“Hello everyone, it’s your Su— err……”

Why does it feel off?

As soon as Su Mei went live, she sensed something was strange.

Yesterday, her livestream’s viewership hovered around 50, never exceeding 100 at its peak. By the end of the stream, she had 21 followers.

For a new livestreamer on their first day, those numbers were already quite impressive.

Everything seemed normal, but when she opened the livestream room today…..

Number of viewers: 9,686

And the number kept climbing, on the verge of breaking 10,000 at any minute.

Someone, please tell her if she was seeing things or was the system glitching?!

Su Mei was dumbfounded.

How did this overnight ‘success’ come about?

And what was with the screen full of 【Watching】?

【It’s live!】

【Live now!】

【Watching】

【Keep watching!】

……

【Just clicked in from the homepage, may I ask what everyone is watching?】

Yes, what was everyone watching?

Su Mei also wanted to know the answer to this question.

Then another message popped up on the screen,

【Hey buddy who just joined, check out Weibo @MissSumey, you’ll see for yourself.】

【I also came from Weibo, didn’t expect it to be so lively here too!】

【I just came to see what kind of woman this is.】

……

Seeing that someone mentioned the other Su Mei’s Weibo username, Su Mei immediately guessed the reason behind the influx of viewers.

Wasn’t it because her identity had been exposed?

In the novel, the Gu Group wielded significant influence nationwide, especially its CEO, Gu Yancheng. He was the youngest and most handsome billionaire in the country’s history, with a greater influence than even top-tier celebrities.

Although Gu Hongguang was no longer in the picture, as Gu Yancheng’s father, he still attracted considerable attention.

Back when the other Su Mei had gotten with Gu Hongguang, it even made the headlines.

Moreover, the other Su Mei had been a minor celebrity before marrying Gu Hongguang. While she wasn’t very famous, she had acted in a few TV dramas and had around ten to twenty thousand Weibo followers.

Being recognized after starting the livestream was something Su Mei had anticipated, so she hadn’t bothered to hide anything.

However, she hadn’t expected her identity to be exposed so quickly.

Could she at least deviate from the original plot before being unmasked?!

【Why do I find Miss Su’s bewildered expression somewhat amusing? She probably doesn’t even realize her cover has been blown.】

【Are you a paid poster?】

【Rich people really are different. We ordinary bystanders haven’t even commented yet, and the paid posters are already here earning their wages.】

【Are you nuts?! I just made a casual comment, how does that make me a paid poster?】

【If you’re not a paid poster, why are you trying to smooth things over?】

【I also don’t think this person is a paid poster. Miss Su probably can’t afford to hire one right now.】

【Don’t you know the saying, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse^[1]even after suffering a loss, a rich person is still better off than ordinary people?】

【That’s not necessarily true. If someone is really rich, would they be doing livestreams here?】

【What exactly are you all trying to say? I don’t understand.】

【Weibo’s @MissSumey, the one livestreaming right now, is named Su Mei. She used to be a minor celebrity (you know what I mean) and apparently dropped out of university without even getting her diploma. Two years ago, she hooked up with a rich old man and left the industry. Now that the old man is dead and the money source is gone, she’s back to making money. Don’t mention it, I’m just a helpful informant.】

【Additional information: That old man is Gu Group’s former CEO.】

【Gu Group?!!! Gu Yancheng!】

【As already said, it’s the former CEO, which means it’s Gu Yancheng’s father.】

【Fck me, so this woman is basically my idol’s stepmother?!】

【You’re just figuring that out now?】

【That’s disgusting!】

【It’s pretty disgusting.】

【How can a woman like this still have the face to do livestreaming? I suggest she be banned!】

【She’s out of money. With Gu Yancheng’s father dead, no one is giving her spending money anymore.】

【What about the inheritance?】

【Pfft, inheritance? Do you think these wealthy families are fools? Women like her might get to play around and buy a few bags, but inheritance? Don’t even think about it. Besides, Gu Yancheng has long taken over the Gu Group, and the former CEO Gu would only be receiving a pension at most.】

【Exactly, not to mention the cost of things like hyaluronic acid and Botox injections every month.】

【To be honest, I feel like her face hasn’t been touched at all. It looks quite refined.】

【Have you touched or tested it yourself to know it hasn’t been altered?】

【She really is quite beautiful.】

【Would you take her if given the chance?】

【I’d take her if it were free.】

……

【Let me interject— aren’t you all being a bit too harsh?】

【Harsh? Hahahaha】

【I suggest the one who thinks it’s too harsh check out Weibo.】

【Yes, go check it out and you’ll see how gentle we are.】

【If Miss Su herself hasn’t said anything, it proves that what has been said is true!】

Su Mei indeed hadn’t said anything. She just continued enjoying her chips while reading the comments with interest.

【Notification: Skipping Class on an Alternate Account entered the room.】

【Skipping Class on an Alt Account: Goddess, you’re amazing! We actually had a question on general and special relativity today. It wasn’t an additional question, but a 12-point major one. I’ve decided to call you goddess from now on!】

【Skipping Class on an Alt Account: What’s going on? 20,000 viewers? Did you buy traffic, goddess?】

During yesterday’s livestream, Su Mei casually mentioned that there was no need for gifts and that if viewers wanted to support her, they could just spend their money on themselves.

“Do you think it’s possible?” She said, tossing another chip into her mouth as she spoke her first sentence after going live.

