CH 54

Events like supernatural incidents always stimulate a surge of adrenaline and capture people’s attention. Whether it’s the title or the event itself, it’s easy to go viral. On the internet, opinions about such incidents are divided, as the anchor’s reactions seem very realistic. However, since no one saw these things with their own eyes, who would believe it?

In the past, most anchors of supernatural live streams would choose remote and desolate places, which undoubtedly deterred many netizens from going there. After all, these places might not be safe at night, and encounters with wild animals or unscrupulous people were highly probable.

But this time, the location of the live stream was a small restaurant in the city, and it was still open for business! This greatly reduced the concerns of netizens. Those who were more timid chose to visit and take pictures during the day, while the bolder ones decided to go at night. After all, since the restaurant stayed open until 11 pm, what was there to be afraid of?

This led to Bai Xianzhi once again becoming extremely busy. Since many netizens had come, they would naturally want to eat there too. And after trying the food, they found it delicious, which led to more and more people coming to take photos.

With more customers, Bai Xianzhi was naturally busier. Currently, he was the only one working in the restaurant as the three high school graduates he hired for the summer break were still new to the job. Luckily, they were there to help him when he needed to leave for a while to check on the front shop.

On this day, Bai Xianzhi was listening to a report from one of the hired workers about the recruitment situation when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He quickly assured the worker that as long as he had a good heart, everything else would be fine, and then hurriedly went upstairs to answer the call.

“Brother Zhi Zhi, some people have come to the shop!”

“Alright, I’m coming right now!”

Bai Xianzhi hung up the phone, opened a small door on the second floor, and walked down through the other staircase. Fortunately, he had considered the current situation and rented the second floor of the shop behind him during the renovation, along with another small door, in preparation for this kind of situation.

When he walked out of the kitchen, he saw two men sitting in the restaurant. As soon as they saw him, their eyes lit up, and they stood up, asking, “Are you the owner?”

Bai Xianzhi nodded, “Yes, may I ask who you are?”

His gaze swept over the large and small photography equipment hanging behind the two men.

One of them smiled, “Boss, here’s the thing. We are from the city’s television station. Some time ago, there was a streamer named ‘Tiger Den Sanguine’ who did a supernatural live stream in front of your shop. He claimed to have seen ghosts and caused a bad influence online. So, we from the television station thought of doing a live stream here too, both inside and outside the restaurant, to break the feudal superstitions online.”

This was a good thing! The business had indeed improved these days, but Bai Xianzhi didn’t want this kind of business. People coming to his restaurant to see ghosts, with eating as a secondary matter, was not something he wanted. Did he need those few extra bucks that badly?

Come to think of it, he really didn’t.

So if he could dispel the enthusiasm of these netizens to see ghosts and even completely stop them from coming to his restaurant for ghost-hunting, Bai Xianzhi would be more than happy.

After confirming the identity of the two men, Bai Xianzhi said that he was willing to cooperate actively, and they could live stream for as long as they wanted, even overnight was no problem!

The two TV station staff said that they wouldn’t live stream overnight and that the stream would start at 11 pm and last until 3 am, which wouldn’t affect the restaurant’s business.

Bai Xianzhi thought to himself, “Actually, with the current situation, I wish you would affect my business so that those customers wouldn’t bother me with questions about ghosts, hoping to hear from me that there are indeed ghosts in my restaurant.”

After discussing for a while, the two staff members felt a little embarrassed. Looking at the time, it was already 4 pm. They decided to order some dishes and have dinner at the restaurant. While waiting for the food, one of them received a call. After speaking for a few moments, he hung up and said to the other person, “We need to go back to the station. There’s an issue with the footage we shot recently.”

Bai Xianzhi happened to be bringing the dishes out at that moment and heard what they said. He asked, “Are you leaving now?”

The two men hurriedly replied, “Boss, please don’t worry. We’ll pay for the food!”

Bai Xianzhi put down the dishes and had one of the part-time workers bring some takeaway boxes. He said, “It’s not like that. If you’re leaving now, I’ll pack the food for you to take back to the station. And I won’t accept your money. You’re here to help me dispel rumors. How can I take your money?”

The two men insisted, “We can’t do that, boss. Clearly, you’ve done us a big favor. How can we eat for free?”

Bai Xianzhi took the takeaway boxes from the part-time worker and quickly packed the food inside. He smiled and said, “I said I won’t accept your money, and that’s final. Besides, tonight, my restaurant will be on your television station’s live stream!”

Bai Xianzhi’s attitude was firm, and the two men had no choice but to accept the food and thank him. They said they would come back later in the evening, and then they left Wutong Lane.

