Chapter 22
On the very day Mimi’s usual livestream ended, the account Global Fansite for Contestant No. 5 Yomi received a private message:
[Boss Crocodile, so here’s the thing—my brother suddenly lost it while watching the livestream not long ago, so I got curious and watched along with him… and I think I discovered something incredible—this person looks a lot like Yomi!]
After a few seconds of silence:
[Global Fansite for Contestant No. 5 Yomi: Well… to be honest, I was in that livestream too. I’ve heard his voice up close before, and that voice is completely the same person… But he’s wearing a hood and not showing his face, which clearly means he doesn’t want people paying attention to his personal information.]
[Wuwuwu, so I really guessed right! Boss, we finally found him!]
[Global Fansite for Contestant No. 5 Yomi: Don’t act rashly. Respect his wishes. People in the fan group are already guessing too, and they’re posting screen recordings from the livestream alongside Yomi’s videos for comparison. That would scare him… I’m going to post an announcement in the group later. Everyone can just follow him quietly. Absolutely do not make a fuss. We must pretend we don’t know he’s Yomi!]
Even if Yomi lived his whole life, he would never imagine that somewhere beyond his knowledge, not only did he have a fan group of his own, but under the leadership of the group owner, Meikai, everyone in that group would connect on video and solemnly swear an oath to one another:
[Respect Yomi, never expose him!]
[Any betrayer, once discovered, will be expelled from the group and forever forbidden from watching Yomi’s frame-by-frame commentary (P.S. the livestream commentary is not public and is shared only within this group)]
That night, Yomi found it hard to fall asleep.
Naturally, he was excited.
Even though the ending of the livestream had not gone too smoothly, seeing so many enthusiastic comments flying by in the barrage filled Yomi with endless expectations for the future.
Besides that, there was also that terrifyingly huge amount in gifted tips.
Having suddenly received such an enormous sum of money, he had absolutely no idea what to do with it. He even dreamed of all kinds of scenes where the money was taken back from him. In the dream, adults pointed at his head and accused him of cheating children out of their money, frightening him so badly that he had no idea what to do.
When he woke up and realized he was still perfectly fine, he finally let out a sigh of relief. But the money was still sitting there in the account. Thinking of that dream, Yomi did not even bother to wash up. With his hair sticking out like a bird’s nest, he opened his light-brain, found the top-ranking account on his list, and sent a private message to ask.
[Mimi’s Daily Life: Sorry, but let me ask one last time—is this really your own money? If it was impulse spending, I can return it to you.]
At the same moment he sent the message, the monster outside the little castle also lowered his eyes to look at his own light-brain.
[1234: Mm. My money. Also a lot of money. Can watch many of your livestreams. Don’t return it.]
Yomi was so startled his hands went weak.
[Mimi’s Daily Life: That’s not what I meant! Watching my livestream doesn’t require spending money, and your gift is far too valuable…]
Apparently afraid that the other party might have suddenly gotten carried away and spent all his savings, only to end up living the rest of his life in poverty, Yomi even specially dug up several cautionary news stories about ordinary people who had tipped huge amounts, spent all their savings, fallen out with family members, or even sunk into debt.
[1234: Can’t spend all savings. No family. Won’t fall out.]
Seeing the words “no family,” Yomi frowned slightly. In his mind appeared the image of an elderly person living alone after all their loved ones had passed away.
It was not his fault. In most people’s minds, if a young and wealthy mercenary were going to send extravagant gifts, everyone would naturally assume it was toward an attractive streamer, a skilled gaming host, or some well-known internet celebrity. But suddenly spending more than a million on a faceless tea-egg streamer who was not even showing his face and was also a newcomer, all from a default new account whose ID had not even been changed—no matter how one looked at it, it resembled an elderly person living alone, someone unfamiliar with the internet, someone who liked cooking and was not lacking in money, expressing their fondness for his tea-egg tutorial.
[Mimi’s Daily Life: Thank you, Yiyi.]
[1234: My name is not Yiyi.]
[Mimi’s Daily Life: Then change your ID. Otherwise I won’t know how to address you.]
There was no response from the other side for quite a while, as if the person were thinking.
[1234: My name cannot be used in an account.]
Yomi: So he actually thought he had to use his real name online… It really is an elderly person living alone!
[Mimi’s Daily Life: You don’t need to use your real name. Do you want to give yourself an online nickname instead?]
A few seconds later:
[1234: Okay. Want nickname.]
?
Did that mean he wanted Yomi to help him come up with one?
Yomi stared at those words, thought seriously for a while, and typed back.
[Mimi’s Daily Life: Louis. Would that name be okay?]
He was not very good at the naming styles on Sna Planet, but most people here used names that leaned more Western, so this very common Western name came to mind right away.
Common though it was, Yomi had actually put thought into it. The Yi in Yiyi matched the first number 1 in the other person’s old default account, didn’t it?
Yomi waited somewhat nervously for the other side’s response.
