Chapter 23
For a while, all kinds of people flooded into the livestream at once—those there for gossip, those waiting to see what would happen, fans of the variety show’s already-confirmed guests, Mimi Daily’s new fans, and even Mimi Daily’s haters.
This was Mimi Daily’s first stream after suddenly vanishing for a whole week right after going explosively viral, and it just so happened to coincide with the peak popularity of the voting on the official account of Being Different Is Fine Too. Whether they knew the streamer or not, everyone wanted to come join in the excitement.
So, for a new streamer like Mimi Daily, the second official livestream climbed to the number one spot on the popularity rankings within just a few minutes of starting.
This time, Yomi was streaming from a different place than before. He was indoors—or, to be exact, inside his pink little castle.
Ever since he got sick, Anxius had ordered the servants to place sprays that black birds hated all around the estate. So choosing to stream indoors this time was not because the last sneak attack had left behind a psychological shadow, but because… Anxius was not home today!
Hehe~
Anxius had returned to the royal family early that morning. Supposedly, he had to attend a banquet and would not be back until evening, so Yomi was free to move around as he pleased today.
After all, it was the Crown Prince’s room. Other than specifically assigned servants, no one dared enter the bedroom casually, and even the servants only came in once during cleaning.
Yomi deliberately waited until the servant had finished cleaning before he started making his move. He shut the bedroom door, returned to the castle, locked the castle gate from the inside, and prepared to stream.
He had thought about today’s stream content for a long time. Originally, he wanted to make stinky tofu, but after another thought, he realized that even in his original world, plenty of people could not accept that kind of food. If he suddenly made it in front of Snarans when they had absolutely no psychological preparation, the effect might not be good. It might even make everyone start doubting tea eggs too…
After careful consideration, Yomi decided it was still better to proceed steadily and cautiously!
Since everyone already thought of him as the tea-egg streamer, he should first continue doing the tea-egg content well.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Mimi Daily. Welcome to my livestream!” The little figure wearing a cartoon lamb headpiece and an apron spoke stiffly to the camera. “Today I’ll be choosing examples from private messages where people failed to make tea eggs and correcting them. I hope that in the future everyone will be able to make delicious tea eggs successfully!”
[You’re finally streaming again, waaah! I waited for you for so long!]
[Hardworking Octopus: Streamer, keep it up! You’re the best!]
[“Future General Who Ran Away From Home” entered the livestream]
[Did I just see who I think I saw? Isn’t this the top donor of several huge streamers in the interstellar warship category?]
[Probably just someone with the same ID. That big shot normally only watches military streams. How could he suddenly come watch tea eggs?]
[I just clicked into his homepage… not the same name, holy crap!]
[Crocodile Is Not a Fish gifted the streamer Little Starship x1]
[Crocodile Is Not a Fish: The streamer is currently explaining common mistakes in making tea eggs. Please pay attention to the streamer.]
[Who are you? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were the room moderator. Do you even know who that big shot is? If you don’t, go look up the amount he’s tipped in the past. The platform practically treats him like a VIP. If he’s willing to enter this stream, it’s the streamer’s good fortune!]
[Future General Who Ran Away From Home gifted the streamer Private Planet x10]
[Future General Who Ran Away From Home: I searched for so long T-T… it’s my good fortune]
[Damn, as expected of a boss. Just casually entering a stream and immediately dropping a hundred thousand star coins! Why aren’t you little fans kneeling and licking boots already?]
[Uh, if someone didn’t know better, they’d think you were the one sending the gifts. Before you start bragging, maybe check who the streamer’s top donor actually is first? (Friendly reminder: before this, the streamer had only officially gone live once.)]
[Future General Who Ran Away From Home gifted the streamer Private Planet x100]
[My eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, right?]
[…How much?]
[Oh my god, are they fighting to become the top donor?]
[The top donor has now changed from Louis to this Future General. Just who exactly is this streamer? Only two streams so far, and still hasn’t shown their face… is this really not the agency gifting to itself?]
[If you were talking about that Louis, maybe. But this Future General—what streamer in the warship category doesn’t know him? Who are you trying to make laugh by saying he’s agency staff?]
[Those of you who just said the current top donor was more impressive—come out and take a look now at who the top donor is.]
