The next morning, Lu Ye moved the table in his lodgings over to the window and called Shen Qilan's phone.
At Cloud Sound Workshop, several musicians had already crowded around. Liu Ruyan sat at the very front, her round fan resting on her knees. She looked even more serious than she usually did while waiting to go onstage.
Over the past few days, she had practiced her opening, reading comments, and moving on to the next song countless times. Lu Ye had watched the new recordings she sent, pointed out a few places where she had spoken too quickly, and asked her to try again on the spot.
Sure enough, it went more smoothly than last time.
Lu Ye looked at Liu Ruyan through the camera.
"Your opening is smooth now. Next, let's try responding to what the viewers say."
Liu Ruyan nodded, then asked about the actual livestream.
She could perform, and she could use a phone, but she still wanted a clearer idea of how to put the two together.
"Young Master Lu, is this so-called livestreaming basically the same as performing on the street for money?"
At that, Lu Ye couldn't help nodding in approval.
"That's more or less the idea. You show off your looks, figure, and talents in the livestream to earn tips and gifts from your fans."
"With the fans you already have, as long as you go live, even if you don't show off any talents and just chat with them, there's a good chance they'll still tip you and send gifts."
The inexpensive flowers were a ready example. After receiving them, she could follow the settlement instructions on the page to withdraw the money; she didn't need to go to every viewer's home to collect her reward.
Liu Ruyan's eyes lit up at once, and everyone else present was no different.
They also earned money from performances in their daily lives. If they could have another source of income, why not?
Lu Ye held several sheets of paper he had written on up to the camera.
On the first were five large characters.
The essence of livestreaming.
"The essence of livestreaming is to use a phone and Douyin to market some aspect of yourself as a product."
"That aspect could be your beauty, your figure, or your talent. In short, your livestream must provide value to the viewers."
As they listened to Lu Ye, several musicians looked as though they only half understood. Liu Ruyan alone had a clear look in her eyes and nodded from time to time.
She thought of the people who had left comments. Some waited for her to turn her fan; others liked the moment she raised her eyes after changing clothes. So there was a reason they were willing to stay.
"Of course, looks alone aren't enough, because people get tired of seeing the same beauty."
"That brings us to the second point."
As he spoke, Lu Ye held up the second sheet.
Persona.
"Female heroes and noble ladies onstage are all roles. If you're just pretty, but your clothes and the way you speak don't match at all, people won't remember you."
"Take Ruyan, for example. Standing by the window in that qipao gives people a very different impression from holding a longsword with a cold look on your face. First, pick something you can pull off. Don't look at what other people are filming and change everything again tomorrow."
One of the musicians suddenly asked, "What if I played someone really impressive and said I was a Titled Douluo?"
Lu Ye looked at her.
"Nine Soul Rings. Who are you planning to borrow them from?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Shen Qilan laughed and slapped Liu Ruyan's shoulder, while Liu Ruyan pressed her lips together but couldn't hold it in either.
Lu Ye waited for them to finish laughing, then picked up his tea and took a sip.
"All right, that's enough about building a persona for today. The rest is for you to figure out yourselves."
"Next, let's talk about how to provide those viewers with enough user value to make them pay for your livestream."
"And how to ask for gifts."
With that, he took out another sheet of paper. Four large characters were written on it.
Emotional value.
"So-called emotional value is a person's ability to influence and guide other people's emotions."
"Broadly speaking, providing emotional value means affirming someone's values and identity and meeting their emotional needs. Let me give you an example."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Shen Qilan beside the camera.
"Sister Qilan, your makeup looks lovely today."
Shen Qilan had been fixing Liu Ruyan's hair. When she heard that, her hands stopped at once.
"Really? Young Master Lu, do you really think my makeup looks lovely?"
"See that? That's how emotional value works."
Lu Ye turned to the others.
The musicians nodded repeatedly, their faces lighting up with understanding.
Clearly, even the most vivid words couldn't compare to a living example.
At that moment, Shen Qilan finally caught on and shot him a resentful glare through the screen.
"Young Master Lu, you liar!"
"I wasn't lying. You really do look beautiful today."
At that, Shen Qilan's face immediately broke into a delighted smile.
"See? You can keep providing emotional value. Have you all learned it?"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
Everyone nodded furiously. Only Shen Qilan was so angry her teeth itched.
If they hadn't been so far apart, she would have gone over and pinched his arm.
Seeing her like that, Lu Ye finally laughed too.
He didn't go on expounding the principles that filled his papers. Instead, he asked Liu Ruyan to think about how she would have answered if someone had just praised one of her dances.
Liu Ruyan first said thank you, but then felt it was too short. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I practiced for several days. If you liked it, then the practice wasn't for nothing."
"Make it more natural. Don't sound like you're just getting a task over with."
She tried again.
Shen Qilan, listening beside her, was the first to smile.
"That sounds like something you'd normally say."
Liu Ruyan's shoulders relaxed too.
She had worried that livestreaming might require her to turn herself into someone else. Only now did she understand that being willing to listen to what people said and responding with what she genuinely wanted to say might not be so hard after all.
"Also, don't feel ashamed to ask for gifts. As long as you've provided emotional value, you've earned those gifts, because emotional value is the most expensive commodity in this world."
After he finished, Lu Ye demonstrated several natural ways to thank people for gifts and greet them. He didn't have Liu Ruyan chase after any one person for gifts, nor did he teach her to provoke people with nasty remarks.
After finishing a song, if someone was willing to send a flower, she could thank them sincerely. If no one sent one, she didn't need to let her face fall right there.
She was putting on a performance that would make people want to come back, not using her phone to collect debts.
By the time they had gone over everything, the sunlight outside the window had shifted some way.
Lu Ye put down the papers and looked at Liu Ruyan.
"We've covered all the techniques, so now let's talk about the most important thing."
"Equipment."
Shen Qilan's eyes lit up.
"The things you drew earlier were finished a while ago."
They hadn't only just started cutting the clothes. After receiving the drawings, Master He had spent two days taking measurements and making trial pieces, then altered several places at Shen Qilan's request. While practicing her opening, Liu Ruyan hadn't wanted to put the whole outfit on, only trying it to see if it fit.
"Then do the makeup and hair to match."
Lu Ye smiled as he spoke.
"I want to see just how many people our first show can leave unable to look away."
After hearing him out, Liu Ruyan stood up, then turned back to ask one more question.
"What if only a few people come tonight?"
"Then first make sure the people who do come feel it was worth coming."
Lu Ye looked at the round fan beside her knees.
"Your first video didn't get hundreds of likes as soon as you posted it either. Now they're willing to wait for the next one. Do you think that happened for nothing?"
Liu Ruyan looked at her phone and slowly smiled.
She still remembered how it had felt as those red hearts climbed, one by one.
Now, she was simply taking another step forward.
Shen Qilan had already sent someone to fetch the clothes. The same hand that had been itching to pinch Lu Ye only moments ago was now smoothing the stray hairs beside Liu Ruyan's ear.
"Don't be so quick to smile. Let's wait until we've made him stare dumbstruck first."