After all, it was his top supporter. He had no idea whether the other party might dislike how casual the name felt…
A short while later, the chat box showed that the other person had changed their ID.
[Louis: Like it. Like it. Like it…]
[Mimi’s Daily Life: ^-^]
After getting up and washing up, Yomi walked out of the little castle and cheerfully greeted the giant creature inside the bedroom: “Good morning, Your Highness Ansius.”
Yes, Ansius’s human-skin suit had broken again yesterday. Although there were spare suits available, perhaps because he realized that he had been damaging them much too frequently lately, he had temporarily stopped wearing one.
The enormous monster also seemed to be in an especially good mood. Without hesitation, he picked up little Yomi and carried him downstairs toward the dining room.
During his working hours at the estate, the conscientious Yomi did not often open his light-brain to surf the internet, which was why he failed to notice in time that he—and tea eggs—were already taking the whole web by storm.
#Mimi’sDailyLifeAndTeaEggs#
#ThisFoodStreamerIsNotOrdinary#
#LearningToCookEggsFromVideos#
[I boiled a whole pot last night, and they were really super delicious! I never imagined boiled eggs could smell this good!]
[So amazing soaked in vermicelli!]
[I put a tea egg in my daughter’s lunchbox because she hates eating. When she came home from school she cried and said she wanted another one tomorrow.]
[At first I thought this was just one of those wasteful weird livestreams, and now my face really hurts from how wrong I was!]
[My roommate, who never cooks, ate one of my tea eggs and now is rushing home after work to boil a batch herself.]
[I’ve watched the recording several times already. The streamer is so tiny and cute [inhales oxygen]]
[Is it just me, or have there been several trending topics lately about small-sized Snaran…? Is this some new trend?]
Just as this new streamer was setting off a tea-egg craze across Sna Planet, the account suddenly announced a heartbreaking piece of news that evening: Something came up this week, so there won’t be a livestream. See you next week.
The new fans who had been waiting to watch live wailed in misery.
The reason Yomi was not livestreaming was simple.
He was sick.
That day, while eating lunch with Ansius, he had already been feeling a little dizzy and fuzzy. By the afternoon, after leaning against the desk and writing for a while on the report about being taken care of by the Crown Prince, he gradually realized that something was really wrong.
When Yomi walked out of his little office and, with his face flushed red, told the monster processing documents that he wanted to take leave, the monster lifted his head—and in the next second scooped him up and charged out of the office.
Very quickly, Karl arrived in a panic together with a doctor.
The doctor could not enter the pink little castle, so for the sake of convenience in examining him, Yomi was carried by Ansius onto that huge bed.
Countless people stood at the bedside and outside the door, wheeling instruments back and forth.
The atmosphere was stiff.
The commotion was so great that Yomi, already aching all over, grew frightened. Especially when he saw the doctor’s grave and serious expression, his heart turned cold.
No wonder so many people had come. No wonder Ansius’s expression was so abnormal… He must have some serious illness.
He had no idea whether the money he had earned would be enough to treat it…
Just as Yomi’s chaotic thoughts had already run all the way to “If there aren’t enough hospital rooms, then I’ll just stay on a little bed in the hallway. I’m so small, I probably won’t take up anyone else’s space in the corridor, right?”, the doctor suddenly bent down and stuck a cooling patch to his forehead. “You have a fever. It’s seasonal blackbird flu. But it’s been a long time since any Snaran got a cold and fever from contact with blackbirds. Didn’t you get your blackbird vaccine when you were little?”
Yomi froze. His eyes had already gone misty from how upset he was, and because he could hardly believe it, his voice came out very small: “I didn’t get it… It’s not cancer?”
The doctor was stunned. Then he burst out laughing. “Why would it be cancer? I thought you were pressing your lips together and holding back tears because the injection hurt… Don’t worry! It’s just ordinary blackbird flu. Once you take the medicine and your fever comes down, you’ll be fine. After you recover, I’ll come back and give you the vaccine.”
Yomi choked out his thanks. He did not have a serious disease. He would not need to painfully seek medical treatment, spend all his savings, or even borrow money… Right now, he was simply too happy.
The doctor had originally been following routine procedure, but looking at the tiny patient on the bed—cute like a doll—and especially at those tear-filled eyes that still contained a smile, his heart suddenly began pounding. He quickly turned away and began telling Secretary Karl all the things they needed to pay attention to.
The monster’s face had gone pale, but his ears were pricked up, listening with extreme seriousness.
After the doctor left, Ansius immediately drove everyone else away. Sitting at the bedside, he rubbed and wrung out the towel with both claws, then carefully wiped away the sweat on the sickly little person lying there.
The fever would not come down that quickly. Yomi was so muddled from the heat that his consciousness was blurry, and his entire body felt weak. Turning his head to look at the giant creature painstakingly caring for him, he gave a weak smile. “Thank you.”
The sharp claws that could split wild beasts in half paused for a moment in the air, then resumed wringing out the towel and gently pressed it against his cheek.
