Chapter 2: Streaming

Lu Juan’s WeChat profile picture was particularly prominent, cut from the TVT team’s poster. He wore the blue and yellow team uniform of TVT, staring blankly at the camera.

Even with high-quality video, his beauty couldn’t be hidden.

Yu Ning paused with his mouse pointer still raised, waiting until the screen went dark again before he slightly sighed in relief.

Was it a mistake to send this message?

No matter how you look at it, Lu Juan doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would maintain contact with potential dates, right?

He stared at his phone for a while, confirming no new messages had come in, then pursed his lips and opened the streaming interface.

The game Yu Ning streamed was PUBG Mobile. He had played this game for almost two to three years, making him quite experienced.

This was the time he usually streamed, and there were already about a hundred people in the live room.

When the system indicated the camera was connected, Yu Ning curled his lips and smiled habitually, greeting the viewers in the room skillfully, “Good afternoon, babies!”

His tone was light-hearted, his voice clear and youthful, with a slight nasal tone that gave it a cozy, affectionate quality.

Immediately, comments began to appear.

[Bububobaby, you’re so punctual!]

[No matter how hard you try to stay calm, we can see that you’re embarrassed, your ears are red now, right?]

Yu Ning’s live streaming name is [宝丁同学]. Fans usually call him “baby”. At first, Yu Ning wasn’t very comfortable with this nickname, but later he found that it was popular among viewers, so he accepted it.

Yu Ning was currently waiting for the game to load. Seeing the comments, he instinctively touched his ear. It indeed felt a bit hot. His fingers curled a few times while holding the mouse. He glanced at himself in the camera.

His camera was given by the store when he bought the computer. The resolution wasn’t very high, so only a faint red color could be seen near his right ear.

After clicking the mouse a few times on the computer screen, Yu Ning responded with a smirk, “Yes, do you really not find me shy at all?” As he said this, he winked at the camera.

Yu Ning had a face that seemed innocent at first glance—white and delicate. Just by looking at his face, it was impossible to tell he was a third-year student. Especially when he smiled, it resembled the popular “first love boy” look, with a faint dimples on his right cheek, making him look both innocent and beautiful.

With that wink, the comments again became very lively.

[Ahahaha, my son is so handsome! Ugh, I love those dimples!]

[Upstairs, I’m your daughter-in-law. Does your mother have anything she likes? I’ll go buy it right away!]

[How can a “face-selling” streamer stay in the game area?]

[Is this the so-called “mediocre streamer”? I mean it.]

Some comments were read by Yu Ning superficially, but he didn’t take them seriously. Just then, the game started. Yu Ning immediately explained, “Today, we’ll play two matches in a duel. I’ll hold a lottery before the broadcast ends, and then we’ll choose a water friend to play with for a few more matches.”

The prize for the lottery was the glow sticks offered for free by the platform.

As he spoke, he clicked the duel option.

“Let’s guess how many matches this is?”

“It depends on how long it takes before the broadcast ends. If it’s an hour, I’d say maybe ten matches.”

“Are you overestimating Baoding? That should be at least fifteen matches, right? Considering the time it takes to get to the game, is that possible?”

“You’re all discussing this, but I have a different idea. I wonder if my duel partner can actually win with Baobai.”

“No, other streamers are still debating whether they can win with water friends. How can you expect me to succeed in just a few minutes? Can’t you give me some confidence?” Yu Ning retorted, while checking the location of the match.

He chose the random map, which was his favorite least preferred type: the snowy map.

The snowy map was completely white, uncomfortable to look at, and prone to collisions with other players as soon as it landed.

This match didn’t go well either.

As soon as he joined the match, his teammate turned on their mic.

“Can you hear me?” It was a rough voice through the microphone.

Yu Ning was so shocked by the sudden noise that he almost threw away his headphones. He checked the comments and then spoke through the team channel, “Yes, Big Brother. Where do you want to jump?”

