On the table was a high-end computer that seemed out of place in the rented room. Aside from a clean corner for streaming, the rest of the space was cluttered with takeout containers and empty drink bottles, giving off an unpleasant odor.
Ye Qiu stood up to clean up all the trash and throw it away. He bought a bottle of orange-scented disinfectant to thoroughly clean both the inside and the outside of the room before heading to the bathroom to wash off the sweat.
The original owner had prepared a clean set of clothes for streaming, otherwise Ye Qiu could not bear to put on that yellow T-shirt after a shower.
There were two roommates sharing the apartment: one was a game streamer similar to Ye Qiu, still fast asleep, while the other was a worker still at the office. Thankfully, there was no one outside, or the stench of garbage would surely knock them out.
At eleven o’clock tonight, Ye Qiu needed to stream on the platform Huayou Yin, deliberately choosing to go live at a different time than the major streamers, which was a key reason why the original owner had better earnings than many others.
While the original owner’s gameplay was fairly decent, it paled in comparison to the many professional streamers. It was wise to choose times when others were resting; although the audience was smaller, there were still people watching.
Lying in bed, filled with the scent of oranges, he felt drowsy and reached for the original owner’s phone, opening a chat with Cen Chen.
“There’s an update in the game today; do you want me to get a new outfit for you?”
“Want to team up for a dungeon tonight?”
Forcing himself to resist sleepiness, Ye Qiu replied, “You’re too weak; I’m not playing with you. Today, I’ll take you to see something good.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to play, but rather the original owner’s personality directed all spending towards essentials—the pursuit of improvement was the top priority in life.
After a comfortable sleep infused with the scent of oranges, his alarm woke him up, and it was already dark outside.
The original owner had less than a hundred dollars left in their account; by the end of the month, there might not even be enough for rent.
Chapter 35: Game Culture and Manipulative Boys
It was still early, so Ye Qiu opened his computer.
There were many ways to make money, but for the original owner, it was tough due to a lack of capital. After thinking for a while, he decided to follow the original owner’s old path—game streaming.
During the stream, he could occasionally take on leveling services; with his skills, it wouldn’t be hard to become a top player.
As soon as he logged on, the world went into an uproar; the chat exploded, and it was known that even the cheapest chat horn cost six yuan.
[Not in Service Area: The male lead is online!]
[Go Watch the Sunrise: It’s nothing special; game CPs aren’t couples, maybe Wan Fengye Chou didn’t even know CP involved an old sugar daddy.]
[Boss, Take Me Along: Did the above just start licking?]
“Wow, this scumbag dares to come online.” Cen Chen’s binding brotherhood message popped up, frantically tapping the chat box.
Gossip spreads the fastest; in reality, people were crashing the server just to catch up on the drama, and the same went for the game.
[Not in Service Area: Scumbag, come out to face off? @Wan Fengye Chou]
[Cream Roll: Just logged on, waiting for a class representative!]
[Road from Tonight: Scumbag Wan Fengye Chou, two weeks ago flaunted a CP with old sugar daddy Yuangu Shanc, claims to be busy with work while playing dungeons with his female apprentice late at night. Not only a time management master but also serves both genders.]
[Cream Roll: Sisters above, the lighting technician is ready, and the mic is here for you to speak up!]
[Wuqiao: Can’t believe there’s an old sugar daddy in Huaxu, quickly leave the scumbag and let me hug you!]
[Night Listening to Rain: No way, if that’s the case, Wan Fengye Chou is bi, taking on a female apprentice might be to avoid suspicion?]
[I’m the Younger Brother: Stop defending upstairs; who knows if he’s just a straight guy pretending to be bi?]
The horns blared non-stop with insults and gossip, and certainly, there were those who had been helped by Wan Fengye Chou trying to clear his name. That’s how gaming is; if you have money and high skills, people will flock to you.
Just after they officially announced their relationship, a storm was brewing in the game. Wan Fengye Chou was one of the top players, known for being approachable and often carrying lower-ranked players through dungeons, and he had many admirers. Yuangu Shanc, on the other hand, was just a small figure; if it weren’t for officially teaming with Wan Fengye Chou and blasting horns, no one would remember the gang had such a member.
No one believed that a top player like Wan Fengye Chou would deign to cater to Cen Chen. Most people even darkly speculated that Yuangu Shanc’s outfits were gifts from Wan Fengye Chou, after all, Wan Fengye Chou’s apprentices often received new outfits directly from him. Yuangu Shanc paid little attention to others and usually just played with Wan Fengye Chou, and even if he noticed them, he probably didn’t care.
A red dot appeared; someone applied to join the party—Yuangu Shanc’s gaming ID had the character of a cute little loli.
Ye Qiu looked at the party list and saw his female apprentice, who was supposed to be 2/5, looking completely confused. He distinctly remembered leaving the party before logging off; what was going on now?
Feeling doomed, he tried to reapply and saw that he was the party leader. With a stiff neck, he begrudgingly let the new member join.
“I thought you were too scared to let me in?”
Cen Chen entered to find another familiar figure—Yuyou Yingmeng, the protagonist of the gossip, mocking him.
“Is this the ‘good thing’ you wanted to show me today?”
He remembered Wan Fengye Chou complaining this morning about work problems.
Ye Qiu remained composed, “I didn’t do anything wrong; why wouldn’t I let you in?”
He looked unfazed, like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.
Out of nowhere, Yuyou Yingmeng resurrected in the party and sent a horn message in the world chat.
[Yuyou Yingmeng: Everyone, please don’t attack my master. Since the game launched, my master and I have been playing together, and our relationship is really good. My master and the lady only got together two weeks ago, so they may not understand our bond yet. It’s normal for a master to take an apprentice through dungeons; I hope those unaware won’t blow this out of proportion.]
[Always Shining Bright: The female protagonist has appeared; checking in!]
[Cream Roll: The scent of green tea is so thick; is she going to say, ‘Lady, I play dungeons with my master; you don’t mind, right?’]
“You know what you’ve done; do I really have to confront you?”
“Let’s break up; I don’t want to cause a scene.”
Below the message, someone sent a private message.
Yuyou Yingmeng: “Sorry, Teacher, my master is just taking me through a dungeon; I didn’t mean for this to be misunderstood. I hope it hasn’t affected your relationship; I’m really sorry.”