Chapter 406 - Chapter 406: 157 New Digital Vest, Sister Lian's Piano Recording (Second Update)_2

Chapter 406: 157 New Digital Vest, Sister Lian’s Piano Recording (Second Update)_2

Uncle Lu knew that Pu Xiaohan was a blogger, and he liked, commented, and shared her videos daily, reporting any malicious comments and sending her private messages.

These last couple of days, due to Bai Shaoqi’s influence, a swarm of trolls had descended upon the comments section of Pu Xiaohan’s videos.

There were paid trolls as well as passersby.

These people hadn’t even watched Pu Xiaohan’s previous videos, and were spewing all kinds of abuse in the comments of her latest one.

Pu Xiaohan had long been aware that being a blogger would attract these issues, and she adjusted quickly, but her parents didn’t have such thick skins. They had only this one daughter, and when she got her first troll, her dad could spend the whole night awake arguing with them.

Now, seeing those comments, it was inevitable they’d feel upset.

“Don’t tell Xiaohan about this,” Uncle Lu immediately said to Bai Lian, rubbing the back of his head.

At his age, to be seen crying by Pu Xiaohan’s classmate was deeply embarrassing for Uncle Lu, so he straightened his chest and walked ahead.

Bai Lian led him to the courtyard and opened her phone to download an app.

She hardly had any entertainment apps on her phone.

But she remembered which video app Pu Xiaohan used, so after downloading it, she didn’t bother to fill out the registration and just entered using her phone number.

She sat next to Director Jian, her back to the well, eyes downcast.

Resting her elbow carelessly on the stone table, she looked vaguely menacing in the gentle sunset.

“What are you doing?” Director Jian called Bai Lian’s name a couple of times and, seeing her distracted, he put down the guzheng.

He came over to her.

Bai Lian had just logged in.

Director Jian happened to see her logged in as “User 2589741,” an obviously new account, and exclaimed incredulously, “You really don’t go online?”

He had always thought Bai Lian was just being dismissive, and the realization left him utterly astounded.

“Mhm,” Bai Lian lazily opened the search bar.

Director Jian wasn’t the type to peep, so he sat back down, chatting with her about Yan Lu’s new song.

**

Bai Lian searched for the “One Bowl Per Meal” account. Not only did she find the user, but also a bunch of recommended videos.

The first video was a clip from an entertainment news segment showing Bai Shaoqi’s live stream.

It was a screen-recorded segment of Bai Shaoqi chatting with her fans, “It doesn’t matter, I don’t care, everyone knows I’m not bothered by it. If they want to imitate, then let them… I play softly? No problem, actually, there’s no need to argue with those who don’t understand guzheng. We just need to play our best.”

“I’m still in Xiangcheng, Director Jian? I’m not sure… Everyone, please stop asking, if they want to use ‘Gambling with Liquor’, how could she understand it better than me?”

Bai Lian pursed her lips.

She took out her earphones and listened to the segment of Bai Shaoqi’s video.

Bai Shaoqi had added a drum set to the guzheng piece and tweaked it slightly herself. From Bai Lian’s perspective, emotionally it really was lacking and too soft, not like something she had written.

Pu Xiaohan’s video she had watched the day before.

It was a face-changing video where she added a segment of “Gambling with Liquor” during the General’s transformation.

Although Pu Xiaohan’s skills were average, this part had been guided by Jian Zhongyou, so the emotion in “Gambling with Liquor” was captured very well.

Being from Xiangcheng herself, she revered the song and, having seen Yan Lu practice the spear, only someone who understood could perceive the emotion within.

Bai Lian returned to Pu Xiaohan’s video homepage to see the latest video had garnered 290,000 comments.

Surfer Expert: [Do you really not know the background music is ‘Answering the Tou (Smile)’?]

Lol: [Nowadays anyone can be a blogger. Can the platform ban these idiots who know nothing and just ride on the hype?]

Dark Night Covers Eyes: [@Bai Shaoqi of Beicheng High School, a top student who has performed at Jiangjing Music Academy, are you going to be the guzheng Sect Leader in the future? May I ask the blogger, which school do you come from, where have you performed? Oh, Xiangcheng High School?]

[Troublemakers always come from bad lands (Shy)]

[…]

Having never been online, Bai Lian didn’t know how toxic some people could be.

She also was unaware of the extent to which silent spirals of this kind could spread, how good Pu Xiaohan’s performance actually was, but such opinions were buried beneath the weight of the other side’s comments.

Thus creating an uncontrollable scene, where everyone was maligning Pu Xiaohan.

Newcomers to the internet could easily be swept up by this rhythm, joining in the outrage.

The two highest voted comments were—

Fight the Waves: [Don’t let every Tom, Dick, and Harry come leeching for attention, don’t know anything and yet dare to judge? Do you know more about the style of ‘Gambling with Liquor’ than @Bai Shaoqi?]

[‘One Bowl Per Meal’, how fat are you to have such a username? Are you not showing your face because you’re too ugly?]

Bai Lian took a deep breath.

She stood up “with a whoosh” her expression icy cold.

Next to her, Director Jian jumped in fright; he stopped plucking the strings and looked up at Bai Lian, “What’s wrong?”

Bai Lian shook her head, not speaking, and went to find Pu Xiaohan.

Pu Xiaohan had just finished shooting Ji Heng’s storeroom with her camera.

“Finished recording?” Bai Lian quietly leaned against the door frame, waiting for her to wrap up before raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Pu Xiaohan nodded, reviewing the video she’d shot. In it, her dad was talking to Ji Heng.

The two of them were bragging about each other’s daughters under the guise of casual conversation.

Bai Lian nodded, “Alright, let’s make a video.”

Pu Xiaohan followed Bai Lian outside, taking a big step over the threshold, confused, “What video?”

Bai Lian walked to the stone table and said softly to Director Jian, “Please let me use the guzheng for a bit.”

Director Jian casually handed her the guzheng, “It was yours to begin with, what do you mean ‘let you use it for a bit’.”

And he got up to give his seat to Bai Lian.

This part of the courtyard was set up by Ji Heng for Bai Lian to play the guzheng, the stone slightly raised. She simply sat on the ground, casually placing the guzheng on her thighs.

“Bai Lian,” Pu Xiaohan watched her, sensing what she was about to do, somewhat excitedly, “Bai Lian, are you going to record a se…”

“No,” Bai Lian’s fingers touched the strings, cutting her off, “It’s ‘Gambling with Liquor’.”

Pu Xiaohan suddenly stilled, staring blankly at Bai Lian.

The courtyard lights lit up, casting a chilly light on Bai Lian’s head; beneath the light, her eyes were intensely dark. “Why are you acting like Yan Lu?”

Her fingertips remained on the strings, her posture both casual and defiant, “The style of ‘Gambling with Liquor’, who could understand it better than me?”