Once Zhou Ruoyu stopped sending out red packets, her popularity quickly plummeted to last place, making her look like the biggest fool who spent the most money but gained the least benefit.
Above her were the Win-or-Lose couple.
Then came Sweet Bean and Da Meng. Tomato was their home base; they didn’t need to send red packets, as their organic fanbase alone could boost their popularity—something others could only envy.
Jiang Shen Lian was currently in first place, but not by much compared to Sweet Bean and Da Meng.
On one hand, the two of them already had a sizable fanbase, and on the other, it was also related to the popularity boost from gifts.
[Sister Ying, Brother Qin just sent us so many red packets. Shouldn’t we also send some gifts? We can’t lose too badly in this morning’s competition.]
“No need,” Song Ying said. “Winning or losing is just a matter of course; it’s not important.”
But the fan named [Win-or-Lose Locked] didn’t care and immediately started sending gifts.
As soon as they sent the gifts, they were kicked out of the livestream.
Win-or-Lose Locked: ???
In fact, it wasn’t just them. Others who followed suit and sent gifts were also kicked out.
By the time they tried to sneak back in, the gifting function had already been disabled.
Song Ying was explaining the earlier kickouts.
“This is my first time livestreaming, so I’m not very familiar with it. Sorry for the earlier offense, everyone. A Shu sent red packets not for popularity or gifts, so there’s no need for you to spend money. Later, A Shu will refund your gift money through red packets in the backend. Let’s keep things simple and just chat for fun.”
Seeing that the two of them truly had no interest in gifts, the fans finally settled down, and the livestream returned to its earlier casual banter.
Bystanders who had witnessed this spectacle quickly returned to their original livestreams, with some even discussing it as gossip in the comments section.
Ye Lan, one of the top five streamers in the esports category, had just finished a match and unsurprisingly earned MVP again.
While taking a sip of water, he glanced at the comments section and happened to see fans chatting.
His gaze was drawn to the words “Qin Shu.”
Remembering the edited videos that had taken the Tomato platform by storm over the past two days, he smirked as if recalling something.
“Guys, want to have some fun?”
In the Win-or-Lose couple’s livestream.
[So, Sister Ying, what exactly does Brother Qin do for a living? Sending out 380,000 yuan in red packets in one go is just too extravagant.]
Before Song Ying could finish reading, a pop-up suddenly appeared on the screen.
She instinctively tried to close it but clicked the wrong spot. The phone screen abruptly split in two, revealing another face.
A cocky voice also came through the microphone.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Brother Shu, I finally caught you!”
Song Ying was startled. Upon closer inspection, she realized they had entered a livestream PK mode.
On the other side of the screen was a blond-haired young man with a handsome but punchable face.
“Ye Lan?” Song Ying quickly recognized him.
“Hello, Sister-in-law!” Ye Lan’s attitude toward Song Ying was completely different from his attitude toward Qin Shu. “It’s rare to run into Brother Shu. I just want to catch up with him.”
“Yeah, right,” Song Ying couldn’t help but retort.
Ye Lan was the son of Qin Shu’s aunt, four years younger than her and Qin Shu. Since childhood, he had loved pestering Qin Shu. He wasn’t a bad person, but he was clingy like a piece of sticky plaster that couldn’t be shaken off.
Last year during the New Year, when she visited the Qin family’s ancestral home for the first time, she happened to see Ye Lan cornering Qin Shu, insisting on competing with him in shooting, gaming, and sports. Qin Shu couldn’t be bothered to deal with him, but Ye Lan just kept making a fuss.As a result, he was utterly crushed by Qin Shu in every match, a twenty-year-old young man reduced to tears.
Real tears at that.
Snot and tears streaming down his face, he even had to be comforted by Qin Shu.
Since then, whenever Ye Lan attended family gatherings, Qin Shu would always find excuses to avoid them.
He had been dodging him for at least half a year now.
Who would have thought that this kid would actually chase him all the way to the livestream?
