Chapter 148: Brother Cult Leader and the Societal Man

Up to this point, there has only been one time when Zhang Wuyong truly made Tongtong act the way he wanted.

That was the time when she wore a blindfold and a magical girl costume while sitting on the floor.

The incident from yesterday morning really didn't count.

Naturally, Zhang Wuyong still hoped that Tongtong would learn more.

However, this was something he wanted to teach her gradually, step by step.

For two childhood sweethearts to teach and learn from each other was, in itself, a delightful thing.

In the morning, he had let Tongtong learn in silence by observing his reactions firsthand.

Now, he went a step further, telling her straightforwardly in her ear what kind of behavior he liked from her.

Tongtong’s face flushed bright red, yet she took every single word in.

An academic high-achiever possessed an exceptional capacity for learning, especially an academic high-achiever who had just finished the college entrance examinations.

Of course, much of this had been conjured from Zhang Wuyong's own imaginative fancies. The two of them would still need to slowly experience and explore it all in the future.

After leaving the large park, they headed straight to the local JD store in the city.

The main reason was that ordinary computer shops tended to fleece their customers far too mercilessly.

At the JD store, at least they could check the official website's prices first and then directly ask if they had the items in stock.

In this way, it was hardly different from purchasing directly from the official website, while saving the hassle and time of shipping and delivery.

As they walked down the street, four young girls came straight toward them.

"Zhang Wuqi?!" one of them shrieked the instant she caught sight of him.

The other three immediately noticed him as well.

All four rushed over, surrounding him, clamoring for autographs and group photos.

Several passersby nearby cast curious glances at Zhang Wuyong, wondering which celebrity this might be.

Although he was handsome, they simply didn't recognize him.

One had to understand:

Many so-called "famous streamers" commanded massive online fanbases, but those fans were scattered across various regions, and furthermore, were largely confined to a specific niche circle, making their mainstream reach quite limited.

From the very beginning, Sister Lian had positioned Zhang Wuyong's appeal specifically within the demographic of "middle school girls."

If the demographic was too young, he would easily be reported by parents; if it was too old, it wouldn't be easy to generate fanatical devotion.

Therefore, although Zhang Wuyong had gained a modest level of notoriety, the vast majority of ordinary passersby still had no idea who he was.

It was currently summer vacation, and young middle school girls mostly slept through the mornings.

They only started coming out onto the streets in the afternoon.

Prompted by the excitement of the four girls, several others were drawn over.

Before long, a crowd had formed around them in a tight circle.

Zhang Wuyong noticed that Tongtong had been squeezed all the way to the outer edge of the circle.

Zhang Wuyong didn't particularly enjoy the feeling of being hemmed in by these young girls in real life.

Yet, since he was temporarily working as a "streamer," he had to play the part.

Keeping a smile on his face, he signed a few autographs and posed for a few photographs with them.

It took quite a while before he finally dismissed them, broke free from the encirclement, and made a rather flustered escape.

"Having things turn out like this is quite a hassle!" Zhang Wuyong muttered as he walked, reaching up to touch his hairstyle.

The memory of being surrounded entirely by young girls while Tongtong was pushed far away left a bitter taste in his mouth.

It stirred up an irritating sense of being forcibly separated from Tongtong by outsiders.

Yet his streaming career had only just begun.

After all, the initial investment from Honglian's side had been substantial.

While he was already at the stage where he could receive dividends, even when Honglian collected the revenue from the streaming platform, they were still only just breaking even.

Therefore, at least for this summer, there would be many more public appearances to come.

And since he had chosen this profession, a certain level of professional dedication was mandatory.

He couldn't fleece young girls of their money on the internet while putting on an arrogant face and giving people the cold shoulder when encountering them in real life.

That simply wasn't something he could bring himself to do.

Tongtong glanced over at him, easily reading the gloominess in his heart.

Actually, she didn't like this feeling either—the two of them walking together only to be suddenly torn apart by a crowd, leaving her drifting further and further away from him.

Zhang Wuyong raised his head. "If things keep going like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to go shopping anymore."

He began to contemplate whether he should continue with his streaming career in the future.

Tongtong looked over at him, then gazed into the distance.

Suddenly, she said, "Follow me."

She grabbed his hand and ran toward the other side.

Taken aback, Zhang Wuyong followed her lead.

Racing diagonally across the street, he unexpectedly spotted a hair salon.

Moreover, it was the exact same salon Tongtong had brought him to last time.

This salon happened to be located right by the bridge near the riverside park, which made it very close by.

"Oh! Handsome, you're back?" The effeminate hairdresser's eyes lit up the moment he saw Zhang Wuyong.

Zhang Wuyong gave a dry chuckle.

He felt thoroughly uncomfortable being looked at that way.

Fortunately, the effeminate hairdresser knew that Tongtong held the reins. "Little sis, what kind of look are you trying to give him this time?"

Tongtong asked, "Do you have wigs here?"

The effeminate hairdresser hurriedly replied, "Yes! We do! What kind are you looking for? We've got bob cuts, long bangs, straight black hair, curly blonde hair..."

Tongtong said, "Not for me. For a guy."

The effeminate hairdresser looked at Zhang Wuyong again. "Isn't his current haircut already pretty good?"

Tongtong asked, "You don't have any?"

The effeminate hairdresser answered, "We have them, alright!"

Reluctantly and with clear displeasure, he fetched a few men's wigs.

Tongtong browsed through them and quickly picked one out, placing it firmly on Zhang Wuyong's head.

Looking closely, this wig looked remarkably similar to Zhang Wuyong's previous hairstyle.

The sides were relatively long, and the front bangs drooped down to obscure almost half of his eyes.

"This is the one," Tongtong said with satisfaction.

"Then didn't I just waste my effort cutting his hair last time?" the effeminate hairdresser complained, looking deeply disgruntled.

"How much? Are you going to sell it or not?" Tongtong thought to herself, *As if I care whether you're satisfied or not?*

Purchasing the wig that closely resembled Zhang Wuyong's old hairstyle, Tongtong grabbed his hand once more and dashed back in the direction they had come from.

"Tongtong, what are you up to?" Zhang Wuyong asked in bewilderment.

Not long after, they saw that the four young girls were still lingering at the nearby bus stop, chattering noisily while waiting for their ride.

Standing on her tiptoes, Tongtong reached up and removed his glasses.

Then she adjusted and fluffed the wig on his head, whispering, "Go on over there now."

Zhang Wuyong walked toward the four young girls.

As he drew closer, he could still hear them chatting excitedly. "He was just so handsome. I sent the photo of the two of us to my classmates just now, and they were dying of jealousy."

"I wish I had a boyfriend that handsome."

"I never thought 'Guild Master' would actually be from our city. That's amazing. I feel like I might run into him here again in the future."

Mid-sentence, one of the girls noticed that the guy walking past wore the exact same outfit as the Guild Master they had just met.

Looking closer, she saw the man glaring in their direction, his gaze piercing through the messy, unkempt bangs like he was ready to commit murder.

Frightened out of their wits, all four girls instantly clamped their mouths shut, dared not make another sound, and hastily averted their eyes.

They didn't even dare to glance a second time at this menacing, delinquent-looking figure...