PS-Chapter 8 The New Trend on the Internet

Lu Chen's hometown is in Binhai City, Zhedong Province, it is a beautiful seaside town.

His father, Lu Qingsheng, started his own business early on. By the time Lu Chen was in elementary school, his father had become a well-known entrepreneur in Binhai. Although Lu Chen couldn't be said to have grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, he could barely be considered a "Second Generation Rich guy."

However, misfortune struck without warning. In Lu Chen's second year at Jianghai University, the outbreak of the global financial crisis severely impacted the local export companies in Binhai. Lu Qingsheng's business suffered significant losses, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

A large amount of money could not be recovered, and banks and suppliers came knocking on their door, ultimately causing his financial chain to break!

The company's assets were liquidated, the family villa was auctioned off, and even their car was taken away.

Despite Lu Qingsheng's desperate efforts to turn the tide, the strain took its toll on his health, and he soon fell gravely ill. Not long after, he passed away, leaving behind his wife Fang Yun, and their three children, Lu Xi, Lu Chen, and Lu Xue.

This event drastically changed Lu Chen's fate. Once an enviable rich kid, he now found himself destitute. Even his girlfriend left him, and he had to rely on part-time jobs to make ends meet.

In the absence of the family's main pillar, his mother, Fang Yun, a gentle, kind, yet strong woman, bravely stepped up to shoulder all the responsibilities.

Fang Yun sold all the family's remaining assets, including her dowry jewelry, moved the children into a rented apartment, and signed repayment agreements with the creditors. She then began working hard to rebuild their lives.

After enduring the initial pain and failure, Lu Chen did not give in to despair. To help pay off the massive debt, he applied for early graduation during his senior year and headed to the capital city with just 800 yuan saved from his part-time jobs, determined to make a living on his own.

And so, until now...

The water from the showerhead splashed over his body, the droplets falling onto the stained tiles below.

It was as if the water were cleansing Lu Chen's mind, but instead, his difficult memories grew like wild grass, occupying his thoughts.

"You cry like a child…"

"Unwilling to love me just a little more!"

Suddenly, a ghostly wailing song pierced through the walls, the sound blasting into Lu Chen's ears like a demonic chant.

What the heck!

He shuddered involuntarily, quickly turning off the faucet and drying himself with a towel.

The singing coming from next door continued, making Lu Chen feel like crying out of frustration!

But the sadness brought on by his memories was somewhat eased by this ridiculous interruption.

After quickly drying his hair and putting on clean clothes, he left his small room and knocked on the door next to his.

He knocked, but there was no answer. However, the door wasn't fully closed, and the unbearable howling continued to seep through the crack.

"Brother Li, what are you doing in there?" Lu Chen simply pushed the door open and shouted into the room, "Noise pollution can get you fined!"

The person living in this room was Li Feiyu, a salesperson at a car dealership in the capital city. He and Lu Chen got along well.

Lu Chen knew that Li Feiyu was a big fan of pop music and often liked to sing a few off-key tunes, but he had never heard him this "Passionate" before— it was unbearable!

If this kept up, the other tenants in the building would likely come over to complain.

The scene in front of him left Lu Chen momentarily stunned.

Although they both lived in the same basement, in similar cramped spaces, Li Feiyu's room was much more luxurious than Lu Chen's. The floor was covered with laminate, the walls were papered, and the bed and furniture were all relatively new. There was even a small refrigerator in the corner.

Li Feiyu was sitting at his computer desk, wearing headphones and singing into a microphone with a look of pure enjoyment on his face. The 24-inch LCD screen displayed a live feed from his webcam, with several lines of text flashing by.

What's he doing?

Curious, Lu Chen walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Whoa!"

Startled, Li Feiyu nearly jumped out of his chair, almost knocking the microphone over.

Seeing that it was Lu Chen, Li Feiyu let out a huge sigh of relief, quickly took off his headphones, and patted his chest, saying, "You scared me to death, Little Lu! Did my singing attract you over here?"

He laughed, looking very pleased with himself.

Lu Chen scoffed, "Attract me? I came over to see if anyone was going to come beat you up!"

At that moment, he noticed that his own image had appeared on the LCD screen, and the number of comments flying across the screen suddenly surged!

"Wow! A handsome guy just appeared!"

"Brother Fei, Brother Fei, ask the handsome guy for his WeChat ID, Feixin ID, length, size, and nudes!"

