Chapter 68: A Million-Tip Request for a Photo? (Double-Length Chapter)

“Hmph, these newcomers really don't know their place. Do they think Stardust Platform can't function without them?” In the streamer division, the manager Huo Kong swept his gaze over the gathered executives, each with their own expressions, and spoke with disdain. “Let’s just give him a warning, so he understands that once he leaves Stardust Platform, this so-called master will be nothing.”

“But wouldn’t that just force him to switch platforms?” Some executives hesitated, but most advocated for abandoning or suppressing this newcomer. No matter how popular an individual streamer is, they can never compare to the massive presence of Stardust Platform.

“Luoshui Tianyi isn’t planning to sign either? What a pity. It’s rare for our music division to have such a promising talent.” Among the executives, apart from Han Yinglan, only Zhao Hong, the music division manager, expressed regret.

As the decision-maker, Yuan Feng found himself torn. He genuinely believed in the streamer’s potential, even considering replacing Huang Ying with him as Stardust Platform’s new pillar. That was why, despite the risk, he had offered the highest contract, never expecting this situation to arise.

Compromise?
Impossible. If he set this precedent, it would have disastrous consequences. If the other platinum streamers started demanding conditions, would he agree to them? He could not allow this to happen.

Tap tap tap

As Yuan Feng hesitated, a knock sounded at the conference room door. The executives fell silent; interruptions at such times were rare unless something urgent occurred.

The doors opened, and an administrator hurried in, speaking quickly. “General Manager, it’s urgent! Luoshui Tianyi’s fans have gone mad!”

What? Mad? What’s going on?

Let’s go back several hours, to the evening.

Although dusk had already settled, for Zhao Ke, who was used to late nights, the night was just beginning. Unfortunately, as a humble wage-earner, Zhao Ke’s nightlife was far from exciting; one-night stands and such had nothing to do with his ordinary looks.

For Zhao Ke, nightlife simply meant some gaming and watching videos. It was decadent, but also real.

As a frequent visitor to Stardust Platform, Zhao Ke followed more than a few streamers. Whether it was the recently popular Pure Angel or Luoshui Tianyi, or established masters like Huang Ying and Autumn Water Cold, he would follow anyone whose videos suited his tastes, becoming just another fan.

Unlike hardcore fans, Zhao Ke was quite rational. He was there for entertainment, and only occasionally would he tip when in a good mood; hype and flame wars were none of his concern.

He logged into Stardust Platform as usual to check if any of his favorite streamers had updated. Typically, the videos from these masters were high quality, saving him the trouble of sifting through new releases for something worth watching.

Hmm… No new videos from Autumn Water Cold, nothing from Huang Ying, and even the prolific Pure Angel hadn’t updated?

What was going on today? Zhao Ke noticed, confused, that none of his ten favorite streamers had posted anything.

Wait — someone had updated.

Scrolling his feed, Zhao Ke was surprised to see that a streamer he thought only updated monthly, or even yearly, had posted.

Luoshui Tianyi, a rising star in the music division and one of the two newcomers Zhao Ke had recently followed. That song, “Ode to the Millennia Recipe,” had left a deep impression on him. As a foodie himself, Zhao Ke couldn’t help but love it; especially when stressed, listening always helped him relax.

Luoshui’s singing carried a special infectiousness, stirring resonance among listeners.

Yesterday he’d heard about the flame war between established master Huang Ying and Luoshui’s fans, and he’d been worried. Many newcomers faded away from Stardust Platform due to such negativity. Fortunately, his concern hadn’t materialized.

After “Ode to the Millennia Recipe” was released, Zhao Ke had eagerly awaited Luoshui Tianyi’s next update, but for two weeks nothing happened. Knowing how hard original creation was, Zhao Ke didn’t complain, waiting patiently. He hadn’t expected today’s surprise.

Filled with anticipation, Zhao Ke opened the latest music video, ready to change his phone’s ringtone again.

