Gaining followers

It was peak traffic, and he happened to be at the center of the controversy, so his video sparked a heated discussion as soon as it went up.

A full match was too long, and Yu Nian worried that many viewers would lose patience, so his video only covered a few relevant moments.

However, he included a link to the full recording of last night's stream beneath the video and specifically marked where his match with Qinggang began, leaving no room for anyone to accuse him of deceptive editing.

Many bystanders following the drama switched sides after watching the clarification video. Yu Nian also laid out the entire sequence of events in writing, point by point. His clear reasoning and solid evidence made Qinggang's passive-aggressive remarks look ridiculous.

[Holy shit? I know videos can be spliced together, but Qinggang took it way too far, didn't he? With that talent for making stuff up, he should quit gaming and run a clickbait account.]

[That brain-dead green worm. The jungler was clearly rotating between lanes. Which lane didn't he help? He only helped mid twice while passing through. Just what I've always expected from him: the moment he sees a female player, he starts fantasizing.]

["Maybe he didn't help me because I'm not a girl~" Don't you disgust yourself saying that? Wasn't the reason he couldn't help you simply that you died too fast? If he hadn't come to clear the minion wave, your first tower would've been gone ages ago. You grabbed the marksman role and still couldn't win your lane. We can all agree Qinggang is just trash, right?]

[It's 202x and you people still believe Qinggang? He and his fans are a match made in a cesspool. One makes up rumors, and the rest spread them and cyberbully people. Now they've swarmed some small streamer's chat again. Absolutely shameless!]

[Who doesn't need teamwork in a game? Isn't it a fact that he refused to cooperate with Qinggang and watched him get killed?]

[Hahaha, by "refused to cooperate," do you mean he refused to die with him? Nobody with a functioning brain would've gone in, right?]

[Making up sexual rumors, smearing people, shifting blame, personal attacks. Bravo, the green worm and his worm fans really have every vice covered!]

[This streamer is way too nice. He actually just watched him die. If it were me, I'd have challenged him to a one-on-one afterward and destroyed him!]

[He even called on Qinggang at the end to apologize to that random girl they played with. I'm honestly crying.]

[As someone with a thing for voices, I can't take this. I just love Rice Cake's voice. Also, with Qinggang sounding like his throat got run over by a truck, how do his fans have the nerve to criticize anyone else's voice?]

Public opinion quickly turned around. This time, the bystanders overwhelmingly sided with Yu Nian. Someone soon made a comparison video of his streams and Qinggang's, revealing that Yu Nian not only kept his cool but was also gentle with his fans, and his chat was remarkably friendly.

Unlike Qinggang's chat, where people could spend ages hurling abuse at random teammates.

[When a teammate makes a mistake, Qinggang charges in carrying the ashes of eighteen generations of his ancestors. Rice Cake: everyone makes mistakes. It's just a game, so don't get upset, guys! The difference is obvious. You can tell at a glance who gets triggered more easily /shrug]

[A little acting is enough to fool you all? Who can't say a few nice things?]

[Who cares whether he's acting? At least his chat has a pleasant atmosphere. What I want to know is why your precious master can't say anything nice and just barks all day.]

[Are the green worm and his fans actually flies in disguise? I couldn't last a minute in his chat. My eyes feel dirty /washing-eyes.jpg]

Qinggang had plenty of fans who were still trying to smear Yu Nian, but the truth was out, and most people were reasonable. Their outrageous comments were soon buried in the comment section.

After posting his clarification video, Yu Nian found the random mage teammate from yesterday in his match history. He explained what had happened behind the scenes, apologized to her, and told her he was already dealing with it.

After all, this had started between him and Qinggang. He hadn't expected Qinggang to expose that random teammate's ID and profile just to smear him. Whatever way he looked at it, Yu Nian owed her an apology.

She hadn't expected him to go out of his way to apologize over this and immediately said she didn't mind.

Rice Cake Isn't Cake: has anyone come to insult you over this?

Would You Even Hit a Little Mouse?: yes.

Would You Even Hit a Little Mouse?: but it's fine. I reported and blocked them all, so they won't get another chance to insult me.

Yu Nian still felt guilty and was about to offer a few words of comfort when she quickly replied again: I know what happened now. I'll handle it.

Yu Nian didn't dwell on what she meant or ask any further questions.

She also invited him to play together sometime when he was free, and Yu Nian gladly agreed.

An hour into the uproar, Yu Nian started his stream and greeted everyone as usual.

At first, Qinggang's fans and some bystanders who didn't know the truth came in to insult him. But with his fans explaining the situation and his moderators blocking people, the chat gradually became much cleaner.

Then more people poured into his stream. They didn't have fan badges either, but they were clearly much friendlier than the previous wave.

[I watched your clarification video. I feel so bad for you.]

[Why didn't I discover this hidden gem of a streamer sooner /crying. He seems like such a gentle person.]

[Qinggang really has done every awful thing imaginable. This streamer had it so rough!]

[Welcome, welcome, newcomers! Our streamer is super sweet. Hit follow, and if you like him, come hang out more often~]

The controversy had caused quite a stir, but Yu Nian had reacted quickly, and the evidence hadn't been hard to gather. It hadn't caused any serious consequences; instead, it had introduced more bystanders to a small streamer like him.

Many people followed the trail to the full match recording and found the part where Yu Nian shut down the haters immensely satisfying.

Others found a clip from last night that one of Yu Nian's fans had edited.

In the clip, the jungle hero he controlled stood tall and imposing in battle robes, crushing a scoundrel beneath his foot.

Yu Nian's composed voice flowed seamlessly into the hero's lines, delivering maximum mockery. It was as though he had crossed through the screen and become one with the character, making the clip a delight to both watch and hear.

Before long, the video was pushed onto the trending feed. The comment section was lively too, with almost everyone finding creative ways to praise Yu Nian, while Qinggang became the laughingstock of the internet.

Yu Nian noticed a flood of new follower notifications on his dashboard, but he wasn't in a hurry to check them and continued focusing on his stream.

His contract had expired in the past couple of days. In theory, Clam shouldn't have been supporting him or boosting his stream anymore, yet his chat was unusually lively tonight. Some new fans even paid to renew his gold fan memberships.

Yu Nian hurried to discourage them. "Thank you, everyone, but please don't spend your money. I'll be moving to another platform, so I won't be streaming here much longer."

His longtime fans already knew about this, while the newcomers kept asking where he would go.

Yu Nian patiently explained, "I haven't decided yet. I'll let everyone know once I do."

Only after ending his stream did Yu Nian check his dashboard. He had actually gained over twenty thousand followers that night.

Even while he was checking, more new followers kept coming in.

Yu Nian had built his following little by little over more than a year. He had never gained followers this wildly overnight.

Although gaining followers was a good thing, he certainly didn't want to go through another round of cyberbullying.

Yu Nian tidied his desk and was about to take a shower when he suddenly noticed a new friend request on WeChat.

He opened it and saw that the sender claimed to be a staff member from the Starfish Platform, asking whether he was interested in their platform.