[Future General Who Ran Away From Home: Bro, stop arguing. You can insult me, but don’t insult the streamer. I’m a fan too!]
[???]
[Big bro, you’re the top donor. You don’t have to humble yourself this much, do you?]
[At this point I’m starting to think those forum posts guessing the streamer is some young aristocratic master are true.]
[You tell me which noble in the main city is this tiny?]
[Uh…]
Large numbers of viewers poured in, and the comments refreshed at lightning speed. Streaming alone, Yomi had no way to catch every bit of information in time. But the flashy effects from huge gifts were naturally impossible to miss.
While reading out IDs to thank them, he followed the steps in his notebook and continued with the work in front of him.
“This method is wrong. After the eggs are boiled, you need to use a spoon to crack the shells. That way the flavor can soak in better!”
[Okay okay, I want Teacher Mimi’s spoon to tap me too]
[Louis entered the livestream]
Suddenly, the screen froze for a moment.
[Louis gifted the streamer Private Planet x100]
As the effects exploded, it felt like the comments were about to explode too.
[Has everyone gone crazy?]
[I’m so excited, it feels like a fight is about to break out]
[So much money. Even though it’s not mine, watching it still feels amazing]
[Other people do streamer-versus-streamer PK. Here it’s top donor versus second-place donor PK?]
[Even though Louis hasn’t said a single word, I can already feel the gunpowder coming off him…]
[This big bro’s inner thoughts right now: I’m taking back the number-one spot that belongs to me!]
In front of the camera, Yomi had already developed the habit of thanking people by their ID the moment he saw a gift effect. When he got to the name “Louis,” he still had not reacted yet, lowered his head and continued explaining for another couple of lines, then suddenly seemed to realize something and jerked his head up. “Louis… you’re here?”
That was close—just now he had almost called him Grandpa Louis.
Inside the palace banquet, glasses clinked and wine flowed.
Almost the moment Anxius stepped into the banquet hall, he noticed the notification that a specially followed streamer had gone live.
The banquet had long since begun. Dukes and Joseph were chatting with smiles, and when they raised their wine glasses, wanting to find the Crown Prince and exchange a few pleasantries, they could not find him no matter how they looked.
Those people all had ulterior motives to begin with. They believed that Anxius, now disabled and prone to physiological loss of control, could not remain Crown Prince for much longer. With the sovereign’s tacit permission, some had long since secretly begun standing on the side of Prince Joseph, who in the public eye had an excellent image and was deeply favored by the Emperor.
Now, seeing the Crown Prince disappear in such an unusual way, they kept their expressions calm on the surface, but in their hearts all suspected that the Crown Prince had sensed this dangerous imbalance and had begun to lose control in anger.
Some feared that the Crown Prince might erupt and cause chaos, and found excuses to leave the banquet. Others loved watching the fun and were extremely eager for this unfortunate Crown Prince to show a disheveled side as soon as possible, so that the struggle for the succession could fully surface and everything might come to a complete end.
They imagined that this unusual behavior by the Crown Prince would trigger a struggle for power and a reversal of status. Even if they died, they would never have guessed that Crown Prince Anxius was at this very moment on the top floor watching a livestream with complete concentration…
On the screen, Yomi in the cartoon headpiece looked even more like a doll. He carefully corrected each mistaken method step by step. His hands, white as porcelain, had long since been stained light brown by the tea eggs. Every now and then, the little figure would touch the headpiece, and before long, a round brown thumbprint had appeared by the mouth area of the snow-white oversized head.
The little figure noticed it and immediately put on a clean pair of gloves for himself.
[He looks like a baby who forgot to wipe their mouth after eating!]
[Those little gloves are so cute. They remind me of my big cat’s white paws]
[Louis gifted the streamer Baby Face-Wiping Towel x1]
[Ahhh this gift is so timely and so cute! I want to send one too!]
[Little Mimi, I’m begging you, please do livestream selling. I want to eat the tea eggs you make!]
Yomi had already carefully gone through most of the incorrect steps, and at this point he was tired, so he moved over a high stool and sat down.
He washed his hands clean, reached both hands into the headpiece to wipe his face, and then prepared to answer everyone’s questions in real time.
