Chapter 10 - Third watch.
Overnight.
MengMao’s King’s Glory live broadcasting anchor KK suddenly became popular.
Soon after his evening live broadcasting session ended, an anonymous fan edited his broadcast and posted the video on Weibo.
Even though the time it had taken them to create the video was short, the fan had conscientiously paired the two moments together for comparison: first using the clip where KK was teasing the Zhong Kui for her slip of hand, before editing in the quick turnaround of face slapping, where the bronze-ranked, soft little sister Zhong Kui had proceeded to show off a brilliant display of skills. Combined together, it made for a good plot twist. Then, out of sense of duty and deep love, the fan had posted it online to allow everyone to savour the moment where KK had jumped off his own wagon.
Once the video appeared, a few well-known public figures in the gaming circles had commented and reposted it. The clicks on the video increased, and numerous netizens were laughing as they commented on it.
【Ahahahahaha laughing to death!】
【Papapapa the face slapping took him by surprise!】
【On car flipping shenanigans, KK brings you a wave.】
Within the live broadcasting scene of King’s Glory, KK’s popularity was not low. Nonetheless, the appearance of the video still gave him a lot of exposure. In the video, it featured his teasing and su-like voice, his rich and interesting commentary, and many had traced the short edit to his live broadcasting room to replay the entire broadcast.
KK was a rising rookie in the broadcasting arena for a reason because a great deal of people had the tendency of becoming his fans after they watched his live broadcast. Thus, his live broadcast followers also soared, and even his Weibo garnered tens of thousands of new fans. And when his fans increased, the attention that was given to KK also increased in turn, until eventually reached a bursting point that was utterly unavoidable, and he was dragged into the cycle.
After his fans united to create a chart that reflected KK’s live broadcasting growth, it was reposted tens of thousands of times within two hours of its publishing as well.
Long picture content: 【One day ago: I, KK, want to be MengMao’s one clear stream, I’m not going to carry any girl, I won’t carry a girl even if I die! One day later: En, carrying a girl is pretty cool. 】
The face slapping that commenced was rather fierce, and both netizens and fans alike left their comments.
【Ah KK!! This day has finally come for you!! You already said that you won’t be carrying any girls! Even if you die, you won’t carry any girl!】
【Ahahahaha! KK admitting to it is enough for me to laugh for a year.】
【Ahhhhhh trash KK! Does your face hurt or not! Hope it hurts to death!】
【Lining up to rub my husband’s face, pffft, couldn’t help but laugh.】
With such an illustration, the explosion of popularity burgeoned, and overnight, KK became overwhelmingly popular. Not only did the Weibo netizens spread it to the four corners of the internet, even MengMao’s live broadcasting game anchors impolitely saved the illustration for posterity and proceeded to bomb KK with it relentlessly.
Hence, when Kang Shengzhe woke up the next day, what greeted him was a list of chats lining up to send him the illustration. After opening one of the chats, Kang Shengzhe read through the whole post and he could not stop himself from laughing.
However, after he finished laughing, he closed the chat. His explosion in popularity overnight did not leave an impression on him and he was not moved by it. Rather, he was more focused on the ‘glimpse he caught of a great beauty’ in the live broadcast last night.
Logging into the game, he opened up the friend interface and scrutinised it. The friend request he sent last night was not approved.
... Sure enough.
After yesterday’s game ended, he immediately sent【Everyone’s Goodness】a friend request. However, he was only left with boundless silence when the morning came, which told him that there was an eighty percent chance that the friend request would not go through.
Why?
Was he really that annoying?
Kang Shengzhe frowned, and the hair around his shoulders made him a little uncomfortable. Feeling around his pillow, the familiar texture of a hair elastic came to him and he grabbed it and tied up his hair.
Somewhat better.
While the drowsiness was still there, Kang Shengzhe looked at the friend interface again and the confirmation message had yet to appear. He could only reluctantly quit the game, and throw himself back onto the bed.
It was best to sleep more.
Just as the sleepiness was about to set in, a call came in. Kang Shengzhe opened his eyes. On the screen, the two characters &#k2018;Wang Lu’ were being displayed.
Wang Lu was his agent for MengMao’s live broadcast, and all the matters concerning contract signings were guided by Wang Lu. And whenever there were trivial or important matters to deal with from the company, Wang Lu was usually in charge of passing on the information to him.
Once he picked up the phone, Kang Shengzhe said: “Hello?” His voice was still thick with sleepiness and once Wang Lu heard it, he paused. Initially, he had been rushing to speak but that atmosphere was quickly broken so he could only say helplessly, “You haven’t woken up?”
“No.”
“You. Go and wash your face first to freshen up, I have something important to tell you.”
