Interview

Yu Nian was a little surprised.

He was actually quite familiar with Starfish Platform. It was a livestreaming platform that had emerged in recent years.

It was one of the platforms Yu Nian had been considering. Its drawback was that, unlike other platforms, it had no major corporation backing it, leaving it somewhat less competitive.

On the plus side, the platform was well optimized and had a decent atmosphere. It was still growing, and barring any surprises, its prospects looked promising.

Out of politeness, Yu Nian accepted the friend request.

Only after chatting did he learn that the other person had found out about him through what had happened that day.

The person had visited his stream and said they quite liked his streaming style. After learning that his contract with Huajia had expired, they had extended an olive branch, asking whether he was interested in moving to Starfish Platform.

Yu Nian muttered inwardly that, with his follower count, he could hardly compare to those major streamers. He hadn't expected this mess to turn into a blessing in disguise.

The person also hinted that Sea Star would be working with a major investor later on, and joining now would come with plenty of benefits down the line.

Yu Nian was tempted. Even setting that aside, he already had a pretty good impression of Sea Star.

After they had gotten a general sense of each other, Yu Nian agreed to an in-person interview.

Yu Nian had posted the clarification video both to clear his name and to get some accountability.

Perhaps because the incident had blown up so much, Qinggang had buckled under the pressure and posted a lengthy apology.

Yu Nian hadn't noticed it, though. He only saw it when one of his moderators sent him a screenshot.

The entire thing dripped with passive aggression. It was an apology on the surface, but in reality it took veiled shots at Yu Nian. Qinggang even seemed to think he was the one being wronged.

Yu Nian laughed when he read it. He had no idea how anyone could be so shameless.

The moderator also told him that, shortly after Qinggang posted it, thousands of comments had piled up berating him. Apparently unable to take it, he had deleted the apology.

What's more, Huajia had officially stepped in and announced that it would terminate his contract.

Yu Nian was a little surprised.

It wasn't as though he had never seen streamers with rotten character, or even ones who constantly skirted the edges of the law.

Usually, they lost some followers and got hounded by people in the community for a while. If things really blew up, the whole internet heard about it.

But none of that was much of a problem for them. So much happened online that people soon forgot. Some would even pop back up after a while, pull a few entertaining stunts or crack some jokes, and suddenly their scandals no longer counted as scandals.

But when a platform officially intervened, it generally meant someone had crossed a line that left it no choice.

To put it bluntly, businesses were out to make money. Qinggang had over six hundred thousand followers, while Yu Nian had only two hundred thousand. His contract had also ended, giving Huajia even less reason to defend him.

If things truly reached the point where someone had to be kicked out, he would be the one sacrificed.

So Yu Nian figured Huajia must have had some other reason for firing Qinggang.

None of that had anything to do with him, though. What did matter was that, as the incident continued to spread, he had gained tens of thousands more followers. He was now approaching two hundred and sixty thousand.

Yu Nian was stunned. No wonder so many people liked manufacturing drama, marketing themselves, and putting their fans through emotional wringers. Stirring up buzz really was the fastest way to attract attention.

Still, he only marveled at it briefly. He had no intention of trying anything underhanded himself.

On Friday, Yu Nian ate breakfast, checked the time, and took a taxi to the interview.

He had a class at three thirty that afternoon. He didn't know how many people would be interviewing, but if he got back early, he could still make it to class.

Although Sea Star couldn't compare to those corporate giants, it had enough financial strength to hold its own among the major livestreaming platforms.

Yu Nian looked up at the towering office building before him and couldn't help swallowing.

He walked over, and the receptionist greeted him with a smile. "Hello, sir. How can I help you?"

"Hello, I'm here for an interview with Sea Star," Yu Nian said. "I have an appointment."

The receptionist nodded. "All right. Please wait a moment while I contact their office."

Soon, a young man came downstairs. Spotting Yu Nian, he approached with a smile. "You're the streamer Rice Cake, right? I'm Xiao Huang from HR. We spoke on WeChat earlier."

A little embarrassed to have his screen name called out in public, Yu Nian nodded. "That's me. Nice to meet you."

They exchanged a quick handshake, then Yu Nian followed him into the elevator.

Xiao Huang told him a little about Sea Star.

Sea Star didn't have an office building of its own, but it occupied several floors of this one, and the interior looked impressive.

Yu Nian was led into a waiting area, where a staff member brought him a cup of tea.

Only then did Yu Nian notice that several other people were already inside. There were even some familiar faces, all gaming streamers too.

He realized they might all be here for the same round of interviews. Among them was a major streamer with a million followers.

Suddenly, Yu Nian felt a little unsure of himself.

Xiao Huang hadn't told him how many people they planned to take on this time. The company would surely prefer major streamers who brought their own audiences. Perhaps he was only here to make up the numbers.

The glass door swung open again, and Yu Nian saw someone he hadn't expected-Qinggang.

Yu Nian instantly sat up straight. The person he'd been arguing with online just a few days ago was now standing right in front of him. It felt incredibly strange.

Qinggang didn't recognize him, though. After all, Yu Nian had never shown his face online.

Qinggang found a seat. Noticing the occasional glances from the others, he frowned in displeasure, looking like someone best left alone.

As he glared back at them, he was also searching for someone-Rice Cake.

The incident a few days earlier had briefly made him a laughingstock among streamers, and people were still sending him private messages full of abuse.

Qinggang wasn't too discouraged by that, though. He often used these tactics to generate buzz for himself. This time, things had simply backfired on a somewhat larger scale.

What infuriated him was that Huajia had actually terminated his contract over it without any discussion.

He had been streaming for so long that this was hardly the first time he'd been publicly called out or cursed at. Yet Huajia had always turned a blind eye. Something was clearly off this time.

He had asked an insider he knew to look into it for him. The person hadn't dared say much, only that he had offended someone he couldn't afford to offend.

At first, he had thought Rice Cake was behind it, and had been a little worried that he might have more moves up his sleeve.

But based on the information Qinggang had gathered privately, Rice Cake was just an ordinary university student. Before his streaming career took off, he'd even needed part-time jobs to support himself.

The streaming world was brutal. Without something distinctive and a bit of luck, it was genuinely hard to keep an audience.

For Rice Cake to have gained two hundred thousand followers after a little over a year of streaming was actually quite respectable among the vast sea of gaming streamers.

But put another way, if Rice Cake really had the power to decide whether Qinggang stayed or went, he wouldn't have spent so long streaming only to have two hundred thousand followers. Even throwing money at it would have made him a name by now.

That put Qinggang considerably more at ease. Luckily, he had built up some connections during his time in the industry. With so many followers, moving to another platform wouldn't be difficult.

He had also received word that Rice Cake would be coming here for an interview today.

But he didn't know which person was Rice Cake.

Just hearing that voice, neither masculine nor feminine, turned his stomach. He seemed like such a poser. If he didn't dare show his face, he must be ugly.

So Qinggang focused his attention mainly on people who fit that description.

He spotted an unremarkable-looking young man chatting quietly with a female streamer. Although his voice didn't sound quite right, he closely matched Qinggang's mental image of Rice Cake.

After all, a voice could be altered with a sound card, or by speaking in an affected pitch. Someone like Rice Cake was bound to love dressing himself up.

He walked over, sat down beside the young man, and asked brusquely, "Hey, what's your streaming name?"