Chapter 37

Chapter 37 (Part 1)

Yu He hesitated for a moment and asked Atong, “With what you are wearing... how can you do a handstand?”

Unlike other broadcasters in sportswear or yoga attire, Atong was dressed like a cheerleader at a sports meet, in a short, red and white, midriff-baring top paired with a short skirt.

Atong confidently stated, “My health bar won't be shorter than yours.”

[Private message from Brother Seven: She’s also known for her looks in the fitness section, and you are in direct competition. She’ll call for big supporters to vote for her and has an agency team to back her up. She’ll edit a video of you losing badly and put it on the homepage, giving her a competitive advantage for recommendation spots. Even if the platform eventually gives the recommendation spot to you, her fans will come after you, saying things like you don’t deserve it and that you're a loser. This is her usual tactic. You better call your big sister from the leaderboard to help, at least don’t get completely crushed.]

[Yu He: Palace

Intrigue?

]

[Private message from Brother Seven: Not everyone just plays around like you do. You two are in competition; by stepping on you, she can rise up.]

Yu He was noncommittal, thinking that since he was going to lose anyway, he might as well just do a handstand for 30 minutes.

Atong is a top broadcaster in the fitness category, with a lot of fans and strong voting power. As soon as the time came, Yu He went down to do a handstand.

Atong’s health bar kept rising, and at the seventh minute, she called Yu He back.

Atong: “I’ve reached 30,000 votes, little brother. Time for a penalty.”

Yu He took two tissues to wipe off his sweat: “What kind of penalty?”

[Chat: Ignore her. She didn’t mention the penalty for reaching 30,000 votes earlier.]

[Chat: No last-minute additions.]

[Chat: If it wasn’t stated at the beginning, shouldn’t it just be a normal game?]

Atong saw those comments and squinted her eyes, “If you feel sorry for your handsome guy, then vote for him. What’s the use of just talking? I want to add a penalty. Does he dare to refuse? If you’re capable, then vote back.”

Yu He recalled what fitness blogger Meng Shu had told him: some people will not clarify the rules at the start. They stay quiet when they have fewer votes but demand additional penalties when they have more. These situations are hard to argue, and as the party with fewer votes, if you consistently argue at the beginning, you will lose popularity with the audience.

Most people would silently accept this injustice.

Although Yu He was aware of this, the broadcasters he had connected with previously were all amiable, so he had forgotten about this possibility.

He didn’t want to argue with a girl, so he said, “You can add penalties, but since you didn’t mention it earlier, state all of them at once now.”

Atong said, “First, hold a can of Red Bull, 50,000 votes for a one-handed handstand, 100,000 votes for a one-handed handstand holding a Red Bull.”

The audience started cursing in the chat:

[Chat: Is this woman crazy? Can she do a one-handed handstand?]

[Chat: A one-handed handstand holding a Red Bull? Even Newton would say that’s impossible.]

[Chat: Be a human being, has this lady never won before?]

Atong, who was already known for her controversial fame, immediately started arguing back: “I haven’t just never won, I’ve never lost. My fans care about me. If you care about your guy, go vote for him. Talking here is useless. Get your broadcaster 100,000 votes, and I’ll show you a one-handed handstand holding a Red Bull.”

Yu He comforted her, saying, “It’s okay, I can do it.”

He took out two cans of Red Bull, placed his hands on them, and flipped onto the wall.

When doing a handstand, almost all of the body’s weight presses down on the palms. After a while, the wrists start to ache. With the cans of Red Bull underneath, the force is concentrated around the rim of the can, which is extremely painful.

The edge of the can was pressing against the bones in his palms, almost embedding into his flesh.

Just a few seconds into the handstand, Yu He cursed in his mind.

Damn, I’ve been tricked.

It's utterly impossible to stand upside down with a Red Bull can as support; this defies logic.

Yu He’s palms and arms were trembling, causing the Red Bull can to shake uncontrollably.

From the cellphone, Ding Tong’s laughter rang out: “Don’t let your hands shake. If it falls, the time won’t count, you know.”

