Chapter Twenty-Three: See What I've Unlocked?

Qingshui City, as one of the first-tier cities in Huaguo, boasts a permanent population of twelve million and a floating population numbering in the millions. All in all, it is a place brimming with both opportunity and risk. But none of that had anything to do with Fang Qing. For someone like him, a mere office worker, a large population just meant fiercer competition.

Opportunities? Those were reserved for the privileged youth who had wealth, connections, status, and ability. To Fang Qing, exorbitant prices, meager wages, and grueling work were the true essence of this city. He was just an ordinary young employee, unremarkable yet yearning for change.

“Not working overtime this afternoon, Fang Qing?” a jovial middle-aged man called out to him.

“I’m exhausted. I’d like to rest a bit at noon,” Fang Qing replied, his face set in that formulaic smile as he looked indifferently at his boss.

“That’s not good. Young people ought to work hard when they can,” the man said with a sigh, patting Fang Qing on the shoulder before turning away.

Work hard, my foot! Wasn’t last night’s overtime enough?

Fang Qing wanted to retort, but he swallowed it back, remembering where he was. He couldn’t afford to lose the job he’d worked so hard to get.

He let out a sigh. When would he ever get his break?

It was only when he hurried home that Fang Qing could finally breathe freely, at last able to relax. Here, there were no bosses to curry favor with, no documents to process, and no need to maintain that mechanical smile. Here, he could curse if he wanted, complain if he liked. This was home, even if he was its only occupant.

No parents or relatives waiting for him, no girlfriend to coax, no dinner already prepared. But at least it was easy, and wasn’t that enough?

He glanced at the boxed meal in his hand. There was nothing wrong with keeping himself company.

Shaking off those gloomy thoughts, Fang Qing went into his room and turned on his computer, instinctively logging into the Stardust streaming platform. Watching those delightful videos had become his daily sustenance, his source of motivation.

Recently, there was a newcomer’s video that had caught his eye—he’d watched it dozens upon dozens of times! It was on endless repeat, impossible to stop.

Lately, there hadn’t been any fresh content on the site; it was all the same old stuff. Even though a few creators had tried their hand at making remix videos on the same theme, none could compare to the original. There was simply no incentive to keep watching.

For days now, that remix video had been Fang Qing’s lifeline.

So much resentment, so much longing.

He’d probably have to get by with it again today. While Fang Qing looked forward to updates from the creator, he knew that weekly uploads were already considered fast.

Never mind. One more time, then.

As soon as he entered his personal page, even before he could click on his treasured video, a notification caught his eye:

The creator “Pure-hearted Angel” you follow has posted a new update.

Huh?

Wasn’t that—?

Fang Qing glanced at his list of followed creators.

Pure-hearted Angel.

Posts: 2

Works: “How to Make Your Child Love Learning—A Soulful Roleplay” and “The Love Story of Langlang and Liangliang”

Fang Qing was surprised to see the creator had actually updated again, and in just a few days, no less. But who were Langlang and Liangliang? He’d never heard those names before.

Still, if it was by the same creator, it couldn’t be too bad. If it was even half as good as the last one, Fang Q