CH 9

Another ten thousand.

As the stream was nearing its end, there were already few people watching, and almost no one was giving donations. So this one cosmic spaceship donation stood out even more.

The barrage and Xie Yao both paused for a moment.

Xie Yao had been streaming for over a year, and with over three hundred thousand fans, he was considered a small online celebrity. The owner of the live broadcast room had always received many donations, but it was rare to see someone like user 4958021, who donated in the tens of thousands.

On that day, Xie Yao received a total of thirty-nine thousand in donations, and 4958021’s donation accounted for more than half of it.

Was this encountering a rich fan?

After regaining his composure, a longing look for money appeared in Xie Yao’s eyes.

There are many wealthy fans on Shark TV, but most of them are gathered around entertainment or beauty anchors since they tend to attract more people, especially those who have revealed their faces on camera.

Moreover, who doesn’t like attractive men and women? Although Xie Yao has a face that can attract people, unfortunately, he is not willing to turn on his camera.

As a game anchor, Xie Yao has never seen a wealthy fan in his live stream, and he does not believe that he can attract one.

With so many technical anchors on Shark TV, what would a wealthy fan see in him?

Why did they choose him, is it because he has bad luck or because he has a lot of haters?

: Wow, the streamer hit the jackpot! Don’t just stand there, hug the big leg!

: User 4958021 is amazing! 20,000 yuan! Is this what it’s like in the world of the rich?

: Leaving tears of envy

: Um…am I the only one who thinks that ‘little child’ is a little sweet?

: Sister upstairs, you’re not alone, I also think it’s a little sweet!

: Sobbing, I’m touched!

“Cough!” The barrage became more and more outrageous, even starting to ship people together. Xie Yao quickly spoke up to stop it.

Then, as usual, he thanked the gifts with a very sincere tone.

“Thank you to user 4958021 for sending the cosmic spaceship. The boss really spent a lot today.”

“No need.”

The top player was still economical with his words.

The barrage flashed with mocking comments about the “cool and aloof male god.”

Although many people on the fan rankings of Xie Yao’s live streaming room have donated, the total amount of donations is not that much. His main source of income comes from accompanying players and power leveling.

On the monthly rankings, the fifth-ranked donator donated fifty thousand yuan, while 4958021 donated twenty thousand yuan, which suddenly jumped to the fifth place.

Fifth place, twenty thousand yuan. Xie Yao rubbed his chin and felt that the donator had been a bit ripped off.

If it were another broadcaster, they would sing and dance to express their gratitude, or at least perform a comedy sketch to amuse the donator.

But in Xie Yao’s case, he only said a dry “thank you” to the donator.

This was too unfair, and he was losing money.

As Xie Yao thought more about it, he felt that he was not a qualified anchor. Then he slapped his hand and said firmly, “Boss, please make any requests you have. A transaction of 20,000 yuan is not worth it if it’s not done properly. I would be letting you down!”

Jiang Song, who was watching the live stream, was speechless.

The barrage: …

As they listened to Xie Yao’s strange words, the barrage couldn’t help but question the meaning of life.

: This isn’t something a decent person would say, is it?

: What kind of livestream is this? Can you watch it even without being a member?

: Can you be more specific about the transaction? I really don’t understand it.

: ? Are you always this gay when you’re not playing games???

: Shocking! A certain unknown green tea streamer’s so-called livestream effect is actually acting natural!

Xie Yao felt really wronged. “No way, no way. Can’t believe there are actually people who have nothing but garbage in their heads and still blame it on me for being innocent and pure?”

: Say innocent and pure what again??

After exchanging banter with the barrage for a while, Xie Yao emerged victorious and challenged the seemingly wealthy donor on the fifth spot of the fan ranking.

“Boss 4958021, are you still here? I wasn’t joking earlier, feel free to make any requests as long as they’re not too much,” Xie Yao said, clicking his tongue. “After all, it’s a loss of twenty thousand.”

His tone was reminiscent of a poor soul who had lost his hard-earned money to a gambling husband after getting married. It was full of regret and heartache.

On the other side of the screen, Jiang Song’s lips curved up, but he didn’t have any requests to make. He paused for a moment and then looked back at the game interface, his eyes narrowing.

He typed: Then please show us, oh lucky one, how to summon a crystal.

Fans ：？

: You’re not right!

On the other side, Xiao Xie’s eyes immediately brightened, as he rubbed his hands together and couldn’t help but raise his tone: “I promise to complete the task!”

His expression was so smug and proud.

With the boss’s order, the little anchor once again shifted his focus back to the game.

Xiao Xie opened the recharge interface and this time, he restrained himself and only recharged six yuan. He took advantage of the near-full progress of 360 crystals and acted cute while doing it.

