Chapter 46: A Date with an Idol?

After a long sigh and much hesitation, Lin Ruo dialed the phone number of that particular man.

"Hello, is that you, Factory Director? Are you short of a pair of chopsticks at home?"

"Not short? Well, I suppose you wouldn't mind setting an extra place at the New Year's Eve dinner table, then."

Lin Ruo's deadpan remark left the person on the other end of the line in silence for several seconds.

Immediately afterward came a long-overdue questioning voice: "There are so many people on the team, why choose me? Can you give me a reason?"

Lin Ruo cleared his throat and said with deep affection, "Director, you know it. I've always been your fan."

Beep, beep... The call disconnected, leaving total silence on the other end.

Aololi couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing: "Clearly, the Director has already written you off as a troll."

"But I really am a fan." Lin Ruo looked extremely aggrieved. Why is it that when someone tells the truth these days, nobody believes them?

"Aren't you just trying to sponge a free New Year meal? I'll take you with me." Aololi held his nose up high, striking the absolute pose of a savior.

"I've already mapped out the route: take the high-speed rail from Shanghai to Guangzhou, which should take about ten hours. Then catch a six-hour private car to the county, transfer to a bus for two hours down to the township, and finally walk for an hour and we'll be at my house."

"How about that? I'm taking you home for the Chinese New Year. Aren't you moved?" Aololi said smugly.

Lin Ruo wasn't moved in the slightest; he was dying to jump up and kick him, cursing away, "Damn it, I'm trying to go mooch a New Year dinner, not go through hardship."

"Scout is still at the club. Where are you planning to go?" Tian Ye asked just as he arrived at the training room after packing his things, preparing to take his mouse and keyboard back home with him.

Hearing this, Lin Ruo realized there was still another leftover player like him.

South Korea constantly made noise about claiming the Spring Festival as their own, but in reality, they didn't practice these holiday customs at all, so Scout naturally wouldn't be returning.

The moment he thought about having someone to keep him company, Lin Ruo felt completely at ease.

"You guys go ahead. I'll take good care of Ruicang."

"Don't drag him into neglecting his proper duties and messing around with other games." Tian Ye clearly didn't believe him, but felt utterly helpless.

The moment Tian Ye turned around, Lin Ruo started downloading a new game on his computer.

He noticed that the amount of absurd value he obtained was the same as usual, but the ability bonus value had decreased significantly.

It wasn't that the time he spent playing games was shrinking, but rather that the system also suffered from fatigue and boredom with the old.

Properly exploring new games was the only way to achieve sustainable development.

After finishing the download, Lin Ruo went back to sleep, not returning to the training room until midday the next day.

In the empty room, most of his teammates had already left, leaving only Scout in his pajamas in a lonely corner, enthusiastically hammering away at the keyboard.

Lin Ruo walked over, took a glance, and his jaw dropped: "Holy crap, are you engaging in online romance, kid? Watch out for pig-butchering scam rings."

"No, I'm just relaxing by playing some other games during the break," Scout explained shyly, immediately turning righteous.

"I don't date during my professional career, and I don't have a partner either. If I had a partner and got caught, I'd retire on the spot, alright?"

Lin Ruo couldn't be bothered with all that. He snapped a photo, sent it to Tian Ye via WeChat, and left a message:

"A celestial immortal-style online romance RPG. Our good boy Ruicang really knows how to pick a game. Now it's hard to say who is leading whom astray and neglecting their proper duties."

Sitting back at his desk, Lin Ruo opened the game he downloaded yesterday, registered an account, and conveniently started a livestream.

Netizens, having nothing better to do, immediately began chattering away in the livestream chat.

[How much did Romance of the Three Kingdoms pay you? I'll double it for Invincible.]

[Streamer, you shouldn't play farming games. You only have a half-month holiday, and a single season takes at least a month to finish.]

[Look at him. He's been playing for two and a half hours, hasn't bought the monthly card, and won't even take the three-yuan first-recharge bonus of a five-star hero. Will he even play for a month?]

"If you guys send some gifts, the streamer can buy the monthly card," Lin Ruo said with a grin, switching screens to plant pea shooters in his courtyard.

The only reason he played farming games was simply because they were easy to rack up streaming hours while allowing him to easily divide his attention.

Claiming a single plot of land took five minutes; how many minigames could he play in that time?

As for spending real money, that was completely out of the question. He proudly went by the nickname Leopard Head Lin Chong.

"I've been playing all afternoon, and not a single person has sent a gift. It turns out you're all a bunch of freeloaders."

Lin Ruo complained, though his face remained all smiles.

The next second, with lightning-fast reflexes, he shut down the livestream and logged off.

[There he goes again, turning the screen black without saying a damn word.]

[Old habitual offender, scaring people like this every day.]

[If the streamer is actually human, I'll eat my hat.]

Amid the complaints from netizens, Lin Ruo went back to his dorm, put on his clothes, and headed out with Scout.

Since all the other club members had left, the video delivering New Year blessings to the fans had to be reluctantly starred in by the two of them.

...

"Hello, little piggies, I'm Lin Ruo. Chinese New Year's Eve is here! Wishing everyone robust health, smooth sailing in everything, and rising step by step."

In the filming studio, Lin Ruo, dressed impeccably and looking breathtakingly handsome while holding a large red lantern, nailed his blessing lines in a single take.

Xiao Tie, who was in charge of the organization, was extremely satisfied. As he watched the playback to check the details, he suddenly knitted his brows:

"Didn't I tell you to start by saying 'Hello, fans'? Why did you change it to 'Hello, little piggies'?"

"You don't understand this. Calling them little piggies sounds intimate, which can fully narrow the emotional distance between us and the fans," Lin Ruo argued plausibly with his arms crossed.

"Actually, there's another word similar to little piggies that's even more intimate and narrows the emotional distance even better, but it might cause a bit too much emotional fluctuation, so I guess we'll skip it."

Confused by what he heard, Xiao Tie didn't dwell on it and called Scout over to film the next segment.

Lin Ruo interrupted from the side: "Tie, buddy, the blessing video is under ten seconds, way too perfunctory. Why don't I add a few more lines at the end?"

Xiao Tie nodded and immediately agreed with a smile, "I'll have you do a retake right after Scout finishes filming."

He had been worried that the two of them would grow impatient about having to work overtime during the Chinese New Year.

Since they could rack up a bit more streaming time to give perks to the fans, it was undoubtedly a win-win situation that made everyone happy.

"Alright, let's start."

With the camera aimed squarely at him again, Lin Ruo adjusted his cuffs and stood up straight:

"Are you still troubled by not finding any fun during the New Year? Still feeling depressed because there's nobody to talk to? Still suffering because you can't find a good livestream channel? At 7:00 PM on the first day of the Lunar New Year, on Zhanqi Platform Channel 4396, I will spend the festive night with you, bringing you joy. See you there or be square."

Xiao Tie's face stiffened: "What the heck, does that even count as a New Year blessing?"

"The fans are very lonely; we must bring them joy. As everyone knows, my livestreams always bring people joy," Lin Ruo declared with a straight face.

At a loss for words, Xiao Tie silently separated the two video clips, figuring it would be better to release them separately later on.

Stepping out of the shooting studio, Lin Ruo leaned against the railing and made a phone call: "Hello, is that my proudest idol? Oh, nothing much. I heard you went home for the New Year, and I wanted to duo queue with you to climb ranks on the first day of the Lunar New Year and create some good content."

The innocent laughter of a little chubby guy came through the phone: "No big deal at all, my most pious believer! Playing on the Korean server over the New Year, I guarantee I'll carry you all the way up the ladder."