Volume 1, Chapter 30: The Surrogate Broadcast

"The tearful eyes of time rip through my disguise,
Do you still remember the look of my youth?
Will you be in some distant place tonight,
Lighting a bonfire to keep watch for me?
Oh, gentle evening breeze,
Please take away my melancholy,
Do not let me follow this inescapable hesitation..."

Yu Yansui's clear, sweet voice echoed through the live broadcast room.

[Alan gifted the streamer Heartbeat Cupid *2] (4321)
[Alan: I like this voice.]

"Thank you for the gift, Brother Alan, sending you love."
[I'm crying listening to this.]
[Damn, it's Emperor A!]
[Welcome, Emperor A!]
[Welcome Emperor A to our Meimei's live room!]
[It's true that Emperor A likes people with nice voices.]

Alan, like Yan Huaifeng and Li Suzhi, was a wealthy benefactor who didn't have a fixed live broadcast room to frequent, preferring to roam around and shower streamers with gifts. The only difference was that he was a "voice-con"—obsessed with voices—frequenting voice chat rooms and VTuber broadcasts.

Since the establishment of the first-generation voice chat rooms, he had made a habit of gifting streamers with pleasant voices. Of course, that "pleasant" was limited to natural voices, not those affected, high-pitched "cutesy" ones. Today, he was wandering through various rooms as usual when he was unexpectedly captivated by this streamer's voice.

It was so delicate and soft, like someone whispering sweet nothings right in his ear, that he was instantly hooked.

Yu Yansui glanced at Sweetie Meimei's gift list; the amount was sufficient, meaning she could take song requests.

"Brother Alan, what song would you like to hear? Suisui can sing it for you."
[Alan: No need for thanks, just sing whatever you like.]
"Then I'll sing Li Suzhi's new album track, 'Meeting Stars'."

"A damp rain,
Reflecting the blurred city.
Which star are you,
Crushed into my dreams?
The road to brilliance hides crises,
The gorgeous mask is stripped away.
A moment of hesitation, and one falls into a trap.
How to choose, what would be easier?
Rationality and sensibility, difficult to control,
Are illusions that shatter at a touch,
Clearly within reach..."

[Alan gifted the streamer Hidden Dragon in the Abyss *1] (30000)
[Ahhh, wifey, why are you so sweet?]
[I'm crying, I'm crying again.]
[Thinking that Suisui is just a substitute streamer makes my heart break.]
[Suisui, why don't you start your own stream? I'll come watch you.]

A substitute? Alan, dressed in expensive silk pajamas, paused with his glass of wine while sitting at his villa's bar. Wasn't this her account?

[Alan: Are you only streaming for tonight?]

"No, it's just that I'm only streaming from this account for tonight. I have my own account."

Alan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she wasn't quitting, that was fine.

[Alan: Then what is your other account called? I'll come to watch you.]

"I do video streaming. My ID is Yan Suisui. Brother Alan, if you're interested, you can follow me. I'll be streaming at this same time tomorrow."

Video streaming? He had watched those before; they were all full of people using beauty filters, and their voices weren't even good. He wasn't a face-con; he could accept someone being average-looking, but he absolutely could not tolerate a bad voice. That was why he often roamed voice chat rooms and VTuber streams.

This streamer's voice hit his specific preference perfectly. Alan exited the stream to search for Yu Yansui's account and followed her. She was a newcomer with about 100,000 followers. The "collection gallery" on her profile was quite lit up, indicating she had wealthy benefactors, but so what? He wasn't short on money.

[Yan Suisui? That name sounds so familiar.]
[How could it not be? The rising star of the 'Seven Meows' platform.]
[Is it really her?]
[She's a big streamer, why would she come to substitute for our Meimei?]
[I've already followed her, I'll go watch her tomorrow.]
[Let me defect for a moment, I'm sorry, Meimei, I still love you.]

Because Yu Yansui had exposed her own identity, her fan base, heartbroken that she hadn't streamed, caught wind of the news and followed her here.

[Sang You: Princess, you're so heartless. You changed accounts to stream without telling us. My heart is broken.]
"Oh my, I just thought you guys wouldn't like watching since I didn't have my video feed on."
[Many Fish: Nonsense, as long as it's you, we love watching.]
[Evening Breeze: You heartless woman, do you know how heartbroken I was when I knew you weren't streaming?]
"I'm not heartless! Brother Xiaofeng, if you keep saying that, I'm ignoring you."

[Alan gifted the streamer Hidden Dragon in the Abyss *10] (30000)
[Alan: So, does this count as me being one of your benefactors now?] (Floating Screen)

"You have to come to Suisui's live room tomorrow and pin your fan badge to count!"
[Alan: I'll come see you tomorrow.]

