TGMNDIAR - 59
Xu Mu didn't usually transform into his mimicry state. On one hand, he wasn't used to it, and on the other hand, he didn't like snakes.
But tonight, he suddenly felt quite comfortable transforming into a snake. It seemed that what StarNet said, that mimicry was the most comfortable state for orcs, wasn't false.
Of course, it could also be due to smelling a familiar scent, he felt lazy all over.
Snakes naturally preferred warm and humid environments. If not in hunting mode, they would move slowly. In colder seasons, their movements would slow down even more, wishing to hibernate in place, coiling their tails in circles. Warm and moist caves were undoubtedly the best places for them.
It was like returning to the womb, soft, comforting, and comfortable.
...
Xu Mu slept until dawn.
Compared to the blanket emitting continuous heat, the delicate, temperature-regulated skin was obviously more comfortable.
Therefore, when he realized that the latter had left, he woke up instantly.
In his blurry vision, human figures overlapped.
After gathering his senses, he felt slightly better.
Xu Mu tried to speak but found that he couldn't make any sound.
Then the person at the bedside left.
Shortly after, the sound of water came from the bathroom.
Xu Mu slowly realized, oh, he was still a snake.
He couldn't speak.
"It's already nine o'clock..." Xu Mu pressed his temples, sat up, and swiftly changed his clothes.
Knock knock—
"Morning, Nianye ge."
Bai Nian spat out toothpaste foam and looked at himself in the mirror, his two furry ears perking up.
He smiled at the corners of his eyes. "Morning."
Xu Mu filled the newly bought mouthwash cup with water, squeezed toothpaste, and stood side by side with Bai Nian to brush their teeth.
That feeling was very strange.
Xu Mu couldn't describe it; it was probably the embodiment of happiness, something that could only be felt but not expressed in words.
"Brother Nian..." He nudged Bai Nian's shoulder.
Bai Nian finished rinsing his mouth and looked up. "What's up?"
"Wait for me... I haven't finished brushing my teeth yet." Xu Mu said vaguely.
Bai Nian smiled. "I still need to wash my face—"
"Together."
Bai Nian found it funny but still waited in place.
Xu Mu sped up his brushing.
"Done, let's wash our faces." He realized his behavior was a bit silly and tried to justify, "It's the first time we've shared a morning routine since moving in together, it's kind of ceremonial."
"By that logic..." Bai Nian wet the towel and gently wiped his face, "I should've waited for you to get up too."
Xu Mu paused.
"You actually took that seriously?" Bai Nian sighed, both amused and exasperated, and patted his head.
Xu Mu took the opportunity to bend over and pull him into a hug from behind, resting his chin on Bai Nian's shoulder, his face still damp with water droplets.
He looked at the gray-blue eyes in the mirror and said slowly, "Yeah, Brother Nian, why didn't you wake me up?"
Bai Nian propped one arm on the sink, his neck itching from Xu Mu's hair.
He leaned away with a light laugh. "You were sleeping so soundly. I touched you, but you didn't react, so I let you keep sleeping."
"Oh..." Xu Mu lowered his gaze, his nose brushing against Bai Nianye's ear. "But you could have called me."
"I did." Bai Nian tried to evade the itchiness.
Xu Mu's arm was firmly around his waist, intentionally tickling him.
"If I didn't hear it, it doesn't count." Bai Nian couldn't hold back anymore, he twisted his waist and laughed, his tail wagging uncontrollably.
"You know, haha, in that case, I'll need a megaphone next time..." His speech was interrupted by laughter, his stomach aching.
"Can't you shout a few more times?" Xu Mu's lips curled slightly, enjoying this banter.
"But you said, haha, you couldn't hear me, right?" Bai Nian looked up, his eyes shimmering with tears of laughter.
"That's different."
Bai Nian glanced at him, his eyebrows raised playfully. "Alright, stop acting coquettishly. From now on, when I call you, I’ll make it clear for you. Don't pretend not to hear and get mad."
Xu Mu clicked his tongue. "I'm not acting coquettishly."
He tickled him again, moving around.
Bai Nian laughed and tried to dodge, but because he was being hugged, his movement was limited, so he ended up completely curled up in Xu Mu's arms.
Suddenly, he glared at him.
Xu Mu looked innocent. "Sorry, I forgot. You like wearing straps, so I just untied it."
Bai Nian kicked him. "Stop it."
