Chapter 64 - Live Broadcast. (Upper)
Time flew by quickly; nights and days alternated and in what seemed like a blink of an eye, it was another day.
Two days later, under the constant publicity reminders by MengMao TV’s official Weibo, a large number of fans were already camping outside the live broadcast room that was being heavily recommended on the MengMao TV homepage.
Today was the sixth of July, and it was the day where Bai Yao was slated to arrive in the King’s Canyon.
Before the live broadcast officially started, the live broadcast room opened first, and as a display of impartiality and earnestness, the live broadcast room was opened under Bai Yao’s name instead of KK’s or Piaoluo’s. Early in the morning, the host responsible for the event made his appearance first to hype up the entire crowd.
The host smiled at the camera: “The live broadcast will officially begin at ten, are you looking forward to it? Hahaha, no need to be anxious; Bai Yao is in the backstage putting on her make-up, and KK and Piaoluo are also backstage. Why, do you want to see them? Ah? We can’t do that, if I launched such a surprise attack, my pitiful head will be blown off.”
The audience was very lively and the number of people turning up increased by the second. Bai Yao and King’s Glory’s ability to rally fans was out of the norm, and with the support of KK and Piaoluo’s fans, the live broadcasting room’s comments brushed past at a rate that could dazzle eyes, and it was basically unreadable.
But at this moment, even though it was impossible to read the contents, it was easy to guess that everyone was urging the host to take a walk around the backstage.
【I want to see Bai Yao, Yao Yao Yao Yao Yao Yao!】
【If you hand over Bai Yao, I won’t kill you!】
【A fly rubbing its hands, extremely expectant!!】
【Bai Yao and Piaoluo are fine, but is no one looking forward to KK, an anchor who has never revealed his face…?】
【Will we really see KK himself? Tensed.】
While there were a lot of fans who came for Bai Yao, the fans of King’s Glory could not be underestimated either. And to those fans, KK revealing his face today could be considered as a highlight that could not be ignored. Additionally, with the recent surge in KK’s wife fans, each and every one of them were rubbing their hands and holding their breaths in antic.i.p.ation.
【Quickly quickly quickly quickly quickly quickly~】
The host feigned a headache at their reactions. Although his mouth was uttering ‘no way, no way’, his actions spoke otherwise as he continued to walk towards the backstage. Naturally, saying no was just an act; in fact, in the live broadcast programme, surprising the backstage was a scheduled segment.
They had communicated with Bai Yao and the two anchors in advance. When the camera panned over to them, the images taken of the celebrity and anchors were of them in a perfected state.
The host walked over. And from a place where the camera was not directed at, there was someone who pointed them towards a certain direction. Dutifully, the camera moved over and Bai Yao, who had been touching up on her makeup, turned her head and smiled brightly at the camera.
The fans immediately exploded. After exchanging a few sentences with Bai Yao, the host was smiling as he continued to walk, “Now that we’ve seen Bai Yao, let’s go in and take a look at our anchors. Hahaha, KK and Piaoluo fans, where are you, are both your hands raised? Okay, who do you want to see first?”
The barrage in the live broadcast sped up, and the fans from both sides were commenting like crazy.
【See KK! KKKKKK! KKKKKK!】
【Of course it’s KK!】
【Piaoluo Piaoluo Piaoluo!】
His words were half-completed when the staff member at the side was anxiously gesturing at him. From their mouthing, it seemed like KK was late, and he did not have the time to put on makeup.
The host changed his phrasing on the spot and spouted: “We can’t see KK yet; the most antic.i.p.ated thing should always be left for last. Are you curious about KK’s appearance? Hahaha, I’m curious too. Therefore, we should go and find Piaoluo, oh, Piaoluo looks dashing today, everyone, hurry up and say h.e.l.lo.”
As he spoke, the camera view turned and a person clad in a light-coloured outfit entered the frame. Today, he had chosen to wear a faint colour which gave him a refreshing image, and paired with a gentle and amicable smile, it caused a wave of shrieks.
“Good morning everyone, I’m Piaoluo.”
【OMG Piaoluo! You’re usually very handsome! But you’re especially handsome today!】
【Waaaahh what kind of soft halo is this >.< he looks so refreshing.】
【Truly an anchor who depends on his face value to eat.】
【It can be said that he is very handsome.】
Due to the fact that KK was not prepared yet, the anchor had no choice but to linger around Piaoluo for a little longer. After trading a full seven to eight lines, the anchor finally said: “Audience members, you don’t need to keep pushing; we’re going to go see KK now. Wah, I’m so excited.”
