Chu Yi entered the live broadcast room, casually chatting with the audience and grabbing a cup of water for a refreshing drink, taking a short break.
Some viewers expressed dissatisfaction with this, arguing that Chu Yi's action was too unexpected. In the world of eSports, there's no gender bias, and the battle royale field is merciless. How could one easily give up a victory that was within reach?
However, a portion of the audience strongly supported Chu Yi's decision. They felt that cooperating with a cute girl in the game, blocking bullets for her, and giving her a chance to win was the right thing to do.
After finishing his drink, Chu Yi engaged in a pleasant conversation with his audience. Just as he was about to start the next game, a friend request popped up on the live stream interface.
Strawberry was requesting to add him as a friend.
This message immediately sparked a heated discussion among the fans in the live stream!
Oreo: "So the streamer's self-grenade was for this!"
Ora: "Learned something new!"
MyNameIsVeryLong...: "Tsk tsk, the streamer's tactics are so deep."
Strawberry's Fangirls: "It's over, Strawberry got hooked!"
The fans generally believed that Chu Yi's act of self-grenading was to attract Strawberry's attention. When she took the initiative to send a friend request, Chu Yi should accept it without hesitation.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Chu Yi chose to decline!
"A friend like that is useless, her skills are too weak, she can't help me rank up," Chu Yi explained indifferently.
The fans were in an uproar after hearing this!
Does he really only care about eSports performance?
He's turning down such a beautiful girl?
What was his self-grenade really for?
Chu Yi's real thought was simple: Add useful friends, ignore the useless ones.
In his view, Strawberry's skills were too poor; teaming up with her in the future would be a burden. Although she was a female streamer, he didn't find her attractive. He believed that truly beautiful streamers were in the dance or singing sections. Game streamers usually had irregular schedules, spending long hours in front of computer screens playing games late into the night, and it was unlikely for them to be attractive. Considering Strawberry's poor skills and timidity, he estimated she didn't have many fans.
Therefore, he felt there was no need to add her as a friend.
Suddenly, Chu Yi felt the urge to use the restroom. He turned on his microphone and said to his fans, "I'm going to the toilet, I'll be right back," then stood up and left.
In the live stream room:
Oreo: "The timing is always the same!"
Desert Eagle: "But the toilet is still the same toilet!"
Suddenly, Chu Yi thought of Strawberry, the streamer he had just encountered. Curious, he decided to search for her online to catch a glimpse of her real appearance and to see how many followers she had. If she indeed had thousands of fans, then perhaps adding her as a friend wouldn't be a bad idea.
So, he opened his phone browser and typed "DouXiongPanda Live Streaming Strawberry" into the search bar.
He pressed the search button.
The next second, he stared in shock at his phone screen, even stopping his restroom activities.
Strawberry had millions of followers! Not hundreds, but millions! This technically unremarkable Strawberry had such an astonishing number of followers! What was going on?
Chu Yi scrolled down and finally found a photo of Strawberry.
The moment he saw the photo, Chu Yi understood why Strawberry had so many fans.
The photo seemed to be captured from one of Strawberry's live streams. In it, she wore a simple white short-sleeved T-shirt and fashionable white large headphones, her skin as delicate as shrimp flesh. Her big eyes sparkled with vivacity, and her red lips were enticing. Her golden, wavy hair added to her stunning appearance. It was undeniable; if she claimed to be a movie star, many would believe it without a doubt!
Staring at the phone screen, Chu Yi was overwhelmed. Strawberry was nothing like he had imagined. She was not just ordinary but an astonishingly beautiful woman!
She was a top influencer among popular streamers!
So famous that her popularity was off the charts!
Why on earth did Chu Yi decline her friend request just now?
At that moment, Chu Yi felt like slapping himself to shake out the foolishness from his brain. Such a beautiful woman, a popular streamer with a million followers, had sent him a friend request, and he had declined it! What was he thinking?
With no longer any mood to use the restroom, Chu Yi hurried back to his computer.
As soon as he sat down, another friend request popped up, again from Strawberry. It seemed she hadn't given up after being rejected once and sent another invitation.
The live stream audience saw this and began to comment:
"Our streamer is no ordinary person. He won't be swayed by Strawberry."
"She got rejected and still sends another request? Embarrassing for Strawberry!"
"Our streamer will surely reject again. Why is Strawberry even trying?"
"Poor Strawberry, she met a streamer who brings the spirit of the game into the live stream."
Chu Yi quickly clicked accept, as if any hesitation would make him miss the opportunity.
The live stream audience: ······
After a brief silence, the viewers began to tease:
"Didn't he just reject her? Why accept now?"
"Our streamer is really unpredictable!"
"Can't figure out what he's thinking!"
"Is our streamer a bit neurotic?"
After becoming friends, Strawberry immediately sent Chu Yi a team-up request. Without any hesitation, Chu Yi accepted.
They were playing on a desert map in duo mode, starting the match.
"Big brother, thank you for the last game!" Strawberry seemed very excited. "Can you carry me to a victory this time?"
"Of course, no problem!" Chu Yi nodded quickly. "I promise you a victory. Just follow my lead."
