A busy and lively day began with Elysia waking up in a panic. She rushed from the bedroom to the bathroom like a gust of wind. To the sound of splashing water and a hair dryer, Lin, sitting by the window, slowly opened his eyes.
He couldn't quite understand why Elysia was in such a hurry to wash up.
"Aiyaya, when I rented this place before, it was just me. Now that I'm living with someone, Elysia must be a perfect girl at all times—from morning to night!"
"..." Is that the reason for the rush?
"Lin, did you sit there all night?" After walking out of the bathroom, Elysia saw Lin still sitting cross-legged by the window. She remembered he was in that exact position before she went to bed last night.
Moreover, the bedding Lin had laid out on the floor was as tidy as if it hadn't been touched.
Is he an ascetic monk? He didn't move his butt all night.
"No, I slept," Lin denied.
This made Elysia breathe a sigh of relief. If Lin couldn't sleep at her place, it would make her feel bad... but if he fell asleep directly and didn't care about her at all, she'd also feel a bit bad.
"Then let's talk about the streaming issue!"
Elysia eyes sparkled as she slid in front of Lin in a flash. "Teacher Lin! You were so confident last night; you must be a streaming expert, right?"
"No, I've never streamed once."
"Uh, then you've been working as a manager?"
"No, I've never tried that either."
"..."
Before Elysia expression could turn into total skepticism, Lin held up a hand and asked calmly, "What type of streaming do you do?"
"Don't you know? You even knew my weigh—no, no, what you knew was fake."
"..."
"Usually, I just stream games."
"What type of games?"
"I play everything..."
"Are there recordings?"
Lin found her previous recordings on Elysia computer. Starting from her very first stream, he fast-forwarded through her entire streaming career up until the day before yesterday.
It was peculiar to see Elysia happily streaming games. This was an unprecedented sight, but it was indeed something Elysia would do.
After finishing, Lin turned and reached out to Elysia: "First... give me money."
"...Are you sure you aren't here to scam me?"
"Even if I were to scam someone, I wouldn't pick someone who can't even afford dinner." Lin refined his wording and said succinctly, "We need to replace the hardware first. Where did your camera and microphone come from?"
"A set I got for free at the supermarket for a 99-yuan purchase. Why? As long as it works, isn't it fine?" Elysia asked blankly.
"Do you think you are beautiful?"
"I don't think anyone with 20/20 vision would ask that question."
"Then you should let your audience clearly see your peerless face and hear your sweet voice."
Lin continued: "The games you play are too niche; the streaming appeal is poor."
"But I think they're all fun, and their reputation in the player community is very high."
"Something being fun to play is not the same concept as it being fun to watch. Moreover, the label of a 'hidden gem' is often self-imposed by that niche audience. As a streamer, the first thing you must consider is the effect of the broadcast—whether you can give the audience an audio-visual experience and a unique viewing perspective."
Even if Lin had never been a streamer, he could analyze what a stream required.
"Finally, there's the 'gimmick.' A stream cannot succeed without a gimmick. Even if your looks are beyond compare, many people are willing to strip to become famous. A beautiful girl playing games is no longer enough to attract people."
"Then... what should we do?"
Elysia was already drawn in by Lin words. His professional aura made it feel like he was about to play the suona and march her into a coffin. Regardless of the actual results later, at least it sounded very feasible, didn't it?
Lin pointed a finger at the pink-haired girl. "You: average gaming skill."
"There's no rule saying everyone has to be a pro, right?"
He pointed a thumb at himself. "Me: top-tier gaming skill."
"Could... could it be..."
...
Why was he helping this world's Elysia with so-called "streaming"? Lin couldn't figure it out himself.
Maybe because she was "Elysia," or maybe because many people had asked him if he'd ever considered a different life. Just as Ato had said back then, Lin also wanted to see... their different lives.
"Hello everyone, I'm your rookie streamer, Eli-Eli-Ai! Today we're continuing our gaming stream."
Elysia was a bit nervous. Even though she had been streaming for a while, her heart tightened when she turned on the camera today. Was it the psychological effect of the new camera and mic?
"What we're playing today is a game that's been very popular recently."
Elysia stopped mid-sentence as if someone had choked her. She watched in wide-eyed shock as the popularity of her room exploded. The room, which used to have very few viewers, immediately became lively, and comments instantly filled the screen.
She looked at Lin, who was off-screen. Lin gave her a slight nod.
Lin had done this.
In fact, this was the innate advantage of a sweet-looking streamer. Lin had simply gone into the stream of a major MMO streamer and left a paid, highlighted message inviting them to "raid" her. Such streamers were happy to interact like this, making it a way to quickly accumulate a first batch of viewers.
Of course, how many stayed would depend on her.
Lin had naturally considered this. Thus, what to stream during prime time was obvious.
[Wow, such a pretty streamer.]
[Eh? The streamer is playing this game too? This one is super hard. Among the streamers I follow, only two have made it halfway. The rest died countless times in the first stage.]
"Y-yes, I'm challenging it to clear it!"
[You've got guts.]
Elysia calmed down. Lin watched silently as she began the game, interacting with the chat, and then...
Began dying endlessly.
Lin being a gaming expert didn't mean he would play for Elysia. Instead, he was the one to judge which games would make her "noobishness" look effective for the audience.
Getting slashed, stabbed, burned, drowned, or falling to her death—the variety of deaths in this game was endless. The developers had added many unimaginable ways to die, even being hunted to death for accidentally killing a chicken.
When the protagonist, who could trade blows with monsters, died to a villager's pitchfork, Elysia entire expression went blank.
A cute, peerless girl playing a super difficult game with absolute seriousness, declaring she would clear it, only to look utterly bewildered because she didn't even know how she died.
This kind of "showmanship," combined with the initial "gift" from other streamers, naturally caused her to... explode in popularity.
Standing by the window, Lin listened to Elysia tragic wails behind him. He closed his eyes and exhaled softly.