Chapter 63: Each Striving in Their Own Way

In truth, when Han Jiayi announced she was free once more, Bai Renzong breathed a deep sigh of relief. As long as Han Jiayi wasn't bound by a contract, there was nothing to worry about. Popularity and money—these things would come in time. Once she had enough fans, a single commercial collaboration would earn hundreds of thousands. Besides, Station D hadn't bought out the creators' copyrights, so their videos could be posted elsewhere, and if they joined a streaming platform, the signing fee could reach tens of millions a year if they had enough followers. As long as she stayed in the spotlight, money would never be an issue. As for earning two Michelin stars? With the divine tongue on her side, wasn't it just a matter of time? If she invested the effort, three stars would eventually be hers.

"You don't need to worry about anything. I've already planned it all out," Bai Renzong said confidently as he ate, "Later, you'll join me for a few more videos, then we'll feature you as the star in some solo cooking tip clips. You're beautiful and charming—your popularity will soar quickly, and once you're famous, we'll..."

He choked a bit from eating too fast as he spoke.

"Hey, just focus on your meal," Han Jiayi laughed from beside him.

"Hmph, sounds like a million-subscriber creator already," the proprietress teased as she poured him a glass of water.

"Sister Xiaoxiao, Old Bai is really impressive. His videos get way more views than many creators with a million fans," Han Jiayi said earnestly. "And his follower count has been growing by tens of thousands every day lately—he'll be a million-subscriber creator soon."

"Oh, look at how proud you are," the proprietress teased, covering her mouth. "Alright, you two, keep up the good work."

"I—I'm just telling the truth!" Han Jiayi protested, then turned to glare at Bai Renzong as if it were his fault.

Bai Renzong drank some water in a hurry and caught his breath, replying, "I've got it all planned. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried..." Han Jiayi muttered softly, actually feeling a touch of happiness.

She might be back to square one, penniless, but her fighting spirit was ablaze, ready to rise again... together with Bai the Troll.

"So, Old Bai, what kind of video are you planning next?" Wang Bei asked, sounding a little concerned.

"I want to add 'Cloud,' that dessert, to your menu..." Bai Renzong said seriously.

"I'm thinking of calling it 'Cloud Rainbow,'" Han Jiayi replied with a shy smile.

Bai Renzong nodded. "Then I'll come to your place again to shoot another review video. You know what I mean, right?"

Han Jiayi pressed her lips together and nodded, feeling secretly delighted—this time, he would surely praise her.

After the meal, they paid the bill and returned to the apartment. Bai Renzong received the video with post-production edits from He Guang, checked it briefly, and, finding no issues, uploaded it.

The next day, they began their planned actions. Han Jiayi went to the restaurant to officially add "Cloud Rainbow" to the menu, while Bai Renzong stayed home preparing material for his next video.

At Yijia Pavilion, during a lull in orders, Han Jiayi secretly watched Bai Renzong's video in the kitchen, since she was quite interested in the game "Survivors of the Apocalypse."

"This game has been in testing since 2013 and is still being updated. The graphics are ordinary, but it's the most realistic zombie survival game I've ever played," Bai Renzong narrated. "In the first few weeks, there's water and electricity, and players must gather supplies and survive in cities swarming with zombies. How detailed is this game? If you walk barefoot or only in shoes across broken glass, your feet will get cut; you can't wear glasses or eat when you have a gas mask on; you have to pay attention to your intake of fat, protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates—lack any of these, and you'll experience different symptoms..."

"The best part is the open mod system. All kinds of mods fill in the game's shortcomings. In my view, the only drawback is how hard it is to get started, but once you do, with the help of mods, you can easily play for hundreds of hours! But remember one thing... there is no cure in this world."

...

"This game is quite interesting—you can even cook, and there are so many ingredients..." Han Jiayi smiled to herself. "Maybe I'll play it with him online later?"

At that moment, a server burst in from outside.

"Jiayi!" The server grabbed Han Jiayi's hand and bounced with excitement. "Everyone loves your 'Cloud Rainbow'! We've got twelve extra orders! Someone even asked if it could be taken to go!"

"Sorry, that's not possible," Han Jiayi replied with a gentle smile. "This dessert must be eaten within fifteen minutes of being made. Otherwise, the texture will completely change, and the shape will collapse."

"Alright, I'll go tell the customers right away," the server said happily, "Twelve extra orders!"

"Yes, I'll make them right away." Han Jiayi smiled, nodded, and took a deep breath. "Come on, Jiayi, you can do it. You can't rely only on Bai the Troll's help—you have to work hard yourself."

With that, Han Jiayi donned her chef's hat and returned to the stove to continue her busy work.

Meanwhile, Bai Renzong was at home replying to his fans.

Although the views on this video were decent, the number of comments was astonishing. The game's quality was high, but it was so niche that few knew about it. Thanks to Bai Renzong's enthusiastic promotion, its popularity skyrocketed.

Many fans left comments asking about gameplay: "Brother Bai, how come I can't install the generator after I get it?" "The game is fun, but way too hard. If a zombie bites you, you're infected, and infection means death." "Spent ten hours building a base, then got bitten the next day while scavenging—game over." "This game is so realistic—ate nonstop, and after my character weighed a hundred kilos, I couldn't run anymore!"

Seeing how much everyone loved the game he recommended, Bai Renzong felt his efforts were worthwhile.

But there was one big problem: the game was hard to learn, and Bai Renzong hadn't explained how to get started.

Making tutorial videos was slow and laborious, and Bai Renzong could only take advantage of trending topics when making review-style videos, so he had no intention of making tutorials as his fans requested.

However, there was a perfect solution: redirecting traffic to someone else.

Station D had all kinds of experts; Bai Renzong himself had learned to play "Survivors of the Apocalypse" by watching videos there. So he recommended another creator who specialized in the game and pinned a comment under his own video: "If you want tutorials, check out the creator 'Hot'—their 'Survivors of the Apocalypse' tutorials are very thorough! Old Bai's time and energy are limited, so I won't make extra tutorials—hope you understand!"

"Phew... I'm exhausted," Bai Renzong muttered as he wiped his brow, noticing that night had fallen outside.

Just then, he heard the sound of the door opening downstairs. Bai Renzong hurried to the stairwell and saw that, as expected, Han Jiayi was changing her shoes at the entrance.

"Well? Was it popular?" Bai Renzong asked tentatively, though he already knew the answer—the divine tongue never failed.

Han Jiayi looked up, weariness written across her face, but she quickly broke into a radiant smile. "Super popular! I was so busy making 'Cloud Rainbow' I didn't even have time for a sip of water—used up all the ingredients."

(Thanks to Xuanyuan Yinhu and the bored vegetable for two monthly votes, thanks to Bai Zhu miko for the reward and monthly vote, and thanks to Little Red Riding Hood's Da Hong Pao for the reward.)