14: Chapter 14 Internet Celebrity Yin Suwan

When Su Bai walked out of the alley, the sky had already darkened.

The streetlights were just coming on, and pedestrians were hurrying by.

"No need to follow so closely from now on," Su Bai said.

The man in the gray jacket, Long Qi, nodded slightly and hesitated before saying, "Sorry, Boss. I should have stopped that guy with the slingshot before he pulled it out."

"Not your fault."

Su Bai was also speechless. "A slingshot hitting a phone—nobody could have predicted that. He really is a damn genius."

Long Qi didn't speak again.

He and Long Wu followed behind Su Bai, maintaining a perfect distance.

Unobtrusive, yet able to reach any required position within three seconds.

This was their professional habit.

They had escorted drug lords in the South American jungles, protected warlords on the African savannas, and served as bodyguards for oil tycoons in Middle Eastern war zones.

Three years ago, they accepted a job from an East Asian tycoon.

They thought it would just be another boring bodyguard job, but they didn't expect this young employer in his early twenties to give them a completely different experience.

Professional, calm, never putting on airs as an employer, and never doing anything beyond safety limits.

He spent money when needed and delegated authority when appropriate.

So, after the three-year contract expired, they renewed it for another five years.

Su Bai walked into the subway station and swiped his card to enter the turnstile.

Long Qi and Long Wu followed three meters behind, like a drop of water blending into the ocean.

The subway car was a bit crowded, so Su Bai found a corner to stand in.

He watched the billboards flying backward outside the window, feeling calm.

The events of this evening were just like a stone thrown into the center of a lake; after the ripples, the surface would return to normal.

He remembered Zhou Qing saying in the alley, "Li Longyu is the one I've got my eye on; the whole school knows it."

The whole school knows it.

But does Li Longyu herself know?

Su Bai shook his head and threw this boring question to the back of his mind.

School beauty?

Those girls at his place—aren't they all of school-beauty caliber?

In his opinion, she wasn't even as exciting as that girl Mu Qing.

— —

On the day Su Bai moved into Lanyuan, Long Wu and Long Qi rented a place on a nearby floor.

They had originally wanted to rent the unit directly above, but the owner was a young girl who wouldn't rent it out. Nor would she sell.

So they had to settle for the next best thing.

When Su Bai pushed the door open, the living room was silent.

The sensor light at the entryway turned on automatically, illuminating the room with warm yellow light.

The coffee cup from the morning was still sitting on the dining table, Chu Yi's cartoon slippers lay crookedly beside the sofa, and the clothes hanging on the balcony swayed gently in the evening breeze.

There were camisoles, stockings, white socks...

Hmm?

Su Bai narrowed his eyes. Whose panties were hanging on the balcony?

If it's the strawberry bear print... it must be Lin Qiaoyou or Chu Yi!

No one was home. The college students hadn't returned yet.

He placed his backpack by the door of his room and took a bottle of iced cola from the fridge.

When he pulled the tab, it made a crisp "pop" sound, and the bubbles rushed up in a scramble.

Su Bai sat on the sofa, put his legs up on the coffee table, and unlocked his phone.

He tapped on the streaming app with the blue and white icon on his home screen.

This app was developed by a small company he had invested in two years ago. Under his guidance, its valuation was less than 30 million back then, but now it was one of the top three live-streaming platforms in the country.

He held 62% of the shares and was the largest shareholder, but he never participated in actual operations, only holding the title of "Strategic Consultant".

There were several familiar faces in the recommended spots on the homepage.

He scrolled down until he saw a familiar live-streaming room—

[Su Su Won't Sleep Early Tonight—Waiting for You]

Online viewers: 1.337 million.

The viewer counts in live-streaming rooms these days were very fake, but there were probably still a few hundred thousand people.

Su Bai's fingertip paused in the air, then he tapped to enter.

The screen flashed, and in the center of the frame was a young woman in a tight black mini-skirt, bending over to pick up a water cup from the floor.

