie Yizhi: '…'
After thinking for a moment, Xie Yizhi clicked on his old man's chat box and sent him a message.
'It's the middle of the night, why aren't you asleep yet? Something on your mind?'
Xie Yizhi asked.
'Sigh, I just suddenly remembered that I've never been in a relationship before, and I want to try, but I've encountered some obstacles right now.'
His old man (Xie Ji) sent a message, replying.
'You've been married to my mom for so many years, how have you never been in a relationship? What obstacles?'
Xie Yizhi said.
'Your mother was brought home by your grandparents; it was an arranged marriage. At the time, I saw your mom was beautiful and just married her directly, we didn't date.'
'I want to date, but my old man didn't allow it before, and now my wife doesn't allow it. Sigh, my life is destined to be incomplete.'
His old man (Xie Ji) sent another message.
Xie Yizhi: '…'
'Can you scram or not?'
'Told you to watch fewer videos.'
Xie Yizhi was used to his abstract old man. He usually had such fast internet that even Xie Yizhi, a young man, sometimes couldn't keep up with the memes and trends he surfed.
Moreover, ever since Xie Yizhi started junior high, his parents seemed to have stopped going out. His father no longer took ghost-herding orders, and his mother no longer sold Gu.
They usually just did farm work in the village and tidied up the house.
So, ultimately, they were just too idle.
If he remembered correctly, his old man Xie Ji was fifty-five this year. Isn't that the perfect age to venture out?
Staying at home was such a waste. Xie Yizhi still harbored the hope of seeing his father become successful.
Logically, for a family like his, which dealt with 'underworld' professions like handling funerals for the deceased, the income should not be low; it might even be extremely lucrative.
At least, that's what Xie Yizhi read in novels.
But after so many years, he was already an adult and had graduated from university, yet he still hadn't received the 'reveal' from his parents, and their lives remained quite impoverished.
Xie Yizhi's suspicions weren't unfounded. He remembered once in his sophomore year of college, he ran out of living expenses and had no money for food.
He asked his old man for money. Perhaps seeing his son's pitiful state, Xie Ji felt a pang of sympathy and decided to use his small private stash to lend Xie Yizhi some.
But he accidentally entered the amount as the password.
A transfer of a glittering six-figure sum…
Xie Yizhi would never forget that night, Xie Ji called him dozens of times just to get the money back.
Thinking of this, he transferred eight hundred yuan to his old father.
It was already past midnight, and tomorrow was his birthday. Seeing him emo late at night, he decided to send him a red packet in advance to cheer him up.
He also wrote a blessing: 'Birthday red packet! Wishing you, Boss Xie, a long and prosperous life, overflowing wealth, and a brilliant future!'
In less than a second, the transfer was accepted.
'I'll take the red packet, but you can take back your good intentions.'
Xie Ji replied grumpily.
How old was he, and she was still wishing him a brilliant future?
Xie Yizhi: '…'
'Oh, right, I probably won't be able to come back for your birthday this year. Spend it with your mom.'
Xie Ji: 'It's fine, don't come back even if you're alone. If you start dating someone, report it in advance. Your mom and I are busy. I'm going to sleep.'
Seeing this, Xie Yizhi stopped sending messages, turned off his phone screen, and closed his eyes.
Actually, he had already bought train tickets. Although the old man said that, he must still miss his son in his heart. He would give them a surprise then.
Originally, Xie Yizhi also wanted to take the opportunity to invite his parents to the city for a couple of days.
But the suggestion was rejected.
Xie Yizhi tossed and turned, unable to sleep, unable to understand why his parents were so resistant to leaving home.
He attended elementary school in the village, then went to junior high in the town.
Since then, he had gone to and from school alone. Xie Ji and his wife had never picked him up. In his memory, his parents had never left Xie Feng Village.
“Hiss…”
Xie Yizhi used to argue about this often when he was little. Other children were taken out to play and travel by their parents during winter and summer breaks, but he never was.
It was only after he went to college that he started traveling around on his own, making up for his childhood.
However, he didn't understand as a child, but as he grew up, Xie Yizhi also guessed that perhaps due to special family circumstances, there was something hidden that they hadn't told him.
Now that he was so old, when he went back this time, he could try to probe and ask about it.
As he thought, Xie Yizhi fell into a deep sleep, not knowing how much time had passed.
The next morning, he was woken by his alarm clock. He opened the live streaming platform and saw that his account had gained over seven thousand followers overnight.
From the original three thousand followers, it had grown to just over ten thousand.
“What's going on? I've become a ten-thousand-follower internet celebrity just like that?”
Xie Yizhi exclaimed in surprise.
He then checked the only fan group in the backend and realized that someone had recorded and clipped his live stream in the early hours of the morning, and the clip had gone viral.
That's why he had gained so many followers.
The loyal fans in the fan group were chatting up a storm, messages non-stop.
—【What did I miss? I fell asleep last night and didn't watch the live stream!】
—【Ge played rock-paper-scissors with a mirror in the middle of the night, got so mad he turned red, then pulled his reflection out of the mirror and beat it up!】
—【Even though I know it's a pre-prepared video effect, it's still so entertaining and hilarious!】
—【Xie Ge even discovered such a niche live streaming niche! It's blowing up, he's finally made it, he's an internet celebrity!】
—【The clip already has over a hundred thousand likes, and even marketing accounts are cutting it.】
He was about to get famous? No way.
Xie Yizhi was a bit slow to react. Was gaining followers really that simple?
He should have said something earlier! If he had known, he wouldn't have been doing entertainment streams at home; he would have gone out to seek food… seek ghosts!
—【Ah!?? I specifically didn't watch the live stream yesterday! I feel like I missed out on a hundred million!】
—【When are you streaming today? Any notifications?】
—【I don't know, Xie Ge's live stream times always seem pretty random, no fixed schedule. Sometimes he streams when he wakes up, sometimes before bed.】
The group chat was filled with @'s.
Everyone was shouting, 【Streamer, please start streaming】.
Someone even said, 【The loan has come through, Xie Yizhi, hurry up and stream】.