Chapter 1 Brother, I'm Not Selling! "Brother, how much is an all-night session at your internet cafe...?"
"Hey bro, how much is an all-nighter at your internet cafe?" A fair-skinned young man stood in front of the bar, the plastic pattern on his white T-shirt already cracked from washing.
He clutched a crumpled red bill in his hand, the money he had earned that day carrying red bricks at the construction site.
"All-night session, 10 yuan a night." The guy lying at the front desk watched the game livestream, crossed his legs, chewed on a lollipop, and didn't even look up.
The boy placed the red ticket on the counter: "I want to buy ten nights."
Upon hearing this, Li Changcai raised his head and looked at the boy in front of him. His hair was covering his eyebrows and he was wearing a thin T-shirt despite the approaching autumn weather. He suspected that someone's child had run away from home in a fit of pique.
He confirmed, "Would you like to see my ID?"
The boy felt in his lower pocket, pulled out an ID card, and handed it over with his hands, which were red from being rubbed raw.
“Ning Buyi, 17, you’re not old enough, we can’t process it for you.” Li Chang read out his ID card information and glanced at his place of origin; he wasn’t a local.
Ning Buyi pursed her lips and continued to try.
"Brother, could you make an exception? There are still a few months left, and I have nowhere else to go."
Li Chang glanced at him; his clothes were covered in dust, and apart from his face, he was spotless. What had this kid been up to?
He sighed: "Fine, you want to book for ten days, right?"
Seeing that the man agreed, the boy's eyes lit up and he nodded.
Li Chang added, "The all-night session is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
As he spoke, he accepted the crumpled bill and registered Ning Buyi for a flight.
"Here, room 7 in area A, go ahead."
Ning Buyi breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally get some rest. Since setting foot on the unfamiliar city the day before yesterday, he hadn't had a single good night's sleep. Because the temperature on the park benches was too low at night, and there were too many mosquitoes under the bridge, his fair skin broke out in red rashes, making him unbearably itchy.
Over the next few days, Li Changdu noticed that the boy would arrive promptly at 10 o'clock, but he wouldn't turn on the computer; he just wanted to sleep. He also wore the same clothes every day, which were so dirty they were unrecognizable.
He initially thought the child was just being rebellious and arguing with his parents, but the reality seemed to be different from what he had imagined.
The cold wind howled at night, and it was pouring rain outside. Ning Buyi sat alone on the steps, the cold wind seeping into his sleeves, making him rub his arms.
Li Chang, standing at the front desk, couldn't stand it anymore. What kind of parents were they? Their child had been gone for so many days and no one had come to help.
He got up and walked to the door, saying to the boy, "Why don't you come in?"
Ning Buyi turned around upon hearing the voice, then turned back again, and said calmly, "It's not ten o'clock yet."
It wasn't time for him to stay overnight, so he couldn't go in.
The rain outside was pounding on the ground, and Li Changguang's trouser legs were covered in raindrops as he stood at the door.
Ignoring any resistance, he grabbed Ning Buyi's arm and pulled him inside: "Come on in."
"Where are your family?" the man asked, tossing him a clean towel.
"I don't have money to buy a towel." Ning Buyi looked at the white cloth hanging on her shoulder, as if afraid that the man would force her to buy it.
The man gave him a speechless look: "Here you go. I'm asking you a question."
Upon hearing this, Ning Buyi picked up a towel and wiped the water droplets off his skin, as if talking about something unrelated to him: "Dead."
The thunder rumbled outside, making the boy's pale and pitiful appearance all the more striking.
Ning Buyi looked at the pity in his eyes and turned her head away: "Don't pity me."
Li Chang then asked, "Where were you during the day?"
"On the construction site."
He works as a bricklayer at a construction site during the day, and after finishing his work, he wanders around outside before returning to the internet cafe at a certain time.
After hearing Ning Buyi's words, Li Chang felt a deep sense of unease. He couldn't bear to think about how a 17-year-old boy, orphaned, had no school to attend and worked as a construction worker, sleeping on a table in an internet cafe at night.