Seeing it was Ye Lan, Qin Shu turned to leave, only to be stopped by a loud shout.
“Brother Shu, if you’re a man, don’t back down!”
Qin Shu never fell for provocations and was about to say, “Right, right, I’m not a man, I’m just a coward,” when Ye Lan added, “Sister-in-law is watching! You wouldn’t want her to be humiliated in front of so many people, would you?”
“Looking for a beating?”
Qin Shu turned around, his eyes fixed on the screen. The lazy demeanor vanished, replaced by a fierce and dangerous aura, his voice turning cold.
“I knew Sister-in-law was your weakness.”
Ye Lan couldn’t hide a hint of smugness. “I know you’re accompanying Sister-in-law on a variety show and had a competition this morning, but your livestream ranking is still at the bottom. How about this? Play two rounds of the game with me. If you win, I’ll have all my fans support you and Sister-in-law. What do you say? Or are you scared?”
Qin Shu had never taken Ye Lan, this little brat, seriously, nor did he care about the popularity of the livestream. But Ye Lan bringing Song Ying into this had crossed a line.
If he didn’t teach him a lesson and make him remember, he wouldn’t be Qin Shu.
“Scared?”
Qin Shu scoffed lightly. “I am scared—scared you’ll cry in public when you lose, scared you won’t be able to handle the embarrassment.”
Mentioning his past humiliation successfully shut Ye Lan up.
He opened his mouth for a while before finally spitting out a tough line.
“Who ends up embarrassed is still up in the air!”
Since his last defeat, he had spent the past half-year tirelessly practicing his Skills and even formed his own team. Aside from eating and sleeping, he spent over ten hours a day livestreaming games, consistently ranking in the top five of the Tomato Platform’s esports section. Last month, he even participated in the Asian League of Glory.
In contrast, Qin Shu was a different story.
He had heard from his uncles that ever since Qin Shu returned to the country, got married, and settled down, he was no longer as carefree as he used to be.
For the past half-year, he had been completely absorbed in Song Ying and the company he was building.
With a schedule that busy, how could he possibly have time to play games?
When Ye Lan first learned that Qin Shu was participating in a livestream variety show, he thought his chance had finally come. But later, he discovered that the so-called livestream was actually pre-recorded, leaving him no opportunity to provoke Qin Shu.
Now, at last, he had his chance. With the livestream PK, it seemed even fate was on his side.
Ye Lan perked up, unable to hide his excitement, and urged him.
“Brother Shu, are you ready yet? How much longer?”
“Updating, don’t rush.”
“Still updating? Looks like you haven’t played in a while. How about I let you play a few practice rounds first to get back into the groove?” Ye Lan didn’t want to win unfairly.
But Qin Shu wasn’t having it. “I can crush you even without getting back into the groove.”
He lazily glanced at his phone, calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.
[Is this Qin Shu guy way too arrogant?]
[Waiting for Night God to teach him a lesson]
[The last person who talked tough to Night God deleted their account half a year ago, lol]Ye Lan’s livestream was filled with esports enthusiasts who genuinely cared about the game.
In contrast, the fans in the “Win-Lose Couple” livestream were more focused on another detail.
【Isn’t this Ye Lan the legendary esports circle’s top-tier visual, the tycoon who said he’d go home and inherit the family business if he couldn’t play well? He actually knows Brother Qin?】
【He called Qin Shu “Shu-ge” and even called Sister Ying “sister-in-law.” Could they really be relatives? If so, does that mean Brother Qin is also a rich second-generation heir?】
【No wonder Brother Qin casually sent out a red envelope worth over 300,000 yuan. If he really is a rich second-generation heir, wouldn’t that make him a genuine tall, rich, and handsome guy?!】
【What exactly is Ye Lan’s background? Does anyone know? I’m getting more and more curious about Brother Qin’s identity!】
Unable to contain their curiosity, some fans directly went to Ye Lan’s livestream.
【Streamer, what does Qin Shu’s family do? What exactly is his background? Is he a rich second-generation heir like you?】