Chapter 77: Could Something Unexpected Be Happening Again?

When it came to official matters, Han Yinglan, whose mood had been somewhat low, forced herself to perk up. Family affairs could wait until she was home, where she would have a proper talk with her daughter. After calming her somewhat chaotic emotions, Han Yinglan placed two pre-prepared contracts on the table, indicating for Luo Chen to check the details.

Seeing that there were two copies, Luo Chen furrowed his brow. Though he had anticipated it, he truly did not wish for his younger sister to stream on the Stardust platform. Firstly, female streamers on the platform had a poor reputation, and secondly, there had recently been some negative incidents: viewers who had made huge donations then demanded inappropriate things, leading to public uproar. Although the Stardust platform was undergoing major reforms, Luo Chen was unwilling to take such a risk, which would inevitably disappoint them once again.

But would repeatedly rejecting the Stardust platform like this really be all right?

“There’s no issue with the contract, but one copy is enough.” After carefully reading through the agreement, Luo Chen pushed one contract back and spoke.

There was nothing particularly special about the platinum contract. Although the terms and benefits were favorable, it all boiled down to one thing: all interpretation rights rested with the Stardust platform. Don’t even think about pursuing legal recourse.

“One copy is enough? What does that mean?” Han Yinglan had already suspected there might be some new twist before coming, but she hadn’t expected this. Was Luo Chen himself not planning to sign?

“This is already the greatest concession the Stardust platform can make. Didn’t we agree yesterday that there were no issues?”

Going back on one’s word was a terrible habit; no matter how talented you were, it would be hard to earn anyone’s trust if, after all their effort in nurturing you, you just turned around and benefited someone else.

“Yes, nothing about yesterday’s discussion will change, but I remember we said it was just me who would sign, right?” Luo Chen had clearly been referring to himself; it was Han Yinglan who had misunderstood.

He couldn’t be blamed for not mentioning it; after all, Han Yinglan hadn’t asked, had she?

“What? Just you?” Zhao Hong, who had been gleefully watching the drama unfold, could no longer keep his composure. The music section had finally produced a top-tier streamer worthy of a platinum contract who hadn’t been poached—was all that hard-earned success about to vanish just like that?

How could this be allowed? Zhao Hong had previously thought Han Yinglan was exaggerating when she spoke of Luo Chen; who would turn their back on money? Especially after that million-yuan donation, with the Stardust platform taking half off the top—wouldn’t that hurt?

That was why Zhao Hong had been so confident coming here, but he had never expected someone to actually not care about money.

Han Yinglan, too, hadn't expected this. Weren’t both matters being negotiated together? After all, last time, it had seemed that Luo Tianyi was obedient to her brother and he had made all the decisions, which had given Han Yinglan that impression.

Business is business. As long as Luo Chen wasn’t planning to break the contract, it had nothing to do with Han Yinglan. She was responsible for the ghost music section—if Luo Chen was willing to sign, that was enough. As for the rest, it was up to Zhao Hong to see if he could persuade the boy.

Though Han Yinglan held out little hope.

Ignoring Zhao Hong’s subtle attempts to sway his decision, Luo Chen finished filling in the required information and handed it back to Han Yinglan for confirmation. Despite his repeated refusals, Luo Chen still took this contract seriously and did not want any mishaps.

“At least two streams a week, weekly video content? Are Stardust’s conditions for platinum streamers always this lenient?”

Reading through the contract, Luo Chen realized the Stardust platform’s requirements for platinum streamers were rather relaxed. Although streaming less meant a sharp drop in regular monthly perks, the minimum threshold was indeed quite generous.

Luo Chen had thought, based on what he’d heard, that daily streaming was mandatory.

“In fact, it wasn’t always like this...”

When this was brought up, both Han Yinglan and Zhao Hong, as Stardust platform managers, were reluctant to speak. This was one of the platform’s dark histories. Originally, even platinum streamers had to broadcast at least five times a week, with a minimum duration per session. But this rule had been broken by Huang Ying.

As the main pillar of the Stardust platform, Huang Ying possessed immense popularity and influence. However, once he achieved fame, he became unwilling to have his days consumed by streaming. After rallying several well-known streamers and employing unknown methods, he forced the Stardust platform to compromise and amend the contract.

Later, to appease the other platinum streamers, the platform simply made the terms more flexible. After all, not everyone had Huang Ying’s level of popularity, earning millions a month with just weekly uploads. If someone only streamed twice a week, they’d have to settle for the bare minimum.

Huang Ying, once a supreme god with nearly ten million fans at his peak, had now dropped to around seven million. Certainly, some of it was due to his own missteps, but the Stardust platform had played a part as well.

This was why the Stardust platform was so eager to sign Luo Chen—they saw in him the potential to replace Huang Ying.

Seeing the two managers’ conflicted expressions, Luo Chen asked no further. All he needed to know was that the terms were in his favor; his personal goal was to meet the minimum of two streams per week.

“Luo Chen, are you sure you won’t reconsider? Seeing how generous the contract is, you must realize how well Stardust treats its platinum streamers, right?” Watching Luo Chen sign without hesitation, Zhao Hong grew anxious and pressed him again.

He’d have liked to approach Luo Tianyi directly, but with four matching targets here, Zhao Hong couldn’t identify her, so he could only hope Luo Chen would change his mind.

“All right, Director Zhao, there’s no convincing this boy. Let’s go back and report the situation to our superiors.”

Compared to Zhao Hong, Luo Chen’s conduct improved Han Yinglan’s impression of the youth. She could guess at some of his reasons for refusing, which made his choice all the more rare.

How many could resist temptation for the sake of sparing their younger sister even the slightest harm?

As an insider at Stardust, Han Yinglan was fully aware of the poor reputation currently plaguing female streamers. A small, profit-driven minority had already tarnished the industry’s name.

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