Adjusting the camera, he placed both hands on the tabletop and sat side by side with the little cat doll, like a good student in class. “If everyone still has questions, you can ask me now.”
[That one, that one! The camera shook just now, and I think I saw a bedroom outside the window? Also, the potted plant in that bedroom is way too huge, isn’t it?]
[The person above is obviously a new fan. Mimi Daily is really just that small! Do you know that little masked music-box darling from Exchange Lives? The streamer is probably about the same size as that person]
[From the streamer’s perspective, I almost thought I’d entered a world of giants…]
Just as the comments were refreshing merrily, a new one appeared very abruptly.
[Joseph: You’re the one from the music box, right? Your current residence looks very nice. Are you working there now? [smile]]
Yomi paused.
[Hardworking Octopus: Streamer, I want to know exactly which spices go into the tea eggs. I was at work earlier and didn’t get to watch carefully]
[Crocodile Is Not a Fish: +1, I forgot too!]
Yomi knew the octopus account belonged to Lynn. He was pushing that person’s comment offscreen to help him out.
Yomi quickly took out the spices and pointed them out one by one to tell everyone which ones were needed. Right at that moment, a new private message notification suddenly popped up.
[Louis: requesting room moderator permissions]
Yomi was a little surprised. Being a room moderator was basically like serving as the streamer’s assistant, real work that required effort.
But then he thought the other party probably only wanted the permission and title, so without much thought, he agreed right away.
After dealing with that, he introduced the spices again. Then Yomi stood up and asked everyone to wait a moment, because he needed to go to the bathroom first.
When he came back, he saw that the private message page had another new message.
[Louis: Don’t look at the comments for the next thirty seconds.]
Thirty seconds had already long since passed.
Yomi looked at the comments. At that moment, there was not a single nasty one left. Within those brief few minutes, Louis had muted the accounts that were insulting people or making snide remarks, and had even kicked out the second-place donor, “Future General Who Ran Away From Home”!
Yomi could not believe it. Scrolling up, he discovered that before getting kicked, the account had posted the name of a bathhouse.
Yomi knew that bathhouse. It was the same one where he had used his bath voucher to bathe and get his hair cut…
Louis assumed that comment meant the person was harassing him, and kicked him out directly.
That move caused a huge uproar in the livestream.
[Has he gone insane? First time I’ve ever seen a moderator dare kick the second-place donor… the guy spent over a million star coins!]
[It’s not just kicking the second-place donor—it’s the number-one donor kicking the number-two donor! When the streamer sees this after coming back, they’ll probably be scared to death!]
Louis’s reply was concise and powerful.
[Louis: The full amount of the gifts has already been transferred back to him]
[…So this is what money-power looks like? I’ve learned something today!]
[The top donor was obviously helping the streamer reject something ugly on their behalf. What did that weird guy mean by posting the name of some bathhouse? Was he trying to arrange offline sexual harassment? So disgusting!]
[Wait, but if I remember correctly, this Future General guy is usually pretty polite. He doesn’t even normally watch face-value streams. He shouldn’t be some creepy pervert, right? Besides, the streamer hasn’t even shown their face…]
A few seconds later—
[Alt Account of Future General Who Ran Away From Home entered the livestream]
[???]
[Alt Account of Future General Who Ran Away From Home: Teacher Mimi! I’ve been wronged! I’m really not a sex pest. I just wanted to remind you that we met before in the hot spring area of that bathhouse! Louis, stop kicking me already, and don’t return the money either. Those were gifts I offered to Teacher Mimi. Don’t be such a busybody! I am clean and innocent!]
[…I’m speechless]
[The sickest number-one and number-two donors I’ve ever seen]
[If you want to fight, go fight outside. Don’t affect us watching the stream!]
Yomi thought carefully and finally remembered the red-haired man with shark-like features he had met in the bathhouse… so it was him? But how had he recognized him when he was wearing a headpiece?
Yomi had no idea that Jinwen had been searching for him all over the place lately. Since Meikai had been able to recognize him from his voice, then naturally Jinwen, who had been desperately searching for many days, could recognize him too.
Perhaps in order to ease the streamer’s helplessness on the screen, Louis—who had always been serving as an iron-blooded, emotionless room moderator—sent a comment. And once he started, he sent countless lines.
