Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts

Most users on C Site were students, with the primary age group between 14 and 24. Traditional promotional methods might not be effective for this demographic, and if the video itself wasn’t impressive, it could negatively impact C Site’s reputation.

With this in mind, Mei Fang devised a specific shooting plan for the promotional video:

1. The promotional video is expected to be 4 minutes long, with 1 minute of self-introduction and 3 minutes of talent showcase (guitar playing and singing).
2. The attire should be youthful and vibrant, while also hoping to display an otaku feel.
3. To minimize disturbances in real life, the video will be shot without revealing Xia Yuan’s face.

Of course, everyone felt that the third point might be a bit like covering your ears while stealing a bell.^[1] After all, Xia Yuan had already performed these songs at school. Since they were planning to “debut,” they needed to be mentally prepared for being eventually recognized.

Mei Fang reasoned that it was still 2012, and the toxicity online was far less severe than it would be ten years later. Eventually, Xia Yuan, Lin Youxi, and himself would reveal their identities. Not showing their faces initially would just make it slightly harder for netizens to unmask them and add a layer of mystery to Xia Yuan.

Wan Chaoxiong and Xiang Bingbing were invited to help with the video’s filming. After some discussion, they decided to shoot the video at a small pavilion on the school grounds to ensure a low-recognizability background.

Once the location and crew were set, Xia Yuan was troubled over what to wear for the promotional video.

“Ah Fang, Youxi, do you think a sailor uniform, a Lolita dress, or just our school uniform would be better?”

“The Lolita dress might be too otaku and doesn’t quite fit the style of a guitar performer. As for the school uniform… that would basically tell the viewers we’re from Jiangcheng NOHS,” Lin Youxi suggested. “I think a sailor uniform would be better. It fits the youthful and vibrant theme and has enough of an otaku feel.”

“Thinking about it, that does seem right,” Xia Yuan pondered, then looked at Mei Fang. “Ah Fang, what do you think? Do you also prefer the sailor uniform?”

“There are some in the school that can be borrowed, but the quality isn’t great. I’ll buy one online in the next few days.”

“Make sure to get one with a longer skirt. If your dad sees you showing too much, he’ll be upset.”

“Why bring up my dad…? You’re the one who doesn’t want me showing too much, aren’t you?”

Xia Yuan giggled as she pinched Mei Fang’s cheeks and whispered into his ear, “Then I’ll buy two. A longer one for the promotional video and a shorter one… to wear just for you, okay?”

Xia Yuan’s technique for teasing Mei Fang wasn’t very skillful yet. She was supposed to be in the offensive, but Xia Yuan ended up blushing first.

Although Xia Yuan was said to be high in offense and low in defense, Mei Fang himself wasn’t much better. When teased by Xia Yuan, he also got a bit embarrassed and rubbed his nose.

“Where did you learn to talk like that? Let’s focus on shooting the video first; we can discuss the rest later…”

Seeing that her teasing was working, Xia Yuan pressed on, “So, are you interested or not? I’ll buy it if you are.”

“Just buy both. It’s not like we can’t afford it. Having an extra one doesn’t matter… But remember to use my account; this is considered a business expense.”

“Got it, got it.”

With that, Xia Yuan happily sat on the couch to shop for clothes online. Lin Youxi, who was beside her, reminded her, “Yuan Yuan, when you place the order, remember to buy some tights too.”

“Tights?”

“Since Ah Fang doesn’t want you to show too much skin, you can use tights to cover your legs. It’s a good compromise, right?”

“You mean those… ah… um… uh…”

“This store looks good, take a look at this one.”

Under Lin Youxi’s guidance, Xia Yuan found some items that made her blush furiously and exclaimed, “Y-Youxi, do you like these kinds of tights? They’re too bold!”

“I don’t really mind. Mainly, Ah Fang likes them. He’ll definitely be excited to see you in these, especially the white ones.”

“When did I ever say I like tights?!” Mei Fang protested, feeling a bit wronged. “Don’t make me sound like some kind of pervert.”

“Still saying you’re not a pervert?” Lin Youxi bit her lip and then questioned him, “Did you forget what you did to my thigh-high socks last time?”

“That was an accident!”

Xia Yuan chimed in from the side, “Ah Fang is only tough with his words.”

“What weird things are you all saying?!” Mei Fang complained.

In the end, Lin Youxi had Xia Yuan buy her two pairs of black tights as well, though they couldn’t be worn to school, leaving their purpose a bit mysterious.

With all the preparations in place, they chose a weekend to shoot the promotional video at school.

After spending some time together, Wan Chaoxiong gradually became familiar with the people in the studio. Having witnessed their performances on stage, he was also full of anticipation for Xia Yuan’s rise to fame.

“With the quality of your album and the professional level of video production, I want to say that as long as we can get featured in the recommended videos, it’s guaranteed that she’ll become the top female artist in the music section of C Site, no problem!”

Xiang Bingbing was also curious about the outcome of the video shoot. “If Yuan Yuan becomes an internet celebrity, does that mean she won’t have to attend classes anymore?”

“Not quite… it’s purely a hobby.”

Xia Yuan tidied her hair and, with Lin Youxi’s help, adjusted her outfit. She then picked up the guitar Mei Fang handed her, which made her feel at ease.

“But I also want to develop my career…”

After all, Ah Fang and Youxi are making games and running a website. I need to keep up with them and become a successful creator myself…

Xiang Bingbing knelt and raised the camera to focus on Xia Yuan. “Yuan Yuan, are you ready?”

Xia Yuan cleared her throat with a few gentle coughs. “Let’s start.”

“Action!”

Xia Yuan waved at the camera, greeting, “Hi, everyone on C Site! It’s Yuan… Yuanbao desu! Haha… this is so funny, can we redo it?”

She looked over at Mei Fang off-camera, but he just shook his head, thinking her genuine reaction was perfect.

“Hmm… our director says no need to redo, so I’ll continue… Today is my first time meeting everyone, and I want to share our team’s first mini-album, Together with Yuan Xi. These five songs were created with my childhood sweethearts and other good friends. I hope you enjoy them! Now, I’ll perform one of the songs. Please give me a round of applause and encouragement. Thank you!”

Xia Yuan gave herself a few claps, then began playing the guitar and singing A not Far Away Place.

Since it was a live guitar performance and Mei Fang wanted a single-take feel, Xia Yuan’s performance wasn’t perfect. She even bit her tongue and sang the wrong lyrics at one point, which was funny even though it wasn’t captured on video but could be felt through the audio and her actions.

Xiang Bingbing showed the finished recording to Mei Fang and Wan Chaoxiong.

“Are you sure we don’t need to redo it? There were quite a few mistakes.”

Mei Fang and Wan Chaoxiong shook their heads in unison.

“This feeling of innocence and unfamiliarity, yet natural and unpretentious, a hardworking girl striving for her dreams—that’s the most attractive character setting for our Yuan Yuan!”

“Boss Mei, you truly live up to being a man in the gaming industry. You indeed understand the mindset of the ACGN community the best. Your way of speaking is exactly like our C Site’s Ojou-sama!”

“What’s that supposed to mean…?” Xia Yuan shook her head at his comment.

The guy that standing before you is the real “Ojou-sama” of C Site, the 【Mountain Has Lush Forest】 himself!

Despite her amusement, she had some concerns.

Would a video like this really impress the users of C Site?

Translator's Notes:

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