Chapter Seventy-Six: Accidentally Discovering Another Way to Prosper

At the dining table.

Bai Qingming and Silly Girl were eating dinner at a leisurely pace.

“You dog of a man, you can actually cook!”

Silly Girl took small bites from her bowl, surprised by Bai Qingming’s culinary skills.

He was in a good mood today and had cooked a few dishes himself, which left the old lady utterly astonished.

These days, a man who’s handsome, wealthy, and knows how to cook is rarer than a giant panda.

“You’re making a fuss over nothing. There’s a lot you don’t know,” Bai Qingming said nonchalantly, then added, “Tonight, whoever finishes last washes the dishes.”

“Then I’m done.”

At his words, Silly Girl immediately put down her chopsticks.

She hadn’t eaten her fill yet, but she had no desire to wash dishes.

She was a little fairy, after all—how could a fairy do something as menial as washing dishes?

She expected Bai Qingming to react, but he did not. He just let out a casual “Oh,” and continued eating from his bowl.

He even deliberately made loud chewing noises, as if to tempt her.

Silly Girl, who was already not satisfied, couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

After a moment of inner struggle, she made up her mind. At worst, she’d take a risk and eat quickly—she should be fine.

So she picked up her bowl again and scooped another mouthful of rice.

“I’ll have a bit more, then.”

No sooner had she spoken than Bai Qingming set down his chopsticks.

“Take your time. I’m done.”

Silly Girl was stunned.

“You really are a dog!”

In an instant, the food on the table lost all its appeal.

Lying back on the sofa, Bai Qingming noticed a message from Brother Wang on his phone.

“All that’s missing is you, help me out with this!”

It was a group-buying link from Pingxixi.

“I’m just two yuan short, bro, give me a hand,” Brother Wang messaged.

Bai Qingming was speechless. Everyone knew these things were a scam—you’d have to beg hundreds of people just to shave off a few pennies, and you’d probably be looked down on for it.

Besides, it was a hassle. Bai Qingming would rather just send Brother Wang a two-yuan cash gift than bother with it.

With that in mind, he replied to Brother Wang.

He told him that instead of doing this, he might as well just shamelessly ask every friend for two yuan directly. Since you’re going to be looked down on anyway, you might as well earn more.

After sending the message, Bai Qingming suddenly realized something.

It seemed... he’d accidentally stumbled upon another way to make money?

Brilliant!

No, no, he couldn’t keep a good thing like this to himself.

He quickly started a livestream to share the idea.

...

Time flew by.

A few days passed, and tonight, the Doyu platform was buzzing with excitement.

The much-publicized Singing Friends Gala was being held today.

For days, the promotional image for the gala had dominated Doyu’s homepage.

The gala was being held online, and only new streamers who had been with the platform for less than two months could participate—not a day more.

To this end, the platform had opened a special livestream room, unlocking privileges that most other streams couldn’t access.

Clicking the promotional image on the homepage took you directly to the official livestream room, and anyone logging into Doyu tonight would immediately receive a prompt asking if they wanted to jump to the gala. If clicked, they’d be taken straight to the stream to watch the event.

Not only that, chatting during the stream gave viewers a chance to win prizes for free.

Doyu’s official announcement claimed that for this gala, they’d prepared tens of millions in cash gifts and prizes—including phones and computers.

Nobody knew if it was true.

But the audience neither questioned nor commented.

Regardless, the hype for the gala was at an all-time high.

Even before it started, the stream already boasted an audience of twenty million, all drawn by the buzz.

Even some major streamers joined in for the spectacle.

In PDD’s channel, Teacher Piao was offering a feeble explanation.

“I really just went to see that ‘Godfather of Singles’, there weren’t any girls in black stockings! Shen Lingmin, how could you not trust your man?”

His tone was earnest, but only he knew if it was true.

Meanwhile...

“A cheeky counterattack, oh~ The ghost blade’s out of sight, dodge, dodge, keep your hands up, tough luck!”

In Teacher Ma’s stream, he was completely absorbed in his game.

He’d just pulled off a spectacular comeback as Zed, killing two opponents at low health. Hearing that there were cash prizes to be won at the gala, Teacher Ma’s eyes instantly lit up, and he grinned. “After this match, let’s go listen to some music. Honestly, I love singing. Not kidding.”

...

At that moment.

Within a group chat named The Tycoon Guild, messages were flying.

“Is everyone ready for tonight?”

“The rookie streamers are in position!”

“Funds are ready!”

“The big-spender team is set to go at any time!”

“All right, tonight’s top ten in the gala—five of them must be our streamers!”

There wasn’t a single ordinary person in that group; everyone was a big spender, the kind with money to burn.

With the backing of so many wealthy patrons, the Tycoon Guild had become the biggest and richest on Doyu.

As the saying goes, money can make the devil turn millstones.

Tonight, a three-person judging panel would oversee the gala, and the Tycoon Guild’s vice president, Chen Luo, was one of them.

That seat, of course, had been bought.

The reason was simple—the gala’s rewards were simply too generous.

The top ten streamers would each receive between fifty thousand and three hundred thousand in prizes, and the top three would also get valuable promotional resources, with major exposure and support from the platform.

In other words, even a nobody could rocket to fame if they landed in the top three.

The Tycoon Guild had also learned that the rankings would be based on a point system.

Simply put, one yuan in gifts equaled one point.

Viewers could send gifts to their favorite singers, and the total would determine the rankings.

Because of this, some clever folks found a loophole.

By wildly showering money, they could quickly push a new streamer to fame.

It was a perfect exchange—risk-free profit.

So, a few days earlier, the Tycoon Guild had held internal auditions among their female streamers.

These days, there were endless girls desperate for fame, willing to do anything.

In the end, five rookie female streamers stood out, each fair-skinned and beautiful, and were assigned to participate in the gala.

Who knows what price they paid; either way, overnight, the local streaming scene was flooded with “leaked” videos allegedly featuring various streamers.

Under the guild’s guidance, the tycoons in the group would soon begin splurging without restraint.

Rumor had it that those who spent the most would receive certain “benefits” after the event.

What kind of benefits... well, those in the know didn’t need it spelled out.

In short, with this kind of manipulation, the nature of the gala had completely changed.

...