Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 303 - 133: Homecoming: Small New Year’s Happiness

Li Younan, of course, hoped little Shengjiang could understand this parting message, but if it really could understand, that would be too bizarre.

Little Shengjiang just looked at him, full of confusion.

Li Younan pinched little Shengjiang’s mouth and nose, making the little creature sneeze, and he laughed heartily.

That did alleviate some of the sadness of parting.

When he left, little Shengjiang was already bouncing around again, probably thinking Li Younan would come to see it as usual the next day.

After Li Younan left, Lan Yiyi happily patted little Shengjiang’s head and said with satisfaction, "Well done."

The weather got colder and New Year’s Day was approaching.

...

Two days later, Li Younan returned home. There were still a few days until the New Year’s Day festival.

The reason it took two days was that he was delayed in Chengdu for a day, primarily to buy some gifts.

Besides gifts for his mom and some important relatives and friends, Li Younan specifically bought a Zoro figurine for jk Long. It wasn’t too expensive, just a few thousand yuan.

At this point, he could spend this amount without batting an eye.

The earning speed now truly astonished him; he only needed to take two or three ads a month to earn a substantial six-figure income, and over a year, it easily reached a substantial seven figures.

Moreover, as his fan base continued to grow, it seemed like there was potential for even greater earnings.

In the web celebrity industry, it’s not easy to maintain freshness, and a continuous output of creative content is even harder to achieve.

So, many influencers quickly monetize after achieving a certain follower count, which instead harms their public image, and they soon disappear.

If not, some scandal is unearthed, or the video content is fake, commonly known as a "collapse."

But Li Younan thought he probably wouldn’t collapse, as everything was real.

Not long ago, jk Long sent him a video, which was a debunking video targeting fake online streamers. It briefly mentioned the video of Li Younan renovating his grandparents’ old house.

The logic in it was not very rigorous, mostly speculative, concluding that Li Younan must have shot the video under the pretense of renovating the old house to gain traffic.

Li Younan simply ignored it, as the video’s engagement was only in the tens of thousands of likes.

Nonetheless, some people in the comment section, though unaware of the truth, commented recklessly, saying things like, "Nowadays influencers? It’s all staged. Believe it at your own risk!"

"No need to say more. How many videos about old house renovations are genuine?"

Even though some die-hard fans argued reasonably in the comment section, claiming they watched Li Younan’s livestream throughout, they were overpowered by the debunking video creator’s control over the comments.

Li Younan just laughed it off. As long as they didn’t bother him directly, he disregarded it. These kinds of noisy voices couldn’t be completely eliminated. Responding would only give them more traffic, which wasn’t necessary.

This type of person, who gains traffic by causing controversy, is bound to be overshadowed by the very traffic they seek; it’s just a matter of time.

It’s not the right path.

Li Younan shipped the figurine intended for jk Long to the address from which jk Long had previously sent him something. Just as he was about to notify jk Long, a message from jk Long arrived first.

jk Long, with their usual swagger, said, "New Year’s Day is coming up, and I have prepared a little something for you as a festival gift." Then jk Long sent a photo.

Li Younan took a closer look; it seemed to be a flashlight.

A flashlight like this might not be cheap, and for someone who frequently ventures outdoors, it would certainly come in handy.

He was a little surprised and touched; he hadn’t anticipated such a mutual understanding when it came to gift-giving.

Li Younan said, "How can I accept this? Hahaha... But I also got something for you. I think you’ll like it."

jk Long paused for a moment and calmly responded, "You don’t have to do this. Sending you a small gift shouldn’t make you feel guilty enough to say such things and hurriedly buy something in return. It’s pointless and meaningless..."

A bit speechless, Li Younan wondered if this is what jk Long thought of him. He messaged jk Long saying, "Is the phone number you used for the drone last time still in use? You can check the shipping information for that number to find out."

There was no response for a while from jk Long. After some time, there was a single, cold "ha" in reply.

Li Younan smugly said, "It seems we do have a mutual understanding about this. I really like the flashlight, thank you. I hope you’ll like what I got for you too."

jk Long asked, "What did you get me?"

Li Younan said mysteriously, "You’ll find out when you receive it."

...

Upon returning to the county town, Li Younan first went home to start up his car, which hadn’t been used for a long time, letting it idle for a while.

This was to clean out the carbon deposits in the engine, and also to charge the battery for a bit.

When the time was about right, he left to pick up his mom from work, perfectly timing his arrival.

His mother, Xiao Xue, had been working in the finance department of the local rural commercial bank ever since she transferred there a few years ago, consistently maintaining a regular work schedule.

Li Younan drove straight into the gate of the county’s rural commercial bank.