CH 46

I recently noticed that in my live broadcasting platform, there was suddenly an extra member who’d been silently tipping me.

This person wasn’t active. I hardly ever seen him talked in the chat. Even when I played an exciting game and the viewers would go crazy, inputting “6666” frantically (slang for praises), he did not react in turn. However, whenever there was a gift-giving notification that popped up from the platform like “so-and-so sent a rocket” and “so-and-so sent an airplane,” it was usually him.

The reason why I noticed him was because his user ID climbed up the contribution list. Unlike those old brothers who often supported me, he was quite unfamiliar. Usually, this type of generous gift donator would privately chat to request to become a moderator and for my WeChat account, but he didn’t have such a request.

This individual was like a silent donation machine. If I didn’t know that I couldn’t afford this, I would have long suspected that I invited him to do this.

After observing this for a while, I took the initiative to chat with him in private.

“Thank you for your frequent support.”

The other party quickly replied, “You’re welcome.”

“It seems like I’ve never seen you talking on this channel?”

After a while, he responded, “I just watch, but I don’t quite understand it either so I don’t know what else to say.”

He seemed like an honest man.

“You don’t understand?” I asked him curiously, “Do you just play this game?”

“I can’t play,” he said.

“? Then wouldn’t you be bored watching me stream?”

“No, you’re doing pretty well,” he said, “It’s fun to watch you play.”

This buddy was really a real person, but his sternness reminded me a little bit of Zhuo Wenyang when I first met him.

Thus, for the first time, I sent out an invitation to my fan, “Do you want to add my WeChat account?”

The other party stopped responding, and there was no activity for some time.

I couldn’t help but wonder why; was I rejected? I was afraid this may not be a fake fan.

After a long time, his message came, “OK.”

So I added this old man as friends and took a glance at his profile, only to discover that his circle of friends was not open to me.

I didn’t mind; he was a fan of my live platform and that didn’t mean he had to open up his heart to me either. Everyone’s temperament was different and so, it was okay to be more or less wary of strangers.

“If you start playing this game in the future, you can tell me if you want to find someone to play with. I’ll take you to game with me whenever I have time.”

He said, “Okay.”

I dragged this brother, whose user ID was “X,” into my live private chat group, in which was full of acquaintances and old fans. It could be regarded as treating him like he deserved, and this matter came to an end for the time being.

This weekend afternoon, Mr. X sent me a message out of the blue, “I downloaded the game.”

I immediately understood, “Do you want to game together?”

“Is that okay?” he asked, “I practiced for a while today, but I still can’t play well.”

“What’s the problem?” I was very annoyed, “Let’s go!”

Quickly queuing into the game, I reminded him before we started to skydive, “Just wait and follow me.”

“Mm.”

However, when I already landed and quickly scanned the area, I couldn’t see him after looking around.

“Could it be…”

As soon as I looked up, I saw him dangling on the parachute, floating in the wind.

“…..”

Looking at his figure, I knew this was going to be bad. Sure enough, as he was floating mid-air, I watched him as he was shot to death.

“I’m sorry.”

Although I was stupefied by this, I still comforted him, “It’s okay, newbie. Don’t have high expectations for yourself.”

“Mm.”

“Next time, remember to look down and press the W key to speed up the landing. Otherwise, it’s easy to be shot like a bird in the air.”

“Okay.”

This buddy didn’t talk much and his reaction was slow. He basically died when he landed on the ground. When he was better, he stayed in a daze before following me for two steps before dying. Then, he laid down and watched me play in spectator mode.

The most he typed out during the whole process was “my bad” and “sorry.” He said it so many times, which made me feel a little embarrassed for him.

“No problem, don’t keep apologizing,” I urged, “It’s no big deal. It’s just lying on the floor; it’s just a game. You don’t really owe me anything.”

He stopped typing.

Fearing that he would be bored lying down, I chatted with him while playing, “Are you a student too?”

He responded back to me, “No, I’m already working.”

“An associate in the workforce?”

“No.”

“Then, a senior.”

That was better. Otherwise, if he was a student, I’d feel uneasy if he spent money to reward me.

I took him along to play a few games, but I didn’t get any winnings because I was too busy killing people and couldn’t finish to the end. He didn’t get winnings and died early on the ground, watching the whole battle. His gaming experience was incredibly bad, but he seemed content. Before quitting the game, he continuously typed out “thank you.”

After I got off the game, I chatted with him on WeChat, “Why are you so formal, I couldn’t even take you out to gain any wins.”

He replied, “Haha.”

Then, he added, “I had a great time today, thank you.”

“I’m going to have dinner. Let’s play together whenever I have time.”

“Can we play together again?”

“Of course we can.”

He added, “Thank you!”

