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

Ye Xingyu pressed Red Heart Nine down on the stone table, without taking the one from that time when she refused to answer.

The playing cards had been soaked in tea, and the edges were frayed.

Her thumb rubbed back and forth along the rough edge, the coarse pottery cup pressed against her palm, the roasted rice at the bottom of the cup bumping against the cup wall twice with the movement.

The walnut in Su Niannian's mouth remained between her teeth.

She had originally planned to use this game of cards to pry out some of Ye Xingyu's unspoken words.

Familiar faces were sitting in the courtyard, tea was on the table, and someone would interrupt me if I was talking to someone.

But when it was Ye Xingyu's turn to speak, her hand holding the spatula froze.

The croaking of frogs rose and fell outside the wall, and a piece of ash fell into the charcoal stove.

"I want to go back to the day I signed the contract."

Bai Weiwei's hand, which had been reaching for the deck of cards, stopped at the edge of the table.

"Xingyu, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't."

"I want to say..."

Ye Xingyu raised her face, and the lantern light illuminated the dark circles under her eyes that she hadn't completely covered.

"If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't sign that betting agreement."

Beside the bougainvillea, the floating live-streaming sphere lowered its height. A small section of the scrolling comments, which had been empty for a while, was quickly filled with a few more lines of text.

Don't rush her.

We're listening.

It's okay if we can't continue the conversation today.

Ye Xingyu stared at the screen for a few seconds, then took out her work phone from her coat pocket.

The black body has a chipped corner, and there's a thin crack on the right side of the screen.

His phone is always on silent, and there are ninety-nine unread messages on the lock screen, with Wang Rui's name still at the top.

She didn't open it, and placed her phone next to the nine hearts.

"My account grew rapidly that year. I photographed fashion and makeup, and I also photographed anime conventions."

"Someone left me a message saying that after watching the video, they finally dared to wear their favorite dress out."

She wiped the rim of the cup with the heel of her palm, spreading out a small tea stain.

I've kept that comment until now.

Su Niannian swallowed the walnut, which rolled around in her throat twice.

"People from Xingyao approached me, saying they had a team and equipment and could promote me to a major platform."

"My dad is in debt, and the collection calls are coming in from morning till night."

"I put the contract on the table and stared at the signing bonus for a long time, only calculating that the money would be enough to support my family for a few months."

Gu Qingshang asked, "How thick is the contract?"

Page 47.

"How long did you watch?"

"Twenty minutes."

Gu Qingshang held the teacup, the rim of which rested at his lips, but he didn't drink.

Ye Xingyu looked down at the phone.

"Twenty million, for three years. There are targets for revenue, Google Ads, and sales."

"If the target isn't met, the shortfall will be included in the compensation. The account, business arrangements, and livestreaming time will all be handled by the company."

She flipped her phone over so the screen was facing down on the table.

"Before signing, the agent showed me the contract and told me that as long as I listened to him, I could earn enough money in three years to turn my whole family's life around."

"I asked him what would happen if we didn't meet the targets. He smiled and said, 'The company has a team; they won't let me lose.'"

Su Niannian gritted her teeth: "You actually believe that?"

"I believed you." Ye Xingyu looked at her. "At that time, I needed someone to tell me that this path was viable."

Su Niannian opened her mouth, placed the spatula across her lap, and didn't ask any further questions.

Ye Xingyu pressed down on the nine of hearts. The corner of the card dug into the lines of her palm, but she still didn't let go.

"If I can go back, I will put down my pen, take pictures of all forty-seven pages, and have a lawyer review them line by line."

"I will tell myself that day that debts can be paid off little by little, and accounts can be rebuilt if they are lost."

"The 20 million was written into the contract, and from then on, someone followed behind with the bills every step of the way."

The charcoal fire licked the bottom of the kettle, and the copper lid made a soft sound as it was pushed up by the steam.

"In the first few months after signing the contract, I was still able to create content that I liked."

"After the data came in, the company said that the audience for anime and manga was too narrow, so they made me change my outfits, do suggestive dances, cry in the live stream, and create a relationship with the male streamer."

Ye Xingyu raised three fingers, then lowered them one by one.

"One rejection, one deduction from performance pay. Three rejections, all referrals suspended."

"I had no income for the two months I was sidelined, but the penalty for breach of contract was still charged. Wang Rui messaged me every day asking if I had figured things out. Young Master Long came once, saying he could help me make up for the lost income."

Su Niannian's shoes brushed against the muddy ground.

"What are the conditions?"

"Accompany him to a few games, and then take pictures of things that he can control."

The spatula handle spun half a circle in Su Niannian's hand before slamming onto the edge of the table.

The rough earthenware cup jumped, spilling tea onto the old plaque.

Where is he?

Ye Xingyu pressed down on her wrist.

"Don't go. He has men with him. If you rush over, you'll only give them more usable material."

Su Niannian stood in front of the rattan chair, her chest heaving a few times.