"Is this the streamer's keeper coming to feed him?"

"What keeper? He's clearly his best buddy, the streamer's best buddy!"

"I want to hear him sing, not look at some handsome guy! I want to hear him sing, not look at some handsome guy!"

"23333333333~"

"..."

As the comments increased, bright stars began to appear on the screen, glowing beautifully.

In the information bar on the right side of the screen, a series of system messages started to scroll.

System message: Crystal Jelly (Bronze II) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: Crystal Jelly (Bronze II) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: Not Flying Tonight (Iron V) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: ...

Lu Chen was somewhat stunned but managed to figure it out.

In the past year or two, a new form of mass entertainment has emerged on the internet— live streaming for everyone.

Initially, live streaming was mainly focused on online gaming, where skilled gamers would stream their gameplay or matches on live-streaming platforms as hosts, earning popularity and income through tips.

Since live streaming catered to the entertainment needs of netizens, it quickly grew, giving rise to famous platforms like SkyLive, Whale TV, and Star Dream, along with a large number of streamers of various types.

Moreover, live-streaming content was no longer limited to gaming. Singing, dancing, playing instruments, talk shows, and various outdoor activities all began to appear, attracting a large number of netizens.

Lu Chen majored in computer science at university, so even though he had been busy working part-time and seldom went online in the past couple of years, he was still somewhat aware of the new trend of live streaming. He just hadn't had the time to get involved in it before.

There was no doubt that Li Feiyu was live streaming— he was what people called an Online Streamer!

What puzzled Lu Chen, though, was how Li Feiyu, with a voice that could scare away an entire street, could have anyone listening to him sing, and apparently, there were quite a few listeners!

The status bar at the top of the screen showed that the streamer "Brother Little FeiABC" had 1,425 followers and an online audience of 287— more than the customers who had listened to Lu Chen sing at Daylily last night!

It wasn't that Lu Chen didn't understand, but the internet world really did change too fast!

"Hahaha"

As Lu Chen stood there in a daze, Li Feiyu laughed out loud, leaned into the microphone, and said, "Thank you all for your tips! Let me introduce you to my good buddy, Little Lu!"

"Little Lu, say hi to everyone!"

Still in a bit of a daze, Lu Chen instinctively nodded and said, "Hello, everyone!"

Immediately, new comments flashed across the screen.

"Hello, handsome! Interested in a same-sex relationship?"

"Little Deer? Such a cute name, I like it!"

"Little Deer! Little Deer! Little Deer! Little Deer! Little Deer! Little Deer! Little Deer!"

"..."

Three black lines instantly appeared on Lu Chen's forehead.

Li Feiyu chuckled and said, "Not that kind of deer! It's the Lu as in 'land' or 'army.' Little Lu may not be as handsome as Brother Fei, but his singing is at least one-tenth as good as mine. Do you all want to hear him sing? If you do, send more stars!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the screen filled with comments and stars!

"Yes!"

"No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

"Brother Fei is trying to scam us for stars again!"

"The streamer sells engine oil and makes millions every month!"

"I want to hear the handsome guy sing!"

"..."

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: New Yorker (Silver IV) sent 100 stars to the streamer!

System message: ...

The user "New Yorker" was probably a big spender, as they sent a barrage of 100 stars each, totaling 10,000 stars in one go!

Li Feiyu grinned from ear to ear, and he eagerly pressed Lu Chen down into his seat, saying, "Little Lu, you take over for now. I'll go get your guitar!"

With that, he dashed out of the room.

Lu Chen didn't know what to say, but he didn't feel any resentment either. After all, this was his first time experiencing online live streaming, and he found it intriguing to see his image appear on hundreds of computer screens and interact with so many people at once.

While waiting for Li Feiyu, he briefly explored the features of the streaming platform called [StarryLive], finding that it offered a lot of functionalities.

But before Lu Chen could figure it all out, Li Feiyu hurried back with his guitar.

Brother Little Fei enthusiastically helped Lu Chen adjust the microphone, turned off the background music playing on the computer, and even brought him a bottle of mineral water. His attentiveness was only one step short of making the bed and massaging Lu Chen's legs!

Holding the guitar, Lu Chen sat in front of the computer, facing the microphone and camera, gradually calming down.

His thoughts were simple— he just wanted to help Li Feiyu out and satisfy his curiosity about being an online streamer.

At that moment, Lu Chen had no idea that this experience would lead him down a completely different path in life!

(End of Chapter)