The barrage of comments was full of questions, asking why it wouldn't count.

Ding Tong crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair: “If I say it doesn’t count, then it doesn’t. Who made me have more votes?”

Yu He’s fans couldn’t bear to see him suffer, flooding him with gifts. In a matter of seconds, Yu He’s health bar surpassed Ding Tong’s.

Yu He was facing the wall and couldn’t see the screen.

Usually, at this time, the other live streamer would actively call for the penalty to be taken back, but Ding Tong acted as if she didn’t see anything and continued to boast and show off in her live stream room.

The barrage went wild, urging Yu He to come back. Yu He genuinely couldn’t see, while Ding Tong was pretending not to see.

She wanted to seize the opportunity while Yu He was oblivious to call on her big brothers and sisters to take back the votes.

Ding Tong said: “Our fans, keep those scattered votes coming, don’t leave it all to the big brothers and sisters to vote.”

Ding Tong commented: “Who on earth does a handstand during a PK challenge? It’s embarrassing.”

Ding Tong added: “If he keeps doing a handstand for much longer, he’s not going to throw up again, is he? Opposing live streamer, are you feeling okay?”

Yu He was already dizzy, and with the female live streamer incessantly talking, he genuinely felt nauseous, and suddenly fell down from the wall.

He fell heavily, with the Red Bull can rolling and hitting the wall, producing a crisp sound.

If it weren’t for Yu He using his arm to support himself in time, his neck might have been seriously injured.

Lying on the ground, Yu He took a moment to recover; the imprints of the Red Bull can were embedded in the flesh of his palms, first turning white and then gradually turning red as blood flowed back.

“Don’t play dead,” the female live streamer’s voice came from the phone, “Get up and control your fans. There was a lag just now, and I didn’t see that your health bar was high; they came over and cursed at me. What kind of manners are those?”

Earning money is indeed not easy.

Yu He turned over and sat up, only to see Fu Yunzheng’s wheelchair parked at the doorway.

His face was deathly pale, yet his lips were as red as if they were about to bleed, lifting his eyes to Fu Yunzheng for a moment with a breathtakingly poignant beauty.

Fu Yunzheng came over after hearing the sound of Yu He falling. Knowing that Yu He was live streaming, he didn’t rashly enter the room and asked in a low voice, “Are you alright?”

Yu He shook his head: “I’m fine, just took a little tumble by accident.”

Fu Yunzheng observed, “You don’t look very well.”

Yu He, leaning on the door frame, assured him: “I’m really okay. I’ll come to find you in the study in a bit.”

Fu Yunzheng nodded and watched Yu He return to the screen before he wheeled himself back to the study.

Back at the screen, the barrage was flying so fast that Yu He could barely catch a glimpse. It was only when he saw a private message from Brother Qi that he realized what had just happened.

The female live streamer on the other side was still making excuses.

Yu He addressed her, “Now that my health bar is high again, can you see it?”

Ding Tong hesitated: “Wait a moment, my screen is frozen.”

The rule was ‘first 2, last 3’, meaning no penalties for the first two minutes and the last three minutes. Now, with less than a minute left of the penalty, everyone could see she was trying to stall until the final minute of the penalty was over.

“I see it, I see it,” Ding Tong slowly stood up, adjusting her skirt: “I’m going to change into pants.”

Yu He: “......”

What could Yu He say? Tell her not to change?

By the time Ding Tong came back after changing her pants, the penalty time was already over.

[Barrage: This big sister always half-asses her penalties.]

[Barrage: She’s not doing anything at all? Just bullying the new streamer like this?]

[Barrage: I can’t believe it, she calls herself the fitness queen of this area? Truly disgusting.]

The barrage was filled with negativity for a moment, and Yu He tried to calm his audience: “Let’s just let it go, and thanks to all the bosses for voting for me. Don’t be angry.”

Yu He read out the IDs of those who sent gifts to express his gratitude. The audience was almost driven mad by the female live streamer’s crafty tricks, frantically sending Yu He gifts. However, Ding Tong had even more viewers in her live stream, and they all spoke up for her, saying how a girl in a short skirt couldn’t be expected to stand upside down, accusing Yu He and his fans of being unreasonable.

