novelraw Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Chapter 93
"What's going on?"
Tong Yingying stepped out from the back room, and only then did she see the whole picture: beyond the bar's glass wall, customers were holding up phones and watching the drama unfold.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
She walked over with half-lidded eyes, pressed a hand on Yan Huan's shoulder, and gently pulled him behind her.
At the same time she glanced at the live-stream on the phone, wanting to know what was happening.
The weird part was—once the red-haired beauty walked into the frame, the originally explosive barrage of gifts suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
.
No more effects, no more sound.
The gift animations vanished like mist, leaving the screen stark and clear.
All that remained in the comment section was a flood of question marks.
???
???
.
Tong Yingying, completely baffled, turned to Yan Huan and Tian Li.
"So what, is this Schrödinger's gift? As soon as I observe it, the gift state collapses?"
Tian Li stayed silent for a second, then gave her a big thumbs-up.
"Just shows how awesome you are, Sis Tong."
"Scram."
"On it, sis."
Tong Yingying glanced at the live room—its heat had rocketed straight to first place in the South District rankings.
She caught sight of the two default-avatar whales sitting at number one and two, snorted coldly, and muttered,
"Why throw gifts like maniacs? Is money that easy to earn nowadays? Nutjobs."
Tian Li behind her was pale, flapping his hands in panic, but Yan Huan—knowing his sis's temperament—could only look away in resignation.
Inside a mansion in Jinghe District, Sakuramiya Hitomi frowned at the screen. The more she studied Tong Yingying, the stranger the woman seemed.
This is the President's boss?
Someone's showering her with money and she's not happy?
By Hitomi's experience in a family steeped in capital, anything this abnormal had to have an angle.
Meanwhile, at Ye International's headquarters.
A secretary in a tailored suit knocked on the door and called to Ye Shiyu, who was also staring at the screen with a cold face.
"Shiyu, dinner's ready."
Ye Shiyu only shook her head slightly and kept her eyes on the phone.
Inside the live room the bullet comments were now bursting at the seams.
"The boss throws cash and still gets roasted—66666!!"
"LMAO, the rich ladies are dumping gifts and the real boss shows up. Bring on the drama, I'm ready!"
"Scripted or I'll eat my hat~"
Back in the bar, Tong Yingying didn't really get the culture, but the comments were getting on her nerves.
She turned and shot Yan Huan a look.
"Sugar mamas?"
Yan Huan almost retorted, "How do you know they're women?"
Then he thought: if they were men, that would be even scarier.
After careful deliberation he gave a helpless smile and stepped up to the camera.
"This channel is just for advertising our bar to customers from every district and introducing our drinks, plus providing an online ordering link.
So, to keep my job smooth, I'm turning off the gift feature—my apologies."
Tong Yingying folded her arms and said nothing; silence counted as consent. Tian Li looked heart-broken—he'd been curious how far the whales would go.
The bullet screen was even more regretful.
"Foolish boy, fortune was knocking at your door!"
"Ignore that evil boss who won't let you earn. With your looks you could go solo."
"Yeah, mutiny!"
While disabling gifts, Yan Huan skimmed the comments.
"You're all the boss's alt accounts, right? Quit testing me."
Behind him Tong Yingying flicked her gaze at him—at least the kid hadn't forgotten who fed him.
Thinking that, she kept her droopy eyes, but the corner of her mouth couldn't help curling up.
Sharp-eyed viewers instantly spotted the change.
"The boss just flashed her exploitative smile~"
"Crushed two sugar mamas in battle till the Dao itself nearly crumbled—this boss is savage."
"You two better give extra tutoring tonight!"
"After the stream the sugar mamas will rage-request refunds and you'll be doomed."
Only when Yan Huan saw the barrage did he realize Sis Tong had smiled. He turned to look for it.
But the moment he lifted a hand, Tong Yingying tilted her head away, pretending to be busy.
She rummaged in her pocket, pulled out a cigarette case, and was about to open it.
