Losing money, mygo, what does it mean that I really lost money?

The sudden explosion of bullet comments caused Toyokawa Shoko's phone to lag drastically, turning it into an old-fashioned phone that refreshed every second. Instead, the screen was filled with a nearly static sea of ​​bullet comments.

"The network nearby is absolutely terrible!"

Shoko Toyokawa found it hard to bear being interrupted while listening to music and complained under her breath. However, on the bright side, this was the most tolerable thing she had experienced in the past few days, and she could only silently endure it.

After a full minute of spinning, Ps*Ple's "Red Ladies" has reached the bridge section, which caused the comments to surge like a tide.

The entire performance was in the style of traditional Chinese opera, with a touch of bel canto, clearly demonstrating that lead singer Aya Maruyama had been practicing this style diligently for the past month. More importantly, it was all spoken in fluent Chinese, which sounded very natural to Shoko Toyokawa – a foreign language indeed!

To her surprise, a red circle caught her eye in the live stream:

[A prominent message at 5000 RMB: You deserve it. The girls deserve it.]

[A prominent message at 5000 RMB: I hope the capital behind you treats you well. May the world be as wonderful as yours. Thank you Ps*Ple, thank you E社]

Then, more and more identical circles began to appear, instantly filling the top of the screen and making the eye-catching gold and blue messages seem insignificant, almost not even worthy of being displayed.

Toyokawa Shoko: “?”

If she remembered correctly, this originated from YouTube's "Signature Comments" (SC) feature, where users pay to keep their comments displayed on live streams for an extended period. Different colors correspond to the amount paid, with red being the highest. Five thousand yen in SC, converted to Japanese yen, is... one hundred thousand yen?!

Are you kidding me? YoTbe search ￥→:蚆→w》∏□six roads: sn4♂々驷［陑10,000 yen is red!

The other 3000 yen gifts kept coming in non-stop, and Toyokawa Shoko, who didn't know how to turn off the gift notifications, could only watch helplessly as her phone was once again overwhelmed by the gifts.

Toyokawa Shoko earned just enough to buy one of the gifts today by washing dishes!

Her already altered worldview that "making money is hard" was changed once again.

Her story of working goes back to a previous time.

After her father, Toyokawa Kiyoshi, was defrauded of 168 billion yen, he became completely despondent and drank heavily day and night. Her grandfather, Toyokawa Sadaharu, said he was no longer a member of the Toyokawa family and told her to pretend the whole thing never happened and continue living as a pampered young lady. How could that be possible?

Stubborn Toyokawa Shoko resolutely rejected the heartless old man and came here with her father, earning her own living expenses through part-time jobs. However, she couldn't find suitable student part-time work in Akabane Ward, and could only do things like washing dishes.

Although she never even considered the possibility that Toyokawa Kiyoko might not be short of money, or even 168 billion yen.

Toyokawa Kiyoko and Toyokawa Sadaharu obviously hadn't considered the possibility that the other party might not have been giving Xiaoxiang living expenses.

So, after much difficulty, Toyokawa Shoko found a job at a customer service company, only to be tricked into working for them for free for an entire afternoon, and also suffering from the rudeness of many unreasonable customers.

Back home, she still had to wash dishes, wipe the walls, and tidy up the empty wine cans he had carelessly tossed around the room... Only now did she have time to watch the live stream.

According to her quick calculations, the Ps*Ple livestream had already generated one million yen in revenue. Even with the website's share, the idol band and agency's income would still be substantial...

"Wow, President Jin is amazing..."

Having been brutally beaten down by society, Toyokawa Shoko developed a deep respect for Imaizumi. (Seven)

What kind of fan loyalty is it that can transcend a country and make fans on the other side of the strait send their money like crazy, without even caring whether their eye-catching comments will be read?

That's 100,000 yen! Several hundred thousand yen! She might work hard washing dishes for a whole month and that's probably all she'd earn. Luckily, prices in Akabane are low, and things are cheap...

After Ps*Ple finished singing, he started the MC segment.

Having just finished singing a song, Maruyama Aya, her cheeks slightly flushed, held the microphone and waved excitedly at the screen, speaking fluent Chinese: "Good evening everyone! Aya has missed you all so much!!"

【? ? ? 】

[Damn, who taught her that?]

[Hey sis, are you really going to be a true friend of Bilibili users? You can't be this down-to-earth!]

I told you long ago, E社's operations team is incredibly skilled, so you can rest assured.

[The kid looks so happy, much happier than when he did his live performance in Japan. Japanese people really don't understand idols. I guess it's Bilibili's Xiaomi that's truly supporting idols.]

[For those who came in by sending gifts, please follow these girls. They are all very nice and dedicated idol girls. They chat with the viewers in the live chat and are making progress in their Chinese every day. They are very hardworking.]

