Chapter 8 The Laborer "Sijie called?"

[CJ02ss], whose real name is Mu Chen'an, comes from a family that made their fortune in the internet industry. Their family business also holds a significant stake in the Yinghuo live streaming platform.

He has an older brother, Mu Chenxing, who is more than ten years older and has already taken over the family business.

As long as you refuse pornography, gambling, and all kinds of bad habits in your life, you will basically live a life of wealth and leisure, surrounded by money, luxury cars, and beautiful women—a true winner in life.

However, beneath his glamorous exterior, Mu Chen'an harbored his own troubles.

Not only do they have a pair of traditional and strict parents, but they also have an extra father—the eldest brother Mu Chenxing, who is like a father to them.

That pervasive control only eased slightly after his older brother got married and his focus shifted. Mu Chen'an was like a bewildered teenager just released from solitary confinement; he didn't dare to fight, nor did he dare to rebel, but…

A burning, cynical, and oppressed spirit had always been deeply hidden within him.

He thought, "I'm a person too, I have a self, why am I the only one in this family who doesn't deserve to be called a human being?!"

The pain of a teenager with delusions of grandeur is real. He became obsessed with video games. Although he had great ambitions, he was bad at the game but addicted. He didn't have the outstanding abilities of his older brother, and even video games couldn't support him in pursuing his dream of becoming a professional gamer.

He relieved his pain by watching all sorts of game live streams.

He clicked into [Chengcheng Juice%]'s live stream because it was a live streaming platform where a game streamer he often watched was located. He was often bombarded with messages from female streamers on the same platform, including [Chengcheng Juice%]. Back then, Yinghuo Live was smaller than it is now. If someone sent a paid gift worth more than 1,000 yuan, it would be announced on the entire platform.

Mu Chen'an forgot to block it, and the special effect appeared ten times. He couldn't stand it anymore and thought it was some kind of suggestive streamer, but when he clicked in, it was a bunch of rich women "dancing wildly"—

Anchor: Just smiling. (smiling.jpg)

Rich woman: You're incredibly shrewd! I'll swipe!

He was involuntarily drawn to the sweetly smiling anchorwoman, but Mu Chen'an wouldn't admit it; he was merely watching with a sense of righteous indignation.

"I'd like to see what tricks you have up your sleeve," *sneer*

It's hard to say what's the point of this kind of casual live stream. He scoffed inwardly, then heard the streamer say, "Family, I think pain really can't be generalized. I have menstrual cramps today, wow, it really hurts. My cousin can't understand it at all. This girl is as strong as an ox and even ate a huge piece of watermelon. My god, you have no idea how dark I am. My cousin said my eyes are so red they're about to bleed, and she dubbed me the 'Red-Eyed Pretty Ghost.'"

"...I think that having money and doing well in studies and career does not necessarily mean you have the ability to be happy. Being happy is a skill that needs to be cultivated, and I was thinking about this today."

He angrily posted a comment: "Le, if you have the ability, you can solve 99% of the problems. If you don't have the ability, who will treat you like a human being?"

The anchor squinted and revealed an extremely sweet smile, like a flower glistening with dew in early summer... In short, the kind of plant that a straight man like Mu Chen'an finds beautiful: "Baby, have you encountered any difficulties lately? You must be under a lot of psychological pressure, right?"

She casually picked up the hot milk tea next to her and took a sip. "So what if he's capable? He's not the most capable one. The fact that he doesn't treat you like a human being means he's been treated like a dog before!"

Mu Chen'an: "..."

His slightly reddened ears betrayed the shock in his heart. A bitter feeling welled up in his throat without warning.

[McAn02ss]: What nonsense are you talking about? What kind of streamer are you?

The anchor had very thick hair, which he had loosely braided into a side plait because of the heat, with a headband casually wrapped around it a few times. He was wearing a navy blue shirt dress and looked to be about the same age as him.

