After paying, Xu Shengxia was left with a little over 5,000 yuan.
She then spent 1,999 yuan on room service before unhurriedly taking out her new phone. She downloaded the Kuaiyin app, planning to find another streamer to cash out on.
After downloading it, Xu Shengxia didn't use her previous Kuaiyin account. Instead, she registered a new one with the phone number that came with her new phone.
She also didn't keep the default string of numbers as her username, changing it to: Queen Xia.
After changing it, she went back to her old phone to find the private message Jiang Xingzhou had sent her.
She typed the WeChat ID he had messaged her into her new phone's WeChat to look him up and add him.
But for whatever reason, whether Jiang Xingzhou was busy or something else, he didn't accept her friend request right away after she sent it.
Xu Shengxia waited for a bit, but when he didn't accept, she gave up on the idea of cashing out on him and entered the live-streaming section to find another male streamer to use.
Using both phones, propped up against the hotel's price list, Xu Shengxia put both hands to work, simultaneously scrolling through online male streamers on both devices.
She didn't quickly find a suitable male streamer on her new phone, but on her old one—because she had previously gifted handsome male streamers—the backend algorithm was mostly recommending young, energetic, and good-looking guys.
So, she hadn't been scrolling for long before she heard the system's announcement:
[DING! The Consumption Rebate System is now scanning:]
[Name: Qi Xiaoqi]
[Age: 22]
[Height: 181cm]
[Weight: 58.2kg]
[Overall Appearance Score: 8.5]
[Current Favorability Toward Host: 0]
[This male meets the system's rebate criteria. The host may proceed with consumption!]
Hearing the notification, Xu Shengxia searched for Qi Xiaoqi's stream on her new phone and entered.
Inside, a male talent streamer was in a PK battle with another male talent streamer.
Both streamers were quite popular, with over a thousand people in each of their streams.
So after the PK battle started, the gifts flowed nonstop—cheap ones like Roses or Festival Tickets, and expensive ones like "520 Confession Balloons," Fireworks, Supercars, and "A Lifetime Together."
But on the overall PK score bar, Qi Xiaoqi was far ahead of the other streamer.
The reason for his lead was likely his good looks.
Qi Xiaoqi was clearly much more handsome than the other male streamer, looking like a mischievous bad boy. This was especially true when he'd turn his head and flash a roguish smile—it was devastatingly cool and really got his female fans' hearts racing. He would also occasionally perform a magic trick for the camera, making a rose appear. A lot of his female fans were totally buying it, constantly screaming in the bullet comments:
[Little Qi is so handsome!]
[And that roguish smile is to die for!]
[Sending Fireworks!]
[Sending a "Like You"!]
[Streamer, how much do I have to gift you to be your girlfriend?]
[*heart eyes* *heart eyes*]
[I want a rose from Little Qi, a real one! *swoon* *swoon*]
[Hubby, love you, mwah! I'm broke, so here's a free popularity ticket instead, lol!]
...
Seeing Qi Xiaoqi's score surpass his, the opposing streamer stood up and started performing a cool, slow-motion dance.
He was wearing a white shirt and black cyberpunk glasses, interacting with his own fans while he danced.
Because streamers usually mute each other during PK battles, Xu Shengxia, watching from Qi Xiaoqi's stream, couldn't hear the other man's voice.
Even though she couldn't hear him, she could guess he was probably trying to rally his viewers for gifts.
And just as she expected... as soon as the other guy started dancing, a lot of fair-weather fans started jumping ship to watch his stream. Some of the wealthier ones even started sending mid-tier gifts.
Qi Xiaoqi's score bar was quickly overtaken.
Some of his long-time fans started stirring things up in the comments, egging Qi Xiaoqi on:
[Little Qi, the other guy is dancing! You should dance too! If you do, we'll keep gifting you!]
[I want to see you dance to "A Smile is Very Charming"! *heart eyes* *heart eyes*]
[Dance, Little Qi!]
[Little Qi is the handsomest when he dances!]
[Put on some dark shades and give us a show *smirk* *smirk*]
[Dance! Dance! If you don't, we're jumping ship to the other stream, haha!]
...
Qi Xiaoqi had already been streaming for over four hours and had danced quite a bit earlier. He was tired and didn't really want to dance again.
But he couldn't stand the other streamer's provocation or his own fans goading him. Finally, he tossed the rose aside, stood up, and laughed.
"Fuck it! If you want a dance, you'll get a dance. Who's afraid of who?"
With that, he started playing the recent hit songs. He swept his bangs off his forehead with the palm of his hand, put on a pair of LED cyberpunk glasses, and began to dance.