Why does Yamato Maya have so few scenes?!

[Get out of here, you individual chefs! Stop acting crazy. Drummers are already in a tough spot for screen time. Compared to other bands, you can see that Maya gets very good treatment...]

【…】

Praise, surprise, delight—these were the emotions gleaned from the Japanese comments interspersed throughout the live stream by Toyokawa Shoko. Of course, even easier to understand were the endless streams of red "SC" (a type of virtual gift) scrolling across the top of the chat.

On the screen, the glamorous idols, dressed in their new group outfits, played a new song once again, Ps*Ple's debut song, "Shuwarin Dori~Min".

Meanwhile, off-screen, Toyokawa Shoko was looking through her part-time job ledger.

"No, I can no longer afford the tuition at Tsukimori. I can only go to a school that focuses on college entrance exams and offers scholarships... Should I choose Haneoka, Haneoka..."

The feelings she had were indescribable.

Should she be envious, or moved by Jin Zhaozhi's willingness to give her the same opportunity? But she doesn't want to be involved in music anymore, nor does she want to show her face in public... Her past is gone forever, and all she has now is this small room.

Besides, if Jin Zhaozhi knew she had lost her identity with the Toyokawa family, it's hard to say whether he would still be willing to let her join the agency. Right now, she's nothing more than a stray dog ​​on the street…

Shoko Toyokawa convinced herself of this, and gave up the idea of ​​dialing the number on the business card.

Main text: Chapter 31, Chapter 30, Bilibili's fastest 2000-ship legend

This is the rehearsal room.

Having watched the entire concert up close in the monitoring room with Takamatsu Akari, Chihaya Aine, and Nyanmuchi, the shock I felt was indescribable. Seeing it live on screen is completely different from watching it on video.

Takamatsu had been holding the pose for a long time, and even when Nyanmu poked it, it didn't move at all.

"So dazzling..." she murmured to herself.

"Wow, this is amazing! Is this what an idol is like?!" Chihaya Aine looked at the dazzling Maruyama Aya, her eyes filled with images of her future self. She wanted to become someone as radiant as her too.

As for Miaomengqin, all she saw was a sea of ​​red notifications after she opened the live stream.

She did a quick calculation and, after discovering that the revenue from just the first song exceeded one million yen, she dared not calculate any further. Even after deducting the revenue share with Bilibili, the live stream only started tonight.

Will we ever have that kind of popularity in the future?

"The president said we will too."

Arale Nakamachi gave a positive answer to '♂八贰〉∷《∨“№刢』牾中（转羣：'.

Miao Meng was completely satisfied. She didn't need a million for a song; a million a day would be more than enough for her.

President Jin's big hands are indeed very warm.

In the studio, where lights flow and sound vibrates.

Throughout the entire live stream, Ps*Ple maintained the same high energy as during the opening performance of "Red Dress," delivering a powerful and energetic performance. Looking at the comments, it seemed as if Maruyama Aya's voice was a desperate cry for life.

She never imagined that her singing could reach so many people.

The rest of Ps*Ple never imagined they would receive such a tremendous welcome.

They only knew a few phrases of Chinese, and the two new Chinese songs they practiced were just the beginning and the end, both of which were the Burning Techniques that Jin Zhaozhi had specifically instructed them to practice. This was all they had learned in their lives, and the effect undoubtedly ignited the atmosphere in the live stream, with the chat messages refreshing so fast they were unreadable.

If you enter the live stream and don't immediately turn on gift blocking and announcements, you'll likely be overwhelmed by gifts instantly. The barrage of paid red SCs (gift cards) was almost non-stop; the entire concert was filled with red SCs on the live stream, making Maruyama Aya wonder if money was even real money.

Meanwhile, Jin Zhaozhi in the monitoring room, along with the staff from Bilibili's live streaming department, had an even clearer understanding of the data related to tonight's live stream.

The number of viewers in the live stream rapidly increased, and finally, with Ps*Ple's encore, the live stream data settled at a number that was enough to make Bilibili's live streaming department celebrate with champagne:

峰值观众6.2万人，营收146觉〓『流]∧Q:85＊′7]∞6>-6≥3［√442万元，RPP（付费用户平均营收）194元。

Most importantly, the audience payment rate was 14%! This is even with many casual viewers clicking in because of the promotion to watch the free concert. What does that mean?

Bilibili's paid user rate for live streaming is usually around 5%, and the revenue of popular live streaming rooms is usually built up by the large number of viewers. The streamers who can truly reach the top 10% are usually not on Bilibili, but on Douyin.

Bilibili, which remained on call at all times, sent a final confirmation:

"President Jin, are you sure this is the final encore? Then our department will perform it. To maximize the final impact on sales, it's best to start with the last song."