Muddled, Kang Shengzhe said: “Say it in the afternoon.”
“What afternoon, I want to say it now, go and wash your face now! I’ll wait for you on WeChat.”
Contrary to the impression that his ceaseless and animated voice gave, Kang Shengzhe was actually very indolent in real life. After interacting with him for a few months, Wang Lu understood his nature very well, and he had no choice but to urge Kang Shengzhe several times in a row, in fear that he would go back to sleep.
After wasting a lot of time, Kang Shengzhe finally dragged himself out of bed and obediently went to the bathroom to wash his face. When he returned, Wang Lu could not resist prodding him on WeChat a few times in advance.
Kang Shengzhe replied: — I’m here.
On Wang Lu’s end, he let out a sigh of relief. Before he said anything, he first sent the illustration over. Kang Shengzhe glanced at it, it was the face slapping long picture that he read just now.
Wang Lu: — You probably haven’t seen it, the fans online made you a video and picture. You’re currently on fire, and you have more than 100,000 fans!
Kang Shengzhe replied: — Oh.
Wang Lu felt a little strange: — What is with your reaction?
Early this morning, after knowing the news about the increase in Kang Shengzhe’s fans, Wang Lu had been excited for quite some time before he quickly rushed over while bearing the good news. However, he did not expect that Kang Shengzhe himself would be so calm.
Kang Shengzhe: — Someone else has already sent it to me.
Wang Lu reacted for a beat before he typed: — You already know about it? If you knew about it, why didn’t you tell me?
Kang Shengzhe: — There is nothing to say.
Wang Lu’s voice was lodged in throat, feeling that it was increasingly difficult to look Kang Shengzhe straight in the eye. Although he was the one who single-handedly raised Kang Shengzhe and knew him better than anyone else in MengMao since he had also spent the most time with him, he felt that the contrast was truly too big. During live broadcasts, he was animated and lively but he would be indifferent and sluggish right after, as if they were two completely different people.
Kang Shengzhe: — Is there anything else?
Wang Lu: .....
For an anchor, the hardest and yet most anticipated moment was when they experienced an explosion in popularity, and yet, it was being brushed off as if it did not bear more than a casual mention. Wang Lu had to console himself for a few seconds before he replied: — Yes.
As a matter of fact, there was, and it was extremely big and fortuitous opportunity.
Wang Lu: — Do you know what the website has been propagating recently?
Not waiting on Kang Shengzhe’s reply, Wang Lu continued: The company plans were just revealed; they have decided to invite the hottest first liner celebrities to promote the website, and they have selected one anchor and celebrity to stream the game live for an hour.
Although the sentence looked short, the amount of information it provided was extensive.
Broadcasting live with a celebrity had two obvious benefits: on one hand, it helped to promote the website, and on the other, the anchor chosen to broadcast with the celebrity could take advantage of the opportunity to become famous. There was also the possibility of receiving more attention and resources, so as to cultivate the person into a money-shaking tree and become one of the pillars in the website, allowing the person’s value to skyrocket.
Just thinking about it made Wang Lu feel a burst of excitement. Although he was merely typing, his words were suffused with the joyous feelings he could not suppress.
— KK, do you know which celebrity was picked this time?
Kang Shengzhe cheered him on: — Who?
Wang Lu: — Bai Yao!!!
Bai Yao was currently the most popular celebrity in the entertainment industry; with more than seventy million followers on Weibo, she was definitely a superstar. According to the internal news, the cheque that MengMao offered her in order to invite her to broadcast for an hour was sky-high.
— I’m telling you, initially, the company didn’t know who to choose, but your opportune moment came quite coincidentally. This morning, I was suddenly notified that a person had been chosen, and that’s you! KK! You need to make preparations for it!
With such surprising news, Wang Lu felt that even a person like Kang Shengzhe would react a little, but Kang Shengzhe only paused for a beat before replying ‘OK’.
Wang Lu: .....
Wang Lu: OK what OK, can you take this seriously!
Kang Shengzhe: — En, I will be more serious.
Suddenly, Wang Lu had the urge to get away from him, but he had to ascertain his schedule first so he asked: “Do you have time next week? Before the live broadcast, you have to play a few games with Bai Yao in private when she has the time. Accommodate with her a little considering how she is a star; when you’re broadcasting with her, don’t beat her down too badly, do you understand?”
When it came to the issue of time, Kang Shengzhe gave a rare, serious response. He said: — I can’t, I have something to deal with.
Wang Lu was dazed, what was more important than practicing games with Bai Yao.
Wang Lu: — Don’t mess around, this is a big deal!
Kang Shengzhe: — I have to report to university.
Wang Lu: .....