Xu Mu leaned in with a smile, and the two of them continued to play around.
...
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!..."
Suddenly, the sound of Ye Ye's voice came, getting closer and closer.
Behind him, there was also Nades admonition.
"Master Ye Ye, don't run so fast! Be careful!"
There was a clang, followed by a commotion.
"Go and take Ye Ye away." Bai Nian's eyes were watery, his lips slightly swollen, and his cheeks flushed.
He pushed Xu Mu out.
Xu Mu was caught off guard and stumbled backward a few steps.
When he looked up, the automatic door had already closed.
"Daddy!" Ye Ye's voice was crisp and clear, extremely loud.
Xu Mu turned his back and stuffed the white gauze panties in his hand into his pocket, crumpling it into a ball.
"Up!" Ye Ye tilted his head back, opening his arms, asking for a hug.
Xu Mu picked him up with one hand and lifted him with one arm, securely holding him in the crook of his arm.
"What time did Ye Ye wake up today? Did you eat breakfast obediently?"
He kept his other hand behind his back, his fingers were a bit wet.
"Very early, very early, very early..." Ye Ye exaggerated, "I ate a bun! With red bean paste!"
"Wow, that's impressive." Xu Mu praised generously.
Ye Ye laughed, revealing the gap in his teeth, and then looked for Bai Nian again.
"Daddy—"
"Hey, don't call, Daddy's in the bathroom, um, about to take a shower, he'll be out soon."
Ye Ye tilted his head, then nodded vigorously, indicating that he understood.
"Saiya!" His eyes sparkled.
"Okay, let’s go play Saiya."
Ye Ye cheered.
---
The weekends were good days.
Xu Mu played with Ye Ye all morning. After lunch, he continued to tackle the headache-inducing end-of-term assignments.
"Brother Nian, it's a bit stressful with you sitting next to me."
Bai Nian pushed his glasses up and smiled faintly. "I'm not scolding you, why would it be stressful?"
He was also drawing, but compared to Xu Mu's painstaking effort, his strokes were more casual.
It didn't seem like work; it felt more like finding an excuse to sit at the same table and draw with Xu Mu.
Xu Mu sighed. "I'm afraid of making stupid mistakes and embarrassing myself in front of you."
"Everyone makes mistakes, there's no need to be afraid. Even I made…"
"It's not that," Xu Mu explained. "I understand what you mean. I just want to show you my good side, you know?"
Bai Nian chuckled, Xu Mu was too honest.
Xu Mu joked again, "After all, facing someone outstanding in their field, an average person meeting a genius, it's like the food chain; the mediocre will definitely get eaten."
Bai Nian leaned in with a helpless smile. "I can't argue with you."
He looked at Xu Mu's lips again and lightly tapped them. "Everyone surely has their own strengths. You shine brightly in your own field."
Xu Mu looked puzzled. "What field am I in?"
Bai Nian said earnestly, "Gaming, live streaming..."
"Hold on." Xu Mu froze. "You've watched my live streams?"
"Yeah."
"...Oh."
"Uh, is that not okay?" Bai Nian hesitated. "One time when we were playing games together, someone in the chat said you were a streamer, and I got curious, so I looked you up."
"You can watch." Xu Mu felt a bit uneasy, thinking about how he was during his streams, feeling a flutter in his heart.
In the streaming industry, it was 30% talent and 70% hard work. As a gaming streamer, besides being good at the game, you also need to entertain the viewers and create some showmanship.
When he tried streaming "Overlook" before, it was just a casual test with a random game, but it did garner quite a bit of attention.
The operations team from the Muw Association even came to him, asking if he had decided on a specific game genre for his streams. They tentatively suggested adjusting the previous decision to play "Crimson Earth" and instead focus on building up the popularity first, establishing a name for himself, and then gradually adjusting. Games require dedication, but you also can't just immerse yourself entirely.
In other words, your skills need to be solid, but you also can't neglect interacting with your audience. It's best to have your own style that leaves an impression on people. The ideal situation is for viewers to feel a connection and watch your stream even when they have nothing else to do, rather than only tuning in when they need a game guide and forgetting who you are after the video ends.
Of course, having a distinctive style is a nebulous concept. To put it bluntly, it's about having charisma. Charisma is a bit of a mystical thing; Xu Mu primarily drew from his previous life’s streaming style, adapting it to the actual conditions of the orc world and the types of games he played.
