After the evening training session, Jiang Shi hid under his blanket, playing on his phone. He typed into the search bar:
[What does it mean if someone touches your sharp tooth?]
[Does it have any special meaning when someone says your sharp tooth is pointy while touching it?]
But no matter how many browsers he tried, he couldn’t find an answer. In the end, Jiang Shi spent some money on a reward-based Q&A platform, and this time, someone quickly responded.
[Touching your tooth? That’s totally suggestive! Is the other person hinting that if you make the first move, the next step is a kiss?]
The online community unanimously agreed that this action was about creating an intimate atmosphere, and if the setting was right, things could progress further.
This made Jiang Shi start to question himself. Should he have really kissed Xie Xu at that moment?
But his mouth was full of medicine — there’s no way he could kiss at that time.
Moreover, it seemed like Xie Xu was just applying the medicine for him and only helped him locate the sharp tooth because Jiang Shi couldn’t find it himself.
Xie Xu seemed pretty serious while doing these things, though he did seem to like these subtle yet intimate gestures.
Jiang Shi recalled how he embarrassingly swallowed at that moment and buried his face in the pillow for a while.
Ahhh! He really liked it when Xie Xu touched him. Even if it was just touching his tooth, he liked it so much!
Jiang Shi rolled around on the bed a few times before picking up his phone again.
Although the person’s explanation didn’t exactly match the situation, Jiang Shi still accepted their viewpoint with a smile, and the respondent successfully earned the reward.
Since this person seemed to know a lot, Jiang Shi threw another question at them, and they were obviously online, responding quickly:
[Pointy tooth? What does that mean? Your tooth must’ve poked them!]
Jiang Shi: “?”
He downvoted the answer and revoked the reward for that question.
Just as he was about to go to sleep, he received a message from Bamboo.
[Bamboo: Congratulations on a successful stream today! Good performance, you didn’t swear today. I was worried you’d get fined again! By the way, I noticed you fed Xiao Hei before the stream.]
Bamboo then sent a photo.
It was taken by the window of Jiang Shi’s rented room, showing a blurry black tail in the gap.
[Bamboo: Xiao Hei is really too alert. I filled the automatic feeder with cat food, but he just watched me from the window and wouldn’t come closer at all.]
[Bamboo: I waited for half an hour and couldn’t get a picture of him, only managed to capture his tail.]
Since joining TLG, Jiang Shi couldn’t easily return home, so he had asked Bamboo to occasionally refill the cat food at his rented place.
He stared at the photo of the tail, almost slipping out of view, and smiled lightly, saving the picture to his phone.
[Obedient Jiangjiang: It’s fine, that’s just how Xiao Hei is. As long as he’s alive, that’s enough.]
[Bamboo: …Can you change your WeChat name back? It’s really weird.]
[Bamboo: Also, didn’t you lose your anonymity with your Time account? Is there still a need to keep pretending to be obedient?]
Jiang Shi paused at the question. Honestly, there wasn’t really a need anymore, but since no one at the base had mentioned it, he had gotten used to interacting with everyone this way.
It felt quite comfortable.
In fact, as long as Xie Xu had no objection, nothing else mattered. On the contrary, Xie Xu might even like this kind of contrast!
[Obedient Jiangjiang: A good kid on the outside, but actually knows all kinds of tricks. Don’t you think that’s exciting?]
[Bamboo: 6.]
[Obedient Jiangjiang: By the way, I broke Xu’s thermos. I’m planning to buy a new one for him. Any color recommendations?]
Jiang Shi sent over a few links.
[Bamboo: Bro, these are all couples’ items…]
[Obedient Jiangjiang: Oh, I’m planning to get one for myself too. I’ll just say it’s a buy-one-get-one deal.]
[Obedient Jiangjiang: What do you think about Xu using blue and me using pink? After all, red and blue have always been the perfect CP color.]
Bamboo was speechless when he saw this message and immediately called Jiang Shi. “You know what this reminds me of?”
Jiang Shi was still browsing the thermos options, replying absentmindedly, “What?”
“It reminds me of how you used to act with that ex-boyfriend you met online.” Bamboo said, “Back then, you bought him The Cat skin, and got a matching couple skin for your shooter hero, and you two used it together.”
