The beauty filter settings were finally back to normal, and Ji Zhaoxi let out a sigh of relief.
She glanced at the public chat. Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed. Everyone was still showering her with compliments.
Ji Zhaoxi tidied her hair. The company had told her to conduct herself like a highly educated, wealthy heiress, but what did she know about highly educated, wealthy heiresses?
The only wealthy heiresses she had ever seen were in idol dramas…
“What do you usually have for breakfast, baby?”
“Is your dad’s surname Li? I think I heard from a friend that your family is super rich!”
There were countless questions flying across the chat, and Ji Zhaoxi was starting to sweat. Pretending to be a rich heiress made her feel incredibly guilty.
She cleared her throat. “Breakfast? Usually, our nutritionist makes it at home, so I just eat whatever she prepares. I prefer something light in the morning.”
That answer should be fine, right?
She had casually implied that her family employed a personal nutritionist.
In reality, she loved going to the cafeteria for rice noodles in the morning.
But that clearly didn’t fit her carefully crafted image.
Just then, a comment floated across the chat.
“L: Heh…”
The moment Ji Zhaoxi saw that username, she was furious. This L really wasn’t going to let up!
She pretended not to notice and continued smiling gently as she answered the questions in the chat.
“An arranged marriage? My mom did try to introduce me to someone before, but I wasn’t interested.”
“My family? We’re not that rich, really. Just an average middle-class household.”
“I don’t think anyone in my family can really handle spicy food, and I inherited that too. But I’ll try it if I get the chance.”
Just then, a giant bearded-face filter suddenly appeared in the public chat, completely covering Ji Zhaoxi’s face.
The smile on her face was about to collapse. She shifted to the side, trying to dodge it.
“L sent 99 Bearded Face effects.”
“L sent 99 Watermelon Hair effects.”
“L sent 99 Zhu Bajie Mask effects.”
“L sent 99 Green Headscarf effects.”
Ji Zhaoxi’s hands were trembling with anger. She took a sip of water and said with a faint smile, “Thank you for the gifts.”
She continued answering the questions in the chat.
“Travel? I’ve been to most of the places abroad already. Over the next few years, I’ll probably visit more places domestically.”
She talked about all the luxurious things she thought a wealthy heiress ought to enjoy, while a watermelon cap and then a green headscarf kept appearing on her head, making her look unbearably miserable.
Ji Zhaoxi’s fans were also frantically sending gifts, trying to drown out the effects sent by L. But L was sending far too many. The filters were practically welded to her head.
Ji Zhaoxi maintained a perfectly composed expression on the surface. She lowered her head now and then or ran a hand through her hair, doing everything she could to keep the effects from covering her face.
“Baby, you’re cute like this too. The watermelon cap is adorable. Kisses!”
“Some people really think they can make Xixi lose her cool with this? Xixi doesn’t even give you the time of day.”
“They can only send ugly effects, but even those look great on Xixi.”
Ji Zhaoxi gave a soft laugh and lifted her elegant teacup. “Everyone, don’t fight, okay? It’s fine. They’re all gifts, after all.”
While the livestream continued, her biggest fans were following everything in real time in their private group.
“She looks like she’s about to explode. Her hand has been shaking around that cup the whole time. I’m worried the hot water inside might scald her.”
“Understandable. She cares so much about her image. But no matter how many effects he sends, they probably won’t disappear anytime soon.”
“Her eyes are red with anger. Adorable.”
“I caught her arguing with haters on her alt account at four in the morning yesterday. The moment I caught her, she started acting all innocent and cute. When can we get that alt account reported?”
Ji Zhaoxi drank cup after cup of tea. She was already furious, yet L kept escalating, filling the screen with gifts.
Her other fans continued showering the stream with presents, directly going to war with L.
Ji Zhaoxi took a deep breath. She might only feel better after ending the livestream and seeing how much she had earned that day.
L could go on hating her. The money from all those gifts was going straight into her pocket anyway!
Someone invited her to a PK battle, and Ji Zhaoxi accepted immediately.
Her opponent was a T the company had paired her with. The company wanted her to profit not only from her solo fans but also from fans who shipped the two of them.
But Ji Zhaoxi was extremely wary of the other streamer. She was afraid the streamer would siphon away all her fans.
“Hi, babies!” the other streamer greeted her enthusiastically. With a beaming smile, she added, “You look gorgeous today.”
Ji Zhaoxi gave her a polite smile as well. “You look very handsome today too.”
“Wow, is the streamer opposite us new? So handsome!”
“Is the other streamer a guy or a girl? Her voice sounds like a girl’s.”
“What do we do? They’re kind of cute together!”
Ji Zhaoxi immediately grew alert. Was this person really going to lure away her fans?
Just then, a paid comment appeared brightly on the public screen.
“L: A straight girl pretending to be a lesbian—may lightning strike you!”
Ji Zhaoxi frowned at the comment. The other streamer laughed. “Wow, Xixi’s babies are so enthusiastic! I’ve never had this many people in my livestream before.”
This was bad!
Ji Zhaoxi hurriedly pulled out another phone and fumbled her way into the other streamer’s livestream.
Sure enough, a huge number of her fans had gone over there.
She couldn’t accept this!
Ji Zhaoxi forced a smile. “Baby, I’m going to leave first. I want to have a little private chat with my family.”
The other streamer stared at her in confusion.
Leave? Just like that? Weren’t they supposed to be playing up their CP dynamic?
Wasn’t their setup supposed to be an enthusiastic puppy versus a cold cat?
Ji Zhaoxi gave her a stiff smile. She didn’t want to be anyone’s puppy or cat. She just wanted to hold on to her fans and make some money.
Under the other streamer’s reluctant gaze, Ji Zhaoxi ended the PK without the slightest hesitation.
What a joke! They had agreed to play up their CP, but all her fans had ended up running over to the other streamer’s room!
Ji Zhaoxi started drinking tea again, only to discover that her cup was already empty.
“Upset? I’m not upset at all. Everyone is free to like whichever streamer they want. People watch livestreams online to have fun, after all.”
Ji Zhaoxi could no longer maintain her aloof expression. Her livestream was extremely popular, so there were plenty of casual viewers as well.
When she saw that the chat was still discussing that T, she instantly lost her composure. But she forced herself to hold it in, pretending not to care as she smiled.
“I livestream because I want to chat with everyone. You can watch whoever you like. I wasn’t upset just now. This is perfectly normal.”
To prove how unconcerned she was, she even began humming a song softly. Yet the longer she hummed, the redder her eyes became. She looked as if she had suffered a devastating blow, and the cup in her hand kept trembling.
“I actually like the streamer opposite us too. If everyone likes her, I can play PK battles with her more often!”
“…”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s all your fault! Have you never seen a T before? Look how upset you’ve made Xixi!”
“Don’t cry, baby! We were only joking just now! [Crying]”
“Stop humming, streamer. You sound like someone whose life is unbearably tragic. [Facepalm]”
Another paid comment drifted eerily across the screen.
“L: Character collapse warning! ‘I’m as indifferent as a chrysanthemum’ warning! ‘I’m broad-minded’ warning!”
