How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 75

Xun Wukong’s [Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, is a famous figure in Chinese mythology] live stream instantly exploded in popularity, drawing in other streamers and viewers eager to see what the fuss was about.

Starting with a modest 100,000 popularity points, the live stream quickly soared to a staggering 10 million.

It’s said that the actual number of viewers is calculated by dividing the popularity value by 100, meaning Xun Wukong’s live stream was currently hosting an audience of 100,000.

Comments:

“I heard there were big spenders here, so I came to pay my respects. Rich overlords [大佬, dàlǎo, literally ‘big boss,’ refers to wealthy and influential people], come check out my live stream.”

“I really don’t get what these rich guys [大佬] are into. There are streamers like this everywhere. Why her specifically?”

“Is the one gifting a kindergarten kid? Are you serious?!”

“Can kindergarteners even give gifts on here?”

…

Unextinguished Star@LonelyRootOfSmoke: “Bro, what do you think about this round? Should we keep going?”

A super fire gift costs 2,000 yuan [approximately $280 USD], so a thousand of them would be 2 million [approximately $280,000 USD].

Normally, LonelyRootOfSmoke wouldn’t continue to compete.

Comments:

“Smoke Bro, just admit defeat. You can’t afford to throw that kind of money around.”

“2 million啊 [ah, an exclamation], my goodness, an entire apartment gone just like that.”

“Smoke Bro, keep going! Don’t let the brothers down.”

…

The streamer had never witnessed such a spectacle. In addition to other streamers and viewers, numerous super moderators had also entered the room.

Concerned about attracting unwanted attention, she quickly said, “Everyone, please don’t cause any trouble. Smoke Bro has been so generous to me, and I’ll always appreciate his kindness. Smoke Bro, please stop sending gifts. Star Bro, thank you. I’ll sing any song you want to hear in the future. I’ll sing ‘An Ordinary Hero’ for you now.”

Comments:

“Does this mean she’s ditching Smoke Bro?”

“Yeah! Sounds like she’s dropping Smoke Bro like a hot potato!”

“Little Xun is so smart. She goes with whoever has the most money.”

“Smoke Bro, don’t cry, get back in the game and fight!”

“Smoke Bro, don’t give up, or you’ll have wasted over a million.”

…

Whether LonelyRootOfSmoke genuinely had deep pockets or simply couldn’t bear the taunts in the comments, he decided he wanted to continue.

LonelyRootOfSmoke@Unextinguished Star: “A measly 2 million? Do you think I care about that? At worst, I’ll spend less for the next six months. I must win this battle of pride. Tomorrow night at eight, we continue!”

After sending this message, LonelyRootOfSmoke left the live stream.

Comments:

“Smoke Bro is raising funds for a major showdown tomorrow night!”

“This streamer is so lucky. She actually snagged two rich fans.”

“Is this what rich people are into now? There are tons of girls like her in the beauty section. Why did they pick her?”

…

Yang Chen had chosen Xun Wukong’s Xun simply because he found the ID amusing; it had nothing to do with her personally.

Now, Yang Chen was realizing how difficult it was to convert 100 million virtual coins into actual cash. After all this effort, he had only managed to convert a little over 2 million.

Just then, Yang Chen’s backend flashed a notification: 99+ private messages.

Yang Chen opened them and quickly scanned through them. They were mostly flattering messages from various streamers, both famous and obscure.

Cute Xiaomi Er: “Brother, come to my live stream, I can do offline private dates哦 [ó, a versatile particle often used to soften the tone or express a suggestion].”

Dominant Sister Xiaoba Wang: “Brother, I sing better than her. I sing ‘An Ordinary Hero’ really well. Come visit sometime, I can also treat you to dinner and a movie哦.”

…

Flute-Playing Ali: “Brother, I sing well too, and I can play the flute. Want to come over and give it a try?”

…

Besides these streamers, Xun Wukong’s Xun had also sent dozens of private messages.

“Star Bro, thank you for the gifts.”

“Star Bro, remember to find me tomorrow if you have time.”

“Star Bro, I want to sing ‘An Ordinary Hero’ for you in person.”

…

Yang Chen was only interested in cashing out, not in dating female streamers, so he had no intention of replying to any of these messages.

It was getting late, and he had to wake up early tomorrow to eat at his aunt’s house.

So, Yang Chen logged out of the platform and went to sleep.

