The Academic God Becomes an Internet Sensation After Joining a Dating Show - C31 - Normal

Qing Lin’s every expression was caught by the livestream camera. When he glanced at the donation leaderboard, Shen Xuzhi’s name sat firmly at the top.

[Ahhhh, it must be Shen Laoshi’s message! What did he send?]

[OMG just DM him directly, ShenLin here is unstoppable!]

[Shen Xuzhi loves him so much.]

Qing Lin thought about replying but hesitated, typing and deleting several times.

Just then, his phone buzzed. Shen Xuzhi was calling.

A sudden jolt ran through him, the vibration echoing loudly in the quiet room. Quickly, he glanced at the livestream chat.

[He’s calling lg]

[Is that Shen Xuzhi’s call!!]

[Answer! Put it on speaker!]

He had never done this during a livestream before, but he followed the audience’s urging and tapped the speaker icon.

“Hello?”

A deep, magnetic voice flowed through the mic, immediately drawing Qing Lin’s attention.

[Ahhh it’s really Ah Zhi!]

[Damn, they’re already dating, right? That “hello” alone is drowning me in feels.]

[Ahhhh don’t mind me don’t mind me]

“Shen Laoshi,” Qing Lin greeted.

“Not turning off the livestream?” Shen Xuzhi’s voice carried a trace of amusement, as if he hadn’t expected it.

“Ah… should I?” Qing Lin glanced at the rapidly moving comments, leaning closer to find the off switch.

[Ahhh no no let us listen!]

[What’s there that we can’t hear (tsk tsk) we’re all family, relax.]

[Don’t end the stream! Don’t end the stream! No! No!]

“No need,” Shen Xuzhi said lightly. “This is fine.”

Listening to that voice, Qing Lin asked, “Why didn’t you message me earlier?”

“I was afraid of disturbing your study,” came the calm reply.

[HAHAHAHA this is so funny]

[Obviously, lp just wants Qing Lin to pay attention to him]

[Shen Laoshi is seriously underappreciated]

In hindsight, Qing Lin supposed he should have guessed that Shen Xuzhi would watch his livestream. After all, it was part of the pre-show promotion. But who would have thought he’d sit there, silently watching, for two whole hours?

If someone planned to livestream a phone call, surely they would have prepared a few topics beforehand.

But now, with the camera trained directly on him, countless viewers watching from the other side of the screen, and his two roommates—who had been quietly studying moments ago—now leaning in from just outside the frame, eyes alight with anticipation for the unfolding drama, Qing Lin’s mind went blank.

“Why did you go quiet?” Shen Xuzhi’s voice came through the phone, low and unhurried.

“Hold on.” Qing Lin rose from his seat, switched off the speaker, and leaned toward the camera. His lips curved in a polite smile. “Sorry, everyone. That’s it for today. See you next time.”

The indoor lighting was bright, casting a porcelain sheen over his skin. His expression had settled back into its usual calm, yet the faint flush lingering at the tips of his ears stood out starkly against the pale glow.

Phone in hand, he turned to Huang Zishun, who was clearly trying to sneak a peek, and said, “Turn off the livestream for me.”

“Ah… oh, okay.” Huang Zishun scrambled to comply.

[Ahhhhhhh he really ended the stream!!!]

[My god, he’s reeling me in, I’m crying!]

[Ahhhhhhh unless those two are going on an R-rated date, I refuse to accept any other reason!]

[Why! What are they whispering about?!]

Qing Lin had, indeed, ended the stream. He crossed to the balcony, closed the door behind him, and called softly, “Shen Laoshi.”

“Not streaming anymore, huh?” Shen Xuzhi’s voice came through slowly, rich and mellow, like aged wine uncorked after years in a sealed jar.

“No.” Qing Lin pressed his lips together. “After I saw the comments… I didn’t know what to say.”

Outside, the sky had already darkened. It wasn’t all that late, yet in the distance, not a single soul could be seen.

“Shen Laoshi… about earlier, during the stream. Why did you send me so many gifts?”

“It’s fine. Don’t think too much about it. Just take it as a reward for studying so diligently.”

At that, Qing Lin felt a flicker of embarrassment. Shen Xuzhi had really sat through more than two hours of his livestream…. hadn’t he been bored?

“You could have…”

“Why the sudden livestream?” Shen Xuzhi cut in gently. “If I hadn’t stumbled upon it, I wouldn’t even have known.”

Qing Lin swallowed the rest of his words. So, it wasn’t Hong Shanyue who had tipped him off. It was Shen Xuzhi who had gone looking on his own.

Something inside him trembled. For no reason at all, his voice softened. “Ah… I just felt like streaming, that’s all.”

“Mm.” The reply was quiet, as if spoken right at his ear, warm, steady, and inexplicably reassuring.

The cicadas of summer screeched loudly through the night, their song falling heavily onto the high branches of the trees.

“You’re still on campus, aren’t you?” Shen Xuzhi’s voice cut softly through the background hum.

“Yeah.”

“There’s a really good cake shop on Chengxi Road. Want to go with me?”

Chengxi Road?

“You’re back?” Qing Lin asked.

“Just arrived this afternoon,” Shen Xuzhi replied. “After watching you on screen for so long, I want to see you in person.”

Badump.

Qing Lin’s heart felt restless and unsettled, heat rising through his body until sweat nearly broke out, probably just from the sweltering air outside without any air conditioning. Behind him, his two gossip-hungry roommates were practically plastered against the balcony door, their outlines faintly visible through the frosted glass.

