51: Don't use dating as a pretext.

"Why wait for me?" Bai Xinran turned and walked upstairs. "Could there really be a robbery in the university town?"

"Who can say for sure!" Yu Heng leaned against the arm of the sofa. "You're a walking money-printing machine now. If something happens, my loss would be huge."

Bai Xinran stopped on the stairs. "Boss, your concern doesn't sound touching at all."

"So what?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "Should I say I'm afraid that before I can get my hands on you, some bad guy will?"

"Tsk! You're a bad guy too!" Bai Xinran frowned slightly. "Wait five minutes for me, I'll be ready soon."

She ran upstairs with a thumping sound.

Yu Heng sat back on the sofa and pulled out his phone to take a look.

There were several unread messages in WeChat.

Ning Yutong had sent a selfie with her dormitory in the background. She was holding up a pair of lace-trimmed white over-the-knee socks, with the caption: "They've arrived! The quality is great!"

Yu Heng smiled and typed a reply: "Alright, wear them over on Saturday."

While they were chatting, Bai Xinran came downstairs.

She had already changed into jeans and a hoodie, her hair tied in a ponytail.

"Let's go," she grabbed her backpack from the sofa and put on her jacket. "Any later and the dorm building will be locked."

Yu Heng stood up, and the two of them walked out together.

The night wind was a bit chilly; Bai Xinran pulled up her hoodie's hood and stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Yu Heng," she suddenly spoke, "are you really going to make a skin for Qin Ya?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Yu Heng nodded. "What's wrong?"

"I just feel," Bai Xinran kicked a pebble on the side of the road, "that you're quite attentive to her."

Yu Heng turned his head to look at her. "Listen to you. Am I not quite attentive to you too?"

"Is that the same?" Bai Xinran curled her lip. "I'm your first Streamer; she came later."

Yu Heng chuckled. "What, are you jealous?"

"Who's jealous!" Bai Xinran immediately retorted. "I'm just reminding you not to tilt all the resources toward the newcomer and forget who your cash cow is."

"Don't worry," Yu Heng reached out and patted her shoulder, "you'll always be the top star for me."

Bai Xinran's shoulder shrank back a bit, but she didn't dodge. "Just talk, don't get all touchy-feely."

"Fine, fine," Yu Heng withdrew his hand. "I'll tilt some resources your way too. For your one-month anniversary stream, I'll cover all the event expenses—the ship gifts, the cashbacks, and all that."

"That good?" Bai Xinran raised an eyebrow. "But it doesn't seem like much, does it?"

"Tsk, you're quite greedy!" Yu Heng narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll cover all the ship gifts from now on. You're about to start mailing them out, aren't you?"

"There's no rush yet, we'll see at the end of the month. I've already found a vendor on Taobao to make them—acrylic stands of my character art!" Bai Xinran said.

"That's a bit too ordinary, isn't it?" Yu Heng thought for a moment and said, "How about this? Go commission some art—a piece for merchandise—and I'll reimburse you."

"Really?" Bai Xinran became interested. "A single piece can cost eight hundred to a thousand yuan!"

"Really, go for it!" Yu Heng said.

Compared to what he was making, this was small change.

They walked to the dormitory area, where occasionally couples returning late could be seen walking by, hugging each other.

Bai Xinran suddenly lowered her voice: "Hey, look over there."

Yu Heng looked in the direction she pointed; two people were standing under a streetlamp.

The boy's back was to them; he looked a bit familiar from behind.

The girl had her head down, her hand held by the boy next to her.

"Zhang Yuchen?" Yu Heng narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah," Bai Xinran nodded. "That girl is a freshman in our department. I think her name was Lin something..."

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he pursuing you?"

"Pursuing my ass," Bai Xinran rolled her eyes. "He's just casting a wide net to catch more fish."

"You're not angry?" Yu Heng asked.

"Why would I be angry?" Bai Xinran said, confused. "I don't even like him. He can pursue whoever he wants, as long as he doesn't bother me."

"So he hasn't been bothering you lately?" Yu Heng asked with a smile.

"Wrong! He has." Bai Xinran said with a frown. "He sent me another WeChat message today."

Yu Heng turned to look at her. "What did he say?"

"Heh," Bai Xinran curled her lip. "He said he wants me to be his girlfriend."

"Tsk," Yu Heng laughed. "This guy's something else."

Yu Heng looked at Zhang Yuchen's back, clicking his tongue inwardly.

Pursuing Bai Xinran while hitting on a younger student at the same time.

I really couldn't tell—is he just casting a wide net, or is he trying to build a harem too?

Is he a kindred spirit?

But then again, it's different.

Yu Heng felt that one could have many women, but it's only interesting if you're open about it.

Building a harem under the pretense of dating—deceiving one while hiding from another—that's just boring.

Moreover, if you handle it well, it's a heart-pounding Shuraba; if you don't, and you run into a Sekai Saionji, it's a heart-stopping crematorium.

"I rejected him," Bai Xinran said. "I told him I don't have any interest in dating yet."

"And what did he say?"

"He said we should just be friends first, then invited me to a movie this weekend at a private cinema." Bai Xinran sighed. "Does this guy not understand what rejection means?"

"He's playing dumb," Yu Heng shrugged. "When pursuing a girl, how can you succeed if you're not thick-skinned?"

Bai Xinran glanced at him. "And were you thick-skinned when you pursued girls?"

Yu Heng was stunned for a moment, then grinned. "Me? I don't need to pursue anyone. Girls always come to me first."

"Keep bragging," Bai Xinran rolled her eyes. "I think you're just good with your mouth."

"You got that right," Yu Heng said happily. "I really am quite good with my mouth."

Bai Xinran caught the double entendre in his words. Her face flushed, and she kicked him in the shin. "Get lost!"

The kick wasn't hard. Yu Heng patted his pant leg. "What's the rush? You want to try?"

"Try my ass!" Bai Xinran quickened her pace and walked ahead of him. "I can't be bothered with you."

The two reached the girls' dormitory building. Bai Xinran stopped and turned around. "I'm going up now?"

"Yeah," Yu Heng nodded. "Get some sleep. You have to stream tomorrow."

"Got it," Bai Xinran waved. She reached the door and turned back. "By the way, when you film Ning Yutong on Saturday, do you need my help? I know a bit about lighting."

"You know how to do that?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow.

Bai Xinran nodded. "I learned it in an extracurricular activity in high school."

"Right, right," Yu Heng pursed his lips. "As expected of a Beijing Master."

His high school? Extracurricular activities?

Did morning group running count?

The kind where your toes touch the heels of the person in front.

Yu Heng thought for a moment. "Then come over in the morning? Around eight or nine? Wait, no, don't you stay at home on Friday nights?"

"Ah, right," Bai Xinran made an OK gesture. "Then I'll just wake up early that day!"

Watching her enter the dorm, Yu Heng turned to walk back.

When he passed that streetlamp from earlier, Zhang Yuchen and the girl were gone.

Yu Heng pulled out a pack of cigarettes, shook one out, and lit it.

The smoke dispersed in the night wind.

He went over recent events in his head.

On the streaming side, Bai Xinran was stable, and Qin Ya was on the rise.

Short videos were about to start; Ning Yutong was a promising prospect.

The basketball tournament starts next week; he needed to find time to train.

The club recruitment posters could be printed over the weekend.

And then there was Qin Lu... Yu Heng blew a smoke ring.

This woman is getting more and more interesting.