22: Chapter 22 Villa Live Stream

That evening, Ling Jing started her livestream from Chen Mo's duplex villa.

She had been a streamer for a while before, but unfortunately, streaming from the dorm was inconvenient, and her popularity remained lukewarm. This time, she was picking up her old trade.

Fortunately, the streaming equipment was already prepared, and the Tianxing Live APP was well-optimized. Even using an ordinary phone wasn't laggy. The smartphone and laptop her family bought her were completely sufficient.

But there were too many streamers on Tianxing Live—singing, dancing, chatting, all sorts of things. Her talents weren't top-tier, and with the platform's built-in beauty filter (Chen Mo had deliberately toned down the effect, fearing a 'Grandma Qiao' style disaster), her looks no longer gave her an absolute advantage.

To break through the crowd, she needed to do something different.

Entering Chen Mo's duplex villa, valued at hundreds of millions, Ling Jing immediately had an idea.

The duplex villa itself was the best content for the livestream!

She set a title:

"Streaming from my relative's hundred-million-dollar duplex villa, letting you see the life of the rich!"

As soon as she went online, the number of viewers in the stream room shot up as if on a rocket. In ten minutes, it surpassed one thousand, and she even got recommended by the platform.

It should be known that the viewer counts on Tianxing Live were real-time, genuine data, not inflated. A stable audience of one thousand viewers was more than enough to support herself.

"Wow! Your relative's place is too luxurious!"

"This living room is bigger than my whole house!"

"Is it really worth a hundred million? Streamer, you aren't bragging, are you?"

"Want to see the bedroom! Want to see the kitchen! Want to see the bathroom!"

"Where is this duplex villa located?"

The bullet comments scrolled by rapidly. Ling Jing was ecstatic inside. Holding her phone, she walked around while broadcasting, giving the audience a tour of the duplex villa.

She deliberately avoided filming the Huangpu River view and the Oriental Pearl Tower outside, fearing her location would be recognized, and only filmed the interior decoration.

The simple yet grand furniture, the sparkling crystal chandeliers, the spacious corridors—every spot drew gasps of amazement.

Meanwhile, Nalan Ruoshui was restless.

She truly felt embarrassed to live in such a luxurious place for free, especially since she wasn't that close to Ling Jing or Chen Mo—at most, they were mere acquaintances. Staying for two months felt like taking too much advantage.

After much thought, she decided to find Chen Mo and tell him she wanted to move out.

She found Chen Mo in the study on the third floor. The study was spacious and bright, with bookshelves full of books. Chen Mo was facing the computer, looking at documents.

"Cousin Chen Mo, sorry to bother you."

Nalan Ruoshui stood at the doorway, looking somewhat awkward.

"I wanted to tell you, I think I should move out. It’s too much trouble for you to have me staying here all the time."

Chen Mo looked up at her. The girl was dressed casually, her face showing a hint of fatigue, but it couldn't hide her delicate features. Her looks were in no way inferior to Ling Jing's.

He recalled the story he heard from Ling Jing in his previous life: Nalan Ruoshui had a hard life, her mother was seriously ill, and she had been working part-time to support herself. Later, she developed a terminal illness. He couldn't help but feel a touch of sympathy.

More importantly, he remembered that Nalan Ruoshui was a talented manga artist, exactly what he needed to help with his anime IP development.

"Are you planning to work part-time to earn money during the summer vacation?"

Chen Mo asked.

Nalan Ruoshui nodded:

"Yes, I want to find a job at a mall to earn some tuition and living expenses."

"Then I'll give you a job. The compensation is much better than part-time work. Do you want to try it?"

Chen Mo pointed to the computer screen.

"Drawing manga."

"Drawing manga?"

Nalan Ruoshui froze. She studied fine arts, so she could draw, and had even done freelance work, but the income was too low.

"But I don't draw particularly well..."

"It doesn't need to be exquisite. What I need is a sense of style for the characters and scenes."

Chen Mo opened the novel page for 'battle through the heavens'.