“Today, let me show you what a true ‘lucky dog’ really is!”

: Does your family know how shameless you are?

: I can’t take it anymore, Yao Yao keeps refreshing my understanding of shamelessness.

After the last crystal progress bar was filled, and the glory crystal was guaranteed to be obtained, after the special effects flashed on the screen, Xie Yao immediately switched to the Echoing Blade skin.

After getting the coveted skin, Xie Yao’s mood was soaring, and he even ignored hundreds of comments about his shamelessness.

“Reporting to the boss, mission accomplished!”

“Okay, go to bed early.”

: …Damn, why can these two be so intimate even though it’s their first meeting…

: Is this the legendary aura? Single dogs being hit with 10,000 points of damage through the internet??

: Go to bed early…wuwuwu so caring!!!

: kswlkswl!

Ignoring the increasingly outrageous barrage of comments, Xie Yao’s inner state remained unaffected except for the money. When the boss told him to go to bed, he coldly bid farewell to his fans and closed the live stream without any nostalgia.

As soon as the stream ended, he played games for the whole afternoon and evening without moving much. Xie Yao immediately collapsed in his chair, feeling back pain, soreness, and hand cramps.

But he didn’t rush to log out of SharkTV. After stretching his body, he opened up Boss 4958021’s page and skipped over the blank page, clicking on the private message with his finger.

“Thank you very much for the reward today. Does the boss happen to play Honor of Kings? If you don’t mind, I can join you to rank up together.”

Joking about getting a crystal in one shot aside, Xie Yao was determined to follow through. He had to repay the two thousand yuan, and since the boss also watched Honor of Kings live streams, they might as well rank up together.

After sending the message, Xie Yao didn’t look at it again. The boss showed as offline and probably wouldn’t reply for the time being. What was important now was to appease his hungry stomach that had been empty all day.

Not eating for a day was really taking a toll on Xie Yao, he could still manage to hold on during the livestream when his attention was divided, but now that he had some free time, his hunger pangs began to surge constantly.

He couldn’t bear it anymore.

Just as Xie Yao slumped in his chair, opened the food delivery app on his phone to look for a midnight snack, a call came in.

He saw that it was from his unreliable childhood friend, Zhou Tian.

Xie Yao answered the call.

As soon as the call was answered, Zhou Tian on the other end immediately started to joke around, “Guess who I am?”

Xie Yao frowned and took a look at the caller ID on his phone. Without missing a beat, he retorted, “Are you an idiot?”

“Oh my god, we haven’t seen each other in so long and this is how you treat me? Can’t you have a little bit of heart?” Zhou Tian complained.

“Get lost. We just talked on the phone today. Don’t act like we haven’t been in touch for ages,” Xie Yao replied.

“Hey, you and your quick temper…I like it, hehe!” Zhou Tian teased.

Xie Yao switched the phone to his other hand. He was too hungry to deal with Zhou Tian’s nonsense and took a big gulp of water from his cup.

“Don’t mess with me. If you can’t come up with a reason to convince me to temporarily give up ordering takeout today, you will be removed from the family tree forever.”

“Well, it’s not a big deal…wait, wait! Are you about to hang up?”

Frustrated, Xie Yao reluctantly withdraws his finger from the “hang up” button and says, “Just spit it out. I’m starving.”

After some hesitation, Zhou Tian finally says with a smile, “Hey, I had nothing to do recently and missed you. So I flew to C city this afternoon and am already at the hotel. How about coming to hang out with me and the guys?”

Xie Yao, who is hungry and tired of this nonsense, jokes, “Did you forget to take your medication?”

“Don’t be like that, big bro. Give your little bro a chance to treat you to a meal. It’s not far, and the Didi driver I called is already downstairs at your place.”

Zhou Tian acted so swiftly that Xie Yao’s lips moved for a moment, and he hung up the phone directly.

Then an anonymous call came in immediately. Xie Yao hesitated for a moment, and only answered the phone after it rang for more than ten seconds.

“Is the car you called for? I’m the DiDa driver. I’ve already arrived downstairs. It’s hard to park here. Have you come down yet?”

“I’m on my way.”

Xie Yao asked for the license plate number and asked the driver to wait a bit, then put on a black duckbill cap and locked the door before going downstairs.

It was late, and most of the people living in this building were elderly and went to bed early, so Xie Yao didn’t encounter anyone on the way down, which made him feel much more relaxed.

As soon as he got downstairs, he saw the car parked not far away. The driver was a very talkative person, and as soon as Xie Yao got into the car, this middle-aged man tried to strike up a conversation with him.

