Rise

“WHAAT?” Su Xue cried out. After welcoming An Xin, Su Xue had rushed back to the kitchen to put the finishing touches to the late night snacks she’d been preparing. She’d brought them out, allowing Lin Feng to attack the plates of food, and started talking with An Xin. That was how she learned An Xin and Lin Feng had been friends since elementary school. She couldn’t wait for An Xin to explain it in any more detail as she started firing off questions, “You knew Little Feng? How was he? Just as stupid as he is now?” She giggled at her own joke, then leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Wooow. So you guys go way back.”

“Yeah, we do! We go way back!” Lin Feng interjected. Then he started grinning and added, “She used to be so chubby, you wouldn’t believe it. Oh! You know those meat buns? She was fat just like one of those!”

An Xin pointedly ignored Lin Feng and nodded at Su Xue, saying, “Yeah, we do.”

Su Xue looked at An Xin and shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe it,” she mumbled. “You’re nice and beautiful and way too good for this stupid kid… I don’t know what he did in his past life to deserve a friend like you, but he better count his lucky stars.”

An Xin smiled at the compliment and replied, “You make it sound like you’re not far prettier than me! And you’re pretty amazing yourself too! Lin Feng mentioned that you’re a League streamer, so I’ve been catching some of your streams. You’re always online and you’re working so hard to make everyone feel welcome! Your viewers love you! You managed to create a place where everyone feels welcome. That’s really impressive!”

Su Xue started blushing from all the compliments and said, “No, no, you’re exaggerating! It’s not that good. I’m still working really hard to get to that point… Also, my viewers don’t love me. Those ungrateful degens are always making my life miserable. Just yesterday…” She started recounting all the terrible things her viewers had said to her over the last couple of days and how they drove her crazy.

An Xin listened to Su Xue ranting about her viewers, smiling at the passion behind Su Xue’s words. This wasn’t the I will murder you-smile that she gave Lin Feng all the time, but rather a normal, friendly one. When Su Xue briefly paused to catch her breath, An Xin said, “I’m really not exaggerating. You’ve done something really special. You bonded with your viewers. They see your community as a family. That’s not something most people can pull off. You should be very proud of yourself. I know I’m impressed.”

Su Xue started smiling and then grinning. An Xin knew just the right words to say. That was exactly what Su Xue was trying to do with her stream! To create a community where everyone felt welcome, a community built around having a good time together. And someone noticed that without her saying it. That was all the proof Su Xue needed to confirm that the hard work she was putting into her streams was worth it.

“Yeah! Su Xue is just a little insecure! She doesn’t believe that her viewers are only teasing her! But it’s so obvious! She does put in a lot of effort to make them happy, though,” Lin Feng chimed in.