…..

The local TV station in S City has always had a weak presence compared to the popular Fruit TV station. Other local TV stations are also relatively weak. However, in recent years, the Q City TV station has produced some variety shows, which can barely compete with Fruit TV station.

However, as they say in movies, what’s the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish?

The same applies to TV stations. The newly appointed director of S City TV station expressed that a TV station without dreams is no different from a broken ship filled with salted fish. They want to become a strong and influential TV station! A carrier that can accommodate a whale!

This declaration was full of ambition, and the people at the TV station couldn’t help but applaud. They thought it was just the new director’s rhetoric, like the promises made by American presidents. Sounded good, but whether they could deliver on it after taking office was another matter. However, they never expected it to be true!

The director personally negotiated several major investments from leading companies in S City, all of which will be invested in a new food-themed variety show soon to be produced by the TV station. As he put it, it’s about the combination of two primal desires of human nature: food and sex. While they can’t touch the latter, they can focus on the former, which is food!

As for why they didn’t make a documentary, the director mentioned that it’s challenging to surpass previous works in that genre. Moreover, this is the era of celebrity influencers, and if they want the program to become a huge hit, the involvement of celebrity influencers is essential. How can they incorporate celebrity influencers into a documentary? While celebrity influencers can’t guarantee the quality of the show, they can certainly bring in the viewership! As long as the show is well-made and designed, celebrity influencers can not only avoid negative publicity but also elevate the show to new heights!

So, for this show called “A Thousand Flavors,” the TV station invested heavily in two celebrity influencers. To ensure the program’s high standards, the director even used personal connections to bring in a couple of film kings and queens, providing a solid foundation for the entire program.

With the star-studded lineup set, the preparations for the program began. The two employees who were supposed to broadcast live from Three Thousand Food House tonight hurried back to the TV station.

After placing the packed food on the table, the two entered their boss’s office. As they entered, several colleagues, exhausted, were sitting at their respective desks. A semi-bald man scratched his sparse hair and took out his phone, asking, “Who wants to order takeout? We’ll be working overtime again today, and we need to eat before we can work.”

The other colleagues responded weakly, “Brother Luo, please get me a hot pot.”

“Brother Luo, I want a pork chop rice.”

“Brother Luo, I’ll have braised pork rice.”

…

After everyone placed their takeout orders, Brother Luo sniffed the air and asked, “Who’s eating something? It smells delicious!”

Everyone denied eating anything, and there wasn’t even any chocolate in the drawers.

Brother Luo looked around and noticed a white bag on the adjacent table, from which the appetizing aroma seemed to emanate.

Meanwhile, the two people in the boss’s office were receiving feedback. Their boss was showing them the video they had brought back and scolding them, “Look at what kind of place you’ve chosen! There are even maggots near the sink! Do you think our TV station is doing a program exposing sanitation issues?!”

The two employees kept their heads down and didn’t dare to speak. The boss continued angrily, “Quickly drop this restaurant from the show! I expect you to fill this vacant slot with another restaurant by next week, and it better be an unknown small shop. No more of those trendy internet-famous places.”

The two hurriedly agreed and finally heard the words “Get out” after a scolding session. As they left their boss’s office and returned to their own, they found their colleagues staring at them with expectant eyes, making them feel uneasy.

“Xiao Zheng, Xiao Du, tell us what delicious food you brought back! We’re dying of hunger here!”

Food? The two exchanged a glance and immediately remembered the packed meals from Three Thousand Food House. They walked to their desks, relieved to see the well-packaged takeout boxes, and explained, “We’re going to do a live broadcast at that haunted restaurant tonight. This is the food we got from there.”

“Quickly, open it up! It smells so good!” urged Brother Luo.

So, the two started unpacking the boxes. As the mouth-watering aroma filled the office, colleagues from other desks also joined in:

“Xiao Zheng, Xiao Du, try my hot pot, and I’ll try your dishes!”

“Xiao Zheng, Xiao Du, try this crispy pork chop, and I’ll have some of your food!”

Five minutes later, Xiao Zheng and Xiao Du looked at the empty plates before them, where once delicious stir-fried pork, spicy chicken, and shredded potatoes were placed. They then glanced at the food boxes, now filled with meatballs, pork chops, and other items they didn’t want. Tears of sadness streamed down their faces; they didn’t want to eat these items, they just wanted the stir-fried pork, spicy chicken, and shredded potatoes!

Yu Xin lives in S City and is an experienced netizen. She is well-versed in all the major trends on the internet. She knew all about the recent supernatural live stream incident, but she is not very brave. While her friends were rushing to the restaurant to check-in at the live stream, she chose to stay back, not willing to take such a risk in a terrifying place with such a dangerous act!

