The evening livestream went smoothly.
Smooth to an unimaginable degree.
Bai Xing's final results were 832 ships, 24 admirals, and over 16,000 gift revenue, totaling 170,000 in gross profit. Next month's payout would net her around 70,000 to 80,000, and after taxes at a 35% dividend rate, she could pocket a full 60,000 yuan, not to mention the additional earnings from the upcoming livestreams at the end of the month... For a new VTuber's debut, this was nothing short of a crushing victory.
"Independent talent," "reincarnated persona," "top-tier avatar," "massive fleet," "peak performance"...
All sorts of perfect reviews spread like a virus, exploding across the internet.
Few new VTubers could achieve this level of success.
For the VTuber fanatics, the existence of "Mei Biya" was simply too mysterious, to the point that it caught the attention of some major guilds.
Among the thousands of followers who surged to tens of thousands, there were all kinds of gachikoi sending private messages to "Mei Biya's" account—
Some asking for personal information, others probing for the mastermind behind the scenes, peers trying to fish for information, random nonsense messages, and even those asking, "If I become a governor, will there be governor gifts?" but not actually doing so, just talking big.
Of course, compared to all this, the one most shocked and speechless was a certain alluring woman hiding in a shabby apartment complex, tucked away in a dimly lit room.
"How could this happen... How could this happen..."
Tang Hua muttered, curled up in her ergonomic chair, her face filled with helplessness—
"My 'password,' how could she have cracked it at this moment..."
"That was the crystallization of my thoughts with the Boss, the truth I pondered over sleepless nights. Why, why did Bai Xing manage to learn it?"
Her pure yet seductive face was filled with confusion and frustration.
"No."
"That's not it."
She turned her attention to the livestream recording she had synced, slowly manipulating the playback slider in her video editing software, replaying certain frames repeatedly, carefully observing every expression made by the avatar.
"Upon closer inspection, her gaze is vastly different from what I recorded.
Mine is more 'restrained,' subtly conveying the Boss's attention; hers is more 'expressive,' like the joy and pride one feels after experiencing forbidden fruit...
But at their core, these two feelings are the same."
—Both are exclusive memories born from receiving affection.
They are manifestations of "love."
As the original artist of the avatar, Tang Hua was certain she couldn't be mistaken.
She was extremely sensitive.
And her intuition was razor-sharp.
Sharp enough to make others break out in a cold sweat.
"That's it, she received the Boss's 'affection,' which is why she could perform so well during the livestream."
Tang Hua analyzed slowly.
Even if it took a long time, she was as patient as a snail, meticulously dissecting every detail.
She knew.
Bai Xing had genuinely reached out to her for help before, clearly at a loss on how to portray those expressions.
From her panicked tone and frantic guesses, it was obvious she was on the verge of breaking down.
If nothing unexpected had happened, tonight's livestream would have been utterly unremarkable. But now, seeing her flawless performance in the replay...
Tang Hua had reason to suspect that Bai Xing had likely uncovered some "secret" related to "companionship" before going live.
—In other words, she had an epiphany.
She couldn't have had such a sudden realization on her own.
So, someone must have given her a push.
Hmm.
The only person who could have done that was the Boss.
"The Boss 'accompanied' her and showered her with excessive affection."
"That's why she was able to learn these secrets and become more confident and natural during the livestream. Even with an avatar she had never used before, she executed every necessary expression perfectly, even pushing the 'prototype' to its limits."
Damn it.
"Is this the benefit of living next door to the Boss?"
Putting aside Bai Xing's relationship with the Boss, objectively speaking, she hadn't let her "creation" go to waste.
She hadn't disappointed the Boss either; on the contrary, she had impressed him.
From the revenue data, Tang Hua could tell that Bai Xing was about to blow up.
Or rather, she was about to take off.
"Ugh."
"How could this happen..."
"Was I careless?"
"No. It's just that she's too close to the Boss, giving her the advantage of proximity. If it were me, if I were the one living next door to the Boss... He would have already been..."
"."
Tang Hua thought.
Though she wasn't one to compete or fight, if things continued like this, the Boss's affection would be taken by someone else, and that wasn't a scenario she wanted to see.
At this moment, she was absolutely certain, "Yes, the Boss is playing favorites."
"Last time, he wouldn't even spend more time with me... Though sending me home was already something to be grateful for. But..."
"Even during 'daytime,' he wouldn't stay with me longer."
For her, midnight was noon, the real daytime.
Daytime was safe, but the Boss had refused her;
Even if she wanted to do something, the Boss wouldn't agree, so why did he have to reject her so cruelly?
And now?
"Now he's gone to play with Bai Xing, to shower her with affection."
"..."
This isn't fair.
Tang Hua pouted, hugging her knees, her envious and resentful gaze fixed on the screen displaying that "version" of herself.
She murmured, "I want it too."
"It's my avatar she's using..."
"That kind of thing... I want to experience it too..."
"Once isn't enough..."
"Three times... no, five, ten, a hundred times would be better, right?"
"Damn it, she's turned the tables on me."
Tang Hua knew she was a woman with insatiable desires, a very bad, very wicked woman.
She had long been consumed by her cravings, and that was obvious.
Every time she indulged in her depraved acts with the printed papers on the wall, a sense of guilt would wash over her, eventually turning into "regret" and "anxiety."
It was all too familiar.
That feeling of immorality.
"But."
Even if the Boss found out... if he discovered the twisted desires she harbored for him,
If it meant receiving the same affection Bai Xing had gotten today, if it meant experiencing the Boss's one-on-one "companionship" again, wouldn't it all be worth it?
Even if the sky fell, so what?
Isn't life about being seen by him, cared for by him, and having your weary body cleansed by his gentle words?
Every day is already so tiring and difficult. If, if I could satisfy this 'great desire' in my heart... If I could find a way to make the Boss's love for me grow stronger—
"Anything would be worth it, right?"
"Why am I still hesitating to take the next step, while Bai Xing has taken the lead?"
With this thought.
Tang Hua finally mustered her courage, no longer hesitating.
With a "what's done is done" attitude, she picked up her cracked, spiderweb-like phone and sent a message to the Boss—
"I miss you."
"Boss, can you take me out for meat?"
...
...