Bella instantly lost her composure.
This silly girl never lied. She would either say nothing or tell the absolute truth.
"Where? Where? Let me see!"
Knowing that Shirley Taylor streamed on her laptop, Bella immediately grabbed it and opened it.
When the post-stream summary screen appeared, Bella froze in shock at the numbers.
Earnings: 35.9 million soundwaves.
New Followers: 67,000.
Viewers: 1.05 million.
Top 0.1% of streamers.
Bella knew that 1 soundwave equaled 0.1 yuan.
This meant Shirley had received over 3 million yuan in gifts?!
Her eyes widened as she pointed at the "million" digit on the screen, her hand trembling.
"Shirley, did the platform make a mistake and add an extra zero here?"
Shirley Taylor blushed and lowered her head, summing it up in the simplest way possible:
"I didn't have classes this afternoon, so I streamed for a bit. A big brother got into a spat with someone and told me to do a PK, and then he sent all this."
"???"
To Asa, Shirley's explanation sounded like a thunderclap.
She couldn't stop herself from screaming, "What?! You earned over 3 million from a PK this afternoon?!"
Asa felt completely blindsided.
She had been streaming tirelessly for over six months. First, she taught herself scripted talking points, then she applied to join a guild, and after paying a hefty price, finally got management to allocate resources to her.
Even after all that effort, she had barely managed to make 10,000 USD in half a year.
Meanwhile, Shirley Taylor had been streaming for less than a week and had already made the equivalent of 20 years' worth of her earnings.
Who could she even complain to about this?
"It's the same guy I was just chatting with," Shirley Taylor said, holding up her phone and showing James's photo.
"You... you..."
Asa was so jealous she felt like crying, struggling to form a coherent sentence.
This lucky little girl had stumbled upon a wealthy benefactor on TikTok and instantly transformed into a millionaire.
Asa's eyes reddened.
Nothing cuts deeper than seeing someone close to you suddenly get rich.
But Asa understood.
Shirley's looks and figure were far superior to her own.
The only reason Shirley hadn't been noticed by a rich, handsome man earlier was her habit of keeping her head down, hiding behind her long hair, and being shy.
If Shirley ever decided to dress up a bitâthrowing on something like white stockingsâshe'd transform into a one-in-a-million, top-tier lolita.
It was inevitable that a rich man would come for her. Asa had foreseen this.
She just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
Asa felt miserable, but there was nothing she could do.
As James had said on WhatsApp: "Looks are what your parents gave you; you can't go back to the factory and remake yourself."
Bella, after a brief moment of excitement, slowly calmed down.
She wasn't the kind of girl who was obsessed with money. One or two million didn't faze her much.
After carefully examining James's photo and scrolling through the chat logs, Bella firmly concluded:
"This guy's clearly a player. He's trying to trick you into bed. Does he think women are commodities?"
"Three million, though. If it were me, I'd be willing," Asa said, practically drooling.
"..."
Shirley Taylor stared blankly at the two of them, her thoughts unclear.
"Shirley, now I have to go with you. Rich men are never good people," Bella said seriously.
"Oh, please, miss high and mighty. You don't understand how tough it is for us poor folks. Easy for you to talk," Asa grumbled before turning to Shirley with a tone of flattery.
"Shirley, let's share the wealth. Take me with you when you meet him, okay?"
Unconsciously, Asa's attitude toward Shirley Taylor had grown more respectful.
"Okay," Shirley Taylor nodded obediently.
...
Meanwhile, James happily closed his chat with Shirley Taylor.
After getting into Jay Johnson's car, he called Amanda to ask what food was available at the barâeven instant noodles would do.
At that moment, Amanda was at home preparing dinner for her daughter, Timmy.
Hearing her phone ring, she wiped her hands on her apron and stepped into the living room to pick it up.
Noticing that Timmy had scattered her toys all over the floor again, Amanda called out in a long, drawn-out voice:
"Timmy~"
"Hm?" A five-year-old girl looked up at her mom with a puzzled expression.
"Pick up your things, okay? You need to put them away," Amanda said patiently.
"But I'm not done playing," Timmy replied in her soft, childish voice.
"Put away the ones you're not playing with. Look, your Ultraman toy over thereâit's missing its head."
