【A Yue: Boss! Oh my god! Why did you send so many!!】
【mz: Here】
That single word “here” left her momentarily unsure how to respond. Thinking that he might have just finished writing code and rushed to the Guild Tournament without even having time to eat, she felt a pang of guilt.
【A Yue: That’s way too generous! You didn’t need to send that many! Go eat! Get some rest!】
【mz: Ate】
What a man of few words!
She felt a helplessness like pressing a warm face against a cold rear end, and could only remind him again.
【A Yue: Boss, that’s enough, no need to send more. I’m already very grateful. Thank you so much】
【mz: Want you to win】
Win?
She was pretty sure this big shot hadn’t figured out the competition rules yet, probably thinking she was in a PK with the female streamer from earlier, which was why he sent one more Carnival than her.
No wait, not her—himself.
【A Yue: Right, we won! That’s enough! Thanks, Boss Ku! Get off work and go home to rest soon~】
This feeling was like coaxing a child to go to sleep. Thinking about how programmers face endless lines of code every day in their monotonous lives, she was willing to provide him emotional value, but she didn’t want him overspending—after all, money isn’t easy to earn.
【mz: Okay】
Tutu and Shark appeared at the doorway, both even more excited than she was. Tutu grabbed her hand, “Oh my god, you waited for him! President Ku is so domineering!”
Shark was equally thrilled, “I feel like our 2016 is about to rise!”
She just felt her head buzzing. She went into the livestream room to confirm he wasn’t there before letting out a sigh of relief, then sat on the sofa with a worried expression.
“What’s wrong? You look like you just went through a breakup?” Shark asked, looking confused.
That comment made her burst out laughing, quickly snapping herself out of her tense state. Her fan group messages kept vibrating, and she noticed that Fillet Nori had started spamming the moment she entered.
【Fillet Nori: I finally caught my ship!】
【Fillet Nori: I found them during the weekly competition. Kitty is so pretty, and President Ku looks so cool when throwing gifts. With him around, she won’t lose! So cool!】
【Fillet Nori: I finally caught the two of them on stage together again. It’s New Year, ahhhh!】
【Dongdongmao: Calm down, Nori baby! (covering face with laughter)】
An Mengyue looked at her phone and awkwardly scratched her cheek. People were actually shipping the two of them, and President Ku was even in the group.
The worst thing for a female streamer is being tied to a big spender, and she’d just coaxed her boss to go home, shower, and sleep—she really didn’t want him coming back.
【Fillet Nori: President Ku! Say something!】
【Coolest Villain: Here】
【Fu Yuexiang: President Ku is really impressive. That Sister Ba next door has some tricks too, carrying 5 people】
【Heartbroken Little Wang: Our Kitty is standing up now. We should get a decent ranking this time】
…
She hadn’t expected those 31 Carnivals to be so impactful. She’d already made it into the top 30, and from Wantang 2016, only she and Dai Daiyu remained.
In the fourth round, five people went on stage together. She stood beside Dai Daiyu, with Youzi on the other side. Unfortunately, she might have her own big spender waiting for her, and she simply couldn’t split her attention to support others. Every step onto the stage felt especially heavy.
Watching the big screen, after 3, 2, 1 seconds—
【Coolest Villain has entered the livestream room】
She raised the microphone and flashed a sweet smile. “I forgot to mention my thanks earlier—thank you, President Ku, for the 31 Carnival gifts. You’ve worked so hard. I never expected to make it this far today, and I’m already satisfied.”
With that, she lowered the microphone and gently shook her head at the camera, her two dimples sinking deep.
【User “Coolest Villain” sent Carnival*1】x8x9x10 (30,000 diamonds)
The hosts’ excited voices rang out again. “Here we go, here we go! President Ku’s dropping another 10 Carnivals—Catcat, go!”
The gifts from other streamers seemed to fade into the background. Now, the fans in the livestream were all looking forward to Dongdongmao’s turn on stage, marveling that Tangyu Media truly hid talents among its ranks.
Watching the stream of gifts on the screen, An Mengyue’s eyes suddenly reddened. She bowed deeply toward the camera, her voice involuntarily choking up. “Thank you, President Ku!”
Despite her repeated refusals, he still chose her so firmly. And looking at the fans’ wall of encouragement, the iceberg inside her heart began to tremble.
【A Yue: President Ku, I don’t really care about the ranking, and I don’t want you all to work so hard. Thank you so much for your support (heart)】
【mz: You’re welcome】
This man truly wouldn’t spare a single extra word. No matter what she said, he only cared about his own intentions—it was like throwing a heavy punch into cotton, utterly futile. Fine, just fine.
When the fifth round came, An Mengyue stood on stage holding the microphone in silence, just staring at the big screen. Below the stage, Shark and Wu Tao waved their arms until they were blurry, and Zhu Wenwen, standing off to the side, wore a complicated expression.
But An Mengyue had no mind for any of it. Sure enough, that man’s figure appeared on the big screen again.
【User “Coolest Villain” sent Carnival*1】x18x19x20 (30,000 diamonds)
While the other streamers slowly made their way off stage, she strode briskly, clutching her phone as she dashed into an empty dressing room and immediately dialed mz’s voice call.
This man always spoke in a few clipped words—she needed to make things clear.
But to her surprise, he actually picked up. Hearing his voice, she found herself feeling shy.
“Hello? What’s wrong?”
A deep, magnetic voice with a Beijing accent that gave away no hint of his age. Recalling the side-profile photo from that day, it really sparked endless imagination. Why did he sound kind of handsome?
Her hand unconsciously scratched at her cheek. “Um… President Ku, I wanted to tell you to stop sending gifts. I’m already very satisfied, really.”
“Don’t settle so easily. How is this enough?”
His surroundings were quiet, and his puzzled voice seemed to carry a hook, drifting in the air and tugging at her heart. Her cheeks warmed as she forced herself to stay calm and replied, “I’m just worried about putting too much pressure on you. You work so hard, and you rushed over right after finishing. You want what’s best for me, and I want what’s best for you too.”
“Worried about me?” His voice rose at the end.
At that, An Mengyue completely lost her composure. She’d never had an experience like this communicating with the opposite sex—a few words from him had her blushing furiously.
“Um… uh, I saw you’ve sent so much already. Making money is really tough these days…”
She truly didn’t know what to say; her brain could no longer keep up with her mouth.
A soft chuckle came through the phone. “Afraid I’m embezzling company funds to send you gifts?”
Don’t say it—really, don’t say it! An Mengyue was mortified. She held up the phone and shook her head frantically, forgetting this was a call and he couldn’t see her.
“No, no, I wouldn’t have thought of that if you hadn’t mentioned it. Are you sure you didn’t misappropriate any of it…” She had no idea how ridiculous she sounded.
“Don’t worry about me, just focus on your competition.”
She nodded and replied softly, “Okay, but how much longer are you going to be at this? I’m really nervous.”
The door to the room was suddenly pushed open. An Mengyue looked up to see Wu Tao poking his head in, his first words being, “Finally found you!”
She set down her phone, missing the man’s reply.