This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 20
Translator: Diviner
“You’ve received a highlighted message (worth 500).”
Xu Feng was in the middle of making the final adjustments to his livestream equipment when a notification from the corner of his streaming assistant screen caught his eye.
The name “Big Bird Spin Spin Spin” was hard to forget, and the question was simple: what are the rules for determining the winner?
Xu Feng hadn’t given this much thought initially, as the rules didn’t matter to him; he was confident no matter what. So he had left it up to the client to set the requirements, allowing the program team to determine the rules for victory.
The method they came up with was straightforward: a vote by high-level accounts. Any user above level 4 could cast a vote.
It seemed fair on the surface since it prevented mass registrations of bot accounts, but the program team had countless ways to ensure that these so-called “high-quality accounts” would vote for Ding Henrun.
With just a few “support activities” or by assigning voting tasks to employees, they could easily create a vast difference in votes between two people whose skills were quite close.
When Xiao Liu, the contact person, anxiously asked, “Teacher Ding, what if Xu Feng doesn’t agree to these conditions?” it was clear even the program team recognized the conditions were overly harsh.
Xu Feng had just laughed at the time, reassuring his big client to relax — they had chosen an all-inclusive service, so all they needed to do was pay and wait for the result. All these minor details were not something they needed to worry about.
When the program team found out Xu Feng had agreed to such a method of determining the winner without any additional requirements, their trust in Ding Henrun grew to an extreme.
Recalling the specific victory conditions, Xu Feng replied, “If I remember correctly, any user account above level 4 can vote, one vote per account, and the one with the most votes wins.”
After answering, Xu Feng intended to get back to his preparations when he saw another highlighted message pop up in his chat.
It was another 500-point message!
Xu Feng was a little surprised. This person had money to burn. With that kind of money, he could have been throwing gifts to female streamers and hearing countless “gege” (brother) calls, enough to turn his mind to mush!
He wasn’t even a regular streamer; this was just a one-off livestream for the PK, so the gifts had little meaning.
Big Bird Spin Spin Spin asked, “What song will you be playing for the PK this time?”
“Boss is confused, huh!”
“Xu Feng’s damn relaxed attitude—at least show a little tension.”
“Teacher, could you hold back a little? I want to see Ding show his face!”
“…”
Looking at the comments, which were mostly from people wanting entertainment, Xu Feng casually replied, “The song choice will be revealed by the other side… And hey, fans and viewers, just ask questions with regular comments; no need to waste money on gifts, I’m not a streamer.”
The audience was even more shocked upon hearing that the song choice would also be revealed on the spot by the opponent. Even though they had known the PK wasn’t entirely fair, they were still taken aback by this.
“What? Xu Feng, are you going to improvise on the spot? Are you serious?”
“God of Illusions Himself” commented, “That’s a bit too arrogant, isn’t it, handsome Xu? Don’t end up embarrassingly logging off later.”
Dai Mingli said, “Brother Xu Feng, play with peace of mind; even if the other side wins, it won’t be a fair victory!”
Big Bird Spin Spin Spin quickly followed up, “So, Xu Feng, you’re saying that despite being at a disadvantage in terms of popularity, you still chose to let the other side pick the song and reveal it only at the start of the match, right?”
Many familiar faces in the chat were genuinely worried about him losing.
Holding back a laugh, Xu Feng replied with a serious expression, “It’s a best of three rounds, with three different songs.”
Cheng Luan, her mind buzzing, typed even faster, “You must be really confident in your abilities, huh?”
In the livestream room, everyone on Xu Feng’s side, including Lin Shenghuan, Cheng Luan, and other supporters, felt that it would be nearly impossible for him to win under such unfair conditions.
How could he win when the rules were set by the opponent and most of the judges were from the other side?
Was Xu Feng genuinely holding back a trump card, or had he already given up, believing he couldn’t win?
Before Cheng Luan could voice all her doubts, the screen on the other side of the livestream suddenly lit up.
A person who had only their lower body and hands holding an instrument in the frame waved and greeted the audience.
To make the livestream appear more realistic, Xu Feng had changed outfits multiple times and carefully orchestrated the PK rhythm before recording Ding Henrun’s playing videos.
He ensured the PK would match the interactions and that no viewer would notice anything suspicious.
Glancing at the screen, Xu Feng joked with his small group of fans, “The other livestream room is quite lively.”
The chat was almost entirely filled with people mocking Xu Feng or praising Ding Henrun—clearly, a bunch of paid trolls.
Big Bird Spin Spin Spin complained bitterly, “Yeah, they’re already celebrating their victory over your performance.”
Wow, buddy, you’re really invested in me winning, aren’t you?
Xu Feng thought to himself with a hint of amusement, then sat up a little straighter and casually glanced at the song choice, as he had rehearsed. His tone was laid-back, “Relax, everyone. Believe in my skills! Oh, the first song is one of Lin Shenghuan’s? Easy, this one’s a freebie.”
Upon hearing this, the hidden trolls in the chat began to mock him.
“So arrogant!”
“Oh, come on, you wish.”
“If you sweep Teacher Ding 2-0, we’ll admit you’re awesome.”
“I hope your skills match your big talk.”
Xu Feng ignored the taunts, picked up his bass, and practically reclined as he effortlessly played the piece, maintaining a calm and relaxed demeanor, exuding a masterful presence throughout the flawless performance.
As soon as he finished, both Xia You and the song’s original creator, Lin Shenghuan, expressed their admiration.
“God of Illusions Himself” commented, “Nice! It feels even better than your previous stage performance.”
“Bass Rookie Xia You” said, “Xu Feng definitely has some talent.”
“Sounds great!”
“Xu Feng is on fire!”
Xu Feng scanned the compliments on the screen, casually placed the bass on the ground, and gestured towards the other side’s livestream, still wearing a slightly indifferent expression. “Your turn, show us what you’ve got.”
After countless rehearsals, Xu Feng had already mastered the rhythm of the PK. Not long after he finished speaking, the screen opposite showed Ding Henrun silently tuning his bass, sitting upright and tense, a stark contrast to Xu Feng’s laid-back attitude.
Compared to Xu Feng’s relaxed demeanor, Ding Henrun appeared far more focused and serious.
Soon, the music began.
“Thud…”
Under Xu Feng’s careful control, except for slight differences in style, the performance quality of both livestreams was almost identical.
While the quality of the performances was the same, the disparity in popularity between the two was vast.
In a vote-based PK, similar quality does not mean a draw.
Sure enough, after Ding Henrun finished playing, he won the first round by a landslide, and the chat in his livestream room erupted in celebration while Xu Feng’s room was flooded with ridicule.
“Oh, Xu Feng, why did you suddenly sit up straight? Wasn’t that a different posture earlier?”
“Isn’t lying down comfortable? You could continue lying down.”
“Xu Feng, step forward!”
“Weren’t you all cocky earlier? Do it again!”
“Xu Feng must be sweating bullets now, huh?”
“Uh-oh, looks like it’s going to be a 2-0 loss, haha!”
“Memorable scene incoming.”
Xu Feng feigned panic and chuckled, “Calm down, trolls. This is just the beginning… I was just giving a point away. Wait till I sit up properly, and you’ll see what real skill looks like.”
“Not bad, the opponent does have some skill.”
“Didn’t play my best on that one. Let’s see what the next song is.”
He glanced at the screen.
Three seconds later, with a look of disbelief, he exclaimed, “Uh, ‘Ugly Monster?'”
Xu Feng controlled his expression as he saw the song title, showing a hint of surprise before nodding twice, looking amused as he spoke, “Alright, alright, alright! Brave of you! You dare use my magic against me?”