In the live stream, Gu Ran nervously finished saying, "Lollipops are fine, roses are okay too, but a bouquet of flowers would be perfect," before playing the music she had prepared in advance.
She silently counted the beats in her head along with the intro, sang a couple of lines, and sure enough, dazzling gift effects appeared at the bottom of the screen.
User "Cumin Lamb" sent the host "Romantic Fireworks."
User "Happy Happy Xiaoming" sent the host "Pink Kiss."
User "Peppa Pig" sent the host "Love's Guardian."
Gu Ran was delighted when she saw the gift effects—especially since these gifts were worth more than the one or two-yuan lollipops she had expected. So, during a break in the music, she sweetly formed a heart with her hands above her head and said, "Thank you, Cumin Lamb, Happy Happy Xiaoming, and Peppa Pig for the gifts~"
After thanking them, Gu Ran continued singing, only to see more and more gift effects popping up at the bottom of the screen—and they were getting bigger.
User "Black Butt Panda" sent the host "Romantic Train."
User "One Two Three Four Silly" sent the host "Dream Castle" ×1×2×3…
User "Zhang Moyo" sent the host "Air Force One" ×1×2×3…×n…
Gu Ran initially wanted to thank them like before, but the number of usernames quickly became too many to read out loud. As she stared at the overwhelming "Romantic Train," "Dream Castle," and "Air Force One," she silently calculated the total value of these gifts—and was stunned.
Holy shit!
Someone had just sent her two of the most expensive gifts in a row—"World Carnival," which would appear as a banner across all Cat Paw live streams.
At first, Gu Ran had been thrilled to receive gifts, but as the flood of effects continued, her joy slowly turned into panic. Money was coming too easily, and the realization that she was earning so much from strangers for what felt like minimal effort made her uneasy.
There was still a gap between her expectations and reality. When she had watched TV and seen other female streamers making 200,000 yuan a month, she had been filled with envy. But now that it was happening to her, all she could think was: How do I deserve this?
Suddenly, Gu Ran remembered—she hadn’t just seen stories about female streamers earning big money. She had also read about "minors stealing from their parents' accounts to tip hundreds of thousands, later ordered to return the money," "accountants embezzling public funds to tip female streamers, sentenced to 20 years," and "a man drowning in credit card debt from tipping, attempting suicide multiple times."
Gu Ran shuddered, her singing faltering as she hurriedly called out to the live stream, "No, no more gifts! Thank you, everyone, but this is already too much! Please don’t spend any more!"
Unfortunately, her plea had little effect. The gifts kept pouring in.
Comments:
[We’re happy to tip, sweetie! Go find a better place to live!]
[LMAO first time seeing a streamer scared by too many gifts]
[Same, never seen a host ask people to stop tipping before]
[Damn, she’s too cute! Bros, keep going!]
[It’s just pocket change]
...
Gu Ran gulped. The gifts weren’t slowing down—if anything, they were increasing.
Panic surged through her. She could already picture herself in a news report, face blurred, labeled as the "black-hearted female streamer" who ruined lives.
All she felt now was regret—deep, overwhelming regret.
Frantically, she searched the screen for an option to limit gifts, but after a full scan, she found nothing. Then, her finger accidentally tapped the "×" in the top-right corner—ending the stream.
Though it was unintentional, when Gu Ran saw the quiet interface after logging off, she finally felt like she could breathe again.
She pressed a hand to her racing heart and navigated to the withdrawal page.
Withdrawable amount this month: 23,865.5 yuan.
Gu Ran’s jaw dropped.
Twenty-three thousand? She had earned that much in just one session?
The platform split earnings 50-50 with streamers, meaning her fans had collectively sent over 40,000 yuan in virtual gifts.
If the withdrawal page had shown 238 yuan, she might have jumped for joy. But 23,800? Suddenly, it felt like holding a burning hot potato.
Her private messages were flooded with notifications. She skimmed through them—most were variations of "Why did you log off so suddenly?" and "Come back, sweetie, we’ll tip you more!"
Gu Ran hesitated over the "Start Stream" button before suddenly throwing herself onto the bed and pounding her pillow twice.
She cursed herself for being ridiculous—she had wanted to make money, and now that it was happening, she was too scared to take it. All she could do was take her frustration out on an innocent pillow.
She buried her face in the pillow for a long moment before finally lifting her head, grabbing her phone, and opening the Cat Paw forum.
