Five years ago, during the winter break of my third year in university, the rise of the streamer Gordon Sterling to fame wasn't exactly an accident.
Gordon Sterling's initial 100,000 followers were genuinely earned from his freshman to junior year thanks to his incredibly magnetic voice.
Back then, Gordon wasn't a popular internet comedian, just a fairly unknown "voice actor" on a not-so-famous internet radio station.
Because he was so unknown, no one ever reached out to Gordon for voice acting gigs or any other collaborations.
So, Gordon started reading aloud "love advice manuals" that he wrote, filled with humor.
In Gordon's world, he was the Chief Lady's Man of Riverton University—correction, according to Gordon's request, Chief Girl's Man.
At that time, even before he earned the nickname "Gordo," Gordon was already extremely confident: "There's no number I can't get, no girl I can't chat up."
Completely impressive and domineering.
Generally, a fat person's voice is sharp and a bit like a girl's, but Gordon's bass voice was absolutely mesmerizing.
If a voice could get someone pregnant, most people who chatted with Gordon would probably have quadruplets.
This might be thanks to the massive body resonance chamber his 300-pound frame provided.
In any case, closing your eyes and listening to Gordon talk could instantly cleanse all worries away.
A select few of his fans were overjoyed.
Such a good voice, don't miss out if you're around.
Gordon was recommended to a well-known streaming platform, gradually earning his "first 100,000."
Gordon's second 100,000 followers came from his looks, which can only be described by The Pouting Siren's catchphrase—breathtakingly, shockingly gorgeous.
Of course, one must drop the words "top tier" that The Devilish Lolita often attaches to that phrase.
As more fans fell in love with Gordon's voice, naturally, more "true fans" wanted to know what the owner of this voice looked like.
Standing at 170 cm and weighing 170 kg, such a distinctive appearance—how could he just show it off to anyone?
So fat people don't have portrait rights?
Gordon stubbornly refused, but circumstances didn't allow it.
Gordon's followers were stuck at 100,000 and wouldn't increase.
This made Gordon, who had just switched to a big platform, feel extremely embarrassed.
Fans were constantly brainwashing Gordon: "If you don't show your face on the live stream, don't expect to gain more followers!"
Then, fervent fans who loved "voice actor" Gordon coaxed and fooled him.
And then, Gordon believed them.
And then, Gordon turned on the webcam.
And then, he truly gained 100,000 more followers overnight.
Imagine the ugliest guy you've ever encountered in your life, then double the ugliness, and that's the real look of this guy named Gordon Sterling.
Check out how being fat distorts his facial features.
Why did ugliness still gain followers?
In this era where everyone loves the bizarre, Gordon was extraordinarily fat, extraordinarily ugly, plus extraordinarily narcissistic—these "three exceptional traits" directly updated fans' definition of the word ugly in the streaming room.
Despite being called out to be the "handsome guy," they praised him with tears in their eyes.
Many fans closed their eyes, using blind typing to flood the screen, expressing their endless admiration for Gordon's looks.
The collective flattery boosted Gordon's confidence by hundreds of levels.
Thus, after arriving on the streaming platform, Gordon also updated his opening line:
"How are you, my dearest in front of the screen? I'm your host, Gordon Sterling. Officially recognized handsome since birth. Sh-u-ai G-e, genuine and one in a billion. If you can find more than 14 people named Sterling G-e in all of China, then this Ster-ling would let you down from being one in a billion!"
In Gordon's initial "love advice manuals," he was the most popular guy in the Brewing Engineering program at Riverton University, getting invited by beauties from all walks every day.
And the truth?
Indeed that's the case.
As long as the school wasn't on break, Gordon lacked no invitations.
Being the school's Chief Lady's Man—oops, no, Chief Girl's Man.
Every day, many girls invited Gordon to go shopping, drink milk tea, or eat at the cafeteria together.
Especially those girls who already had boyfriends.
These girls' invitations, in the extremely confident tiny expression of Gordon's eyes, were signs that even if the girls already had boyfriends, they couldn't help but be captivated by his "god-like looks."