Who is this Alan? Why is someone else coming to steal Suisui from me? I'm angry.

[Evening Breeze: Brother, not just anyone can be my baby's benefactor. Want to go PK and see who's stronger?]
[Alan: Fine, let's connect.]
"Then I'll start a random PK."

There were quite a few high-quality streamers online at night. Meimei's rank was Platinum, not too low, and she soon connected with a delicate-looking female streamer. Her rank was Platinum II, a small streamer named "Depressed Youtiao."

"Hello, Meimei. Want to play a round?"
"Sure, how do we play?"
"Shall we do a blind box for the penalty? Do you want to play for the process?"
"Sure, let the one with more votes decide the process."

Youtiao had checked Yu Yansui's leaderboard upon hearing they were doing a PK; there were two big players who hadn't even pinned their badges. Making the process fun might just hook those big benefactors.

The PK bar reconnected. After muting their mics, they each rallied for votes.

Yu Yansui: "Little Blueberries, it's time to march! Those who can give likes, please tap the screen, and those who can send small gifts, please help Suisui out. Please, please~"

Her soft, sweet voice carried a hint of coquetry that no one could resist. Gifts began to flood the screen.

[Alan gifted the streamer Hidden Dragon in the Abyss *2]
[Alan gifted the streamer Sailing in a Sea of Flowers *3] (3261)
[Sang You gifted the streamer Sports Car *1] (1200)
[Berry Fruit gifted the streamer Really Love You *1] (520)

As the viewers in the room poured in their votes, the PK bar quickly crushed Youtiao's.

Youtiao made a gesture to unmute. "Meimei, give me a penalty process."
"Can you sing? How about a singing penalty?"
Youtiao clutched her chest. "I can't sing, but I can dance. Let me dance."

Youtiao adjusted her camera, played "Little Wild Cat," and began to twist in her chair. Yu Yansui was very supportive, showering her with praise, and in the last minute, she let Youtiao mute her mic to rally votes.

Looking at the opponent's score, which was already over 100,000, while she only had 20,000, Youtiao realized there was no point in chasing. She said to her room, "Yingyun, it's not worth chasing. Let's take the medicine."

[(Admin) Yingyun: The opponent has real power. Ask them for a sports car as medical fees.]

After Youtiao decided to "take the medicine," the PK score essentially froze. When the PK ended, the mics were unmuted.

Yu Yansui: "Then, Youtiao, why don't you show us a talent?"
Youtiao: "If I show a good talent, can I get some medical fees? That hit was too painful."

Yu Yansui blinked and said obediently, "Sure, I'll let, um, I'll let my Brother Xiaofeng go over and send you some."
"Thank you, Meimei."

Youtiao stood up and pushed her chair back, revealing her full body. "Can you see me?"
"Yes, we can."

Youtiao was wearing a tight purple tube dress. Her figure wasn't the extremely thin type; she belonged to the curvaceous category. She danced a "Star-Strange Shake," received two sports cars from Evening Breeze as medical fees, and then disconnected.

[Evening Breeze: Keep going, that wasn't enough to show your strength.]
[Alan: Connect again.]

The screen split in two. The opponent was an extremely handsome male streamer. He was a famous dance streamer on Seven Meows named Nansheng, currently ranked Diamond IV.

How did she connect to a VTuber?

"Hello there, Nansheng. Want to play a round?"

*Damn, that voice. So sweet.*

Nansheng struck a pose he thought was incredibly cool and pitched his voice to sound extra magnetic. "Good evening, Meimei!"
"Mm-hmm, shall we play for total votes?"
"Sure, sure."

The ladies in Nansheng's room watched him acting like a peacock spreading its tail and began roasting him in the public chat.

[You brat, put away that pathetic look.]
[Who gave you the guts to seduce a decent girl? How bold.]
[The peacock is spreading its tail.]
[Sister Sasa, control him, it's so embarrassing.]
[(Admin) SasaSaSa: Can't control him, I'm his big sister and I feel unlucky.]
[(Admin) Little Wild Cat: My son is in puberty, I can understand (bitter smile).]

Seeing that his big sisters were disgusted by his pretentious act, Nansheng cleared his throat and returned to a serious demeanor.

"I'm sorry, sisters. I can actually speak normally."

As soon as he finished, Yu Yansui initiated a reconnection. The PK bar was instantly pulled wide, and gifts flew all over the live room. Nansheng's "sisters" had real power, and within a few minutes, they had crushed the opposition.

[Evening Breeze: Hurry, we're being suppressed, hurry and push back!]