PS-Chapter 45 Making Money

On Saturday, May 23, 2015, Lu Chen experienced what could only be described as a magical night.

That night, he sang his heart out in front of more than 2,000 audience members, receiving the most enthusiastic applause.

That night, he earned the largest sum of money he had ever made— 200,000 yuan for selling an original song.

That night, he also received a 5% share in "Daylily Bar", transforming from a regular employee into a small shareholder and partner!

As Lu Chen signed his name on the share transfer contract, his heart was filled with gratitude.

Grateful for the long dream he had, grateful for the third life he lived within the dream, and grateful to "Xu Bo", "Mo Ran", and "Fang Mingyi".

Lu Chen didn't know if the world in his dream was real, but he knew how incredibly lucky he was!

And his luck didn't end there.

When he returned to the VIP section of the Blue Lotus Flower bar, the live performance was nearing its end.

Li Feiyu was still diligently hosting the livestream, and when he saw Lu Chen, he was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes.

"Look!"

He pointed at his laptop screen with an intense, passionate look in his eyes, making Lu Chen's skin crawl with goosebumps.

Look at what?

Upon closer inspection— oh my!

Lu Chen saw that his livestream channel's online viewer count had exceeded 300,000!

Over 300,000 viewers!

Lu Chen was both shocked and overjoyed. It was as if a massive pie had suddenly fallen from the sky and landed right on his head, leaving him feeling dizzy.

In online live streaming, the number of live viewers is an incredibly important metric. Followers can be easily faked, but live viewer counts are different. Unless the platform itself fakes the numbers, it usually reflects the true value of the streamer.

The number of viewers in "Lu Fei's" livestream had been steadily growing, but to jump from a peak of 100,000+ to over 300,000 in just two hours was beyond belief.

After all, he hadn't been live streaming on "Whale TV" for very long, and his fan base, known as the "Fish Fans", wasn't that large.

Now, however, his fan count has skyrocketed to over 170,000!

"What's going on?" Lu Chen couldn't help but ask, "Be honest, what did you do?"

Li Feiyu burst out laughing, "We made it onto the homepage's popularity rankings!"

"Whale TV's" homepage has several ranking lists that highlight the platform's most popular live streams and streamers. One of the most important rankings is the site-wide popularity chart, which is also the most competitive.

The ranking is determined by a formula that takes into account the number of live viewers, the number of comments, and the number of rewards given during the stream. Those with the highest scores make it onto the list. Unless someone cheats, the platform doesn't interfere with the rankings.

There are only twelve spots on the site-wide popularity chart, and they're highly visible. Once you make it onto the list, it attracts even more viewers!

Lu Fei's livestream room made it onto the lower end of the popularity chart when Lu Chen began performing, and the viewer count has been surging ever since.

As a new streamer on "Whale TV", making it onto the homepage rankings without even being physically present in the livestream was nothing short of a miracle.

After Li Feiyu explained everything, he proudly shouted, "Long live the "Lu Family Army"!"

The "Lu Family Army", Lu Chen's dedicated fan base, played a crucial role in achieving this success. "Li Bai" alone had gifted 150,000 "Fish Balls" in rewards, boosting the mood in the livestream room.

Since the livestream had been ongoing, even though the camera was pointed at the stage, the microphone was still capturing everything.

So, the conversation between Lu Chen and Li Feiyu was heard clearly by all the fans in the livestream.

"Is the streamer back?"

"I hear the streamer's voice. It's definitely "Lu Fei"!"

"Long live the "Lu Family Army"!"

"Streamer, I want to see your face."

"The streamer is a real hottie. Totally a hottie."

"I watched the streamer's performance earlier. Those two songs were amazing! I really want to hear them again."

"Play them again!"

"Three times!"

"…"

Seeing this, Lu Chen quickly adjusted the camera and microphone to engage with his fans.

He waved at the camera and said, "Hello everyone, I'm Lu Fei, your host. Welcome to my livestream! I hope you enjoy my songs and tonight's music carnival!"

"And a big thanks to everyone for your support and generous gifts. I really appreciate it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the screen filled with enthusiastic comments, accompanied by a flood of Fish Balls.

"We love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it!"

