Chapter Six: Catching Loaches

"I admit that over the past year, I’ve been selfish, keeping a secret I stumbled upon all to myself. Today, I want to confess to my brothers: I no longer yearn for an unrestrained, freewheeling life, because I want to get married. I want to have two daughters." Suddenly, someone spoke up in a Q group chat.

"Haha, bro, you want to get married? First, you need a girlfriend."

"Hah, as if you’ve got a girlfriend yourself."

"What’s going on? Isn’t this a Japanese film sharing group? I just logged in, my pants are already off and now you show me this?"

"Did you just finish? It’s all right, that’s life. Everyone feels this way right after—it makes you reflect on everything."

"Don’t interrupt, let this brother finish. If one of our own wants to walk the straight and narrow, we have to support him."

The original poster then dropped a room number from the CoolCool livestream platform: "No more nonsense. There are many wonderful things in life. Everyone, follow along. I think this group is about done for, whether it dissolves or not."

"Is it really that amazing? Must be some positive energy. I’ll check it out."

"Me too. The prodigal returns—I’ve been wanting to turn over a new leaf for a long time."

"Let’s take a look. Ugh, staring at the computer all day, this isn’t the life I want."

...

At the same time, in another WeChat group—

"Which of you girls said kids are annoying and you’d never have one? Come out, I’ll take you for a round, guarantee you’ll want one every year."

"Pff, that was me. I just can’t stand kids, they’re a pain."

"Lanlan’s maternal instincts are flaring up. What’s going on tonight?"

"Say no more, CoolCool room number 861016. If you don’t believe me, come and see."

...

Meanwhile, in several top livestreamers’ rooms on the CoolCool platform—

"An angel has descended in room 861016. If that’s not an angel, I’ll eat three pounds of crap live."

Several such advertisements popped up in quick succession.

"Get lost, ad spammers!"

"Drag the ad spammers out and beat them!"

These ads infuriated the streamers’ fans, who began cursing loudly. The administrators swiftly muted and kicked out the advertisers.

"It’s the streamer’s break time right now. Let’s go check out what’s going on over there. Maybe that ad room is streaming something banned. Heh, if we go too late and the platform closes it, we’ll miss out. Let’s go!"

"Yeah, let’s see what’s up."

The combined fans of these top streamers numbered in the millions. Even though the loyal fan of Nian Nujiao risked being blacklisted to post ads, it still piqued the curiosity of some fans, and thousands, with nothing better to do, flocked over.

"Hmm, the data in this room looks odd. Normally it’s around five thousand, but now it’s broken twenty thousand in just ten minutes. Could it be a banned stream?" A CoolCool platform supervisor, watching the backend data, noticed Nian Nujiao’s room index skyrocketing and, suspicious, entered to investigate.

"Holy crap—two absolute little angels! How did I never know they existed?"

"Who’s child is this? She’s so adorable, I want to take her home!"

"An angel indeed. So pretty at such a young age—just imagine when she grows up."

"Wow, the guy sitting in the middle is so handsome. I like him."

...

Tens of thousands of people poured in, and upon seeing the three siblings—Nian Nujiao and her brothers—they couldn’t tear their eyes away.

This is a world that judges by appearances, where the love of beauty runs wild.

Su Tong had just been reborn last night. Learning that Nian Nujiao managed to secure a platform contract within a month, and gathered four or five thousand fans in just over six months, he realized it was the same in every world: without an attractive face, even getting a contract is tough. Without a contract, there’s no platform promotion—five thousand fans would be a pipe dream.

In just over a dozen minutes, more than ten thousand fans flooded the room. Su Tong was amazed; it seemed his and Xiaoyu’s performance tonight was impressive enough to make loyal fans go out and advertise.

"Hehe, so adorable! That little girl’s natural charm—she’s staring at the screen. That expression is just precious!"

The new viewers saw Xiaoxiao sitting obediently, her big eyes glued to the monitor. It was so cute that they couldn’t help but smile. The little one probably didn’t realize so many people were watching her; her little head bobbing was just too endearing.

After Su Tong discussed some current affairs news for a while and saw the audience had almost gathered, he signaled Xiaoyu to start singing again.

"Yes! I’ve been waiting for this. This time I’m recording it!"

Xiaoyu’s clear, ethereal voice rang out: "Thank you all for your support. ‘Catching Loaches’ is for everyone."

