A live stream that dramatically transformed a depressed schoolgirl shocked netizens across the count

"I swallowed three mouthfuls of water that day in the sea."

Ye Xingyu sat by the brazier, holding a cup of rice wine, the rim of the cup touching her lower lip, but she didn't drink the wine.

The pine wood was burned and half of it collapsed, with the orange-red core cracking outwards.

Bai Weiwei used tongs to pick up two pieces of fresh firewood and put them into the basin. Sparks flew over the rim of the basin and landed on the stone slab, flashing for a couple of seconds before turning into black dots.

The casserole on the table was empty, chicken bones were piled on the plate, and an empty beer bottle lay horizontally in the corner of the table.

Su Niannian was leaning back in her chair, rubbing her stomach. When she heard this, her hand stopped on her belt buckle.

Shen Qingci sat to Chen Lang's right, with a notebook spread out on her lap.

That was a travel guide that Ye Xingyu brought with her when she came to Dali. The cover had been soaked in seawater, the four corners were rolled up, and the signs for the seventeen snack shops had bled into a bluish-black ink blot.

Ye Xingyu stared at the brazier.

A red rope was loosely tied around her wrist, and a broken silver bell, heated by the fire, touched the cup with her breath.

Ding.

Su Niannian sat up straight, removed her hand from her belt buckle, and gripped the corner of the table tightly.

That day, Ye Xingyu fell into the sea from the shore. The water was over her head. She stood on the shore and shouted for help. Her shoes stepped into the waves, and she kept shouting until her voice was hoarse.

At that moment, she clenched her teeth and remained silent.

Ye Xingyu raised her wine glass, the rice wine swirling to the rim. She placed the glass back on her lap, her palm resting on the warm glass.

"I choked on the first gulp while I was still paddling."

"After the second ingestion, my limbs went out of control, and I started to sink."

Su Niannian lowered her eyes, holding the beer bottle in her hand. Foam overflowed the bottle neck, trickled down the side of the bottle, and reached the back of her hand, but she didn't wipe it away.

Ye Xingyu licked her dry lips, her gaze passing over the brazier and landing on Shen Qingci's face.

"When the third mouthful came in, there was only one thing on my mind."

Someone rode by on an electric bike outside the courtyard wall, the bell rang twice, and then disappeared down the alley.

Bai Weiwei squatted in place, holding the pliers. Su Niannian lowered her head, her shoulders and back tense, beer foam dripping onto the stone slab.

Ye Xingyu pressed her knees together and placed the rice wine cup on her lap.

"I wish I could go back to before I signed the contract."

"Back in the dorm, I used an old phone to take pictures of my outfits. Three hundred followers would be fine, but I'd also be okay if I didn't get any gigs. I bought the clothes from a secondhand platform, and used a clothesline pole as a lamp stand. If the picture was blurry, I'd reshoot it."

She tugged at the red string on her wrist.

"Back then, a video could get ten comments, and I would lie in bed watching it for half the night."

Shen Qingci closed the notebook and pressed her hands on the cover.

Ye Xingyu stood up, holding the cup.

The low stool legs scraped against the stone slab, leaving a short, rough, hoarse sound.

She walked up to Shen Qingci and knelt down.

Their gazes fell at the same height.

"When you open your eyes, kneel down next to me and perform chest compressions."

"Your hands were shaking, and your lips were shaking too, but you didn't press the wrong buttons."

Shen Qingci gripped the spine of the notebook, her knuckles taut. The cover, under pressure, curled up, the edges sinking into the lines of her palm.

Ye Xingyu raised her hand and touched her chest.

"When I coughed up water, the first person I saw was you."

She turned her head and looked at Chen Lang in the rattan chair.

Chen Lang's right arm was still in a sling across his chest, with a waterproof bandage wrapped around his shoulder and neck, and his left hand rested on the armrest. A teacup sat beside him, the tea leaves swirling on the surface of the water.

"Brother Lang, you pulled me out of the sea. I thought I was still dreaming underwater."

"Qingci, wrap your windbreaker around me, the zipper is stuck here."

Ye Xingyu compared the position below her collarbone.

"The fabric was soaked and burning hot against my skin."

"I know I survived."

Chen Lang didn't reply. He picked up his teacup with his left hand and tapped it against her rice wine cup.

The porcelain pieces collided, making a crisp sound.

Ye Xingyu's nostrils twitched, and she tilted her head back to drink a mouthful of rice wine. As the wine rushed down her throat, she coughed twice, tilting her head to the side and pressing the back of her hand to her mouth.

Su Niannian got up and opened a bottle of beer.

