The Contrasting Refinement

The last two days of military training felt like an eternity.

They marched in formation repeatedly under the sun, all for those few minutes of the performance.

"My feet are practically burning from all that friction," Hao Junran muttered as he marched in step.

"Stop talking nonsense and get going." Yu Heng stared ahead, feeling his camouflage uniform soaked with sweat.

His mind was already elsewhere; he was thinking about meeting "Night Spirit Abyss" on Saturday night.

If the costume is so expensive, what would the real person look like?

"Yu Heng! You're fucking clumsy!" The instructor's roar pulled him back to reality.

Yu Heng quickly adjusted his pace.

Finally, the day of the military training performance arrived.

All the new students marched in formation on the playground, while school leaders gave speeches from the podium.

"Finally it's over..." Hao Junran threw his hat onto the bed.

Yu Heng didn't reply. He glanced at the time; it was 4:30 PM.

It was still early, but he needed to get ready.

I took a shower, changed into a clean short-sleeved shirt, and scratched my hair in front of the mirror.

"Wow, you're all dressed up so neatly, going on a date?" Hao Junran glanced at him sideways.

"Let's have a meal," Yu Heng mumbled.

"With whom? Which of those two beauties from last time?" Hao Junran got excited. "Damn, you're not two-timing, are you?"

"Get lost, just a friend." Yu Heng was too lazy to waste words with him, so he put his phone in his pocket and prepared to leave.

"Someone in the group said they're organizing a send-off for the instructors later, aren't you going?" Hao Junran asked.

"Are you bored? Giving them money?" Yu Heng curled his lip. "Why put on that sentimental show? They're just a few ordinary soldiers."

"That makes sense, I'm not going either," Hao Junran nodded. "But you didn't see it, some of the girls were crying like their mothers had died."

"Haha, I don't know if her mother is dead or not..." Liu Tianqi said, leaning closer. "I did hear that a girl in the music performance department was dating a drill instructor and they even went to a hotel together, but she got dumped as soon as military training ended."

"Really?" Hao Junran asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Really? He was still howling by the roadside when I came back," Hou Xudong said with a smile.

"Tsk tsk tsk, that's outrageous." Hao Junran pouted. "I don't know what they're after."

"Then let's all not go, let's log on!" Liu Tianqi called out.

"You guys have fun, I'm going out for a bit!"

At 10:50, Yu Heng arrived at the first floor of the second canteen.

There weren't many people around, so he found a seat against the wall.

At six o'clock sharp, a message came through on QQ saying that I had arrived.

Yu Heng looked towards the entrance and saw a figure standing at the cafeteria entrance.

The girl had short, neat hair, delicate features, and a very heroic air about her.

Wearing a simple white T-shirt and sweatpants, with a well-proportioned figure that clearly shows she's been working out, she looked...

Yu Heng's first impression was a Chinese idiom: heroic and dashing.

She stood at the doorway, looked around, then fixed her gaze on Yu Heng and walked straight over.

"Are you a new anime series starting in September?" She stopped in front of Yu Heng.

Her voice was the same as during the live stream, with a slightly androgynous husky tone, but clearer and more natural.

Yu Heng quickly stood up: "Yes, Yu Heng. You are... Ye Lingyuan?"

"Bai Xinran." She smiled and extended her hand generously. "From Class Two, Comics."

Yu Heng shook hands with her.

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the seat opposite him.

That appearance, that aura...

It's not exactly the same as that suit; it's completely unrelated.

But the stark contrast might actually make it more promising.

"You're not quite what I imagined," Yu Heng said, pushing the menu towards him.

"You too." Bai Xinran picked up the menu and glanced at it. "I thought people who watched live streams on Bilibili and became captains were all shut-ins."

"Not very harmful, but extremely insulting," Yu Heng chuckled. "Do I look like a shut-in?"

"It's alright, better than those guys in my class who're always glued to their graphics tablets and calling each other 'wife'." She ordered a clay pot rice noodle dish. "What do you want to eat?"