[Louis: Don’t be scared, don’t be scared, don’t be scared…]
In an instant, the whole screen was almost covered by the top donor’s repeated don’t be scared, don’t be scared.
Moderator Louis performed his duties with the utmost seriousness, because immediately afterward, several more troublemaking accounts received the mute package!
Everyone collapsed laughing: what was this, some kind of childcare soothing session?
Fortunately, the atmosphere in the comments soon returned to normal.
[Crocodile Is Not a Fish: Teacher Mimi is so tiny, it’s really not easy for him. Please don’t use malicious language]
[Not easy, truly not easy. One single tea-egg stream and he became a legend across the whole platform!]
[Our Mimi is a genius streamer!]
[Protect the streamer. Refuse exaggerated praise that sets him up!]
[Teacher Mimi’s strength really is just this powerful. Even if he wants to stay low-key, that’s hard too]
[Hardworking Octopus: One minute on stage takes ten years of hard work off stage. You all simply can’t see how much effort and preparation the streamer put in privately!]
[Crying for Teacher Mimi]
[What Teacher Mimi? He’s clearly a little lambie!]
…
In Building A of XX Tower, inside the director’s office—
Kurt opened the fan group for contestant number five, Yomi, and went through the frame-by-frame commentary of the first livestream all over again.
Yes, Kurt was one of the first people to sneak into the fan group as “Squid Shreds.”
“Squid Shreds” was the self-given fandom name Yomi’s fans had chosen for themselves.
Mimi Daily being Yomi’s news was something he naturally knew as well, since he had sworn the same oath as the other fans… but so what? Yomi had already rejected him. It was impossible for him to appear on the variety show.
Although Kurt’s heart ached, he very seriously analyzed the reason. Since Yomi was willing to livestream, that meant he was not especially averse to appearing in the public eye. Then the most likely reason he rejected the invitation was that the company had previously done disgraceful things. The malicious editing in variety shows had probably made him wary.
But Kurt could not make the decisions himself. If he had his way, he would rather shoot it like a documentary! He had a hunch that even if they simply dropped Yomi somewhere at random, even without any other guests, and just filmed his three meals a day, the ratings would still be excellent!
It was not fan-filter bias. Yomi was just genuinely cute!
Now Kurt took a breath, opened Mimi Daily’s livestream room, gritted his teeth, and tried one final struggle.
This time, he was going to be an ordinary passerby who guided public opinion.
[Tunnel-Burrowing Enthusiast entered the livestream]
[Tunnel-Burrowing Enthusiast joined Mimi Daily’s fan club!]
[Tunnel-Burrowing Enthusiast gifted the streamer Private Planet x1]
[Wow, another Private Planet!]
[Teacher Mimi’s fans are just this rich!]
Yomi hurriedly read the ID aloud to thank them, then immediately reminded everyone to spend responsibly.
[Tunnel-Burrowing Enthusiast: “Teacher Mimi, I found out about you through the voting on the official account for Being Different. I looked into that variety show, and it seems pretty fun. Would you like to join? You might even make some new friends. I heard there’s even a Snaran who’s 1.8 meters tall on the show—someone the production team worked really hard to find outside the main city~”]
[The person above must be a plant from that variety show, right? If you’re going to guide public opinion this blatantly, don’t copy other people and pretend you know how]
[Tunnel-Burrowing Enthusiast: …]
[Exactly, exactly. What do you even mean? If our Mimi doesn’t go on that crappy show, then he can’t make friends?]
[Not to be rude, but that person’s not wrong either. With the streamer’s tiny build, finding a partner in the main city is really difficult! Even being outrageously good-looking won’t help. The size gap is just too huge. It’d still be better to find someone of the same kind. And who knows? That 1.8-meter one might even be the streamer’s fellow villager!]
[True. There are just too few Snarans of that size. At least I’ve never seen one in the main city…]
[Louis: Shut up!]
[Top donor big bro, you…?]
[What partner or no partner? Our Mimi doesn’t need one!]
[Wait, how did that person just now know internal guest information? As far as I know, the official account hasn’t even made the lineup public yet, right?]
[Didn’t we already say he’s a plant? He’s definitely internal staff!]