“Oh, and your excuse at the time was also a buy-one-get-one deal.”
Anyone who had played that game would know that excuse was nonsense. Jiang Shi just wanted to flirt with the guy, but the other person was so good-natured that he didn’t even call him out on it.
“So now you’re recycling those moves on Xu? You’re really a scumbag!”
Jiang Shi felt a bit guilty and touched his nose. “I’m just inexperienced. Why don’t you give me some tips?”
Bamboo, a bachelor for a thousand years, was at a loss for words and finally managed to say, “Forget it, just keep being a scumbag then!”
Jiang Shi ordered the thermoses with next-day delivery from a certain online shopping site, and by the evening of the next day, before training, the delivery arrived.
He planned to put his pink thermos back in his room and then, on some later day, casually pull it out, claiming it was a cup he had used for a long time and liked, which was why he bought this one for Xie Xu.
That way, he wouldn’t have to use the buy-one-get-one excuse.
Bamboo’s “scumbag” accusation from last night made him feel a bit insecure.
He thought back to how, since joining TLG, his previously frequently checked secondary Weibo account had become almost abandoned. He didn’t even look at Xie Xu’s exquisite hand close-ups, as he was already obsessed by his looks and beauty.
He was satisfied from being patted on the head, and being fed wontons and water.
Just yesterday, Xie Xu had touched his chin and sharp tooth.
By the way, which hand did Xie Xu use to hold his chin? The left hand, right?
Jiang Shi felt like his interactions with Xie Xu were gradually progressing, and perhaps hugs and kisses were not far off!
Lost in thought, Jiang Shi walked carelessly with the two thermoses, and when he passed by Xie Xu’s door, he was startled by the sound of the door opening. The pink thermos slipped from his hand, but before he could grab it, Xie Xu had already caught it firmly.
Xie Xu glanced at the pink thermos in his hand, raising an eyebrow. “What’s this?”
Jiang Shi immediately handed the deep blue one he was holding to Xie Xu. “Captain, this one is for you.”
“As for the pink one,” Jiang Shi looked at the identical surfaces of the two thermoses and the unopened plastic bags, and could only use his previous excuse. “The pink one is mine. It was a buy-one-get-one offer, and I couldn’t choose the color.”
This not only explained why a grown man like him would choose a pink one but also covered up the CP color intention.
“Buy-one-get-one-deal?” Xie Xu’s eyes shifted slightly upon hearing the phrase.
For a thermos of this quality, such an offer wouldn’t be possible.
This excuse seemed rather familiar.
Seeing Xie Xu’s thoughtful expression, Jiang Shi suddenly felt a bit uncertain. Was his excuse too obvious? Was it worse than saying “buy-one-get-one” for game skins?
Xie Xu handed the pink thermos back to Jiang Shi and, after a pause, asked, “Did you ever—”
But his question was interrupted.
Yuan Yang shouted from downstairs, “Xu, is Jiang Shi with you? Please come to Conference Room 1.”
Jiang Shi quickly took the thermos and responded, “I’m here! I’ll be right there!”
“Captain, I’ll put the thermos away and come!”
Jiang Shi said, then quickly ran off, afraid that Xie Xu might uncover his lie.
Next door, the sound of doors opening and closing rapidly could be heard. Xie Xu did not stop him but lowered his gaze, looking at the blue thermos with the “buy-one-get-one” label, suddenly recalling something—
Didn’t Jiang Shi’s fans say that he’s a hand-con?
On the other side, Jiang Shi quickly adjusted his mentality after not having to face Xie Xu’s scrutiny.
Since he had already given away the thermos, if he didn’t see it on Xie Xu’s desk tomorrow, he could either express his grievance or arrange a return with a new one.
Of course, it would still be the “buy-one-get-one” couple design.
He had noticed during the previous stream that this camera angle could capture part of Xie Xu’s desk, and that spot was where Xie Xu often placed his thermos.
He later nonchalantly placed his couple design next to it. What did that mean if not obvious?
Jiang Shi flicked the thermos’ body, producing a crisp sound.
He would drive away everyone who could form a CP with Xie Xu, ensuring that Xie Xu’s eyes were only on him.
Jiang Shi filled the cup with hot water to disinfect it and then went downstairs to the conference room.
