CH 8

Chapter 8: Short of Money

The captain of the blue team fiddled with the camera nervously. Then, he raised his head after a while.

"Okay, we can start shooting."

Gu Qingchi was being paid to do this, so, no matter what the other party said, he had no complaints.

Hearing that, he clasped the bottleneck of the vodka and walked under the light so that the other party could take the photos.

Gu Qingchi had never been a model before. The only information he knew about modeling was the last-minute research he did after being introduced to Hong jie.

Hong jie said she wanted a sense of decadence, so he would give her decadence.

The live stream camera automatically adjusted the filming angle. It moved around quietly in the dark, letting people forget that it was even there.

Everything could be viewed in the live broadcast. The live broadcast of the program had two perspectives, one for the blue team and one for the red team. The viewer could watch one or they could watch both. Once Gu Qingchi showed up, the blue team's stream viewership suddenly shot up.

The comment barrage was visibly much more lively.

[I just zoned out for a little bit, but, when I looked up, I saw a fairy! I'll get straight to the point, did anyone get a screen recording? I'm on my knees right now, please share!]

[I am once again demanding information on this gege.]

[Isn't this kind of a face slap? The show's NPC is even more attractive than the visual.]

[I was laughing earlier but now I'm jealous. I wish I crawl into the screen, I'm willing!]

More and more comments began to ask the program crew for information about this new person, and many people were blinding guessing that this might be an easter egg arranged by the program crew.

The staff was also a little confused and went to confirm one more time before clarifying in the live broadcast.

"Our program crew is a bit poor lately. We can't afford to invite this kind of little gege. It's really a coincidence. He might be a model in the studio next door, waiting to shoot."

Then another staff member spoke up.

"Five points deducted from the blue team."

The blue team knew nothing about any of this. They continued to diligently go through with the plotline.

Gu Qingchi relaxed his shoulders. He slightly bent one leg. One hand was carrying vodka, the other brushing through his hair. His posture was haphazard, as if he had fallen on hard times and had no time to bother with his appearance. Even so, his appearance was already perfect enough that, even with this kind of dejected appearance, he was still the focus of everyone's eyes.

He looked into the camera, melancholy seeming to seep out of him.

His expression was sullen, the background was gray, and only his lips were bright red.

With this kind of appearance, anyone who saw him would feel as though their hearts were being squeezed.

The captain of the blue team subconsciously pressed the shutter, and the camera light flashed.

Gu Qingchi changed his posture. He put the wine on the ground and sat, not on the sofa, but next to the sofa.

With one leg bent and the other outstretched, his hands were placed on the ground. The ring hit the surface and made a crisp sound. He seemed very sensitive to the camera. As soon as he sat down, he turned his head and subconsciously looked toward the camera.

The captain of the blue team captured the very moment that Gu Qingchi sat down. Gu Qingchi seemed like a startled stray cat who had braved the bitter cold and sweltering heat, who wavered between life and death, who was covered in scars and wounds, who just wanted to find a place to rest.

After being startled, it would warily turn its head. It clearly had its guard up, but it inexplicably struck a sense of sadness in people.

Gu Qingchi then struck a few more poses. The photographer continued silently shooting, so he just kept going based on feeling.

The room was so quiet that there was only the sound of clothes rustling and accessories clattering against each other as Gu Qingchi moved.

The number of people in the live broadcast had already reached a terrifying number, and the comment barrage was densely packed.

That was until Hong jie arrived.

"Come on, it's our turn now."

She had never watched Treasure Hunt and was not familiar with the live streaming equipment. Seeing the people in the room, she voiced her confusion.

"Friends of yours? Now is not the time, come on. We're running a little late today, time is running out."

Gu Qingchi stood up, a little puzzled. He looked up and glanced at the captain of the blue team, realizing that there might have been some sort of misunderstanding.

Hong jie urged him a few more times. Gu Qingchi didn't say anything and followed her out.

The captain of the blue team thought that this was also a part of the plotline and wanted to follow them but was stopped by a staff member who had just arrived.

Gu Qingchi ended up on the trending list again.

#TreasureHuntFairyNPC

This show was already very popular. With the addition of the drama from the blue team, this trending topic rushed all the way to the very top.

The footage of Gu Qingchi's appearances was edited into a separate video. The number of shares and views was shocking. Since there were other people in the frame, even those devil's advocates couldn't claim that he was photoshopped.

The captain of the blue team also released the photos he had taken at that time. The atmosphere of the photos was so good that they almost seemed like they were professionally taken.

The topic kept heating up, and several other related trending topics also rushed up.

Guo Ling's previously edited video was dug up. Netizens kept searching all over the internet, but they couldn't find a single thing about him.

They only knew from the live broadcast that Gu Qingchi was a model.

At the same time, some netizens recognized the western restaurant where Gu Qingchi worked.

Gu Qingchi didn't feel much when he landed on the trending list the first time. After all, things had quietened down quickly last time, and there wasn't much of a splash.

This time, it was different. It spread much farther and stuck around much longer than last time.

The place where he worked was recognized by some people. There were always people looking for him or taking photos.

In the past, it wasn't that there weren't any people secretly taking photos, but guests at the restaurant were usually wealthy elites so there usually weren't that many.

This situation had already affected the regular business of the restaurant.

Gu Qingchi stayed in the changing room, leaning against the locker. Normally, he would be working right now.

"I want to resign."

The colleague taking over his shift turned his head.

"If you resign, how are you gonna put food on the table?"

He threw a piece of chocolate at Gu Qingchi.

"Lie low for a while and come back later."

Gu Qingchi caught it but didn't eat it immediately.

"No, I want to resign. It's not like I can stay here forever anyway."

This time, the colleague didn't speak. No one stuck around with this job for longer than two years. There was no potential for a promotion, and it was a taxing job. The employees were all young people looking to make a bit of money and then leave.

Resigning was not uncommon.

Even he himself planned on quitting after another half a year.

When Gu Qingchi resigned, the manager paid him an extra half a month's salary as per protocol.

He hadn't saved any money, so this bit of money was almost all he had.

The little Dragon Li sat quietly on his lap. When it saw that he didn't move, it tried to climb up even further, trying to get into his arms. It was a habitual offender.

Since receiving treatment, it had become a lot more active. Except for the fact that it had been receiving injections and eating medicine, it seemed exactly the same as other healthy kitties.

Gu Qingchi was a little worried. He couldn't work at the restaurant anymore, and the modeling job was a one-time thing, but the treatment could not be stopped.

He needs money, very, very much.