Damn it, I'm going to have a good deed today and do it as an act of kindness.
"How much do you earn a day working on the construction site?" he asked.
"one hundred."
He only gets a hundred for a whole day's work; they're taking advantage of him because he's a minor and can't find a job.
But Li Chang couldn't be of much help either. He was just a manager at the internet cafe, where food and lodging were provided, even though it belonged to his brother.
He looked Ning Buyi up and down, his gaze finally settling on the boy's handsome face. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he slammed his hand on the table with a sharp thud.
Li Chang suggested to him, "How about this, do you know how to play games?"
He figured the livestreaming industry was currently in a very hot spot, and with Ning Buyi's pretty face, even a pig-brain would be tempted to jump on the bandwagon.
Ning Buyi nodded: "You know how to play, Happy Match."
Li Chang fell silent. This silly kid, he couldn't have never even played mobile games, could he? Then he was right. Ning Buyi only had a refurbished phone, which he had saved up to buy.
Forget about playing mobile games, even making a video call is a struggle. The top half of the frame keeps connecting to the bottom half, making it look like a PowerPoint presentation.
Li Chang pondered for a moment and then asked, "Do you want to make money easily?"
Ning Buyi took a small step back: "I don't do anything illegal, and I don't sell."
Was he serious about taking a half-step back? All Li Chang wants to say is that he's a law-abiding citizen.
"What are you thinking? Do you even know who the streamer is?"
Li Chang explained it to him.
Ning Buyi's eyes turned strange. He was wondering if he should switch to another internet cafe, since this guy in front of him was coming up with some bad ideas.
"I don't do striptease, and I don't do pole dancing."
Li Chang couldn't hold back any longer and gave him a flick on the forehead, saying with exasperation, "Are you out of your mind? It's the 21st century, do you think this is some porn site?"
This can't be blamed on Ning Buyi; it's just that his old, refurbished phone automatically popped up pornographic ads when he opened an app, leading him to misunderstand the livestreaming industry.
Li Chang took out his latest iPhone and opened a game live stream to show him.
"Did you see that?"
Ning Buyi looked at the smooth and clear phone screen in his hand, then glanced at his own phone, a cracked old glass screen protector. Damn it, what a miserable life.
"I see someone playing games. What's wrong?"
Li Chang then showed him the gift list: "See this? Divide this number by two and that's how much he made."
Upon hearing this, Ning Buyi's eyes widened, his mind racing with numbers: tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands! He could earn more money by showing his face and playing a game once than he could earn in a year of manual labor?!
He shamefully fell for it.
"Can I really earn this much playing Candy Crush?"
Li Chang waved his index finger: "You have to play this too."
He pointed to the game on the man's computer, which was the most popular 5v5 MOBA game at the moment, and game developers were now investing heavily in finding popular streamers to promote it.
Ning Buyi said, "I can't."
Li Chang patted the boy's left shoulder with his left hand, because the boy's right shoulder was wet.
"It's alright, you only need this face. How about it, you can stop carrying bricks and I'll talk to my brother and get you a private room for free."
Li Chang looked at him with an expression that suggested he was a brother. Ning Buyi glanced at his hands, which were already calloused from being worn down, and thought about the few banknotes lying quietly in his pocket. Finally, he made up his mind and nodded: "Okay."
"Okay, my name is Li Chang, and from now on I'll be your Brother Chang!" Seeing how cooperative he was, Li Chang disregarded any physical barriers and went up to hug him.
The matter of brotherhood and righteousness.
Ning Buyi paused for a moment, then asked, "Brother, you're not gay, are you?"
Are you crazy?!
He received another chestnut from Li Chang.
The door to the storage room was pushed open, and the dust that rushed out made the two of them instinctively brush away the air in front of them.
"We'll tidy up together in a bit, and you can stay in this room." Li Chang walked in and pushed open a small window. The fresh scent of earthy soil from outside, after the rain had stopped, rushed in. The man took a deep breath and felt alive again.
