35: female imp

Yu Heng came back from the hospital, his head still feeling a bit dazed.

He hadn't slept well all night, and now his eyelids were practically fighting to stay open.

He collapsed onto the sofa and caught up on some sleep first.

By the time he woke up again, it was already two-thirty in the afternoon.

Qin Lu said she would bring Qin Ya over at three.

"Damn, being a boss isn't easy either..." he muttered, rubbing his temples.

When an employee gets sick, you have to take care of them, and when a new employee joins, you have to train them.

This is more exhausting than a damn day job.

The key is that there's no fixed salary; it all depends on the commission.

Yu Heng scrambled up from the sofa and walked into Bai Xinran's room.

The equipment she used for her stream last night was still on the table: sound card, microphone, camera... he needed to prepare another set.

Luckily, when he was putting the computer together, he'd bought a spare set of equipment just in case something went wrong with Bai Xinran's.

It was coming in handy right now.

He moved the equipment to the living room, plugged everything in, and turned on the computer.

First, he needed to find a skin.

A free skin.

These days, free virtual Streamer skins were pitifully scarce.

There were only a few created and shared by creators out of pure passion, and the quality was hit or miss.

Yu Heng spent a long time scouring Bilibili and several open-source communities before finally finding a few that looked decent.

He looked through them and chose one that looked relatively young.

Pink hair, twin-tails, big eyes, a bit of baby fat, and wearing a black Gothic puff-sleeve dress.

"Tsk, this aesthetic..." Yu Heng curled his lip. "

Fine, it'll do.

Better than nothing.

At least it has that 'Mesugaki' vibe.

While he was debugging, the doorbell rang.

Yu Heng went over to open the door.

Qin Lu had her hair pulled up today in a bun, revealing her fair neck. She looked a bit more gentle and domestic than usual, with an even stronger 'housewife' vibe.

Next to her, Qin Ya was still dressed like a delinquent girl in a black hoodie and hot pants.

The hem of the hoodie was long like a skirt, with nothing but two slender white legs underneath and a pair of Converse on her feet.

She really prioritized style over warmth; wasn't she cold?

"Counselor, Qin Ya, come in." Yu Heng stepped aside to let them in.

Qin Lu walked in and nodded slightly. "It's quite clean."

"Of course, I knew you were coming, so I tidied up specifically." Yu Heng grinned, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the full curves of Qin Lu as she bent over to change her shoes.

She really was like a ripe peach; a bite would surely be incredibly refreshing.

"I hope we're not disturbing you?" Qin Lu asked with a smile.

"No, not at all, I was just waiting." Yu Heng stepped aside to let them in.

Qin Ya glanced at him, curled her lip, and said nothing.

"This child..." Qin Lu shook her head helplessly. "Greet your Brother Yu Heng."

"Hello, Brother Yu Heng," Qin Ya muttered reluctantly.

Yu Heng found it amusing.

This girl, is she really a Tsundere?

"Come in and sit down," he pointed to the sofa. "I've got all the equipment ready."

Qin Lu sat down on the sofa, the hem of her trench coat spreading out to reveal a section of her calf encased in flesh-colored stockings.

Yu Heng subconsciously took a few extra glances.

This woman really knows how to dress.

Qin Ya, meanwhile, walked straight to the computer, tilting her head as she looked at the skin on the screen. "Just this?"

"Yeah," Yu Heng walked over. "These are the only free skins, so make do with this for now. If you stream well, I'll get you a better custom one later."

"It's ugly as hell." Qin Ya curled her lip. "Those big eyes look like they have hyperthyroidism."

Yu Heng was taken aback by her comment, then laughed. "You even know about hyperthyroidism?"

"Duh," Qin Ya rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not stupid."

"Fine, fine, you're not stupid." Yu Heng didn't bother arguing with her. "Just try it out first. The main thing is to see if you can adapt to streaming."

Qin Lu stood up and walked over. "Yu Heng, is this equipment complicated?"

"It's not complicated," Yu Heng pointed to the gear. "This is the sound card, this is the microphone, the camera is here, and I've already installed all the software. You just open it and it's ready to go."

