Chapter 90: Real Mother

In these past few days, good news had come one after another, and for a studio that had been established for less than a month, it was truly heartening.

But all of this merely proved that they had officially crossed the threshold and could now make a living in the field full-time. There was still a long road ahead before they could truly rise to fame.

Bai Renzong only hoped that this month would go smoothly, allowing him to help Han Jiayi secure her second star, after which they could begin thinking about making money in October.

Thus the last few days of August passed, and September arrived. At last, the video earnings from August could be withdrawn.

Because two of August’s videos had reached the front page and one had trended, those three videos had all accumulated considerable popularity. On top of that, the several videos released in July had also generated income, and there were the two commercial collaborations with Lanwafang, as well as the manuscript fee from Grape Purple...

When everything was tallied, Bai Renzong’s share of the video earnings came to nearly one hundred thousand! The studio’s total revenue exceeded two hundred thousand!

With that money in hand, Bai Renzong felt far more confident before his parents.

He promptly gave them peace of mind, telling them that this month’s video earnings were close to one hundred thousand, so they should temporarily stop worrying about his career as a video creator.

On the day the earnings arrived, Bai Renzong naturally celebrated properly with Han Jiayi and Wang Bei.

“Cheers!” The three clinked glasses, then drained their drinks in one gulp.

“Ah, what a pity the fourth person isn’t here,” Han Jiayi said with a sigh. “Maybe next time we should celebrate at his place.”

“I think that works,” Bai Renzong nodded. “How about this: we didn’t manage to make an unboxing video for the silver trophy, right? Then when we get the golden trophy for ten million subscribers, we can go to He Guang’s house and film an unboxing video there.”

“Great idea!” Wang Bei said joyfully. “Otherwise it always feels strange with one person missing. As for Brother Guang, he doesn’t talk much, but he really is efficient.”

“He’s probably trying to save up as much money as he can for his family before he can no longer move,” Bai Renzong said with a heavy sigh.

At that moment, his phone suddenly vibrated. When he saw that it was his mother’s number, he immediately felt a terrible premonition.

“Hello, Mom.” Bai Renzong stepped aside to answer, going straight to the point. “What is it?”

Beside him, Wang Bei and Han Jiayi both pricked up their ears to eavesdrop.

“Son, Mom signed you up for a blind date show a few days ago, and you got selected!” Yang Jie’s voice on the other end was proud enough to sound like she had done some great deed. “You’ve got to seize this chance and bring home a daughter-in-law for me!”

Those words struck Bai Renzong like a bolt from the blue. He asked in astonishment, “What did you say? Is that real?”

“Of course it’s real! Even Mom didn’t expect you to actually pass the production team’s preliminary selection!” Yang Jie said happily.

“You...” Bai Renzong felt as though he might leap straight off the balcony.

The show in question was a local matchmaking program on North City Television, modeled after a popular national blind-date format. It featured thirty-two so-called “high-quality” female guests at once, who then interacted with the male guest.

From a male participant’s perspective, the show could only be described as “the blind-date chronicle of gold-diggers,” while from the female participants’ perspective, it was “Where Have the Rich, Handsome Men Gone?”

To put it plainly, the show existed to let these women seek out wealthy men.

That kind of atmosphere had been created for the sake of ratings. It had style, it made for entertainment, and after watching, people would curse it; and where there were people cursing, there was attention. Infamy was still fame.

So the station had tacitly allowed that style to continue.

Only people of his parents’ generation would believe they could find true love on a matchmaking show like this.

In the past, while watching the show, Yang Jie had actually mentioned to Bai Renzong several times that he should sign up. Back then, Bai Renzong had thought his mother was joking. Who could have imagined she would give him such a surprise today...

“I’m not going!” Bai Renzong said angrily. “How many times have I told you? That show is all for show! Just a performance!”

“Oh, come on, just go once. There are thirty-two girls there, aren’t there? Surely not a single one will like you?” Yang Jie coaxed from the other end. “Mom watched it. This episode’s female guests are especially high-quality, and quite a few of the girls are beautiful and also—”

“That’s all an act!” Bai Renzong cut her off irritably. He was so angry his lungs nearly burst, but since the other person was his own mother, he couldn’t do anything to her. “Can you please stop interfering in my love life?”

Yang Jie immediately began to complain bitterly. “Then if I don’t take care of you, who will? I’m getting old. I’m only afraid that after I die, you’ll be all alone in this world. When Mom is old, she still has you. But when you’re old, then what?”

“There are still decades left before that! Why are you in such a hurry? Am I going to be old tomorrow? I’m only twenty-six!” Bai Renzong said, pressing a hand to his forehead, his anger with nowhere to go. “I’m really busy with work right now. I don’t have time for this nonsense!”

“Oh, just go once. Take it as your mother’s final wish.” Yang Jie turned to soft pressure again. “Mom has never asked you for anything in your life. Just listen to me this once and go take a look. My son is handsome, and he’s making so much money every month now—why should those girls look down on you?”

At that moment, Bai Renzong felt as if the sky were about to collapse. Even with a goal like “a creator with ten million subscribers” or “a two-star Michelin restaurant,” he could calmly make a plan, but now the only way he could solve this problem was by jumping from here...

On the evening of September fifth, the program aired on North City Television right on time at eight o’clock.

“Please welcome the seventh male guest,” the host, Mo Fei, announced with a raised hand.

A tall, slender young man walked onto the stage, his expression rigid as though he were a robot.

At once, three lights on the female guests’ side went out with a series of pops.

“Please introduce yourself,” Mo Fei said, handing the microphone to the young man.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Bai Renzong. I’m twenty-six this year, and I’m currently a full-time creator on D-Station...” the young man introduced himself mechanically, his rhythm disrupted slightly by the sound of the female guests turning off their lights, then continued, “I only started not long ago... My goal is to become a conscientious creator who brings fans high-quality videos and doesn’t take dirty money...”

Before he could finish his introduction, all thirty-two female guests had already switched off their lights, setting a record for the fastest full blackout in the show’s history. For a moment, the unlucky fellow did not even know how to go on.

Seeing this, Mo Fei extended a hand to him. “Regrettably, you will have to leave alone.”

“Okay.” The man was unsurprised and shook Mo Fei’s hand.

But it was not over yet. Mo Fei suddenly changed tack and deliberately asked, “By the way, I heard that you and your studio have only been making videos for a month, and last month’s earnings already reached one hundred thousand. Is that the studio’s total income?”

“No, the studio’s total income is close to three hundred thousand...” the man answered stiffly.

The female guests in the studio all covered their mouths in astonishment, and many of them clearly showed regret.

“And how many fans do you have now?” Mo Fei asked with interest.

“Almost seven hundred thousand,” the man said with a faint smile.

“Nearly seven hundred thousand fans in just a month and a half?” Even Mo Fei looked somewhat surprised this time.

“Yes... after finding a style that suits me, I gain seventy to eighty thousand fans every day now.” The man nodded.

“Good. Then I wish you success.” Mo Fei shook his hand again. “Let’s give him a round of applause as he exits.”