Title: “Imperial Authority Over the World”
Views: 67,000
Favorites: 44,000
Current viewers: 12,000

Seeing that over ten thousand viewers were watching simultaneously, Zhao Ke felt satisfied; clearly, many had been waiting for the update just like him.

Chuckling, he donned his headphones, settled comfortably, and clicked play.

He’d expected a lighthearted, cute style like the last work, but the tight, rhythmic opening made him pause. Was Luoshui planning to change styles?

But surely gentle, relaxed songs suited Luoshui’s voice better?

Though somewhat puzzled, Zhao Ke trusted his favorite streamer and relaxed to listen.

“Late Eastern Han, smoke and chaos.
Corruption reigns, court in turmoil, Cao holds the emperor, orders the lords.
Establishes in Jiangdong, ambition for the realm.
Inherits the legacy, follows father and brothers, crowned as lord of Wu and Yue, soldiers abound.
...
Centuries pass, hard to look back.
Ask through ages, rise and fall, how many shine in history, names remembered.
In casual talk, clouds fade.
Only remains, eternal sigh, a son should be like Sun Quan!”

The song had barely begun before Zhao Ke was stunned: the exquisite background illustrations, the heroic, beautiful singing, the powerful music. Was this really Luoshui Tianyi? The contrast was striking.

Zhao Ke wasn’t alone; the barrage of comments filling the screen showed excitement was widespread.

“Confess to Luoshui!”
“Confess to the artist!”
“Screen-licking in progress.”
“Sun Quan is handsome!”
“Taking Sun Quan home!”
“Not so fast, upstairs.”
“Stop arguing, I’m claiming her!”

The music stirred Zhao Ke’s blood, and the stunning illustrations—especially Luoshui playing Sun Quan—were captivating. If one compared Luoshui’s cute, foodie persona in “Ode to the Millennia Recipe,” the contrast made her even more appealing.

The song continued, with various characters appearing. Once you accepted the feminized character designs, it became incredibly engaging.

“Have you not seen Lü Ziming, crossing in white robes over the river?
Nor seen Lu Boyan, burning the encampment, flames reaching the sky.
A master of balance, choosing wise ministers, appointing capable generals, together forging the land.
Heeding loyal advice, rejecting flattery, establishing authority, sword slashing desk.
Even with countless loneliness and isolation.
Receiving the crown, sitting the dragon throne, success and failure, all faced with a smile.
Securing rivers, establishing the empire, founding the nation, ultimately succumbing to chaos.
Time passes, a thousand years gone, all achievements left to casual talk.”

With the four-minute song ending, Zhao Ke was utterly conquered by Luoshui Tianyi, freezing the screen at the opening image of Sun Quan. The slightly sinister, domineering, yet cute girl captivated him.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to lick the screen.

The thought flashed through his mind, but after some hesitation, he refrained; even if no one would know, it was too embarrassing.

Still, while he resisted the urge to lick the screen, Zhao Ke decided to express his affection for Luoshui somehow. He ruthlessly removed all other streamers from his follow list, leaving only Luoshui Tianyi, and nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, “unfollowing” was just a ritual; it didn’t mean Zhao Ke would stop watching others’ videos. He wasn’t that crazy; he could still search for any content he wanted, though it’d be a bit more bother.

Having done all this, Zhao Ke stared at the Sun Quan portrayed by Luoshui, wondering what she looked like in real life. Unfortunately, she seemed disinclined to reveal her appearance.

If the artist based the illustration on Luoshui’s real appearance, how beautiful must she be?

Zhao Ke was daydreaming when Stardust Platform suddenly went haywire—the entire screen was filled with a single message.

Earthquake! Supreme tycoon Wudao tips ten million Stardust coins! A million tip just to ask Luoshui to reveal her real photo!

Zhao Ke was nearly stunned in front of the screen. Ten million Stardust coins!