"Don't drink so fast, or you won't say what you're going to say next!"

"explain."

Ye Xingyu stood up straight and held the cup to her chest.

"I didn't prepare a prepared statement, and I'm not good at sweet talk."

"From today onwards, the name Ye Xingyu belongs to me."

The silver bell on the red string made a sound as the wrist was raised, tapping against the wrist bone.

"I want to go back and shoot anime-style outfits."

"I'll use my own account, choose the clothes, and decide what time to start work. If I have 300 followers left, I'll film for 300 people. If I have only 3 people left, I'll still comb my wig and iron out my skirt."

"My company forbids me from eating at roadside stalls, but I filmed them in my videos. The company said a five-yuan bracelet isn't good enough for an artist, but I insisted on wearing it on camera."

She looked down at the broken silver bell.

"You saved my life."

"If you need me in the future, just call out, and I'll be there."

Su Niannian bit her lower lip and raised the beer bottle over her shoulder.

Bai Weiwei placed the tongs beside the brazier, then turned around and picked up her cup.

Gu Qingshang placed his phone face down on the table and stood up, using the edge of the table for support.

Shen Qingci stood up, supporting himself with the handrail, and handed the cup to Ye Xingyu.

Chen Lang sat in a rattan chair, holding a teacup flat in his left hand.

Six cups were gathered together, at different heights. A few drops of rice wine swirled from the rim of one cup and fell into the brazier, sending a wisp of steam rising from the stone slab.

Ye Xingyu looked at the people surrounding her and her Adam's apple bobbed twice.

"A toast to everyone."

Chen Lang raised his hand.

"Respect for life."

The six people held their cups steady and tilted their heads back.

The levitating ball hovered under the eaves, the camera focusing on the brazier and half a circle of human figures. On the right side of the live stream, the screen was flooded with comments.

[I gripped the blanket tightly when I heard the part about the three mouths of water.]

The life she wanted was simply to decide what clothes she wore.

[A five-yuan red string on the wrist, a twenty-million-yuan contract burned in the fire.]

Unlimited freedom has fallen upon Ye Xingyu.

[Sister, hurry up and open a new account! Three hundred followers are nothing, I'll be the 301st!]

Qin Feng's Dark Gold account was pushed to the top of the public chat.

[Starry Night Sister, I'm sponsoring your independent studio! All expenses covered: venue, equipment, and team!]

Su Niannian turned her head, raised her eyebrows, and looked at the floating camera.

"Young Master Qin, open the door to your sister's office first."

Qin Feng typed very quickly.

[Eight bodyguards outside the door!]

The windows are welded shut!

Now, I need the signatures of my CFO, secretary, and sister to go out!

Can't we leave the top spender some dignity?

Su Niannian slammed the beer bottle onto the table.

"You kept it, so no one advised you to jump out the window."

A burst of laughter erupted in the courtyard.

Bai Weiwei bent down, picked up the tongs, and pushed the burnt pine wood back into the center of the basin.

Ye Xingyu lowered her head, covering the corner of her eye with her sleeve, her shoulders heaving as she laughed along with the others.

Shen Qingci reached out and grabbed her wrist, pressing her back onto the low stool.

I opened the journal again and stopped at the page with the bookmark.

Beneath the dissolved ink, seventeen shop names could be vaguely discerned, with opening hours, signature dishes, and tips for avoiding rip-offs written next to them.

Shen Qingci curled her finger and pointed to the first line.

"South Gate of the Ancient City, roasted milk fan, opens at nine o'clock in the morning."

The page was turned over.

"Renmin Road, cold chicken rice noodles, double the spice."

Turn the page.

"Freshly baked flower cakes at the North Gate Market."

Ye Xingyu sniffed twice.

"What are you going to do?"

"Verification Guide"

Shen Qingci stuffed the booklet into her arms.

"Leaving at nine tomorrow. First stop: roasted milk fan (a type of cheese), last stop: mushroom hot pot. My phone died halfway through, but I'll still finish the tour."

Ye Xingyu looked down at the paper.

The pages of the book were uneven after being soaked in water. When I rubbed my fingertips across the store name, the ink smudged onto the texture of my fingertips.

She nodded twice.

"it is good."

Bai Weiwei carried the kettle and added hot water to the clay pot. A few fresh mushrooms fell into the soup, and a wooden spoon swished around the edge of the pot.

Su Niannian bit open two bottles of beer, pushed one to Bai Weiwei, and just as she brought the remaining bottle to her lips, a vibration came from the table.

hum.

hum.

hum.

