“Alright, alright, I won’t play anymore today,”
Listening to the satisfied voice of Ji Xingchen in his headphones, Ran Feng finally reluctantly took off his headphones.
He had promised Ji Xingchen to only play one more round.
But he broke his promise.
As Ran Feng took off his headphones, the car came to a smooth stop. Li Na gently opened the car door and happened to witness this scene.
“You haven’t slept at all?” She looked at Ran Feng in surprise, then couldn’t help but feel sorry when she noticed the obvious dark circles under his eyes. “You’ve been shooting ads and rehearsing for the concert these days, you stayed up all night last night, why didn’t you take the time to rest just now?”
In order to let Ran Feng rest better, she specifically arranged for all the assistants to be in another car, afraid of disturbing Ran Feng’s rest.
But who would have thought this little guy would be so stubborn, not only did he not sleep, he even played with his phone!
Ran Feng didn’t immediately reply, but closed his eyes and took a few seconds to relax before making a low sound of agreement, then got out of the car with long strides.
The makeup artist had been waiting for Ran Feng in the room.
As soon as he arrived, everyone immediately got busy.
After about an hour of styling, the makeup artists left.
Seeing that there were still more than ten minutes left until the shoot, Li Na walked up behind Ran Feng, who was resting with his eyes closed, and asked softly, “Do you want something to eat? I’ll get you some lunch.”
Ran Feng’s long eyelashes moved slightly, but he didn’t open his eyes. He faintly replied, “No need, I have a headache.”
He hadn’t felt anything unusual while watching Ji Xingchen play games before. But now that he had relaxed, his head was feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Ran Feng said he didn’t want to eat, and the manager didn’t dare to persuade him anymore. She knew he was a man of his word, even if she said it a hundred times now, it wouldn’t make any difference.
“You don’t sleep, you don’t eat, how can your body handle it? I wonder whose words you’ll listen to in the future with this temperament of yours,” Li Na joked casually, but when she looked up, she noticed Ran Feng’s eyes slightly raised at her words, with a hint of a smile on his face.
Li Na immediately sensed something unusual.
She wasn’t like those careless little assistants around Ran Feng who would overlook these details.
Li Na had been with Ran Feng since his debut, watching him step by step to where he was today, accompanying him through lows and witnessing peaks.
But in the face of those achievements and popularity before, Ran Feng had never cared. But just now, she made a joke and he smiled?
Li Na looked up.
The expression on Ran Feng’s face at this moment was a gentleness she had never seen in the five years. With his eyes closed, he seemed to be thinking of someone, his whole person soft like the melting ice on a green mountain, blending into the gentle stream of spring.
With just a slight expression, Li Na concluded that Ran Feng was in love. Perhaps not as serious as being in love, but he definitely had someone in his heart.
No wonder Ran Feng had been posting on Weibo in the middle of the night and sharing pictures recently, she knew there must be something going on.
Li Na didn’t ask much, planning in her mind how she would handle it if one day Ran Feng’s relationship with his girlfriend was exposed, while subtly taking advantage of Ran Feng’s good mood to mention something she hadn’t found the opportunity to bring up before.
“Xiao Feng, the person in charge of Honor of Kings has contacted us again, they want you to reconsider. I’ve talked to them, and they agreed that Jingze can’t go, so they’re fine with it.”
As Li Na mentioned the endorsement for the game again, Ran Feng almost blurted out without thinking, “Wasn’t this matter already…”
Before he could finish speaking, Ran Feng stopped abruptly.
Something suddenly came to mind.
Today, Ji Xingchen was carrying his team to win four Honor point matches at the risk of his life, and one of the final rewards seemed to be the opportunity to go to the finals of the Honor of Kings professional league to play against celebrities and professional players.
Because of the concert, he had been very busy lately, and Ji Xingchen had only casually mentioned it before, and he only had a vague image of it.
Ran Feng wasn’t sure if this specific reward existed for now.