[Actually, that variety show does look pretty interesting. If the streamer joined, then you fans could also see him often, right? That’s a good thing, isn’t it?]
[Huh? That… actually does sound true…]
Yomi had been talking enough that he was thirsty, so he turned his head to pick up his cup. He slipped the straw under the headpiece, but in the blink of an eye, the direction of the comments had shifted again.
[Tunnel-Burrowing Enthusiast: I’m a single mother. I originally felt life had no hope at all, but one day I accidentally saw Teacher Mimi’s livestream. Teacher Mimi became famous in one stream, and that reignited my hope for life! Since then, every day I’ve looked forward to Teacher Mimi going live, and on the days he doesn’t stream, I rewatch his recordings again and again. If I could see what he looks like in his daily life, I could die without regrets!]
[…Are you sick in the head? If you’re going to steer public opinion, could you at least change accounts? Just now you were saying you learned about Teacher Mimi through the official voting account, and now suddenly you’re a single mother who accidentally stumbled into the stream?]
[Tunnel-Burrowing Enthusiast exited the livestream]
[Tunnel-Burrower11 entered the livestream]
[Tunnel-Burrower11: I’m a widowed father who lost his wife…]
[Get lost! You think changing your name means people won’t recognize you anymore?]
Yomi found the person too funny and could not help it. Supporting the headpiece with his hand, he let out two little huffing laughs.
[Wow! Teacher Mimi’s laugh is so adorable!]
[Hehe, like a little lamb going meeeh…]
[Louis: Like like]
[By the way, Teacher Mimi is currently second place in the vote for most-anticipated guest. The production team will definitely invite him. Teacher Mimi, are you really not considering it? I’m actually looking forward to it]
Yomi froze and lowered his head without speaking.
[Kuku: It doesn’t matter if Teacher Mimi doesn’t participate. I can still hope contestant number five will join! I was originally unemployed, drowning myself in alcohol every day after a breakup. Later I saw number five fighting through the competition and rescuing someone, and that scene ignited the fire of hope inside me. After that I applied to join a rescue team and opened a new chapter in my life. If I get to see him on the show, I’ll call all my relatives and neighbors to watch together]
[The wording upstairs feels kind of familiar…]
[Crocodile Not Fish: To be fair, Teacher Mimi also changed my life. Ever since I learned how to make tea eggs by following Teacher Mimi, my daily street stall has been making so much money my hands go soft just collecting it. My friend and I have already decided to save up enough to open a shop! Teacher Mimi’s figure will accompany me for life and keep me from being cowardly ever again!]
[? The first part sounded reasonable, but what’s with “not being cowardly anymore”? What kind of forced thematic message is that? How are those related?]
“Crocodile Is Not a Fish” unusually did not send any further comments.
Yet after that, whether because of herd mentality or because it became a meme, the comments one by one all started telling “My Story With Teacher Mimi.”
[Alt Account of Future General Who Ran Away From Home: I am a puppet controlled by my parents! Teacher Mimi is my spiritual mentor! One sentence from him made me completely understand the direction of life! I pray to my ancestors that Teacher Mimi will join this show!]
[You already ran away from home. Your ancestors aren’t going to answer your prayers!]
[Please let the streamer join. I really want to see just how tiny the streamer is in front of that group of normal-sized people!]
Yomi was not very familiar with internet memes, and for the moment he could not tell whether the comments were sincere or joking. But after seeing a few especially well-written ones, he was unexpectedly moved and actually began to hesitate.
At that moment, one new comment caught his attention.
[I’m in the industry, and I can guarantee this show’s ratings definitely won’t be low. Do you know where the first episode is being filmed? Leia Continent! The production team has already gotten the permit!]
[?!]
[Fake, right? I don’t believe it!]
Every Snaran knew about Leia Continent. Even Yomi, an outsider human, knew a little about it.
It was an uninhabited forbidden land on Snar Star, with an extremely harsh environment, and without official approval only soldiers were allowed to enter.
Aside from being dangerous, this place had one especially notable characteristic:
It could stimulate the awakening of abilities!
[I-Is it the Leia Continent I know? The place where even a wild dog awakened an ability and later became an interstellar military dog?]
