Chapter Text
@CrimsonRainSoughtFlowerASMR would like to message you accept. Accept message request?
CrimsonRainSoughtFlowerASMR: Hello, hope you are doing well. I recently came across some of your videos online (your trinket videos are my favorite) and was wondering if you would be open for a collab? No worries if not, just let me know.
Xie Lian thinks he's dreaming, but when he clicks on his profile, it is real. Staring at the 40 million subscriber count, he thinks to himself that this must be a prank. CrimsonRainSoughtFlower, or his real name Hua Cheng was a well known ASMRist online, if not one of the most popular ones in all of China. He had high quality microphones, a perfect ambient red lighting in all of his videos but what he was most known for in his fanbase was his voice. Even as a celibate man, Xie Lian had to admit and admire how sexy CrimsonRainSoughtFlower's voice was. He was an absolute celebrity on the platform for it with millions thirsting in his comments every day, so why on earth was CrimsonRainSoughtFlower messaging him?
Xie Lian had started his channel only a couple of months ago. The idea came from his friend Shi Qingxuan, she suggested it would be a good form of passive income. She insisted that with his calming voice and pretty features, people would be running to him in admiration. She insisted she had an eye for what people online liked and assured him he would be swept up by fans in no time. Shi Qingxuan herself was a social media star, always carrying the latest bags, wearing the daintest makeup and always posting. So if anyone could have an eye for something like that he supposed he could trust her opinion. Xie Lian resisted for a while, the whole fans bit honestly had freaked him out, he had known from the past that having that many eyes on him wasn't always a good thing. But after enough pestering and desperation after receiving another disappointing paycheck, Xie Lian gave in. If there was anything he could do to prevent him from working another janitor job, he would take it.
He had worked more jobs than he could count on both of his hands to help keep himself afloat over the past couple years. He had never worked fewer than two jobs at the same time to keep up with rent, groceries and utilities. It was like he was constantly running a race that would never end. Too often, had he worked until midnight then had to be up the next morning early to open up for another job. He wanted some sort of income that could support him so that he could at least go down to his minimum of 2 jobs without starving.
To unsettle his unease about people watching him he decided he would be faceless. But it took him a long while to decide what kind of channel he should have.
"You need to have a niche!" Shi Qingxuan explained to him over the phone, "There's all sorts of avenues you can take with it, beauty, vlogging, reviews, storytimes really the possibilities are endless. But if you are asking me you should find a niche that highlights your features, even if you are going to be faceless I think you should somehow include something to show off your charms."
Xie Lian was stumped after all he didn't game, didn't shop (at least not like Shi Qingxuan does), didn't wear makeup, didn't watch a lot of tv or movies and wasn't comfortable talking about his personal life online.
"What if I made about videos about ancient Chinese weapons? That's niche right?"
He could hear Shi Qingxuan inhale a hiss through her teeth, "LianLian I love that you love the history of ancient Chinese weapons truly and honestly, but if you want to make money from this you're gonna have to find something more... broad."
He supposed that was a fair evaluation, he couldn't even think of the last time he had met someone who he could talk about the subject with. After some deliberating Xie Lian had landed on ASMR. He himself had watched ASMR videos from time to time and some people seemed to make good money from it, at least that was the impression he got based off the number of views he saw. It was low-stakes and low-budget plus he would be showing off his so-called "charms" to the audience without actually showing his face.
When he told Shi Qingxuan what he decided on she jumped for joy, "That's perfect for you! Plus, people love watching amateur ASMR so even if you don't have the best equipment people will still eat it up!"
Xie Lian tried not to let that subtle jab get to him. He used what he had, which were his crappy old white headphones. The same headphones he has had since high school, which, despite their years, had still been kept in quite good condition. Hell, they were even still white. When Xie Lian published his first couple of videos, he felt, in short, really stupid and really embarrassed. But Shi Qingxuan continued to praise and push him through it all. As a result, he gained a small 8k following for himself. It took him a while to get approved for the creator program, but once he did he was happy to receive even just that small amount of money. It was something he did in his free time that he actually enjoyed.
In his content, he would show off his various trinkets by scratching, tapping, or petting them. He was happy showing off all of his trinkets and even happier that people enjoyed watching him present them. In addition, he was able to incorporate some history about ancient Chinese weapons. Turns out that kind of information really puts people to sleep. Xie Lian would take his wins about being able to show off the things he enjoyed when he could get them. He had a decent following but never in a million years did he think he would attract the attention of such a big creator. Xie Lian gripped the phone, unsure of what to do.
@DianxiaASMR is typing...
