"Everyone… my dear family members—"
Zhang Yichen opened with "family members," instantly narrowing the distance between himself and the viewers.
"Wow, the top student is so friendly!"
"He's so affectionate toward us!"
"Handsome, I love you to death!"
Bullet comments flooded in like a tidal wave. That single word — family — instantly captured countless hearts.
Of course, they didn't know that this "family" wasn't said for free.
In his previous life, the influencers he'd seen would do anything for gifts and sales.
Just one "family," or worse, one "hey baby," and fans would pour out their hearts, their wallets… sometimes even public funds.
People who emptied their savings for a streamer were far too common.
To be honest, Zhang Yichen hated those methods.
Yet today, he had become exactly what he once disliked.
"Family members," Zhang Yichen continued, "today's first livestream has three goals."
"First — helping everyone here make money. For those of you with good vision, I'll let you enjoy the very first wave of this era's profits…"
He paused deliberately, giving his "family" time to digest his words.
"Make money? Do you think I can join?"
"Top student, I want to earn with you too!"
"Top student, we trust your judgment!"
"Why does this sound like a pyramid scheme?"
"Get lost upstairs. He's a top student — would he do that?"
"Exactly! Plus, isn't Sister Xiaoxi right beside him?"
Comments kept exploding.
Most people were instantly swayed by his compliment that they had "good vision."
The skeptics were drowned out within seconds.
Under this frenzied barrage of "family members," the livestream surged past five million viewers.
When the number reached his expectations, Zhang Yichen continued:
"Everyone should already know — Joy is the world's first open short-video platform. It's also the first platform where users can earn money."
"What does open mean? It means that no matter who you are or what your job is, as long as your video doesn't violate laws or public decency, you can upload it."
"Stop with the introduction! Just tell us how to earn!"
"Yeah, hurry up! I can't wait!"
"Cut the nonsense and tell us the result!"
Zhang Yichen smiled, his eyes flashing with mischief.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he leisurely picked up his water cup and took a small sip…
Letting the anticipation build a little longer.
During that brief sip, the bullet comments accelerated like machine-gun fire.
Urging voices piled on top of one another.
He remained calm, as if everything were under his control.
"Why so anxious, family members? You can't explain how to earn money in just one sentence."
Finally, he put the cup down.
His tone was teasing, but strangely reassuring — enough to quiet the restless audience.
Chen Xiaoxi sat beside him, looking calm on the surface, but beneath the table, her fingers twisted nervously.
She worried that if he misspoke, the fans might climb through the internet cable to beat him up.
Mainly because he loved acting cool a little too much…
She sneaked a glance at him. Seeing his relaxed expression, her anxiety eased slightly.
Li Yue stood to the side, phone in hand, closely monitoring comments and viewer statistics.
Her brows were faintly furrowed. She didn't love this suspense strategy, but she didn't interrupt.
"Family members," Zhang Yichen looked directly into the camera, his voice turning serious, "the first step to making money is understanding the platform's rules."
"You can read the rules yourselves. I'll get straight to the point: Joy isn't just a short-video app. It's a place where ordinary people can quickly chase their dreams."
"As long as you have any skill — singing, dancing, cooking, telling jokes — you can upload videos, attract fans, receive gifts, and earn ad revenue."
He paused again, checking the comments.
Exactly as expected, a flood of questions erupted:
"Is that really possible?"
"How do I upload videos?"
"Can I join even if I'm ugly?"
"I work construction — can I do it too?"
…
All kinds of bizarre questions flooded in.
"Family members, do you want to know what makes the most money on Joy?"
Zhang Yichen took another sip of water, maintaining the suspense.
"Yes!! Say it!!"
"I washed my ears!"
"Can you stop dragging it out?!"
"Seriously, hurry up!"
"My clothes are already off!"
"Upstairs, be serious! What does taking your clothes off have to do with making money?"
"Idiot, taking your clothes off makes people look at you! Even as a kid, I got attention with my bare chest!"
Zhang Yichen: "…"
The chat was completely going off the rails.
"Ahem… that guy talking about his giant bare chest — taking your clothes off is illegal."
"Anyway, back on topic. The most profitable feature on Joy is: livestreaming."
He immediately steered the conversation back on track.
"How do livestreams make money?"
"Yeah, explain clearly!"
"Hurry up already!"
They were getting impatient.
The atmosphere was perfect; if he dragged it out any longer, he really might get torn apart by netizens.
"Those who watched the last livestream already know this — on Joy, livestreams allow viewers to send gifts. I'll enable the gift function now and show you."
With that, he turned on the gifting feature and shot a glance at Li Yue.
She instantly understood.
This was her cue.
She nodded, opened the gifting interface, and sent a "Sky-Piercing Arrow."
Whoosh—!
A massive golden special effect streaked across the screen, filling the entire interface.
The public chat instantly displayed:
"Li Yue sent a Sky-Piercing Arrow in Chen Xiaoxi's livestream…"
"Damn!! What is that?!"
"A Sky-Piercing Arrow? That's insane!"
"Broooo, that special effect is incredible!"
The livestream exploded.
Comments surged like a blazing tide.
Zhang Yichen smiled slightly and explained:
"Family members, did you see that? That's the power of gifts. Every gift has real value. The more viewers send, the more the streamer earns."
He paused again, sweeping his gaze across the camera — confident and encouraging.
Right on cue, Li Yue sent a few more flashy gifts.