Chapter 29: The Marshmallow Problem and Debut Plans

Chahuayuan largely ignored Chajingyuan’s protests, continuing on her way home.

Chajingyuan, knowing reasoning was futile, could only follow behind, her face etched with displeasure, fuming. As she walked, she surreptitiously sought out any ‘discomfort’ in her new attire, hoping to find an excuse to lash out.

The truth, however, was that the pinnacle of modern industry wouldn’t give her such an opening, especially when it came to women’s underwear, designed with ultimate comfort and fit as its sole objective.

“…It’s so soft and snug…”

It was incomparably more comfortable than the loose-fitting, unrefined men’s underwear she was accustomed to.

Moreover, if being a girl meant a certain empty, unsettled feeling, then being a man brought an even greater, unplaceable awkwardness. Compared to the latter, the former was clearly preferable…

‘No, no, I can’t dwell on this any longer,’ Chajingyuan thought. ‘If I keep thinking about it, I’ll start to enjoy the smooth, flat sensation of being a girl. Then there would truly be no turning back.’

“Oh, that reminds me!”

Just then, Chahuayuan seemed to recall something and abruptly turned back, making a suggestion.

“Big Sis? Since we’re already out, how about we make a quick detour to the city center and get you some clothes you like? I’ve already bought the underwear, but you can’t keep wearing my old outer clothes forever, can you?”

“Ugh… You’re really pushing your luck.”

Chajingyuan flatly refused, only to be met with Chahuayuan’s displeased glare in return.

“What do you mean, pushing my luck? This is only natural! You’re unwilling even when I offer to buy you things. Don’t complain next time if you want to buy something and have to make a special trip out again.”

“You and I are homebodies anyway; when would we ever want to buy anything?” Chajingyuan mumbled dismissively.

“…Besides, I don’t have high standards for clothing comfort to begin with. If it weren’t for a certain someone being so fussy, I could easily stay in my room for a week without wearing anything at all…”

“Hmm? What did you say in the latter half, Big Sis??”

“Nothing at all, don’t worry about it.”

Chajingyuan huffed lightly and turned her head away. Just then, a faint vibration emanated from the pocket of her dress.

“…Ah, wait a moment, it seems someone sent a message?”

Upon checking her phone, it was indeed Makino Shibahime.

“What, what? What does Makino want to say?”

Chahuayuan immediately abandoned their previous topic, leaning in behind Chajingyuan to look at the phone screen with her.

The heavy ‘marshmallow’ pressing against her shoulder made Chajingyuan instinctively try to dodge, but it was clearly inescapable.

With a face full of exasperation, she could only lean against a lamppost by the street with her sister and open the messages.

Chajingyuan hadn’t set a custom name for Makino.

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [Xiaosaki, Xiaosaki, are you there?]

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [The weekend’s over, and the debut went quite smoothly. How do you plan to arrange the schedule for the upcoming week?]

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [I’ll send you the program schedule’s layer file later. By the way, do you have any ideas you’d like to share first? Should I make the program schedule for you, or will you do it yourself?]

“Hmm, my ideas, huh…” Chajingyuan mused, raising an eyebrow. “They want me to come up with ideas myself? Didn’t she arrange everything for me before?”

“Of course, the streamer’s own opinions take precedence. Makino isn’t really our mom, after all. The past two days were just our debut, so she was guiding us with her experience.”

“Oh… that’s true…”

Chajingyuan nodded thoughtfully, then, after a brief moment of contemplation, muttered, ‘My ideas…’ as she typed on her phone:

– (Typing) [So, this week I’ve decided to schedule a live stream of playing _Pai_____]

“Ouch!!”

Before the message could even be sent, Chajingyuan received a hefty thwack on her forehead from her sister.

“…Seriously, why do both of you have such strong opinions about me playing Pai!”

“Don’t spend all your time playing Pai right after your debut!”

“I haven’t even played for a day! And it’s such a convenient program!”

“It’s because it’s convenient that you’re not allowed to slack off right after your debut!”

“Damn it!”

All in all, under her sister’s iron-fisted correction, Chajingyuan was forced to abandon her idea of padding her live stream hours by playing Apex Legends.

Instead, she began to seriously discuss the live streaming schedule with Makino Shibahime.

First, Makino suggested that Chajingyuan should see the weekend’s “Azure Mountain Climbing Ordeal” through to the end.

However, there was no need to broadcast such a major program all at once; since the weekend was over and weekday traffic was relatively lower, it would be better to save the main event for the next weekend.

Whether it was to build anticipation through delayed gratification or to enrich program diversity, the main point was to come up with other programs for the weekdays.

Secondly, Cyber-Official’s project goal was, after all, to cultivate legitimate virtual “idols.”

Therefore, it would be best to set aside one day for a dedicated singing performance. Chajingyuan didn’t object to this, but the main question was which day to schedule it.

Next, considering Chajingyuan’s spectacularly bizarre debut performance, Makino proposed a “reverse import” strategy: taking the fan-made derivative videos about Chajingyuan herself and using them to strengthen interaction and “foster connections” with fans by reviewing her own secondary creations.

Chajingyuan vehemently protested this idea, but both her sister on this side of the internet and Makino on the other side simultaneously declared her protest invalid.

‘So much for caring about the streamer’s own opinions!’ Chajingyuan fumed inwardly.

Professional streamers typically take one to two days off per week. Makino suggested that new streamers could increase their intensity and take only one day off.

Of course, if Chajingyuan wasn’t feeling well and insisted on two days, Makino wouldn’t object.

Based on Makino’s experience, the best days for rest would be Monday, when everyone returns to work, and Thursday, which is close to the weekend and when everyone is most fatigued.

Finally, due to the unexpected collaboration with Gengetsu Shiori over the weekend, Makino felt there might be an opportunity to build some in-group dynamics.

Although Chajingyuan’s scalp tingled at the mere mention of such “ambiguous hype,” and she felt a deep, visceral resistance, especially since it involved her personally this time, she had to admit that Gengetsu Shiori seemed quite interesting.

If she only considered the live stream content itself, without the romantic implications, Chajingyuan was actually quite intrigued by the idea.

As for the specifics of the collaboration… that would require further discussion based on the situation.

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [Ah, speaking of which, there are some things I’d like to discuss with both of you, mainly to summarize the lessons learned from the weekend debut and so on.]

“Hmm??”

Upon seeing this message, Chajingyuan tilted her head. The thought of a multi-person meeting made her instinctively recoil away from her phone.

– Rainy Night in the Mirror: [That should be fine… When? The club’s voice channel, or an online video conference?]

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [If possible, I suggest we chat this afternoon.]

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [Any method is fine, but you can ask Gengetsu Shiori first. If it’s possible, it might not even be either of those, you know.]

– Rainy Night in the Mirror: [What do you mean, ‘not even either of those’???]

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [Didn’t I tell you before?]

– Rainy Night in the Mirror: [?]

– Unyielding Shiba-hime: [It seems you two are in the same city, ehehe.]