The accompaniment to "Catching Loaches" started up again.

"La la, la la la, la la la la la la la..."

"The pond is full, the rain has stopped, and everywhere in the muddy field there are loaches."

With the experience from the first time, Xiaoyu was more relaxed singing the second time, her longing blending even deeper into the song.

"This voice… damn, it’s incredible!"

Those hearing Xiaoyu’s voice for the first time were stunned.

So cute and pretty, and her voice was this pleasant? It was a killer for all the older guys.

Anyone over twenty is powerless against this kind of child’s voice, especially when it’s paired with a joyful song full of a child’s deep yearning.

"Wow, I love little girls! I’m a fan from now on—Nian Nujiao’s loyal supporter, working hard to earn money for her."

"I suddenly have an urge—I want to get married, I want a daughter."

...

Music can touch the softest corners of the soul, amplifying emotions beyond measure. One song, "Catching Loaches," captured countless hearts.

The CoolCool platform supervisor was stunned. He had grown up in the countryside, where the sky was blue, the people were kind, and after the fields were drained, children loved nothing more than catching loaches.

The slippery loaches kept the children happily busy, their laughter ringing through the fields… The supervisor had an older brother, but when he was young, his brother disliked him for having a bucktooth and never let him join in their play.

One song, "Catching Loaches," made the supervisor’s heart tremble. Wasn’t that the story of his childhood? That longing still lay buried deep within him.

That lost childhood, and the now-polluted, unrecognizable countryside where loaches can no longer be seen, stirred a deep sorrow and regret in his heart.

The past never returns—time is the cruelest killer.

The song ended.

Suddenly, the screen was filled with virtual gifts—Haagen-Dazs, abalone, lobster everywhere.

"Look, lobsters! When can Xiaoxiao eat lobster? Xiaoxiao really wants some." Xiaoxiao couldn’t read the words, but she recognized the gift icons. Seeing the gifts, her big eyes sparkled with delight as she tugged on Su Tong’s sleeve, pleading.

"Ha, lobster." Su Tong gave an awkward laugh. "There’ll be a chance soon. Before long we’ll…" At this, Su Tong turned off the microphone.

"Xiaoxiao, be good, don’t be willful. When your brother earns enough, I’ll take you for Australian lobster. We just can’t afford it right now." Su Tong worried Xiaoxiao would throw a tantrum as before, demanding lobster, so he soothed her right away.

Just the night before, the little one had thrown a fit wanting lobster, making it impossible to continue the stream; finally, Xiaoyu had to carry her out to calm her down.

"What’s going on? No sound?"

Nearly thirty thousand viewers suddenly couldn’t hear Su Tong, and grew anxious.

On the other end, Xiaoxiao shook her head and wiggled in a huff, even bursting into tears. Xiaoyu went to comfort her, and somehow, in the end, Xiaoxiao broke into smiles again, sitting obediently on her stool.

"Ah, sorry, Xiao Qiao is still young and doesn’t always behave. Sorry to have made a scene—please forgive us." After calming Xiaoxiao, Su Tong turned the mic back on, his face full of apology, though it was unclear whether it was aimed at the audience or Xiaoxiao.

Truthfully, Su Tong’s heart ached as he said this, full of bitterness.

If he could help it, would he have Xiaoxiao sitting here?

A three- or four-year-old is full of energy; sitting for hours without throwing tantrums is already asking a lot.

Xiaoxiao’s little outburst steeled Su Tong’s resolve. Even if it cost him every ounce of strength, he’d exchange what he needed from the system as soon as possible, so Xiaoxiao and Xiaoyu could be freed from this.

The more fans he had, the better his contract would be. Not only would his share increase, but also the required streaming hours would decrease. For instance, his current contract required three hours of streaming per day; if upgraded, it would become two.

Making Xiaoxiao and Xiaoyu sit here for three hours every day—perhaps the old Su Tong could bear it, but the current one never could.

"Brother, you’re too serious. Little kids are adorable, even when they fuss."

"Seeing the little one cry broke my heart."

The loyal fans were thoughtful and considerate, not minding at all.

But in a big crowd, there are all sorts. Some nasty comments began to roll through the chat.

"These days, there’s nothing people won’t do. Some beg on the streets with kids as props to scam people. Now what do we see? Tricking children into begging online, playing on viewers’ sympathy."

Seeing these words, Su Tong’s face darkened.

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