The fans from both sides started clashing, and the barrage flew by even faster, boosting the topic trend of the live stream room and quickly raising it to a hot live stream room.

The PK session entered its countdown, and in the final second, a gift special effect appeared in Ding Tong's live room, causing her health bar to surge ahead instantaneously.

This gift came from Ding Tong's live streaming company, a sneaky move to ensure her victory in the last moment.

Eventually, the cost of the gift would be deducted from Ding Tong's earnings, leaving her with a solemn expression. She had no other choice but to rely on her company to win this round. Unexpectedly, Yu He, this newly debuted streamer with a peak online viewer count of just over three thousand, had managed to gather such an impressive amount of gifts.

Winning by such underhanded tactics wasn’t something to be proud of, especially given the brutal and bloody nature of this round. However, a win was a win for Ding Tong, and she opened her public microphone with a triumphant air, disregarding the barrage of insults directed at her.

With a sidelong glance at the screen, Ding Tong sneered, “Yes, I snuck the win. But he couldn’t beat me in the game either. Who was the one hanging back the entire round? Oh, you say I delayed time by changing my clothes? Well, I could say he faked his fall. A grown man, and he falls after just a few minutes of handstanding? I didn’t fall, and yet he can’t take it.”

Her smug demeanor thoroughly infuriated Yu He’s fans, and even passing viewers couldn’t stand to watch any longer.

Yu He couldn’t help but laugh in frustration. He nodded, “Right, I can’t take it. I knew there was a handstand penalty and still wore a skirt. Then, when it was my turn for the punishment, I spent a whole minute looking for pants. How could I possibly compete with that? I’m also selectively blind, unable to see when I’m behind in votes.”

Ding Tong, acting as if she couldn’t hear Yu He’s sarcasm, bowed her head and sent a WeChat message to her top supporter, complaining that she was being bullied.

The top supporter’s ID was “Past with the Wind.”

[Tong Bao: Brother Past, someone is bullying me, making me do a handstand in a short skirt, wuu wuu wuu.]

[Past with the Wind: Bro will throw in a hundred thousand to beat him for you.]

A hundred thousand is equivalent to a million votes, practically ensuring victory. In the first round, the combined votes for both of them didn’t even reach a hundred thousand.

With newfound confidence, Ding Tong flicked her hair, stood up from her chair, and said to Yu He, “Best two out of three, and I won’t let you win a single round, brother.”

Yu He, now fiery with determination, raised an eyebrow, “And what if I do win?”

Ding Tong: “If you win, I’ll do the punishment from the last round for you.”

Yu He: “I don’t need you to do the punishment. If you lose, you apologize to my bosses. They used their hard-earned money to vote, and I can let go of you making excuses to avoid the punishment. But my bosses’ money can’t be wasted like that.”

Ding Tong scornfully replied, “I don’t mean to look down on you, but there’s no way you can win this round.”

Even if Yu He could somehow win, a verbal apology was hardly a punishment for someone as slick as Ding Tong.

With her mastery of acting triumphant in victory and pitiful in defeat, and with the support of both her top supporter and her company’s voting backup, Ding Tong was confident she couldn’t lose this round.

Ding Tong didn’t believe Yu He had the backing of a company, but the extent of her own company’s support depended on her wishes. For example, in the last round, the company sent a gift worth three thousand yuan in the last second. Ding Tong would receive one thousand five hundred yuan from it, and the remaining one thousand five hundred yuan would come out of her own pocket.

Winning or losing was a matter of face, but Ding Tong was in the live streaming business for the money. She wasn’t about to spend tens of thousands of her own money for a victory. For instance, in the next round, her top supporter had already reserved a hundred thousand yuan worth of gifts. If Yu He’s votes could still surpass hers, it would mean that a hundred thousand wasn’t enough.

But even if she loses, Ding Tong is guaranteed to earn 50,000.

