Jiang Qiuqiu, fresh from her morning routine, pulled open the curtains and found everything outside blanketed in silvery white.
It had snowed again last night. Judging by the thickness of the snow in the courtyard, it must have been a heavy snowfall.
The temperature difference between inside and out was pretty significant, and a layer of hazy white condensation coated the windowpane. Jiang Qiuqiu sucked in a sharp breath and went to eat breakfast.
Breakfast today was Three-Delicacy Meat Patty Soup and beef buns. The buns were tender and smooth, and the clear, savory soup was rich and flavorful. After eating her fill, Jiang Qiuqiu started to feel warm.
Around nine oâclock, she received a message from Sister Mingmei, who said she would be setting out at ten on the dot.
With an hour to spare, not enough time for a training session, Jiang Qiuqiu decided to pop into her fan group chat.
When they werenât discussing things on the sly, the fans mostly chatted in the group that Qiuqiu was in. It was only when they wanted to discuss silly topics, like "I had a dream last night that I became Jujuâs guest of honor," "I dreamed Juju invited me to work at her house for room and board," or "Juju was so happy she decided to sell unlimited portions for an entire year," that they would go to the other group.
Jiang Qiuqiu: Has everyone woken up yet?
NoLongerTheBoss: ! Jujuâs here!
CantStopEating: Front-row photo op!
...: Commemorative photo!
A lot of people had set up special notifications for Juju, so the moment she appeared, the group chat exploded with activity.
Many fans were asking: Juju, are you going to the annual gala today?
Jiang Qiuqiu: Yep.
CantStopEating: We saw the preview from the Federation Live Broadcast Company today. We heard youâre performing on stage today, Juju? Are you singing?
Jiang Qiuqiu: Mhm, thatâs right. There was no getting around it, I had to perform something, so I signed up to sing.
CantStopEating: ! Itâs actually true!
âWeâll definitely be watching on time!
[Suddenly so excited for tonight!]
[Weâre gonna see my Juju in higher definition! Weâre gonna see my Juju accept her award!]
Some of the fans knew Jiang Qiuqiu was going to accept an award today, and they were even more excited than she was.
Jiang Qiuqiu couldnât help but smile as she watched the screen constantly refresh with everyoneâs comments.
After a lot of talk about the gala, someone inevitably brought up another question.
[So when are you coming back to streaming, Juju? Itâs not my hands rushing you, itâs my tongue controlling my brainâ]
[???]
[...Thatâs kind of a gross mental image, yuck.]
Jiang Qiuqiu: It wonât be too long. Iâll probably start streaming again on the 21st. Then Iâll stream on odd-numbered days and open the food showcase on even-numbered days, and Iâll keep that up untilâ
Jiang Qiuqiu tried to recall. âWhen does Federation University start classes again? January 16th?â
She thought for a moment, then continued typing in the chat box: âuntil the 15th of next month. After the 15th, there will be new adjustments to the stream schedule.
[New adjustments!]
[Could it be because you have more fans, plus itâs a new year, so youâre getting a contract upgrade? Is that whyâwhy youâre changing the stream schedule? Are you going to stream daily?]
The excitement and joy were practically leaping off the screen.
But, um...
Jiang Qiuqiu: Iâll have to announce that when the time comes.
After that topic, everyone started talking about fan meet-ups, this and that, and everything in between. In short, as long as Jiang Qiuqiu was in the group, it seemed like they had an endless supply of things to talk about.
After a while, the doorbell rang. Sister Mingmei sent a message, and only then did Jiang Qiuqiu realize it was already ten oâclock.
âWow, chatting is such a time sink.â
She typed "Somethingâs come up, see you all tonight" into the group chat, then turned off her terminal.
Meimei had called ahead, which was why she was able to pass the security check and bring in all the things Jiang Qiuqiu needed to get ready for the evening.