Chapter 36: Paving the Way

Of course, the revenue from the video isn’t really the key issue—the crucial thing is the “buzz.” Even across the entire D Station platform, this level of buzz is exceedingly rare. Bai Renzong’s popularity soared wildly after the video was released; his follower count has already surpassed one hundred thousand. The number of new fans he gained today alone far outstripped his increase over the past week!

Moreover, the video didn’t just bring him exposure—it paved the way forward. With this video, it’s as if he has announced to all of D Station, “I possess the tongue of the gods.” From now on, whenever he produces gourmet critique videos, his words will carry greater authority, and people will be more willing to invite him for tastings.

After this breakthrough, Bai Renzong resolved to formally enter the gastronomic world as a “professional foodie.” He planned not only to post videos on D Station but also submit articles to food magazines and websites, since written critiques are just as valid and can leverage the popularity of the Gourmet Critic App.

The daily sign-in and publishing tasks on the Gourmet Critic App refresh every day, but it’s simply impossible for him to make a new video every day. To maximize the rewards from this popularity boost, it’s best to publish a critique daily. Creating videos is time-consuming, but written critiques are much easier. By alternating between written and video critiques, he hoped to claim the daily reward for popularity every day.

With his strategy clear, Bai Renzong finally snapped out of his reverie and hurried downstairs.

“Jiayi, open the door!” Bai Renzong knocked on Han Jiayi’s room with excitement, urging her, “Hurry up!”

After a moment, Han Jiayi opened the door, clutching a broom and looking wary. “What are you up to?”

“My video made it to the front page!” Bai Renzong exclaimed, barely containing his excitement. “The one from the wine exhibition earlier today!”

“Front page?” Han Jiayi asked, intrigued. “Is that a big deal?”

“Six hundred thousand views in half an hour!” Bai Renzong replied. “Only creators with millions of followers can pull that off!”

“Millions…” Han Jiayi covered her mouth in astonishment. “There are only a handful of creators on D Station with that many followers, aren’t there?”

“That’s right!” Bai Renzong said, beaming. “My follower count is skyrocketing—I’ve gained over thirty thousand new fans already!”

“Wow, that’s incredible!” Han Jiayi grasped his hand and bounced with joy. “Congratulations! Let’s invite Xiao Bei over for lunch tomorrow to celebrate. Perfect time to open a bottle of wine.”

“With this buzz, we have a real foothold.” Bai Renzong nodded, his fighting spirit ablaze. “Once I’ve absorbed all the fans from this video, the two of us can collaborate on videos, and I’ll use my popularity to boost you!”

He really intends to help me rise… Han Jiayi was slightly surprised inside, but also felt a trace of fondness for this man: he’s someone who follows through on his words.

But then her mood soured. It was too soon to rejoice; Zheng Han would never let her go easily, and she might just end up holding Bai Renzong back.

“Right, let’s try shooting a pilot episode together first,” Han Jiayi said with a gentle smile. “Now, don’t get too excited, or you won’t be able to sleep later.”

“True enough…” Bai Renzong nodded, calming himself.

Once the initial excitement wore off, Bai Renzong felt himself settling down.

“Whew…” He took a deep breath, urging himself, “A gentleman should not rejoice over things, nor grieve for himself… Stay calm, composed. This is only the beginning.”

But as he calmed down, Han Jiayi grew more excited.

“Wow, you’ve broken a million views!” Han Jiayi cheered, watching his video on her phone. “Two hours after release, you’ve hit a million views—amazing! And your follower count is nearly at one hundred and ten thousand!”

At this moment, Han Jiayi truly began to see Bai Renzong in a new light.

“Alright, let’s start preparing material for the next episode tomorrow,” Bai Renzong said. “Think about how you’d like to showcase yourself.”

“Hm…” Han Jiayi’s beautiful eyes sparkled as she nodded. “I’ll present my best menu for everyone to see, don’t worry.”

“Then… I’ll head back to my room,” Bai Renzong said, pointing upstairs.

“If you want a midnight snack, just let me know!” Han Jiayi tilted her head and smiled.

“We had dinner after eight—there’s no way I could eat another bite…” Bai Renzong replied, heading upstairs.

Han Jiayi couldn’t understand why she was even happier than Bai Renzong himself. Perhaps she had projected her own ambitious self—her early days in the entertainment industry—onto him. Watching Bai Renzong take his first step toward success, she felt as though she herself was succeeding. Now, she regained her confidence: if she threw herself wholeheartedly into something, she could surely succeed.

“Come on, Han Jiayi, you can do it. Don’t let Bai the Troll beat you!” she encouraged herself.

After calming down, fatigue gradually washed over Bai Renzong. After all, he had spent more than seven hours editing the video, then got excited all over again—so as soon as he collapsed onto his bed, he fell asleep instantly, not even bothering with a blanket. That night, his sleep was restless, his mind chaotic, filled with dreams about the future.

It wasn’t until after eight the next morning, when Han Jiayi woke him for breakfast, that he realized he hadn’t really slept at all.

“You look awful…” Han Jiayi frowned slightly. “Drink some more orange juice, I just squeezed it fresh.”

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep too well last night…” Bai Renzong rubbed his head, then glanced at his phone.

The first thing that caught his eye was, of course, the final evaluation and notification from the Gourmet Critic App.

As expected, last night’s recipe received an S rating, earning him 160,000 popularity points.

Meanwhile, his critic level had reached level 10, raising the basic reward for completing tasks from sixty thousand to eighty thousand, and the S rating bonus up to one hundred sixty thousand.

In other words, from now on, completing daily tasks and earning an S rating would net him three hundred twenty thousand popularity.

Bai Renzong calculated: if each video drew five hundred thousand views, ten videos a month would bring five million total views. With his old videos added in, he could easily earn thirty or forty thousand a month.

And occasionally, he could produce videos of exceptional quality, boosting his earnings even more. As his catalogue of videos grew, his income would only rise.

The only regret was that the wine tasting didn’t increase his culinary critique proficiency, but his wine appreciation skill instead.

Still, relying solely on views wasn’t enough—ads and sponsorships would be crucial as well.

He then opened the D Station App to check: yesterday’s wine exhibition video had already reached four million views, topping the site’s daily chart, and the private message inbox had exploded to “99+.”

He opened them at random, delighted to discover that besides messages from fans, there were numerous business proposals—mostly from wineries, but also some invitations from restaurants.

“At last, the path is clear…” Bai Renzong breathed a quiet sigh of relief: the next steps were becoming ever more distinct in his mind.

(Thanks to K_ON for the monthly ticket)