Making so much money, even if she has to make amends for the previous round's punishment to Yu He, it's still worth it for Ding Tong. Besides, all Yu He wants is an apology.

This big, foolish broadcaster.

Confident in her plan, Ding Tong especially enjoys battling it out in PK with male fitness broadcasters, as they can't really punish her harshly. Now, with the support of the number one contributor, "Past with the Wind," Ding Tong feels her confidence restored. The match has just started, and her health bar has already surged to 60,000.

The opponent comes on strong, exuding an imposing aura, scaring away many casual fans at first sight of this showdown.

The fan badge of "Past with the Wind," the number one contributor, shines brightly in the live room. Ding Tong, abandoning the older sister persona, speaks in a sweet and coquettish voice: "Big Brother Past has finally arrived. Last round, I was beaten so badly; I was almost forced to stand on my head in a skirt."

Yu He rolls his eyes, twists open a bottle of mineral water, turns around to take off his mask and takes a sip, all the while adjusting his headset.

When he turns back, the barrage in his live room has gone wild.

Yu He glances at the barrage, blinks, and then checks his health bar.

On the screen, Ding Tong's blue health bar of 60,000 only takes up less than a tenth of the total, while Yu He's red health bar is almost completely overshadowing the blue.

Below Yu He's health bar, the number reads 670,861, and it continues to rise.

Yu He frowns, asking uncertainly: "Is there a bug in the live room?"

[Barrage: !!!!!!!! No! !!!!!!!! Just now, a god-like rich fan suddenly appeared, dropping 20 ‘Bean Sprout No.1s’!!!]

One ‘Bean Sprout No.1’ is worth three thousand yuan, and twenty amounts to sixty thousand yuan, which converts to 600,000 votes in terms of the health bar.

Who has so much money?

Yu He opens the donation list. Sixty thousand in gifts is a lot for one round, and he quickly finds it.

Yu He reads out subconsciously: "Thanks to the little boss Pan Anni for the 20 ‘Bean Sprout No.1s’."

He always remembers Sean's advice to call the customers "boss."

Yu He searches for Pan Anni’s Douyin account on his phone. She seems to be a white-collar worker. Her most recent post is a short video of being stuck in traffic inside a car, with the caption: "Going to be late for work again."

[Qi Ge Private Message: OMG OMG OMG, another rich woman is gifting you! Hurry up and chat with her; don’t let her leave!!!]

Just at this moment, a flurry of gift effects lit up in An Tong's live broadcast room, and "Memories with the Wind" sent over 20 Bean Sprout No.1s.

An Tong heaved a sigh of relief; she was actually quite afraid that a rich tycoon might suddenly appear in the opposing live broadcast room, especially one with an unfamiliar ID, not seeming like someone who usually hung out in the fitness channel.

[An Tong’s room admin private messaged An Tong: "Your PK is heating up really fast, and you’ve already left the channel. It’s now featured on the homepage's hot recommendations. You need to win this round even if it means paying out of your pocket. Don’t be stingy."]

An Tong didn’t want to spend her own money to compete against Yu He, so she quickly mobilized her fans in the live broadcast room: "Family, let’s crowdfund this. Don’t let the big brothers and sisters shoulder all the tickets alone. Our home has fighting spirit. I, An Tong, have been live streaming for so long and it’s never just relied on the big brothers and sisters. The other side only has one person. Let’s push down their health bar and show them the strength of Tong Bao’s family.”

However, Yu He said, "Thank you so much to all the little bosses. Please, only give within your means. I can take on any punishment."

[Barrage: "What can you even do? You're pale as a ghost."]

[Barrage: "I've disliked that woman for a long time now. She's famous for bullying new streamers. Last time, she made a female streamer kneel until her legs were bruised."]

[Barrage: "An Tong is such an idiot when it comes to punishments. She can't do them, and then she just cries."]

[System Broadcast: "Miao Le Ge Mi sent 100 Bean Sprouts, Zhang Shi Mo Qi sent 5 Red Roses, lanyy sent 1 Jewelry Box, Liu Liu Liu Liu Ye sent 6 Space Shuttles, and Meng Meng is Yu He's Husband sent 1 Maserati."]

