194: Chapter 189 A Heartache

It was past four in the afternoon when Yu Heng returned to University Town.

He sent a WeChat message to Zhou Mengqi, asking her to come to the Villa at nine in the evening.

Zhou Mengqi arrived at eight-fifty; she had specially showered before coming, although she would have to wash again in a while.

Yu Heng was in the study looking at the livestream data when she pushed the door and entered.

Without even looking up, he told her to go wait on the bed.

Zhou Mengqi curled her lips and turned to leave.

At nine-ten, Yu Heng walked into the bedroom.

Zhou Mengqi was lying on the bed, the quilt pulled up to her chest.

Yu Heng took off his clothes and got into bed, lifting the quilt and pressing himself directly onto her.

—

Zhou Mengqi came out after washing up, drying her hair as she asked, "Am I staying here tonight?"

Yu Heng frowned. "Either way is fine, but it's better if you don't. If I can't help but mess with you again tonight, I'm afraid you won't make it to your eight o'clock class tomorrow."

After thinking it over, Zhou Mengqi put on her clothes and left.

Hearing the sound of the door closing downstairs, Yu Heng rolled over and went to sleep.

For the next week, Yu Heng spent most of his time in the study.

The number of active Streamers increased. Although there were people from the Club helping out, their role was limited—mostly acting as hype-men and soothing the Streamers' moods.

He still personally kept an eye on some of the key aspects.

He completely handed over the affairs of Pleasing Oneself to Bai Xinran.

Now, Bai Xinran would broadcast on TikTok for two hours every day, and spend the rest of her time on this whenever she didn't have classes.

Every afternoon, she would handle orders and inquiries at a fixed time.

Shen Yueling was helping with the shipping; they had cleared out a small room on the first floor to use as a warehouse.

Shen Yueling was in charge of packing, while Bai Xinran checked the orders.

Although there weren't many orders, potential customers were steadily accumulating. The 'yu ling dao mu' Bilibili account had brought in a lot of traffic, and the Little Blue Bird account had also started seeing follower growth.

Furthermore, posting customer feedback videos on Little Blue Bird, or having them post videos on their own Little Blue Bird accounts and tagging @Pleasing Oneself, generated decent traffic.

It's just that the proportion of people willing to post these feedback videos isn't very high—maybe only one or two out of ten.

However, there are plenty of customers willing to post their reviews; posting those to their Moments is enough.

In the study, Yu Heng checked the hours and revenue data for the new Streamers again; the compliance rate was decent.

The platform didn't have requirements for the success rate yet, but even if it did, these figures were quite good.

He closed the spreadsheet and glanced at the time.

At eleven-thirty, his phone screen lit up.

It was a short WeChat message from Lin Yu: "I'll come over tomorrow at three in the afternoon."

Yu Heng replied with two words: "Alright."

He put down his phone and leaned back against the chair.

Her family situation was indeed putting a lot of pressure on her; it seemed those twenty thousand yuan had relieved a significant amount of it.

Once a person crosses their bottom line once, it's much easier the second time; they'll even find reasons to convince themselves.

Her attitude would likely have changed somewhat when they met again tomorrow.

She needed the money, so she would be afraid of losing this opportunity. Once she fell into a psychological disadvantage, she would be easily changed by external pressure.

————

At ten to three on Friday afternoon, Lin Yu stood at the entrance of the Villa.

She had transferred the twenty thousand she got last week to her family.

Her mother asked over the phone where the money came from. She answered as Yu Heng had taught her. Her mother was silent for a long time on the other end, finally saying only one thing: "Don't let it interfere with your studies."

Lin Yu took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

When Yu Heng came to open the door, he was wearing lounge pants and a black T-shirt, holding a can of cola.

"Quite punctual." He stepped aside to let her in.

Lin Yu walked into the living room. The photography equipment was already set up on the coffee table, with an unopened cardboard box sitting nearby.

It was the same process as last week.

She put down her bag and looked at Yu Heng. "What are we filming today?"

"A new product." Yu Heng pointed at the cardboard box. "Open it and see."

Lin Yu walked over and tore open the tape.

Her fingers paused for a moment before she took the item out.

"This is also... a product?" she asked.

"Yeah." Yu Heng had already picked up the camera to adjust the settings. "The audience has a demand, so we make it. Electronic products actually have a wider audience."