“I’ll think about it again and let you know later.”
Ran Feng opened his eyes, immediately took out his phone, and sent a WeChat message to Ji Xingchen.
Wanfeng: Congratulations on the four-game winning streak.
Ji Xingchen, who was originally live streaming an entertainment match in the live broadcast room, paused when he received a message from his boss, put down his phone, and replied to his boss.
Star: Shy.jpg
Wanfeng: You played exceptionally aggressively today, it’s the first time I’ve seen it. Star: Losing a game means losing 10 points, so of course I have to give it my all! I must win!
Wanfeng: So, what you’re saying is, you didn’t give it your all when we played together before?
Feeling guilty for selling himself out, Ji Xingchen hastily remedied the situation.
Star: That’s because you’re the carry, Brother Wanfeng! I don’t have to worry so much when you’re around.
Star: Cute kitten.jpg
Looking at the cute kitten emoticon with its hands folded in front of him, Ran Feng couldn’t help but smile a little, as if seeing Ji Xingchen’s expression looking at him.
Wanfeng: Just kidding.
Wanfeng: What are the rewards for winning?
Star: There’s prize money, and you can also go to the KPL finals to play.
Star: Although I’m too old to play professionally, I can still play entertainment matches as a streamer.
Star: And it’ll also make my silly little brother proud.
After getting the information he wanted, Ran Feng didn’t ask any further. Wanfeng: Okay.
Wanfeng: Keep up the good work.
Wanfeng: See you at the finals.
Not quite understanding the significance of “See you at the finals,” Ji Xingchen happily replied with a \(^o^)/~.
After ending the conversation, Ran Feng’s expression returned to normal, and he looked at Li Na, finally changing his mind.
“When do we sign?”
Li Na was taken aback.
“Huh?”
“For the endorsement.”
The usually articulate woman suddenly hesitated, “A-anytime…”
She was just trying her luck to see if Ran Feng had changed his mind, but he agreed so easily?
“But I want to add a condition.”
“Go on, I’ll negotiate with them.”
“Help me secure a streamer spot…”
After some thought, Ran Feng gave up on requesting a designated slot for an entertainment match streamer.
Ji Xingchen may seem carefree, but he had a strong sense of pride.
If he didn’t earn his spot through his own abilities, even if Ran Feng managed to secure a spot for him, he wouldn’t be willing to go.
“Nothing.” Ran Feng suddenly changed his mind, “Just help me get an extra VIP ticket.”
Li Na originally thought Ran Feng would propose a very difficult condition for her to negotiate.
But…
Just this???
As long as he’s willing to go, not to mention one ticket, she could get him ten!! “Oh, Xiao Feng, there’s something else I need to tell you.”
“That guy is releasing a new single tomorrow. His big fanbase has been pushing sales aggressively lately, aiming to surpass your yearly sales record. They’ll probably come to stir up trouble for you again.”
The “that guy” mentioned by Li Na was none other than Jingze.
“Whatever.”
Ran Feng couldn’t even be bothered to lift his eyelids after hearing it, “You don’t have to tell me about this kind of thing in the future.”
Ran Feng’s nonchalance wasn’t about him pretending to be aloof.
It’s just that these album sales meant nothing to him.
After all, his album “Chasing Waves” released a few weeks ago, without any promotion, had sales exceeding 40 million on the first day alone.
And up to now, it had sold over 60 million copies, firmly occupying the top spot on the platform’s annual album sales chart.
The current Ran Feng simply didn’t need these sales figures to prove his popularity. Coming from a wealthy family, he didn’t need the album profits to fill his pockets either.
Seeing that Ran Feng wasn’t interested in discussing this topic, Li Na nodded and quickly moved on, “Okay, I’ll talk to the fan club. I’ll make sure they don’t engage in a sales battle with him and give them the cold shoulder.”
Ran Feng nodded, “You handle it.”