"I should have asked sooner." She stared at Ye Xingyu. "Back then, you were always saying you were tired, and all I did was tell you to stay up less. Why didn't I just grab your phone and look at it?"

"You did nothing wrong."

"Stop trying to cover for me."

Su Niannian turned her face away, the back of her hand brushing against the bridge of her nose. Her silver earring swayed twice, bumping against her shoulder-length short hair.

"We've known each other for over ten years. You couldn't eat or sleep, and I thought you were just busy with something. I didn't even realize you were on the verge of collapse."

Ye Xingyu grabbed the hem of her leather jacket.

"You came to see me."

"You waited for me downstairs at 2 a.m., brought me porridge, and almost got into a fight with the security guard."

Su Niannian looked down at her.

"But you can't sign for me, and you can't pay back that 20 million." Ye Xingyu pulled her towards the chair. "Back then, I refused to talk about it, and no one could come in."

The spatula fell from Su Niannian's hand. She sat back down in the rattan chair, her knees against the edge of the table, pursed her lips a few times, and then simply raised her hand to fill the empty glass in front of Ye Xingyu.

Ye Xingyu took a sip.

The tea has cooled down, and the roasted rice has sunk to the bottom of the cup, leaving only a faint aroma of roasted rice.

"I didn't plan to film any videos or relax when I went to Erhai Lake."

The sandalwood beads on Shen Qingci's wrist rested in her palm.

"The company sent a supplementary agreement. After signing, interest will accrue monthly on the outstanding amount, and all earnings generated in the account will be deducted from the interest first."

"I was standing by the water, and my phone vibrated every now and then."

"Twenty million, interest, compensation, cash flow—all those numbers are crammed together."

Ye Xingyu put the cup down, her palm still covering the cup.

"I've thought about it. If I disappear, will they be able to find me and ask for the money back? And will they no longer need to answer the phone at home?"

"Accounts, contracts, trending topics—we can never catch up with the truth."

No one moved by the stone table.

The charcoal slumped to the bottom of the furnace, dimming the flames. Bai Weiwei squatted by the furnace with fire tongs, but didn't rush to add more charcoal.

"When the water dragged me out, all those numbers were gone."

Ye Xingyu pressed her hand to her chest, her breath coming in short gasps. Su Niannian moved her chair closer, her shoulder pressed against Ye Xingyu's.

"I just want to get back to shore. I want to spit out the water in my mouth, and grab onto anything I can."

"I want to go back to the table where we signed the contract, throw down the pen, push the contract back, and tell them I'm not signing."

She looked at Chen Lang.

"Chen Lang dragged me ashore. Shen Qingci knelt on the rocks and pressed on my chest, water choking out of my mouth."

"Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn't press the right spot, so she gritted her teeth and tried again. She kept trying, over and over, without stopping."

Shen Qingci gripped her left wrist. The sandalwood beads pressed against her cuff, also pressing against the old marks hidden for many years.

Ye Xingyu said softly, "The day I signed the contract is gone. But I can start from today and work my way back. The account, the earnings, the deleted videos, and the materials they used to blackmail me—I will get them back one by one."

She picked up the nine of hearts and flattened the bent corner of the card.

"I want to terminate that contract myself."

[A 20 million bet, 47 pages, only 20 minutes allotted?]

[Being sidelined means no income, yet breach of contract penalties are still being charged. Who's keeping track of these costs?]

[Screen recording made, Xingyao Interactive Entertainment, don't rush to remove the trending topic.]

She put down the pen she was using to sign things today.

My work phone, which was lying face down on the table, vibrated.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Ye Xingyu didn't touch it. The phone moved half an inch away from the red heart nine, paused for a few seconds, and then vibrated again.

Su Niannian glanced at the screen: "Wang Rui?"

Ye Xingyu flipped through her phone.

Three messages popped up on the lock screen.

[Stop the live stream immediately.]

You are leaking company business information.

[If the live stream replay is deleted within five minutes, the company may temporarily waive the claim.]

The number of viewers in the live stream jumped from 140,000 to 160,000.

Bai Weiwei lowered the floating live-streaming ball slightly onto the table, so that the camera avoided the phone screen and only filmed Ye Xingyu's face.

"Should we shut it down?"

The choice rests with Ye Xingyu.

She stared at the three messages. In the past, whenever she received an order from Wang Rui, she would first close what she was doing before sending a "Received".

I've typed these two characters so many times that they even appear first in the autocomplete list when I open the input method.

Ye Xingyu unlocked her phone and opened the chat window with Wang Rui.

She did not type "received".

"The live stream continues," she said.

Su Niannian straightened her back.

Ye Xingyu pressed the voice button: "Tonight is my private time. Please send me the basis for your claim for accountability, contract terms, and details of the losses via the company email address. All subsequent communications will be documented in writing."

Release and send.

The green voice message appeared in the chat box.

Ye Xingyu set her phone to ring and placed it back next to the red heart.

Chen Lang leaned back in his chair and tapped the table with a spade card.

"That sentence is worth a cup of tea."