Chapter 4
The dark object in front of him was utterly useless. Yan Yan tried pecking at it a few times with his beak but only felt how hard it was, quickly losing interest.
Unable to figure it out, the little bird flew to the table, grooming his feathers while waiting for Si Jingce to return.
The camera silently operated above the computer, streaming the entire scene into a livestream room on Gem TV.
The small bird stood in the middle of the table, his two thin legs looking like they were propping up a puff of cotton. Perhaps from waiting too long, he slowly lay down, curling into a tiny camel-colored triangular rice ball, his head bobbing slightly as he dozed off—
[Ah!! It’s the bird!!]
[Did I enter the wrong stream? Isn’t this supposed to be lcberg’s gaming stream? Why am I in the pet section now?]
[Didn’t Bro just say a few days ago that he got a pearl bird? It’s this one, right?]
[Why is there only the bird?? Where’s the streamer? Where’s the streamer??]
Yan Yan’s eyes were half-closed, completely unaware that he had accidentally turned on the livestream. The little ball of a bird drowsily napped, swaying slightly.
Fans inhaled the bird’s cuteness through the screen while waiting, and just as the system was about to pop up a warning, the sound of approaching footsteps came through the stream.
“Yan Yan, are you hungry?”
A tall man suddenly walked into frame, and all the viewers collectively held their breath…
He looked so good!
The man had sharp, cold features but carried himself in a lazy, laid-back manner. He had a lollipop in his mouth, crunched it to bits in just a few seconds, and casually tossed the stick into the trash before settling into a comfy gaming chair.
Si Jingce brought in some snacks and bird food.
He had just gone out to scavenge around and noticed Yan Yan’s food bowl was still full, as if it hadn’t been touched.
He placed the bowl in front of Yan Yan—a brown ceramic bowl he’d stumbled upon a few days ago, with a tiny ceramic pearl bird perched on its rim.
It looked exactly like Yan Yan.
As the seeds were poured in, the sound immediately woke Yan Yan, who hopped over excitedly.
The man couldn’t help but smile.
The computer screen was black—it had gone into sleep mode from inactivity. He didn’t rush to turn it back on; long screen time wasn’t good for the eyes anyway.
Si Jingce opened a bag of chips to fill his stomach a bit.
As soon as he pulled out a chip, the little bird munching on seeds immediately looked up.
Si Jingce glanced at him and slightly paused, then quietly moved the chip a bit to the left.
Yan Yan stared intently at the chip, his head turning left.
The chip moved to the right, and the bird’s head turned right too.
The man thought for a moment and held the chip out toward Yan Yan’s beak.
“Wanna try it?”
Yan Yan hopped forward eagerly, eyes wide: “Chirp chirp?”
Really?
The chip smelled amazing—cucumber flavored.
Yan Yan had already caught the refreshing scent from far away, tickling his little bird taste buds like crazy.
He glanced at the plain, boring grains in his bowl and opened his beak in anticipation…
He bit down hard—and missed.
Si Jingce, grinning wickedly, pulled the chip back slightly.
Yan Yan: ?
Why did the chip grow legs?
The little bird leaned forward again, stretching his neck toward the chip.
This time the chip darted back.
Si Jingce cupped his hand over Yan Yan, the little bird squirming in his palm.
When Yan Yan poked his head out from between Si Jingce’s fingers, the man casually popped the chip into his mouth right in front of him.
Yan Yan froze: QAQ
[How could you…]
A voice in his mind screamed: [How could you lie to a bird!!!]
Before Yan Yan could burst into tears, Si Jingce pulled out another chip and dangled it in front of him.
The bird’s head swayed along with it.
“Chips come with a price,” the man said. “Let me pet you.”
To get the snack, the bird instantly sold his dignity and let himself be petted thoroughly from head to tail.
Fluff puffed up, Yan Yan obediently stood in Si Jingce’s palm: “Chirp!”
That should be good enough, right?
Si Jingce handed the chip over again. “Here.”
The snack he had longed for was within reach—Yan Yan couldn’t resist.
But Si Jingce—he actually took it back again!
“Oh, almost forgot.” The man popped that piece into his own mouth. “Chicks can’t eat chips. It’s bad for your health.”
Yan Yan: …………
Yan Yan screeched in fury: “Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!!”
Liar!!
You big fat liar!!
Successfully teased, Si Jingce smirked.
But his smile didn’t last long.
Yan Yan kept chirping non-stop, with no sign of stopping.
“Wait, you…” Si Jingce scrambled to sit up, trying to calm him down. “Eat your seeds, those are tasty too.”
“Apple and cucumber flavored, full of nutrients?”
Yan Yan shrieked even louder.
Si Jingce didn’t dare touch him now—he knew the crying and chirping would echo in his ears like a storm.
In a panic, Si Jingce broke off a tiny piece of chip and shoved it into Yan Yan’s open beak.
The world went quiet.
Yan Yan chewed the small piece, swallowed it.
Hmph, if you were going to do this, why tease the bird earlier?
Birds shouldn’t eat salty food. To make up for it, Si Jingce had Yan Yan drink more water.
Once everything was settled, the man leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
He swore never to feed Yan Yan junk food again.
Feeling rested, Si Jingce finally reached for his phone that had been buzzing non-stop on the side.
As soon as he turned the screen on, a flood of messages left him stunned.
At that exact moment, a WeChat voice call exploded on the screen—
“Dude!!! Your bird turned on the livestream!!”
Yan Yan and Si Jingce looked toward the computer at the same time.
Si Jingce suddenly had a very bad feeling.
He jiggled the mouse, waking the screen from sleep.
The barrage of comments and gift effects filled the screen!
[Nice guy, evil bird.]