Tonight at 11:00 PM, she excitedly opened her computer and entered a live stream room. She saw that the room already had 100,000 viewers, and the number was still rising.

“Wow, so many people!” Yu Xin sighed, but it wasn’t surprising since it was a live stream debunking the rumors about the supernatural incident by S City TV. Moreover, this was the same place where the popular host named Hu Dan San San had a live stream earlier. Although no trace of “A Piao” was found in his stream, many people, including some micro-expression experts, analyzed his demeanor and body language after midnight and concluded that he had actually seen something terrifying. As a result, many netizens believed he had encountered “A Piao.”

This concept was mind-blowing! At a time when the existence of “A Piao” was questionable throughout Huaguo and even the entire world, a horror host during his live stream had apparently seen “A Piao”! Such news couldn’t help but go viral!

Of course, there were also many skeptics who thought Hu Dan San San was faking it and his acting skills were just too good. There were many debates surrounding the incident, but as it often happens, controversial events spread quickly. The matter quickly escalated and made it to the trending topics, though it wasn’t ranked very high. It undoubtedly demonstrated the horrifying power of its spread!

During that time, many people went to the restaurant to check-in, and some specifically chose midnight to go. After returning, they claimed to have seen “A Piao.” Some people didn’t believe it, but they were also too afraid to go, fearing what might happen if they were caught up in something dangerous.

In such circumstances, the news of S City TV’s live broadcast came out, causing a sensation among those who had been there and those who hadn’t, whether locals or outsiders. The local TV station came down to broadcast in person, all to give the public the truth!

If other anchors might have faked seeing “A Piao” to gain popularity, there was no such concern in tonight’s live broadcast. Joking aside, the purpose of the TV station’s live broadcast was to debunk rumors. How could they fake it and involve “A Piao”? Did they want to ruin their reputation in Huaguo? All the core values of the country – prosperity, democracy, civilization, and harmony – were displayed on the top of the live stream!

Yu Xin felt that she might be the only one who thought this way, but she couldn’t help feeling that the official broadcast had a mysterious aura. Even in this horrifying live stream, she didn’t find it as terrifying anymore!

However, although it wasn’t scary, it seemed a bit boring…

The computer screen was divided into two small windows side by side, showing the inside and outside views of the restaurant. Two staff members sat on small stools at the corner of the screen, silently playing with their phones, while the live broadcast time slowly passed in silence.

At the beginning, the netizens watched the live broadcast with great enthusiasm, trying to find any trace of “A Piao.” However, as time went on, the live footage showed no change. They couldn’t even find a person in white clothing, let alone “A Piao.”

Some netizens couldn’t stand it and wanted to leave, but they were reluctant to do so. They left comments in the live chat:

【”Please, hosts, say something! It’s so boring!”】

【”I’m literally writing a blood-written request for the hosts to chat. I’m about to fall asleep watching this. It’s too hard to endure!”】

【”Ah, I can’t take it anymore. The screen is not moving, and the hosts just fidget with their fingers or occasionally change their sitting posture. I’ve even counted how many times the inside host fidgeted (15 times) and the outside host (30 times).”】

【”Hahaha, 666 to the one above! I’m going to count too from now on.”】

【”While we came to see ‘A Piao,’ the hosts can still talk about something else. Otherwise, who can endure this?”】

….

Xiao Zheng and Xiao Du noticed the netizens’ protests in the live chat. One was inside the restaurant, and the other was outside. They wanted to speak, but what could they say? The two guys were really at a loss for words!

Sitting outside, Xiao Du put away his phone and looked at the live chat. He reluctantly said, “Uh, well, welcome everyone to watch the live broadcast of S City TV. Thanks for your support. S City TV will have more exciting programs in the future, and we hope you will continue to support us!”

He thought he did well, and Xiao Zheng inside the restaurant gave him a thumbs up. However, the viewers in the live chat were not buying it:

【”We know that! This is S City TV’s live broadcast!”】

【”Two iron straight men, talk about something else!”】

【”Is that all? Just this?”】

【”Oh my god, I’m laughing so hard. The two of them are still comparing thumbs with each other. Does that mean they think the other one is doing a great job? Hahaha.”】

【”I feel like I’m watching my parents’ generation in a live stream. The awkwardness is about to spill out of the screen!”】

The netizens were not convinced, and Xiao Zheng and Xiao Du felt like crying but had no tears. They truly had no experience with live streaming, and recently, the station had been busy preparing for a big variety show. This kind of live broadcast, with no technical content, was left to the two newcomers who joined the station not long ago. Before coming here, their boss told them that for this live broadcast, all they needed to do was put the camera in place. The main goal was to debunk rumors, and they didn’t need to do anything else.