Around 11 o’clock, Yang Chen drove to his aunt’s house in Suzhou [a city in Jiangsu province, known for its canals and classical gardens].

His cousin Li Xiaofei rushed over and hugged Yang Chen, excitedly saying, “Chen Bro, you’re here! I heard from my mom that you broke up with Zhao Feifei, is that right?”

Yang Chen nodded and said, “Yes. We broke up.”

Li Xiaofei happily said, “Great! I never liked her. I’m so glad you finally broke up.”

Aunt Chen Yuyan immediately scolded, “Xiaofei, how can you say that?”

Li Xiaofei retorted unhappily, “What? Chen Bro already broke up with her, can’t I say it? I told you a long time ago that Zhao Feifei wasn’t a good person, but you didn’t believe me. Now my opinion has been confirmed, right?”

Yang Chen didn’t want to dwell on Zhao Feifei, so he quickly changed the subject, “Aunt said you scored 610 points on the exam?”

Li Xiaofei nodded, very proudly replying, “Yeah! I just performed normally啦 [la, a particle used to soften the tone or indicate a statement of fact].”

Chen Yuyan shook her head speechlessly and turned to go to the kitchen to cook.

“Not bad! You matched my college entrance exam score back then. Which school are you thinking of applying to?” Yang Chen asked.

A score of 610 wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exceptional either.

It was a few points short of getting into top-tier universities like the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Peking University [two of the most prestigious universities in China], but more than enough for second-tier universities.

Back then, Yang Chen hadn’t wanted to leave Hai City, so he had chosen Hai City University of Finance and Economics.

Li Xiaofei replied, “I don’t know which school to apply to either. Chen Bro, give me some advice.”

“What do you want to do in the future?” Yang Chen asked.

“I want to become a high-level white-collar worker in urban dramas in the future,” Li Xiaofei replied.

“That’s too broad. Many majors can lead to office jobs. What industry do you want to work in? For example, foreign trade, finance, accounting, marketing planning, etc.,” Yang Chen continued to ask.

Li Xiaofei shook her head. She didn’t have a clear plan for the future.

Choosing a university might not be the most important thing. The key was choosing a major.

If you choose a good major, even at a slightly less prestigious university, you can still find a good job after graduation.

If you choose a bad major, even an unpopular one at a top university, it will be difficult to find a job after graduation.

But Li Xiaofei didn’t have any ideas about the future, so Yang Chen couldn’t offer any specific advice.

After a while, Aunt came out in a hurry.

“Chenzi, hurry, add this WeChat. This girl is 23 years old this year and is a very successful female streamer. She’s beautiful and her income is good. She’s the daughter of my junior high school classmate and is now in Hai City. After dinner, hurry back and ask her out for dinner tonight to chat,” Chen Yuyan said.

As expected of his own aunt, she was really efficient.

However, Yang Chen didn’t need a blind date right now, so he said, “Aunt, I don’t want to find someone now, let’s talk about it later.”

Chen Yuyan lightly tapped the back of Yang Chen’s head and said, “What nonsense are you talking about? You’re already 25 years old. If you confirm a relationship now, it will take two or three years to get married. You’ll be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old by then. If you want a two-year period to enjoy being a couple, you’ll be thirty. The children born at that time will be affected in quality. You still say you’re not in a hurry? Hurry up and add her as a friend.”

Li Xiaofei laughed and said, “Chen Bro, just add her quickly, otherwise my mom will bother you so much that you won’t be able to eat or sleep peacefully.”

Just add her then; whether or not to go on a blind date is another matter.

So Yang Chen added the girl’s WeChat in front of his aunt.

“Hello, I’m Chen Yuyan’s nephew, Yang Chen.”

After a moment, the other party accepted the friend request.

Li Xiaofei immediately said, “Chen Bro, open her Moments [WeChat’s social media feed], I’ll see if she’s a good girl.”

Yang Chen asked with a smile, “What, you have that ability?”

“Of course. Women know women best. I can tell at a glance if she’s a green tea婊 [green tea b*tch, a derogatory term for a seemingly innocent but manipulative woman] or a female海王 [sea king, a player who dates multiple people simultaneously],” Li Xiaofei said confidently.

Yang Chen then opened the other party’s Moments and immediately frowned.

This world is so small. The girl his aunt introduced was actually Xun Wukong’s Xun.