However, although Li Na had long envisioned that Jingze’s family would tie Ran Feng down, she underestimated the shamelessness of their family.
Ran Feng didn’t care about being first on the yearly chart, but Jingze’s fans had long coveted that position.
Since Ran Feng unilaterally drew a boundary with Jingze four years ago, Jingze’s fans had arrogantly elevated their own status and regarded him as their rival.
On one hand, they fantasized about various scenarios of love and hate between the two, hoping they could restore their friendship, while on the other hand, they wanted to surpass Ran Feng in everything and couldn’t wait to trample him into the ground.
Recently, when Ran Feng’s album dominated the overall chart, Jingze’s fans were uncomfortable.
Now, with their own brother about to release a new single, Jingze’s big fans had already started fundraising and rallying early, determined to surpass Ran Feng in total sales.
In order to boost sales, Jingze’s fans had released numerous brainwashing packages. Naturally, these brainwashing packages couldn’t help but target Ran Feng.
Coupled with the support of those fake CP fans, Jingze’s album sales had finally been boosted to over 50 million.
When they were just ten million away from Ran Feng’s “Chasing Waves,” Jingze’s fans posted a long Weibo boasting about their brother’s greatness, while subtly undermining Ran Feng, implying that he was now inferior, unable to match their brother’s first-day sales.
Once this Weibo from the big fan came out, the idiotic CP fans started to add fuel to the fire, saying things like Jingze was jealous out of love and wanted to suppress Ran Feng, turning the tables.
This thoroughly angered the fans of Ran Feng.
When someone who couldn’t walk independently without Ran Feng’s presence was being so presumptuous, if they weren’t given a taste of their own medicine, they’d only become more arrogant.
So, with old grudges and new grievances combined, the war between the two fandoms completely erupted.
However, the IFeng sisters were not to be trifled with. As top-tier fans, they had naturally weathered all sorts of storms.
They knew that engaging in a feud with the other side would only boost their album’s popularity.
So, following the fan club’s advice and remembering not to give the arrogant fans any opportunities to leech off their fame, the sisters quietly began to suppress the thing the other side valued most.
That night, while Jingze’s family was celebrating their brother’s first-day sales breaking 50 million and confidently eyeing the top spot on the yearly chart, Ran Feng’s affluent fans once again supported their brother by buying millions of albums.
Similarly, other casual fans, within their means, spontaneously purchased a few albums to give to relatives.
As a result, the next day, the sales of Ran Feng’s album “Chasing Waves” suddenly surpassed 80 million on the yearly chart, completely leaving Jingze behind.
One side begged and urged fans to scrape together 50 million in sales through fundraising and rallying, while the other casually increased their sales by over 20 million overnight.
Once again, the IFeng sisters used facts to demonstrate to everyone that messing with a top-tier artist was a big no-no.
Rich fan: [If the fan club hadn’t warned us not to spend recklessly, I would’ve wanted to spend another two million on my brother.]
Casual fan: [I’m very obedient, didn’t spend recklessly, just bought one to give to my sister.]
Onlooker: [I heard your fan club warned not to engage in a battle? Yet, you were able to casually add over 20 million overnight? IFeng sisters, if you guys rallied like that other fan club, I’m afraid the sales would easily surpass 200 million.]
Although Ji Xingchen didn’t participate in the battle between fan circles, he still heard about Jingze’s family’s tricks.
After hearing Fang Fang complain to him about how Jingze’s fans were stepping on Ran Feng, Ji Xingchen suddenly remembered that he still hadn’t bought Ran Feng’s previous album.
At the time when Ran Feng released his album, he was at his poorest. After buying equipment for his livestream and paying his rent, he really didn’t have a penny to spare.
So, he could only listen to the songs from the free music videos and didn’t buy the official album.
Yesterday, MeowMeow TV finally deposited his salary for last month. Ji Xingchen, now “overnight rich,” finally had spare money to buy Ran Feng’s album.