Xu Mu had to admit that there was quite a difference between his online streaming persona and his offline daily self. Playing games could involve not talking much and just focusing on how to beat the game, but there were always moments to interact with the viewers. Being too silent wouldn't work, nor would being too boring.
At the same time, he needed to strike a balance and maintain a proper degree of interaction.
Unless a game streamer was a professional player and didn't rely on streaming for a living, they could freely express their personality. More lively streamers would actively pick topics, perform tricks, and make snappy comments.
Some would make sharp and witty remarks, while the more silent ones might not speak at all, simply focusing on the game without interacting with the chat, yet they would still have a fanbase that passionately followed them, faithfully tuning in to their streams.
"Brother Nian, what do you think of my streams?" Xu Mu twirled his pen, trying to sound casual.
"They're pretty good," Bai Nianye replied.
Xu Mu continued to stare at him.
Bai Nian blinked. "Your game explanations are detailed. Even though I don’t fully understand, judging by the feedback in the chat, they seem well-received... and your chatting is interesting too."
He suddenly smiled. "I didn't realize you had such a dry sense of humor, Ah Mu."
Xu Mu: "..."
For some reason, ever since a certain stream where someone shared their experience of being cheated on during the usual chat time, things had spiraled out of control.
Various bizarre emotional issues emerged, some of them outrageously absurd, but the live stream instantly became popular on the platform because of this material. The operation team said to strike while the iron is hot, so Xu Mu had to listen even if he was reluctant.
"Are you going to stream tonight?" Bai Nian asked happily, "It seems like you start at 8:30 every day and usually stream for two hours."
"...Yeah." In the early stages of live streaming, consistency is crucial to build a habitual audience.
"Can I sit next to you—no, I mean, can I sit behind the camera and watch you?" Bai Nian asked with a smile. "I feel like listening to your voice live would be more interesting."
Xu Mu said hesitantly, "This... might not be a good idea."
"Why not?" Bai Nian leaned closer.
Xu Mu, feeling helpless, replied, "With such a big person standing in front of me, wouldn’t I get nervous?"
He held his forehead, "At that point, the only highlight will be gone."
"No, you’ll always look handsome," Bai Nian said, holding his face. "Think about it, being able to chat naturally before the stream, and even catching key comments while playing games, is really impressive."
He added, "Now, when I face a large audience, giving speeches, introducing drafts or diagrams, I start to get nervous."
"If I hadn't seen you hold online meetings, I would have believed that."
"That's just the surface. After working for a long time, you learn to hide it."
"I’ve also seen you discuss design plans with others—" Xu Mu did not back down at all, with a low pressure.
"Was it that argument? Because it was a collaborative design, and the other party had some wild ideas that were unrealistic. We were worried about problems during construction. Even if we didn’t argue then, we would definitely argue with the engineers later."
"…"
"Ah Mu?"
Bai Nian wrapped his ears around Xu Mu's neck and curled his tail around Xu Mu's wrist.
Xu Mu coughed lightly, "Brother Nian, there's really nothing interesting about my livestream. If you really want to watch, you can just watch the screen."
Bai Nian didn’t respond. His furry ears brushed against Xu Mu’s face, gently rubbing.
"I'll just sit beside you, not talk, not move. Just pretend I’m not there."
Xu Mu said, "My brain might be able to do that, but my heart will definitely be thinking about you."
Bai Nian paused, then smiled and asked, "Wow, is that a love confession?"
After he said that, his own face turned slightly red, but he still looked at Xu Mu gently.
"..." Xu Mu met his gaze, then looked away. "I'm just being honest."
Bai Nian sighed, "Alright, since you think my presence would be distracting..."
Xu Mu corrected him, "It’s more like you’ll disturb my thoughts, not just be a distraction. There’s a difference—"
The weight in his arms suddenly lightened as Bai Nian’s light clothing fell away.
Xu Mu looked down and saw an adorable lop-eared rabbit peeking out from his collar.
The rabbit jumped into Xu Mu’s hands, sat down, tilted its head, grabbed its ears, and placed them in Xu Mu’s palm.
It also obediently placed its tail there and lay down with its belly spread out.
It seemed to be saying, ‘Come on, pet me.’
Xu Mu: "..." Damn, how did he come to this seductive trick?
No, it should be called a seductive "rabbit" trick.
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