151: Chapter 151 The End of the Golden Age of Live Streaming, Lin Xi's Satisfaction

After finishing a busy day's work, she returned home in the evening.

As soon as Jiang Yuan entered the door, she noticed that most of the lights in the house were off, with only the warm yellow floor lamp in the living room still lit.

She took off her light gray trench coat, hung it up, and changed into slippers. Just as she took two steps toward the living room, her slender figure suddenly froze.

What met Jiang Yuan's eyes was Lin Xi, curled up in a ball on the living room sofa, sleeping soundly.

She was wearing a primrose yellow hoodie with the hood slumped forward over her shoulder, and on her lower half, a pair of denim shorts that showcased her long, straight legs.

There was no telling how long this girl had been asleep; not only was there a glistening trace of drool at the corner of her lips, but the remote control she had been holding had slipped from her fingers at some point and fallen onto the carpet.

Only the television directly across from her was still broadcasting, though the volume was turned down very low. Most likely, Lin Xi had come out to watch TV while waiting for her to get off work after finishing her stream, only to fall asleep mid-watch without even turning the TV off.

Jiang Yuan stood by the sofa and looked down at her for a few minutes.

Lin Xi was a completely different person when asleep compared to when she was awake. When awake, her mouth never stopped from morning to night; when asleep, she was quiet, her breathing light, and her eyelashes slightly upturned. Her already fair and delicate face looked so tender now that it seemed like it could bruise at a touch.

Jiang Yuan bent down to pick up the remote and placed it on the coffee table. She looked at Lin Xi's face again, hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately resisted the urge to pinch her cheek and turned to walk lightly into her room.

She brought a thin blanket out from her room, shook it open, and gently draped it over Lin Xi.

Unexpectedly, even this lightest of movements caused Lin Xi to stir. She groggily opened half an eye and said in a muddled, soft, and sweet voice:

"Xiao Yuan, you're back?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and replied softly:

"Mm."

Lin Xi looked dazed, and it was unclear if she was truly awake or thought she was in a dream as she asked foolishly:

"What time is it now?"

"A bit past ten. Since you're awake, just go back to your room to sleep."

"Oh."

Lin Xi pulled the blanket up, wrapping herself a bit tighter, and then said in a soft voice:

"I made some noodles for you; they're in the kitchen. Heat them up yourself if you're going to eat. I'll snooze for a bit longer and go back to my room in a while."

After saying this, she closed her eyes again, though it was hard to tell if she had fallen back asleep or had never really woken up at all.

Hearing this,

Jiang Yuan, who had already eaten dinner, suddenly felt as if she were a little hungry after all.

She first went to her room to change into a cream-white silk nightgown, then turned and went to the kitchen.

There on the stove sat a bowl of Tomato and Beef Brisket Noodles sealed with plastic wrap, and beside it was a small plate of Cold Cucumber Salad, also well-sealed.

She put the two items into the microwave for two minutes, then carried the heated noodles to the living room and sat down at the other end of the sofa.

After taking two bites of noodles, she tilted her head to glance at Lin Xi, who was huddled under the blanket.

She didn't know how late this girl had streamed today, but according to her...

Three days after the release of plants vs. zombies hybrid edition, its popularity showed no signs of waning; instead, it grew stronger day by day, creating a massive wave of hype across the entire internet.

As a top streamer in the console section of Mouyu Platform and one of the first major streamers to play plants vs. zombies hybrid edition, she was also swept up in this popularity. Her stream's data over the past few days had been ridiculously exaggerated.

At the thought of this,

Jiang Yuan immediately took out her phone and opened an app specifically for checking stream data. She searched for Lin Xi's streamer name to see just how explosive the data she called "ridiculously exaggerated" actually was.

Looking at the data, the stream's dynamic stats had already updated: peak concurrent viewers were over 153,600, and the stream duration was four and a half hours. Yet in just that short time, the revenue from paid gifts was as high as over one million yuan.

While this might seem meager compared to those beauty or PK streamers,

in a gaming section where the average willingness to spend isn't that high, earning this much in just a few hours was indeed quite exaggerated and explosive.

If she could maintain this level of revenue every day, Lin Xi's monthly salary reaching several million would likely be an easy feat.

At the end of this golden age of live streaming,

Lin Xi could be considered to have caught the last flight to financial freedom by riding this favorable wind. In a few more years, wanting this level of income would probably be something that could only be achieved in dreams.

After all, in a few years, it would already be the era of live commerce streamers. By then on Blue Star, a saying would likely be circulating: the end of the universe is live commerce!

Jiang Yuan closed her phone after reading, thinking to herself that it was no wonder the usually slothful Lin Xi had become so diligent these past few days.

Such exaggerated popularity was indeed something no gaming streamer would want to miss.

After all,

no one knew when the next phenomenal game with the same level of internet-wide hype as plants vs. zombies hybrid edition would arrive.

To be honest, even someone as confident as Jiang Yuan couldn't guarantee that Spark Games' next title would possess the same ridiculous popularity as plants vs. zombies hybrid edition.