Gu Qingshang picked up his phone, the white light from the screen reflecting off his glasses.

She swiped her thumb twice, stopping at the first page, then cut to the next page. She straightened her back and got out of the chair.

"Put the wine down first."

Su Niannian froze as she poured the wine, the liquid blocking the bottle opening.

Gu Qingshang pushed his phone to the center of the table.

A joint official notice with a red header was displayed horizontally on the screen, with the electronic red seals of the public security organs and relevant departments at the bottom, and the release time was 26 minutes ago.

"Official announcement."

"Xiao Yunlong is suspected of attempted murder, organizing money laundering, embezzlement, and forging commercial contracts. He has been formally arrested on multiple charges."

Gu Qingshang slid his index finger down to the second page.

"Xingyao Interactive Entertainment's business license is frozen immediately, the accounts involved in the case are seized, and six core management personnel have been transferred to the procuratorate."

The courtyard was unusually quiet.

A section of pine wood burst open in the brazier, and sparks flew off the rim, landing on the stone slab and extinguishing the fire completely.

Ye Xingyu's hand froze in mid-air, and two ripples spread across the rice wine cup.

Snapped!

Su Niannian slammed her hand on the table.

"good!"

The beer bottle fell over on the table, white foam gushing from the bottle opening and flowing down the wood grain into the saucer base.

Bai Weiwei gripped the pliers tightly, her lips stretched to the sides, and her eyes welled up with tears.

Ye Xingyu stared intently at the Chinese characters on the screen, the veins on the side of her neck stretching into two straight lines.

My gaze shifted from "Xingyao Interactive Entertainment" to "seizure" and lingered for a full three seconds.

She buried her head in her arms, her face slamming into them, her shoulders shaking violently.

The broken silver bells tapped against the wrist bones, ringing out in a dense drumbeat.

Shen Qingci sat silently to the side, then reached out and placed his palm on Ye Xingyu's back, stroking down her spine inch by inch.

Chen Lang held the teacup in his left hand, his thumb gripping the rim.

The gaze passed over the crowd and stopped on the floating sphere. The camera was steadily focused on the brazier and the red-headed report, without glancing at Ye Xingyu at all.

Data is skyrocketing.

The number of online users surged to 450,000, and the barrage of comments completely flooded the screen, triggering system traffic throttling.

[The light of righteousness!!!]

[Multiple crimes punished concurrently! Xiao Yunlong will never get out of prison!]

[Xingyao Group Seizes Assets! All Six Senior Executives Arrested! Best Announcement of the Year!]

[Ye Xingyu, don't cry! The bad guys got their comeuppance!!]

From Bend 9 to the official document, Chen Lang's chain of evidence is airtight!

I'm going to print this page out and frame it on the wall!

Qin Feng pushed the dark gold banner three times in a row.

Master! Well done!

My sister just saw the news and laughed too. She said Gu Qingshang's legal team is incredibly efficient!

[Fifty more carnivals! To celebrate!]

Su Niannian held the wooden spoon and waved it above her head.

"Young Master Qin! Conserve your ammunition; when you come out, you can personally toast Xingyu!"

Gu Qingshang turned off his phone and laid it flat.

"The legal team will follow up on the subsequent proceedings, and the personal account is expected to be unfrozen in three to five business days." She looked at the back of Ye Xingyu's head, her tone extremely steady, "Xingyao owes you a full share of the business revenue, not a penny less."

Ye Xingyu tilted her head back from her arms, her eyelashes stuck together, and her nose bright red.

He opened and closed his lips twice, but didn't utter a single sound. His right hand gripped the red rope on his wrist, and the broken silver bell was tucked into his palm, making no sound.

Chen Lang put down his teacup.

"I just said I wanted to take photos of anime-style outfits."

Ye Xingyu nodded her head down, forcefully.

"Then let's shoot." Chen Lang flicked the control panel with his index finger, adjusting the hovering ball, and the camera retracted the entire wooden table and brazier. "The account is yours, the content is yours, the time is yours."

"Treat us to a meal after you make money."

Ye Xingyu's chest swelled up with a large bulge, which then gradually sank in.

She lowered her head and loosened her fingers, a five-yuan red string encircling her wrist, the broken silver bell reflecting the flickering firelight from the brazier.

The corners of his mouth were pulled up, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"I've decided on the theme for my first video."

Su Niannian raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Ye Xingyu raised her arm, the red rope came off her sleeve, and the bell jingled crisply.

All the happiness you can buy with five dollars.

I'll definitely be in the first video.

[Check-in and updates coming soon!]

Count me in!