Mysteriously Gaining 100,000 Followers

Xanthe: Affinity +5

Xanthe's current affinity towards the host: 88 points.

Arthur was once again dumbfounded.

He had expected Xanthe's affinity towards him to plummet after their confrontation.

But the outcome was completely unexpected.

How could this be?

Could it be that I was wrong all along?

Arthur felt somewhat disheartened.

He returned to his dormitory alone.

Bored, he opened up Sik Sok.

Short video live-streaming platforms were incredibly popular nowadays.

Most young people spent their leisure time browsing short videos.

Sik Sok was the hottest application on such platforms.

Arthur opened the local recommendations and casually scrolled through a few videos.

A familiar face caught his attention.

In the video, a girl in white was playing the piano.

Although the shooting distance was a bit far, and the quality seemed unprofessional, it was just a casual recording.

But this girl's demeanor and appearance were markedly different from ordinary internet celebrities.

What was more striking was that she wasn't using any beauty filters.

Just how confident was she?

Today's Sik Sok female internet celebrities either used beauty filters to become goddesses or turned off filters to become ordinary.

Some even transformed into anime-style beauties with makeup and filters.

But this girl in the video not only skipped beauty filters but also makeup.

Yet she still appeared refreshingly charming, dressed in a white dress reminiscent of a goddess from ancient legends.

Her skilled piano playing made her exude an air of elegance.

"Isn't this Judy? Is she on Sik Sok now too?"

"Wow, she already has quite a few fans. She only has seven or eight videos, yet her fans have exceeded a million. Looks like she's about to go viral."

Thinking about it, it made sense.

With Judy's looks and talent, it wasn't surprising that she would gain popularity.

After all, she was the second-ranked campus beauty at the University of Chicago, not just a name without merit.

Arthur thought for a moment and casually followed her.

Then he started browsing through her previous videos.

Just then,

Judy started a live broadcast!

Perhaps because it had just started, there weren't many viewers in her live stream.

She was chatting with her friend Moira.

It seemed they weren't in student dorms but rather in a large room.

"Welcome A handsome guy smoking when lonely to our live stream!"

"Wow, buddy, your name is quite interesting. Are you aiming for today's trending topics?"

"Are you impersonating me, Smoking Bro? Kid, you're quite bold, huh?"

"I remember there was a big shot named A handsome guy smoking when lonely on Itube, who gave a female anchor ten million in half an hour, upgraded from level three directly to top level, and topped the overall rankings in a second."

"Maybe he's the real big shot!"

"If he's a big shot, I'll livestream myself eating shit!"

······

Judy, under the username "Judy Cutie," mainly broadcasts singing and piano performances. As time passed, her viewership grew from just a few at the beginning to several hundred. Gradually, viewers started sending her gifts, mostly worth a few cents or a few dollars, and occasionally tens of dollars. In less than half an hour, she had received 5000 diamonds.

There are often PK battles between female broadcasters. Soon, Judy was challenged by a popular streamer.

"Whoa, it's Bess!"

"Judy, I'm sorry, but it's not that you're not good-looking; Bess is just really beautiful, and she has so many fans!"

Judy, being a new broadcaster, couldn't quite match up to big-name stars like Bess, whose fanbase exceeded 30 million with over 100,000 viewers in her livestream. As expected, as soon as the PK battle started, Judy was immediately overshadowed by Bess. Bess's fans started off by gifting five lions each, the most expensive gift on Sik Sok, worth 29,999 coins — five lions right from the start!

"Whoa, finally topped up my coins! Sik Sok really needs to increase its recharge limit. I had to recharge almost two thousand times to get to 30 million. Quite exhausting!" Arthur muttered, utterly speechless. He never imagined he'd one day be frustrated by the insufficient recharge limits on various platforms!

Seeing Judy being outperformed by Bess, Arthur didn't hesitate to unleash a frenzy of gifting. Judy was one of the broadcasters bound to his system. The more money he spent now, the more he'd earn later if she managed to make a comeback. Moreover, Bess herself was located at The University of Chica, giving Arthur a geographical advantage over Olivia for potential comebacks!

The next second, a lion gift effect instantly flooded the screen.

"Thanks to A handsome guy smoking when lonely for the lion gift!" Judy exclaimed in pleasant surprise. She had initially thought her PK battle was over, but suddenly, a newcomer appeared in the chat. His username looked strangely familiar.

"Whoa, could it be...?"

"Smoking bro, holy moly, it's really you! The real Smoking bro has arrived!"

"Judy, you're saved! Smoking bro is a true big spender!"

True to expectations, A handsome guy smoking when lonely did not disappoint. Starting with the first lion gift, the screen was bombarded with gifts non-stop.

"Thanks to A handsome guy smoking when lonely for gifting Judy Cutie 108 lions!"

"Thanks to A handsome guy smoking when lonely for gifting Judy Cutie 109 lions!"

...

"Thanks to A handsome guy smoking when lonely for gifting Judy Cutie 999 lions!"

At this moment, every tycoon in Bess's livestream was collectively stunned. Even combining their efforts, a dozen tycoons couldn't match the generosity of one person. Was this even humane?

"Whoa, who the hell is that guy over there? So relentless!"

"A handsome guy smoking when lonely? Wait, isn't he that mysterious tycoon trending on Itube?"

"Incredible! After dominating Itube, he's now splurging on Sik Sok too. He must be ridiculously wealthy!"

"No chance, no chance! Bess, it's not that we're not supportive; it's just that the guy on the other side is too damn awesome. You might actually lose to this small streamer!"

There was no doubt about it. Thanks to Arthur's spree, Judy not only defeated the renowned Bess but also topped the platform's hourly livestream rankings. Her livestream suddenly gained tens of thousands of viewers, with over 20,000 new followers. What was most surprising, however, was that Judy gained only 20,000 new fans, while Arthur's username inexplicably gained 100,000 fans.

But did you think it would end there?

（The above data was arbitrarily written by the author and may not necessarily reflect real-world circumstances, so please don't worry too much about it!）