But how could there be so many good things in life?

The fat man paused, then continued, "Don't believe me? Take the Super Girl contest, for example. There was this girl, one of the top finalists in the same year as Chun Ge. She fought tooth and nail on a live-streaming platform, but she just couldn't compete with the countless 'silly, cute, and sweet' ones. Did she have talent? Plenty. She had released albums and performed everywhere, yet she still couldn't beat the girls who just sold cuteness and smiles. That’s how this business works."

Zhang Pa smiled and didn't respond.

The fat man said, "Even the 'National Husband' is throwing money at these girls, which just goes to show how promising this industry is."

Zhang Pa replied, "The 'National Husband' even opened his own streaming platform."

"Exactly. He’s rich and can afford to be impulsive; we don't have that luxury, so we have to build a company to make money." The fat man continued, "These next few days, we’ll be conducting intensive training while recruiting girls. We’ll highlight their strengths—make the sexy ones even sexier, and the cute ones even cuter. Just wait and see, they’ll all be absolute beauties."

Zhang Pa grunted, losing the desire to talk further.

The fat man said, "Oh, by the way, I’ve given you the video camera, and that new computer for video editing is yours, too." As he spoke, he pulled out an envelope. "This is two thousand yuan—it’s the rent you paid."

Zhang Pa took the envelope and thanked him with a smile.

The fat man sighed. "I just don't understand why you won't join us."

Zhang Pa remained silent.

After moving back and forth, Zhang Pa moved back into the Xingfuli apartment. The room, which had already been packed, was now even more crowded because he had brought all his books back. As for the warehouse space in Xinyuan, it would need some renovations as well.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon by the time he finished moving. The fat man offered to treat him to a meal, but Zhang Pa declined, telling them to go back since they had a company to run. After a bit more persuasion, the fat man, Turtle, and the others left.

The room was suffocatingly full. Too tired to tidy up, Zhang Pa collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

Around four o'clock, Liu Xiaomei called. "Didn't you say you were going to take me to dinner?"

Zhang Pa said he would head over now.

Sensing something was off in his tone, Liu Xiaomei thought for a moment and said, "Rest up. Let’s see each other tomorrow."

"I'm fine..." Zhang Pa started, but Liu Xiaomei interrupted, "I'm not."

Zhang Pa thanked her. Liu Xiaomei replied, "Don't worry, this Queen will be responsible for you."

Zhang Pa thanked her again and hung up.

There was no right or wrong in the situation itself. From the perspective of the fat man and his group, whether they were shooting web series or running a media company, the primary goal was to make money. Wang Kun had more drawing power than Zhang Pa, so naturally, they chose the path most likely to be profitable.

Still, they were the ones who had roped Zhang Pa into this, and they felt guilty about it, which was why they returned the rent and gave him the new computer.

With that, he didn't have to write the script anymore, which was a relief. Yet, he couldn't seem to write the opening to his new book either; every time he thought about it, he just ended up back in bed, falling asleep again.

The next day at work, the students were on their best behavior and all present, including the two guys who had been beaten up the day before. Zhang Pa greeted everyone, rambled on a bit, and then went to sit in his office.

The weather was turning cooler, but Luo Shengnan was still wearing a short skirt, stockings, and high heels—the standard kit of a beauty, the hallmark of sexiness.

Seeing Zhang Pa enter, Luo Shengnan asked, "Why are you skipping work again?"

Zhang Pa grunted, saying he was used to it.

Luo Shengnan remarked that he was quite the character, then asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Yes," Zhang Pa replied curtly.

"You do? How come I’ve never seen her?" Luo Shengnan asked.

Zhang Pa smiled. "Everyone’s busy." He turned on his computer as he spoke.

With no script to write and no book opening to craft, he stared blankly at the screen. Suddenly remembering what the fat man had said, he searched for live-streaming software, downloaded it, and installed it.

Luo Shengnan walked over and asked, "You're into live streaming too?"

"I don't know how to use it," Zhang Pa replied.

"What's there to know? Just browse through the rooms," Luo Shengnan said. "I'll teach you."

Zhang Pa quickly declined, preferring to figure it out himself.

It wasn't even eight o'clock yet, but there were already people streaming. Fortunately, they were the so-called "talent streamers" featured on the web page.

When he clicked into a channel to take a closer look, good heavens, what kind of people were these? Singing folk opera at such an early hour? They certainly had some talent.

In the morning, not only were there few viewers, but there were even fewer streamers.

He exited that channel and looked for beauty streamers. Several he clicked on were dressed exquisitely, and even at this hour, people were already tipping them.

The screen scrolled endlessly with notifications of gifts being sent.

Luo Shengnan laughed. "Looking at the beauties, are we?"

Zhang Pa asked, "Does sending these gifts cost money?"

Luo Shengnan glanced at the screen. "Ten cents each. In just this short time, he’s already spent over three thousand yuan."

Zhang Pa sighed, "Good lord. Is money even money anymore? He spent over three thousand without doing a thing?"

Luo Shengnan said, "For some people, money is just a number."

"Right, a number—a very expensive number." Zhang Pa closed the software.

