Chapter 171: Flirting Online

Chapter 171: Flirting Online

"You're a lunatic, hahahahaha!"

"Is that you, Fat Guevara?"

"666!"

"Who knew Fatty Meng had such a voice in him!"

"An art streamer who finishes a sketch and then breaks into an impression—I ask you, are you not entertained?"

"Do another one!"

Meng Fan's vocal performance was quite the spectacle. To the viewers in the chat, it was both stunning and delightful. The absurdity of it had many of them laughing behind their screens; the barrage of comments grew thick, and the gifts followed suit.

"Can't you all just watch me draw in peace?"

Meng Fan chuckled, resumed the music he had paused, and picked up his brush. He continued to draw, but his mouth didn't stop moving. "Everyone has their own dreams, right? I have mine, too. Painting is one, and voice acting is the other. I've always wanted to be a voice actor, and I've practiced quite a bit. I just submitted some demos to a few directors today, though I haven't heard back yet. I reckon it's a bust."

He chatted as if with a group of friends, his hand never faltering on the canvas. He shared anecdotes from his training and spoke of interesting people he’d met, though he was careful to keep names to himself.

Most of the viewers in the room were manga enthusiasts, and they were naturally intrigued by the world of voice acting. After Meng Fan spoke for a while, those who had been clamoring for another impression quieted down.

Beyond the novelty and appeal of the content, the timbre and rhythm of Meng Fan’s voice kept them listening, as if they were being lulled by a story.

It was, truth be told, quite a cozy scene.

As Meng Fan spoke, he could feel the atmosphere through the screen, and he noticed a steady influx of new viewers.

The chat was still active, but it had taken on a uniquely quiet, attentive quality, devoid of its usual rowdiness.

This actually surprised Meng Fan. So, it turned out that just chatting could really serve as content for a stream.

It seemed it really could.

Female streamers flirting and bantering were always a draw, of course.

And then there were the guys who just told jokes.

But Meng Fan was different; he wasn't flirting or telling jokes—he was just talking.

Meng Fan found this approach surprisingly comfortable.

By eleven o'clock, though he intended to keep drawing, he didn't plan to keep streaming; broadcasting the entire manga would surely be a mistake.

"One last page, then I'm signing off. Everyone get some sleep early."

As he drew this final page, he recalled the corresponding scene from the original novel and was suddenly struck by a mischievous impulse. "I wonder how many fans of the original 'Spirits Underground' are here? I think this part written by Old Ku is quite atmospheric. Let me read it for you."

Then, Meng Fan’s voice dropped into a raspy, distorted register: "...Aruo always felt her hands were sticky. She turned the faucet, the water was icy, so she pulled her hand back to wait for the hot water. Steam rose from the tap, but the water was red—scarlet red—and then, a foul stench filled the air. A bug, a purple bug with a human face, crawled out of the faucet, grinning. Aruo stumbled back in horror and collided with someone. A person? How could there be someone in her house! She turned, and a girl holding a cat was smiling at her: 'Let's learn to meow together, meow, meow, meow...'"

"Holy crap!"

"You lunatic!"

"Unfollowing!"

"I was actually getting into the mood, damn it!"

"I was ready to be scared, and you hit me with that!"

"Streamer Meng, you're going to break your back with that kind of reach!"

"My heart can't take this!"

"..."

Once Meng Fan lowered his voice, he was truly capable of conjuring a terrifying atmosphere. Given the girl's dialogue and the plot progression in the novel, it was genuinely chilling; Meng Fan himself had gotten goosebumps when he first read it.

He knew that with his vocal charisma, if he followed the original text, the viewers would be genuinely frightened. He didn't have the heart for it, nor did he want such a cozy stream to end on that note, so he pulled a fast one.

"Hahaha." Meng Fan gave an awkward but polite laugh, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, just a joke. How about this? Let me read you a love poem to help you drift off to sleep."

"You're crazy, who wants you to read us a love poem!"

"That's so gay, reported!"

"Run away!"

"Sexy streamer, flirting online!"

"I'm not believing a word you say anymore!"

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening!"

"Sleep, my foot! Meng, if you want to sleep with me, just say so!"

"I'm out, the stench of sentimentality is getting too strong!"

"If you don't want to listen, leave! We want to hear it!"

"What's your problem? There are girls in this room! This girl wants to be flirted with by Streamer Meng!"

"Hurry, hurry! No guy has ever read me a love poem in my life!"

Many in the chat were protesting, but the number of viewers didn't drop.

Meng Fan didn't care about the protests; he began to recite with deep emotion: "How I wish there were a doorway / In the morning, sunlight on the grass / We stand / Holding the door frame / The door is low, but the sun is bright / The grass is seeding / The wind is shaking its leaves / We stand, saying nothing / That is beautiful enough / There is a door, no need to open it / If it is ours, that is beautiful enough / ...The grass behind the wall / Grows no more / It only touches the sunlight with its fingertips."

After finishing Gu Cheng's "Before the Door," Meng Fan leaned closer to the camera, his voice dripping with sincerity. "And one last line. I love you, a poem cannot exhaust my heart's intent. If you allow it, let me live in your heart, through three meals a day, through all four seasons."

He reached out and covered the camera, the screen went black, and the stream ended.

"Damn, was that smooth or what?"

"That was dangerously smooth!"

"What do I do, I'm actually swooning!"

"Is this even the same Fatty Meng I know?"

"I've got goosebumps all over!"

"Is he an art streamer or a flirt? Where does he get all these tricks?"

"I'm going to clip that poem and the ending to listen to as a sleep aid. Any other sisters want it? I'll post it in the group!"

"...Can a brother get in on that?"

Meng Fan had logged off, but the comments in the room kept flowing, and the various fan groups were soon buzzing with activity.

"That was actually quite interesting!"

Meng Fan took a sip of water. He had never really used such smooth lines before—well, except perhaps when he was trying to complete the "Be a Good Person" confession quest, where he’d spouted some cringeworthy, cheesy lines. This was truly a remarkable experience.

Vocal charisma—the ability to move people with one's voice.

Meng Fan felt that his voice was indeed quite capable of touching people now.

Finding a voice-acting job with this might still be difficult for the moment, but this attribute, once acquired, was far from useless.

He could flirt in the stream, and in reality, he probably could too... maybe.

He took another look at the peak concurrent viewers and the total watch count added by the system; the data caught him by surprise.