Amanda picked up her phone as she spoke.
Seeing that it was James calling, she felt a little surprised.
She had assumed moving out with her daughter yesterday would scare off the second-generation politician, but here he was, calling again today.
"The monster rawr rawr ate his head!" Timmy ran over, proudly holding the broken toy up to her mom's leg like it was a treasure.
"Look, Mommy! He's out of energy now."
Amanda placed a finger to her lips, signaling for silence, and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Amanda, are you at the bar?"
"Your Majesty King, hitting the bar so early?" Amanda teased with a laugh.
"Yeah, I've got nowhere else to go. Your place is my only option," James replied helplessly.
"We don't open until 8 PM. That's still two hours away."
"Ah, so I'll have to settle for instant noodles then."
"Wow, so tragic. What about that girl you were with yesterday? Won't she cook for you?"
"She called me a scumbag and dumped me," James complained dramatically.
"Poor thing. Want me to set you up with an obedient, sweet little lady to comfort our wounded King?" Amanda teased.
"I've got plenty of lovely girls here."
James was about to agree when a young, innocent voice suddenly piped up over the phone:
"Mommy, I'm a sweet and obedient little lady too!"
The voice sounded like a child.
Realizing Amanda had a daughter, James quickly apologized.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you during personal time."
"No need to be so formal. In my line of work, this is when we schedule guests to come in," Amanda said casually before covering the phone and turning to her daughter.
"Timmy, sweetie, you can't interrupt Mommy while she's working, okay?"
"Okay. But can I go comfort the uncle you're talking to?"
Timmy's innocent, wide eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked up at her mom.
At five or six years old, she was brimming with curiosity about the world.
She had seen in cartoons how characters comforted each other, so hearing her mom mention "comforting" made her eager to help.
"..."
Amanda was stunned by her daughter's words.
Her face darkened instantly. She let go of the phone, grabbed Timmy's arm, and raised her voice:
"Who taught you to say something like that?!"Bella instantly lost her composure.
This silly girl never lied. If she didn't want to say something, she'd keep quiet, but if she did speak, it was always the truth.
"Where? Where? Let me see!"
Knowing Shirley Taylor streamed on her laptop, Bella immediately grabbed it and opened it up.
On the screen was the post-stream summary page.
Bella froze when she saw the numbers, her jaw dropping.
Earnings: 35.9 million soundwaves.
New Followers: 67,000.
Viewers: 1.05 million.
Top 0.1% of streamers.
Bella knew that 1 soundwave was equivalent to $0.10.
That meant this silly girl had received over 3 million in gifts?
Her eyes widened, trembling as she pointed at the figures on the screen, struggling to believe:
"Shirley, is this a mistake? Did the platform accidentally add an extra zero?"
Shirley Taylor blushed and lowered her head, summing it up with a single sentence:
"I didn't have classes this afternoon, so I streamed for a bit. A big brother was having a spat with someone and told me to do a PK. Then he sent me all that."
"???"
To Asa, those words sounded like a bombshell detonating.
She couldn't help but shriek:
"What?! Just one PK and you made three million?!"
Asa was dumbfounded.
She'd worked tirelessly as a streamer for over half a year, learning scripted lines on her own, joining a guild after negotiating hard, and paying a hefty price to get management to funnel resources her way.
After six long months, she'd finally made just shy of $10,000.
Meanwhile, Shirley Taylor had been streaming for less than a week and had already earned what would take her 20 years.
Who could she even complain to about this injustice?
"It was that big brother we were just talking about," Shirley Taylor explained, showing them James's photo on her phone.
"You... you..."
Asa felt a pang of jealousy so strong it almost made her cry. She struggled to find the words to express herself.
Just imagining this naïve little girl stumbling upon a wealthy benefactor on TikTok, turning into a millionaire overnight, made Asa's eyes redden.
Nothing breaks someone's spirit more than seeing someone close to them suddenly get rich.
But Asa had to admit, Shirley Taylor's looks and figure were far superior to her own.
If it weren't for her shy personality, her habit of keeping her head down, and her face hidden behind her long hair, a rich and handsome man would have noticed her long ago.