He actually had already chosen the seaside area.

Compared to the fertile areas in the middle, the seaside was always safer.

The teammates snorted. “What a guy? Go ahead and jump wherever you want. Don’t follow me.”

“Damn, what kind of person is this? Don’t think any girl will play this game with him, right?”

“He’s really tough! His tone is terrible. Yu Ning didn’t do anything wrong!”

Yu Ning himself didn’t feel anything. After playing the game too much, he encountered people of all kinds.

He listened to his teammates and chose a faraway spot.

He landed in a poor area. Yu Ning didn’t even get a rifle or any weapons. He only had a pistol. Fortunately, no one was around. But according to his teammates, he wasn’t acting like usual, trying to create drama with them. He could only sit quietly and respond to the bullet comments from time to time.

“I heard TVT is going to stream at Yebao. Is that true?”

“Really! Son, stay motivated! Do you know you’re now as famous as Lu Juan?”

Yu Ning asked, “What?”

“Am I already called a ‘god’?”

“Are you trying to be rude? It’s said both of you are incompatible as a couple!”

“Just say it clearly: ‘He’s a loner.’”

Yu Ning disagreed. “Don’t make nonsense. It’s okay to say Lu Juan is a loner, but saying I’m a loner doesn’t sound right. With all the girls in my stream, if I’m a loner, what will they do?”

“????? Lu Juan’s fans are coming with knives to kill you.”

“Trying to gain popularity? Even a mediocre streamer dares to copy Lu Juan’s popularity?”

“We’re not doing that. Don’t talk nonsense. A streamer’s behavior has nothing to do with fans. If it does, we’ll leave immediately.”

Yu Ning glanced at the position where the game was paused. He was lucky; somehow, the safe zone had moved to a remote coastal area.

Before he could respond to the comments, his teammate’s frustrated voice came through the headset, “Are you deaf? Did you not hear me asking you to help me?”

“What a mess! Why should I deal with such a piece of trash?”

His teammate continued to curse, and Yu Ning didn’t listen carefully.

He glanced at the map; his teammate was near, but Yu Ning hadn’t noticed and thought they had jumped to a more fertile area.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Wait a bit.”

It’s unclear if his teammate heard or continued to curse.

[This guy’s mouth is too dirty!]

[Damn it! Are they really going to pull someone away? I’m so angry! Stop this garbage streamer! Claims to have a pretty face but has a brain that’s as bad as its mouth!]

[They’re cursing while the game isn’t even over?]

Yu Ning ignored the comments, chuckled silently, and turned off the game voice. He walked toward his teammate, holding the only medicine he had, and said, “I’m closing the mic to prevent the live stream from being banned.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the game suddenly frozed.

Not only did the game freeze, but the live stream also stopped.

Yu Ning frowned.

After a few seconds, the comments resumed quickly.

[What the hell’s going on?]

[Rich guy!! Overjoyed! After half a year, someone finally gives Yu Ning big gifts!]

Yu Ning was currently trying to get closer to his teammate. Upon seeing the comments and glancing at the system notifications, he was surprised. “Thank you, Juan for the ship.”

There were many gifts available on the Yebao platform, but the most expensive one was still the ship, which cost 500 RMB.

Although Juan only gave one gift, he immediately became a top VIP in the live streaming room.

–

“Captain, what are you doing?” In the TVT team base, North, a sniper, walked past Captain Lu Juan with a bottle of drink in hand. Seeing that Lu Juan was looking down at his tablet without saying a word, North asked casually.

Right after he asked, a clear, slightly uttered thank you came from the phone.

North frowned. Juan?

Was he thanking the captain?

Lu Juan simply nodded, not knowing who he was responding to.

Seeing that Lu Juan didn’t drive him away, North simply sat down on a chair next to him and glanced at the tablet.

The tablet’s screen was large enough for him to see clearly from his position.