@DianxiaASMR: Hi! Wow I never thought I'd receive a message from you, I'm also a bit of a fan. Are you sure you're messaging the right person? I would love to collab, but I'm afraid my equipment is not very good, I only have my string headphones.
@CrimsonRainSoughtFlowerASMR: Trust me I have the right person, haha, Gege is so funny. Your string headphones are more than fine it's actually something I really enjoy about your content. Do you live in the Shanghai area?
'Gege'? Where on earth did that come from? Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the comment, was his age online so obvious? Plus, in this case, wouldn't Crimson be the senior one rather than him? Crimson had been posting for at least 3 years now and Xie Lian was still starting out. That small nickname left him perplexed.
@DianxiaASMR: It's a bit of a commute there but yes I am close to it! I must say I'm quite surprised still you messaged me. I hope this is okay to ask but would you mind if we met somewhere public in person first before we did any collabs? Just want to make sure you're a real person and not trying to kidnap me hahaha
@CrimsonRainSoughtFlowerASMR: That's not a problem at all, completely understandable. No kidnappings happening here. How about I treat you to something at Mission Bao?
Mission Bao?! That was only the most expensive Bao restaurant in the area. There was no way Xie Lian could let someone treat him to something like that on a first meeting. Just one meal alone would eat up more than half of his paycheck. Frantic, Xie Lian responded back,
@DianxiaASMR: Could we go to the Black Water Kitchen instead? It's a bit closer to where I'm at and is owned by a local friend. They sell delicious fish cakes if you're interested.
@CrimsonRainSoughtFlowerASMR: Black Water Kitchen sounds great, how does Saturday work for you?
Xie Lian tapped his finger on his chin before pulling out his bag to look through his planner. Pulling out the small white journal he skimmed through the pages. On Saturday he works starting at 4:30 AM-12PM to open as a janitor for a small gymnastics studio. Then at 3:00-8:00 PM he helps as a part time karate instructor and then finally from 9:00-12:00 he works again as a janitor for an office space next door. He usually used the time between 12-3 to go home and take a nap. But he supposed a big meal would do him good instead.
@DianxiaASMR: Works with me, 1PM?
@CrimsonRainSoughtFlowerASMR: 1PM it is. See you then
By the time the conversation had finished Xie Lian thinks for a moment he might have imagined it all. But after looking over the messages and checking back that his account really belonged to CrimsonRainSoughtFlower for the 5th time reality starts kicking in. The first thing he does is call Shi Qingxuan.
"LianLian!" Shi Qingxuan squeals loudly in his ear, "This is so exciting ! Your first collab is with this big creator that's absolutely huge. Not even I have that many followers, you've really caught yourself a big one."
"Yea," Xie Lian awkwardly replied holding his phone with one hand and untying his laces with the other, "You don't think he's messing with me do you?"
"Messing with you how?" Shi Qingxuan inquires.
"Like deliberately inviting me on to make me look... bad? I guess or at least trying to embarrass me?"
Xie Lian hears a faux gasp through the phone, "I'm real shocked Xie Lian, it's good to be wary but I never thought you would have such bad expectations of other people."
Xie Lian agreed, he didn't like having bad expectations of people. But Crimson's audience was so much bigger than his. There would be so many new eyes on him, and the thought of that brought Xie Lian back into a stress he hadn't experienced for more than a decade.
"You know there's more to it than that," Xie Lian sighed not in the mood to be lectured. At his dejection he heard the pittering of his cats feet along the hardwood coming to greet his owner. Xie Lian reached out to pet Ruyoe's white coat as he reluctantly continued to listen into the phone.
"I tease, I tease. In truth it's good to be wary about things like this. Some creators have their ego tied directly into their follower count. One time I went on one of those creator trips and let me just tell you, it is plain obvious when someone wants to use you and it's seriously annoying. There is a chance he might use you to make his brand look better. This collab would definitely get you more subscribers and he might feel entitled to some of your earnings or you as a person as a result. But you're smart Xie Lian and can read people better than I can so ultimately it's up to you." Shi Qingxuan assured.
The idea of being used for someone’s gain in that way didn’t bother Xie Lian as much as he thought it would. This was just a side gig for him if he could make a little extra money and make Crimson’s branding look better, why not take the opportunity? Something that really appealed to Xie Lian about making content was that at any time he could just delete his accounts. He was his own boss, meaning he didn’t have to endure any lectures or angry worded emails if he wanted to quit. If worse came to worst people could be blocked and he could delete his account. It seemed like Crimson lived in the city anyways so the chances of them crossing each other again would be pretty slim.
Xie Lian had his heart set on his decision. He had just hoped that Crimson wouldn't be able to smell the trash off of him when they met.