The camera happened to capture the curve of her bending over, and the chat flooded with "Ahhh".

"Goddess! Don't cover up!"

"I'm going to lick the screen!"

"Mommy!"

"..."

Yin Suwan.

Twenty-five years old, from Seoul.

Last year, Su Bai discovered her in South Korea through an intermediary and signed her to a five-year exclusive contract.

Now she was the top streamer in the dance section of the entire platform.

Su Bai didn't send a chat message immediately.

He leaned back on the sofa, took a sip of cola, and watched the woman on the screen adjust her hem and smile sweetly at the camera.

"Thanks to 'Little Wind Happy Every Day' for the rocket! Thanks to 'Night Owl' for the plane! Love you all~"

Her Chinese was still a bit stiff; she pronounced "plane" as "fai-plane", but combined with her soft, sweet voice, it became her signature cute trait.

The chat went wild again.

Su Bai watched the online viewer count in the top right corner of the screen jump from 1.337 million to 1.411 million.

Yin Suwan had just finished a dance; her cheeks were still flushed from the exercise, and tiny beads of sweat were forming on the tip of her nose.

She gently dabbed her forehead with a tissue and unscrewed her water bottle to take small sips.

"Let's take a five-minute break, and then I'll dance the new chair dance I've been practicing for everyone, okay?"

The chat cheered again.

Su Bai raised an eyebrow.

He opened the gift bar: Golden Rocket.

1,000 RMB each.

He selected the gift quantity: 200.

Clicked send.

In an instant, the entire live-streaming screen was engulfed in golden light!

[Bai Ye] sent [Golden Rocket] × 200 in Yin Suwan's live-streaming room!!

Golden meteors streaked across the top of the screen, trailing long tails of light, exploding into a sky full of stars.

The chat went completely crazy!

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!!"

"My eyes are blinded, a legendary gold drop!!"

"200,000 in three seconds? Is this a real whale or a platform bug?"

"It's Bai Ye! The big boss Bai Ye is here!!!"

Meanwhile, Yin Suwan was drinking water.

She was tilting her head back, her throat moving as she swallowed, when she caught sight of that golden light unexpectedly.

She spat out a mouthful of water, choking and coughing violently; water splashed onto her collar and chest, soaking into a dark stain.

But she didn't have time to wipe it off.

She jumped up from the chair as if spring-loaded, stumbled a step, and then bowed ninety degrees; her long hair slid from her shoulders, revealing a thin platinum chain on the back of her neck.

"Hello, Boss!!"

Her voice was a bit hoarse from choking on water, but it was exceptionally loud.

"Welcome, Boss, to my live-streaming room!"

The chat boiled over again.

"What's wrong with Su Su? Why so formal?"

"Boss? Is Bai Ye Su Su's boss?"

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, could it be the legendary behind-the-scenes major shareholder?"

"Su Su is an artist signed by Bai Ye? What kind of god-tier boss drops 200,000 just like that?"

Su Bai watched the screen and swiped his thumb across it.

[Bai Ye]: Keep working hard.

It was again in bold golden font, floating above all the other chat messages, like an emperor's decree.

Yin Suwan straightened up, tears from choking still lingering in the corners of her eyes.

But the professional, sweet smile on her face had vanished, replaced by a more serious and solemn expression.

"Yes, Boss."

She said softly, using honorifics with a Korean accent, "I will work hard."

Then she turned around, took the red chair from the side, and carefully placed it in the center of the frame.

She turned the back of the chair toward herself, leaned over, and took out a marker from behind the chair.

The chat was confused.

"What is she doing?"

"Is she signing something?"

"Why did Su Su get a pen?"

Yin Suwan didn't speak. She crouched down and carefully wrote two characters on the back of the chair.

"Bai Ye."

Her Chinese characters weren't written very beautifully, and the strokes were a bit crooked, but every stroke was written with great effort.

After finishing, she straightened the chair and faced the side with "Bai Ye" written on it toward the camera.

Then she stood up, took a deep breath, and placed her hand on the back of the chair.