Financial Independence through Cracked Apps-Chapter 127 - 119: The Number One Big Bro

Five?

Are you kidding me!

Lin Shen scratched his head. His nose felt itchy, like he was about to sprout a big red one any second now.

’Is getting followers really this hard?’

’I thought it would be easy.’

"This is going to be tough."

Lin Shen thought for a moment and decided to use some external help.

He randomly refreshed his followed list, planning to find a stream with a decent number of viewers and become the top gifter.

’Using this exposure to gain followers shouldn’t count as cheating, right?’

Of course, the stream couldn’t have too many viewers. Otherwise, hitting the top spot could cost tens, or even hundreds of thousands, and Lin Shen wasn’t willing to spend that much right now.

It wasn’t that he was stingy.

Lin Shen wouldn’t even blink at spending over a hundred thousand on a watch or some gold.

But making him shower a streamer with gifts? That required serious deliberation.

’The number of viewers should ideally be under a thousand.’

’And the streamer has to be pretty and innocent-looking, preferably with some talent, like singing or dancing.’

’I can’t just become the top gifter for nothing!’

After some searching, Lin Shen found a female streamer he’d followed before who fit his criteria.

Her stream had a few hundred viewers. Although she wore a mask that obscured her face, her hourglass figure—large chest, narrow waist, long legs, and perky butt—was quite impressive.

She could even give Qin Yuenan a run for her money.

’Could someone like that really exist?’

Suspicious, Lin Shen downloaded one of the streamer’s short videos, loaded it into the super-editing AI in his Camera and Album, and used its de-pixelation feature to get a better look.

The result was eye-opening.

Without the waist-slimming, leg-stretching, and other beautifying effects, the streamer’s figure instantly became utterly ordinary.

She was even a little chubby!

HOLY SHIT! A TANK!

’I almost fell for it!’

Lin Shen let out a long sigh of relief.

’No wonder this streamer sat perfectly still in front of the screen. She must have been afraid all her special effects would suddenly disappear.’

"Making money is so easy,"

Lin Shen said with a self-deprecating laugh.

He used to work himself to the bone, pulling all-nighters just to make seven or eight thousand a month.

Yet these people just turned on their filters, sat in front of a screen, yelled "Bro" a few times, made a heart gesture, and raked in tens of thousands.

And if they ran into a top-gifting whale, they could skyrocket to success overnight.

The comparison is infuriating!

Lin Shen sighed, closed the stream, and continued his search for a suitable target.

He now had a new, much stricter criterion.

No shady tech whatsoever!

Unfortunately, 90% of streamers couldn’t meet that standard, and the remaining 10% used all sorts of little tricks to enhance their looks and figures.

Like padding, for instance.

’So difficult!’

Just as Lin Shen was thinking he might have to lower his standards, a streamer he swiped to made his eyes light up.

*

*

*

12:00 AM.

Civil Aviation Vocational Technical College, student dormitory, Room 403.

Zheng Yanfei was at her desk, livestreaming from her phone and interacting with her hundred-or-so viewers.

"Yes, I really am a college student. My background looks fake? Where does it look fake! It’s your eyes that are bad. Think about it, have you been doing your eye exercises lately? You should look for problems with yourself first~"

"That’s right, I’m a junior studying to be a flight attendant. Born in ’05."

"For all you sweeties who haven’t followed yet, you can tap the follow button in the top left corner. Thank you~"

"Feifei!"

Cheng Xiao, who had just returned from washing up, saw that Zheng Yanfei was still hard at work streaming. She snuck up behind her and startled her, then teased her with a light laugh.

"I thought you had a rich-kid boyfriend? Why are you still streaming? Aren’t you afraid he’ll get jealous?"

"Cheng Xiao!"

Zheng Yanfei panicked and quickly reached out to cover Cheng Xiao’s mouth.

But it was too late.

[The streamer has a boyfriend? I’m outta here.]

[Is this your master’s task? You’re here for a cash grab, aren’t you!]

[Unfollowed.]

Watching the comments scroll by and her viewer count plummet from over a hundred to just over fifty, Zheng Yanfei couldn’t help but complain.

"Xiaoxiao, what nonsense are you spouting!"

"Was I spouting nonsense?"

Cheng Xiao spread her hands with an innocent look.

"I was just telling the truth. I saw your social media posts. You and your boyfriend seem so close. When are you going to bring him out for us to meet?"

"We’ll see."

Zheng Yanfei was getting annoyed.

Before, when she streamed, her viewership would max out at around a hundred people.

Tonight, probably because she was trending with keywords like "’05," "college junior," and "flight attendant," her viewer count had finally broken one hundred and fifty.

But before Zheng Yanfei could even be happy about it, Cheng Xiao’s one sentence had driven her viewers back down to double digits.

’Can’t you keep your mouth shut!’

Zheng Yanfei knew exactly what was going on. Cheng Xiao was just jealous of her!

Jealous that she was prettier, had a better figure, and even had a rich-kid "boyfriend" who was studying abroad.

That’s why she’d been subtly picking fights with her lately!

Zheng Yanfei was all too familiar with this kind of petty drama in a girls’ dorm.

But no matter how much she resented it, she couldn’t openly start a fight.

After all, they still had to live together.

Seeing Zheng Yanfei fall silent, Cheng Xiao adopted a preachy tone.

"Feifei, what you’re doing isn’t right. What boyfriend nowadays would be okay with his girlfriend livestreaming?"

"You can’t just run wild because he’s abroad, right? I can’t stand by and watch this. Next time I see him, I’ll definitely have to tell him about this."

