I let out a cold snort but didn’t move my hands.

I didn’t send any gifts and Alicia’s smile began to fade.

“Brother Steve? Are you there? Can you hear Alicia speaking?”

I tapped the screen lightly.

“Don’t call me. I’m not voting.”

The moment my message appeared, I caught a fleeting glimmer of mockery in Alicia’s eyes.

Three minutes later—without my gifts—Alicia was quickly eliminated.

Almost as soon as she was out, my private messages began to ring one after another.

[Did Alicia do something wrong? Does Brother no longer want me?]

[Brother is my benefactor. Without Brother, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Will Brother still support me in the future?]

I didn’t feel like arguing with her, so I typed one short reply.

[I don’t want to send gifts anymore. No reason.]

After that, the messages went silent for the rest of the night.

I thought the matter was over—until the next morning, when I was woken by the nonstop beeping of private messages on the live-streaming platform.

My inbox was flooded with unfamiliar accounts, the message list packed with insults.

[You old man trying to eat swan meat—what are you, fifty already? Still trying to learn other people’s dirty tricks?]

[Don’t you have a mirror at home? Go look at the crap you posted on Tiktok. I can’t even bear to look at it.]

[Does your wife and kids know you’re acting like this online? Should I send your chat logs to your family so they can see what kind of creature you are?]

Before I could figure out what was going on, one account caught my attention—Gardenia.

It didn’t send any insults. Instead, it sent a series of screenshots.

When I opened them, I saw chat logs from Alicia’s fan group.

[Did this guy take the wrong medicine today? Why didn’t he send any gifts in the stream? Because of him, our Alicia got eliminated so early.]

[Exactly. Usually he acts so generous, but today he didn’t spend a cent. If it weren’t for him, we could’ve watched Alicia longer.]

[Poor Alicia, she probably couldn’t complete today’s task.]

I was so angry I actually laughed. Where do these people get such a sense of entitlement over someone else’s money?

Alicia had invited me to join this so-called fan group before, but I’d refused.

After all, I sent gifts to satisfy my own emotions—I had no interest in being part of their little community.

And yet, here they were, talking about me behind my back.

A bunch of freeloaders who haven’t spent a single penny, daring to criticize me? Ridiculous.

I scrolled down further and saw Alicia’s own post.

[Everyone, please stop blaming Brother Steve. It’s all my fault. There’s just some money I can’t earn and it’s only natural that Brother Steve wouldn’t send me any gifts.]

The moment she dropped that suggestive comment, the group erupted.

[What’s that supposed to mean? Did he force you to do something?]

[What kind of money can’t be earned? This happens all the time—he probably wanted to meet you and take advantage for a few lousy coins. Who knows where his money came from? It’s disgusting.]

[Alicia is right! Why should someone with a few stinking coins be able to pressure others? And when you don’t give in, he stops sending gifts? I feel so sorry for Alicia—poor thing.]

Alicia responded with a pitiful emoji, then added.

[Don’t worry, everyone. I just made the choice I felt was right. Since I’ve received so much love, I will never let you all down. I chose this path because singing and dancing are my dreams. Whether for my dreams or for all of you, I will never do anything despicable for money!]

The suggestive statement, paired with that emoji, was enough to make even me picture her as both a victim and a fighter—let alone the brainless fans in the group.

I wasn’t eager to defend myself, but neither was I willing to let someone slander me so casually.

After thinking it over, I opened my private messages with Alicia. The chat history was almost entirely her checking in on me and sharing bits of her daily life, while I had rarely replied.

I recorded the entire chat log into a video.

The caption read.

[The innocent will be proven innocent. I’d rather give the money to a dog than to you.]

Compared to Alicia’s vague insinuations, my recording was clearly more convincing. Soon, bystanders in the comments began to speak up for me.

[This clearly looks like the streamer was rejected. Can a guy be accused of something just for saying a few words?]

[This world has truly gone mad. Apparently not spending money can also lead to online bullying. I’ve seen it all now.”]

[Look at me, big spender. I would never betray my brother.]

Of course, Alicia’s die-hard fans had their own say.

[What kind of clarification is this? Who knows if you deleted your own messages?]

[Exactly. And this was just a private message. If you’re so confident, why don’t you post the Tiktok records? You really think we’ll believe these screenshots?]

