Volume 1, Chapter 26: Suisui’s Troubles

After ending her stream and finishing dinner, Yu Yansui returned to her room to find a girl with a chin-length bob sitting on her bed.

Hearing the door open, the girl turned her head, glanced at her, and then continued maneuvering her character in Honor of Kings.

"Done streaming?"

"Yeah. Qiaoqiao, I remember you had long hair before I went live?"

"Oh, I just wanted a change of style. I went out to get it cut after you started streaming. Doesn't it feel different?"

Yu Yansui nodded; it certainly did.

Zong Qiaoqiao’s outfit today was entirely denim, stripping away her usual "pure and innocent" vibe and giving her a cool, edgy look.

"I thought you’d left. Why didn't you go downstairs for dinner?"

"Are you kidding? Eating at the same table as your brother? How terrifying."

Yu Yansui didn't really share her best friend's view. Her brother was quite gentle; she didn't know why Qiaoqiao didn't like him.

"Qiaoqiao, aside from being a bit old-fashioned, my brother is actually quite nice."

"That’s only toward you."

"Ugh, what kind of bot teammates are these? How could we lose this? Honor of Kings is getting more and more garbage."

Zong Qiaoqiao had been playing Kong Kong'er. It was late game, and she had initiated a team fight with her ultimate, but while she managed to crowd-control the enemies, none of her teammates dared to follow up. She ended up dying, and they lost their base even though they had been in a winning position.

What a piece of trash game, trash matchmaking. It was nauseating.

"Lost again?"

"Yeah, so unlucky."

Zong Qiaoqiao cursed a few times before calming down. "Suisui, what are you doing with the money you’ve made from stream tips?"

Yu Yansui didn't answer, falling into deep thought.

"My god! You’ve been streaming for so long and you haven't even withdrawn the money from those big spenders once?"

Yu Yansui guiltily picked at her fingers. It seemed that was the case. She didn't lack money, so she hadn't really thought about withdrawing it.

"Give me your phone, let me take a look."

Yu Yansui handed it over, and Zong Qiaoqiao immediately navigated to the "My Earnings" section on Qimiaolive.

"Not bad, you’ve got talent, Little Swallow. You’ve only been streaming for half a month, right? Guess how much you have after the platform takes its 50% cut?"

"One million?"

"Too low, guess bigger!"

"Five million?"

"No way, be bolder."

"I can't guess. You tell me."

Zong Qiaoqiao was clearly excited. "Over ten million, girl! You are seriously talented."

"That much?"

"It could be even more. I just saw that Qimiaolive officially sent you a streamer contract invitation, and the revenue split they’re offering is quite high—70% for you, 30% for the platform. Are you going to sign?"

A platform streamer is signed directly with Qimiaolive, becoming a direct employee of the company. The gift-split ratio is renegotiated, and the contract is very different from that of a guild-affiliated streamer.

Guild streamers are managed by their agencies; after the initial 50/50 split with the platform, they often have to give away half of their remaining cut to the guild as management fees. Essentially, they earn much less than platform streamers. Furthermore, Qimiaolive favors its own platform streamers when it comes to traffic exposure, making this a much more advantageous position.

"This split feels a bit too good to be true. Did the platform send an electronic contract?" Yu Yansui asked.

"They did. Let’s look at it together."

The two of them carefully read through the electronic contract and were surprised to find no hidden predatory clauses; the entire document was almost entirely in her favor.

She had looked up live streaming online, where there were usually restrictions on time and content production, but her contract had none of that. Could there be a trap?

Zong Qiaoqiao hooked her arm around Yu Yansui’s shoulder. "Why don't you forward the contract to Milos? Of course, things like this should be handled by a professional."

"I think if you really want to stream seriously, you should sign this platform contract. Having Qimiaolive backing you will make things go much smoother."

"I understand, I'll think about it, Qiaoqiao."

"Alright, then should I help you withdraw the money first?"

"Okay."

Zong Qiaoqiao quickly withdrew the tip money from Yu Yansui’s streaming account.

"I want to return the money to them."

"Return it to whom?" Zong Qiaoqiao was shocked by Yu Yansui’s statement and gave her a sideways glance, as if to say, "Girl, have you lost your mind?"

"To Brother Xiaofeng and the others..."

Yu Yansui was the type of person who felt a strong sense of indebtedness. She always felt a heavy weight whenever she spent others' money or when people were nice to her and she couldn't reciprocate. Milos had tried to counsel her on this, but she still couldn't change her perspective.

Zong Qiaoqiao originally wanted to say more, but seeing her best friend's expression, she held back. Given her position, she didn't feel she had the right to dictate how this money should be handled.

—

Yu Yansui calculated an average amount and initiated transfers in the group chat of the three men on Green Bubble.

Yan Huaifeng replied the fastest; he responded as soon as Yu Yansui hit send.

[Brother Xiaofeng: What is this for?]

Then, Pei Henian replied.

[Brother Henian: Hmm?]

[Brother Suzhi: Are you trying to keep me as a kept man?]

[Suisui: It’s not like that. This is the money you guys spent on gifts for me these past few days. The platform took half, and this is what was left after withdrawal.]

[Suisui: I want to return it to you.]

The three men simultaneously sent question marks in the chat.

[Suisui: I just really want to return it to you...]

Pei Henian, who had just stepped out of the shower, sighed as he looked at the messages on his phone. This little girl really didn't know how to put his mind at ease.

It wasn't like he hadn't looked into the streaming industry; other streamers were desperate to empty their benefactors' wallets, but she—she was afraid he was being too nice to her?

The amount wasn't right; it seemed she hadn't signed the contract he had sent.

[Brother Henian: Does my little one mean she wants to draw a line between us?]

Yu Yansui didn't mean that at all, but Pei Henian’s words clearly misinterpreted her intentions, making her anxious and at a loss for what to do.

[Suisui: I didn't mean that. I just feel like you guys are too good to me, and I don't know how to...]

[Brother Suzhi: I understand. It's a mental burden, isn't it?]

[Brother Xiaofeng: Baby, don't feel burdened. We did it willingly.]

[Brother Henian: Just accept it and rest easy. Don't feel pressured. Even if I do ask for something in return later, I won't force you.]

Yu Yansui’s eyes turned red, and a tear helplessly fell onto the screen.

Why were they so good to her? They had only ever interacted on the internet; they hadn't even met in person.

Seeing that Yu Yansui hadn't replied for a long time, Yan Huaifeng grew anxious.

[Brother Xiaofeng: I like you. I want to pursue you. I’m happy to spend money on you.]

The message was quickly retracted.

[Brother Xiaofeng: I just want you to be happy.]

[Brother Henian: Don't overthink it. I’m always here.]

[Brother Suzhi: Brother has money. Brother isn't short of cash. Be good.]

With their reassurance, Yu Yansui finally felt a little better.

[Suisui: I want to send you guys some small gifts.]

[Brother Xiaofeng: What kind of gifts? I'm so looking forward to it! (Emojis)]

[Suisui: It’s a secret for now.]

[Brother Henian: Then I’ll look forward to your gift, little one.]

[Brother Suzhi: Chairman Pei has already said what I wanted to say.]

Brother Suzhi seemed to really love music; he often said in the stream that he liked her voice, so perhaps she could make a unique music box for him.

Brother Xiaofeng liked kittens, so she could hand-make a kitten plushie for him.

As for Brother Henian, she felt a bit melancholy. He hadn't shown any specific interests so far, so she would have to think about it carefully.