Yuan Yang was clearly on a phone conference, saying, “I’ve sent you the contract. The required streaming time is the same as Lele’s, and I’ll have Time review it again. If there are no issues, we’ll renew the contract with you.”
Yuan Yang was discussing the renewal of the contract with Little Bear TV.
Xie Xu was also present, looking down at his phone, not speaking.
Jiang Shi recalled what Jiang Lele had said about Little Bear TV’s attitude towards Xie Xu, and guessed that the other party was likely just there to oversee things.
When Yuan Yang saw him arrive, he handed him the printed contract. “Xiao Shi, take a look and let me know if there’s anything you’re unhappy with. We can make changes on the spot.”
Jiang Shi glanced through it. Not only was the required streaming time half of what was in his previous contract, but the annual signing fee was a staggering 8 million. To put this in perspective, he previously received only 50,000, and that was often deducted for various reasons, leaving him with a meager amount.
He quickly handed the contract back to Yuan Yang. “Yang-ge, I have just one request.”
“I want to change the person in charge.”
He was genuinely annoyed with LittleBear8765. Not only did they not provide basic platform benefits, but they were also unresponsive when needed, and only appeared with a plethora of excuses when it came to deductions.
He really wanted to punch this kind of person.
But before he could finish, a slightly nervous male voice came from the call. “Why do you want to change? You blocked me before and criticized me on the platform. I didn’t say anything. Please don’t be unreasonable.”
Jiang Shi’s lips curled downwards.
It was always like this, always shifting the blame onto him.
But he didn’t say anything, since the livestreaming contract should be the result of Yuan Yang’s negotiation, and he didn’t want to make things difficult for the team.
Seeing that Jiang Shi wasn’t speaking, LittleBear8765 assumed that Jiang Shi was like before and had compromised, speaking with a hint of arrogance. “Okay, if you unblacklist me on WeChat, I’ll follow up on many details of the stream. I’ll keep an eye on every stream and ensure there are no mistakes.”
What was supposed to be a show of sincerity sounded incredibly disgusting to Jiang Shi.
He didn’t want to be watched by such an unpleasant person during every stream, nor could he get rid of them.
Jiang Shi turned to Xie Xu and whispered, “Captain, can I tell him off? Not using foul language.”
Before Xie Xu could respond, Yuan Yang spoke up. “Xiao Shi, we’re partners with Little Bear TV, not enemies.”
Jiang Shi sulkily muted his microphone.
Xie Xu reached out and patted Jiang Shi’s head. “Wait a moment.”
Jiang Shi blinked, wondering if this meant he could argue later.
Anyway, he had earned a lot of money yesterday. It wasn’t like he couldn’t pay for the fine.
He decided to enjoy himself first.
Seeing Jiang Shi’s eager expression, Xie Xu found it amusing but didn’t say anything. He returned to the main topic and asked, “The person who just spoke now, are they the original person in charge of Time?”
The person hastily replied, “Yes, yes, it was me. Xu, is there any problem?”
The person who had previously looked down on Jiang Shi with contempt was now acting completely differently, almost kneeling while speaking to Xie Xu.
Jiang Shi clenched the edge of the table, trying hard to control himself.
Xie Xu, hearing the slight scraping sound from the table, handed a candy dish to Jiang Shi and replied, “Of course, there’s a problem.”
“Didn’t you give Jiang Shi an outdated contract before? It had a 20/80 split. You should know that Little Bear TV abolished this unequal ratio two years ago, the minimum being 40/60.”
Xie Xu’s voice was indifferent. “Where did the extra money go?”
On streaming platforms, free gifts and event-specific gifts are part of the revenue split. Jiang Shi’s fans are very active and generous with free gifts. With such a poor ratio, Jiang Shi’s income could have been doubled.
LittleBear8765 hadn’t anticipated that Xie Xu would bring this up and stammered, unable to provide a clear explanation.
He knew Jiang Shi kept to himself, and this issue had remained hidden for so long that he thought it was foolproof. Now that the contract was being renewed, he didn’t expect it would be exposed at this moment.
Still, Xie Xu had brought it up – and he wasn’t someone they couldn’t afford to offend.