This old man was really too polite, almost humble, but not annoying. I didn’t know why he was so formal, but maybe this was the habit of constantly working. A habit that was developed from being under pressure from the work environment. It still hurt to think about.

Zhuo Wenyang came to the house at night. He watched my live broadcast for a while and suddenly said, “Your popularity has been rising steadily. Do you really not want to consider signing a contract with the platform?”

“Huh?” I was stunned, “Do I want to sign a contract?”

Because my streaming performance wasn’t bad, ever since the first wave of my popularity increased, I received offers from the platform, asking if I was interested in signing a contract. I was also very excited initially. This basically proved that my skills were recognized. After signing the contract, there would be a base salary and I could be a person with a stable income.

At first, it was Zhuo Wenyang who suggested for me not to sign the contract. He felt that the terms of the contract were unreasonable and the benefits weren’t high enough, so there was no need.

Also, I now thought that the platform requiring a lot of time was a hurdle. In the past, this amount of time was not a problem, but now I was a person who wanted to study well and make daily progress. If I had to stream so many hours per month, it would definitely affect my plan to take a professional postgraduate transfer entrance exam.

“The benefits they are willing to give you now isn’t bad. You can consider developing towards this path.”

“Sure…”

Zhuo Wenyang said, “I can ask a lawyer to read the contract for you, and I can discuss the details for you. You don’t have to worry about this.”

“However, the time dedicated needed to stream is a bit high. I don’t think I have that much time.”

“The length of time can be discussed. Of course, it can’t cause you pressure or affect your credits,” Zhuo Wenyang said, “I know this well.”

However, I didn’t want to merely finish my credits, I wanted to take the postgraduate entrance exam to transfer major.”

Zhuo Wenyang was quiet for a while. “Are you serious about the transfer exam for professional postgraduates?”

“Of course.”

“That’s not for you,” he said.

“…..”

“That’s not what you should do. You should spend your time doing what you really love.”

“…..”

“Then,” I looked at him, “What do you think I should do?”

“Personally, I think that you can develop in the e-sports field. You are talented and the industry is developing very fast…”

I was at a loss.

Zhuo Wenyang’s disapproval of my postgraduate transfer exam was stronger than I thought.

Normally, as a top student who had the greatest enthusiasm for learning and research, he should be the one who hopes that I would learn well.

But now, he was trying to diminish my motivation.

“Of course, I also hope that you’ll complete your current studies because that can cultivate your learning capabilities, self-discipline, and perseverance so you learn not to give up halfway. But that’s enough. Learning astronomy is a whim of yours. There’s no need. E-sports is your longterm interest. Although you’re past the optimal age to play professionally, you can still became an excellent streamer or commenter. Even if you have the heart to play professionally, I can help you arrange this…”

He was literally spilling out his life to encourage me to play games.

I was having a hard time understanding his motivations here.

Was this a flat-out rejection from him? I wanted to study his dream major for him, but it was too offensive and close to him?

Perhaps, since the beginning of winter had passed, the day turned colder. Heating was not turned on yet and so, the air in the room gradually became cooler as night fell.

I got up and went to turn on the heat.

“By the way,” I wanted to chat with him about happier topics, “Recently, there’s another brother, a golden master, who keeps giving me rewards!”

Zhuo Wenyang raised his eyebrows, “Is that Mr. X?”

“Yeah. You know him too?”

“How do you know he’s an older man?”

Thinking about it, I never heard Mr X. speak. He never turned on the microphone. Even if he was beaten into a pulp by the other side, he insisted on typing instead. I wondered, “Then, what if he is a girl?”

“…..”

“He’s already No. 1 on the list, and he’s still way ahead of the No. 2 boss! To be honest, I’m a little worried. If he’s an ordinary office worker, he’ll be under financial burden if he spends money so recklessly.”

Zhuo Wenyang smiled, “You don’t have to worry about him. Maybe he’s not short of money.”

I wasn’t a big streamer, but to have such fans who were willing to spend money and not ask for anything in return, it was as if I was smothered by a falling pie from the sky. I couldn’t help but feel emotional, “I don’t know why but this old man is interested in me. So generous to me.”

Zhuo Wenyang smiled and said, “Of course it’s because he really likes you and wants to treat you well.”

I looked at him. Although there was a sense of humor in what he said, he said it so naturally and easily without any jealousy in it.

It was not worth being a little jealous of others who liked me.

I attempted to make a joke, “Hey, he likes me and supports me with real money. Don’t you plan to compete with him? At least be jealous, brother.”

Zhuo Wenyang smiled genuinely and righteously, “How can I be jealous of him?”

My heart sank.

Although I prepared for this a while ago and had no grand expectations, at this moment, my heart still fell heavily from its original position.