59. This is the best punishment

"Ah, where on earth did you study all this?!"

Gu Jinglin asked, a mix of curiosity and utter bafflement on his face, looking as though he wouldn't let it go until he got an answer.

Chen Che hesitated for a moment, then slowly began:

"This all goes back to when I was on Newbury Street and met a girl named Xiaolin. I remember that night the wind was very strong. Walking together along the Charles River, we once made a most beautiful, most passionate..."

Chen Che's expression turned somewhat melancholic, filled with a faint sense of nostalgia and longing as he recalled the memory.

As he started speaking, Gu Jinglin's head tilted up little by little, his mouth opening wider and wider. Seeing Chen Che suddenly stop mid-sentence, he asked impatiently:

"And then? Go on... tell me the details."

Seeing that Gu Jinglin didn't immediately press on about who Xiaolin was, Chen Che sighed, unscrewed his water bottle, and said softly:

"That night, I was drunk and holding her hand, blindly and frantically pouring out the suppressed thoughts in my heart."

"Pouring out what?"

Gu Jinglin pursued relentlessly with a piercing gaze.

Chen Che took a sip of water and looked somewhat wistfully toward the verdant hillside across the Qiantang River, as if recalling the breeze and the moonlight of that night. He sat in a daze for a long moment before slowly speaking:

"By then, my intoxicated eyes could no longer clearly see her expression, and I had forgotten what kind of reaction she might have had at that moment. I took her hand and placed it in my palm, mistakenly feeling that she wasn't angry either, so I assumed... she would understand my good intentions."

"Ah."

Gu Jinglin was somewhat confused. He felt that Chen Che's words were all over the place, and his jaw remained dropped.

Chen Che paid him no mind. His soul seemed to have drifted back to that night, carrying a hint of heart-wrenching pain:

"Not until the very moment she turned and walked away did I gradually sober up, realizing that forcing my world onto her still required courage. How she truly felt about this relationship deep in her heart—she has never mentioned it to me to this day."

Chen Che was getting a bit emotional, spraying spittle as he talked. Gu Jinglin opened his mouth, feeling somewhat at a loss.

This bro had been sneaking around behind his back, falling in love, only to get hurt all over again. How could he be so miserable?

Although the two of them had both gone to America, they weren't in the same city.

Not being able to see each other every day, let alone live together—that Chen Che had a story to tell was surprising enough, but could he please not make it sound so absurd...

"Kaixin, listen to me..."

Gu Jinglin wanted to say that since it was already in the past, he should just let it go. Getting scammed by overseas Chinese in America was quite normal.

Besides, women scamming men was nothing new.

If anyone was to blame, blame them for being too young.

Right at that moment, however, Chen Che was completely caught up in his emotions. He pushed aside Gu Jinglin, who was trying to comfort him, and unconsciously took two steps forward, shaking his head gently with a trace of reluctance, his gaze vacant:

"I talked on and on with my naive ideas, which must have looked like a complete joke to her. That's why I grieve."

"Stop grieving, it's all in the past."

Gu Jinglin advised, then pointed in the direction of Gangan and the others. Didn't they say out with the old and in with the new?

Yet Chen Che shook his head at him, seemingly still trapped in the past and unable to walk out. He raised his hand and smiled bitterly:

"The scent of her still lingers on my hands. Sometimes I wonder, if she hadn't known how many cups I drank that day, she wouldn't have realized just how breathtaking she was, nor would I have believed that the very first time I laid eyes on her, I could love her so purely and decisively."

"Kaixin, look on the bright side!!"

Gu Jinglin seriously suspected that Chen Che had lost his mind.

Gu Jinglin felt a twinge of guilt; he shouldn't have torn open the other's scars, and he certainly shouldn't have said those words about going on into details.

His bro had changed.

Well, heartbreak makes people grow up, right?

Gu Jinglin successfully managed to grab Chen Che's arm and pointed toward Gangan again, only to be interrupted once more.

Chen Che let out a heavy sigh and said melancholically:

"It's too late, and I still believe in the feeling I have for her in my heart. It came so fast, so directly. Even if my heart is wild, I can never extinguish this fire."

"Will you ever finish!"

Gu Jinglin delivered a punch straight to Chen Che's arm, then pulled the somewhat decadent fellow into a guilt-ridden embrace, speaking earnestly:

"The past is in the past, you are not allowed to bring up old things anymore. Tonight, dinner's on me, let's properly party and have fun."

"You said it yourself."

Chen Che glanced sideways and asked lightly.

Gu Jinglin nodded and replied readily:

"I said it. Brothers share everything in their hearts."

Gu Jinglin clenched his fist and struck his own chest twice, looking exceptionally earnest.

Seeing this, Chen Che curled his lower lip, nodded, took another sip of water, and said with a hint of grievance:

"I want to eat whole roasted lamb. Does Hangzhou have that?"

"Yes, of course!"

Gu Jinglin agreed immediately, even though he had no idea if they did—he had never eaten it before.

However, seeing Chen Che's mood finally calm down, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Smiling, he continued:

"If Hangzhou doesn't have it, I'll have a few sheep shipped over from Inner Mongolia right now. If my brother wants to eat it, how could it possibly not be available?"

Chen Che nodded, moved, and said:

"Then go book it. I'm going to get my skateboard."

"Hey."

Watching Chen Che's retreating figure, Gu Jinglin couldn't help taking two steps forward in pursuit, offering a somewhat apprehensive reminder:

"Kaixin, skate a bit further inside."

