"Who is this guy? He seems to have a more relaxed life than I do."
Ony had never met a tutor quite like this before.
"But he's really good," Naza repeated her speech from the awards ceremony, this time delivering it much more smoothly.
Three hours of tutoring for such immediate improvement? That was worth every penny.
"Quick, save his contact info! I want to hire him again next time I need help."
"Huh?" Ony hadn't expected Naza to consider hiring him again.
"His service was impeccable. He left right on time after his shift. Stop overthinking it, Ony. He boosted my spoken English in just three hours—that's more valuable than anything else."
"True..."
Meanwhile, Ye Huanqiu had already left the building, hopped on his electric scooter, and was on his way. A text message from the platform quickly appeared on his phone: 473 yuan deposited.
Based on the commission split, his hourly rate was 500 yuan, with the platform taking a 60% cut. That left him with 200 yuan per hour, or 600 yuan total, but some deductions had already been made for his Five Insurances and One Fund contributions.
The minimum monthly contribution for these benefits in Demon Capital was 2,815 yuan.
Ye Huanqiu simply wanted a job, not necessarily a full-time one. He decided to accept gigs within the city center whenever he had free time. If he didn't meet his monthly quota, he'd cover the shortfall himself.
His sole goal was to make it through the year and secure permanent residency in Demon Capital—the final wish of the previous owner of this body, a testament to his seven years of hardship.
Ye Huanqiu would fulfill that wish for him.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and Saturday arrived. This week's promotional focus for I Am a Creator centered on the rap duo Zou Yan and Wang Hao, the challengers who had come to test the established contestants.
As joint champions of a rap competition, they brought a wave of buzz from the rap scene, driving significant traffic and discussion to the show.
Meanwhile, there was no promotional buzz at all for Ye Huanqiu this week, even though everyone knew he wouldn't be participating in Saturday's live broadcast.
Director Zhang was determined to sideline Ye Huanqiu completely. He refused to spend another dime to boost his popularity. After two consecutive weeks at the top, it was time to pull some strings and cool him down.
Ye Huanqiu was likely oblivious. His mind was completely absorbed in the world of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Now that his copy had arrived, he was hopelessly captivated by the game's magic. Why would he care about what that old fool was up to?
Let them have their spectacle; Ye Huanqiu had his own life.
Let Director Zhang continue his futile search for an enemy in thin air...
Lost in the game, Ye Huanqiu suddenly sneezed twice. As the saying goes: "One sneeze means someone's thinking of you, two means they're talking about you, and three means you're catching a cold."
Who could be cursing me now?
In Naza's studio at the office building, Naza, who had finally found some free time, asked Ony to book Ye Huanqiu for a tutoring session to refine her English pronunciation.
But who knew the guy would just take a break? Wasn't this weekend the prime time for extracurricular lessons? How could anyone possibly rest during this golden opportunity?
Ony strongly suspected that Ye Huanqiu might be related to someone at the platform. Why else would they indulge him so much?
"He probably chose to rest himself," Naza said. "Look at the other tutors' schedules—they're all fully booked. Some even had to take time off for personal reasons."
Finding Ye Huanqiu unavailable left Naza speechless. Ony quickly booked another tutor with a high rating.
The next few hours of tutoring proved agonizing for Naza. Not only did she fail to grasp the material, but she nearly picked up bad habits. She abruptly ended the session early out of frustration.
"I just can't learn this way. Our teaching methods are completely different. I should stick to my usual tutor from now on..."
After a frustrating day of self-study that left her seething, Naza went home early that evening, thoroughly exasperated.
The first thing Naza did when she got home was find her family's toy poodle and play with it. This not only strengthened the bond between owner and pet but also helped her relieve stress.
For dinner, she threw together a simple vegetable salad—a very low-calorie meal designed to maintain her figure.
When she checked her phone, few of her close friends were online. Some were busy filming on set, others had traveled abroad. Bored, she sat on the sofa, nibbled on her salad, and idly turned on the television—a device she rarely used more than a few times a year.
The channel that appeared was Tomato TV, a local station from the Demon Capital.
It was airing a commercial. Naza hadn't watched TV in ages, partly because she was too busy and partly because most shows were uninteresting.
Just as she was about to change the channel, the show I Am a Creator began.
The title sounded vaguely familiar. She vaguely recalled someone from her studio following it and occasionally playing its songs for everyone to hear.
Driven by curiosity, she joined the majority of viewers tuning in to watch the third episode.
The show opened with Wang Ziqiang and Meng Yan. Naza found herself unconsciously drawn to Meng Yan. It's often said that men enjoy looking at beautiful women, but women also frequently admire other women, though for different reasons. Regardless, beauty is undeniably pleasing to the eye.
Being an industry professional, Naza noticed details that ordinary viewers would miss.
She knew Meng Yan; they were both actresses whose dramas occasionally competed for ratings.
"That makeup is impressive," Naza thought. "I wonder which team did it? I'd love to poach them." Her concerns were clearly different from those of the average viewer.
As the show progressed and the creators took to the stage one by one, the camera finally focused on Ye Huanqiu. Naza froze for a few seconds, double-checking her vision.
Having removed her contact lenses, her vision was blurred, so she quickly put on her glasses.
The "One Leaf Knows Autumn" creator on stage was undeniably that distinctive English tutor she knew.
Those unfashionable glasses—they were exactly the same!
She grabbed her phone and called her manager, Ony. "Miss, what's up? Why are you calling after work?" Ony answered.
"Are you home?"
"Yeah."
"Turn on Tomato TV! Hurry, there's a surprise!" Naza urged.
"Tell me what kind of surprise first. I don't want to be scared," Ony replied.
"I think I've found him... that English tutor with the unique personality!"
At Naza's insistence, Ony turned on the TV at home.
The show was currently featuring Ye Huanqiu, whom Wang Ziqiang had deliberately left on stage to address the harsh criticism he'd received.
Ye Huanqiu, unapologetic and direct, declared loudly that he wasn't living for those people and reveled in watching their impotent rage as they failed to bring him down.
This blatant "provocation" shattered the trolls' composure once more, triggering a massive wave of outrage.
The viewership ratings skyrocketed, and the performance hadn't even begun yet.
As Naza watched Ye Huanqiu's defiant speech, she felt a pang of emotion. She had closed her social media comment sections years ago to avoid the venomous hate.
Yet here was Ye Huanqiu, facing these trolls with such composure. After all these years in the industry, what was holding her back?