The top trending post: Live! "Cat Paw’s #1 Beauty" vs. "Meng Miaomiao" in a PK—loser turns off filters!
Gu Ran clicked in. The original poster was documenting her and Meng Miaomiao’s PK battle in real time. At first, the replies were all things like "Miaomiao is truly the queen" and "Waiting for this fraud to get exposed." But then, after she lost the PK and turned off her filters, even the self-proclaimed "Cat Paw’s #1 Goddess" couldn’t keep her composure, cutting the connection with a dark expression.
Only then did everyone realize—"Cat Paw’s #1 Beauty" wasn’t a lie. She actually lived up to the title.
That stung a little.
Later, some still muttered things like "I think she’s just average" or "Meng Miaomiao is clearly prettier," but most just scoffed, "If you don’t need your eyes, donate them to someone who does," before rushing to Gu Ran’s live stream.
Gu Ran noticed that the same people who had earlier commented "Waiting for this fraud to get exposed" were now spamming "OMG BABE I’M COMING TO YOUR STREAM NOW."
"..."
Were all these guys this fickle?
In a way, she had Meng Miaomiao to thank—this was the first time her real appearance had been seen by the entire Cat Paw audience.
Even though Meng Miaomiao had been fake-sweet, calling her "sis" and suggesting the "loser turns off filters" challenge with ill intentions, Gu Ran still logged into her alt account—I’m Gu Ran’s Brainless Fan—and went to Meng Miaomiao’s stream, planning to send a few gifts.
Meng Miaomiao’s loyal fans were already showering her with "Porsche" gifts to comfort her after her humiliating loss (despite technically winning the PK). Gu Ran sent a 100-yuan "Firework Cannon," then hesitated before deciding to add two more.
But just as she was about to confirm, a notification popped up: You have been banned from "Meng Miaomiao’s" live stream and cannot interact or comment.
Gu Ran: ?
Ah. It was definitely because of the I’m Gu Ran’s Brainless Fan username. From now on, anything related to "Ran Ran" would probably get instantly blacklisted in Meng Miaomiao’s domain.
Gu Ran smirked. Fine, ban her—she’d save money.
I’m Gu Ran’s Brainless Fan was promptly kicked out of Meng Miaomiao’s live stream.
Gu Ran stared at the notification indicating she had been blocked and muted, momentarily lost in thought.
...
Half an hour later, the "Number One Beauty of Cat Paw," who had abruptly ended her livestream without a word, suddenly resumed broadcasting.
Gu Ran set up her phone on the table and sat up straight.
The world of female streamers revolved around pleasing fans—colloquially known as "fan pandering." She had just logged off without even a goodbye, not even finishing the song she was singing. Now that she was back, viewers had trickled in, but many couldn’t help but voice their frustrations.
Amid the barrage of comments like 【Baby, you’re finally back!】 and 【What happened earlier? Why did you suddenly disconnect?】, there were plenty of complaints mixed in:
【Think you’re so pretty you can just stream whenever you feel like it? Disrespectful.】
【Yeah, you’re gorgeous, but next time at least say goodbye before logging off, okay?】
【Never seen a streamer with such a bad attitude.】
【If you’re gonna milk money, at least put in some effort. People gift you World Carnivals, not so you can disappear mid-stream.】
【Guess some people’s money is just too easy to take, huh?】
【Anyone dumb enough to gift this streamer must have rocks in their head. Meng Miaomiao is hardworking and adorable—two Carnivals get you her WeChat. Isn’t she a better choice?】
【Bet you’d have to go broke just to get this "Number One Beauty’s" WeChat.】
...
Gu Ran watched the scrolling comments, cleared her throat, and decided to explain: "I wasn’t being disrespectful—I accidentally hit the exit button earlier. Sorry about that."
She took a deep breath and announced the decision she’d agonized over: "From now on, please don’t send me expensive gifts. I don’t have any real talent to deserve them. If you want to show appreciation, just send lollipops or roses. Starting today, no one can spend more than 100 yuan total in my livestream. Anyone who breaks this rule gets blocked."
To demonstrate, Gu Ran used her alt account, "I’m Gu Ran’s Stupid Fan," to send herself a 200-yuan "Ice Shaver" gift.
Then, addressing her audience, she said, "Watch closely, everyone. This ‘I’m Gu Ran’s Brainless Fan’ just wouldn’t listen. Now, I’m adding them to the blacklist."
"Whoosh~"
She mimicked the sound of tossing someone into the blacklist.
The audience: ?