[That’s a bit exaggerated. Before it became forbidden land, thousands upon thousands of Snarans went there by reputation, and only a few actually awakened abilities. I even suspect those people were already on the verge of awakening anyway, and it just happened to occur while they were there]
[Leia Continent may not guarantee ability awakening, but it definitely does have a stimulating effect. That wild dog is an example]
Yomi’s heart began pounding wildly.
In order to read the comments more clearly, he almost pressed the headpiece directly against the camera, urgently staring at the information about Leia Continent—especially the one about the wild dog. His eyes widened round, and at the same time he lowered his head to search the relevant keywords…
It was true!
Which meant that although the probability was even lower than winning the lottery, on Leia Continent, even species other than Snarans might possibly awaken special powers!
Yomi was completely tempted. He immediately jumped down from the high stool, took out his notebook to glance over the flow of the stream, and began doing a fan giveaway. Then he turned and went to get the cat dolls he had ordered online over the past few days.
It was the shop link he had asked Karl for while he was sick. After discovering that many viewers liked his doll, Yomi had bought dozens of them to use as giveaway prizes.
All of those dolls were stuffed inside the castle now. He turned around and carried over two of them to show everyone. They were beautifully packaged, and the plastic wrap was still perfectly intact.
[Oh my god, when he carries the dolls, he wiggles from side to side!]
[Awww, carrying just two little cat dolls is already wearing Teacher Mimi out!]
[I can’t take it. My younger sister has the exact same doll and hugs it to sleep every night, but the streamer is struggling so much just to carry it… how tiny is he really?]
Panting, Yomi set down the dolls. “Has everyone entered the giveaway?”
[Entered, entered!]
[I don’t want the cat doll, I want Teacher Mimi!]
[How bold!]
After the giveaway ended, Yomi waved and ended the stream.
There were servants in the estate specifically responsible for handling package deliveries, but what Yomi did not know was that before he arrived, the estate had never accepted deliveries at all. After all, the Crown Prince’s things were all specially delivered by designated personnel. Why would he need package delivery?
The servants responsible for packages had a grouping name in Karl’s records:
Yomi Package Receiving and Sending Team.
After asking people to send out the giveaway prizes, Yomi even very thoughtfully tiptoed up with his wallet to offer them some tips, but none of them accepted. They simply gazed at him kindly for a moment, smiled, and left.
Once he had taken care of the giveaway gifts from the livestream, it was only four in the afternoon. There was still plenty of time, so Yomi went to Anxius’s study, went in, then opened his own small door inside and stepped through carrying his notebook.
Yomi sat at the desk and imitated Anxius’s usual work posture, holding the notebook with a solemn expression while thinking deeply.
The notebook was full of all the advantages of Leia Continent.
If… if he could awaken an ability, then he could go to the Imperial Academy.
Even if he took ten thousand steps back, a human with superpowers would surely be safer in this place than an ordinary human.
Yomi clenched his fists and furrowed his brows. Just as he was concentrating, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
Just like in modern society, where everyone had mobile phones but still also kept office phones on their desks, Yomi’s desk naturally had a work phone as well.
Yomi picked up the receiver, his eyes still on the notebook. “Hello, this is the Empire’s Little Darling Office. Please speak.”
“…” There was no sound from the other side.
“No signal…” Yomi muttered, taking the receiver away to look at it, then pressing it back to his ear. That was when he heard a familiar voice.
“It’s me, Karl!” Karl hurriedly answered on Anxius’s behalf from the other side, though inwardly he felt completely broken.
He had no choice but to answer for him. The Crown Prince had been so overwhelmed by that line from a moment ago that he had literally reverted to his original form, and was now hissing and panting while staring back and forth at the tiny figure on the estate surveillance monitor, practically on the verge of licking the screen…
Not at all like the imperial Crown Prince he was supposed to be!
“So it’s you,” Yomi said. He had been looking for Karl anyway. “What is it?”
“Ah, it’s like this. The banquet His Highness attended has already ended, and we’re preparing to return to the estate. We wanted to ask whether there is any gift you’d like us to bring you?” Karl wiped his sweat.
“Thank you, but no need. I already have everything.” As he spoke, Yomi grew worried again. “Um… actually, I have something I want to discuss with you.”
“Please say it!”
