Jiang Qiuqiu, fresh from her morning routine, pulled open the curtains and found everything outside blanketed in silvery white.

It had snowed again last night. Judging by the thickness of the snow in the courtyard, it must have been a heavy snowfall.

The temperature difference between inside and out was pretty significant, and a layer of hazy white condensation coated the windowpane. Jiang Qiuqiu sucked in a sharp breath and went to eat breakfast.

Breakfast today was Three-Delicacy Meat Patty Soup and beef buns. The buns were tender and smooth, and the clear, savory soup was rich and flavorful. After eating her fill, Jiang Qiuqiu started to feel warm.

Around nine o’clock, she received a message from Sister Mingmei, who said she would be setting out at ten on the dot.

With an hour to spare, not enough time for a training session, Jiang Qiuqiu decided to pop into her fan group chat.

When they weren’t discussing things on the sly, the fans mostly chatted in the group that Qiuqiu was in. It was only when they wanted to discuss silly topics, like "I had a dream last night that I became Juju’s guest of honor," "I dreamed Juju invited me to work at her house for room and board," or "Juju was so happy she decided to sell unlimited portions for an entire year," that they would go to the other group.

Jiang Qiuqiu: Has everyone woken up yet?

NoLongerTheBoss: ! Juju’s here!

CantStopEating: Front-row photo op!

...: Commemorative photo!

A lot of people had set up special notifications for Juju, so the moment she appeared, the group chat exploded with activity.

Many fans were asking: Juju, are you going to the annual gala today?

Jiang Qiuqiu: Yep.

CantStopEating: We saw the preview from the Federation Live Broadcast Company today. We heard you’re performing on stage today, Juju? Are you singing?

Jiang Qiuqiu: Mhm, that’s right. There was no getting around it, I had to perform something, so I signed up to sing.

CantStopEating: ! It’s actually true!

—We’ll definitely be watching on time!

[Suddenly so excited for tonight!]

[We’re gonna see my Juju in higher definition! We’re gonna see my Juju accept her award!]

Some of the fans knew Jiang Qiuqiu was going to accept an award today, and they were even more excited than she was.

Jiang Qiuqiu couldn’t help but smile as she watched the screen constantly refresh with everyone’s comments.

After a lot of talk about the gala, someone inevitably brought up another question.

[So when are you coming back to streaming, Juju? It’s not my hands rushing you, it’s my tongue controlling my brain—]

[???]

[...That’s kind of a gross mental image, yuck.]

Jiang Qiuqiu: It won’t be too long. I’ll probably start streaming again on the 21st. Then I’ll stream on odd-numbered days and open the food showcase on even-numbered days, and I’ll keep that up until—

Jiang Qiuqiu tried to recall. ’When does Federation University start classes again? January 16th?’

She thought for a moment, then continued typing in the chat box: —until the 15th of next month. After the 15th, there will be new adjustments to the stream schedule.

[New adjustments!]

[Could it be because you have more fans, plus it’s a new year, so you’re getting a contract upgrade? Is that why—why you’re changing the stream schedule? Are you going to stream daily?]

The excitement and joy were practically leaping off the screen. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

But, um...

Jiang Qiuqiu: I’ll have to announce that when the time comes.

After that topic, everyone started talking about fan meet-ups, this and that, and everything in between. In short, as long as Jiang Qiuqiu was in the group, it seemed like they had an endless supply of things to talk about.

After a while, the doorbell rang. Sister Mingmei sent a message, and only then did Jiang Qiuqiu realize it was already ten o’clock.

’Wow, chatting is such a time sink.’

She typed "Something’s come up, see you all tonight" into the group chat, then turned off her terminal.

Meimei had called ahead, which was why she was able to pass the security check and bring in all the things Jiang Qiuqiu needed to get ready for the evening.