Ning Buyi thoroughly cleaned the room where he would be living from now on, and Li Chang brought him a bunch of beer racks from outside.
A pile of things against the wall can be turned into a small bed.
"Here, these clothes are new. Go wash them quickly, they stink." Li Chang tossed him a few pieces of clothing.
Ning Buyi accepted it with both hands and said, "Thank you, brother."
"Consider it my good deed, Chang-ge! Don't forget me when you make money in the future!"
The man pounded his chest; loyalty is the most important thing among brothers.
When Ning Buyi came out after taking a shower, it was already dark. Looking at the big red floral bed sheet and blanket on the beer crate, he was moved and couldn't help but think, "My grandma doesn't need it anymore."
He lay in bed, quietly watching the moon outside the window, as if he had found his own home.
The wandering heart finally settled down, the breathing gradually became lighter, and Ning Buyi peacefully fell asleep.
The following morning, Li Chang led the man into a private room and solemnly introduced him: "See this? Doesn't this sign look impressive?"
There is a fierce tiger inside; unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter.
Ning Buyi: ...
It's quite stylish; at least other people will think there's a lunatic inside and won't push the door open.
Inside, a tiny cubicle was even more dazzling.
Impoverished college students.
To earn tuition and living expenses.
Both parents are deceased.
The three banners nailed to the back left Ning Buyi dumbfounded; none of them met the criteria except for earning a living.
It was obtained through fraud.
"This is a persona I've meticulously crafted for you, guaranteed to be a hit."
Li Chang was full of confidence. This child had already suffered enough, so what was wrong with making things up a bit more?
Whether Bao Ning is responsible for the fire or not is unknown, but if he is exposed, he will be drowned in spit.
"How do I stream this?" Ning Buyi fiddled with the computer. Actually, he had never used a computer before; he had only watched his friends use them at their houses.
"Let's register an account first," Li Chang instructed him, pointing to the Lemon Video app.
Ning Buyi followed the instructions step by step, but got stuck at the last moment because he was a minor.
"What should we do, brother?" Ning Buyi asked.
"It's okay, I just checked the tutorial, I'll use mine."
The two stumbled and registered a live streamer account; having watched the tutorials earlier would have prevented them from being completely clueless.
From then on, a broadcaster named "Poor and Humble Can Move" was born in the world.
Li Chang read the tutorial aloud to Ning Buyi and showed him the entire live tutorial before leaving, feeling reassured.
Fortunately, Ning Buyi has a good memory; he has remembered most of it.
In the tallest office building in S City, an employee is reporting his work.
"Mr. Zhu, the game company just contacted us to add another 10% to the previous contract and asked if you are interested in cooperating."
::
The man sitting above had a calm expression, and the pen he held tapped rhythmically on the table.
"Did their efforts to smooth out the last few hairs on their heads finally pay off?"
They had been arguing with the game company for a long time about this project. Lemon Entertainment had already made many concessions, but the other party was taking advantage of the situation. The man resolutely refused, since any losses would be his father's responsibility anyway.
"Sign it." The man flicked the cap off the pen with his thumb and neatly signed his blessing and three words.
The man took the contract and left. Zhu Yanhe leisurely leaned back in his office chair with his hands folded, his days as boring and useless as a Chinese teacher's lecture.
With a flick of the mouse, Zhu Yanhe opened Lemon Video. It was time for another "pig-catching" moment—or rather, random supervision of his own employees' work.
Scrolling through the local page, I immediately spotted the eye-catching post: "Both parents deceased."
A note from the author:
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President Zhu was quite sarcastic in the early live streams (next chapter), but he was severely punished offline and in later live streams. The legendary old house caught fire—could he love her a little more? [doge emoji]
Baby, how about we become a couple? I'll share new things with you every day, play games with you, reply to messages instantly, and answer calls immediately. I'll love you so much every day. I promise I'll treat you well from now on. Will you be with me first? I'm so eager to get you to add this to your favorites because I want to break 10,000 followers! [pleading]
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