【Skipping Class on an Alt Account: Holy sh*t! What’s going on?】

“Disguise exposed?”

Flipping through the previous messages, ‘Skipping Class on an Alt Account’ muttered something unpleasant into his phone.

Then, he got a smack on the back of the head.

“Kid, when did you learn to use bad words, huh?”

“Uncle, you walk so quietly. Besides, that was just a modal particle, not a bad word!”

“Heh, still daring to talk back? What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

“Let me see.”

“Ji Zixiao, you’re so shameless!”

“Not calling me uncle and daring to use my name now, huh?!”

“That’s because you tried to grab my phone!”

【Skipping Class on an Alt Account: Goddess, the big bad guy is after me, so I have to log off. But don’t worry, I’ll still support you. Bye!】

Over on Su Mei’s side, seeing Skipping Class on an Alt Account’s message, she didn’t pay it much attention and continued staring at the screen.

【Speaking now? I thought Miss Su would just keep eating chips in front of the camera until the livestream ended.】

【Do you want to talk about how you ended up so miserable that you had to start livestreaming?】

【Did you just move to a different place to continue clinging to rich men?】

【Shameless.】

【[Disdain]】

【If you’re saying Su Mei is livestreaming because she’s out of money, maybe you should check out the latest news. [Disdain]】

【Damn! Plot twist!】

【What?】

【No money, my ass! Su Mei is now a shareholder of Gu Group!】

【Pfft, are you talking about that chat screenshot that circulated online this morning? Hahaha, don’t make me laugh. Give me two phone numbers and I can make you the President of the United States, do you believe it?】

【It’s true! I checked it myself. The Gu Group’s official account just posted the news!】

Gu Group’s official account? What news?

Having just returned from the Gu Group, Su Mei looked bewildered and opened Weibo on her phone.

As soon as she entered, she saw that several topics related to the Gu Group had surged to the top of the trending list. The most prominent ones were, #Gu Group Shareholders’ Meeting# and #Su Mei Gu Group Shareholder#.

Scrolling through a few posts, Su Mei found the latest shareholder list announcement made just a few minutes ago by the Gu Group’s official account.

The comments below have already reached tens of thousands. Aside from those expressing their admiration for Gu Yancheng, most were directed at Su Mei.

【Why is Su Mei on the shareholder list? It feels so out of place.】

【I already said it, my cousin works at Gu Group and saw Su Mei at the shareholders’ meeting.】

【Is 6% a lot? It’s just about one-tenth of what Gu Yancheng has.】

【Upstairs, even though I think you might be just jealous, I still advise you to take a closer look. 6% makes Su Mei the second largest shareholder in Gu Group. According to the new regulations on Gu Group’s website, owning more than 5% of the shares grants decision-making rights.】

【For those saying 6% isn’t much, please check the current market value of Gu Group today.】

【To think that a woman who only knows how to flaunt her wealth and cling to rich men, and doesn’t even have a university diploma, has decision-making rights at Gu Group. Sorry, this is the funniest joke I’ve heard this year.】

【@Gu Yancheng, for the future of Gu Group, I hope you can take back the shares Su Mei held.】

……

Scrolling down a few more pages, Su Mei saw that the comments were mostly similar.

She then switched to the other Su Mei’s Weibo account.

Sure enough, the comments on the Gu Group’s official account were far more tamed.

On Su Mei’s side, things had completely spiraled out of control.

Under her most recent post flaunting a new handbag, the number of comments had skyrocketed from 267 to over 10,000. The content of the comments was all sorts of things.

Comments like ‘Please find another sugar daddy and stop ruining Gu Group’, ‘Boastful people should just stay quietly at home and flaunt your wealth there’, and ‘Don’t disgust my idol’ were already considered mild.

Some were far more extreme, directly telling Su Mei to die or to get lost from Gu Group……

See, this was the cannon fodder law. Even if they weren’t killed by the protagonist, there’s always a worse ending waiting for them.

Being trash-talked online has become the norm.

“Hmm?”

Su Mei had been scrolling through the comments, but suddenly, a message popped up saying there were no more comments available.

There had clearly been over 10,000 comments, and she had only scrolled through three pages.

Su Mei exited the comment section and refreshed the page, only to find that there were just over a hundred comments remaining, significantly fewer than before.

Additionally, all the trending topics related to Gu Group on the homepage had disappeared.

Su Mei, skeptical, registered a new account and left a comment on her Weibo saying, 【Su Mei, get lost from Gu Group.】

The next moment, she was automatically logged out, and a message popped up, 【Notification: Sorry, your account has been flagged for unusual activity and is currently unable to log in.】

What happened?

Could it be the male protagonist?

Given how quickly everything disappeared, Su Mei’s first thought was that it might be the male protagonist behind it.

That makes sense. Gu Yancheng wouldn’t need to chase popularity on Weibo’s trending list.

If he disliked the trending topics, he could just remove them with a wave of his hand and it was no big deal for him. As for the comments about Su Mei, it was probably just a stroke of luck that they got dealt with at the same time.

Following the protagonist means getting to enjoy the benefits! If it weren’t for the fact that cannon fodders were destined to burn themselves to make the protagonist stronger, Su Mei would really love to be the male protagonist’s leg pendant^[2]to hold someone’s thigh; relying on or taking advantage of others to gain benefits!