Despite proclaiming that they were going to take a look, the host’s pace was rather slow. The distance separating KK and Piaoluo’s holding rooms was just one door, and, the host and the cameraman had anxiety tinging their faces with every step they took.
Taking a deep breath, the host stated, “I’m knocking on the door, everyone, prepare yourselves.”
【I’m ready!!!】
【Come! Let the truth come with a sudden violence!】
【Wuuu, I’m suddenly agonised.】
The camera faced the door, and only a hand was visible as he knocked on it twice. In less than a second, there was the wave of commotion coming out from the woodwork. Let alone the people standing outside the door, even the live broadcasting room could hear the voice of the female makeup artist yelling.
Immediately after, the door was unlocked and opened, and only a chest was revealed in the camera frame. Concurrently, a magnetic voice that the fans were extremely familiar with rang out lazily. “… Morning.”
The host froze, startled by the fact that he only saw a chest. He only managed to react a second later by raising his head to look, and in his moment of delay, the live broadcasting room had already exploded in an uproar.
k3010;??? WTF! Chest???k3011;
k3010;Hold on a minute, didn’t we see Piaoluo’s face at this height just now???k3011;
k3010;WTF, what’s with his height, is this KK?? Is KK that tall??k3011;
The instant the host drank in KK’s full appearance, his heart jumped. However, the cause was not KK’s face value. His individual professionalism had always ranked first and he could not help but secretly curse k2018;this is not good’ because he had arrived too early no matter how hard he tried to stall. There was not a speck of make-up on KK’s face.
After the pause, he could only toughen his scalp for the inevitable and adjust the camera upwards, revealing deep and profound facial features as well as a sharp nose, wherein the angle made it seem as though he was looking down at the camera. Instantaneously, the audience fell into a dumfounded stupor. And then it detonated the live broadcasting room with an unprecedented momentum!
What kind of face was this exactly?
The angle used was supposed to be the most destructive towards a person’s face value and it was evident that the beauty in front of them was completely without any cosmetics. His appearance was that of someone who was sleepy and tired; there were faint dark circles underneath his eyes and this impression was only further exacerbated by his askew ponytail and tussled hair. All in all, he was decadence in a flash.
【What the h.e.l.l is this, a golden age of beauty!?】
【He’s so good-looking WTF!! This doesn’t conform to the standard peach blossom eyes!】
【EXM, a mixed-race male model?】
【AHHHHHHHH this man is so pure and unpretentious and freaking beautiful!】
【This is actually my KK… so happy I could die.】
The sudden appearance of an attractive person laid an explosive a.s.sault that bombarded with extreme lethality; not only did KK fans burst into a frenzy, even countless of initial Bai Yao fans were killed in an instant. No matter when or where it was, the lethality of his attractiveness had always been beyond mortal estimation, to say nothing of it when his method of appearance was unexpected. Even if he was bare faced, it would not detract his ability to harvest kills.
【A person with his face value is actually an anchor who chooses not to reveal his face… Indeed, he is a man who relies on his talent to eat.】
【AHHHHH someone give me a scientific explanation to justify this little brother’s existence, how could he possibly be this handsome!!!】
【A fan in a second, don’t ask me why.】
【Biting KK and not letting go.】
【Originally came for Yaoyao, but now… Ummm please let Male C debut.】
The response from the live broadcasting room was extremely enthusiastic, and the profit gained from misfortune made the host sigh in relief, “KK, come over quickly and say h.e.l.lo.”
Kang Shengzhe’s reaction, on the other hand, was rather slow. He opened his mouth as if he was going to speak but he twisted his neck backwards and yawned instead. It was only after that he greeted the audience in an indolent manner: “h.e.l.lo everyone, I’m KK.”
The waves in the live broadcasting room was turbulent, and the heat that it brought was far stronger than the instance where Piaoluo was introduced.
【Listening to this voice, it really is KK!】
【With his voice accompanying that face, AHHHHHHHHH sorry I couldn’t help it.】
【Name your price, how many gifts does it take for you to willingly eat a meal with me.】
【Begging you to reveal your face in future broadcasts, I’ll even kneel for you!!】
【As expected, good-looking people are always wayward; yawning during in live broadcast, do I even need to ask who this person is!!】
Seeing that the live broadcast room was so animated, the host had the intention to extend the conversation. However, before he could start a topic, the makeup artist standing outside of the camera frame had already sent him a few eye rolls. Having taken a hint, the host hurriedly said: “The live broadcast is about to begin, we should go back to the main stage to wait. Everyone, there is no need to be anxious, when the broadcast begins in a bit, you can look for as long as you want.”
