Jiang Cheng finally understood exactly what Bai Xiaoxiao meant.
"So you're asking if I brought them back to recharge?"
Although Bai Xiaoxiao pouted at the question.
she still coyly rubbed her most sensitive spots against Jiang Cheng.
"Mm, I'd like to know a bit. We're all colleagues; if I run into them I can be mentally prepared."
Seeing how considerate she was, Jiang Cheng pinched and rolled her skin between thumb and forefinger.
"I haven't even met them—why do I get the feeling you bring them up because you want to outdo them?"
Bai Xiaoxiao gave a soft grunt.
She didn't hide her real thoughts at all.
She nodded candidly. "Of course I want to surpass them, but our paths are different—I think it'll be hard."
Jiang Cheng's hands stayed busy, yet his mouth didn't stop.
He pressed on: "So you've already thought it through. Tell me, where exactly are the gaps and differences between you and them?"
While fending off Jiang Cheng, Bai Xiaoxiao answered: "Since I started streaming I go live every day, so I pay less attention to accounts on other platforms. Take Social Media Platform—each of them has more than two hundred thousand followers, enough to land quite a few ads."
Seeing the envy on her face, Jiang Cheng followed up: "You want to be like them?"
Fighting the strange sensations, she looked at him hopefully. "Of course. Honestly, before I joined Star Media I felt pretty confident. My parents always said I'd never even get into high school; after lying around at home for two years I came to Chengdu and, introduced by a classmate, became a shampoo girl."
"Step by step I got here—I thought I was pretty impressive. But once inside Star Media I realized I'm nothing special."
Jiang Cheng smiled. "If I help you reach their level, how will you thank me?"
Bai Xiaoxiao hadn't expected him to agree so readily.
She thought of how Qiao Yinyin had secured her spot as Star Media's top anchor thanks to Jiang Cheng.
Although Star Media hadn't released individual financials at year-end.
the top-three Internet Celebrity earners included Qiao Yinyin.
Conservative estimates put her monthly income at over a million yuan.
Industry insiders calculated that her YouTube Chinese-cooking videos averaged fifty million views a month.
Her view counts were lower than Li Ziqi's in the same niche.
but competition in the genre wasn't fierce.
so Qiao Yinyin still benefited from the spill-over of Li Ziqi's popularity.
Among similar content she ranked second in heat value.
With ad-share rates of seven to thirteen yuan per thousand views.
her monthly ad revenue alone exceeded seven hundred thousand yuan.
That didn't even include product-placement fees from TikTok.
So Qiao Yinyin's monthly income equaled roughly two years of Bai Xiaoxiao's.
How could Bai Xiaoxiao not envy that?
She knew that on her own she could never operate at the level of mega-Internet Celebrities like Qiao Yinyin or Peng Shiliu.
There are only twenty-four hours in a day; aside from streaming, daily filming and editing would be impossible.
And even if videos were uploaded, paid promotion was essential.
She simply didn't have the resources.
Blushing, she said, "If Onii-chan helps me, from now on I'll lie down when you say lie down; if you want oil I'll bring oil, and if you don't I'll bring water—okay?"
Jiang Cheng said nothing.
He simply tossed her onto the bed.
With a casual flip of her legs she presented her body in a man's favorite posture.
"The car light was yellowish before; now it's perfect—let me take a good look."
…Time flew.
For two days Jiang Cheng and Bai Xiaoxiao "co-operated" in every possible way.
When their decadent break ended, it was past six in the evening.
Jiang Cheng showered and got ready to go out.
When he stepped out of the bathroom Bai Xiaoxiao was still lying in bed.
She looked half-asleep.
But the slight tremor of her lashes gave her away.
Jiang Cheng shook his head and didn't expose her.
He answered Fang Yuan's messages while walking out of the room.
The moment Fang Yuan received his text she hurried into her bedroom to pick an outfit.
She chose several businesslike pieces, then hesitated.
Soon she hung them back.
Thinking she'd remove her coat at dinner anyway and reveal what was underneath.
After a moment she settled on a sweater exactly like Zhou Ying's.
Only after washing up and dressing did she grab her bag and call a cab.
Half an hour later she pushed open the door to find Jiang Cheng already seated in the private-dining room.
With elegant grace she unbuttoned her coat, flicked it off, and hung it on the rack.
Only then did she unhurriedly look at him.
A faint smile curved her lips as she asked softly, "Have you been waiting long?"
Jiang Cheng's gaze lingered on her for a second.
He answered with a smile, "No, I just arrived."
He wasn't seeing Fang Yuan in Zhou Ying's clothes for the first time.
The two were identical in face and figure.
Whenever they went shopping together Fang Yuan would dress almost the same as Zhou Ying.
The so-called mother-daughter look.
Unfortunately Fang Yuan, the gorgeous "witch," was far too young.
Instead of looking like mother and daughter they always appeared to be biological sisters.
A flicker of something passed through Jiang Cheng's eyes.
He shook his head. "No, I just got here; I was looking at the menu."