As we approach punishment time, fans from both sides are frantically sending gifts, and the gift notifications are coming in faster than Yu He can read them.

"Thank you to Jia Er for the Jewelry Box, thank you to Invincible Shi Qian for the Roses, thank you to Yu He..." Yu He paused, then read out the ID: "Thank you to Yu He's Wife 001 for the Airplane. My lords, please spare me and stop changing to these bizarre IDs; I’m already taken.”

[Barrage: "!!!!!!!!Who is it!!!!!!!!Who stole my wife!!!"]

[Barrage: "Right, he's already taken. By me."]

[Barrage: "Right, he's already taken. By me."]

[Barrage: "Right, he's already taken. By me."]

[Barrage: "Right, he's already taken. By me."]

Yu He: “......”

Although the live broadcast room was very lively, the number of viewers in Yu He's live broadcast room still couldn’t compare to An Tong's. Seeing a tycoon appear in Yu He's live broadcast room, An Tong quickly contacted other big brothers and sisters via WeChat for help.

The red and blue health bars were constantly changing, and as punishment time arrived, a surge of gifts exploded in An Tong’s live broadcast room.

Instantly widening the score gap.

An Tong: 1209712, Yu He: 838397.

Such a score is typically only seen among top-tier streamers, where a single round can rake in hundreds of thousands of yuan. An Tong’s brazen attitude isn’t without reason.

An Tong began to laugh triumphantly. First, she clapped her hands, and then she pointed at Yu He, "Ever seen a seven-figure gift? Well, I’m the top streamer in the fitness section. Just hang in there, loser.”

Yu He, accepting his defeat gracefully, stood up.

Just at this moment, the interface of Yu He's live broadcast room froze for half a second.

Yu He thought it was a problem with the internet connection and clicked to reconnect using a backup WIFI.

The next second.

[System Broadcast: Pan An Ni sent 100 Bean Sprout No.1s.]

Yu He: 30858324, An Tong: 1233972.

[Barrage: “!!!”]

[Pan An Ni: "Ask her if she's ever seen an eight-figure gift."]

The barrage was scrolling so fast that even though Pan An Ni rocketed to the top of Yu He's donation leaderboard, her golden comment quickly disappeared, and barely anyone managed to read her words.

However, no one needed to read it clearly, because Pan An Ni’s gifts were already flooding Yu He's live broadcast room.

[System Broadcast: Pan An Ni sent 100 Bean Sprout No.1s.]

[System Broadcast: Pan An Ni sent 100 Bean Sprout No.1s.]

[System Broadcast: Pan An Ni sent 100 Bean Sprout No.1s.]

[System Broadcast: Pan An Ni sent 100 Bean Sprout No.1s.]

[System Broadcast: Pan An Ni sent 100 Bean Sprout No.1s.]

An Tong’s blue health bar was suddenly cornered.

An Tong’s face turned extremely ugly. She tightly pressed her lips together, staring incredulously at the health bar, counting the digits of Yu He's score several times.

[System Broadcast: Congratulations to user Pan An Ni for becoming the top contributor in broadcaster Yu He's live broadcast room.]

As a perk for being top on the list, Pan An Ni's previous barrage message earned the privilege of being pinned for 10 seconds.

[Pan An Ni [Top Donor]: "Ask her if she's ever seen an eight-figure donation."]

There couldn’t be a more satisfying slap in the face. Yu He’s fans went wild, flooding An Tong's live broadcast room, spamming the barrage.

[Barrage: "Have you ever seen an eight-figure donation?"]

[Barrage: "Have you ever seen an eight-figure donation?"]

[Barrage: "Have you ever seen an eight-figure donation?"]

[Barrage: "Loser."]

[Barrage: "Loser."]

[Barrage: "Loser."]

Yu He finally came back to his senses, looked at An Tong who was still dumbfounded in front, and coldly said, “Can you take your punishment at the back now, Sister Tong?”