"Same as above," Yu Heng called out to the window, "Two rice noodles, one with chili and one without!"

After ordering, there was a few seconds of silence between them.

Yu Heng pondered how to bring up the guild matter.

"That suit of yours," he decided to get straight to the point, "what were you thinking with that style?"

Bai Xinran raised an eyebrow: "What style? Burnt, right?"

Yu Heng was taken aback by her directness: "Uh, quite sexy."

"That OC, I designed it myself." She shrugged. "You can think of it as how I imagine myself."

?

So you imagine yourself as a sleuth?

If you're going to talk about this, I'm not sleepy anymore.

"Your hobby is quite unique..." Yu Heng said with a smile.

I happen to share the same interest, it's just that He Mengyao couldn't quite satisfy him in his past life.

"What's wrong? XP is a form of freedom!" Bai Xinran said frankly.

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. He could talk about hobbies later; making money was more important.

"How's the live stream going? Do you want to do it long-term?" Yu Heng asked.

"It's alright, quite interesting." She broke apart a disposable chopstick as her rice noodles arrived. "It's just that sometimes I encounter some idiotic comments, which is quite annoying."

"That's how it is being a streamer." Yu Heng stirred his bowl of extra spicy rice noodles. "That's why I said, joining a guild can save you a lot of trouble. At least someone will help you manage the chat and deal with harassment."

Bai Xinran slurped up a mouthful of rice noodles, looked up at him, and asked, "How exactly does this collaboration work?"

"I'll provide the money and equipment. If you need new costumes for the suit, or need to commission merchandise, I can reimburse you. We can even do 3D modeling in the future. I'll also help with operations, traffic generation, and securing business opportunities." Yu Heng looked at her. "The revenue will be split proportionally, with you getting the lion's share."

"What are you after?" Bai Xinran asked directly.

"If I can make money off you, I can also get a share," Yu Heng said more directly. "I think this industry has potential, and you're a good candidate for investment."

He understands the guild's operating logic best. Unscrupulous guilds make a quick buck by spreading their influence widely and extorting money from streamers for breach of contract. This kind of operation can only last for a short time because it doesn't last long. If an unscrupulous guild wants to survive longer and accumulate initial capital, and still want to continue in this business, it will become a guild with conscience.

Others are ethical from the start, relying on operational capabilities and reputation to grow and thrive. Once they achieve high revenue and a large number of streamers, it becomes a virtuous cycle.

Bai Xinran lowered her head and ate a few mouthfuls of rice noodles, without answering immediately.

Yu Heng didn't urge her and ate on his own.

"Can I think about it?" she asked after a while.

"Of course." Yu Heng took out his phone. "Can we add each other on WeChat? It'll be easier to keep in touch."

"Okay." Bai Xinran readily scanned the QR code and added him as a friend.

Her WeChat profile picture is a simple line drawing of a dog's head.

Yu Heng looked at that profile picture and remembered her live stream title, "Xiu Gou".

"There's quite a contrast between your real-life persona and this sculpted image," he couldn't help but say.

Bai Xinran smiled but didn't reply. Instead, she asked, "Are you really in the internet and new media field?"

"Yes, Class One." Yu Heng nodded.

Bai Xinran narrowed her eyes: "But in some novels about live streaming I've read, the guilds take the lion's share, and the streamers only get a small portion."

"Then the authors of those novels you read aren't professionals in the industry," Yu Heng chuckled. "They all think that streamers are just like them, idiots who are exploited to no end in real life but act as spiritual capitalists in their novels."

"Haha, you're so funny," Bai Xinran said after finishing the last sip of soup. "Thank you for the rice noodles."

"Next time it's your turn to treat," Yu Heng said half-jokingly.

"no problem!"

After finishing their meal, the two walked out of the cafeteria together.

She waved her hand, turned around gracefully, and walked in another direction.

Yu Heng watched her departing figure, her confident stride unlike that of most girls in the cafeteria.

Xiu Gou, so dashing and heroic... Interesting...

He suddenly felt a desire to see a different side of her.