Chapter 46: The Passion of Youth

Clap clap clap clap…

There were seven to eight onlookers in the lobby of the hotel. They applauded enthusiastically, especially the young man who had offered his knife to Chen Xu. He clapped his hands eagerly, and his eyes were glowing.

Chen Xu was very content with this outcome and was confident that the audience watching the live broadcast would be equally awed.

He had spent many nights perfecting his skill and accuracy at card throwing. The playing cards were very thin and soft, and it was only when spun with high speed and force that they were able to cut through the radish.

Making the cards spin wasn’t a feat in itself. The difficulty lay in hitting the mark. The slightest deviation in force and angle would result in the cards flying off-course.

Moreover, airflow easily disturbed the direction of the thin cards. There could be no wind, so this could only be done indoors.

For the past few days, after returning home from work, he had been practicing tirelessly. He had worn through a dozen decks of poker cards, and cuts lined his hands before he had finally achieved his current skill level.

Within a distance of five meters, his throwing accuracy had exceeded 90 percent.

He walked over and was very pleased with the shocked expression he saw on Dai Zixin’s face. The audience watching the live broadcast would probably be equally astonished.

“I’d like to see how else you’re going to slander me now,” Chen Xu thought inwardly.

On the surface, he pretended to be carefree and blasé as he said, “Did everyone see that? That’s how it’s supposed to be cut! Every portion should be of the same length! The secret to achieving this is…

…To measure it with a ruler!”

At that point, no one in the broadcast room or at the scene was listening to his nonsensical monologue. Their attention was focused completely on the radish with the four cards sticking out of it.

Even the hotel staff on duty in the lobby approached out of curiosity.

One by one, they raised their cell phones and began to snap shots of that radish.

Chen Xu continued to speak, “If everyone thinks that I’ve done a good job cutting the radish, please leave a donation.”

On the other side of the broadcast, Dai Zixin saw the number of people eagerly swiping the ‘donate’ option, and her face lit up with elation. She gave a thumbs-up to Chen Xu before suddenly recalling what he had just said moments ago and grimaced.

Judging from her expression, Chen Xu could tell that they had received many donations this time around and felt very pleased. All his hard work and practice over the last few nights had paid off.

After some time, Dai Zixin looked through the responses from the live stream, and she couldn’t contain the expression on her face. She looked at Chen Xu hesitantly before biting the bullet and saying, “They want to watch you perform again.”

Chen Xu looked as if he was faced with a dilemma. “Well…”

Dai Zixin could see through his awkward pretense and had the urge to laugh. She cleared her throat and cajoled, “They are sincere. Just perform once more for them.”

Chen Xu got the message immediately, and replied, “Since you asked, we’ll continue.” With that, he picked up another radish…

…

After the live stream, the two coworkers went to Chen Xu’s room to split the loot.

“There are more than 3000 donations this time!”

Dai Zixin took out a small booklet and flipped through it. “Last night, I did a live stream on my own and received more than a thousand donations. Added together, they come to a total of almost 5000. Thirty percent of that is 1500. That comes to 750 for each of us.”

Chen Xu heard her words and watched as the expression in her eyes turned serious. He said, “After knowing you for so long, there’s something that I’ve been wanting to tell you.”

Dai Zixin’s face turned red, and she grew oddly embarrassed. “Well, don’t… don’t…”

“You’re a really good person,” Chen Xu said from the bottom of his heart.

Dai Zixin’s face froze, and she felt her blood gush to her head. She looked at his sincere expression and grew disheartened.

She suddenly felt very tired. She was worried that continuing to interact with him in this manner would drive her crazy sooner or later.

After some time, she recalled another important matter and spoke again. “I might have to wait until I receive my salary before I pass you your share. I just bought a camera lens yesterday and have no money with me at the moment.”

“That’s fine. We’ll just keep it in mind.”

Chen Xu waved his hand without a care. She was a pretty trustworthy person after all.

He brought up a question, “Oh right! I heard that if we joined the guild, our share could increase to 50 percent. Is that true?”

Over the past few days, he had begun to understand a little regarding the industry of online streaming, and now he possessed some knowledge.

Dai Zixin frowned and said, “I don’t like the guild.”

Chen Xu nodded his head. Upon knowing her stance, he didn’t try to convince her otherwise.

After all, in this stint of theirs, she was the main streamer, while he was merely a sidekick. It was fine for him to offer his opinion, but the final call depended on her, and he had nothing but respect for her decisions.

Dai Zixin looked at him, and explained, “Although there are many benefits to joining the guild, including many more opportunities for exposure, an increased share, and having the administrative chores taken care of, the streamers will lose a lot of their freedom. I do not like that.”

She toyed with her cell phone as she continued, “I do live steaming out of interest. I feel happy seeing my number of fans increase. And I am free to broadcast anything I want. If we join the guild, everything will be controlled, and it won’t be the same anymore. It will suck all the fun out of it.”

Indeed, this was the passion of youth.

Chen Xu thought to himself that she looked like she came from a well-to-do background. The closest she’d probably ever come to having money troubles was perhaps when she couldn’t afford the newest model of a cell phone.

However, he had to admit that he felt a little envious.

What a privilege it was to be able to be passionate.

He stood up and ended the topic. “Let’s go. It’s almost time.”

Dai Zixin checked the time. It was a few minutes to eight, and they had to gather soon. She jumped up, “Oh my god! I need to go back to my room to retrieve my bathing suit!”

Chen Xu grabbed a bag containing his bathing suit and opened the door. He saw a woman standing on the other side about to knock, and he jumped back in shock. “Miss Guo? What are you doing here?”

The person was Luo Xiyun’s secretary with the family name of Guo. Chen Xu interacted with her regularly.

“I’m looking for you regarding something,” Miss Guo said, but her eyes were focused behind him.

Behind him was Dai Zixin, and she felt unnerved by Miss Guo’s gaze. “Go ahead and talk. I’ll return to my room,” she volunteered and slipped away.

Chen Xu had noticed Miss Guo’s meaning-laden expression too, but he paid it no heed. He had a close relationship with Dai Zixin and was long used to the rumors about them that swirled around the company. He couldn’t be bothered to set the record straight.

“Why don’t you come in to talk?” he invited.

“That won’t be necessary. I don’t want to cause any misunderstandings,” Miss Guo replied meaningfully before she got to the main point. “Miss Luo hopes to foster camaraderie among the colleagues during the team building exercises. That way, work productivity will increase. Later, at the hot springs, we’ll need someone to enliven the atmosphere and initiate the conversations. That’s why I’m here for you.”

Had she gotten the wrong person?

Chen Xu was a little confused. He usually kept a low profile in the office, and hardly spoke more than a few sentences at a time. Why was Miss Guo looking for him for this?

He had never been known as the life of any party!

As he tactfully tried to explain that he wasn’t a good candidate for that, Miss Guo laughed and replied, “You did a pretty good job of it while playing basketball in the afternoon. Don’t worry, I’ll help you out later on.” With that, she walked off without giving Chen Xu the chance to turn her down.

Pushing him to do something like that was akin to forcing a duck to roar! It was beyond his ability!