At a one hundred to one exchange rate, that was a full one million in national currency. Which rich guy was so crazy—one million just to see Luoshui’s real photo?

Upon seeing it was Wudao, the certified tycoon, Zhao Ke understood. This wasn’t the first time Wudao had tipped a million.

As for why it was called a million tip? The tycoon said quoting Stardust coins was tacky; real cash had more impact.

Damn, these tycoons—Zhao Ke was green with envy. If he had money, he’d do the same!

And this was only the beginning. The other fans, though unable to match a million, could certainly tip ten or a hundred. All clamored for a real photo.

The screen lit up red again. Though less dramatic than the platform-wide million tip, the sheer number made up for it.

Congratulations! Elite Shadow tips one million Stardust coins! Asking for a real photo!
Congratulations! Elite Guest Role tips one million Stardust coins! Asking for a real photo!
Congratulations! Elite Sword Dance tips one hundred thousand Stardust coins! Asking for a real photo!
...

With one tycoon tipping real cash, the other rich fans couldn’t mention Stardust coins anymore. After the tycoons’ barrage, countless messages flooded in, all requesting a real photo.

People tend to follow the crowd. Amid this red flood, even Zhao Ke felt inspired to tip; he too wanted to see Luoshui in real life.

Zhao Ke steeled himself and tipped his entire balance—ten thousand Stardust coins—with a message requesting a real photo.

That was several days’ worth of meal money, gone just like that.

But once he spent the money, Zhao Ke had no regrets. For Luoshui... he’d go all out!

But why was the site getting laggier?

After tipping, Zhao Ke noticed his computer was becoming sluggish; even scrolling was affected. What was happening?

What Zhao Ke didn’t know was, after the million tip flashed, all the curious onlookers had crowded in. Combined with the barrage of tipping and messages, the site was overwhelmed. Late night was peak traffic for Stardust Platform; only the robust server had prevented a crash.

...

Meanwhile, in the back end, Stardust Platform’s administrators scrambled to maintain stability and immediately reported to the executives in the meeting.

“You’re saying the tipping barrage nearly crashed the server?”

After hearing the administrator’s report, the executives looked at each other in disbelief. They’d thought Luoshui Tianyi was just a side effect of Pure Angel refusing to sign, but hadn’t realized the immense influence and popularity she possessed.

A million tip! There had only been a few in the entire history of Stardust Platform. She could get a platinum contract directly!

Had this happened a few days earlier, everyone would have been delighted at such a newcomer. But now, no one was smiling.

Because this promising newcomer had no intention of signing. That made three streamers refusing platinum. What was happening?

Was the top contract really so unattractive?

The meeting room fell silent. The previous calls to warn the newcomer vanished.

According to Han Yinglan’s information, these two would either sign together or not at all; any underhanded moves might push both to another platform, which would be a huge loss.

Not to mention the benefits they could bring—even the loss of popularity from such a move was unacceptable.

On one hand, gain at the cost of face; on the other, loss and still losing face. The choice was clear.

So-called contract rules meant nothing in the face of profit.

After a brief silence, Yuan Feng finally spoke:

“Han, please go again. Tell him his conditions are approved, but this is the only exception.”

If he wanted to chase his dream, let him try. In time, he’d understand that building a platform isn’t so easy.

This is a double-length chapter—4,000 words—because the author couldn’t find a good breaking point… Thanks to reader Qing Yi for the generous 6,000 Starting Point coins! Thanks to Qingjing Xin for 2,000 coins! Thanks to readers Big Foodie Youyouzi and Shunfengche123 for 500 coins each, thanks to Falling From the Sky North for 400 coins, thanks to Cang Wu Zhi Tian for 300 coins, and thanks to readers Named Sun, Einstein’s Tongue, Tongren Tong, Tonggu Lansi, Zhao Qianli, and Arthur Dole Apandelagon for 100 coins each. Tossing flowers!