"What type am I? I'm the 'juice' type, youthful and energetic, rich in Vitamin C, and very optimistic and positive. I can answer your questions and discuss life philosophies. If you still have learning needs, you've really found the right person. I will be live streaming every weekend to accompany you in your studies."

"If you're lucky, you can also see my painful one-on-one tutoring vlog, which is generously sponsored by my mother."

For some reason, Mu Chen'an was actually tempted. He quietly spent two hundred yuan on a gift, the Mermaid's Song. Actually, he wanted to follow the rich woman's example and spend a Shining Star, but his card was banned by his older brother for fighting, so he was currently penniless.

"The Mermaid's Song" marked the beginning of five years of mutual support and companionship between him and his beloved broadcaster.

The streamer Chengcheng is a super nice person. She's beautiful, kind-hearted, and has a great livestreaming pace. The atmosphere in the chat and fan groups is very harmonious. Moreover, as an anonymous big spender, there are actually people secretly shipping him and the streamer as a couple, which makes him secretly happy.

Counting the time, he really did... He even changed his name for her, replacing the initials of his name "McAn (沐宸安)" with "CJ," where C stands for orange and J stands for juicy. He really showed his sincerity.

You should know that this ID was conceived by him in order to become a professional gamer. He had a huge argument with his family about becoming a professional gamer. His initials represent his most sincere ideal and the realization of his self-worth.

But in the end...

Well, maybe he's asking for too much.

I can't even add you on WeChat.

Nobody knew he was a die-hard fan of the streamer. His family didn't know, and neither did his group of playboy friends—those people were content with enjoying life, and he really didn't have much in common with them, haha!

He didn't even have anyone to confide in.

Cheng Sijie had no idea about his inner thoughts. Heaven knows how he could have taken her implied meaning, "Baby, you must be having a bad time lately," as a sweet and affectionate way of flattering her!

Well, everyone in this world has their own ideas.

However, even a serious falling out with his wealthy older brother wasn't enough to make Cheng Sijie think, "I need to escape this cold and heartbreaking place as soon as possible."

Her reason for this belief is that the Firefly Live platform is becoming increasingly unreliable.

Firefly is suitable for personal entertainment, but its user base is not large, with daily active users likely ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. The influence of top streamers is also limited; Cheng Sijie, who considers himself to have reached the top in the lifestyle section, only has around 300,000 followers.

If this continues, with the loss of users, the number of active fans will only decrease. "How can the canal be so clear? Because there is a source of living water." Without new traffic, she will eventually be completely OUT.

In addition, Firefly has a strong sense of community, with closer and more personal interactions between streamers and viewers, and among streamers themselves. However, its management is lax, many live streaming incidents are not handled promptly, and there is no professional marketing or promotion. The smoothness, clarity, beauty effects, and interactive functions of the live streams are not as good as those of larger platforms, and occasional lag or bugs occur.

Platform support in terms of traffic, professional training, and resource matching is not very effective, so streamers can only rely on their own efforts and the accumulation of fans.

There are few business opportunities and the unit price is low.

Recently, the management changed and a wave of new recruits was launched, which greatly reduced the policy support for veteran streamers. If this continues, those who only stay on this one platform will eventually be killed by more and more platforms and streamers.

Since Cheng Sijie wanted to do this well, he wouldn't consider anything else. The platform was still connected to his old fans, but as everyone got older, they all changed to some extent, and it was precious that they could stay together.

People thrive when they move, but trees die when they move; perhaps that's not so bad.

She checked out the new platform recommended by Sister CC, Xinghai Live.

Cheng Sijie slowly scrolled down, looking at the information. She had actually heard of this platform before.

It is said that it is backed by a large internet company with abundant funds and has a lot of cross-platform marketing. She has recently seen advertisements for this live streaming platform on these software while playing games and listening to music.

Currently, it has been established for less than a year and is in the stage of expansion and seizing market share. It has invited a lot of big internet celebrities and stars to participate in activities on the platform.

Her ex-boyfriend, Jiang Hui, previously held his live-streaming events on that platform.

