42: Start live streaming

The pagani that drove around the streets during the day, coupled with the roar of its engine and people casually taking photos and posting videos online, immediately became the focus of local discussion.

"The viral power of a sports car really is incredible."

He sighed softly.

He casually scrolled through a few trending local videos and quickly found the short video that had pushed him onto the hot search list.

The title was extremely exaggerated, saying things like "Qingdao Shocked by Alleged Hundred-Million Supercar" and "Owner's Identity Remains a Mystery," accompanied by many magnified screenshots and various analyses.

Jiang Yuan glanced at it twice before closing it, his heart gradually calming down instead.

Should he ride this wave of popularity and start a livestream for fun? This thought quietly surfaced.

He rubbed his chin with his fingertip, leaned back slightly against the chair, and seriously considered it for a few seconds.

Making money wasn't the main point; he truly wasn't short of this small amount of cash now.

But thinking about a crowd of people rushing in on the other side of the screen, watching him, chatting with him, and stirring up excitement—that feeling of being surrounded seemed quite interesting too.

Having figured this out, he stopped hesitating.

First, he selected a few photos taken in Qingdao over the past few days, then dug out the landscape photos taken during previous trips to Changbai Mountain. He casually chose a few check-in photos, added some decent background music, edited them into a simple short video, and posted it.

After doing all this, he directly clicked "Start Livestream."

Just at this crucial moment, the dishes began arriving at the table.

"We've been eating seafood all day, let's change things up."

Jiang Yuan glanced at the dishes on the table. Only two seafood dishes were ordered as sides; the main feature was freshly pan-seared Japanese Kobe Wagyu.

It was finely marbled, with a ring of golden sear around the edges, and the aroma instantly filled the table the moment it was served.

He cut off a small piece and brought it to his mouth. The beef melted instantly, dissolving without needing much chewing, filling his mouth with fat and meaty fragrance.

On the livestream side, the number of viewers was initially only a few dozen, but within minutes, it shot up to hundreds and kept climbing.

The bullet comments flashed by rapidly, and the first wave of viewers were almost unanimous in their opinions.

"Holy crap, Big Boss is so handsome!"

Jiang Yuan hadn't turned on the beauty filter or even adjusted the angle; the phone was just casually propped against the edge of the table, filming him from what could be called a 'death angle.'

Yet, even so, his face was still stunning.

The light fell on his profile, his features sharp and distinct, his gaze lazy, yet possessing an indescribable aura that commanded the entire scene.

"It's a shame that face isn't being used to be a celebrity..."

"Big Boss, where are you eating? The environment doesn't look cheap."

"Haha, worthy of a Big Boss, he actually turned off gift donations? Does he look down on us ordinary workers and our meager offerings?"

"No need to wonder, his interest earnings are probably more than all the money we donate. That car alone smells like money with every press of the accelerator."

Jiang Yuan glanced at the bullet comments, a smile playing on his lips, and pushed the phone forward, waving at the screen.

"Good evening, everyone."

His voice was soft, a very ordinary greeting.

The bullet comments instantly exploded:

"Damn, he's so down-to-earth!"

"The Billionaire Big Boss smiled at me!"

"This is a real Divine Magnate; his tone isn't pretentious at all."

Some people were spamming "Please carry me," some were asking about the car, and others were wildly praising his face.

Jiang Yuan couldn't be bothered to read them one by one, so he casually put the phone next to his water glass, picked up his knife and fork, and cut another piece of Wagyu into his mouth.

Gu Xinyu, sitting opposite him, turned sideways, pretending to focus on cutting her steak, but her eyes occasionally flickered toward the phone screen. Her fingertips subconsciously tapped the table—she was secretly watching Jiang Yuan’s livestream too.

The online viewer count in the upper right corner of the stream was still climbing.

Since it was Jiang Yuan's first time streaming and he had so many people staring at him, it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.

However, when he thought about the long string of numbers resting in his bank card, he felt... indifferent.

After about ten minutes, the popularity stabilized around six thousand.

For a new account that had just started streaming without any pre-promotion, this was already an incredibly exaggerated result.

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and casually clicked on the Lucky Bag feature.

