From now on, he could be considered a web celebrity.
After finishing the process according to the instructions, he had seen that there were many commercial-related pages in the analytical tools provided by YouTube, where he could skim through such indicators as the time when his videos were watched, the number of views and his income earned.
Unlike the advertisements on the video websites in China that could be over 1 minute long, audiences could choose to watch only 5 seconds of the commercials on YouTube before skipping them, so that targeted audiences could be selected more efficiently. Besides, the commercials on YouTube were exquisitely-made with excellent creative ideas, so people usually just watched the whole commercials, disregarding the length of them. From this aspect, the commercials on YouTube were of higher quality than the rubbish online gaming advertisements on the video websites in China.
Although he was very excited, Song Bai knew that he still had a long way to go. If he wanted to earn enough money from YouTube to support himself, he shouldn't be satisfied with only a small amount of pocket money, but he needed to produce vlogs of high quality continuously.
He needed to calm himself down, and the best way to cool one's mind was to read the comments under the video.
The most popular comments involved the argument of the authenticity of the video. Some people were just having normal discussions, while others' comments came with hostile connotations, and people holding different opinions were arguing feverishly. He noticed that a few account names with Chinese characteristics had righteously denounced the "no offense" comment, and a lot of foreign audiences had agreed with their refutations—the foreign audiences here meant they were from countries other than the USA. Audiences defending the creator of this video had indicated which countries they were from to show their support, and they even addressed the hegemonism of the United States.
In fact, audience members who were defending the author of the video just said that where the video was shot could not be used as the sole indicator to determine the authenticity of the video. Their attitudes remained ambiguous— after all, kittens dancing together was just too incredible.
Except a few audience members who were delving into the truthfulness of the video, most audience members just deemed the video as entertainment and didn't care about whether it was true or not. For them, a happy mood after watching the video would be enough. So, the comments left by these audiences were usually very amusing with the humor in English.
"I've got a disease that is only curable by watching kittens dancing. If you don't keep uploading new videos, you will be responsible for my death." –was this kind of like a death threat?
"I love this video, but I don't understand Chinese nor English. Can somebody please add subtitles in Spanish? By the way, this comment is completed by Google Translate."
"Thanks for the vlogger's work. I was worrying that my boyfriend had no interest in learning Chinese, but after showing him this video, he had booked plane tickets to China... though I cancelled them right away. Oh, by the way, I would love to watch this video several times, but right now I need to have a showdown with my boyfriend. I need to know who is more important to him? Me or the kittens?"—it seemed that a fight was inevitable.
"This video is totally nonsense, but I like it!"
"So, where can we purchase these kittens?"
"Thanks for the brilliant video, the background music is also very good, I have recommended it to my friends."
"Magical dancing, magical music, my body can't help but move with the kittens. I’ve decided to imitate this dance with my friends on the streets in Mumbai as my gratitude to the vlogger." –it seemed like this was an audience member from India.
"oooooooxxx!"—there were a lot of complaints under this comment: What language is this? No one can read it! Since you know how to use YouTube, please learn how to use Google Translate.
"This song and the choreography is so attractive... I think I'm going to abandon Justin Bieber..."
"Okay, I swear to God that no other videos can beat this one."
"Am I the only one who has noticed the puppies in the background? Poor little things are locked in the display cases, I want to hug them..."—the tone sounded like it was from a middle-aged loving woman.
Besides these, there were ubiquitous advertisements among some of the comments. "Great video, but if you want to earn money, please contact this address. I'm a young girl from Las Vegas, I can do anything you want me to do, my number is xxx-xxx-xxx."
Some people replied with, "Love this video, love the dancing kittens. I want to buy a kitten in the video, whichever is fine as long as it can dance. Money will not be a concern. Hope the kind vlogger can tell me the address to buy them."
As Song Bai counted, there were at least eight similar comments, plus the replies to these comments. Many people were hoping to know where they could buy the dancing kittens.
Of course, some people replied that the video was just for fun and advised others not to take it too seriously, for there were no such dancing kittens in this world. Even if the video was true, they would have to travel a long distance to buy them in China.
The most annoying yet funny phenomenon was that, a lot of people couldn't tell whether the video was recorded in China or Korea, which was a typical issue among the Westerners.
"If it is in a pet shop, all the kittens are for sale, right? How much does one cost approximately? I will buy one next month even though I need to collect scraps to make more money."
Regarding this comment, someone replied with, "This video has high display quality, so I see the number on the invoice. The black kitten that the vlogger bought cost him about 3,000 RMB, which is about 450 USD, taxes included."
"That is incredibly cheap! Even taxes are included!"
"Wow! The cat owners must be very happy in China!"
"WTF? The price is only half of that of an iPhone? Please, I want to trade my iPhone, plus my girlfriend's iPhone, for a kitten."
Song Bai was going to take a hot shower and consider how to reply to these comments asking for an address. Just when he was about to leave the computer, he pressed the F5 key one more time, and noticed a new comment.
"Hm?" This comment drew all his attention and made him sit back on the chair again.
It was written with, "Yo, people arguing the truthfulness of this video can stop fighting. This video probably is true, because someone also uploaded a similar video. Although that video is not as clear or sophisticated as this one, and it has no subtitles, from the content, it was undoubtedly shot in the same pet shop. Anyone interested can check that out. Hope someone can provide translation."
"What?" The unexpected turn stunned Song Bai.
Another vlogger had gone to shoot videos at Amazing Fate Pet Shop?
He didn't sign any exclusive shooting agreement with Zhang Zian, so it was normal that other vloggers went to record videos there. But it had only been a few days since he left. Was it really a coincidence?
It was probably just a misunderstanding—he tried to comfort himself.
Everyone was selfish, and so was Song Bai. Although he didn't think of keeping it a secret, he hoped others would find out this pet shop later.
Inputting the key words provided in the comment, he found the other video.
The title of the video was very simple: Dancing Kittens in the Pet Shop.
Song Bai calmed down himself to look at the profile of the person who uploaded this video. The profile section was empty, and there was only one video uploaded; apparently this was a newcomer.
He clicked to play the video. When the pictures started moving, a clear and pleasing voice speaking standard Mandarin was heard.
"Hello, everyone! This is Snowy, welcome to my live broadcast! Our slogan is: Having fun in Binhai City!"
An adorable girl was making a peace sign on the screen. Even though she was behind the screen, her joyful tone and sweet smile were appealing to Song Bai.
His heart sank.
This was going to be bad!
He recognized the background of the video by his first glance. It was the very Amazing Fate Pet Shop at the South End of Zhonghua Road!
He swallowed nervously. He was well aware that if this girl was his competitor, he would have no chance to win.