Within Starry Sky Wander.

The New Year was just around the corner, and the research institute had successfully improved one of its weapons. But after days of intense labor, Mo Chengyu’s Spirit Sea was becoming unstable again. Worried she might suffer another spiritual power collapse, Director Zhang had given her an early vacation.

Now, Mo Chengyu, Mo Si, Zuo Kai, and the Right Protector were all gathered in the main hall of the small castle, watching a live stream.

The men were all silent. Aside from the host on the stream, the only person talking was Mo Chengyu.

"Ooh, he’s pretty good-looking too."

Mo Chengyu commented from her spot on the sofa, "Oh, and this one! They’re all so handsome."

"No wonder Federation live streams are so popular. With faces like these, the KPIs and Star Coins just roll right in."

As she commented with gusto, Mo Si glanced up. "You like this type?"

"Yeah. Aren’t handsome pretty boys the mainstream ideal these days? It’s not just me; everyone likes them. If you don’t believe me, look at the bullet comments." With that, Mo Chengyu enabled the stream’s bullet comments feature.

The streamers currently on screen were the second and third-place winners from the Appearance category. They had tons of fans, and as soon as the bullet comments appeared, the entire upper half of the screen was flooded with messages like, "SOOOO GORGEOUS," "HUSBAND, LOOK AT ME," "OMG, I’M DEAD," and "MY LOVE, SO BEAUTIFUL!" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

It was more than enough to prove their immense popularity.

Mo Si had no interest in any of this. He watched the projection on the screen, his expression growing distant, until—

"Next up are this year’s breakout streamers, Jiang Jiujiu from the Food category and Chen Yu from the Appearance category!"

Onscreen, the camera bots from the major media outlets lining the red carpet whirred to life. At the same moment, Mo Si sat bolt upright.

The sudden movement on the sofa caused Mo Chengyu to steal a glance at him, and she grinned inwardly. ’Hehe.’

’Looks like while I was busy at the lab, Big Brother has gotten much worse at hiding his feelings for Qiuqiu.’

Mo Si wasn’t the only one who perked up; so did Jiang Jiujiu’s fans.

[Juju’s here!]

[It’s Juju! She’s finally here!]

The bullet comments were quickly taken over by Jiang Qiuqiu’s fans.

Soon, the fans noticed something unusual!

Unlike the streamers before them, these two weren’t walking in side-by-side. The streamer named Chen Yu seemed to be a few steps behind Jiang Qiuqiu.

[Hmm? Why aren’t they walking together?]

Someone in the bullet comments began to wonder if Jiang Qiuqiu was being too bossy, suggesting that she shouldn’t make him walk a few steps behind her just because they were sharing the red carpet.

But as the camera zoomed in, everyone suddenly realized—oh, from a distance, it looked like one was walking in front of the other, but the real reason their shadows were apart was that the male streamer, Chen Yu, was holding the train of Jiang Qiuqiu’s gown.

The camera continued to zoom in. Jiang Qiuqiu was at the forefront in an apricot-colored, gauze princess gown, while Chen Yu consistently remained behind her, holding its train. Jiang Qiuqiu walked ahead with a faint smile, and when she glanced to the side, a few strands of her hair curled playfully in the wind.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu, walking behind her, wore the same expressionless face he was known for on his streams.

The two of them didn’t exchange a single word, yet the sight of them moving together irresistibly brought to mind a gentle princess and her silent knight.

A powerful sense of couple-like chemistry suddenly overflowed from the screen.

[??? W-what is this?]

[Are they a couple on a date?]

[Can anyone tell me who that guy with Juju is again?]

[Oh, I remember now! Isn’t he the male streamer who promoted Juju on his own channel? The number one in the Appearance category, I think?]

[...Damn, they actually look kinda good together?]

[They look like a perfect couple!]

Based on looks alone, both casual viewers and Jiang Jiujiu’s fans had to admit that the two of them were an unexpectedly good match.

Even Mo Chengyu let out an impressed "wow" upon seeing them arrive together, which immediately prompted Mo Si to ask in a heavy tone, "What? What are you ’wowing’ about?"

"You think they look good together, too?"

There was something off about his tone. Mo Chengyu glanced back at him, and one look at his expression was enough to startle her. Driven by a strong will to live, she quickly said, "No, not at all! I was just thinking that Qiuqiu has great taste in clothes. She looks so beautiful today."

Only then did his expression soften, but that didn’t mean he agreed with Mo Chengyu’s assessment.

He said, "If she really knew how to pick clothes, she wouldn’t have chosen one that long."

If it weren’t so long, there wouldn’t be any need for some superfluous person to be holding the train.

...

An eyesore.