[Enough already. This is just an old man’s pathetic struggle. My dad wouldn’t even use a nickname like ‘Lifetime Peace.’ What are you, sixty? Go take your grandson to school, old man. You don’t even understand the internet.]

As my video spread, the buzz around the incident only grew.

By midday, Alicia’s live-stream viewership had skyrocketed. Normally, she had around a hundred viewers, but today it broke past ten thousand. After all, nothing draws attention online like money and emotional drama.

On stream, Alicia’s eyes were red, her bangs falling neatly over her forehead, giving her the look of a wounded puppy—pitiful and delicate.

The live chat scrolled rapidly.

[She’s so beautiful! Oh my god, I suddenly understand why the wealthy viewers are so generous. If I had money, I’d spend it too.]

[Is the streamer crying? I believe her. She doesn’t look like the type to lie.]

But not everyone was convinced.

[Is she trying to play the victim? The patron already posted a screen recording. What does she have to say about that?]

[The world really does belong to pretty women. She cries a little and suddenly everyone’s on her side.]

Alicia ignored the skepticism and continued sobbing as she spoke.

[I didn’t want to respond to this, but the hype around it just kept growing. So many people who don’t know the truth came to my account to insult me and it’s seriously affected my work and my life. I had to come forward.]

[I’ve always respected Brother Steve. He has supported me for a long time and I’m grateful. But I won’t sell my dreams for so-called money and fame.]

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone, angled the screen toward the camera and opened Tiktok.

The display clearly showed her chat history with someone whose username was Steve Glover.

The messages were shockingly explicit. The person behind the account named “Steve” used crude, provocative language to tease Alicia again and again and even sent her multiple selfies in revealing clothing.

Although his face was blurred, his build and attire unmistakably pointed to a middle-aged man.

Holding the phone up, she let the audience see the chat records while she continued her pitiful explanation.

“Although I know very well that if I agreed to his request, my life would be so much easier than it is now, I will never forget why I came here in the first place—to pursue my musical dreams!”

“If I don’t hold onto my principles, then I don’t deserve anyone’s love… and I certainly don’t deserve my dreams!”

Her tearful delivery instantly won over every viewer in the live stream.

[Good grief, it really is an old man. Look at that potbelly. I’ve lost my appetite for the rest of the day.]

[My goodness, no wonder this old man only dares to send private messages. Turns out he is this scandalous. I actually feel bad for the streamer for a moment. She must be having nightmares from those photos.]

[This old guy must have been spamming her with gifts, then ran out of money and tried to get something out of her instead. But he didn’t expect her to be so tough. Congratulations to the old man—he got exactly what he deserved.]

Her flawless “victim” act, paired with her undeniably cute and pretty face, instantly pulled in a flood of fans. Special-effect gifts exploded across the screen.

After all, she’s a streamer under our company, which means half of those gifts go straight into my pocket. The thought made me feel a lot better.

I was enjoying the glittering stream of effects when my phone buzzed. It was the secretary.

“Mr. Rick, the representatives from Cool Music Company have arrived at the office. You should come over right away.”

Cool Music Company was currently the largest idol agency in the country. Thanks to the recent boom in group live streams, they’d partnered with us, offering our top streamer a debut opportunity.

Back in the office, I reviewed the cooperation contract while the secretary stood in front of me, holding a thick stack of documents.

“Our company currently has sixteen girl groups, totaling eighty female streamers, all with strong live-stream performance and solid revenue,” the secretary reported, handing me the papers.

“Right now, the group bringing in the highest revenue and popularity is Alicia. She even held a solo live stream today at noon—viewer count and revenue were both through the roof.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Alicia?”

The secretary nodded. “Especially over the past month, her earnings have been higher than any other female group streamer.”

A month? That’s exactly the time frame I’ve been sending her gifts.

The secretary continued, “Next week, there’s a solo competition. All eighty streamers will compete and the one with the highest personal revenue will secure the debut slot.”

“At this rate, that spot is almost guaranteed to be Alicia’s.”

I looked up at the secretary, then pushed back my chair and started walking toward the dance studio.

“Almost guaranteed? What about the other one or two spots? Let’s head to the dance studio and see who actually gets the debut slot. Alicia doesn’t get to decide.”

“I get to decide.”

“I’ll see if a thousand Lion can knock her off the debut list!”