Su Yue's eyes caught a message as it floated past in the chaos.
[sleepy_penguin]: you tricked your fans. Not cool fairy
"Tricked you?" She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, her expression shifting to one of genuine apology. "Actually... I didn't know about this either until I recorded last Saturday. I recognized the song and was like, wait - isn't this the song that everyone is talking about?"
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"If I had to say, it was probably the agency..."
She paused.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"...Am I supposed to say that?"
The chat erupted.
[SleepyPanda99]: THE CORPOS ARE USING OUR FAIRY
[CloudChaser]: I KNEW IT. Shady agency moves.
[WanderingKnight]: Moon Fairy speak your truth we're here for you
[MidnightWanderer]: if they do ANYTHING to you we're protesting
[NightOwl42]: just say the word and we ride at dawn
[BubbleTeaAddict]: its okay fairy!! we know its not your fault!!
[SnackKing]: corpos be corporing
[MoonlitPath]: We'll defend you. Just be yourself.
[SilentObserver]: Noted. Agency sus, talent innocent.
[GamingLord]: dont worry about it just keep streaming
[LonelyFisherman]: They better treat you right or there will be problems
Behind the camera, Lin Feng and Mengqi watched the chat scroll by.
This was also part of the plan.
With the methods they had used to gather audience before the release, suspicion was bound to arise at some point. Addressing it early was the safest approach. Now the narrative was established - if anything seemed off, it was the agency's doing, not the talent's.
They needed to maintain Su Yue's pure image in front of the audience.
Taking some heat as the agency didn't change much in the end. The audience would still support the talent regardless, so it wasn't really costing them anything. And the viewers wouldn't take things too far either - they were protective of Su Yue and wouldn't want to cause her trouble.
As long as the talent was treated well, they would keep their pitchforks sheathed.
On screen, Su Yue waved her hands, her cheeks slightly pink. "You guys are too much! I'm fine, really! The agency takes good care of me!"
The stream settled into a comfortable rhythm. She answered questions, reacted to comments, laughed at jokes from the chat. The atmosphere was warm and casual - exactly what a "getting to know you" debut stream should feel like.
[StardustDreamer]: are you here to stay this time or are you gonna disappear again?
[RainyDayVibes]: yeah!! will you take another break?
Su Yue tilted her head, considering the question.
"Hmm, I'm not too sure... With the MV recording…"
She froze.
Her mouth snapped shut a second too late.
[CloudChaser]: MV????
[SleepyPanda99]: HOLD ON
[MidnightWanderer]: DID SHE JUST SAY MV
[NightOwl42]: MV RECORDING???
[WanderingKnight]: MOON FAIRY MV CONFIRMED
[BubbleTeaAddict]: I HEARD THAT I DEFINITELY HEARD THAT
[SnackKing]: CLIP IT CLIP IT CLIP IT
[GamingLord]: NO WAY
[LazyRiver]: wait is this real??
Su Yue's hands shot up, waving frantically in front of the camera.
"I don't know! I don't know anything!" Her voice pitched higher with panic. "Supposedly. Hypothetically speaking, if there was to be one - I might not have the time, that's all I meant!"
[MoonlitPath]: sure sure
[SilentObserver]: Whatever you say, Moon Fairy.
[LonelyFisherman]: its okay we believe you :)
[CloudChaser]: totally didn't hear anything
[NightOwl42]: what MV? there was no MV mentioned
[SleepyPanda99]: my memory is suddenly very bad
[CoffeeZombie]: wink wink nudge nudge
Su Yue's cheeks puffed out in an exaggerated pout.
"Chat is bullying me!"
[BubbleTeaAddict]: CUTE
[WanderingKnight]: WE LOVE YOU
[MidnightWanderer]: not bullying!! just love!!
The stream continued on, the chat flowing with questions and jokes and the occasional demand for dancing from the usual suspects. Su Yue fielded them with growing confidence, her earlier nervousness melting away as she fell into an easy rapport with her audience.
Eventually, Lin Feng raised his hand from behind the camera, gesturing subtly.
Su Yue caught the signal and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Alright everyone, that's all for today!" She smiled warmly at the camera. "Thank you so much for showing up on my return stream. It really means a lot."
Her expression softened.
"And to all the newcomers who found me through the music - thank you for giving me a chance. I appreciate you too."
She waved one final time.
"See you next time~!"
The stream ended.
Su Yue exhaled, her shoulders slumping as the tension finally left her body.
…
Yanzi approached Su Yue with a bottle of water, pressing it gently into her hands. Mengqi moved from Lin Feng's side, making her way over to check on her as well.
Lin Feng stayed where he was, his attention fixed on the laptop screen. He scrolled through the chat logs slowly, reading through the flood of messages that had poured in over the past hour.
He exhaled.
The stream had been a total success. They had managed to funnel so many people to her stream, exposing her to the public in a way that would have taken months through normal means. And while there were just as many haters as there were converted new fans, he didn't think he needed to worry about them much.
After all, they had liked the song enough to click on it within an hour of release. They had cared enough to find the singer and watch her stream live.
They were just a little salty. It was nothing a little time couldn't heal.
That being said, this was just the beginning. They needed more. In the grand scheme of things, this was nothing.
Though, he admitted, he was being quick to judge. It had only been the first hour since release. With how the music video was growing in popularity, tomorrow might be a whole new world for Su Yue.
For those new viewers who missed her stream, he needed to prepare something.
Hire editors, he noted mentally. Clip the best stream moments. Upload them in short form.
They also needed to film promotional content for the MV but that was a whole other thing.
At that moment, Mengqi and Su Yue walked over.
"How did it go?" Su Yue asked, still clutching the water bottle.
Lin Feng looked up with a smile. "You tell me."
He turned the laptop toward her.
[Stream Summary]
Duration: 1 hour 4 minutes
Peak Concurrent Viewers: 253,847
Average Viewers: 118,412
Gifts Received: ¥1,523,600
Chat Messages: 3,047,892
Su Yue's hand flew to her mouth.
"So much?" Her voice came out muffled behind her fingers. She stared at the numbers, then looked at Lin Feng with wide eyes. "Are you sure this isn't an error?"
Lin Feng's smile widened. "These are your fans."
Suddenly, the webpage refreshed on its own.
The statistics vanished.
At the same time, Lin Feng's phone rang.
"What happened?" Su Yue leaned forward, clicking the refresh button. "Is the site broken again?"
The page reloaded, but the summary was gone.
Lin Feng glanced at the caller ID, then picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
A voice came through from the other end.
"Is this Lin Feng of Xingyao Entertainment?"