Protect Her Well

Under the comfort of daily life, time passes quickly.

The day Tang Hua and I agreed upon was set for Thursday. During their conversation, Lu Qing noticed that Tang Hua wasn’t as reclusive or sinking into negativity as he had imagined. Instead, she seemed to have returned to her previous state of being a 38-year-old unemployed doujinshi artist, carefree and indifferent, as if... she had put on a mask again.

“No, something’s off.”

Lu Qing wasn’t foolish; he understood the saying, “When things are unusual, there must be a reason.”

Although he had assigned her tasks, there was an underlying sense that she was... brewing something big.

Based on his understanding of Tang Hua, she was definitely up to something secretive at home. The last surprise visit had already revealed the problem, especially those shocking photos on the wall, which he still hadn’t figured out how to deal with...

“Leaving them in her hands like this isn’t good, right?”

Lu Qing sat in the 89 Degrees C milk tea shop, sipping his afternoon tea with a troubled expression.

—Today was Wednesday.

Since Bai Xing had gotten her life back on track, she rarely attended classes anymore. She spent all her time researching livestreaming, delving into the motion modules of “Mei Biya,” trying to find a rhythm of expressions that suited her better.

He had messaged her before, asking how she planned to deal with failing her courses.

Bai Xing’s response was carefree:

“If I’ve already failed, going to meaningless classes is just stupid! I need to spend all my time getting familiar with the VTuber avatar. Otherwise, when I go to take care of my grandma next week and come back after some time, I’ll be rusty! That’s absolutely unacceptable! I can’t let you down, can I?”

The girl’s intention was clear: for the rest of the semester, up until finals, she planned to slack off.

Lu Qing did the math. Aside from a few highly-regarded professors who never took attendance, Bai Xing had pretty much failed all her courses. She already had six subjects that required retakes, and the rest were barely passing. Missing one more class would seal her fate.

Though he wanted to urge her to salvage what she could, he also understood the immense pressure she was under. How could she possibly focus on school matters now?

“If I remember correctly, according to the hospital’s schedule, grandma’s chemotherapy is set for this weekend.”

“Hmm...”

“For Bai Xing, the real ‘exam’ isn’t happening at school, is it?”

Lu Qing saw things clearly, so there was no need for him to intervene.

As the only relative of her grandmother, Bai Xing would spend at least a week providing full-time care. During this period, she might only go home to shower or change clothes when absolutely necessary.

He had done some research and knew that a round of chemotherapy was calculated in cycles. Depending on the type of tumor, the number of cycles, potential side effects, and treatment outcomes varied.

However, in Bai Xing’s grandmother’s case, things were slightly more complicated. Due to her advanced age, the first round of medication would be administered over seven days, during which a family member had to be present at all times to monitor her condition and seek medical help if anything went wrong.

This meant that Bai Xing would be tied up at the hospital, unable to step away.

Which led to the next thought: “Mei Biya’s” livestreams would have at least a full week of downtime.

“What should we do?”

Lu Qing pondered the core issue.

He was well aware that the VTuber industry shared some similarities with novel writing—

For example, a novel couldn’t just stop updating without reason. Doing so would waste all the previous effort, cutting short months or even years of hard work, with no way to recover.

Of course, even with a valid reason, the algorithm wouldn’t listen. There was no point in arguing with the system.

Similarly, if a VTuber didn’t stream regularly, the audience wouldn’t wait around. They’d quickly move on to other streamers.

After all, society was harsh like that. If you didn’t stream, someone else would.

If you didn’t give them something good to watch, why wouldn’t they go watch someone else?

Even those who claimed to be loyal fans, with signatures declaring themselves “XXX’s one and only,” would secretly—or even openly—create alternate accounts or use their main accounts to watch other streamers.

Tsk.

“So...”

If they didn’t want to waste all the groundwork they’d laid, if they didn’t want to let this week go to waste, there was only one solution—

[They had to contact Tang Hua and have her step in as the second potential VTuber to fill in for Bai Xing.]

Obviously, this was a risky move.

“...I wonder if she’d be willing to step up.”

During that visit to her home, he had brought up the idea, and Tang Hua hadn’t shied away. In fact, she seemed eager to give it a try.

However, considering her complete lack of livestreaming experience, forcing her to dive in headfirst wouldn’t be wise.

The best-case scenario would be to “train” her before the day arrived, giving her some experience to work with rather than throwing her into the deep end with zero preparation.

“What should I do...?”

Lu Qing gripped his milk tea cup, slurping through the straw, downing an extra-large iced lemon black tea.

He thought carefully—

“Tang Hua’s understanding of the VTuber avatar far surpasses Bai Xing’s, as she’s the artist behind it. She’s familiar with every detail, and she’s the literal embodiment of a succubus. That’s undeniable.”

“But her ability to interact with chat, adapt on the fly, handle trolls, and manage stress during a livestream are all unknowns... She definitely can’t match Bai Xing in those areas.”

Lu Qing knew that Bai Xing had been tempered through trials by fire, her resilience unshakable.

Though she was somewhat fragile in real life, online and in work mode, she rarely broke down or lashed out.

But Tang Hua was different.

Tang Hua had a history of abandoning her Twitter account after being harassed by trolls and keyboard warriors, leading to a period of self-isolation and a dark turn in her life.

Lu Qing had no doubt that if he hadn’t given her commissions to ease her financial stress, she might have sunk into obscurity, falling into an irreversible abyss.

So now, he was left with only two options—

First, ask Bai Xing to share some of her professional tips before she left for the hospital, essentially “mentoring” Tang Hua.

But this could easily provoke resistance from Bai Xing, as it would feel like he was outright saying, “Can you teach her your secrets? I want her to replace you.” It was a low-EQ move, the worst of the worst strategies.

Second, take matters into his own hands and go to Tang Hua’s place to personally teach her how to handle special situations, how to time her expressions perfectly, and so on.

This was the more reasonable and feasible option. Even if Lu Qing wasn’t as skilled as Bai Xing in VTuber techniques, they could work together, combining their efforts to reach a decent level of competency.

This kind of collaborative growth had a certain charm to it.

“Hmm...”

Of course, Lu Qing knew that even if he chose the second option, he’d have to be there on the day of the stream, possibly even staying by Tang Hua’s side to prevent any mishaps.

“Bai Xing’s issue was that she couldn’t grasp the ‘essence’ of the avatar, which was a minor problem. But with Tang Hua, I’d have to hold her hand, guide her, and watch over her every step of the way. If she gets bullied, it could lead to major problems.”

Lu Qing’s thoughts were clear. “Yes, I mustn’t let her break.”

[I have to protect her.]

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