156: The play is more important than anything - Part 2 (Bonus Chapter)

A faint air of awkwardness filled the room.

After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Ye decided to pick up the conversation—after all, it concerned his great cashback undertaking.

He feigned curiosity and asked, "I heard that in your Hall Battles and PKs, every streamer has a task, right? If you don't complete it... is there any punishment?"

Seeing him finally respond, Su Ning quickly seized the opportunity. "Mhm, there is. But punishments are a small matter; as long as it's just me being punished, I can handle it."

She paused, her tone turning worried. "I'm just afraid... that because I'm not good enough and lack the strength, I'll make my husband lose face in the hall and in front of the other big Brothers... I would really be sad to death then."

"Oh, haha, you're quite a good person, always thinking of your husband."

Jiang Ye snorted inwardly and followed her lead, asking, "So what's your task this time? It sounds like there's quite a bit of pressure."

"!!!"

Su Ning was instantly overjoyed.

As expected, spending time together offline was the way to go!

Her strategy of insisting on not exposing his identity was simply brilliant; otherwise, when would she have the chance to drop hints so subtly?

She gave a long sigh, her brow furrowing slightly as if she were carrying a massive burden.

"The official task is 10,000, but the Hall Manager Sister told me privately that she hopes I can reach over 50,000..."

"50,000 sound waves? That much? That's 5,000 yuan; your husband is really willing to spend money on you."

"It's not 50,000 sound waves, Brother. It's 50,000... yuan."

"Holy crap! 50,000 yuan?!"

Jiang Ye cooperatively sucked in a breath of cold air. "That's 500,000 sound waves! So high? This task is way too terrifying!"

"..."

Looking at his exaggerated acting, Su Ning rolled her eyes internally, but her face remained soft and weak, a picture of vulnerability.

"Sigh, yeah... That's why I haven't dared to tell him directly yet, fearing I'll put too much pressure on him... He's already good enough to me normally; I don't want him to think I'm just a burden who only wants money... Sigh..."

"..."

A vein throbbed on Jiang Ye's temple. "Didn't I hear you say yesterday at dinner that you've never met? He's never even seen you in person, yet he's willing to gift you that much?"

Su Ning nodded, her eyes becoming somewhat dazed as if lost in a beautiful memory.

"Mhm, although we've never met, we are soulmates; it's a connection of the heart. He understands me, and I understand him."

As she spoke, a faint, happy blush rose to her cheeks, and her voice was soft yet firm.

"Just like now, even though I can't see him, I can feel him, as if he's right by my side, silently watching over me, protecting me..."

Jiang Ye: "..."

Seeing the shy and sweet look on Su Ning's face, Jiang Ye's fists clenched.

"Then you're quite impressive, Little Su. Even without meeting, he's willing to spend so much money on you; you must have done something right."

Su Ning chuckled and shook her head, her gaze "affectionately" drifting into the void, her tone incredibly sincere.

"It was never me who was impressive, but him, as dazzling as the sun and as deep as the ocean. He lit up my world and gave me the courage to persevere."

Jiang Ye: "..."

What the actual f*ck!

Can someone please do something?! I really want to hit her!!!

Su Ning stole a glance at Jiang Ye's expression, which looked like it was about to snap. Her heart skipped a beat, realizing she might have overacted, so she quickly pulled the conversation back.

"By the way, Brother, you've met my husband too. Do you think... based on your understanding of him, since he's been so busy lately, will he... come to help me in this Hall Battle?"

Jiang Ye really couldn't stand this roundabout conversation anymore. He rolled his eyes, stood up, and shouted toward Lin Wanxing's room.

"Wanxing! Come out and order takeout! What do you want for dinner?"

Only then did he look down at the expectant Su Ning and say nonchalantly:

"Who knows. To put it bluntly, it just depends on whether he thinks it's worth it. If he does, he'll naturally come; if not, or if there's something more worth his money, then he might not."

He paused and gave a meaningful smile. "And besides, in an online relationship like yours, if you want it to last, both parties definitely need to contribute. If only one side keeps giving blindly, over time, even the warmest heart will grow cold, and even the thickest wallet will empty. Right?"

Hearing Lin Wanxing respond with "Coming!" from her room, Su Ning knew their private time was ending. She quickly sped up her speech to ask the most crucial question.

"Then, Brother, from a man's perspective, how do you think I should contribute in an online relationship like ours to make him feel it's 'worth it'?"

"How should I know how you two interacted before?"

Jiang Ye looked at her eager face and grinned. "But I think, since your previous methods could get him to gift you so much, it means they were effective. Maybe... you don't need to change anything on purpose. Just do what you did before to make him happy all over again? Maybe that'll work?"

Su Ning was slightly taken aback and fell into thought.

Her previous methods?

Before, it was nothing more than sending gifts, occasionally sending fanservice photos, or having voice calls... Brother Ye was indeed a "reciprocal" big Brother, but now that they were living together, would those things still work?

Or... was he actually into that?

While her mind was racing, Lin Wanxing walked out of her room. "What are you two chatting about? So engrossed?"

Jiang Ye chuckled. "We're talking about Little Su's 'big Brother,' checking in on the progress of her online romance."

Lin Wanxing gave an "oh" and naturally followed up, "Right, Little Su, how's that little puppy you've got wrapped around your finger? Are you still leaving him out in the cold?"

"...?"

Jiang Ye immediately raised an eyebrow, looking at Su Ning playfully.

A little puppy wrapped around her finger?

Oh ho? There's even a drama of badmouthing the financial backer behind his back?

"Sister Wanxing!"

Su Ning panicked and jumped up to interrupt her. "What are you saying! What little puppy! He's my best, best, best husband! The best man in the world! You're not allowed to say that about him! And you're definitely not allowed to slander our relationship!"

Lin Wanxing was stunned by her intense reaction and tilted her head.

"Didn't you say before that he was being manipulated by you... Alright, alright, fine. If you don't like hearing it, I won't say it."

Seeing that Su Ning didn't want to elaborate, she timely changed the subject. "What are we having for dinner? I'm a bit hungry."

Jiang Ye smiled and glanced meaningfully at Su Ning. "Anything is fine! I'm in a good mood today, so... why don't I treat you guys?!"

Hearing the man's drawn-out tone and seeing his deep gaze, Su Ning was momentarily stunned before a sudden realization struck her.

This was "Brother Ye" creating an opportunity for her to "perform" and "contribute"!

Gifting online is contributing, and treating to dinner offline is also contributing!

He just said "both parties need to contribute"!

She immediately raised her hand. "My treat, my treat! It has to be my treat today! Brother, Sister Wanxing, whatever you want to eat, just order it! Don't be polite with me! To celebrate... whatever! Anyway, it must be my treat!"

"Tsk, so proactive? Alright then, it's your treat."

Seeing Su Ning's instant realization and proactive response, Jiang Ye squinted his eyes in satisfaction. The 26,000 points deducted earlier because of that "little puppy" comment were now offset by 3 points.