Tian Li's pupils shrank at the motion; he lunged and yelled,
"Wait, Sis Tong!!"
Tong Yingying froze, a slim lady's cigarette already between her fingers.
The second the cigarette slid into frame, Tian Li's face looked like he'd swallowed a fly.
Yan Huan also realized what was happening and glanced at the screen.
"Stream suspended!
This account's live feature is temporarily unavailable for violating the User Live-Streaming Terms. It will be restored in three days."
Tian Li dropped to his knees in agony. Yan Huan could only hug his own arms, half laughing, half crying.
"Sis Tong, I told you to quit. Now you've nuked our channel."
Tobacco control in Linmen is strict; cigarettes are banned from open display. You have to ask staff to unlock a cabinet. Every pack carries grotesque warning images, which is why Tong Yingying transfers single sticks into her own case. Lighting up outside designated areas can get you arrested, though the South District is laxer. Showing cigarettes on stream is still illegal—hence the three-day ban.
Tong Yingying rubbed the back of her head, lips twitching.
"Good riddance. Peace and quiet. Or did you want to stay online and milk more sugar-mama cash?"
"If I wanted that, I wouldn't have turned gifts off, Sis."
She gave a faint smile that neither confirmed nor denied.
Then she noticed every customer pressed against the glass, munching popcorn.
Tian Li, revived, checked the order list and shouted in excitement,
"Sis Tong, you misread the situation! I knew this would make bank—orders are exploding!"
At Ye International HQ, outside the CEO's office.
Ye Shiyu stared at the now-banned stream, fingers tightening around her phone.
When Yan Huan disabled gifts, her rank on the fan board froze in place.
Whether by sheer hand speed or luck, she was one slot below the hated top gifter "Love Cats," stuck at number two.
In the darkened room, a few late stragglers still floated comments.
And the one that caught Shiyu's eye was highlighted in gold:
Love Cats: "I win, number two~"
Seeing Yan Huan shut off gifts for the sake of his so-called boss, chatting happily with viewers, already stoked her irritation—an old habit: whenever Yan Huan showed kindness to anyone else, something inside her flared.
Now, losing the duel to "Love Cats," she had to remain second forever, as if the top gifter had bought victory and stolen Xiao Huan outright.
Two sparks were all it took; the seals placed by her mother and by Yan Huan began to loosen.
The demon named "desire" stirred, restless.
Bzzt~
The phone screen suddenly went black, then flared with an eerie violet glow.
Tap-tap-tap~
"Shiyu, what are you doing? Come down for dinner."
As Ye Shiyu stood expressionless, clutching her phone, the corridor behind her echoed with the click of high heels and her mother's voice. The purple halo in her hand shattered instantly. She turned quickly to see her mother approaching.
Today Ye Lan wore a white shirt with lace trim beneath an unbuttoned black coat. Her slender hands, wrapped in the shirt's long sleeves, rested against her chest. Spotting her daughter sitting in darkness, she adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses.
Ye Shiyu opened her mouth but said nothing.
Yet Ye Lan caught the flicker of hostility in her daughter's usually calm expression. She glanced at the phone and asked, "What just happened? Tell me. Weren't you going to ask me about matters of the heart?"
"..."
Ye Shiyu hesitated, then unlocked her phone and showed her mother the fan leaderboard, recounting everything that had happened.
Ye Lan settled beside her, listening quietly.
When she finished, her mother sighed. "You always lose your reason at times like this, getting angry at yourself."
As Ye Shiyu pressed her lips together, Ye Lan continued, "Do you still think you're competing with that top gifter?"
"..."
Ye Lan raised three fingers. "You say you didn't know he was streaming, that you stumbled upon it by chance. Fine. Tell me—do you know what difficulties Xiao Huan faced that made him start streaming?"
"..."
Ye Shiyu fell silent and shook her head.
Ye Lan lowered her ring finger. "Do you know who that top gifter is, whether they know Xiao Huan, what their purpose is?"