Lost in thought, she finished the last bite of noodles, placed the bowl on the coffee table, and leaned against the sofa armrest, quietly resting for a while to enjoy this rare, soul-deep moment of tranquility.

The living room was very quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner and the occasional, nearly imperceptible sound of a car horn from outside the window.

When she chose to rent this place, besides the decor and location, the fact that it was quiet enough was actually one of the biggest reasons Jiang Yuan made her decision.

She lay there with her eyes closed for an unknown amount of time.

Feeling a bit sleepy, Jiang Yuan finally stood up and took the empty bowl to the kitchen to wash it.

After washing the dishes, she turned off the kitchen light. Just as she walked into the living room intending to wake Lin Xi and tell her to go to bed, she found that the girl had woken up on her own. She was sitting on the sofa clutching the blanket, her hair a messy bird's nest from sleep, staring at her with a blank, adorable expression, her mouth slightly agape in a dazed look.

Looking at Jiang Yuan's slender and tall, beautiful figure, Lin Xi stared for a long time before finally speaking foolishly:

"Did you just get back?"

A question mark popped up over Jiang Yuan's head as she said speechlessly:

"I've already finished the noodles you made. You've slept yourself into a muddle, haven't you?"

Lin Xi yawned and rubbed her eyes:

"I don't know. I think I saw you in my dream just now. I wanted to talk to you, but I could only see you sitting across from me, and I just couldn't open my mouth!"

Jiang Yuan sat down on the sofa and couldn't help laughing after hearing this:

"You didn't enter a dream within a dream, did you?"

Lin Xi didn't rush to retort upon hearing this. Instead, she tilted her head with an overly serious expression, as if trying hard to recall some monumental event.

After several seconds, she spoke with great solemnity:

"I don't think it was a dream within a dream!"

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow and gave a soft 'oh', waiting for her to continue.

"Because I remember very clearly that the you in the dream was wearing a thin turtleneck sweater and dark blue jeans, and your hair was tied up. It was completely different from now!"

As she spoke, she pointed at Jiang Yuan's cream-white silk gown, her tone as certain as if she were stating a scientific theorem:

"See, you're wearing a dress now, so that just now must have only been the first layer of the dream, not a dream within a dream!"

"..."

Jiang Yuan looked down at her clothes, then looked up at Lin Xi's proud little "Aren't I smart?" expression.

After two seconds of silence, she ultimately decided not to tell her that she might have changed her clothes, so as not to crush Lin Xi's rare moment of pride and confidence. She could only try her best to suppress the corners of her mouth that were about to turn up and said helplessly:

"Fine, you win."

She stood up and habitually tried to press down the few tufts of cowlicks sticking up on Lin Xi's head. When they wouldn't stay down and popped back up, she could only let go and let them flutter in the breeze, saying calmly:

"Hurry back to your room and sleep. Don't you have to stream tomorrow?"

Hearing Jiang Yuan's crisp and pleasant voice, Lin Xi didn't move while wrapped in the blanket. Instead, she tilted her face up to look at her. Her beautiful eyes were sparkling under the warm yellow light, carrying that specific watery look of someone who had just woken up. Her pink lips parted as she said softly:

"Xiao Yuan."

"Mm?"

"Are you working overtime again tomorrow night?"

Jiang Yuan had already turned to go back to her room, but her footsteps paused at the question, and she turned sideways to look at her with some curiosity.

The light in the living room wasn't very bright.

The way Lin Xi was huddled in the corner of the sofa, combined with the messily wrapped blanket, made her look like a little penguin just pulled out of hibernation. Her fuzzy primrose yellow hoodie hood was lopsided, making her look both dazed and soft.

"Not necessarily. Why?"

"Nothing, just asking."

Lin Xi buried her face a bit into the blanket, her voice muffled:

"If you come back early, we could watch a movie or something together. I've bookmarked several films lately; it's boring to watch them alone."

Jiang Yuan stood at the entrance of the hallway and looked at her for a few seconds. The corners of her mouth curved slightly as she said clearly:

"Got it. I'll try my best tomorrow."

"Mm-hmm, then goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Jiang Yuan went back to her room, the sound of the door gently closing being nearly inaudible in the quiet house.

In the dimly lit living room,

Lin Xi waited until long after Jiang Yuan had disappeared before letting her flushed, delicate face out from the blanket, a sweet smile of satisfaction and joy involuntarily spreading across her face.

The next morning,

Jiang Yuan was woken up by a commotion from outside.

She reached for her phone and saw it was only 7:03 AM.

For someone who usually habitually woke up at 7:30 sharp, this was truly a bit uncomfortable.

She lay in bed and listened. The sounds from outside were intermittent, like someone was tinkering in the kitchen. Every now and then, there was the crisp sound of a spatula hitting the rim of a pot, along with someone's mutterings.

Jiang Yuan rolled over, buried her face in the pillow, and went back to sleep, though the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.