The audience was reluctant to part. Within the span of a few short minutes, the female fans who had only come for Bai Yao and possessed little to no interest in the live broadcast started displaying a formidable viscosity, and unbeknownst to Kang Shengzhe, he had wracked up countless of fans from the lethality of his face value alone.
After sending away the host that was responsible for livening the crowd, Kang Shengzhe was immediately pressed into a chair by a w.a.n.g Lu who had been hiding behind his back. Without wasting a moment, the makeup artist dusted some foundation on his face while w.a.n.g Lu could not resist going on another tirade. “Didn’t I tell you that you’re not allowed to oversleep, what were you even doing last night! Thankfully, you made it in time!”
Kang Shengzhe drew out his words: “I was in a special bootcamp, if I didn’t make it… I’ll go on barefaced.” After a few days of recuperation, his voice had completely recovered but because he just woke up, he did not feel like talking.
“What special bootcamp? Forget it, let’s put this aside. If it was the appearance you had when you first arrived in Beijing, it would have been pa.s.sable; but now with your left eye – take a look at it yourself – it’s still bruised even though it’s been a few days since you were beaten up.”
When his eye was mentioned, Kang Shengzhe glanced at the mirror and noticed that it was slightly greenish blue in hue and he could not help but curl his lips soundlessly. He straightened his back and looked towards the makeup artist as he retrieved his phone and went knocking on You Liangxing’s chat.
— Live broadcast, are you watching?
There was no reply from You Liangxing. Kang Shengzhe waited for a while but he had to temporarily stash it away under w.a.n.g Lu’s urging.
Expression tense, w.a.n.g Lu said strictly: “When you came in just now, did you glance at Piaoluo?”
When this matter was brought up, it meant serious business. Kang Shengzhe lightly slapped his cheeks to rouse his brain. “No, I didn’t look at him.”
“But he kept staring at you.”
Kang Shengzhe said, “You saw it?”
w.a.n.g Lu snorted. “As if I had a choice; this time around, he had occupied all the advantageous spots.”
Kang Shengzhe did not continue the conversation. w.a.n.g Lu still held some indignance , although that indignance stopped at anger, and it was not as severe as when he had to grit his teeth out of hate. Under KK’s reminder, w.a.n.g Lu had begun negotiations with the company and he had managed to successfully attain a five million per year contract for KK. The contract was tentatively set for a year, and it could be signed in a few days.
w.a.n.g Lu was not clear about KK’s plans but he did not have confidence in the fact that KK could display his excellence in the circ.u.mstance where there were two anchors present. Thus, he could only conclude that KK had used the five million contract as a guarantee as he took a step back. No matter what was said, it was still considered as relenting to Piaoluo and allowing him to show his face.
Kang Shengzhe responded with a low hum but he did not explain. The makeup artist pulled his hair to the back and eventually decided on a loose ponytail while allowing some stray strands of hair to dangle at the sides of his face.
Kang Shengzhe said, “It’s not comfortable to have it in front.”
“Bear with it for a while, it looks good like this,” the makeup artist turned his face left and right as she observed him through a mirror before she finally revealed a satisfied smile. “Okay, it’s fortunate that you have a good structure. Although we were rushing for time, the effect is still pretty good. If you were go out like this, you’ll definitely dazzle the entire audience.”
Not long after, the staff urged Kang Shengzhe to go out to prepare. As per their instructions, he followed them out, and while he was walking, he bent over to allow the makeup artist to give him the final touch ups. At the side stage, Bai Yao had yet to arrive, and Piaoluo was interacting with the surrounding people with a gentle and soft countenance.
Their sharp gazes clashed, and neither Kang Shengzhe nor Piaoluo spoke.
In the silence, Piaoluo dredged up a polite smile. The people around them remained unaware of what had transpired between them, let alone the turbulent undercurrents that lied beneath the seemingly calm exchange of glances.
Kang Shengzhe stared at Piaoluo for two seconds before he suddenly smiled. His smile, one that had happened for no apparent reason held an extremely deep meaning and Piaoluo could not help but still for a moment. However, it disappeared as quickly as it came because Kang Shengzhe had already tilted his head down to look at his phone.
On Kang Shengzhe’s WeChat, Liang Liang had replied with two simple words: — Currently watching.
Although the words were succinct, the meaning it conveyed was absolutely capable of completely occupying a person’s state of mind. Kang Shengzhe replied: — Don’t move your gaze away, watch me blind the entire audience.
You Liangxing replied to him with a line of ellipsis.
“You’re still chatting at this time, aren’t you afraid of blanking out later?”
