Blake Cooper doesn’t talk much on a daily basis and is a bit shy. In the eyes of his classmates, he’s basically seen as an introverted and bashful person. But his game streaming is actually really impressive—his ID is “Boiled Spinach,” and on a certain streaming site, his follower count has solidly surpassed five million, with regular live streams drawing over a hundred thousand viewers each time.

However, whenever exams are approaching, Blake Cooper always takes time off from streaming. This time was no different—he posted a notice in advance, putting up a “hiatus” sign both on the streaming site and on Weibo.

As soon as the update was posted, it was instantly bombarded with replies from fans.

[The moment I see that familiar hiatus sign, I know Big Bobo is about to have exams again!]

[Oh my god, another exam? Am I following a gaming streamer or a study influencer??]

[Following Spinach really makes me lose interest in gaming and just want to study instead. (bows)]

[Every time Yanda has exams, I’m forced to log off and study too. This is the closest I’ll ever get to Yanda. (dog head)]

Hearing Liam Bennett’s words, Blake Cooper sighed, “Can’t help it—streaming is fun for a while, but failing classes keeps you busy hanging yourself.”

He even pressed his fingers together and drew them across his neck, making a “ka-cha” gesture.

Blake Cooper’s family is well-off; even without his streaming income, he could support himself. He doesn’t need to deliberately maintain a “study god” persona, nor does he have to worry about failing classes ruining his image. The only reason he doesn’t want to fail is because it would affect his GPA, and retaking exams is just too much trouble—he doesn’t want to go through that hassle.

Liam Bennett turned to ask Ethan Carter, “So, Hehe, did you take time off?”

Before Ethan Carter could answer, Henry Sullivan laughed from the side.

“Why would he need to take time off? He’s been MIA for so long that fans would be shocked if he ever actually updated.”

Ethan Carter smiled as well and said, “No need for me to take time off for now—I just pushed my orders back a bit.”

He also has a part-time job online, but unlike Blake Cooper, he’s more of a calligraphy influencer.

Ethan Carter has hereditary asthma and has been frail and sickly since childhood. He was sent to the countryside, to the fresh mountains and forests, for a long period of recuperation. That’s when he started learning calligraphy from his grandfather in the countryside and developed beautiful handwriting.

Back in high school, Ethan Carter was already getting commercial commissions, and since then, the orders have never stopped. After starting college, he had more free time, and an editor he’d worked with suggested he open an account on social media to expand his influence, so Ethan Carter did just that. Because his calligraphy was truly beautiful, he quickly attracted a lot of followers.

However, Ethan Carter doesn’t update very frequently, so even though each update brings in a lot of new fans, his total follower count is still only in the hundreds of thousands.

Occasionally, Ethan Carter will shoot some videos or do a live stream, but he hasn’t signed with any particular platform. Most of his income still comes from commercial commissions. In his spare time, he writes names for publishers or web dramas and the like—easy work, good pay, and he takes commissions as he pleases, with a lot of freedom.

After chatting and finishing lunch, the four of them got up to head back to the library. Just as they walked out of the cafeteria, Ethan Carter’s phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, and when he saw the caller’s name, his steps suddenly halted.

Walking alongside him, Henry Sullivan noticed something was off and turned to ask, “Hehe, what’s wrong?”

Ethan Carter shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

He waved his hand hurriedly. “You guys go ahead, I’ll take this call.”

The other three left first. Ethan Carter found a quiet spot and pressed the answer button.

The ringing abruptly stopped, and for a moment, everything around him fell into a sudden, beatless silence.

Ethan Carter called out softly, “Dad.”

A gentle male voice came from the other end, “Xiao He, have you eaten yet?”

“I have. Have you eaten?”

Ethan Carter looked down at his own fingers, patiently waiting for the other party to get to the point.

Sure enough, after a few words of small talk, Father Lin hesitated for a moment before asking, “About the Lu family… I heard from your Aunt Xin that you’ve met them?”

Ethan Carter responded with a simple “Mm,” and said nothing more.

Since he didn’t speak, Father Lin on the other end also found it hard to continue.

No matter how much you try to dress it up, it can’t change the dirty essence of this arranged marriage—selling one’s son for money.

This is the hardest thing to face, yet also the most brutally real.

The call fell into an awkward silence, a silence so heavy it seemed to squeeze the heart tight.

In the end, it was Ethan Carter who spoke first, offering comfort: “Chairman Lu is a pretty good person.”

“Ah, good, good.” Father Lin was clearly relieved that Ethan Carter was willing to respond. He asked, “And you, Xiao He? How do you feel about it?”

Hearing the obviously cautious tone, Ethan Carter’s gaze slowly shifted to the green bamboo growing in the flowerbed nearby.

He let his eyes go unfocused, seeing only a blur of withered yellow and bleak green. He said softly, “I think it’s pretty good too.”

“That’s good, that’s good…”

Father Lin repeated it several times before finally asking, “The engagement is next month, right? I heard from your Aunt Xin that you’re worried the engagement date might conflict with your midterms?”