He opened QQ Music’s yearly chart and immediately saw “Chasing Waves” ranked first. And under “Chasing Waves,” the name of the artist listed was Jingze.
Ji Xingchen’s heart skipped a beat when he saw this name.
He remembered Jingze; there had been rumors with Ran Feng before.
Back then, he wasn’t very familiar with the entertainment industry. He only started following gossip news because Ran Feng became a star, and even then, he only paid attention to news about Ran Feng.
So when the rumors about Jingze and Ran Feng were circulating, he truly believed Ran Feng was dating him.
At that time, just turned eighteen, he was an ignorant teenager, so upset that he couldn’t even eat.
Although Ran Feng quickly came out to clarify and cut off ties with Jingze, Ji Xingchen didn’t find out immediately.
His mind was all on his sick mother in his anger, and it wasn’t until much later that he learned the truth from the fan circles.
Seeing this liar trying to leech off Ran Feng again and not wanting him to catch up, Ji Xingchen decisively entered “1000” in the purchase quantity.
Entering “1000” felt great, but when Ji Xingchen looked at the payment amount, his frugal habits kicked in, and he immediately retracted his hand and typed “666” instead.
After reconsidering, Ji Xingchen felt it wasn’t right, so he deleted the number and entered “520” instead.
As he made the purchase, Ji Xingchen thought to himself: Buying 520 copies and then doing a giveaway in the livestream for his viewers shouldn’t be a waste, right?
Lately, his popularity had skyrocketed, attracting many new fans, and he was struggling to find ways to thank them all.
Now, by using Ran Feng’s digital album for a giveaway, not only was he supporting Ran Feng’s sales, but he was also giving back to his fans, allowing them to enjoy Ran Feng’s wonderful songs…
It was truly a win-win solution!
After thinking it over, Ji Xingchen finally paid generously.
When he went live that night, he immediately shared this good news with everyone. “Brothers, tonight’s giveaway will be a big one!”
Upon hearing it’s going to be big, viewers thought Ji Xingchen was going to do one of those exciting activities like the recent trend of ¹betting and drawing five hundred.
[??? How big is this giveaway?]
[Wow, Star, you’ve changed. You’re even learning to draw money like others now.]
[Rubbing hands together, waiting! Since you’ve won nine in a row, I hope you lose a few more times tonight.]
[What’s the prize for one loss?]
Ji Xingchen had an exceptionally smooth three days in the Honor points match. Except for three matches where his teammates were too weak, forcing him to carry four noobs and ultimately lose, he won all the other matches.
And his victories weren’t just ordinary; they were a remarkable nine-win streak, envy-inducing.
The new viewers thought he was going to use this streak as a hook to do a giveaway like other streamers, but they were left confused by the barrage of messages about drawing money.
“Drawing money? What money? I’m so broke, I can’t afford to draw anything.”
After saying this, he glanced at the treasure invitation codes he had bought for the digital album and explained to everyone, “We’re not drawing money tonight; we’re drawing albums.”
Amidst the confusion in the chat, Ji Xingchen transformed into a promotional machine, introducing Ran Feng’s album to everyone.
“Have you listened to Ran Feng’s album, ‘Chasing Waves’? Isn’t this guy’s voice particularly amazing? According to scientific research, good music can bring good vibes to people, so how can I not share such a good thing with you guys!! Tonight, let’s draw 519 digital albums of ‘Chasing Waves’. It’s a chat-based draw, no need to send gifts, just drop a message, and you can take home this exquisite album. Getting drawn means winning!”
Ji Xingchen enthusiastically promoted, but the chat was already laughing hysterically. “Damn scientific research, I knew that without even looking at the study.” “Hahaha, Star, your IFeng identity is confirmed.”
“519 albums, truly massive.”
“Why did you buy 519 albums? Such a strange number.”
“Obviously because Star himself kept one!”
[Oh, 520]
[@Boss Wanfeng, someone’s trying to outdo you.]