“There’s a variety show that wanted to invite me after the tunnel-burrowing competition. It seems like they’d need to film for two or three days a week… Can I go?” Yomi was asking for permission.
Karl immediately looked toward Anxius. By now, Anxius had already calmed down and was nodding.
Karl smiled. “His Highness says that is completely fine. Which program is it?”
He wanted to watch it too!
Yomi froze, completely unprepared for things to go so smoothly, then grinned. “It’s Being Different Is Fine Too. I’ll go tell the director first.”
“No rush. We’ll arrange that matter for you. That way, it’ll also be easier to adjust your work schedule.”
“Okay!”
That very same day, the production team of Being Different Is Fine Too welcomed a guest they had never expected.
No matter what, Kurt could not have imagined that Crown Prince Anxius—known as the “God of War”—would personally request to participate in this reality show initiated by Prince Joseph.
And he ordered the production team to change the format into a livestream, strictly forbidding staff from controlling the direction of the show.
The changes were enormous. After some brief back-and-forth, Kurt watched as the boss hurriedly called Joseph’s office… but judging from the boss’s expression by the end, there was clearly no way for that side to reverse the situation.
After all, he was the Crown Prince. No matter how unconvinced Joseph might feel, he would not dare openly challenge him.
And for the heir apparent to participate in a show—this was no small matter.
If they dared not disobey Joseph’s words, then the Crown Prince’s demands were something they had to carry out even if they thought it impossible, let alone something as simple as just changing the format.
At the same time, after hanging up the phone, secretary Jim looked at Joseph worriedly. “Your Highness, it isn’t good for the Crown Prince to suddenly become involved.”
Joseph sat by the window, playing with a music box. “What’s not good about it? If an accident happens and the imperial Crown Prince’s secret gets leaked, it won’t be anyone else’s fault.”
Jim paused and understood what he meant.
The fact that Anxius was disabled had never leaked out—not because Joseph was merciful, of course.
If an ordinary minister leaked the secret of the heir apparent, that was a crime punishable by death. And Joseph had even less reason to do it himself. If that fact were mysteriously spread, then even if Joseph had not done it, everyone would still suspect the Crown Prince’s one and only rival.
The Crown Prince’s disability would not remain a secret forever. But Joseph absolutely could not let people know about it rashly before he was fully prepared. That would only harm himself.
But now this disabled Anxius actually wanted to join a reality show?
Had he panicked himself senseless?
And it was going to be live-streamed. If anything went wrong, and sharp-eyed viewers noticed the disability…
Then when that time came, no one else could be blamed.
The more Jim thought about it, the more it really did seem like heaven was helping them.
He gradually felt reassured, until the next morning when he got up and saw the production team’s new notice. The entire person turned to stone:
“The Crown Prince is going to participate in his original form… What is this nonsense?! Is this some kind of joke?!”
#Being Different Is Fine Too is changing to a livestream format!#
#The wildly popular new streamer Mimi Daily is joining the variety show!#
A livestream reality show did not leave much room for manipulation, and this livestream reality show also had both a prince and a faceless popular streamer participating, so naturally it aroused enormous curiosity among netizens.
[Why did they suddenly change the format? What exactly happened in between?]
[Teacher Mimi is participating? Seriously? Don’t just bait people like this!]
[Not only did it change into a livestream, I heard the schedule was also changed from the original two or three days of filming to a full week of livestreaming per episode… things won’t be boring anymore!]
#Being Different Is Fine Too officially announces its guest lineup!#
@OfficialAccountOfBeingDifferentIsFineToo: First stop: Leia Continent. We’re about to depart!
Group A: Prince Joseph, Jinwen, Mark, Arno, Andri
Group B: Yomi / Mimi Daily, Monde, Arlo, Jane, Louis
The comments section exploded.
[…Oh my god, there really is Teacher Mimi? Now we can finally see Mimi’s true face. I’m so excited]
[Amazing. They really invited both of the top two in the voting]
[!! It’s not that they invited both, it’s the same person. Didn’t you see the slash in the middle?]
[What?!]
[The person upstairs, be a little gentler. Even though all Yomi’s fans know Mimi Daily is Yomi, a lot of people here are just random passersby]
[? Am I crazy, or has the whole world gone crazy?]
