Chapter Eighty-One: Whoever Chickens Out Today Is a Coward

In the livestream, the names of all the major celebrities appeared one after another.

Teacher Piao said, “No need for many words, brothers, just type ‘awesome’ in the chat.”

Dumb Little Sister cheered, “Go for it, you dog of a man!”

Little Reunion commented, “Nice, that’s really great!”

Pretty much every popular streamer on Douyu had shown up, and almost everyone sent a wave of gifts to Bai Qingming. Even the least generous sent a hundred planes, while the one hundred fish balls from the Gold Medal Lecturer seemed rather out of place.

“Just as I thought, the Grandmaster only sent fish balls.”

“Haha, don’t even have to look to know the fish balls came from Teacher Ma.”

“Protecting the world’s most generous Teacher Ma.”

The viewers joked and teased.

Grandmaster Ma immediately stepped up to respond.

“I’ll tell you, though fish balls are small, it’s the thought that counts.”

His words set off another round of laughter among the viewers.

At that moment, with everyone working together to show their support, Bai Qingming’s points had already reached 7.5 million.

Some of the younger viewers had already started sending celebratory messages, convinced he would take first place.

Seeing this, the tycoon squad from the Guild of Wealthy Patrons began to make their move.

“Go, go, go!”

“Start sending gifts!”

“First place has to be one of our own!”

In a flash, another wave of gift effects lit up the livestream. The points for the three female streamers from the Guild of Wealthy Patrons, who were behind Bai Qingming, began to skyrocket.

Super rockets, yachts—these gifts flew as if money were no object. In the blink of an eye, the runner-up’s points were nearly equal to Bai Qingming’s.

Some people were furious at the sight.

In front of his screen, PDD stood up from his chair.

He had been watching in silence as the guilds poured points into their own streamers. But seeing this now, PDD could no longer hold back.

It was strange, really—he had no connection to Bai Qingming in real life, had only watched his streams a few times, but seeing this situation now, PDD felt supremely irritated and wanted to help Bai Qingming, for no reason at all.

So it was a contest of wealth, was it?

Then let’s fight!

PDD picked up his keyboard.

He understood perfectly well that the Guild of Wealthy Patrons was only spending big on these new streamers to secure the lucrative promotional spots at the top. They had an agenda.

But he was different.

On one hand, PDD simply could not stand the guild’s manipulations.

On the other, Bai Qingming’s singing was genuinely beautiful, and PDD was more than willing to spend money for him. Even if Bai Qingming ended up first and PDD got nothing in return, it didn’t matter.

So what!

You can’t buy my happiness with all the money in the world!

PDD didn’t believe that the tycoons in the Guild of Wealthy Patrons, no matter how rich, would keep throwing money at these newcomers without ever worrying about getting anything back.

With that thought, PDD opened WeChat, found a group chat, and tagged everyone.

This group was filled with Douyu’s most famous streamers: Grandmaster Ma, Little Tuan Tuan, Dumb Little Sister, Zhi Xun, and so on. All the top streamers on Douyu were in it. They all knew each other, had eaten together at least once, and were on good terms. The group was their own private circle.

After tagging everyone, PDD shared his idea, and quickly received everyone’s support.

Demon Cult Leader Zhi Xun replied, “What’s the big deal? Let’s do it!”

Not Zhou Shuyi said, “Count me in!”

Er Ke declared, “I’ve been watching for a while—what those others were singing could hardly be called music. Say no more, I’m with you.”

Little Tuan Tuan chimed in, “Charge, let’s go!”

At this, Grandmaster Ma also sent a loyal message: “You go first, call me if you can’t hold the line. If you really need it, I’ll help out with a few planes myself.”

...

In just a few moments, Bai Qingming’s points were overtaken, dropping him to fourth place.

The top three spots were once again claimed by the Guild of Wealthy Patron’s newcomers, with the leader reaching a staggering nine million points.

Seeing their champion surpassed, the viewers were immediately dissatisfied.

“Everyone, step up! We absolutely can’t let someone with that level take first!”

“Damn it, I’ll just work a little harder this month, even if it means hauling more bricks, I’ll help our spiritual leader.”

“My goddess told me to buy watermelon lozenges and breakfast for her and wait outside the hotel she and her boyfriend frequent. She said to get two sets, her boyfriend doesn’t eat cilantro, so one without. I was going to save my money for that, but to hell with it—let someone else be the simp, I’m tipping now!”

In no time, the viewers were boiling with enthusiasm, spontaneously raising funds for Bai Qingming.

Unfortunately, even though many liked Bai Qingming and quite a few sent gifts, it was still a drop in the ocean.

So far, Bai Qingming’s points hadn’t even reached eight million.

At this point, it was a battle of the gods, entirely out of reach for ordinary viewers.

Seeing his fans going to such lengths, Bai Qingming felt a pang of guilt and spoke up to dissuade them.

“Everyone, please spend rationally. Tipping a little is fine, but don’t act on impulse. Minors especially, don’t tip. There’s no need to chase after some meaningless ranking.”

Bai Qingming spoke from the heart.

Though he might play little tricks during his streams to stir things up, his character was honest—his moral compass was well aligned.

Seeing viewers tipping him with money they earned from hard labor, Bai Qingming almost regretted joining the singing contest.

He was merely an entertainer, after all—what right did he have for so many to go wild over him?

Gradually, the special effects of gifts in the livestream slowed.

Seeing the current rankings, Chen Luo, one of the judges, finally relaxed and even had to stifle a laugh.

So what if you have many fans?

So what if you sing beautifully?

A small-time streamer, daring to challenge a guild?

On what grounds?

Just because you’re good-looking?

Yet at that very moment, Bai Qingming’s points suddenly changed, starting to rise rapidly.

Due to system lag, it took a second or two after someone sent a gift for the points to update.

So the viewers stared wide-eyed at the gift leaderboard.

[PDD with Abs-to-Be sent Super Rocket ×500]

A single super rocket was worth two thousand yuan. PDD had just sent one million yuan’s worth of gifts to Bai Qingming.

After sending the gifts, PDD posted a single line in the chat.

“Screw your banana boat—Guild of Wealthy Patrons, you think you’re hot stuff? Bring it on! Whoever backs down today is a damn coward!”

It was like the signal for battle.

No sooner had PDD’s message appeared than a flurry of gift notifications flooded in.

[Dumb Little Sister sent Super Rocket ×200]

[Demon Cult Leader Zhi Xun sent Super Rocket ×200]

[Not Zhou Shuyi sent Yacht ×500]

[Er Ke sent Yacht ×500]

...

It takes the strength of everyone to lift the bridal sedan.

All the greats joined forces, creating a scene of overwhelming momentum.

In a flash, Bai Qingming reclaimed the top spot!

...

(P.S.: I heard the news this afternoon that Grandpa Yuan Longping passed away. A reader in our group said: Perhaps Grandpa Yuan waited until after we’d finished lunch before leaving us. For a moment, my heart was filled with mixed emotions. Eat well, and finish everything in your bowl.)