When Yun Li stood firmly on the stage, the host finally announced the purpose of the event.
“The official schedule has been moved up. The final segment of today begins now—it’s called ‘The Challenger Stand.’”
“The rules are simple: one streamer will be chosen as the defending champion. That defender must withstand challenges from the remaining 19 streamers. If they hold the stage until the end, the platform will award a 200,000 yuan prize.”
“However, if the defender loses, the winner will take over the position of defending champion.”
After explaining all the rules, the host smiled and asked, “So, Xiao Yun, would you like to be the defender?”
After hearing this, Yun Li immediately shook her head and stepped back to the corner of the stage as if she had seen a flood or a beast.
She wasn’t stupid. In a survival-style competition like this, joining early would only drain her energy. It was far better to enter at the very end.
Yun Li yawned and quietly observed the situation, curious to see which “foolish child” would step forward first.
The stage fell into silence. It seemed everyone was smart enough—no one wanted to be the first to stand out.
Just as Yun Li noticed the host’s face beginning to stiffen, she could only shrug internally.
At that moment, a girl in a sky-blue dress raised her hand from the crowd. Her expression was stiff, and anyone could see she was extremely reluctant.
Yun Li keenly noticed the frantic hand pushing her from behind the blue dress—and even a harsh pinch that made her tremble more violently.
The girl in the blue dress was a streamer named “Xinyu.”
Her raised hand was shaking uncontrollably, and inwardly she was cursing Xiao Meng.
She did not deny being Xiao Meng’s “lackey,” but being pushed out as a scapegoat like this still made her feel betrayed.
Just because Xiao Meng’s livestream had higher traffic and could bring her exposure, she had no choice before but to act as Xiao Meng’s pawn.
But things were different now. Xiao Meng’s position as the top streamer was unstable, and the one with more popularity and momentum was clearly someone else.
Xinyu secretly glanced at Yun Li, and even after looking several times, she still found that face shockingly beautiful.
Suppressing her jealousy, she made a decision.
If Xiao Meng always used her to do the dirty work, then this time she would do the opposite of what Xiao Meng wanted.
She understood Xiao Meng’s plan very well—first let her exhaust the others, then deliberately lose to Xiao Meng at the end so Xiao Meng could win effortlessly.
But now, Xinyu decided she would lose to Yun Li in the end instead.
Since Xiao Meng also disliked Yun Li, let them fight it out while she adapted as needed.
In the end, she would side with whoever won.
She quickly made up her mind and looked around at the various beautiful streamers. “Which sister will go first?”
……
Yun Li carefully observed the situation. She had to admit that Xinyu was quite capable, no wonder she was chosen as the first “pawn.”
Dance, music, even traditional performance arts—Xinyu could do them all, and not just superficially. She was genuinely skilled.
By now, Xinyu had already defended eight rounds—meaning she had faced eight different challengers.
What was even more impressive was that each round tested a completely different skill, and she still managed to hold on.
Yun Li straightened slightly, watching the performance unfold like a visual feast.
As time passed, sweat began to accumulate on Xinyu’s forehead. Eventually, her legs weakened, and she nearly collapsed.
At this point, only Yun Li and Xiao Meng had not yet challenged the stage.
Yun Li glanced at Xiao Meng, who looked confident of victory, and raised her hand.
“I’ll go.”
At that moment, Xinyu was pale and visibly exhausted.
The big screen spun, randomly selecting the challenge category.
Yun Li waited calmly for the result—when suddenly, a loud crash came from the side.
When she turned, she saw Xinyu collapse to the ground.
“Xinyu! Xinyu, can you hear me?” The host panicked as the sudden incident threw the stage into chaos.
Yun Li remained calm, calling emergency services while clearing the surrounding crowd.
Recalling her first-aid knowledge from her past life, she checked Xinyu’s eyes.
A harsh light reflected into them, causing Xinyu’s eyelids to reflexively shut.
Looking at those tightly closed eyelids, Yun Li thoughtfully remarked:
“I read in a book that you need to firmly press the philtrum to wake someone who has fainted.”
She pretended to explain to the crowd, then suddenly pressed hard on Xinyu’s philtrum with full force.
In the next second, Xinyu, who had been unconscious, jerked violently and sat up instantly.
“You’re awake,” Yun Li said with a faint smile.
Xinyu clutched her chest and pretended to feel unwell, whispering softly, “Thank you… I’m feeling better now.”
Seeing that she was fine, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed.
The host also sighed in relief—his job was saved.
Only Xinyu remained silent, head lowered.
She was furious.
Her plan had been perfect: faint mid-match so Yun Li would automatically win, and Xiao Meng would not blame her.
That way, no matter who won, she would not be held responsible.
After all, it would have been an accident, right?
But now everything was ruined.
Yun Li must have seen through her plan and deliberately used that forceful pressure, and Xiao Meng…
Xinyu secretly glanced at Xiao Meng. Xiao Meng’s usually sweet and delicate face was now cold. She mouthed a few words:
“You’re dead.”
Seeing that, Xinyu’s chest tightened for real this time.
Before she could process everything, the ambulance Yun Li called had already arrived.
To maintain appearances, Xinyu could only be carried away with a strained expression.
Watching the ambulance speed away, Yun Li felt quite satisfied.
She knew very well that the smear posts against her were largely fueled by Xiao Meng and Xinyu.
Even if Xinyu was just following orders, she still did it.
So now that others had targeted her, it wasn’t unreasonable to collect a little “interest.”
Yun Li turned to look at Xiao Meng, who was a head shorter than her.
“Your turn.”
“Wait! Since this is the final round, why not add a little wager?”
Seeing Xiao Meng’s confident expression, Yun Li readily agreed.
“Fine. You set the terms.”
“If I win, I get the female lead role in the web drama Youth, That Little Thing. If I lose, I’ll remove my makeup in front of everyone and never stream again!”
Xiao Meng proudly laid out her long-prepared conditions.
Although the role had been hard-won through connections, she didn’t think it was a loss.
She had trained in dance and had experience in multiple performance fields.
She was confident she would not lose.
Little did Xiao Meng realize—how naive she was.