A new fan

Yu Nian went to the roadside to wait for his ride, and Qin Yuheng followed two steps behind him, keeping his distance.

Only when Yu Nian turned around did he notice that Qin Yuheng seemed farther away than before.

Something seemed to occur to him, and a hint of panic returned to his expression.

Had Qin Yuheng figured something out?

Pretending to be calm, Yu Nian checked the time on his phone. It was only a little past eight.

Saying it was too late would really be stretching the truth.

All he could do was force a smile and explain, "I've lost too much time lately and barely done any proper streaming. If I head back now, I can still stream for a while."

Assistant Yin thought his boss was acting very strangely tonight.

During dinner, he had only stepped away for a moment, and his withdrawn, taciturn boss had suddenly become cheerful. Then he had been sent off to do some "market research," and, well, by the time he returned, his boss looked ready to fall apart.

But his boss clearly had no intention of confiding in him. Otherwise, he could have put his years of professional workplace expertise to use and helped his boss analyze the situation-while enjoying the gossip.

Qin Yuheng's hand tightened slightly, but his voice remained as composed as ever. "Get some rest early. A few hours won't make much difference."

Yu Nian obediently nodded, but his guilt only deepened.

Qin Yuheng was so considerate toward him, yet he had dated his younger brother behind his back. If Qin Yuheng learned the truth someday and thought back on these encounters, would he think Yu Nian was nothing but a thoroughly hypocritical liar?

Filled with guilt, Yu Nian was distracted even as he said goodbye to them.

Once home, he turned on the air conditioner, washed his face, changed his clothes, and set a cup of hot water on his computer desk before starting his stream.

[Whoa, a surprise stream! Good thing I'm suspicious by nature!]

[Nian Bao, didn't you say you had something to do today and wouldn't be streaming?]

Yu Nian quickly pulled himself together and said, "I finished what I needed to do, so I came back to keep you all company."

[When Nian Bao said last night that he had plans, I thought he was spending the holiday with his girlfriend.]

[Above, since when does Nian Bao have a girlfriend?]

[No girlfriend, so maybe a boyfriend? /popcorn]

"That's enough, you guys." Yu Nian smiled helplessly. "I really don't have a partner. If I did, do you think I'd still remember you lot?"

[Ouch. So we're just your backup options?]

[The streamer just denied having a partner, but he didn't deny having a boyfriend. Reasonable grounds for suspicion...]

[All right, all right, know when to stop joking. Going on about boyfriends is getting kind of annoying.]

Seeing that the chat seemed ready to break into an argument, Yu Nian hurried to soothe them. "Let's drop it, okay?"

"Huh, why are there so few people here? Is everyone spending the holiday with their partners?"

[Nian Bao, my boyfriend and I are both your fans. We've got your stream on even while we celebrate~]

With that, the fan sent Yu Nian several bags of the Dog Food gift.

Yu Nian launched the game and joked, "Fine, fine, so I'm just part of your foreplay."

[Hahaha, don't be sad, streamer. I'm single too. /doge]

Yu Nian said, "No Divine Call today. Let's play a little game together."

Sometimes, Yu Nian streamed smaller games to keep things interesting.

His fans enthusiastically agreed. Yu Nian was playing a puzzle game where he had to sneak into a house and rescue a hostage. Two kidnappers stood outside the door, and the player needed to find ways to lure them away before coming back to save the hostage, improvising and finding suitable hiding places along the way.

The art style wasn't frightening, but the gameplay was tense and thrilling, and gradually, more people joined the stream.

He played until past one, and his voice began to sound sleepy.

But seeing how excited the chat was, he was reluctant to end the stream and pushed himself to play a little longer.

Though the gameplay was simple, the controls required close attention to detail. There were also stages, which grew increasingly difficult. Yu Nian guided his character into a flower bed to hide. Seeing the kidnappers leave, he was about to climb through the window when an extravagant gift animation suddenly popped up on the screen.

Yu Nian was immersed in the game and already on edge. Startled by the animation, he accidentally made his character bump into a vase on a nearby cabinet. A second later, the kidnappers rushed in and shot him dead.

The chat lamented the loss, then exclaimed that a big spender had entered the stream.

Yu Nian checked and saw that someone had sent him a Castle Carnival.

It was the most expensive gift on Huajia Live, costing two thousand yuan apiece.

Yu Nian was surprised, but still thanked them earnestly. "Thank you to 'Y' for the Carnival gift. That was very generous."

Yu Nian generally remembered viewers who were active in his streams, but this "Y" looked completely unfamiliar.

Since they had just sent such an expensive gift, however, a high-level fan badge was already displayed beside their name.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Y sent several more Carnivals in rapid succession.

Gift animations dominated the screen one after another, and the chat erupted, messages flying past.

[Holy crap, holy crap, how rich are you? I'm so jealous.]

[Boss, boss, are you drunk? Get a grip!]

[Did the boss get dumped and decide to throw money around?]

[Is it Sister Y or Brother Y? Whatever, I'm your long-lost little sister! /clings to your leg]

[Hahahaha, big spender Y says nothing and just keeps throwing money at the streamer.]

It wasn't as though Yu Nian had never had viewers send him top-tier gifts, but they usually only sent one. They had also watched his streams for a long time and really liked him, so they wanted to show their support.

Most people would send one as a gesture, and that would be enough.

But this person was sending far too many.

Yu Nian froze for a moment, then came to his senses and hurried to stop them. "That's enough, that's enough. Please don't spend any more. Thank you so much for your support. If you like my streams, you can follow me and come watch more often."

Only then did the other person stop sending gifts. Shortly afterward, a follow notification appeared on Yu Nian's dashboard.

The new follower was none other than Y.

A viewer exclaimed: [What? They're actually a new fan?!]

[Don't tell me that viewer above was right and this big spender really got dumped and came here to throw money around?]

[Nian Bao: all this wealth raining down on me...]

[Whether the boss got dumped or not, they're definitely loaded! /sobbing]

Just as everyone assumed that this "Y," who had appeared out of nowhere, had simply happened upon Yu Nian's stream and sent a few gifts along the way, the previously silent Y posted a message in the chat.

[Y: It's very late. Get some rest early.]

[Wait, what? Boss Y, what's going on here?]

[My reasonable theory: Boss Y got drunk and clicked into the wrong stream, then heard the streamer's voice and thought he sounded like her ex-boyfriend. That's why she's throwing money at him and showing concern.]

[That's ridiculous, but somehow it makes sense. So Boss Y is a girl?]

[Hahaha, what is this, the online gaming version of a substitute-lover novel? But sis, could you be a little less strict about gender? /blushing]

Yu Nian watched all the speculation and gossip fly through the chat. It was as lively as a New Year celebration.

In fact, the instant he saw that message, someone in particular had come to mind.

But after reading all the chat's speculation, he began to feel that his own idea was rather far-fetched.

For one thing, Qin Yuheng was a decisive, no-nonsense man who acted swiftly.

Just knowing that he remembered to check on company matters even while browsing a night market made it hard for Yu Nian to imagine someone like him staying online instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, specifically visiting his stream to send him gifts and tell him to get some rest.

An elite, domineering CEO transformed into an internet-addicted young man?

That was taking acting out of character a little too far.

Besides, given his relationship with Qin Yuheng, there was even less reason for him to do any of this.

And so Yu Nian completely dismissed his suspicions about "Y's" identity.