Wang Lu: — Report to what?
Kang Shengzhe: — University ah.
Wang Lu stilled for a few seconds, feeling like he hadn’t used his brain enough. He knew that Kang Shengzhe was young, but he did not expect that he hadn’t even attended university. Strictly speaking, wouldn’t that make Kang Shengzhe a high school student when he was signing the contract???
Startled, Wang Lu said: “Aren’t you an adult?? Why haven’t you gone to university?”
Kang Shengzhe: “I had to repeat for a year.”
Wang Lu: Oh... Oh.
If that was the case, he could only say ‘oh’. Helpless, Wang Lu typed: — Fine, I will try my best to rearrange the timing, but you have to remember to put this matter on your heart, alright?
Kang Shengzhe obediently replied: — I’ll remember.
Wang Lu let out a breath of relief, but he still felt that he had a stomach full of urgings he wanted to say. Just as he was about to add a few more sentences, Kang Shengzhe suddenly sent a message.
KK: — Can I sleep now?
Wang Lu: — ... Fine, sleep!
After speaking to Wang Lu, Kang Shengzhe was actually not as sleepy as before, but he always wanted to go back to sleep whenever it was this time of the day. He couldn’t help but fight it a little. However, just as he was done talking to Wang Lu, someone else came knocking on his WeChat again.
Jian Jian: — KKKKKK! LITTLE KKKKKK!
Jian Jian: — Quickly, come out quickly, I have something to tell you!
Jian Jian’s full name was Little Sword Fairy, and naturally that was not his real name but his anchor name. Like Kang Shengzhe, he also belonged to MengMao’s broadcast, and they were friends who often played games together.
Jian Jian: — Where are you!
Kang Shengzhe felt like he was constantly sighing: — What happened?
The moment he saw Kang Shengzhe appear, he regained his enthusiasm in the twinkling of an eye. Without even saying a word, he sent him the long picture of【One day ago: I, KK, want to be MengMao’s one clear stream, I’m not going to carry any girl, I won’t carry a girl even if I die. One day later: En, carrying a sister is pretty cool. 】
Kang Shengzhe: — .....
Kang Shengzhe: — I’m going back to sleep.
Jian Jian stopped him in a haste: — Ai, don’t, don’t! I really have something to say!
Kang Shengzhe did not reply, and Jian Jian started talking.
— Do you know about the company’s plans to invite a celebrity and anchor to broadcast together! Never mind, I’m too lazy to say more, I’ll just pretend that you know about it! Everyone has been discussing who has the highest chances. But if I had to appraise the situation, it has to be Piaoluo who has been around the longest or Howling Wolf who has the most fans. Who do you think the company will choose?
Kang Shengzhe: — Why are you paying attention to this?
Jian Jian: — To cotton up to them ah! With such a ploy, it’s obvious that the person chosen will become the next money shaking tree, so how could I possibly waste the opportunity to get closer to then and strengthen the bonds of our friendship.
Jian Jian: — To tell you a secret, I think Piaoluo is the most promising. There has been hearsay going around about Piaoluo giving the upper echelons a lot of gifts, and the rumours have been speculating that the spot has an eighty percent chance of being his.
Kang Shengzhe suddenly laughed, and he replied: — If you already know the conclusion, why are you still asking me?
Jian Jian: — To consult you, duh. But seriously, who do you think the company will choose?
Kang Shengzhe yawned, eyes somewhat damp. He rubbed at it a little before replying: — Me.
Jian Jian: — .....
Jian Jian: — Stop messing around, I’m being serious here! This actually concerns my future! f(r)eewebnovel.com
Kang Shengzhe: — It’s me.
Jian Jian: — .....
Jian Jian: — For real?
Kang Shengzhe did not answer, but Jian Jian could discern the difference between his jokes and honest words. He sent a kneeling emote and replied: — AHHHHH KK, from today onwards, you are my long lost biological brother!
Kang Shengzhe: — This biological brother asks you to withdraw.
Jian Jian: — Aye!!
After typing the sentence, Jian Jian disappeared without a trace. Kang Shengzhe put down his phone and went back to sleep. A few minutes later, his phone sounded with another notification.
Jian Jian: — The bird which takes the lead gets shot first.
Jian Jian: — Be careful in the future, Piaoluo is not to be provoked.
T/N: Took ten chapters, but we now know our ML’s real name! Also, Jian Jian is a true bro.
Also, did you realise that we technically knew his name since chapter 3? His in-game name, Victor kk (胜者 kk; sheng zhe kk) is also a play on his real name 康圣哲 (kang sheng zhe), except the former means ‘victor’ while the latter means ‘saint’ or ‘wise man’.
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