0135: May I ask for some professional advice?

Li Bin’s neighborhood was only two blocks away from his own. Xu Lin had asked Chu Fengyi to drop him off there first, and they arrived at the entrance in just a few minutes.

"We're here."

Xu Lin looked back as he spoke and noticed that Li Bin, who had been quite high-spirited just moments ago, now looked rather melancholy. Could it be that seeing Ma Zhiyu had a girlfriend while he remained single had made him envious?

"Xu Lin, is it really okay to leave the car at the restaurant?"

"It’s fine; their parking lot has security guards at night. Still feeling unwell? Go home, drink some warm water, and try to relax. Don't go taking random medicine; it might react with the alcohol."

"Yeah." Li Bin nodded, opened the car door, stepped out, and waved at them. "Teacher Chu, Xu Lin, see you when school starts."

"Xu Lin, did you two have a falling out?" Chu Fengyi asked.

"No, why would you say that?"

"Isn't that friend of yours usually a total goofball? Why was he acting like that all of a sudden?"

"You're really mean, you know that? What do you mean 'goofball'? He’s probably just feeling sour because he saw Ma Zhiyu with a girlfriend."

"Oh. Let's go home."

"Let's go home." Xu Lin smiled; he really liked those two words.

A few minutes later, they arrived at his building. Xu Lin stepped out of the car, but noticing that Chu Fengyi didn't move to leave, he tapped on her window. "Not coming up for a visit?"

"No, I’m heading over to Chu Qingchan’s place. She was craving strawberries the night before last, and I happened to see some today, so I bought some."

"Oh, I see. Go on then."

"Xu Lin, what’s with that look? I just happened to be passing by!"

Chu Fengyi glared at him, then revved the engine and disappeared in a flash.

Back home, his father was lying on the sofa watching TV, and his mother was sweeping the floor—a mundane yet comforting scene.

"I smelled smoke on you the moment you walked in. Were your classmates smoking?"

"No, Mom, really. They don't smoke. I didn't even have any alcohol. We weren't in a private room, so the main hall must have just been smoky."

"Take off your jacket and hang it on the balcony to air out. Don't bother washing it; it won't be dry by school tomorrow anyway."

"Got it." Xu Lin obediently hung his jacket outside.

"Did you get enough to eat?"

"Yeah, I'm full."

"Speaking of which, why have you been buying so many potatoes lately? You’ve never liked potatoes since you were a kid," his father asked while watching the game.

"I’m planning to make croquettes for a video."

"As long as you keep your grades steady, I don't care what else you tinker with!"

"If my grades drop, you guys can go ahead and beat me up."

"You're a handful, I can't be bothered to hit you."

"Haha, I'm going to get busy now. You two get some rest early."

Entering his bedroom, Xu Lin took out his laptop, sat on the bed, leaned against the wall, and began his daily writing routine. Since he had written three chapters yesterday, one today was enough. He finished in just over an hour, well before 10 PM.

"Yawn... I'm sleepy, but it's a bit early to turn in. Should I lurk in the group chat?"

He opened his phone and found the group unusually quiet, with only a few people chatting sporadically.

Star Mimi: 'Ah, the author updated.'
Rainwater: 'Saw that. The updates have been steady at two chapters lately.'
Nightblade: 'That's too few, tell him to write more.'
Rainwater: 'The author said he won't add more even with tips.'
Nightblade: 'Ugh! Such a slacker.'
Star Mimi: 'Maybe the author is just very busy with work in real life.'
Wild Wind: 'True, many authors do this as a side job. By the way, where’s our resident chatterbox today?'
Nightblade: '@NightFlowerBurnsRed'
Rainwater: 'Maybe he's busy. Hey Star Mimi, are you a part-time or full-time creator?'
Star Mimi: 'Uh... well, I don't know if I count as full-time, but I do have a lot of free time.'
Rainwater: 'Then why aren't you filming videos? You're always in the group.'
Star Mimi: 'Because my cameraman has family matters to attend to, and I find it hard to film by myself.'
Nightblade: 'I see. You said last time that once you hit the front page, you'd tell us who you are?'
Star Mimi: 'Wait until I get a front-page recommendation, then I'll tell you which creator I am. It’s hard to get there, though; I update slowly, and my niche isn't exactly mainstream.'
Rainwater: 'Keep it up!'
Star Mimi: 'Thanks.'

Watching the conversation, it dawned on Xu Lin that this "Star Mimi" was a creator herself. A full-time one, at that. Maybe he could ask for some advice. Looking at the name, she was likely a girl, and he wondered if it would be inappropriate to reach out privately.

Deep down, Xu Lin didn't want to get involved with any girls outside those designated by the 12-Zodiac System.

"Wait! This is work. It's about earning money. Why am I overthinking this?"

After hesitating for a few seconds, he opened her message box and sent a note.

Xu Twelfth: "Hello."
Star Mimi: "Hi! I'm here. Wait, are you the real author?"
Xu Twelfth: "Good evening. I have something I’d like to ask your advice on."
Star Mimi: "Go ahead."
Xu Twelfth: "Well, since you're a creator, my cousin wants to start a channel. He's a good cook and wants to focus on food content. But he doesn't know how to film or what equipment to use. Could you make some recommendations?"
Star Mimi: "Sure! Give me his QQ number, and I'll talk to him."

*Damn*, how do I answer that? I don't have a second QQ account. What do I do? If I say it's for myself, it’ll be so awkward.

Fortunately, the other party was sharp. Seeing he didn't reply immediately, she sent another message: "Or I can tell you first, and you can pass it on to him."

"Thank you."

Star Mimi: "First of all, no matter what you're filming, it's all about personal choice and intuition. What I use and like might not be what your... cousin likes. Even in the same food category, people use different equipment, but the results can all be great."

"Of course, to make it look good, especially indoors, you need lighting. Expensive gear isn't necessarily right for your... cousin."

Xu Twelfth: "Actually, it's me who's doing the filming. You don't have to keep typing like that."

Star Mimi: "Haha, just kidding. For lighting gear, it depends on the size of the space. If the kitchen is small, it's pointless to get bulky lighting equipment."

Following that, she provided a simple introduction to filming techniques and camera brands. She also recommended a few specific items and suggested which lenses would be best for food videos.

Xu Lin pulled out his notebook and jotted down the key points. She also shared some of her experiences as a creator, which he found incredibly beneficial.

Star Mimi: "However, Bilibili's image quality is currently limited to 1080p, and the frame rate isn't great, so even if you film perfectly, it won't show."

Xu Lin nodded. Before his transmigration, the site had supported 4K for a while, but now it was capped at 720p or 1080p with lower frame rates.

Star Mimi: "Just pick from the budget range I recommended. With the lens, aim to keep it under 8,000 to 10,000."
Xu Twelfth: "Thank you so much. It's 11 o'clock already; I've kept you up."
Star Mimi: "It's fine. I hope you can film a project you're happy with. Let me see it when it's done."
Xu Twelfth: "Definitely."
Star Mimi: "Update more often~"
Xu Twelfth: "I'll try."

He locked his phone and fell back onto the bed, taking a deep breath. "Ten thousand!"

He wondered if the "Free Man" would truly be free tomorrow. Only if it were free would he have the money to buy the equipment. But then, he’d be indebted to him. Compared to owing money, favors were much harder to clear quickly and cleanly.