He paused and looked at Qin Lu. "By the way, Teacher, I need to use your ID information to register an account."

"Mine?" Qin Lu was startled.

"Yes," Yu Heng nodded. "Qin Ya isn't old enough."

Qin Lu hesitated for a moment. "Alright."

Yu Heng took out his phone. "Please give me your ID number, and I'll register it."

Qin Lu gave her ID number, and Yu Heng quickly registered an account. He thought about a nickname for a long time before finally typing in 'Xiao Ya Is Also Unhappy Today'.

"Is this name okay?" he asked Qin Ya.

"Whatever." Qin Ya curled her lip.

Yu Heng set up the stream room and pulled Qin Ya over to sit in front of the computer. "Come, I'll teach you some basics."

Qin Ya sat down reluctantly. The chair was a bit high for her, and she had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the floor.

Looking at her awkward posture, a thought suddenly popped into Yu Heng's head.

With this height and build... she'd probably be quite easy to pick up?

Probably any position would work.

"Look here," he suppressed his stray thoughts and pointed at the screen. "This is the streaming software. Click this, and you'll start streaming."

"Mm." Qin Ya responded, her eyes fixed on the screen.

"When you're streaming and someone comes in, you need to welcome them," Yu Heng continued. "For example, 'Welcome [name] to the stream'."

"And then?" Qin Ya asked.

"Then you have to take the initiative to greet them," Yu Heng said. "If they don't leave within three seconds, you have to find a topic to keep them there."

"What kind of topic?" Qin Ya turned to look at him.

Yu Heng thought for a moment. "Just chat about whatever. Like what you ate today, what movie you watched, or any fun games lately. Ask where they're from, how their day was."

"Oh, so just awkward small talk?" Qin Ya responded, though it was unclear if she was really listening.

"Basically, don't let there be a lull," Yu Heng patted her shoulder. "Streaming is all about avoiding dead air. Once it gets quiet, everyone leaves."

Qin Ya's body stiffened, and she brushed his hand off. "Don't touch me."

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. This girl certainly had a temper.

"Alright, that's about it," he withdrew his hand. "Give it a try first."

Qin Ya stared at the screen for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "What if someone insults me?"

"If they insult you, insult them back. Isn't that what you said?" Yu Heng shrugged. "But watch your step; don't use too much foul language, or the stream will get shut down."

Qin Ya's eyes lit up. "I can really talk back?"

"Yes," Yu Heng nodded. "As long as you don't go too far."

Qin Lu frowned from the side. "Yu Heng, is that really okay?"

"Don't worry, Teacher," Yu Heng grinned. "Audiences love this stuff nowadays. The more you snap at people, the more they watch."

Qin Lu nodded, though she still seemed skeptical.

Yu Heng helped Qin Ya adjust the microphone and camera, opened the streaming software, and set a title: [Newbie Test Stream! Poison-tongued Little Devil Snapping at People Online!]

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Mm." Qin Ya responded, her voice a bit tight, but there was a hint of eagerness in her eyes.

"Then let's begin."

Yu Heng clicked 'Start Streaming'.

The pink-haired Gothic Lolita skin on the screen came to life, swaying slightly along with Qin Ya's movements.

One minute after starting, the number of viewers: 1.

It was just Yu Heng himself.

He took out his phone, entered the stream, and sent a bullet comment: "Newbie? So cute!"

Qin Ya stared at the screen, pursed her lips, and whispered, "Welcome... welcome, Brother Yu Heng."

Her voice was soft enough, but it was a bit stiff.

Yu Heng sent another: "How old is the Streamer?"

Qin Ya was stunned for a moment and looked at Yu Heng.

Yu Heng mouthed, "Just make it up."

"Ei... Eighteen," Qin Ya said.

"Streaming at eighteen? Don't you have school?" Yu Heng continued to send bullet comments.

Qin Ya bit her lip, then her eyes suddenly darted as she spoke into the microphone, "None of your damn business."

Yu Heng: "..."