He sent out one: 300,000 Dou Coins to be split among 1,000 people, which amounted to thirty thousand yuan. On average, the minimum amount a single person could receive was thirty yuan.

The bullet comments instantly exploded.

"Holy crap, Big Boss is giving away thirty thousand right off the bat?"

"Is this a raffle or is he handing out year-end bonuses..."

"I'm hooked, is this the world of the Divine Magnate..."

Soon, some people on the screen started setting the pace.

"Where is Big Boss's female companion? Why is Big Boss eating alone?"

"Exactly! Hurry and let us see Big Boss's girlfriend!"

After all, there was clearly a stunning beauty next to Jiang Yuan in the photos, and now that the stream only showed him and his steak, curiosity was inevitable.

"Alright, she's right here."

Jiang Yuan smiled, picked up his phone, and instead of switching to the rear camera, he aimed the lens directly at Gu Xinyu, who was sitting opposite him cutting her steak.

The screen shifted, landing on her.

"Holy crap, she's so beautiful!"

"Ahhh, she's absolutely gorgeous..."

"You call this a female companion? This is Goddess level, alright..."

The bullet comments were flashing by in a dizzying display.

"I knew it! As expected of a Big Boss, there are no ugly people around him. I'm so jealous..."

"Hello, everyone."

Gu Xinyu was caught off guard by the sudden close-up, and her cheeks flushed instantly.

Her heart was beating ridiculously fast, but she managed to maintain her professional smile, nodded toward the camera, and spoke in a soft voice.

"I declare this woman my Goddess."

"Psh, who knows how many 'husbands' your Goddess already has behind the scenes."

"Another new account trying to gain traction? Different packaging, but the same old routine. Let's see how he starts selling products."

"I predict in advance: this account will start live commerce in less than ten days!"

"Too long. I bet three days. With this rate of follower growth, shouldn't he try to capitalize on it immediately?"

There were those who praised, those who groveled, and naturally, those who were sarcastic.

The current environment is like this: whoever becomes popular quickly is more likely to be suspected of "team operation" or "having a script."

"Brother Jiang, someone said you're just trying to gain followers."

Gu Xinyu looked up at him while watching the bullet comments, her tone slightly displeased.

"It's fine. The clear remains clear; I can't be bothered to explain."

Jiang Yuan pulled the phone back toward himself, his voice calm.

If he rushed to argue or rushed to prove something, even if he succeeded in proving it, others would just say, "Look, he's getting defensive."

That kind of self-justification was the most pointless.

He thought for a moment and clicked open the livestream settings again.

"Who wants to be my Room Moderator?"

As soon as he spoke, the screen was instantly flooded with uniform bullet comments of "Me, me, me, me, me."

"Me! Big Boss, I'll even be your dog!"

"Pick me, pick me! I specialize in cursing out anti-fans!"

"I've been deleting comments since I was a kid, I know this job well!"

Jiang Yuan casually selected two people whose avatars and homepages didn't look like alt accounts, and directly appointed them as Room Moderators.

After appointing them, he opened their private messages and transferred a 1,000 yuan red envelope to each person.

"From now on, when I start streaming, your job is to directly mute and kick out anyone who is abusive or maliciously looking for trouble."

He continued cutting his steak as he spoke, "Do a good job, and you won't miss out on the benefits."

Two thousand yuan was a bargain for him, as it completely bought over two enthusiastic "security guards" and saved him trouble in the process.

"Wow, thank you, Big Boss! Got it, got it! We guarantee we'll be available whenever you call!"

"Thank you, Big Boss! Don't worry, if anyone curses you, I'll immediately escort them out!"

The two quickly popped up in the bullet comments, and they only quietly accepted the transfer after Jiang Yuan replied with an "OK" emoji.

"Alright."

Jiang Yuan took a sip of water and casually checked the time.

"In the future, I will stream irregularly, taking everyone to see scenery from different places and eat good food. As for selling products... I haven't thought about it yet."

After he finished speaking, he smiled casually.

After chatting with the audience for a few more minutes, he propped the phone back against the table edge and waved at the camera.

"Thank you, everyone. That's all for today. See you next time."

As his voice fell, he swiped his finger across the screen, the livestream went dark, and the viewer count froze at the last recorded number.