Feeling the heat rise even more, Qing Lin sensed this was getting dangerous.

“Sorry, Mr. Shen, I have something on tonight, so I won’t have the time. And you’re a public figure. Going to a shop would draw too much attention… so maybe we should just drop it.”

Silence seeped through the line.

Qing Lin swallowed, then tentatively called, “Mr. Shen?”

“Mm.” After a long pause, Shen Xuzhi finally answered. “I understand.” His voice was lighter now, laced with a faint disappointment.

“You should rest early.”

They exchanged a few more words before he abruptly hung up.

The sudden stillness was suffocating.

In the wide, empty house, Shen Xuzhi sat alone on the sofa. The absence of sound pressed in on him, as if something vital had been stripped away, leaving only a faint hollowness. He set his phone on the coffee table, reached for the bottle of red wine beside him, and poured himself a glass.

The room stayed unlit, draped in shadows. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights shimmered, yet the air felt heavy, almost stagnant.

He lifted the glass, watching the wine cling to the curve before sliding back down, leaving a thin, dark trace.

On the coffee table, his phone screen still glowed faintly, illuminating a single news headline.

“Shen Group acquires GHAB Company for $570 million, becoming the largest multinational enterprise in the Yangtze River Delta region.”

Shen Xuzhi thought it was absurd.

Apparently, Shen Fu had handled the last Xiaxing business dinner perfectly well without him.

Truly a man without scruples.

Beside the wine bottle on the table stood the music award trophy he had just brought home, the highest honor in the country, the kind countless pop musicians dreamed of touching.

He hadn’t even taken a sip of the wine, yet its imagined flavor was already heavy on his tongue, the aged richness teasing his taste buds, drawing up emotions only to drag them under and smother them.

His gaze turned hazy, pupils losing focus like wind shadows drifting without a shore. In the blur, a voice emerged, pressing down on his shoulders, grinding into his flesh, drilling mercilessly into his ear.

“Lowly. Vulgar.”

Shen Fu had wiped his hands with a cloth, movements cold and methodical, like a snake shedding its skin. His narrow eyes gleamed as he said, “I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Around them lay shredded sheet music, an earphone tossed carelessly to the floor, still bleeding a song meant to be gentle.

Shen Xuzhi stood with his head lowered, fists so tight his veins stood out, nails biting deep into his palms until they left crescent marks. His lips, bitten until they bled, trembled faintly.

“I hear you’re still playing in a band?” Shen Fu’s tone devoid of emotion, his gaze passing over him as if he were nothing but air.

Cold air filled the room, carrying a silence so heavy it was hard to speak, like boiling a basket of seawater until the mist was gone, leaving only coarse, bitter salt.

“I thought you’d grown up.” Shen Fu sat down, eyes sweeping over him from head to toe. “Already in high school, yet still so naive. You’re useless for anything serious, only good at ruining things.”

The words rang in his skull, each one a needle stabbing deeper.

Shen Fu rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping coldly over the equipment in the room. “Stop wasting your time in circles that do nothing for you. Get rid of all this and have things back to normal by evening.”

Shen Xuzhi stayed silent. A sharp, stinging ache rose in his nose, splitting open an old crack in his heart and tugging at wounds that had never truly healed.

His eyes burned hot.

Shen Fu’s expression never changed, calm and indifferent. To him, anything within his grasp, any chess piece already placed on the board, was his to toy with. He could tighten his hold just to hear its desperate cries for help or give it the slightest push to watch it flail, savoring the sight with the cold detachment of a spectator.

“Oh, right. President An’s daughter seems to like you quite a bit.”

On his way out, he cast Shen Xuzhi a glance, perhaps the only look that night carrying even the faintest trace of satisfaction.

“Find some time to take her out for a meal.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Shen Xuzhi pressed a hand to his temple, drained a glass of ice water, and went to the bathroom to splash his face. He rolled his neck, a faint twinge running down his cervical spine.

It seemed more time had slipped by than he’d thought. The sky outside had dimmed, though maybe it was only the stillness of being alone that made time feel so blurred.

He wiped his face, drops of water still clinging to his chin.

Why had that memory come back?

To him, it was nothing more than a tedious, meaningless scrap of the past. It no longer stirred any real emotion. He could meet it with complete composure. Yet somehow, moments ago, it had crept back into his mind.

Shen Fu’s attitude had always been revolting, and turning against him back then had been the only right choice.

Absurd.

Why waste another thought on it?

He grabbed a towel, dried his face, and headed back to the living room. His phone was vibrating.

The screen’s glow cut sharply through the dark, like a small beacon urging him forward, breaking the silence. It was a call from Qing Lin.

“Mr. Shen.”

The young man’s voice was warm and clear, the tail softened by a gentle breath. Speaking through the receiver gave it a faint, uneven huskiness and without seeing his face, the sound alone carried a quiet, tender reproach.

Qing Lin said slowly, “The cake shop you mentioned earlier is too crowded. I know a smaller, more hidden one, it tastes just as good, and it’s tucked away enough that you won’t run into too many fans.”

“I just realized I don’t actually have anything to do tonight… so why don’t we go there instead?” He paused, then asked, “Is that okay?”

That stubborn yet earnest tone made Shen Xuzhi smile before he realized it. He had to admit—he was defenseless against him.

It was like that now, and it had been like that many years ago.

From the moment he’d first seen Qing Lin on the rooftop back in high school, wind tugging at the hem of his uniform, it had swept in an endless, unshakable love.

“Okay,” Shen Xuzhi said with a smile. “I’ll come pick you up.”