Chapter 376: Lifting the Water Retrograde - Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 376: Lifting the Water Retrograde On Han Wenwen's first day back, her support from fans was limited, with only a few thousand viewers tuning in. For someone of her influencer status, this was considered low. The cost of slacking off. However, today's livestream content was something Han Wenwen had planned with Lin Zhengran. She had already decided on the future direction she wanted to take with her gaming — specializing in the support role. By focusing solely on support, she could secure her spot in the year-end livestream competition. Thus, today, Lin Zhengran naturally assumed the marksman position. They intended to boost the stream's popularity through gameplay. In this lifetime, Lin Zhengran hadn't played games much. But the recent breakthrough and enhancement had made him incredibly strong. As soon as he started, he obliterated the enemies with ease, performing complex maneuvers and taking down multiple opponents at once — a pure human cheat code. Additionally, while playing, Lin Zhengran guided Han Wenwen, helping her improve though the viewers couldn’t hear it. Han Wenwen's gaming skills improved as well, ensuring she had numerous standout moments. Despite it being less than an hour since the stream began, the number of viewers in the livestream skyrocketed. "Wow, how can this AD and support be so strong?" "Wenwen's gaming feels even stronger than what we see in her videos. She's landing hooks like a pro! And who's this AD? Never seen them in her videos before. Are they a random player?” "The opposition is completely outclassed, being dominated to the point they’re scared to step out from under their tower." Thanks to Han Wenwen's strong fan base and the engaging gameplay, the stream's viewership quickly grew to tens of thousands. It's clear that today's debut was a success. However, Lin Zhengran could not always play games with Wenwen. After today's debut matches, her future success would depend on her own skills and streaming techniques. He Qing, Jiang Xueli, and Jiang Jing Shi didn’t understand the game, but they could recognize the rising popularity of the livestream. Seeing the flood of comments in the chat, everyone knew today was a major victory! At lunchtime, Lin Zhengran officially stepped out, and in the afternoon, Little Fox would continue the stream solo. The morning's momentum was more than enough. While eating, Han Wenwen happily clung to Lin Zhengran’s arm, her head leaning against him: "Thank you, Brother Zhengran, for helping me with the stream today! I couldn't have gained popularity so quickly without you! Long live Brother Zhengran!" Lin Zhengran smiled and reminded her: "You'll be on your own this afternoon. I'll be practicing music with Lily." Han Wenwen, brimming with confidence, replied: "Don't worry, Brother Zhengran! I have a knack for streaming. Watch me boost the viewership even more this afternoon!" At the dining table, Jiang Xueli, hearing Lin Zhengran would spend the afternoon with her, gladly picked up a drink for a sip. But due to some mishap, she accidentally spilled the drink on her clothes. Startled, her hand slipped, causing the glass to tip over completely! Orange juice splattered onto her shirt and skirt. "Ah! My clothes!" Seeing this, Jiang Jing Shi quickly grabbed a few napkins and laughed while helping clean up: "Lily, why are you so clumsy? Let me help you." He Qing got up to fetch a mop for the spilled juice on the floor: "I'll get the mop!" Han Wenwen, on the other hand, wiped the table clean of juice. Nobody took the incident to heart, but the person involved frowned slightly. Could this still be the effects of the retrograde? How could it continue for so long? She’d already had enough bad luck recently, from bruising her hand to family troubles, and it wasn't even over yet. Could it indeed be like what Fang Meng suggested, that the only way to end this water retrograde was through a particular method? At one o'clock, He Qing was outside exercising and humming to herself, while Jiang Jing Shi was in the bedroom handling files sent by Pan Lin daily. Han Wenwen livestreamed from the study, and Jiang Xueli was adjusting her guitar strings in her music room. Everyone was busy with their own activities. Lin Zhengran entered Jiang Xueli’s music room. She was now wearing a new outfit: ultra-short denim shorts paired with a yellow cartoon T-shirt. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, her position revealed her lace underwear. But since it was only for his eyes, it didn't matter. Lily loved having a bed in the music room, claiming it was the most comfortable place to practice music. Despite her petite stature, this outfit and posture made her legs look long, white, and straight. Lin Zhengran plopped down on the bed and asked: "Yesterday, when I wasn't here, how did your practice go?" Jiang Xueli's face was slightly flushed with pride: "It-it went well, quite smoothly." Lin Zhengran noticed something: "What did you focus on practicing?" Jiang Xueli tugged at her ultra-short shorts uselessly and blushed: "Just the things you previously instructed. I followed your plan," she confessed, before asking: "You know I like sitting cross-legged yet wear shorts like these." He suggested: "You might as well not wear them at all, as I can see everything anyway." Jiang Xueli stuttered in defense: "I do what I want! We’re at home, after all! Besides, there's no issue with you seeing!" Lin Zhengran sensed something off about Lily today. She was more bashful than usual. This silly girl couldn't lie, nor could she keep secrets. Whenever she had something on her mind, it instantly appeared on her face. He looked at Jiang Xueli intently. Under his gaze, Jiang Xueli's face grew redder until she closed her eyes: "Wh-why are you looking at me like that! It's just shorts! Not the first time I've worn them!" "Do you have something you want to tell me?" Lin Zhengran asked, neutral in tone. Jiang Xueli instinctively waved her hands, awkwardly denying: "No, nothing's going on! What could possibly be up?" She wondered: How does he always know what I'm thinking before I even say it? Lin Zhengran sighed. They had been together for so long, yet Lily never seemed to grow up — it was rather endearing: "If you have something to say, just say it. I'll usually agree, given I'm your boyfriend, after all." "I'm aware of that! But what do you mean by 'usual'? What's considered 'unusual'?" "For example, if you suddenly decided to hang upside down to wash your hair all afternoon and wanted me to oversee it, that would be unusual. I have no interest in supervising such boredom, though curiosity might keep me watching for a while." Jiang Xueli protested with eyes closed: "That's absurd! I’d never do such a silly thing! It's like you're saying I'm abnormal!" "Then just say it." Jiang Xueli hesitated, clutching her guitar before reluctantly speaking: "It’s not serious. I’m unsure if you’ve noticed, but I've been unlucky lately.” "Yes, I noticed — you mean spilling your drink today, your dad’s factory incident a while ago, and that you bruised your arm accidently the other day?” Jiang Xueli was touched by how clearly he remembered: "Yes, incidents like that, there's been quite a few." "So?" "I'm in a water retrograde phase! Everything I do seems unlucky. I can't continue like this.” Lin Zhengran blinked, waiting for her to continue. Jiang Xueli fidgeted with her twin pigtails, her voice growing softer: "I heard this from Fang Meng. She mentioned a way to end my water retrograde — by eating chocolate chewed by you, silly. That would end my bad luck." (End of chapter)