Lin Yu didn't speak. She looked at the item in her hand. "Is it the same process as last week?"

"More or less." Yu Heng put down the camera. "Go change first. There's a bathrobe in the bathroom."

Lin Yu walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

She looked at herself in the mirror; the collar of her hoodie was a bit loose, revealing her collarbone.

She raised her hand to touch her neck; her skin felt a bit cold.

When she took off her clothes, her movements were a bit faster than last week.

The bathrobe was dark gray and the fabric was quite thick.

She tied the belt and opened the door to walk out.

Yu Heng had already adjusted the lighting.

The living room curtains were drawn, with only a floor lamp turned on.

"Take off the bathrobe," Yu Heng said.

Lin Yu placed her fingers on the belt, paused for two seconds, and then untied it.

She didn't immediately hug her arms tightly like last week, but just stood there, waiting for Yu Heng's instructions.

"Pick up the product," Yu Heng said.

Lin Yu leaned over and picked up the new product. It felt more realistic than it looked.

"Sit on the sofa." Yu Heng adjusted the camera angle. "Legs..."

Lin Yu understood, and the sound of the shutter rang out.

"Relax your expression," Yu Heng's voice came from behind the camera. "You look like you're being tortured right now."

Lin Yu twitched the corners of her mouth but didn't speak; she indeed felt like she was being tortured.

"How did you use the money from last week?" Yu Heng asked while filming.

Lin Yu looked up at him.

"I transferred it all to my family," she said.

"Nothing left?"

"Yeah..."

"Then what do you usually spend?"

"I have a tutoring session once a week, which gives me 1,200 a month. That's enough for me."

"You'll be fine until the next shoot?"

"It's enough."

Yu Heng put down the camera and walked over to her.

He crouched down, his gaze level with hers.

"You're more relaxed than last week," he said.

Lin Yu didn't avoid his gaze. "Being nervous doesn't help."

"Right." Yu Heng smiled. "Being nervous only makes things harder to handle."

"Change positions. Go onto the rug."

Lin Yu got up from the sofa, her knees resting on the rug.

Yu Heng picked up the camera again.

"Put your hands behind your back."

Lin Yu did as told; the posture made her chest push forward.

"Very good." The shutter clicked again. "Hold it."

Yu Heng changed angles several times and adjusted the product's placement a few times as well.

Finally, he put down the camera and checked the time.

"Ten-minute break," he said. "Want some water?"

"No thanks." Lin Yu stood up and sat back on the sofa.

Yu Heng took a bottle of water from the fridge, unscrewed it, and took a sip.

He sat down on the single-seater sofa, looking at Lin Yu.

"You didn't let anything slip to your boyfriend, did you?"

"No," Lin Yu said.

"He believed the story about the talent agency?"

"He did."

Yu Heng smiled. "That's good."

Lin Yu didn't respond.

Lin Yu's state today was much better than last week.

There was less of that deliberate resistance, replaced by more of a resigned submission.

Resignation is the first step of training.

Once she begins to actively adapt and even find a certain sense of security in it, that's when she'll truly enter the state.

But that takes time, and it also requires constant pressure.

Her family's financial situation is the best source of pressure.

Yu Heng reached out and took the product. Without touching her, he turned it on and handed it back to her.

"Next, we'll film like this."

Lin Yu was stunned. Turned on versus turned off were two different concepts. How could they film like this?

"This is a bit too much..."

"You said it was too much last time too," Yu Heng said with a smile, "but didn't you still film it?"

"This is different." Lin Yu frowned.

"How is it different?"

"The nature of it changes this way." Her voice was tight.

"Then I'll add an extra five thousand today," Yu Heng said calmly.

"No," Lin Yu shook her head. "That's still not okay."

"I'll add ten thousand."

Lin Yu's eyes reddened slightly. She looked up. "Yu Heng, don't make me feel like... a woman can get money just by taking off her pants."

Yu Heng was taken aback.

He put down the camera and looked her over again.

This woman wasn't bargaining; she truly felt her values were wavering.

The way her eyes were red made her look quite pitiful, and it actually made him feel a bit soft-hearted.

"Alright then." Yu Heng placed the camera on the coffee table. "We won't film this one."

Lin Yu bit her lip. "...Thank you."