111: Nightmare

"Second son! Are you okay? Huh? Where are you right now?" On the other end of the phone, Liu Jianfen spoke very quickly.

"I'm fine?" Yu Heng squinted slightly, then asked, "What's wrong, Mom? What happened this early in the morning?"

"I dreamed you got into a car accident!" Liu Jianfen said, her voice trembling with lingering fear. "It scared me to death! The dream was strange; I don't know where you got a car, but I dreamed you were driving and a truck rear-ended you—bang—just like that... Are you really okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

So it was just a dream, but did the dream actually align with reality?

Yu Heng softened his voice further: "Don't worry, Mom, I'm really fine. Dreams mean the opposite."

"That's good..." Liu Jianfen muttered on the other end of the line. "Be extremely careful at school! Watch out for cars when you walk, and don't play with your phone when crossing the road! Eat on time, don't skip meals! And get back to the dorm early at night, don't wander around outside! You absolutely cannot let anything happen to you again. If you were to... how would your mother live!"

By the last sentence, Liu Jianfen's voice was tinged with suppressed sobs.

Yu Heng listened, remaining silent.

"I know, Mom. I'm an adult now; I can take care of myself." Yu Heng's tone became serious. "Don't scare yourself, and make sure you take good care of yourself too!"

"I know, you don't need to worry about me, Mom. Just be well at school," Liu Jianfen's voice returned to normal. "But what's going on with you and Yue Ling?"

"What do you mean, 'what's going on'?" Yu Heng asked.

"Are you two dating or not?" Liu Jianfen paused, then added, "I also had a dream a couple of days ago that you got married. I couldn't clearly see the wife's face, but I knew it wasn't Yue Ling..."

"Oh, Mom, don't worry about things like that, I know what I'm doing!"

"Alright, if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up. You take care!"

After hanging up, Yu Heng stood on the balcony for a while, still holding his phone.

These dreams seem to have matched reality?

He looked up at the hazy sky in the distance and suddenly thought of his mother from his previous life.

Did he transmigrate, or did the world rewind?

He dared not think about how two widows raising one child would live if there was another timeline.

And He Mengyao, how would she feel if she knew he died?

He seemed unable to confirm these questions; he could only try his best not to have any regrets in this life.

---

The group walked back from the Villa District. Yu Heng watched the girls ahead and pursed his lips.

Wang Luyu was turning her head to talk to Zhou Mengqi beside her. One girl was pure and straightforward, the other graceful and charming.

The former had studied Folk Dance; her figure was lithe and her voice was soft, but not the kind of deliberate, affected sweetness.

As for the latter, he had heard Zhou Mengqi's ASMR audition, and it was quite good. Plus, she was open-minded. When signing the contract last week, he mentioned that "the content scope can be slightly broader," and she immediately nodded.

Last week, he obtained a license and then signed these two under an annual guaranteed salary model: thirty thousand yuan a year.

University students aren't that pragmatic yet, so this amount is very cost-effective. If he had sought recruits socially, the cost would have at least doubled.

"President."

Chen Yuqiang approached Yu Heng at some point, lowering his voice: "President! I heard Wang Luyu and Zhou Mengqi signed contracts? Is there an annual guarantee? Is it thirty thousand yuan a year?"

"Yes, the annual guarantee is thirty thousand. They must Stream for at least four hours daily, five days a week," Yu Heng said. "However, they don't get the thirty thousand all at once. Three thousand is the prepayment, only 10% of the annual guarantee. The rest will be discussed after they have Streamed for a full year."

"What does 'guarantee' mean?" Chen Yuqiang asked again.

"The guarantee is the minimum assurance. It ensures that, provided you complete your Streaming tasks, you will earn at least this much money for the year."

"That's great," Chen Yuqiang swallowed. "What if they don't Stream well? They still get thirty thousand?"

"A guarantee is a guarantee. If they don't Stream well, they still get the money. However, if the revenue exceeds the guaranteed revenue, the earnings are calculated based on commission. The base commission is 35%, and the maximum is 45%. This means if you Stream enough to generate over eighty thousand in revenue for the year, you'll earn more than thirty thousand. If you don't, you only get thirty thousand."

So, while it's a thirty thousand annual guarantee, in reality, it's equivalent to spending nothing. As long as they Stream enough to generate eighty thousand in revenue, even the three thousand prepayment is money taken from their own earnings.

With their quality, if they can't generate eighty thousand in revenue after a year of Streaming, then this industry has no future.

"I understand! Then, President..." Chen Yuqiang rubbed his hands together. "Do you think I can sign a contract?"

"What kind of content do you want to Stream?" Yu Heng asked.

"I'm decent at gaming," Chen Yuqiang said, "and I can sing a little."

"The competition in those areas is too fierce." Yu Heng shook his head. "Change your niche."

"What niche?"

"The Cross-dressing Section."

Yu Heng scrutinized him. Chen Yuqiang had a delicate face and could do voice impersonations.

If he put on a wig and some makeup, it would truly be hard to distinguish if he were male or female.

He wouldn't be any worse than Kaixin Yuanyuan.

Chen Yuqiang froze for two seconds, his face instantly turning red: "President, are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding." Yu Heng's expression was serious. "This niche has great potential. You know Xuanmo Baobao, right? If not, go check him out; he makes a lot of money."

The image of himself wearing women's clothes flashed through Chen Yuqiang's mind, and his eyebrows furrowed together: "I... I'll think about it."

"Okay." Yu Heng smiled. "Come find me when you've decided."

Hao Junran, walking behind, heard their conversation, came closer, and said to Chen Yuqiang, "You're going to wear women's clothes? Awesome! I'll definitely send you gifts then!"

"Get lost!" Chen Yuqiang pushed him away.

Liu Tianqi also joined the fun: "What does a cross-dresser look like? I'm actually a little curious."

"You've seen Wang Shuo, right?" Hou Xudong said from the side. "Just put on a wig and a skirt."

"Holy crap," Liu Tianqi gasped, "Isn't that just like a girl!"

"That's why there's a market!" Yu Heng chuckled. "Once someone is pretty enough, people don't care about gender that much. After all, Streaming is just for watching, not for actual interaction."

"Don't mention it, I just searched for that Xuanmo Baobao, and he's actually pretty good, huh? And seems quite popular?" Hao Junran said, looking at his phone.

The boys were laughing and goofing around together.

Qin Ya walked next to Qin Lu. Hearing Yu Heng's conversation with the boys, she pouted.

"Mom," Qin Ya whispered, "Look at my brother, he sounds like someone running a pyramid scheme."

"Don't talk nonsense." Qin Lu frowned.

"It's true!" Qin Ya raised an eyebrow. "Who tries to trick men into cross-dressing!"

Qin Lu pursed her lips and said nothing more.

She genuinely didn't know much about Streaming before.

Since Qin Ya started Streaming, she had sought out and watched some Streamers.

How to put it—some of the content boundaries made her feel quite embarrassed.

But she understood that this kind of situation was normal in the general entertainment industry.

Moreover, influenced by Yu Heng, her tolerance level had increased significantly.

When they reached the school gate, Yu Heng stopped and turned to face everyone.

"We'll stop here for today," Yu Heng said. "Go back and rest well, and remember to continue actively participating in club activities!"