Chapter 77: This Woman Looks So Familiar—Didn't I Just See Her in the Local Section?

At this moment, although the singing club event had yet to begin, the viewers in the livestream room could hardly wait any longer. The barrage of comments scrolled by in a frenzied wave, densely packed with the eager chatter of the audience.

“Today is May twentieth—happy 520, everyone!”

“Happy, my foot! How many of us here aren’t single, huh?”

“Two orioles sing among green willows, but you still don’t have a girlfriend!”

“If I had a girlfriend, why would I be watching a livestream?”

“Are you looking down on us? Being single is just fine, you know. Stay single, stay happy—it’s that simple.”

“I have a question for everyone: my boyfriend is great in every way—he even hands over his entire salary to me—but today is a holiday, and he didn’t buy me anything or even send me a red envelope. Is this normal?”

“Not normal at all. He doesn’t love you, and he’s not good enough for you. Break up with him, quick.”

“Wow, even capitalists would be moved to tears reading this.”

“According to a global survey, 99% of women want to receive cosmetics or jewelry on 520—not chocolates or flowers. On this day, foreign men buy exquisite, expensive gifts for their partners and enjoy romantic dinners together, but Chinese men always try to get by with cheap presents.”

“What nonsense is that? Foreigners don’t even celebrate 520!”

“If you don’t understand, don’t embarrass yourself. How do you know foreigners don’t celebrate 520? Have you been abroad, or did you hear it from a foreigner? This survey is authoritative, I’m not making it up.”

“The guy above, I can’t even be bothered to respond. Foreigners don’t celebrate 520 because the numbers sound like ‘I love you’ in Chinese, and foreigners don’t speak Chinese, you idiot!”

The singing club had chosen May 20th as the date for their event.

Tonight, those with girlfriends would be out on dates, while the single ones gathered to watch the livestream.

One could say that the Douyu platform had made a thoughtful decision, considering everything.

At 7:30 p.m., a sweet voice rang out.

“The singing club event begins!”

Immediately after, a beautiful woman appeared onscreen—it was her who had spoken.

“Feng Timo! Feng Timo!”

“Mighty king, earth-shattering—Timo’s only five feet tall!”

“Feng Timo, I love you!”

Many fans sent these comments across the screen.

The panel of judges for tonight’s event consisted of three people, each displayed in a small window on the right side of the livestream.

Besides Chen Luo, the vice president of the Wealthy Guild, and the operations manager of Douyu, the third was none other than the beautiful and sweet-voiced anchor, Feng Timo.

Though Feng Timo was primarily a streamer, she was also a crossover singer who had appeared on television many times and won several music awards, making her an ideal judge.

But there was another important reason why Feng Timo had agreed to serve as a judge—she was here because of someone, and that someone was Bai Qingming.

That’s right.

To be honest, Feng Timo was a fan of Bai Qingming herself.

She loved the songs Bai Qingming had performed and had even covered them during her own streams.

Upon hearing that her idol would participate, Feng Timo agreed without hesitation.

While the rankings for participating streamers were determined by the gifts sent by viewers, the panel of judges still held the final decision-making power.

For example, if a tone-deaf newcomer joined the event but had a wealthy sugar daddy or sponsor who showered her with gifts, pushing her to first place, the judges could unanimously veto her ranking. No matter how many gifts her sponsor sent, her place would not count—and the gifts would not be refunded.

Conversely, if even one judge did not object while the other two opposed, the veto would not go through.

Thus, the first-place newcomer entered the livestream room.

“Hello, everyone. I’m from the countryside. My family has been very, very poor since I was young. My mother always told me that children of poor families learn responsibility early…”

He was a young male streamer, and as for his looks… how to put it.

His face was so long and narrow it looked like a shoehorn—the kind that made people want to take off their shoes and hit him with it.

His accent reminded many people of a viral clip of a certain actor playing the Erlang God, speaking in dialect.

As he spoke, he even managed to squeeze out a few tears, leaving the viewers wondering if they were watching a talent show or a sob story.

“I’m going to sing Jay Chou’s ‘Nunchaku.’”

He pulled out a pair of nunchaku, clearly planning to sing and perform at the same time.

As the music started, he shouted, “Hey, nunchaku!”

Whack!

He hadn’t gotten through two lines before he smacked himself in the head with the nunchaku, doubling over in pain and ending his performance abruptly.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

“What the heck? Did this guy get sent here by the Monkey King as a prank?”

“I thought he’d be a champion, but he’s just a noob.”

“Is this a ten-percent discount performance? Even my grandpa is better with nunchaku than him!”

“Get off the stage! We want to see the female streamers!”

The ridicule swept through the comments. The first performer exited the stage with zero points, eliminated on the spot.

Soon, the second streamer appeared onscreen. At the viewers’ request, this time it was a female streamer dressed in traditional Chinese attire, preparing to sing “Puppet Show.”

However, audience enthusiasm still fell short.

The reason was simple.

Most of these viewers were here to see scantily clad female streamers sing, and this one was dressed far too conservatively to attract their interest.

Still, to be fair, despite her modest outfit, her singing was rather lovely.

Unfortunately, three minutes later, as her song ended, she had received only three hundred yuan worth of gifts.

Ordinarily, that would be a fine haul for a newcomer, but for this event, it was far from enough.

At this point, Feng Timo began her critique:

“Your tone is beautiful, and your breath control sounds quite professional. If I’m not mistaken, you must have some formal training. Although the result wasn’t ideal, don’t be discouraged. Keep working hard, and one day you’ll surely make it.”

She first affirmed the performer’s strengths, then offered some encouragement.

There was no doubt—three hundred points would leave her at the bottom of the rankings.

But that’s just how the livestreaming world worked. Viewers preferred to see bare arms and legs; few cared about actual singing ability.

After Feng Timo spoke, Chen Luo from the Wealthy Guild chimed in.

“I’m actually a big fan of Hanfu culture, and I agree—you sang beautifully. You’re just lacking some support. I noticed you haven’t joined a guild yet, which is a disadvantage. If you’re willing, I’d be happy to help you in the future.”

Chen Luo extended an olive branch right away.

He had observed closely: this female streamer was attractive, with a good figure, simply hidden under her traditional outfit.

Frankly, if she’d dressed a bit more revealingly, she’d have received far more than three hundred in gifts for the same performance.

And he wasn’t wrong—he was happy to promote her, as long as she was obedient.

As long as she listened, everything would be negotiable.

…

Meanwhile.

In the Wealthy Guild’s group chat.

“Is everyone ready?”

“The next performer, Xian’er, is one of our own.”

“No worries—everything’s ready. As soon as she goes live, we’ll send the gifts.”

A moment later.

A female streamer named Xian’er appeared in the singing club’s livestream.

She was dressed like a secretary—white blouse teasingly transparent, top two buttons undone, glasses perched on her nose, and a beauty mark at the corner of her right eye. Just one look and four words came to mind:

Utterly provocative!

Immediately, a fleet of planes soared across the top of the screen, followed by more than twenty super-rockets.

In an instant, Xian’er had amassed hundreds of thousands of points.

Not only gifts, but a barrage of supportive comments orchestrated by the Wealthy Guild’s hired viewers appeared:

“Xian’er! Xian’er!”

“I love you, Xian’er!”

“Our Xian’er is the best!”

“Go Xian’er! I’m rooting for you!”

But just then, a single comment cut through the noise:

“Why does this woman look so familiar? I think I just saw her in the local section earlier.”

In a flash, the comment section erupted…