"..."
Longer silence. Another shake of the head.
The middle finger came down. Finally, only her index finger remained.
"Last—does Xiao Huan know the person behind this account is you?"
"..."
Instead of lowering her finger, Ye Lan withdrew her entire hand.
"You know nothing. Even if you became top gifter, what then? It's just psychological comfort—like Ah Q thinking topping the chart means you've beaten your rival, that you've somehow possessed Xiao Huan. But you've possessed nothing, won nothing."
She studied her somewhat deflated daughter.
"Conversely, failing to become top gifter means you've lost nothing, and no one has won."
Ye Shiyu's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked up at her mother.
"The money you spent—how much actually reaches Xiao Huan's pocket, I won't calculate. At least it goes to him, so I won't call it a complete waste."
Ye Lan pressed her hand over her daughter's cold fingers. After a moment, she spoke with weighty sincerity:
"But listen carefully, Shiyu. I'll teach you. To truly possess someone, you must first let your heart enter theirs. Your affection for Xiao Huan began with the gentleness he showed you—gentleness born from considering your perspective."
She tapped Ye Shiyu's chest with one finger. "Because he anticipated you might reject him, he thoughtfully left this house first, changing your perception of him, didn't he? So actually, Xiao Huan has possessed you. That's why you're in such pain and anger—because you're the one being possessed."
The nameless fire in Ye Shiyu's heart seemed to dim slightly. She clutched her chest, confused. "Then... what should I do?"
"Do as Xiao Huan did—let your heart leave its cage and enter his."
Ye Lan turned to face her. "Your heart has always stayed with you, like being locked in a cage. There will always be barriers. Ask yourself honestly—do you understand him? Have you helped him? Have you had proper conversations, spent time together? Have you made him happy?"
Ye Shiyu lowered her head.
She suddenly remembered something she'd considered trivial.
When she'd visited Xiao Huan's place, he'd excitedly introduced her to his adorable black cat. But she'd paid no attention to what he loved, only staring at him. Later, during hypnosis, she'd even used the cat to threaten him.
In his rented flat, there had been so many traces of his life, but like with the cat, she'd cared not at all. Just as her mother said—she simply didn't care about Xiao Huan. She only ever cared about herself.
"I understand, Mom."
After a long silence, Ye Shiyu took a deep breath, her eyes clearing. The phone in her hand flickered with static. The front camera seemed alive, casting a glance—angry, helpless, fearful—at the woman named Ye Lan beside her.
A faint smile touched Ye Shiyu's lips. Just as she was about to speak—
"I'll properly get to know Xiao Huan—"
Her mother suddenly raised a hand to interrupt.
"Don't celebrate too soon. I'm not finished, Shiyu."
"Huh?"
Ye Shiyu looked at her mother, who smiled back at her.
"One last point, Shiyu. After entering someone's heart, remember to protect yourself, understand?"
"I teach you this because Xiao Huan took the first step. So naturally, it's your turn to be brave and enter his heart. But later—I mean later..."
Ye Lan looked straight at her daughter, stroking her head as she advised:
"If later he no longer approaches your heart, no longer gives actively but expects you to stay forever in his heart..."
"If the you living in his heart begins to hurt, to feel uncomfortable..."
"Then withdraw, understand?"
Ye Shiyu gazed into her mother's eyes behind those gold-rimmed glasses, as if trying to read all her mother's teachings.
After a long silence, she gently took her mother's hand and pressed it to her own head. Looking up again, she spoke:
"Mm. I'll protect myself and carefully, cautiously possess Xiao Huan."
Seeing this, Ye Lan smiled helplessly and shook her head.
"Just a reminder. After all, from childhood, anyone who dared bully you or make you uncomfortable—you've never shown mercy."
"Alright, don't sit there like a fool, darling. Up we go—time for dinner."
Ye Shiyu clutched her phone and stood up as well.
"Okay, Mom."
(End of Chapter)