"Read this novel completely, then draw concept art for the characters, marking their personalities and styles. Also, draw the important scenes. A character drawing is 600 yuan, and a scene drawing is 1600 yuan. How about that?"

Nalan Ruoshui's eyes widened in shock:

"600 yuan per drawing? That's too high!"

When she did freelance work, a drawing earned her less than a hundred yuan at most. The price Chen Mo offered was practically the top salary in the industry.

"The price is what I say it is, as long as you meet my requirements."

Chen Mo's tone was flat.

"You must read the novel seriously and capture the essence of the characters. The money I can make from turning these drawings into an anime will be much more than this, so it's not a loss."

What he needed was Nalan Ruoshui's creativity and inspiration. With his god-level art skills, subsequent optimization wouldn't be difficult; what he lacked now was the initial foundational design.

"But..."

Nalan Ruoshui still hesitated, feeling undeserving.

"No buts. Don't you need money right now?"

Chen Mo interrupted her.

"The hours for this job are flexible, it won't interfere with you finding other work later, and the money you earn will be enough to cover your household expenses."

Nalan Ruoshui bit her lip and finally nodded:

"Then... alright, I promise I will draw them well."

She really needed money too much; she still needed to save up for her mother's medical bills. Since Chen Mo lived in such a nice place, he wouldn't trick her out of this little bit of money.

Chen Mo took out a thick stack of cash from the drawer and handed it to her:

"This is a 20,000 yuan advance payment. Take it to use first. If it's not enough, tell me."

Nalan Ruoshui took the cash. The thick stack felt heavy in her hand. She felt moved and nervous at the same time, quickly saying:

"Thank you, Cousin Chen Mo. I will submit the drafts as soon as possible!"

On the livestream side, Ling Jing's popularity continued to rise, and gifts kept pouring in.

"Thank you, 'Seventeenth Elder Sister,' for the Critical Hit Magic Box! Wishing Sister a big win!"

"Thank you, 'Brother Waiting for Wind,' for the Lavender Manor!"

"Thank you, 'Brother Quiet,' for 'A Deer With You'!"

"Wow, thank you, 'Sister Tong,' for 'Summer Heartbeat'!"

"Wow, thank you, 'Brother Commoner,' for 'Walking the Flower Road With You'!"

Ling Jing verbally expressed her thanks, but she was already blooming with joy inside.

After the livestream ended, she immediately turned off the camera and bounced excitedly on the spot:

"Yay! I'm going to be famous!"

She checked the backend. Tonight, she earned 4800 Star Coins, which converted to 4800 yuan in cash. After deducting the platform's share and the guild's commission, she took home 1920 yuan—equivalent to half a month's income before!

Although she knew this was traffic revenue brought by the duplex villa and the popularity might drop later, she already had over ten thousand followers now, enough to support herself.

She couldn't wait to share her joy with Nalan Ruoshui and explain to her best friend why she insisted on staying there.

But when she pushed open Nalan Ruoshui's door, Ling Jing froze on the spot.

Nalan Ruoshui was leaning on the bed, holding a laptop and seriously reading the novel. On the desk sat a thick stack of cash, estimated to be at least ten thousand yuan.

"What... what is going on?"

Ling Jing was stunned, and a thought immediately flashed through her mind:

Did Nalan Ruoshui hook up with Chen Mo?

She worried that her best friend wouldn't forgive her, but it turned out the other person had already snagged the wealthy relative and earned more money than her!

Ling Jing, who had just felt that 1920 yuan was a lot, instantly felt the money in her hand wasn't so appealing. She felt sour, bitter, and a little wronged.

Nalan Ruoshui saw her and quickly closed the laptop, explaining:

"Jing Jing, you're back? This money was given to me by Cousin Chen Mo. He asked me to draw manga for him; this is the advance payment."

"Draw manga?"

Ling Jing frowned.

"Why would he suddenly ask you to draw manga? And give you so much money?"

"Cousin Chen Mo said he wants to make an anime and needs someone to draw the characters and scenes based on the novel. He thinks I can do it."

Nalan Ruoshui recounted the entire story.

"The price is a bit high, but he said these drawings can help him earn much more money."