"Yes, this song will end and that's the end of the show. But after the idols turn off the lights and leave the stage, there will be a total of three minutes of promotion for the company's newest members and the new album in the live stream. Is that alright?"

While they verbally seek consent, there is actually no room for refusal.

Now, he and his agency are the big shots in Bilibili's live streaming department.

When faced with their boss, the Bilibili live streaming department was quite obedient: "Of course, please arrange it as you see fit."

There was a response on the other end, and they started operating the machine.

Bilibili's live streaming department originally estimated that about 600 new "captains" would be added this time. With the goal of creating a "thousand-captain" streamer, they prepared 200 slots for "watered-down captains".

The live stream's success far exceeded expectations, with the number of captains and red SCs skyrocketing for a full hour in ways that defy current live stream patterns. In just half an hour, the official Ps*Ple account surpassed 1,000 captains, and has now reached 1,700!

What else is there to say?

You already have 1700 ships, so I'll just upgrade them to 2000 and that's it, okay? &↑≤∨ˇ∏≡∨/

Thus, the number of captains, which should theoretically have slowed down, began a final frenzy. A large number of audience members, seemingly deeply moved by the concert, began boarding the ship, with a string of captains flooding the screen.

[Awesome, this is real music!]

[So touching, please sing one more song!]

I'll probably never forget this 2nd Live performance.

Thank you for the audiovisual experience you provided tonight. You may not have the best technical skills, but you provided the best audiovisual experience. I had a great time tonight, thank you... #crying

[Fans and character enthusiasts, a new god has appeared on Bilibili's livestream! The stream has already reached 1800 ships! Keep it up, let's reach 2000 ships! The girls want new outfits!]

[2000 ships! 2000 ships! Charge! Charge! Charge!]

Clearly, the viewers in the live stream were intrigued by the Bilibili myth of 2000 ships. Encouraged by Bilibili's operations team, quite a few viewers who were just looking for fun actually clicked the 138-yuan payment option to become paid captains.

The internet has always had an enduring interest in creating idols.

With watching the Ps*Ple concert becoming a massive craze, many casual viewers are happy to contribute a "captain's fee" to witness the birth of a new Bilibili legend, while also presenting themselves as firsthand participants in the "2,000-captain legend."

This was also included in the calculations of Bilibili's live streaming department.

The current president has a slight understanding of how people collect money, and they happen to know it too. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentences.)

In the studio, Aya Maruyama's voice was slightly hoarse as she sang the last song. This wasn't because she had damaged her throat, but because her voice had become tinged with sobs, as had the other members singing harmonies.

I was both moved by the emotions of the song and genuinely touched by its sentiments.

"...At the end of the story, you seemed to have said—"

"Bye-Bye--"

Almost every idol goes through something like going from a low point to a high point, getting rewarded for their efforts, or having their idol's fate changed and they finally get their star.

This is a lyrical Chinese song, "Sunny Day," which is very popular even on Bilibili. Bilibili handled the entire process of securing the cover rights for this song. Their training schedule has been very heavy lately, and even with support musicians helping out most of their performances, they are still extremely busy every day.

And today, they have reaped the rewards.

……

The five girls exchanged glances, held hands, and bowed towards the main camera.

The lights gradually dimmed, like stars approaching dawn.

[Room Viewers (57963)]

【The Great Voyage (2079)】

Jin Zhaozhi turned off the live stream, put down his phone, and started clapping. Even though the sound couldn't penetrate the monitoring room at all, the four first-generation trainees joined in the clapping, and it was hard to stop for a long time.

Main text: Chapter 32 of VII (Chapter 31) - The Money-Losing System: I've Been Set Up ←∞VII〖〓＠…￡」

Receive!

Jin Zhaozhi is now in an extremely happy mood.

Clearly, he was right, and his business plan was correct.

After confirming that all cameras and audio equipment were turned off and that the live broadcast room had started playing "A Cute One-Minute Self-Introduction," Jin Zhaozhi pushed open the door to the monitoring room.

"Well done, thank you for your hard work."

He handed water to each of the girls, as if to encourage them, or perhaps to give an acceptance speech, clearly in a good mood: "I'm so glad to see you all shining. It's a privilege of talent that rewards hard work, and each of you happens to have it. I'm so happy for you."

"Phew, that..."

Maruyama Aya wanted to say something, but she was still panting and didn't have the strength to speak, so she simply took off her hair tie and gave a smile that could replace words in response.

"We succeeded, right?"

Hakuro Chisato spoke for her.

Even though they had already sensed the excitement of the performance from the rapid-fire comments and had somewhat anticipated it, the group still wanted to confirm with Jin Zhaozhi. And the result was as expected.

“A great success.” Imaizumi’s answer brought tears to their eyes. There were no cheers or celebratory sounds, only eye contact and clapping.

Nine. "Oh, right."