’I can’t even see him. It’d be a miracle if you could.’

Zheng Yanfei grumbled internally, but on the outside, she put her hands together, winked, and pleaded.

"Oh, come on! I’m just streaming for fun. Please don’t tell my boyfriend."

"Fine."

Cheng Xiao sighed lightly, then changed the subject.

"I can keep your secret, but you have to let us meet your boyfriend. We need to check him out for you, to make sure you’re not getting scammed."

"Right, Sweet?"

"Yeah!"

Tang Tian, who had been watching dramas in her bed, pulled back her curtain, gripped the bed rail, and leaned down to look at Zheng Yanfei, half-joking.

"You’ve been dating this guy for over a month, and he’s either busy with family stuff or studying abroad. Forget his face, all we’ve ever seen is the picture of his hand you posted a while ago."

"Don’t tell me... you made him up!"

"How could I!"

Zheng Yanfei felt a pang of guilt but feigned nonchalance, brushing her hair with her hand.

"It’s a family business, so it’s normal for him to be busy. He’s actually coming back from abroad in a few days. I’ll find a chance to introduce you."

"That’s great!"

Cheng Xiao clapped her hands, looking excited.

"I remember you said your boyfriend is tall, handsome, and has a great body, right?"

"Well, he is pretty outstanding."

An image of Lin Shen suddenly flashed through Zheng Yanfei’s mind. Her gaze shifted as she tried to avoid the topic.

’After all, the more you talk about a lie, the more likely you are to get exposed.’

Just then, by sheer coincidence, an animation suddenly appeared on her phone screen, which was still streaming.

A giant blue rocket, accompanied by sound effects and vibrations, launched from the bottom of the screen in a curving arc.

The particle effects for the booster flames and the surrounding planetary rings were exceptionally detailed.

Was that...

Zheng Yanfei’s eyes widened.

’A Douyin No. 1?’

"Someone sent you a gift!"

Seeing this, Cheng Xiao quickly patted Zheng Yanfei’s shoulder, her tone tinged with a faint sourness.

"Aren’t you going to thank them? That’s a hundred yuan."

"Thank you to ’Jianlu’ for the gift!"

Zheng Yanfei covered her mouth with her hands, her beautiful, blinking eyes filled with astonishment. She looked visibly excited.

It wasn’t that the Douyin No. 1 was particularly expensive, but it was the first time since she started streaming that she had received a gift worth over a hundred yuan!

This was a milestone!

An event worth celebrating!

"Fei received a gift?"

Hearing the news, Tang Tian immediately scrambled down from her bed and crowded behind Zheng Yanfei to watch curiously.

Just then, "Jianlu" sent a comment.

[Jianlu: The streamer has a boyfriend? I like that.]

’He likes girls with boyfriends?’

Cheng Xiao’s mouth twitched.

’Don’t tell me this guy has some weird fetish?’

Before the girls could react, another animation appeared on the screen.

This time, it was a pink hot air balloon slowly rising from the bottom, accompanied by a shower of flower petals and heart-shaped particle effects.

"[Jianlu] has launched a Hot Air Balloon in [Y Xiaofei]’s stream!~"

Huh?

’A 520-yuan Hot Air Balloon?!’

As the site-wide announcement scrolled by, Zheng Yanfei felt a sense of unreality, as if she were in a dream, until Tang Tian’s sharp voice snapped her out of it.

"Feifei, your luck is insane tonight! You actually ran into a whale! Hurry up and thank him!"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Zheng Yanfei quickly stood up and bowed in thanks. While she was secretly delighted, her mind began to run wild with fantasies.

’Did a rich kid really take a liking to me?’

’Even though Lin Shen is fake, using him as my "boyfriend" actually attracted a rich guy!’

Although Zheng Yanfei couldn’t quite figure out why this whale named "Jianlu" had the strange hobby of "liking other people’s girlfriends."

But no matter what, she had to seize this opportunity!

Boosted by the promotion from the two gifts, the number of viewers in Zheng Yanfei’s stream quickly rose back above one hundred.

She didn’t forget her purpose and quickly asked,

"Jianlu, would you like to see me dance? Or sing? I can do both!"

[Jianlu: No need. I just simply like you.]

Huh?

In the instant Zheng Yanfei was stunned, the screen suddenly dimmed. The stream interface then collapsed into a black hole, from which a brilliant galaxy suddenly unfolded.

What followed was a dazzling display of special effects that lasted a full 18 seconds!

"The Heart of the Universe?"

Cheng Xiao stared in disbelief.

"An 1888-yuan gift? For real?"

Gifting a Douyin No. 1 and a Hot Air Balloon was one thing, but dropping over a thousand yuan on a streamer he just met?

’Does this guy have money to burn?’

’Her luck is just too good!’

’She actually found a huge sucker!’

Honestly, Cheng Xiao was jealous.

She felt she wasn’t that different from Zheng Yanfei, but not only could she not find a top-tier rich kid for a boyfriend, she couldn’t even beat her at streaming!

Cheng Xiao pursed her lips and said nothing, while Zheng Yanfei was completely dumbfounded.

After all, with the boost from the Heart of the Universe, her stream quickly swelled to several hundred viewers, with more and more people flooding in to see the spectacle.

[The streamer is pretty, too bad she’s taken.]

[If I follow now, does that make me an OG fan? ]

[Streamer, streamer, shouldn’t you hurry up and end the stream to get in touch with your top gifter?]

[Jianlu: Would it be convenient to add you?]