Xie Xu, seeing them playing dumb, mentioned another name. “Cheng Lei, I didn’t get this wrong, did I?”
Cheng Lei, who was in charge of Xie Xu, had a much higher rank than 8765. He quickly spoke up, “Ge, you’re right about the contract. I will investigate and make things right for Time.”
Xie Xu then closed the Little Bear TV website on his phone. “Not only that, but your staff also abused their power by restricting the live stream and threatening Time’s fans with account bans. How do you plan to handle this?”
LittleBear8765 panicked. “I didn’t!”
In contrast to his panic, Xie Xu’s expression remained unchanged. “I was there at the time. The data fluctuations were very obvious.”
“Do you need me to send you the video from that time?”
Upon hearing this, everyone in the conference room turned to look at Xie Xu.
Yuan Yang raised his eyebrows. “What video?”
How come he didn’t know that Xie Xu had such good evidence!
Jiang Shi, with a lemon candy bulging his cheeks, stared at Xie Xu with widened eyes.
Wasn’t Xie Xu mentioned by his fans in the second half of that stream? How did he know about this?
That time, the number of people in his stream was stuck and couldn’t increase. Fans also reported buffering and dropping out. Jiang Shi had immediately fought with the admin in the stream chat, and the buffering stopped afterward.
He had long since turned off the stream replay function, and the fans didn’t pay much attention to this minor issue, so there was no related discussion or video online.
So, when did Xie Xu come to his stream? Was he recording it as evidence?
Jiang Shi suddenly had a very unpleasant guess.
Did Xie Xu know he was Time all along? Was the recording evidence?
However, LittleBear8765 was even more panicked than Jiang Shi.
In this conference call, all the company leaders were present. He was just fortunate enough to be the one originally in charge of Jiang Shi, benefiting from it.
Now, all the leaders’ eyes were on him.
Cheng Lei spoke up. “8765, is what Xu said true?”
In this situation, 8765 didn’t dare to lie. “I was just momentarily out of my mind. Please give me another chance…”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Xie Xu. “Our demand is simple. We want the return of the losses Time has suffered, plus interest, and for future streams to be handled by Cheng Lei.”
Cheng Lei was the most experienced and highest-ranked staff member at Little Bear TV, which is why he was in charge of a great god like Xu.
Cheng Lei quickly agreed. “No problem.”
“Good.” Xie Xu’s voice seemed to soften a bit with their cooperation. “Since this is your issue, don’t you think you should compensate Time?”
Cheng Lei, showing good sense, responded, “What do you have in mind?”
Xie Xu slowly spoke, “Little Bear TV will not take a share of the gifts from Time’s debut stream yesterday.”
Jiang Shi’s eyes lit up at these words.
Xie Xu had given him gifts worth 100,000 yuan yesterday. If the platform didn’t take a share, he could get it all back!
Including fans’ gifts, he could get back at least 80,000 to 90,000 yuan!
Jiang Shi calculated this in his bed last night!
The Little Bear TV side didn’t give an immediate answer and discussed it quietly. Cheng Lei then spoke up. “Okay. We hope TLG can see our sincerity in apologizing.”
To Jiang Shi, these words sounded like money being deposited into his pocket.
He couldn’t help but pull out his phone to check his backend earnings from last night.
Little Bear TV would return him 88,767 yuan!
With a click, Xie Xu heard the sound of a screenshot being taken next to him.
Jiang Shi was afraid Little Bear TV might tamper with his backend, so he took a screenshot to keep evidence.
Xie Xu’s lips slightly curved up but he quickly pressed it down. When he spoke to Little Bear TV again, his voice was devoid of any amusement and carried a subtle pressure. “I don’t care what punishment you give this staff member internally.”
He made one last request. “I need to hear an apology now.”
“An apology to Time, TLG’s bottom-laner.”
Jiang Shi, who was mentally counting his money, suddenly looked up.
Now he understood what Xie Xu’s “wait a moment” meant.
Xie Xu had paved the way for him, just like handing him the candy dish. He could reach out and take it.
He didn’t have to curse or pay fines, he could get his revenge!
Jiang Shi crushed the hard candy in his mouth, curled his knuckles, tapped the table, and grinned triumphantly. “8765, come on, I’m listening!”
