Chapter Eighty-Three: The Lilt of a Child’s Voice—Upon Reflection, It’s Nothing Extraordinary

A cartoon cat appeared on the livestream screen.

Yes, it was a cat speaking.

Clearly, even for a song party, Her Highness Qiaobiluo had no intention of revealing her face.

Nevertheless, some of the male viewers began to get restless.

“Who on earth is this Qiaobiluo?”

“That voice is really pleasant. It’s exactly my type.”

“But why won’t she show her face? Is it because she’s not good-looking?”

The viewers were abuzz with speculation.

Just then, a cascade of gift effects filled the screen.

[Press F for You has sent Super Rocket ×200]
[Press F for You has sent Super Rocket ×200]
[Press F for You has sent Super Rocket ×200]
[…]

A user named Press F for You immediately sent Qiaobiluo ten batches of Super Rockets, two hundred in each batch—altogether, two million in gifts.

Anyone familiar with Qiaobiluo’s streams knew this was her number one benefactor, who was always extravagantly generous.

“Thank you, Press F for You! Thank you for your gifts, boss! Much appreciated!” Qiaobiluo hurriedly expressed her gratitude.

Her loli-like voice made the viewers feel weak at the knees.

“Everyone, raise your hands to prove your innocence!”

“I can’t take it anymore, I’ve got something to do, gotta go.”

“Study time, I need to review some old material.”

“I can’t chat right now, my friend is calling me.”

“Can someone be kind enough to drop a license plate number before I leave?”

“What are you all talking about? I don’t understand a thing.”

“I’m done here—how about you guys?”

Truth be told, Qiaobiluo’s voice really was enchanting.

Those otaku in the livestream couldn’t handle it and all made their excuses to leave, saying they’d be back later.

Even a big-name streamer like PDD couldn’t help but click into Qiaobiluo’s profile. He didn’t find anything, but still hit the follow button.

Soon after, Qiaobiluo began to sing.

She performed an ordinary song; her skill was average, not bad, but nothing remarkable.

Of course, when compared with Bai Qingming, there was simply no contest.

At this point, the wealthy patrons from the Tycoon Guild switched accounts and started a new round of gifting—planes, Super Rockets, the works, raining gifts non-stop.

This time, the tycoons didn’t hold back and immediately pushed Qiaobiluo’s score up to twenty million.

Just like that, Qiaobiluo leapt ahead, surpassing Bai Qingming to take first place.

Meanwhile, those who claimed to have things to do, those called away by friends, and those off to study—all had finished their business and returned to the stream.

But once the so-called “sage time” hit and they returned to listen to Qiaobiluo’s voice, the viewers suddenly found it bland.

That loli voice, on reflection, was nothing special after all.

And so, the viewers were no longer tempted by the loli’s charms, regained their composure, and reaffirmed Bai Qingming as their spiritual leader.

PDD took the lead, sending Bai Qingming another two hundred Super Rockets.

Although he had just followed Qiaobiluo’s stream, that didn’t stop him from supporting Bai Qingming.

The main reason was that when PDD checked Qiaobiluo’s profile, he noticed the Tycoon Guild badge before her name, and the accounts gifting her were all newly registered.

He didn’t need to think twice—it was the Tycoon Guild stirring things up again.

To be honest, if Qiaobiluo truly sang better than Bai Qingming, PDD wouldn’t say a word.

But since she didn’t measure up, and the guild was meddling yet again, well then, since the contest wasn’t settled, let’s go another round!

The stream burst into activity once more, with big-name streamers stepping in again.

[Dai Xiaomei has sent Super Rocket ×200]
[Lord of the Demon Sect, Zhi Xun, has sent Super Rocket ×200]
[Bu’er, not Aunt Zhou Shuyi, has sent Yacht ×500]
[Erke has sent Yacht ×500]
[…]

On the other side, Da Sima watched Bai Qingming’s current score, his expression growing increasingly serious—no longer the cheerful mood from before.

“It’s come to this—I suppose I have no choice but to act,” Da Sima muttered, opening the Douyu recharge panel.

His fingers flew over the keyboard, entering his bank card number and payment password.

Throughout the process, Da Sima remained silent, his expression grave. Beneath his glasses, his gaze was resolute, like a warrior about to step onto the battlefield.

“Let me lend you a hand!” he shouted as the recharge succeeded.

[Gold Medal Lecturer Da Sima has sent Plane ×10]

One plane was a hundred yuan, so ten meant a thousand!

For Teacher Ma, that was no small sum.

Even when fans last visited him in a group, he hadn’t spent that much treating them to a meal.

“I did my best,” Da Sima murmured.

…

In the livestream, Da Sima’s name appeared prominently on the gift leaderboard.

The moment “Gold Medal Lecturer” flashed across the screen, the viewers were dumbstruck.

“No way—Teacher Ma isn’t sending just fish balls this time?”

“Is this really the Da Sima I know?”

“He sent planes? My youth is over!”

The viewers were genuinely astonished by Teacher Ma’s generosity.

In the Tycoon Guild group chat, seeing Bai Qingming’s score catching up, the tycoons remained unfazed, each grinning.

“Let them see what real money looks like!”

At a single command, these easily riled tycoons unleashed another torrent of gifts, with the special effects alone lasting over ten minutes. Qiaobiluo’s score rapidly overtook Bai Qingming’s, leaving him in the dust, and finally paused at forty million.

For this one song party, Qiaobiluo received a total of forty million in gifts.

In reality, using so many gifts to help a newcomer take first place was unwise—Qiaobiluo wouldn’t even receive the full value, and the net income was far less than the outlay—a massive loss.

But so what? It was only the money of those rich fools, so Chen Luo didn’t mind in the least.

“Let’s see how you compete with this!” Chen Luo thought.

Barring any surprises, first place was now secure.

…

Seeing this, the enthusiasm for gifting among the other streamers gradually faded.

Only PDD and Dai Xiaomei persisted, helping Bai Qingming add another hundred thousand or so to his score.

PDD was motivated purely by personal enjoyment, while no one really knew why Dai Xiaomei kept going.

Up to now, Bai Qingming kept a mental note of every streamer who had gifted him.

The platform wouldn’t deduct a cent of these gifts from him; once the money arrived, he planned to return it all to them, and treat them to a meal as thanks.

In the streamers’ WeChat group, messages poured in.

Lord of the Demon Sect, Zhi Xun: “No way, their firepower is too strong. There’s nothing we can do.”

Bu’er, not Aunt Zhou Shuyi: “I can’t come up with any more money either.”

Erke: “Maybe we should just give up—we can’t beat them.”

Gold Medal Lecturer Da Sima: “Yeah, I’ve done all I can.”

If the gap was only a few hundred thousand or maybe one or two million, they could have pooled their resources. But the difference now was simply too great.

Who could have guessed that the Tycoon Guild wouldn’t care about losses and would help Qiaobiluo claim first, even if it meant losing money?

How could anyone compete with that?

Tell me—how?

It was simply impossible!

On PDD’s end, even his wife, Shen Lingmin, was unhappy.

PDD had always been extravagant, but this was over the top. Just now, Shen Lingmin was out shopping and didn’t even have enough for clothes—the money in her card had all been spent by her husband to send gifts to Bai Qingming. How could she not be angry?

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Helpless, but very real.

Money truly could do anything.

But just then—

An unexpected turn of events occurred.

…

(P.S.: The plot is entirely fictional, with no intention to slander any streamer. Dear readers, please just enjoy it and don’t take it too seriously. Thank you!)