“Alright, alright, everyone get ready. I’m going to start now. Let’s see who the lucky ones are. But we can only draw 200 at a time, so let’s draw three times.”
After saying this, Ji Xingchen started the barrage draw, and soon the first batch of lucky viewers was drawn.
“If you’re one of the winners, please send me a private message later. There are too many people, and I’m afraid I might forget.”
Just as Ji Xingchen finished speaking, several private messages popped up. He didn’t reply immediately for fear of sending the wrong code. Instead, he continued, “Let’s draw the second batch. Everyone, wash your hands and get ready quickly.”
As Ji Xingchen finished speaking, he noticed a message in the barrage. [Little Niu Niu]: Wow, can’t believe it! Am I really a lucky fish? I won again!!!!! The familiar tone, the familiar ID… Ji Xingchen recognized the person immediately. “Niu Niu? Is that you, Niu Niu?”
[Little Niu Niu]: Yes, it’s me!!! Can’t believe you recognized me even though I changed my name!!
[Hahaha, silly Niu Niu, your name is so obvious!]
[Wow, is it that goofy Xia Hou Dun again? Haven’t seen him in ages.]
[Wow, can’t believe it, Niu Niu won again???]
[Little Niu Niu]: Don’t call me silly, my academic performance is actually quite good. The more Niu Niu tried to earnestly explain, the more comedic he appeared. “Last time I messaged you, you didn’t reply. Why did you change your account?”
The account “Little Niu Niu” didn’t have the VIP status and badge from his room, so Ji Xingchen immediately recognized it as a new account.
When his livestream was throttled before, Niu Niu tried to help boost his popularity by sending two Magic Meteor Showers. Ji Xingchen had originally sent him a private message wanting to add him on WeChat, but the other person vanished as if into thin air and never came online again.
Now, he suddenly reappeared under a new alias.
[Little Niu Niu]: Well, about that… It was the day you were throttled, so I asked my brother for help. But when he found out I was secretly watching the livestream, he confiscated my account and all my pocket money.
Initially, Ji Xingchen was puzzled why Niu Niu had sought help from his brother. But when he mentioned the pocket money, Ji Xingchen couldn’t help but feel surprised. Though he had heard Niu Niu’s voice before, he was still wary that Niu Niu might be a more mature-sounding kid, so he was prepared to refund all the gift money.
“That Niu Niu… Can I ask how old you are?”
[Little Niu Niu]: Just turned 20.
“20, huh…” For some reason, knowing Niu Niu’s age made Ji Xingchen feel inclined to refund him the money, especially after hearing that his brother confiscated his account for watching the livestream secretly.
Though he didn’t know Niu Niu in real life, Ji Xingchen’s intuition told him that Niu Niu was probably a well-behaved and spoiled child at home.
“If your brother doesn’t allow you to watch, why not focus on studying? Come watch my livestream during the holidays instead. I’m afraid of setting a bad example for you…”
[Little Niu Niu]: Host, you’ve misunderstood.
[Little Niu Niu]: My brother took away my account because he said my account embarrassed him since it was so poor. He told me to finish my homework obediently for three days, then he gave me a new account, saying there’s plenty of money in it for me to use.
After saying that, Niu Niu generously sent Ji Xingchen five Magic Meteor Showers and added 666 666s.
[Little Niu Niu]: Wow, big brother wasn’t lying. There’s indeed a lot of money in here! Ji Xingchen: ???? How come the plot is completely different from what I imagined!!! [Hahahahahaha]
[This plot twist… I really don’t understand the world of the wealthy]
[Why is Niu Niu always so funny whenever he appears]
[Little Niu Niu]: Brother Star, I just won a prize, remember to send it to me later!
[Little Niu Niu]: Ah! I’m so lucky, I can always win prizes in your livestreams. You’re my lucky charm!