In his hazy state, Yomi seemed to hear the monster make two rough, hoarse sounds before slowly speaking:
“Mimi.”
“Mimi.”
Yomi did not wake again until the evening. The monster had not left. He was still sitting by the bedside, looking at him.
From time to time, cool claws lightly touched his cheek.
“I feel much better now,” Yomi said hoarsely. Then almost by instinct, he glanced at his light-brain. During this period, Lynn had sent him many messages, asking whether the streamer on the trending topics was him.
[Lynn: Aaaaahhhh, it has to be you, right? That’s amazing! I feel like I’m dreaming…]
Yomi had never intended to hide it from Lynn. Happily, he chatted briefly with him. Only after Lynn reminded him did he belatedly realize that his follower count had actually grown to nearly seven figures.
Even though his fever had already gone down, he suddenly felt dizzy again. It took him a long while to confirm that this was not a dream.
His side job had succeeded.
In his private messages, many fans were asking when he would stream again. Naturally, more and more talent agencies also wanted to sign him.
Yomi ignored those agency messages. Considering his current physical condition, he wrote an announcement telling everyone the time of his next livestream.
Now that he was sick, other than recovering, he also had to think about how to deal with the problem of wild birds causing trouble outdoors.
After posting the announcement, he told Lynn about his illness.
Lynn, worried, immediately called. Only after hearing that someone was taking care of him did he finally relax a little.
Ansius fed him dinner that night. Beyond that, he did not even let Yomi brush his own teeth.
When it was time for bed, Yomi planned to return to his little castle. But Ansius was not at ease, so without a word he carried the small bed out of the little castle and placed it directly on top of his own large bed. At a glance, it hardly took up any space at all
Yomi could only lie down on it in embarrassment.
Originally, Yomi had planned to continue his “experimental work” with the Crown Prince the very next day, but Ansius refused to allow it. Still, afraid that Yomi would get bored lying in bed all day, after arranging for the doctor to come give him his vaccine, he somehow produced a wheelchair from who knew where. That wheelchair was perfectly fine for a giant Snaran to sit in, but for Yomi, it was basically a mobile bed.
The wheelchair had been padded soft and fluffy all over, and the Yomi who had gone as soft as a mattress after getting sick lay on it while Ansius pushed him to the garden every day to bask in the sun.
Yomi felt that he was now being taken care of almost like a baby. At first, he had been unable to accept it calmly, but very quickly he surrendered completely before the wonderfulness of sunlight.
Under those sunbaths, he almost always yawned comfortably and drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, he would first touch the little ram horns on his head to make sure they had not fallen off, then lift his chin and instinctively sniff the floral fragrance in the air, then open his eyes and murmur to the giant creature before him, “Good morning, Your Highness Ansius.”
Even though, most of the time, it was already evening.
Yomi’s pace of life slowed down because he was recovering from illness, but the internet would never stop updating with new events just because of anything.
#PrinceJosephIsAboutToJoinANewVarietyShow#
#ItsOkayToBeDifferentOfficialAccountLaunched#
#BoldNewVarietyShowStartsOnlineAudienceVotingForGuests—CastYourVoteForYourIdealGuestNow#
The internet onlookers rushed over to the official account to watch the excitement, only to find that among the top three in the expected-guest rankings, none of them were the celebrities they had imagined.
First place: Contestant No. 5, Yomi
Second place: Mimi’s Daily Life
Third place: Little Music Box Baby
Comments section:
[I can understand the second one being the new streamer—after all, he suddenly gained a million real followers and just happened to show up at the right time with influence—but what on earth are the first and third places? I’ve never even heard of them.]
[Go search for videos of Contestant No. 5 crawling the cave and rescuing people, thanks!]
[Mimi’s Daily Life was originally in first place. Apparently his antis, in order to stop him from topping the ranking, mobilized everyone to vote for ordinary-person Yomi instead, and ended up pushing that guy to first place. It’s honestly so funny.]
[Ah, so now he already has antis.]
[You haven’t seen the gossip. Those people are convinced Mimi’s Daily Life used miniaturization special effects and bribed the site moderators to cheat, and they think he doesn’t deserve the position.]
[Uh…]
[Those antis are sick! Mimi’s Daily Life is Yomi! Yesterday I analyzed the original videos frame by frame all night, and I’m sure even the lines on Mimi’s hands match the lines on Contestant No. 5’s hands exactly!!! Wait, I’ll post the evidence…]
[Whoa, the one above, stop right there! I’ll pull you into the fan group to talk.]
[???]
[Stop spreading rumors. My friend saw Contestant No. 5 Yomi a few days ago in some tiny, dirt-poor wasteland. He already couldn’t survive out here and went back to his hometown!]
[Wuwuwu, is that true? I really like that sweetie from the cave-crawling competition. I can’t accept this!]
[That person is the one making things up, don’t believe them!]
[Don’t drag Mimi into this. I’m still waiting for him to stream!]
…
Three days later, while the comment section under that official account was still in complete chaos, Mimi’s Daily Life went live.