Kang Shengzhe raised his eyes and looked at Bai Yao who was currently at his side. Today, she had altered her previous style and she was currently exuding the pure aura of a girl next door with her straightened black hair, making her aura incomparably kind and honest. She tried to look at Kang Shengzhe’s phone but she did not catch a glimpse of it.
Keeping his phone, he said: “If I blank out, I’ll rely on you to fly.”
“Yi, you seem to know how to talk today.” Bai Yao was in the mood to enjoy herself so she smiled and said: “I’ll give you another chance to say something else.”
Kang Shengzhe said without thinking: “You’re very beautiful today.”
This was the sentence that every girl underneath the skies loved to hear and Bai Yao was very satisfied as a natural consequence. However, as she was about to speak, Kang Shengzhe added quietly, “Just slightly worse than me.”
“Disgusting and Shameless,” Bai Yao gave him a few measured looks, and it was rather rare that she could not find it in herself to refute. Although her mouth expressed her anger, she made no move to leave and continued to stand beside Kang Shengzhe. From beginning to the end, she did not say a single word to the spectating Piaoluo.
Every person had their own thoughts; as for Piaoluo, thoughts concerning readjustments and strategizing were particularly high.
He did not know why but the att.i.tude that Bai Yao treated him with was lukewarm as if he was an ordinary triviality, whereas she kept cracking jokes with KK while staying by his side. During their first meeting, she had been amicable to him at least, but once he had been included into the live broadcast, her att.i.tude had showed a downward trend. When they had partnered up to practice in private, they only played two matches.
Piaoluo could not figure out the cause, nor did he have time to further contemplate the issue. He glanced at Kang Shengzhe and he found that the man was even more incomprehensible. Why did Kang Shengzhe allow him to join the live broadcast in such an easy and relaxed manner? Was it really for the five million contract? Was a five million contract a sufficient compensation, such that it could make him to rein in his anger and swallow his grievances?
Piaoluo did not believe that Kang Shengzhe would not collect the debt he had incurred by hiring scoundrels to beat him up.
Before he could ruminate further, he had to put an abrupt halt to it as the host started inviting them onto the stage. The appointed time of ten o’ clock had arrived and Bai Yao stepped onto the stage with an energetic strut of her heels.
The broadcast had Bai Yao’s fame and name painted all over it; whether it was time or the stage, it all belonged to her alone.
She greeted the audience members in the live broadcasting room and proceeded to ask the two game anchors who would be broadcasting with her to come up onto the stage.
“I haven’t played the game for a long time, and it’s impossible for me to play at a high level even if you wish that of me. I’m only in the gold division, therefore, no one is allowed to call me weak. I’ve already thought about it, if we end up losing today, I’ll blame the jungler for not playing well. Everyone, take a look at these two game anchors, who do you think is more suited to play jungle?”
A wave of laughter pa.s.sed through the live broadcasting room.
【Nice, you’re beautiful and you’re reasonable.】
【I’ve already prepared my spit for the person who will be playing jungler, where’s the jungler, accept my spit!】
Bai Yao tilted her head. Piaoluo and KK went up on stage at the same time. Prior to this, with the rallying of the crowd, everyone was already aware of who the two people were in their hearts. However, it was unavoidable that there were a few newcomers who had yet to witness KK’s appearance. Additionally, there was also a group of people who found KK’s attractiveness unforgettable, so they were looking forward to KK entering the field.
【It’s coming it’s coming it’s coming!!!!】
【Attention everyone!! The face value ahead is high!!】
【The leader of good-looking anchors for King’s Glory is here!!】
“I’ll give everyone a brief introduction: the one over here is Piaoluo and the audience members who have seen his live broadcast should recognise him. Whereas the anchor over there, I heard that he has never revealed his face. Ai, it’s because he’s too ugly and he feels inferior; everyone, please forgive him for my sake.”
As she spoke, Piaoluo and KK had long entered the frame. While Piaoluo’s smiling visage was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with politeness, KK only revealed his chest and neck, as well as his sharp and remarkable lower jaw.
Bai Yao tugged at Kang Shengzhe once, and Kang Shengzhe quickly bent his waist in front of the camera to reveal his face.
Once it was revealed, a peal of foul winds and blood rain swept through the live broadcasting room.
【Ahhhhhhh A! Big! Beauty!】
【Mother, his beauty is so sharp, he looks even better than before!!】
【Nosebleed……】
【After remembering that I laughed at KK for boasting that his appearance was ‘as lovely as flowers’ back then, my face has swelled up into a ball. Please allow me to make a sad expression.】
【If this is called ugly QAQ, then I’m sorry for being alive in this world, I’m very sorry.】
Kang Shengzhe’s attractiveness index had always been very high, and after a bit of makeup and retouching, it only served to make him look more flawless. His beauty was apparent with one glance and it made it hard to look away. No matter when or where it was, good-looking people were always eye-catching, and it was doubly so when he was standing to Bai Yao who was equally beautiful.