If Shirley ever learned how to dress upâputting on white stockings or somethingâshe'd easily transform into a one-in-a-million adorable lolita.
It was only a matter of time before someone rich swept her off her feet. Asa had seen it coming.
She just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
Asa felt bitter but knew there was nothing she could do about it.
As James had said on WhatsApp: "Looks are what your parents gave you; you can't go back to the factory and remake yourself."
Bella, after her initial excitement, slowly calmed down.
She wasn't the kind of girl who was obsessed with money. A couple million wasn't enough to shock her deeply.
Taking Shirley Taylor's phone, she carefully examined James's photo and scrolled through the chat logs. After a moment, she declared:
"This guy's clearly a player. He's trying to trick you into bed. Does he think women are commodities?"
"Well, it's three million. If it were me, I'd be willing," Asa said, practically drooling.
"..."
Shirley Taylor sat there, staring blankly at the two of them, lost in her thoughts.
"Shirley, now I have to go with you. Rich men are never good people," Bella said firmly.
"Ugh, you don't understand how hard it is for us poor people. Easy for you to say when you're not struggling," Asa muttered before turning to Shirley Taylor with a more flattering tone.
"Shirley, let's share the blessings. Take me with you when you meet him, okay?"
Unconsciously, Asa's tone toward Shirley Taylor had grown more respectful.
"Okay," Shirley Taylor nodded obediently.
...
Meanwhile, James happily closed his chat with Shirley Taylor.
After hopping into Jay Johnson's car, he called Amanda to ask what food was available at the barâeven instant noodles would do.
At that moment, Amanda was at home preparing dinner for her daughter, Timmy.
Hearing her phone ring, she wiped her hands on her apron and stepped into the living room to pick it up.
Noticing the toys scattered all over the floor, she called out in a long, drawn-out voice:
"Timmy~"
"Hm?" A five-year-old girl looked up at her mother with a puzzled expression.
"You need to put your things away, sweetie, okay?" Amanda's tone was gentle and patient.
"But I'm not done playing yet," Timmy replied in her soft, childish voice.
"Put away the ones you're not playing with. Look, your Ultraman has his head twisted off in the corner," Amanda said as she picked up her phone.
Seeing that the call was from James, she felt a bit surprised.
She had thought moving out with her daughter yesterday would scare off that second-generation politician. Yet here he was, calling again today.
"His head got eaten by the monster, rawr!" Timmy picked up the broken toy, ran to her mother's leg, and proudly held it up.
"Mommy, look! He's out of energy now."
Amanda placed a finger to her lips in a "shush" gesture, signaling her daughter to stay quiet.
She then answered James's call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Amanda, are you at the bar?"
"Your Majesty King, hitting the bar so early?" Amanda teased with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I've got nowhere else to go. Your place is the only spot I can hang out," James sighed.
"Heh, we don't open until 8 PM. That's two more hours."
"Ah, guess I'll have to settle for instant noodles then."
"Wow, so tragic. What about that girl you were with yesterday? Isn't she cooking for you?"
"She called me a scumbag and dumped me," James groaned dramatically.
"Poor thing. Want me to set you up with an obedient, sweet little lady to soothe your broken heart, Your Majesty?" Amanda teased.
"I've got plenty of lovely girls here."
James was about to say yes when he suddenly heard a child's voice on the other end of the line:
"Mommy, I'm a sweet and obedient little lady too!"
The voice sounded like a little girl.
Realizing Amanda had a child, James quickly apologized.
"Sorry, didn't mean to bother you during your personal time."
"No need to be so formal. This is when we usually schedule guests to come play anyway," Amanda replied casually before covering the phone and scolding her daughter.
"Timmy, sweetie, you can't interrupt Mommy when she's working, okay?"
"Okay. But can I go cheer up that uncle you're talking to?"
Timmy's innocent, wide eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked up at her mother.
At five or six years old, she was at the age where everything in the world fascinated her.
She'd seen cartoons where the characters cheered each other up, so hearing her mom say "cheer him up" made her volunteer eagerly.
"..."
Amanda was stunned by her daughter's words.
Her face darkened instantly. Letting go of the phone, she grabbed Timmy's arm and, with her voice raised, demanded:
"Who taught you to say things like that?!"