"The music carnival is amazing, I wish I could be there in person!"

"Don't be polite, host. Take the Fish Balls!"

"I just want to hear Lu Fei sing."

"I love it too."

System notification: "Call me Li Bai (Silver IV)" has gifted the host 1 "Aircraft Carrier"!

System notification: "Whale Boss (Gold VI)" has gifted the host 1 "Aircraft Carrier"!

Amid the frenzy, two Aircraft Carriers thundered across the screen, wiping out all other comments, and filling the display with fireworks celebrating Lu Chen's success.

Two familiar wealthy patrons!

Lu Chen glanced at the Fish Balls count and saw that tonight alone, he had gained over 40T Fish Balls!

It was no surprise that he made it to the homepage's popularity rankings.

He quickly thanked the two patrons. Though it may have seemed a bit superficial, his gratitude was genuine.

The livestream ended at 11 p.m.

This was a truly meaningful live performance that brought huge attention to Lu Fei's livestream. By the time it ended, the online viewer count had peaked at over 350,000, and his "Fish Fans" had reached 180,000, with 45T Fish Balls in new rewards.

45T Fish Balls!

After a 65% tax deduction, Lu Chen realized he had earned nearly 30,000 Yuan that night! Adding that to the Fish Balls he had accumulated earlier, he withdrew 50,000 Yuan right away.

With Whale TV's 50,000 signing bonus already in his account, and the 200,000 he made from selling his song, Lu Chen would be able to send 300,000 Yuan back home tomorrow!

In the past, he would have had to work tirelessly for four or five years to earn that much, and now it took less than two weeks.

Lu Chen shut down his computer and stood up, saying, "Let's go! Let's have a late-night feast— spicy crayfish, all you can eat!"

"Three trays!"

Li Feiyu raised three fingers, proudly saying, "I'll need at least three trays!"

Lu Chen laughed, "As long as you can eat it all, even thirty trays won't be a problem!"

Suddenly, a loud and majestic song echoed in his mind:

"I'm making money, I'm making money, and I don't even know how to spend it!

I'll buy a Nokia with my left hand and a Motorola with my right,

Switching between mobile networks every day with a new number,

Driving a Mercedes, then a BMW, relaxing in a sauna, and eating crayfish!

I'm making money, I'm making money…"

Stop! Stop!

Lu Chen shuddered and quickly pushed those distracting thoughts aside, grabbing his things and heading out for a late-night snack with Li Feiyu.

South of Houhai Pedestrian Street, after crossing an intersection, there was a charming alley filled with the old-time atmosphere of the capital city. The street was famous for its snacks and street food, and even though it was nearly midnight, it was still bustling with people.

"Jia's Crayfish House" was nestled in the alley, known for its famous "Xuyi crayfish". When Lu Chen and Li Feiyu arrived, the place was nearly packed, and business was booming.

The two were lucky to snag a small table in the corner of the main hall and ordered the popular dish "Three Crayfish Heaven."

One tray of spicy crayfish, one tray of braised crayfish, and one tray of salt-and-pepper crayfish, along with two perfectly chilled pitchers of beer— an experience even the gods wouldn't trade for!

Lu Chen and Li Feiyu wasted no time digging in.

After devouring two trays of crayfish and two pitchers of beer, Li Feiyu wiped his greasy mouth and said, "Big Chen, your livestream is doing great. Now that you're gaining momentum, it doesn't make sense for you to keep living in a basement."

Lu Chen nodded, "Yeah, I'm thinking about moving to a small apartment. How about we share a place?"

The basement he was renting was far too basic. It was stuffy in the summer, freezing in the winter, and offered little privacy. He also had to worry about disturbing the neighbors whenever he live-streamed at night.

His lease was ending this month, and he'd been considering moving anyway, even before Li Feiyu brought it up.

"My lease runs until next year, and I've already spent quite a bit on renovations."

Li Feiyu shook his head, "Forget me, let's focus on you. One of Little Mei's friends has a studio apartment she wants to rent out. It's in a great location, has a good environment, and the place is practically new. Interested?"

Lu Chen grinned, "Since it's through Little Mei, of course, I'm interested in checking it out!"

Li Feiyu chuckled sheepishly.

(End of Chapter)

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