Luo Shengnan said, "It’s too early now. Wait until tonight; that’s when you’ll see the big streamers and the real high-rollers. What you're seeing now is basically nothing."

Zhang Pa agreed to check it out later. He suddenly remembered it was Saturday and asked, "Aren't you off today?"

Luo Shengnan smiled. "I'm waiting for Teacher Liu. We’re going out shopping soon."

Zhang Pa murmured an acknowledgment and said nothing more.

Luo Shengnan seemed happy right now; people in love were usually happy. Watching the beauty turn into a kind and approachable person, Zhang Pa thought of Liu Xiaomei and himself—were they just as happy?

Just as he was thinking about this, Gong Zhu called. "If I don't call you, are you never going to call me?"

Zhang Pa replied, "I was afraid your boyfriend might misunderstand."

"Afraid of what? If he dares to misunderstand me, I’ll dump him," Gong Zhu said. "You owe me so many bowls of noodles; are you going to treat me today?"

Zhang Pa agreed.

Gong Zhu fell silent for a moment before asking, "Are you dating Teacher Liu?"

"You heard?" Zhang Pa asked.

Whenever Gong Zhu had contacted him in the past, it had been with laughter and a sweet tone. Today, there was only a flat calm. Gong Zhu said, "The conservatory is only so big. What could possibly stay hidden?"

Zhang Pa grunted and didn't speak.

Gong Zhu said, "Don't you like me like you used to? Don't you like spending time with me anymore?"

Zhang Pa stayed silent, truly not knowing how to respond. He held the phone, frozen.

Gong Zhu sighed. "Is this why you came to the conservatory?"

Zhang Pa desperately wanted to say: If we had defined our relationship sooner, no matter how beautiful Liu Xiaomei was, I wouldn't have looked twice... well, okay, I would have looked, but I definitely wouldn't have pursued her.

He hesitated and said, "Actually, I only came to the provincial capital to be closer to you."

Gong Zhu laughed softly. "I believe you."

Zhang Pa said, "I'm going to dance class this afternoon. Want to have dinner tonight? With Teacher Liu."

Gong Zhu was silent for a long time, then said, "Forget it, never mind." She hung up after a few more words.

On Saturday, the students only had half a day of classes. By noon, after the students had left the school, Zhang Pa went to the pull-up bar alone.

His performance today was only about twenty reps, and Zhang Pa was very dissatisfied. Carrying that dissatisfaction, he went back to the office and stared into space.

He actually wanted to write something new, but he just couldn't. No matter how he tried, he couldn't get it out. He would type a few hundred words for an opening, only to delete it the next moment.

He simply turned off the computer, went out for lunch, and took a nap afterward.

He woke up at two o'clock, feeling an unusual sense of aimlessness. Everyone else was busy, yet he was a professional at spacing out?

After a moment of thought, he opened the streaming software again, wanting to see how the fat man and his crew intended to make money.

On Saturday, many streamers were live even during the day.

Following the homepage recommendations, Zhang Pa clicked through the streamers one by one.

There were singers, and there were people playing musical instruments. It turned out that no matter how incredible your instrumental skill was, or how beautiful your voice, it was all useless.

All those talented streamers were completely outclassed by the fair-skinned, cute girls.

There was a long-haired, round-faced girl sitting on a sofa, wearing beautiful, seemingly light makeup. She didn't speak or sing; she just swayed gently to the music playing in the background.

That swaying was her "talent."

She looked young, maybe eighteen or nineteen, with a large chest. Whether it was her natural complexion or just the camera settings, on the computer screen, her skin looked absolutely flawless.

Zhang Pa entered the stream, and the girl was swaying gently. He stayed in that channel for five minutes, and she swayed for five minutes.

She didn't sing, nor did she talk. She only said "thank you" whenever someone sent her a gift—and that was it.

Yet, this girl who did nothing—and perhaps knew nothing—kept receiving gifts. Zhang Pa watched for a while, and in those five minutes, she had made at least three hundred yuan.

Three hundred yuan, just by sitting there?

Zhang Pa felt a deep sense of imbalance. Why? Because you're a woman? A woman who looks good on screen can just collect gifts like that... what kind of logic was this?

Fine, the girl was pretty. But you couldn't meet her in real life, so why did the high-rollers keep throwing money at her?

He thought back to his glory days of living off his typing, then back to the five hundred yuan that girl had made in the blink of an eye, and cursed under his breath. The girl hadn't even done anything beyond sitting there and swaying, and people were already tipping. At this rate, the fat man, Wang Kun, and the others really might make a fortune—provided, of course, they had the crazy initial investment required.

He left the channel and wandered into others. As long as it was a young, pretty girl, and as long as he stayed in the channel for a minute, someone would inevitably send a gift. Some were small, some were over a hundred yuan; money seemed to flow into the beauties' pockets like water.

It was easy money—no need for talent, just the ability to attract high-rollers.

After watching a bit more, he shut down the computer and headed to the conservatory.

It was the usual routine: picking up Liu Xiaomei from the dance studio, heading to the conservatory's elementary school to practice, followed by extra training, dinner, and a brief date before Zhang Pa biked home.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xiaomei gave