When Cc mentioned "internal referrals," she meant that Xinghai has a "Star Catcher Project" that employs dedicated HR personnel who invest heavily in discovering potential streamers on smaller platforms, especially those with high fan loyalty who haven't yet fully taken off on major platforms.

She took a look and thought it seemed quite reliable. She had made quite a few friends among the live streamers over the years. She scrolled through the list and actually found a dance blogger currently active on Xinghai (on Taoxingxing).

Their relationship is rather strained. Back when she was a newcomer, [on Taoxingxing] even tried to ride her coattails. They haven't been in contact for two or three months, but when she sent him a message, he replied instantly.

"Oh, Chengcheng, don't come here! It's a disaster! You have no idea how awful the atmosphere is here. There are tons of trolls every day. Your kind of casual, conversational style just can't handle it!"

Cheng Sijie raised an eyebrow. Since the other party said that, she thought the platform must be pretty good.

She thought about it for a moment and then messaged H: "Senior, can you take a look at this for me? Is it reliable?"

She had blocked the "senior" for several days. Today, after the "senior" came online to save the damsel in distress, he didn't hear any sweet words of thanks from her. Instead, she treated him like a laborer again, which made the "senior" so angry that he didn't reply for an hour.

Finally, he sent a message: "You want to go to this platform?"

He called, but Cheng Sijie didn't answer.

h:?

Cheng Sijie sent a voice message, her voice feigning distress: "Oppa, have you forgotten that you're just my pursuer and senior? You're scaring me by suddenly calling me."

h: "You're really something."

Cheng Sijie: "Thank you."

h: "You can go. Do you need me to put in a good word for you?"

Cheng Sijie: "I'll contact you if I need anything."

After thinking for a moment, she made a voice call to the other party. The other party answered immediately. The background noise was very loud. Cheng Sijie heard him say "Quiet" and then repeat it in English. Clearly, just like some directors have absolute control on set, Jiang Hui also has absolute say in his own recording studio.

The area fell silent immediately.

Cheng Sijie asked with some envy, "What are you doing, senior?"

Jiang Hui remained silent.

Cheng Sijie asked, "When are you going back to China? Do you need me to pick you up?"

Jiang Hui said, "Are you trying to please me?"

Cheng Sijie felt a little guilty. The two of them had indeed had a fierce argument this time, including blocking each other and giving each other the silent treatment.

Although she knew they wouldn't break up, she ignored Jiang Hui's countless tantrums... There was no other way; she couldn't really abandon her studies to fly around the world with him, could she?

Cheng Sijie said, "I am indeed trying to please you, baby. Your current indifference is making me a little sad."

Jiang Hui sneered, "I seemed quite happy watching your live stream."

Hearing his familiar cold laugh, Cheng Sijie rolled her eyes as well, thinking to herself, "Of course, what, you've broken up with a man and you're not going to eat, sleep, or work on your career anymore?"

She said weakly, "I can only force a smile. Without Brother Jiang Hui's support, I'm really afraid I'll end up sleeping on the streets without any money..."

Jiang Hui is most susceptible to this kind of thing, Cheng Sijie thought, "Isn't this a piece of cake for me? Little brat."

Unfortunately, the other person chuckled softly and then said, "I'm busy, I'll hang up now."

Cheng Sijie: "..."

Oh my god, what's going on?

Cheng Sijie blinked, still unwilling to give up, and sent him a picture of herself pretending to cry. He simply replied: "Read."

Meanwhile, across the ocean

The agent saw Jiang Hui give a flamboyant smile and understood immediately: "Sijie called?"

Jiang Hui nodded.

The agent, who had watched them grow up, smiled and said, "You two still have such a good relationship."

Jiang Hui cleared her throat, her tone calm but unable to hide a hint of smugness: "We're always arguing. We even threatened to break up before."

The agent's eyes widened: "Oh my, this isn't like her at all. She's definitely just saying something harsh."

Jiang Hui casually placed her phone on the table, picked up the lyrics manuscript beside her, and smiled with a barely perceptible curve: "Yeah, I know."