On the screen, it seemed to be a live stream of survival challenges, with comments still visible. In the bottom right corner, it appeared that the streamer had turned on her camera. Since North was far away, he couldn’t see the streamer’s face clearly. Especially, the captain’s finger seemed to be in the way.

In the middle of the screen, the streamer jumped into a house. At the corner of the house, there was a teammate lying on the ground.

As soon as the streamer entered, she threw her only bottle of medicine onto the ground and began to help others.

Nan Bei made a soft sound, thinking that it was truly selfless. Before he could express his thoughts, the streamer jumped again, interrupting her efforts to save the person. It seemed the teammate’s life was about to be lost again, but the streamer quickly began to help. By the time she finished, the progress bar for helping showed halfway full. Then she jumped again.

Nan Bei: ……?

Isn’t this just trying to trick people?

After several such incidents, comments from viewers were all about how amazing it was: “Hahaha, this person must be furious!”

“There’s always a way to deal with villains! Can’t the one who scolded just apologize? Really think Yu Ning is easy to bully?”

At that moment, the streamer’s laughter could be heard. It was indeed a clear, youthful voice, sounding very fresh. “What’s there to be furious about? I’m just trying to help him up. I slipped a few times earlier, but this time I’ll definitely not slip! After all, I’m too clumsy and prone to mistakes.”

Nan Bei glanced at the team leader’s expression, which showed no emotion, and asked tentatively, “Team leader…?” Why doesn’t he understand that the team leader likes such mischievous behavior from the streamer?

“This streamer… is quite…”

Before Nan Bei could finish saying “interesting,” he saw on the screen that the streamer stopped helping. By this time, only a thin layer of blood remained on the team member’s body. The streamer, seemingly with incredible speed, pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the team member’s head.

As soon as the gun was fired, the team member died. Clearly, it didn’t hit its target.

The streamer seemed regretful, saying, “It’s my fault I moved too slowly! Otherwise, I could have given him a satisfying ending!”

Comments: [Hahaha] in large numbers.

Nan Bei remained silent for a moment. “……Captain, this streamer is quite interesting.”

After saying that, Lu Juan finally seemed to notice that there was someone beside him. He moved his neck slightly, but didn’t close the streaming interface. Instead, he tilted his head and gave Nan Bei a brief, indifferent glance. His fingers tapped against the back of the tablet, and the sound was particularly loud in the quiet hall. It made Nan Bei feel uneasy. After a while, Lu Juan gently curled his lips.

“It’s indeed interesting. We’re about to start streaming. Aren’t you going to do some preparation?”

Nan Bei quickly responded with an “Yes!” She thought, “Surely this is the captain! Even streaming is prepared with great effort!”

Lu Juan nodded and lowered his head again.

In the bottom right corner of the screen, Yu Ning’s smile became more genuine after her revenge earlier. The dimples on her right side became even more visible, and her cheeks turned slightly red.

Lu Juan gently curled his lips and glanced at the messy comments.

[Funny! Hahaha!]

[Let’s bet on how many minutes it will take for the game to end.]

[When will the prize be announced?]

[In an hour!]

[I suggest leaving the first parking spot for the rich guys today! Baby, you need to be more enthusiastic towards the boss.]

[I’m scared that if I take the boss on a double row, he might run away. What should I do?]

Lu Juan nodded by himself. He leaned back in his chair. After about half a minute, he looked up at Nan Bei, who was still focused on the training session.

“Wait.”

Nan Bei stopped in her tracks, carrying a large pile of snacks.

Damn, just when the captain wasn’t looking, he sneaked back to the kitchen to steal snacks. How did he get caught so quickly?

He turned around with a nervous expression, trying to hide the snacks behind him. “Yes, captain!”

Lu Juan didn’t seem to notice what he was holding. He simply responded, “Do you have a viewer account for Yebao?”

Nan Bei: “……Ah?”

Lu Juan leaned forward, his gaze still fixed on the screen. “The ones with lots of glow sticks.”