Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities

Chapter 382 - 222: Only Alone Gets Hurt

"A good horse doesn’t return to old pastures. The next one will be better anyway!"

"..."

This sentiment was clearly resonating with his veteran die-hard fans, especially the female ones.

And wasn’t it true? When it came to matters of the heart, what was the point of clinging to someone who didn’t love you back?

Move on. The next one will be better.

Yijin, watching the livestream from his own studio, immediately turned to his staff. "Quick, clip that line from Brother Cheng—’If it’s goodbye, then goodbye, the next one will be better anyway’—and post it. I think that’s going to go viral."

It wasn’t just him. Other creators with clip channels reacted just as quickly, snipping out the line to post.

Chen Jincheng wasn’t surprised that the viewers were latching onto the phrase. After all, it was one of the top memes of 2019 in another world, but it hadn’t appeared in this one yet.

He glanced at the number of concurrent viewers and knew it was time to release the new song and push past the 500,000 mark.

So, he gave a signal to Lao Chen, who was acting as the stream director off to the side. A moment later, he addressed the audience. "I’m sure you all came to my stream tonight for the new song. I mean, some conceited singer did call me out. Frankly, I don’t understand how someone with a song that’s only sold about two million copies can have the guts to be so full of himself."

"But that’s not important. First, let me introduce a young lady who is also my partner for this new song. Her name is Little Maru."

His words were completely merciless, a direct DISS at Master Yu.

When Master Yu heard this, his face turned utterly grim with rage.

Xue Qian and Zhu Zhen, however, were completely stunned.

’So bold.’

"They’ve completely torn down all pretenses," Zhu Zhen said, shaking his head.

"I, on the other hand, find him very confident. I’m actually looking forward to his new song," Xue Qian said with a smile.

「Tiao Yin Headquarters」

Han Shang had specifically arranged for a featured livestream spot for Chen Jincheng, so naturally, he was also paying close attention to the new song’s debut.

Just then, he received a report from his assistant and opened Chen Jincheng’s livestream.

He was very surprised to see that Chen Jincheng’s concurrent viewership had already surpassed 450,000.

He knew that Chen Jincheng had an SS-Class promotional boost for his stream today, and with the extra hype generated by Master Yu, the viewer count was bound to be high.

But to have over 450,000 viewers before the song had even been released... that was an absolutely terrifying figure.

Once the new song dropped, it would likely shoot right past 500,000 viewers.

He immediately made a call and ordered, "Check if Chen Jincheng’s stream is using viewbots!"

The practice of using viewbots was currently rampant on Tiao Yin, a fact the company was well aware of. He knew very well what the real numbers were for top streamers like Wangzai, whose "million-plus" viewers were, in reality, only about 400,000-plus even with a promotional boost.

Once functions like Ads+ and the shopping cart feature went live, traffic for PK streamers would be diluted, and it would be good if that number could even be maintained at one-third of its current level.

Before long, Han Shangyou received the report: "President Han, Chen Jincheng’s stream is not using viewbots."

"Understood," Han Shangyou replied, his smile widening.

’As long as the numbers are real, that’s what matters.’

Chen Jincheng’s success further proved that while PK streamers could be a genre on Tiao Yin, they couldn’t be the platform’s top stars or its public face.

...

Little Maru had been waiting in the wings, and after Chen Jincheng finished speaking, she walked onto the livestream stage.

A pretty girl with a great figure is a welcome sight anywhere, and the viewers greeted her with enthusiasm. Naturally, many people also recognized her:

"I think she was an influencer from CYH before. She even competed against Wang Qiqi."

"That’s right, it’s her. I can’t believe she joined Second-Life Star."

"If you can’t beat them, join them. It’s perfectly normal!"

"I just didn’t expect Brother Cheng to give her a new song right away."

"..."

After coming on stage, Little Maru first introduced herself, then looked toward her boss, a hint of inexpressible tenderness in her eyes.

’Coming to Second-Life Star was truly the best decision I’ve ever made.’

’After all, how many people have a boss who’s so handsome, talented, and in such good shape?’

Her feelings were akin to those a powerful boss might have for his stunningly beautiful secretary.

Crucially, she was now discovering that this boss didn’t seem to be a scumbag, nor did he sleep around like she’d imagined. This made her like him even more.

Once Little Maru finished her introduction, Chen Jincheng smiled broadly at the viewers and said, "Alright, and now, we present our new song, ’Little Dimples’."

As he finished speaking, Lao Chen had the staff cue the music. A moment later, the instrumental track for "Little Dimples" began to play.

Master Yu immediately grabbed a glass of water and stared intently at his screen.

He was paying closer attention to this song than anyone else, because he was determined to tear it apart and prove that Chen Jincheng’s new song was a failure—that the previous one, "Can’t Help Falling in Love," was just a fluke.

At almost that exact same instant, Little Maru also looked toward her boss.

Because this song came with a "+100% Sweetness" attribute for Chen Jincheng when singing with a female partner, everyone noticed that in that instant, Little Maru’s gaze completely transformed. The way she looked at Chen Jincheng suddenly became incredibly sweet.

This instantaneous change was so abrupt and intense that it made everyone take notice.

Chen Jincheng’s voice soon rang out:

"I’m still searching for someone to rely on..."

"Happiness is starting to show its signs..."

Clearly, the song was beautiful. As the two sang their duet, they immediately captured everyone’s attention. Under the influence of the "+100% Sweetness" attribute, everyone could feel just how sweet the song was, and a single thought surfaced in their minds: ’Now *this* is a real love song, isn’t it?’

’Incredible.’

Especially when they sang the chorus together, the way they looked at each other, the unrestrained sweetness in their eyes, sent a wave of warmth straight to the listeners’ hearts.