[Reporting this. Someone’s abusing a chick.]
[(Appears with a rose) Congratulations, handsome! You finally realized your livestream was running!]
[Came from the homepage banner—what’s this, a new pretty-boy streamer and pet streamer duo?]
Yan Yan’s eyes widened as he realized the dumb mistake he had made.
He had… accidentally turned on the stream!
The screen had flickered earlier, but he hadn’t paid attention.
That must’ve been when it happened…
Yan Yan quietly died inside.
At the same moment, Si Jingce awkwardly tried to cover his face with a snack bag.
Viewers: ?
We already saw everything. What’s the point of covering now?
With his face blocked, the man groped around the table with his right hand, finally finding the mouse.
He peeked one eye out, clicked a few times on the screen, and cleanly ended the stream.
Gone?!
Just like that?!
They weren’t even done watching!
Unsatisfied, viewers rushed to the playback, quickly clipping the best parts and spreading them across video platforms.
Lcberg had been streaming horror games for five years, providing countless walkthroughs for puzzle games, and had never revealed his face.
As one of Gem TV’s top streamers, speculation about his appearance popped up now and then.
Tonight’s stream had been highly anticipated.
No one expected him to reveal himself in such a dramatic way!
He was too good-looking—no, too funny!
While the internet erupted in chaos, a man and a bird stared at each other blankly in the study, the atmosphere eerily silent.
Si Jingce replayed the moment Yan Yan accidentally started the stream, watching it over and over.
When Yan Yan heard his own chirping from the phone, he couldn’t take it anymore and tried to fly off.
He was intercepted mid-air by Si Jingce.
The man picked up the tiny troublemaker, who gave up, closing his eyes and going limp in his palm.
[Ugh…]
The little bird choked: [Waaah—I really didn’t mean to——]
Si Jingce: …
If Yan Yan were human, he’d be the type to cry at everything, clingy and constantly following others around with red, puffy eyes.
Si Jingce flicked his feathers. “Alright, it’s not a big deal.”
The bird stopped chirping, though his feathers were wet from tears, and he was still sniffling.
It wasn’t a big deal, but the two of them had made a big mess.
Tonight’s livestream had been meticulously planned, with the official team prepared for his first face reveal, activities, and giveaways set to boost momentum.
But an accident happened.
The stream was turned on by mistake, throwing everything off.
Just moments ago, he’d seen his name climbing the trending topics.
Si Jingce showed no panic. He opened his contacts and found the staff member coordinating with him.
The messages had long been buried under the flood of notifications, but one long voice message stood out—
“HAHAHAHA bro, only you could pull this off—this stream was a hit! We didn’t even hire any bots yet and you’re already trending!!! You’re trending!!! Do you know how many advertisers are reaching out? You’re gonna make bank!!”
The staff nearly choked from laughing, coughing several times at the end.
Si Jingce pointed at the phone and said to Yan Yan, “See, told you it’s fine.”
He glanced at the list of incoming sponsorships sent by the staff.
Bird nests, bird cages…
All targeted at Yan Yan.
Finally, he opened the stream backend.
Even he raised an eyebrow at the earnings figure displayed.
Thirty minutes of streaming had nearly matched a full night’s worth from his peak days.
He lifted the bird and showed him the numbers. “This is how much you earned today.”
Yan Yan counted and saw five zeroes at the end.
“Chirp?”
The bird had no concept of money, staring at Si Jingce in confusion.
Si Jingce thought for a moment and finally came up with a way Yan Yan would understand. “I bought you for 400 yuan.”
He pointed to the screen. “This much money could buy 2,000 birds like you.”
Yan Yan: !
“These quotes came from the advertisers reaching out.” Si Jingce continued, “With this much money, you’d never run out of dehulled millet.”
Yan Yan: !!
The numbers on the screen seemed to transform into mountains of yellow millet, burying Yan Yan in joy.
“And it all belongs to you. You earned it.”
Great! No trouble caused after all.
Whether it was falling onto his new owner’s… big bird, or accidentally turning on the stream, Yan Yan had been terrified lately.
Now, he puffed out his snowy chest and stood by the food bowl, leaning against the little ceramic bird.
He wasn’t just a regular chick anymore!
He was a money-making chick!
The staff quickly adapted and proposed a new plan. They asked Si Jingce, “Based on the current situation, things are looking great. Would you consider continuing the stream while the momentum is hot?”
Si Jingce replied, “No overtime.”
Having worked with him long enough, they knew his personality. Embarrassed, they said, “Alright. But according to the backend data, your follower growth tonight surpassed previous peak rates. The results were astounding. Plus, there’s a new bird-watching variety show trending lately—looks like you’ve caught the wave.”
“Would you consider streaming tonight with your little bird?”
Before Si Jingce could say no, the bird flew onto his shoulder, wrapped his wings around Si Jingce’s neck, and shouted in his mind, “I’m in!”
As long as he made lots and lots of money, his new owner wouldn’t hand him off to someone else, OVO.
At 8 PM, lcberg’s originally scheduled stream time, the room still hadn’t opened.
Fans chatted in the public feed.
[Don’t tell me he streamed during the day and won’t stream at night?]
[The platform made an announcement, he’ll probably go live. Worst case, just a shorter stream.]
Just as that message drifted by, the screen lit up, and the camera switched on.
Si Jingce’s hair was neatly styled, and he was still wearing the same fitted sweatshirt from earlier.
Many noticed that there was now a small bird on his shoulder, with a cute beige bow bib tied across its camel-colored chest.
“We’re live.” Si Jingce said succinctly, pointing to the bird on his shoulder. “There’s going to be a new co-host in the stream… this guy.”
“His name is Si Yan Yan.”