In an instant, Piaoluo, who had always been considered to have above average looks could not compare to them. The comments were are focused on KK and Bai Yao, and there was barely anyone who gave Piaoluo attention.
It was a game live broadcast. Therefore, there was no need to say more. Very quickly, the three of them, Bai Yao, KK and Piaoluo all sat down at a table. Due to his overlong stature, he had shrink himself into the chair in order to enter the frame, and it looked both comical and adorable.
【How could there be such a cute creature in the world】
【I came for Bai Yao but now I’m in love with KK…】
【I’m really curious about KK’s height, he’s really too tall.】
【I bet he’s two meters tall.】
Bai Yao opened a room and invited KK and Piaoluo. In order to accompany Bai Yao, both anchors had to use their minor accounts to broadcast a gold division match. As a natural consequence, the match would not feature the peak of technical skills to fight for the finish and it would skew towards a joyous collaboration instead.
“My destined hero is Da Ji, middle lane mage, so who’s is going to play jungle?”
Out of the three people playing the game, two of them were anchors who would usually broadcast on their own and neither of them had issues with playing jungle. However, a three-person combination for the sake of accompanying a celebrity came with its own secret requests: one was responsible for playing jungle to carry the entire team to heights, and the other had to play auxiliary to support the celebrity to ensure that she would not fail.
Although playing jungle allowed for an apt display of skill, the person the fans were focused on was Bai Yao; it was obvious that the person accompanying Bai Yao would in turn, attract more attention.
Kang Shengzhe laid on the table and chose not to speak as Piao Luo took the initiative to toss out the topic. “KK, what do you want to play?”
The question of who would be playing jungle had to be answered first and not choosing it was equivalent to admitting their fear. Piaoluo might seem like he was being polite, but he had in fact, thrown the problem for KK to handle which made w.a.n.g Lu glare at Piaoluo a few times from behind the camera.
Without any suspense, Kang Shengzhe chose the hero Li Bai, stating, “I’m jungling.”
Piaoluo smiled, returning, “Then I’ll support with Ming Shiyin.”
The game quickly started but the live broadcasting room remained quiet, and Kang Shengzhe and Piaoluo only tacked on a few sentences whenever Bai Yao spoke. Accompanying a celebrity to broadcast was different from their own; in this live broadcasting room, Bai Yao was the protagonist, and neither of the anchors were allowed to speak more than necessary, lest they wanted to commit the taboo of stealing Bai Yao’s limelight.
The game went smoothly. Piaoluo partnered up with Bai Yao to wander in the middle lane, and under his support and the ability bonuses Ming Shiyin granted, Bai Yao swiftly took the first kill in the middle lane.
— First Blood!
The live broadcasting room was very cooperative.
【Well done, well done, Yaoyao is awesome.】
【Singing with praise for Bai Yao’s martial skill! You and I, let’s build a love nest in the undergrowth by the river.】
The live broadcast was mainly focused on Bai Yao and Piaoluo, who had walking with Bai Yao, was constantly in everyone’s line of sight. Whereas Kang Shengzhe’s Li Bai was busy clearing the jungle and he would only pop out occasionally whenever he pa.s.sed by the middle lane.
The occurrences happened in small numbers but the attention given to him was very high, although most of it was not going towards the game. Rather, it was directed at the small video frame at the bottom of the screen, where Kang Shengzhe himself could be seen lying on the table.
【Mother trucker, how did this little brother manage to look so good?】
【I really hope that KK doesn’t work too hard so he has some courage to find me and ask me to support him.】
As the game progressed, Bai Yao took another kill in the middle lane, causing the heroes in the enemy team to gather. While Bai Yao attacked the opposing side’s defensive tower, three people suddenly pounced on her, forcing her to beat a retreat, only to find that two more opponents had jumped out from the river brushes.
The five players gathered together and besieged the middle lane.
Bai Yao panicked and she could not help but shout: “Jungle! KK! Come and save me!”
The words had yet to land when the Li Bai that Kang Shengzhe had been manipulating dashed out of the bushes, opening his second and ultimate ability in a consecutive motion, cutting down three of their enemies’ health into a small fraction.
Translator has something to say, ever since their first meeting:
There is one who can act, another who tries, and the last who couldn’t be bothered.
However, neither of them have ever liked being played the fool.