Strawberry was momentarily stunned. Just a few minutes ago, Chu Yi's attitude towards her was quite cold and ruthless, even forcing her to hop around in the final circle at gunpoint. But now, the change was so rapid and unexpected, turning from brisk to passionately warm.
"That's great, thank you! I finally found a reliable 'big leg' to cling to!" Strawberry quickly recovered, responding with joy. Having witnessed Chu Yi's skill, his precise shooting was on par with professional players. With such a solid support, why fear not making it to the final circle?
The game interface immediately appeared, transporting the audience to a desert spawn island covered in yellow sand.
Chu Yi knew that establishing a good relationship with Strawberry could attract more fans for him. Considering his previously fierce attitude towards her, he felt a bit guilty and embarrassed, making it harder to start a conversation.
Weighing his options, Chu Yi chose to maintain his usual live streaming style - aloof and sparing with words.
The game went smoothly. Chu Yi landed on the outskirts of Picado and soon gathered a fully equipped Viktor and a 98k. He wreaked havoc in the Picado area, taking down 6 enemies. Then, riding a small motorcycle, he roamed the map, sniping any blockers, ultimately winning the match with 12 kills.
Strawberry followed Chu Yi like a shadow throughout, excitedly looting and loudly praising his skills. Although she didn't kill anyone, her joy was evident.
As the stream was about to end, Strawberry asked with anticipation, "Big brother, when will you stream next?"
Chu Yi was pleased inside, sensing that Strawberry wanted to team up again. He replied, "Tomorrow night, but I can't promise to stream every day. Mostly it's in the evenings."
After Strawberry left, Chu Yi also bid farewell to his live stream audience and ended the day's stream.
The day's earnings from gifts were substantial. After sharing with the platform, it amounted to over four hundred dollars. Surprisingly, his follower count was also soaring, increasing by a thousand in a blink. This growth rate was astonishing, like a rocket. Other game streamers would probably be embarrassed by such rapid growth in a newcomer. After all, many struggle for a month or even two without reaching a thousand followers, and here he achieved it overnight.
The speed of gaining followers was like flying!
He immediately withdrew today's earnings, $412.50, and seeing the notification of the deposit, he couldn't help but smile.
Night fell, and the sky turned dark, like a deep sea. The city lights twinkled outside the window, a sea of lights. He opened a workbook at his desk, diligently reading page by page. Outside, the leaves and grass rustled in the night wind, like the cycle of seasons, growing and withering endlessly.
In the course of several days of intense study, Chu Yi not only mastered three sets of practice problems but also completed several mock exams. With his exceptional intelligence, just a few days of effort brought him the equivalent of many students' months, or even a year's worth, of progress. A vast array of problem types were now deeply imprinted in his mind, and his knowledge was more solid than ever. With a resolute gaze, he stepped into the battlefield of the weekly test.
This time, he was determined to make a remarkable impression!
The weekly exam seating was arranged based on previous scores, and Chu Yi found himself in the last classroom, which gathered students with slightly lesser academic achievements. The exam hall was somewhat chaotic.
Before the exam started, only half of the students had arrived. It wasn't unusual for about half the students to be absent from these exams.
Among the remaining students, most weren't seriously preparing for the exam:
The student with the lowest grades in Class 10 was leisurely cracking sunflower seeds, with a small hill of shells already piled on his desk, seemingly his snack for the duration of the exam.
The last ranker in his class was engrossed in a mobile game, even parachuting in a battle royale game, which Chu Yi scorned. Not only lacking in academic prowess, but their gaming skills were also mediocre at best.
The bottom rankers of Classes 4, 5, 9, and 12 were playing Werewolf. The lowest scorer in Class 4 was commanding, "It's night time, please close your eyes!"
"Close your eyes! Close your eyes! I'm telling you to close your eyes!" The invigilator walked in at that moment, slamming the test papers down on the head of the Class 4 student. The other students quickly dispersed.
Chu Yi sighed lightly, looking around at the chaotic scene. He thought to himself that this might be his last time competing in the same arena with these people.
Next time, he would be in the first classroom, among the top students of each class!
At that moment, the last ranker of Class 2 turned around and tapped Chu Yi's desk, "Bro, I heard you've become quite popular recently?"
This Class 2 student was a forward on the school basketball team, nearly two meters tall, and often sat in front or behind Chu Yi during exams, making them quite familiar with each other.
"Popular?" Chu Yi was puzzled, not understanding what he meant. Was it about him playing the battle royale game at night that had spread around the school?
That shouldn't be the case, as he hadn't told anyone about it!
"I heard from several people that you beat up the principal in the classroom and made him acknowledge you as his 'big brother.' Is that true?" There was a mix of admiration and curiosity in the forward's eyes.
Chu Yi was baffled by this question.
What was this all about?
Me, beating up the principal?
Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to do such a thing!
The principal acknowledging me as his big brother?
That was ridiculous. The principal was a role model in teaching and education. How could such an absurd thing happen?
After a moment of reflection, Chu Yi roughly understood why the forward had such a misconception. It must have been the incident where he solved a math problem posed by the principal in the classroom, which his classmates then talked about. As the story passed from one class to another, everyone exaggerated it, and by the time it reached the forward, it had turned into an outrageous tale of "Chu Yi beating up the principal and being acknowledged as the big brother."