Xie Yao kept a straight face and lowered his head to hide himself under the brim of his black duckbill cap. He gave only minimal responses like “Oh” and “Hmm” to the talkative driver. Not long after, the driver realized that Xie Yao wasn’t cooperating and gradually stopped talking.

The car was dimly lit, and Xie Yao kept his head down while reporting his trip on WeChat with Zhou Tian and switching to his banking app. Today’s earnings wouldn’t be available for withdrawal until tomorrow, but he had received a 12,000 yuan tip yesterday, plus the final payment from the Zhuge order on the Chinese server. After converting it, he was left with 15,000 yuan. Xie Yao kept 2,000 yuan and transferred the rest to two different accounts.

“We’re here,” the driver reminded him.

Xie Yao expressionlessly adjusted his cap and said “thanks” before getting out of the car.

“Yo, I’m over here!” shouted Zhou Tian at the top of his lungs as soon as the car door closed, while the driver had yet to leave.

Reluctantly, with a face that said “I don’t know this idiot,” Xie Yao adjusted his cap again.

But to no avail, as Zhou Tian saw him and yelled again. Though he got no response, it didn’t diminish his enthusiasm in the slightest.

In the next moment, Xie Yao’s neck was hooked by a thick arm, causing him to bend over.

“Zhou Tian.”

Xie Yao shouted expressionlessly.

“I’m here, bro!”

“You wanna die!”

“Hey hey hey, we haven’t seen each other for so long. I finally escaped from home and only saw you for a few seconds. You want to kill me.”

Thrown off by Xie Yao, Zhou Tian made a face and approached him again, grinning.

Xie Yao was used to his behavior and slapped Zhou Tian’s hand away when he tried to touch him again.

“Speak if you have something to say, don’t touch me. What about food? I’m starving.”

Xie Yao wore a poker face and turned his head to give a deadly stare at Zhou Tian, who still wanted to joke around.

He could swallow this pig whole on the spot if he had to endure another minute of hunger.

Zhou Tian punched Xie Yao’s shoulder and said, “How can you be hungry? The dishes are almost ready. We saw your location nearby and came out to pick you up!”

Xie Yao punched back, “Lead the way.”

“Okay!”

C city was located in Sichuan province, known for its heavy oil and spice in food. This street was not far from Xie Yao’s rental house, and it was almost midnight, but there were still 24-hour restaurants open on the street.

Xie Yao sat down at his seat and looked at the dishes on the table, almost all of which were full of chili peppers. He looked up at Zhou Tian in surprise and asked, “A table full of spicy dishes, did you get a new stomach? Can you handle spicy food now?”

As a native of g city, Zhou Tian couldn’t handle even a little bit of chili peppers. He remembered that one year he went to eat hot pot with this guy, and that night he vomited and had diarrhea, tears and snot flowing together. He thought Zhou Tian would never touch chili peppers again in his life.

“Hmph, do I need to get a new stomach?” Zhou Tian sneered, slapping his pocket and looking like he deserved a beating. “Do you know what’s in here?”

“Say it if you have something to say,” said Xie Yao, lifting his eyelids.

“Gastrointestinal medicine!”

Xie Yao: …?

Zhou Tian pointed to the street outside the restaurant. “And do you see what’s over there?”

Xie Yao turned his head and saw several large characters on the building across the street, faintly flashing with red light in the dark night: c city anal and rectal hospital.

Xie Yao turned back with disbelief. “Are you an idiot?”

Zhou Tian widened his eyes and felt hurt. “How can you say that? Isn’t your brother just trying to cater to your taste and risking his life to accompany you?”

“I’ll go to hell,” Xie Yao sneered. “Who was the one with the greedy mouth last time? Did you not know your own limits? Don’t blame your dad for it this time.”

The meal was eaten with laughter and joy, and ended with Zhou Tian chugging down a liter of mineral water.

After the meal, Zhou Tian insisted on taking Xie Yao for a walk along the riverbank. Two grown men walked in the night wearing all black clothes at one o’clock in the morning.

Zhou Tian was babbling with his swollen lips, as if he was in a three-hundred-sixty-degree surround sound, while Xie Yao was expressionless and just barely humoring him. Unable to bear it any longer, Xie Yao took out his phone and swiped a few times in an attempt to escape from the idiot’s noise.

Accidentally, his finger tapped on the SharkTV app, and he saw an unread message right after entering.

One hour ago, user4958021: “Sure, which district are you in?”

Xie Yao paused for a moment, then replied.

“I have both V and Q, which district are you in, boss?”

He thought the other person would be asleep by now, but as soon as he finished typing, a message came through with a beep.

User4958021: “Still awake?”