"Oh."

Chen Che walked toward the shaded area cast by the greenery on the platform, while Gu Jinglin wiped away some imaginary cold sweat.

This was right by the bank of the Qiantang River, and just now, he had genuinely been afraid that Chen Che might get too emotional and throw himself right into the river.

He couldn't even swim.

...

"Wuhu~"

Chen Che glided past Gu Jinglin on his skateboard, while Gangan chased after him with a hint of grievance in her voice:

"Chen Xun, slow down and wait for me."

Sitting on the curb, Gu Jinglin watched this scene and wiped the thin sweat from his forehead.

It's all good.

He thought to himself, unscrewing his mineral water bottle to take a large gulp, before exhaling a breath of stale air.

"Boss, did you call me?"

Shortly after, a girl dressed in a dark blue miniskirt and a white short-sleeved set walked up to him.

Gu Jinglin looked up, though he wasn't in the mood to closely appraise anything, and gestured toward Gangan, speaking softly:

"I've arranged for a whole roasted lamb tonight. Would you and Gangan like to come along? You two don't have work tonight, right?"

The girl's name was Yuanyuan. She was quite cute—a sunny, Japanese-style young girl, and quite young at that.

The media company owned by Gu Jinglin's older sister had its own app and its own livestreaming platform.

Because a single streamer could become popular, they could drive an entire agency and platform to success.

That was the exact logic behind how Douyin blew up—it relied on creators, and if you wanted to watch the full video, you had to download the app.

Back then, Douyin was extremely strict with audits regarding this and even filed numerous lawsuits accusing unauthorized reposting.

There were many such livestreaming companies and agencies in Hangzhou. Those apps might not have had a massive user base, but the competition among streamers was lower, and making money was quite lucrative.

After all, livestreaming back then wasn't quite like the later eras. From 2014 to 2020, livestreaming platforms truly bloomed a hundred flowers; there were easily at least a thousand apps that had launched during that period alone.

And that didn't even include the countless enthusiastic independent streaming platforms.

Moreover, the agencies behind these minor streaming apps had their own alliance and rules.

Just like how someone streaming on Douyu couldn't go to Huya, these smaller platforms would band together to pool traffic.

Meaning a single streamer could broadcast across multiple platforms, and whichever platform's users gifted items would take a cut of the commission.

Gangan and Yuanyuan had signed with that kind of agency. The traffic was smaller, but the pressure was lower and results came faster.

Wanting to make money was simple.

It all depended on how bold and daring you were, and how far you were willing to go.

Behind those agencies were multiple apps; if one got banned, you could just hop onto another.

It wasn't entirely innocent, but compared to major platforms like Huya, these minor platforms genuinely dared to walk the line.

The logic of making quick money was just like that—small investment, fast returns, hit-and-run, the source code remained intact, and apps could be duplicated as if they cost nothing.

In later years, the state cracked down on all these operations one by one, but at the present moment, the industry was precisely this chaotic.

Netizens who watched livestreams before 2020 were truly blessed. After 2020, aside from sneakily watching streams late at night, regular livestream viewing only yielded one thing:

"Grab the link, grab the link... Brothers, one box isn't enough, I'll send you two more, make it eight boxes!"

The manufacturer:

"We really can't offer this price, we're losing money."

The streamer:

"Don't stop me, I'm here to give welfare to my fans!"

"This..."

By the riverbank.

Hearing Gu Jinglin's words, Yuanyuan hesitated. They still had to stream tonight.

What whole roasted lamb anyway? It wasn't even healthy.

Gu Jinglin noticed her hesitation and, gesturing toward the direction of Chen Che and the other two, said softly to Yuanyuan:

"I'll have a word with your company. Tonight, I'll compensate each of you with two thousand yuan, alright?"

Yuanyuan was still somewhat reluctant, but connections weren't something to be turned away casually. A look of delight crossed her face:

"Then I'll listen to you, Boss. But Gangan might not necessarily want to go. Should I go tell her?"

Hanging out and dining with men at night.

What did that imply? Everyone was an adult here.

Two thousand yuan wasn't actually that much, but some people couldn't measure everything by money alone, nor could certain matters be viewed solely through a monetary lens.

"Yeah, mention it when you get a chance."

Gu Jinglin nodded, though looking back toward the riverbank, he couldn't help but wonder if he was being redundant.

Did Gangan even need convincing?

"Hahaha, it tickles~"

Chen Che's hands rested on her slender waist, while Gangan held onto his shoulders, standing on the skateboard with a smile as bright as a flower.

Gangan issued a warning, but certain someone failed to act like a complete gentleman, instead putting on a stern little face:

"Be serious, now. Pay full attention."

"Hmph, when it's your turn later, I'm going to tickle you back."

"Who tickled you? If you keep that up, I'm not holding you anymore."

"You did tickle me and now you won't admit it..."

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the sky.

After finishing the shoot and wrapping up for the day, Chen Che finally got to eat the whole roasted lamb he had been craving, and it tasted quite good.

Hangzhou was a culinary desert, but only in terms of ordinary three daily meals; as a major metropolis, how could it lack heavy, hearty dishes?

Chen Che was very happy.

Meanwhile, Gu Jinglin had been feeling guilty for half the day.

Until deep into the night at a KTV, when Chen Che belted out a song called *The Punishment of Impulsivity*, prompting Gu Jinglin to suddenly tackle Chen Che amidst the enthusiastic applause of the two girls.

"Damn it, I'll give you a punishment of impulsivity!"