[Little Niu Niu]: (*w)
Being called a lucky charm by Niu Niu, Ji Xingchen was speechless. “Why do I feel like I’m the lucky one…”
Seeing the expectant expression with starry eyes in Niu Niu’s last message, Ji Xingchen was afraid the kid would wait too long, so he immediately copied a code for the album and sent it to him.
After sending it, Ji Xingchen started another round of giveaways.
Just as he initiated the giveaway, someone in the chat mentioned him buying 520 albums. “Buying albums? What do you mean?”
[I just checked the Iron Fans chart on Feng’s album page. Is that person who bought 520 albums called Forever Little Star you, Host]
[Hahahahaha, Star really bought 520 albums]
[520, I love you, Forever Little Star, who’s the Forever Little Star? Boss Wanfeng and Brother Feng are fighting, fighting!!!]
[Moderators][Wanfeng Picks Star]: ????
System: Congratulations to Wanfeng Picks Star, Flower’s Little House, Pretending to Have an ID, and 200 other viewers for winning this round of rewards~
Ran Feng, who had just entered the livestream, only saw everyone shouting about Boss and Feng fighting and had no idea what was going on.
He only typed one message in the chat and suddenly saw the winning message pop up in the center of the screen.
[Moderators][Wanfeng Picks Star]: What did I win?
[Boss, you’re actually asking what you won, seems like you don’t even know you’ve been… shedding tears for the boss]
[Hahahahahaha, Boss, you won the album that Star bought for Ran Feng] [It’s the guy who greened you]
[Hilarious]
“Boss…” Ji Xingchen saw everyone teasing the boss and quickly sent him a message on WeChat to explain what the prize was all about.
A few minutes later, Ran Feng received a redemption code for a digital album that Ji Xingchen had sent him.
Curiously, he immediately went to QQ Music to redeem it.
Then, the album cover popped up, incredibly familiar.
Looking at his own album on the phone, Ran Feng slowly smirked.
At that moment, his assistant happened to pass by Feng and accidentally caught a glimpse of his phone screen, immediately turning pale with shock.
Wow, Jingze influence is really too strong!!! He even forced Ran Feng to buy his own album! The assistant patted his thin wallet and rubbed his nose.
Forget it, forget it, I won’t add chicken legs today, I’ll just buy two albums to support Brother Feng!
In the final day of the Honor Points Tournament, Ji Xingchen emerged as a dark horse with outstanding performance, consistently ranking first in points.
Ever since he dominated with Daji and Chang’e, winning nine consecutive victories, in the following days of the tournament, as long as he was in the lineup, the opponents would definitely ban Daji and Chang’e.
The Honor Points Tournament had only been going on for less than a week, and the opponents didn’t have a deep understanding of Ji Xingchen yet. Some were curious to watch his livestreams to learn more about him, but they found out that he only played either Daji or Angela, or occasionally Wang Zhaojun…
So after watching his livestreams, many people mistakenly believed that he only knew how to play these two heroes, thinking that as long as they banned these two, the streamer Star wouldn’t be able to shine anymore.
But little did they know that without these two heroes, Star would pull out Liang Zhuge and Yang Yuhuan…
His Liang Zhuge maneuvered through the crowd, stylishly used his passive, and his ultimate took out low-health enemies one after another, with an invincible record of 18-1-2.
And Yang Yuhuan flashed under the tower, returning with full health. The seemingly soft Princess Consort Yang Yuhuan in his hands became a mobile fountain with devilish damage.
Watching as MeowMeow TV’s Star once again secured a triple victory, those streamers, in order to intercept his points, witnessed a bizarre scenario in the final match of the Honor Points Tournament that had never been seen before!
Ji Xingchen’s opponent allocated all four extremely valuable ban slots to the mid lane.
These four lucky ones who were banned were: Daji, Chang’e, Liang Zhuge, and Yang Yuhuan…
¹”Betting and drawing five hundred” is a livestreaming activity where viewers participate in betting games with a prize of five hundred currency units, guessing outcomes for rewards.