However, they found out the hard way that everything was fine at their boss’s end, but it was the netizens who had issues!

The two newcomers, who had never done a live broadcast before, found it extremely challenging. They couldn’t come up with a topic to interact with the viewers.

【”Wow, who is that?”】

【”A guy in a white t-shirt just entered from the bottom left corner!”】

【”Is that ‘A Piao’?”】

【”Are you blind upstairs? Didn’t you see the guy greeting the hosts? He must be the restaurant owner!”】

【”Yes, he’s the owner. I’ve been there before, and the food he makes is super delicious!”】

【”Wow, he’s so handsome! I had no idea the owner of this little restaurant could be so good-looking! Incredible!”】

【”Could this be the legendary ‘Sweeping Monk’ of the beauty world? In a remote little restaurant, the owner is so handsome!”】

【”Oh, I can’t believe it! If the boss is on camera, even if he doesn’t speak, I can watch it all night!”】

Seeing this comment, Xiao Du thought to himself: “Is it really okay to have such double standards?”

……

Downstairs, two people were live-streaming. Bai Xianzhi couldn’t sleep by himself, so he came downstairs after washing up and changed into fresh clothes. He brought some pastries and drinks from the kitchen for the two staff members outside.

“Xiao Zheng, give it a try. These are made in our restaurant.”

He handed the food to Xiao Zheng, then went outside and saw Xiao Du swatting mosquitoes. Bai Xianzhi gave him some food and then went back inside to bring out two mosquito repellent coils – one for inside and one for outside. After lighting them, the number of mosquitoes near the people decreased significantly.

Sitting outside the camera’s view with a small stool, Bai Xianzhi noticed that Xiao Du seemed a bit uncomfortable on camera. He pointed to the pastries and drinks in front of him, gesturing for Xiao Du to eat. Xiao Du immediately understood and picked up a piece of green bean cake, taking a bite. “Mmm, it’s delicious!” Xiao Du felt amazed as he looked at the half-eaten green bean cake. It was the most delicious green bean cake he had ever tasted!

One piece after another of green bean cake was eaten by Xiao Du and Xiao Zheng. The live-streaming room was no longer filled with comments about their boredom. Instead, it turned into a discussion about the food they were eating:

【”What’s that? What are they eating? It looks so delicious!”】

【”Green bean cake, maybe?”】

【”Gudong, to be honest, I’m hungry. I can’t believe I’m getting hungry watching a supernatural live stream!”】

【”I’ve already prepared instant noodles and added a braised egg…”】

【”What a strange live stream. Although the two of them aren’t talking and it’s just green bean cakes, why do I feel tears in the corners of my mouth?”】

【”Their expressions are just so convincing. My mouth is watering!”】

【”I want to eat! I want to eat! I want to eat!!”】

……

Later, Bai Xianzhi cooked several dishes, including spicy chicken, for the two staff members. He also brought them chilled coconut juice. Both of them deliberately slowed down their eating pace. As a result, the eerie atmosphere of the supernatural live-streaming room transformed into a mukbang (eating broadcast). What’s more, it was a late-night mukbang. Countless netizens were enthusiastically cheering, and yet they still remained glued to the live-streaming room. Unknowingly, several hours passed, and the camera remained calm and peaceful, with nothing unusual happening.

For Bai Xianzhi, who had been sitting outside for so long, he couldn’t see any changes in Wutong Alley compared to before. Could it be that the appearance of the Soul Clan by Hu Dan San San was just a coincidence?

Was there anything special about that night? Bai Xianzhi took out his phone and searched for the news on that day. He found that it happened to be the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, and there was a nocturnal high tide in S City. Could that be the reason? Bai Xianzhi wondered.

He checked online and found out that nocturnal high tides usually occur around the first and fifteenth to seventeenth days of the lunar calendar. Now it was already around the twentieth day of the lunar calendar, so Bai Xianzhi decided to try again on the first and fifteenth of next month.

—–

Author’s Note: Official debunking (beauty) and mukbang (food) live-streaming, only this one, no others!

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated with nutrient solution during the period from 2020081014:18:01 to 2020081114:22:13!

Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: White Peach Oolong Duck., One Face with Desire 1 each;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: Mysterious Purple Blue 10 bottles; Su Baiqian 7 bottles; Little Fat Jiu, Jiu-Type Universe, I Am Salty Fish, and Suo: Happy Wanderer 1 bottle each.

Thank you very much for your support, and I will continue to work hard!

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”