[Where are the Mimi Daily haters who pushed Yomi to first place? [poking head out to look]]
[There are ten guests on this program, split into two groups of five. Group A is the prince, a marshal’s son, a film emperor, a painter, and a camp general—all guests of high and noble status. So obviously Group B is the “different” in the show title, right?]
[Am I the only one who thinks Group B’s Louis looks kind of familiar? Feels like Mimi Daily’s top donor…]
[Very obviously just someone with the same name!]
[Wait, why are contestant number five Yomi’s fans so calm? Don’t tell me that little music-box darling was also him!]
[That’s right. Join Yomi’s global fan group to get first-hand frame-by-frame commentary!]
[I don’t believe it. This must be some publicity stunt by the production team! If I don’t see the face, I’ll never believe it!]
[Haters, put down your weapons and surrender quickly. You’ve already been surrounded by our Teacher Mimi!]
Inside the pink little castle, Yomi, who was scrolling through his optical brain, also looked stunned.
…Louis?
It could not be that mercenary Louis he knew, right?
No! Yomi immediately shook his head. Probably not. Louis was only an online name. If someone was participating in a variety show, people generally used their real names…
Sigh. Looks like Louis really was just an easy name to duplicate.
Yomi had signed the contract with the production team yesterday. He already had a rough understanding of the first episode’s content. It was more or less about living on Leia Continent for a week and completing missions, something like wilderness survival.
As for the more specific tasks, he would only know after arriving there.
Yomi was not afraid. After all, it was still a variety show. There would definitely be appropriate safety measures, so security should not be an issue. At worst, he might suffer a little, but he was not afraid of hardship.
Before the program began, Yomi packed his things in advance. After letting Karl know, he left the estate over the weekend and arranged to meet Lynn, whom he had not seen in a long time, for a picnic in the countryside.
After so many days, the two little friends finally met again!
This was the first time Lynn had seen Yomi since he found a new job. Yomi had boiled tea eggs in advance to bring over, but unexpectedly, Lynn had also boiled tea eggs to bring!
After the two met up, they looked at each other’s tea eggs, went silent for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
They sat on the grass, spread out a blanket, laid out snacks, fruit, and drinks, excitedly eating snacks they had never had before. Then one asked about the other’s work, and the other asked in return, and the conversation became more and more animated.
The air was fresh, and the warm wind blew past. The setting sun at the horizon grew redder and redder. While taking a big bite of tea egg, Lynn suddenly said in a low voice, “Mimi, you are a miracle.”
“Hm?” Yomi turned his head to look at him.
Lynn said, “You’re so small. Honestly, when I first met you, I was really afraid you would end up wandering the streets… On the day you got fired from the factory, I secretly cried in the workshop. I was afraid you’d leave the capital, and afraid that if you stayed in the capital, you still wouldn’t be able to live well… But you, but you…”
Yomi’s own eyes turned red too. The moisture in them trembled for a long while without falling. “I’m very capable. No matter what, I would never end up on the streets. Don’t worry.” Saying this, he suddenly stood up, his little body standing bolt-straight. “I’m very strong. Watch carefully.” He clenched his fists and punched the air. In his own mind, he felt like he had just performed a whole set of Wing Chun, then turned back to look at Lynn.
Lynn’s face was flushed red—not from emotion, but from holding back laughter. “Mimi, stop punching. I know you’re very strong.”
Only then did Yomi realize he was being teased. He went over to smack him, and Lynn sprang up with a jump, waving his tentacles as he ran back and forth, teasing his friend, who was much shorter than him. “Please spare me. One punch from you would kill me!”
Yomi got so angry that he jumped up to hit him.
They chased and roughhoused across the grass, laughter without end, as if they had returned to a carefree childhood. Their shared happiness scattered with the wind into every corner.
That scene was deeply reflected in the pair of golden eyes hidden behind the woods.
Gradually, those golden eyes turned red.
Karl had already become used to this sour, low-pressure atmosphere. With a sidelong glance at the Crown Prince, who was currently peeking at someone’s picnic and growing emotional from the peeking, he said helplessly, “First come, first served. After all, he met Yomi first. Your Highness, just endure it.”
“…”
So Ansius going be assisting Yomi on cooking in the livestream show?