While Lin Shuangxue still hadn’t come home, Jiang Cheng hurried over to Ye Xiqiu’s place. As for the reason she wasn’t home, her excuse to Jiang Xiaotang was,
“Big Sister went out to play. Don’t tell Sister Lin.”
‘Why does this feel like sneaking around for an affair…’
“Welcome~”
Ye Xiqiu welcomed Dongxue in her usual tone.
“Good evening.”
Dongxue responded casually and flopped onto her designated spot on the bed—which was actually Ye Xiqiu’s bed.
“How was this morning’s vlog? Have you checked the numbers?”
She asked offhandedly.
“Um…”
Ye Xiqiu looked a bit embarrassed.
“Well… I haven’t dared to look yet…”
Dongxue didn’t find that strange. After all, Xiao Xiqiu was that kind of girl—she could easily chat with anyone, yet she couldn’t bear to hear anyone discuss her legs.
“Then let’s take a look now.”
Dongxue got up and, with practiced ease, scooped Ye Xiqiu up from the bed by the waist.
The girl was still a bit shy. When Dongxue lifted her, her small hands didn’t know where to go, so they could only curl up against her chest.
“You look like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.”
“What?”
Ye Xiqiu was puzzled.
Dongxue didn’t explain. After gently setting the girl down in the gaming chair, she sat in the seat beside her and turned on the computer screen.
This made Ye Xiqiu’s heart itch with curiosity. She desperately wanted to know what Dongxue meant by Tyrannosaurus Rex.
‘Is my hairstyle too ugly today? Or is my attitude not gentle enough?’
‘But it’s just a perfectly ordinary hairstyle… And if I get any gentler, won’t I just become her wife…’
Ye Xiqiu was troubled, unsure whether she should be welcoming Dongxue with the mindset of a wife greeting her husband. Just as she was still lost in her wild thoughts, Dongxue let out a soft
“huh?”
“What’s wrong? Are the numbers bad?”
Ye Xiqiu asked instinctively.
“It’s not that. Xiao Qiuqiu, look.”
Dongxue pointed at the computer.
“The numbers are great~”
‘What the heck is Xiao Qiuqiu?!’
The girl’s cheeks burned. She hastily lifted her head, not wanting Dongxue to see her inner thoughts. But when she clearly saw what was on the screen, she froze as well.
“Huh?”
She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.
“Didn’t we have 500,000 followers yesterday? How do we have 600,000 now? Growing this fast?”
Dongxue pinched the girl’s cheek and said,
“Maybe Xiao Xiqiu’s charm is just too much~”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Ye Xiqiu swatted away Dongxue’s impure hand and shot her a glare.
“Even if people really came for the looks, they’d be here for yours.”
“Oh, not necessarily… Let’s look at the comment section—the video’s comment section—and we’ll know.”
Dongxue moved the mouse and clicked on the pinned video on their homepage.
“Huh? It made it to trending.”
‘Really?’
Hearing this, Ye Xiqiu looked over.
“It really did…”
She let out an amazed sigh.
“It already has over a million views, and the likes are over 200,000—almost 300,000. That’s amazing.”
“It’s not even 300,000 likes yet.”
Dongxue pouted.
“With my and Xiao Xiqiu’s looks and skills, we should have at least a million likes, right?”
“Oh, it’s only been the first day.”
Ye Xiqiu actually switched roles and comforted Dongxue in return.
“Maybe we’ll get there in a few days. Besides, our camera is the cheapest tier, and the audio isn’t great either, so it’s understandable that the quality falls a bit short.”
‘True… Let’s see what the netizens have to say.’
With that in mind, Dongxue clicked on the comment section below the video.
Seeing this, Ye Xiqiu held her breath, a little scared.
“Don’t be scared.”
Dongxue patted her head.
“If you’re really scared, you can hide in Mommy Dongxue’s arms, and Mommy will sing you a lullaby.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Embarrassed and angry, Ye Xiqiu pushed away Dongxue’s Salty Imperial Hand.
“It’s just reading the comment section, isn’t it? I’ll read it! I’m not scared!”
“Boo-hoo-hoo… My daughter’s all grown up and doesn’t want her mommy anymore…”
Seeing Ye Xiqiu’s clenched little fists and gritted teeth, Dongxue waved her hand and stopped teasing her.
Thanks to Dongxue’s distraction, the resistance in Ye Xiqiu’s heart faded considerably. She took a deep breath to settle her mood, then looked at the computer.
What came into view were two hot comments automatically pinned to the top by Cat Station.
“With this video quality, I thought it was Dead Wife’s Memoir (laugh-crying). I almost thought it was a hallucination before dropping dead from overtime—it made my corpse feel all warm.”
“Netizens really are strange. They can accept that streamers use voice changers. They can accept that the streamers are two ugly people once the beauty filters are off. But they just can’t accept that Shengxia is truly Dongxue’s adorable little wife, nor can they accept that Dongxue is truly the gentle big sister who dotes on Shengxia. Just like rats in the gutter, vampires hidden in mountain caves—they can easily accept anything dark and cold, but the moment they see sunlight, they turn to ashes in a scream.”
‘Boo-hoo-hoo, stop scolding, stop scolding…’
Scrolling further down, nearly all the comments were words of praise and encouragement. The few out-of-place remarks were quickly drowned in an ocean of goodwill.
Perhaps this was the true face of the internet. No need to be divided and opposed over artificially manufactured topics, no need to fight tooth and nail over trivial matters. It was enough to appreciate others and bless those who were more fortunate.
Ye Xiqiu froze in place, as if she had never imagined such a scene.
“Don’t they find it disgusting…”
She murmured,
“I’m a disabled person—a broken, ugly thing that can’t even stand. How can they praise me against their conscience like this? Is it just because of this face of mine…”
Actually, Dongxue wanted to say that at least half of that statement was right. But she wasn’t Lin Shuangxue—she had some emotional intelligence after all.
Dongxue gently pulled Ye Xiqiu’s chair closer, wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulder, and let her head rest against the side of her neck.
“That’s not true.”
She said softly,
“How could anyone feel disgusted? Xiao Xiqiu is so beautiful, her voice is so sweet, and she’s so gentle, isn’t she? Does an angel who lost its wings become a demon?”
“But…”
Ye Xiqiu’s body was held in Dongxue’s embrace, yet her face was still turned toward the computer screen, staring blankly at the warmth of complete strangers.
The screen’s glow refracted in her eyes, spread out, and dissolved into blurred, dreamlike spots of shimmering white light.
She said unconsciously.
“But you’re not cripples—how would you know whether I’m hated…”
“But I’m right here, loving an angel with broken wings~”