Chapter 11: Why Must We Have Met Before?

Looking at the new name "Lonely Shadow of the Cold River" on her guardian list, Li Shuirui realized that another benefactor had entered her livestream room.

"Thank you, Lonely Shadow of the Cold River, for the guardianship."

Her smile was dazzlingly beautiful, a complete transformation from the girl seen at school.

And it made sense.

On one side was her life as an ordinary student in two different worlds; on the other was the provider of her high-quality lifestyle. Naturally, her attitude could not be the same.

If her livestream room were a listed company, these guardians would be the board of directors, and the ordinary fans would be the retail shareholders.

Fans might drift away, but as long as no extraordinary circumstances occurred, guardians generally did not leave.

Therefore, streamers would do everything in their power to maintain and protect these relationships.

To put it bluntly

Guardians were the streamer's long-term meal ticket.

"Lonely Shadow of the Cold River... this guy looks like someone with a story to tell."

"I've been watching Shuirui for a long time, but I've never seen this big brother before."

"Big brother, come out and say something!"

In this era of rampant materialism, the wealthy are respected and worshipped wherever they go.

However, "Lonely Shadow of the Cold River" was quite aloof; he simply activated his guardianship quietly without saying a word.

Li Shuirui sang a few more songs.

Lonely Shadow of the Cold River: Can I request a song?

Guardianship wasn't entirely meaningless.

At the very least, their messages had special identifiers and wouldn't be drowned out by the scrolling bullet chats.

"Of course you can."

Li Shuirui nodded immediately. "What song would you like to hear?"

Lonely Shadow of the Cold River did not respond; the man seemed to have a somewhat reclusive personality.

Just as Li Shuirui was wondering if he was still in the room, the entire screen suddenly erupted with fireworks.

That's right.

Fireworks.

"Holy crap! A Royal Salute?!"

The livestream room went wild.

A Royal Salute cost 66,666 Star Coins!

In other words, in just four or five seconds, nearly seven thousand credits had vanished just like that!

On the fan contribution leaderboard, the name "Lonely Shadow of the Cold River" shot up like a rocket.

Even Li Shuirui couldn't help the flush that crept onto her cheeks, making her look even more enchanting and glamorous.

As a streamer, who wouldn't be happy to encounter such a wealthy benefactor?

"Lonely Shadow of the Cold River" sent a "Royal Salute."

After a brief interval.

Splendid fireworks bloomed in the livestream room once again, and this time, they didn't stop.

"Lonely Shadow of the Cold River" sent a "Royal Salute."

"Lonely Shadow of the Cold River" sent a "Royal Salute."

"Lonely Shadow of the Cold River" sent a "Royal Salute."

...

The more than four thousand viewers in the room were dumbstruck, enjoying the firework feast for nearly ten minutes.

"How much did this big brother send?"

"I lost count."

"I specifically counted; it seemed to be nearly two hundred..."

"Two hundred times 6,666 equals... how much?"

"Over a million..."

Everyone's mind went blank.

Over a million just thrown away like that?

No matter how rich someone is, they shouldn't play like this!

Just who on earth is this Lonely Shadow of the Cold River?!!

Because of Lonely Shadow of the Cold River's extravagant behavior, the popularity of Li Shuirui's livestream skyrocketed. Countless people rushed into the room upon hearing the news, and the number of online viewers quickly surpassed ten thousand!

"I'm just here to see the fireworks."

"Where is that deity?"

"Bro, do you need a leg ornament?"

...

East Sea University.

In a certain dormitory in the West District.

Jiang Chen lay on his bed, looking at his phone, wondering if he had played the part a bit too hard.

Spending millions in ten minutes—this news had already sent shockwaves through the entire Starry Sky. As word spread, Li Shuirui's livestream heat actually surged into the top one hundred and continued to climb.

This wouldn't do.

He had to retreat.

Leave after the deed is done, hiding one's identity and name.

Having directly fought his way to the number one spot on the contribution list, Jiang Chen exited the livestream and checked his "Simp Fund" balance.

A string of 9s.

Almost no change.

As expected.

Although he couldn't spend it on himself, as long as it was spent on his target, there were no issues.

Recalling Li Shuirui's bright smile just now and the sycophantic worship from the audience, Jiang Chen felt a mix of emotions.

No wonder everyone works so hard to get rich.

This feeling of throwing money around like dirt is indeed intoxicating.

————

"Big brother Lonely Shadow of the Cold River, are you still there?"

Inside the livestream room at this moment.

Everyone was greeting Lonely Shadow of the Cold River; the streamer, Li Shuirui, had actually become a mere backdrop.

However, Li Shuirui did not resent being overshadowed. Her mind was in a daze, and the grand fireworks still seemed to flicker before her eyes.

According to the Starry Sky App's 50/50 revenue split rule.

She had conservatively earned 500,000 tonight, which was equivalent to nearly three years' salary for her ordinary working-class father.

Most importantly, what she gained tonight was more than just financial wealth.

Looking at the online viewership, which had exceeded fifty thousand, Li Shuirui felt her body heating up and her breathing becoming shallow.

Previously, she was just a small streamer with a hundred thousand followers. While that was impressive at East Sea University, there were countless small influencers of her caliber across the entire Starry Sky.

But after tonight, the situation was likely to change drastically.

Her follower count was rising rapidly.

Viewers were trying to contact Lonely Shadow of the Cold River, but Li Shuirui knew he had already left.

On the fan contribution leaderboard, this sudden newcomer had taken the top spot with overwhelming, lightning-fast force, leaving everyone else in the dust.

Looking at the lonely, desolate silhouette of the straw hat in his profile picture, Li Shuirui couldn't help but feel curious.

What kind of person is this?

"ShuiruiSonya followed you."

Jiang Chen, who was scrolling through short videos, received a notification.

He wasn't surprised at all.

Even though he had made his grand exit after showing off, as long as Li Shuirui wasn't stupid, she definitely wouldn't let him go.

"Hello, thank you so much for your support today. May I ask how to address you?"

Li Shuirui took the initiative to send a private message.

The corners of Jiang Chen's mouth curled up as he replied with a domineering sentence.

"Why must we be acquaintances if we have met?"

It fit the persona.

Li Shuirui had likely never encountered someone like this.

He was willing to send her so many gifts, which suggested he must like her very much, so why was his attitude so cold?

Though it was strange, encountering such a once-in-a-lifetime big benefactor was her luck; if she let him go, she would be cursed by the heavens.

Seeing that the other side had fallen silent and hadn't replied immediately, Jiang Chen's smirk deepened.

The tables really do turn.

At school, Li Shuirui was a high and mighty goddess who didn't even spare a glance for the boys, but now, she was proactively striking up a conversation, perhaps even cautiously trying to gauge his background and personality.

He wondered what expression the school beauty would make if she knew that the "Number One Big Brother" who had gifted her immense wealth and opportunity was the very "simp" she had been trying to avoid.

"Is it convenient to add WeChat?"

Ten seconds later, ShuiruiSonya sent another message.

Looking at the chat box, Jiang Chen couldn't help but think of the scene at KIMI last night, feeling a surge of emotion.

Back then, when he had asked Li Shuirui for her contact information, how arrogant had she been?

"There is no need for now."

Seeing the reply, Li Shuirui's heart sank. Forgetting her so-called reserve, she immediately typed: "Why?"

After the message was sent, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean—there was no further response.

(End of Chapter)