Mmm…

Lin Lin opened the web browser, navigated to her go-to streaming site, typed in the room number, and entered her own live stream.

Staring at the interface—where the avatar bobbed gently and faint mouse clicks occasionally echoed—

an indescribable feeling washed over her.

How to put it… this was…

Was she… watching herself?

She glanced up at the live feed, confirming everything ran smoothly with no lag.

Relieved, the girl moved on to fine-tuning.

Alright, first step: change the stream title.

She clicked open the streaming software and edited the default title: [Ari-chan’s Live Stream].

What should it be?

Hmm…

Ideas flooded her mind in an instant.

Like—

[Cute Little Vampire’s Late-Night Lullaby~]

[Internet’s Little Angel Says Hi~]

Or even…

[Otaku, I’m Not a Guy Anymore!]

…plus other weirdly catchy options.

Ahem…

So.

Which one to pick~?! Which one~?! Which one~?! Which one~?!

Bats—certified!

Madness! Despair! Darkness!

VTuber Ari-chan!

Ahem…

No, no, no, no.

She shook her head sharply. What was happening? Felt like she’d been possessed.

Unbidden voices had popped into her head.

Mmm…

After a pause, she chose the safest option and changed the title to—

[New VTuber Trial Broadcast: Ari-chan Reporting In!]

Yeah, this felt right.

She refreshed the page. Title updated. Good. On to the next step.

Time to test the mic.

Ahem… though honestly, who knew how decent the mic on her ancient, laggy gaming laptop was?

She cleared her throat solemnly.

Ugh… how to say it.

Even with zero viewers and an empty room, suddenly talking to the screen felt… kinda embarrassing.

Lin Lin hesitated long before forcing out:

“Hello… hello?”

She first tried her natural voice—but watching the white-haired little vampire girl on screen speak felt off.

Logically, VTubers use their real voices. Streaming daily, straining your voice would suck, right?

But…

For Lin Lin, all six voice options gifted by the system switched seamlessly—zero strain.

She’d just transformed anyway; all voices felt equally “hers.”

So she began testing them one by one on the avatar.

Loli voice: “Onii-chan~”

*Way* too cringey.

Ahem…

She shook her head firmly. Too embarrassing! She couldn’t handle such a baby-soft loli tone.

She used to be a tough guy!

Next: normal girl voice—“Onii-chan!”

Too close to her natural tone—youthful, innocent.

Somehow… didn’t match this flirty little vampire girl.

Then mature woman’s voice and tsundere-style voice: “Brat~”

First: sultry. Second: playfully haughty.

But… still not *flirty* enough!

Ahem…

Lin Lin didn’t know why she cared so much—but the moment she whispered “Onii-chan~” in a pure-yet-seductive tone into the mic…

She froze.

Unconsciously slipping into a devoted fan’s mindset, warmth bloomed in her chest.

On screen, the vampire girl’s cheeks flushed in sync with her owner. She tilted her head back and sighed softly.

“Ahhh~”

Like her soul had ascended.

Snapping back, she chanted into the camera like she was possessed: “Onii-chan~ Onii-chan~ Giegie~”

Just then—

[User ‘SwornOffVTubers’ entered the live stream.]

“Gie~… Eh?!”

Her eyes darted to the danmaku zone. A VIP6 viewer had just popped in.

She clamped her mouth shut, panic flashing across her face as she stared rigidly at the chat.

Inside her head? Total chaos.

H-h-how?!

A viewer?! But she was *just* testing her mic!

Mmm…

Remembering that half-spoken, goofy “giegie~,” her face burned.

The blush climbed higher—until she felt like a steaming kettle, vapor practically rising from her scalp.

H-help…

Embarrassment overload.

Worst part?

No timestamp. Had he heard *everything*? From the very start?!

*That* would be mortifying!!

Mmm…

She locked onto the viewer count—just two people. Easy to spot.

Bot? Random night owl?

Oh…

If she stayed silent, he’d leave soon. Right?

Mmm…

She held her breath.

*Please leave. Please leave.*

…

Late at night, a boy named Gao Liang smirked awkwardly at his phone.

He’d randomly clicked a stream titled “New VTuber Trial Broadcast.”

The second he entered—

a sweet, tingling voice—so smooth it made his ears itch—poured from his high-fidelity headphones.

“Giegie~”

Opening lightning strike.

Clean. Brutal. Soul-shattering. Gao Liang felt his ears had been struck, violated, and somehow… impregnated.

How… to describe it?

Cloyingly sweet, hypnotically alluring—as if laced with charm magic.

Only the words themselves were kinda goofy.

He froze, lingering in the stream, stunned.

When he finally snapped out of it, he sucked in a breath…

and watched the little vampire girl stare solemnly at the camera, a faint blush on her cheeks.

Silent.

Hm?

Why the quiet?

Mic issue?

Then… how did that “giegie~” happen?

He frowned, eyes locked on the screen.

And so—across the digital divide—the two locked eyes…

Or… should we call it a standoff?