Chapter 5: Hu Tao's Legendary Performance
Hu Tao cupped her hands around her mouth and belted out at full volume.
"The sun comes out and I bask in the sun, the moon comes out and I bask in the moon." "Birth, aging, sickness, death—everything in heaven and earth, fate is ever-changing."
Up to here, it sounded pretty normal.
But suddenly, Hu Tao narrowed her eyes with a mischievous grin, and the music style flipped completely. It turned into full-on rap mode.
"Dark alley poet dropping black limericks—that's me right here," "Current Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, here to see you off." "Clear skies, vast seas, bright moon overhead—one wave and you're gone." "This scene is perfect for composing a poem."
The viewers listened with dazed, honey-sweet smiles plastered on their faces the whole time. Hu Tao right now was just too damn adorable.
But the next moment, she opened their mouths even wider in shock.
"Hu Tao is Hu Tao, awoo…" "Hu Tao is not a peach, awoo…" "Hu Tao who eats and drinks like crazy, running around all day." "Early to bed, healthy body, awoo…" "Late to sleep, you'll float away, awoo…" "Eat your fill, drink your fill, have a safe journey~" "...."
Those soft, milky "awoo" sounds hit like gentle knives straight into the viewers' hearts. They were utterly pierced.
{WTF! So good to listen to! What is happening? I'm hooked, way too hooked.}
{Hu Tao, I'll go crazy for you, I'll be your dog.}
{Life's road must be walked alone, but luckily I'm a puppy so Hu Tao wife can hold my leash.}
{My daughter just started college. Her monthly allowance is 1,200 yuan. Today I asked her, "Is the money enough?" She said, "It's enough." Hearing that, I felt relieved and told her, "Buy whatever you want, don't shortchange yourself." Her eyes misted over and she stayed silent. I got worried and asked, "Daughter, what's wrong?" She looked conflicted and hesitated, "Dad, I don't know if I should say." I said, "I'm your dad. Tell me anything. If someone's bullying you, I'll stand up for you." She finally spoke: "I have a classmate who also gets 1,200 yuan a month, but her lifestyle is way better. She eats fruit every day and goes to Haidilao every week." I did the math—there's no way 1,200 covers that. I figured her classmate must be working part-time, so I told my daughter, "Your friend is probably working, but you can't. I want you to focus only on studying." She shook her head. "No, she's not working. She's dating." "Once after a date she told me she doesn't even like the guy—she just likes that he pays for everything." "A lot of girls in our class do this. They even laugh at me, saying I'm pretty but don't know how to take advantage of boys." After hearing that, my brows furrowed like a pretzel. Right then and there I transferred her 5,000 yuan and said seriously, "From today on, your allowance is triple. Remember: no matter what, always pay with your own money." "That's what real quality of life is. And if you start dating, you must tell me—I'll give you an extra 2,000 as dating funds." "But even when dating, use your own money. Taking other people's things makes you short-handed and short-mouthed." "I'm a man too. I know men best. What men truly like are independent girls with dignity." My daughter was shocked. She looked at me like she was seeing me for the first time, eyes shining. I smiled mysteriously and said, "It was someone I liked. She taught me a lot, a lot." Curious, she asked, "Who was she?" With a blissful smile, I opened this live stream and pointed at Hu Tao. "Daughter, look—right there, that girl." She pouted, "Dad, you're joking. Isn't that my mom?"}
While spamming comments, the viewers didn't forget to spam gifts either.
One whale went even further— he directly opened Emperor privilege right in Tang Yu's stream.
This was the platform's top-tier noble rank to hype viewers. Emperor was the absolute highest—there were only about a hundred Emperors across the entire platform.
The chat exploded instantly!
They'd seen plenty of gifts before, but someone opening Emperor live? First time ever.
Tang Yu's room popularity skyrocketed like crazy. A ton of viewers got teleported over by the Emperor treasure chest effect.
The moment they saw Hu Tao, they knew they'd come to the right place. Instant follow clicks everywhere.
{WTF! This streamer's got something! The girl partner is super cute!} {Wish I'd found this room earlier—now I'm not an OG fan anymore.} {Haha! Not too late now! Licking screen first.}
Seeing the sudden flood of new viewers, Tang Yu frowned deeply. He glanced at Hu Tao and saw she wasn't affected by the barrage at all—only then did he relax.
Meanwhile.
On Douyin (TikTok China), another top female streamer—Dai Xiaomei—had finally started her broadcast.
Ever since Zhou-jie's scandal collapsed her career, Dai Xiaomei had become the undisputed #1 sister on Douyin—no real competition.
This had made her lazy. Her scheduled stream (supposed to start half an hour ago) only just went live now.
Even though she was late, popularity was still strong. Plenty of fans had been waiting.
{Old lady, why so late? Menopause hitting?} {You're getting later and later. Back when Zhou-jie hadn't collapsed, you used to start earlier than anyone!} {Getting cocky huh? Keep this up and you'll lose us.} {There's a streamer next door—his partner is a 2D beautiful girl named Hu Tao. Super nice, go check it out guys!} {....}
Dai Xiaomei scrolled through the comments one by one. She was shocked. To hold onto her fans, she quickly started posing seductively in front of the camera, deliberately letting her top slip off one shoulder, revealing snowy white skin.
"Talk nicely, don't leave, family!"
She thought her "old shoulder big cunning" move would definitely keep them.
But then— a full-platform Emperor special effect flashed across every screen.
{Congratulations to Hu Tao's Dog for opening Emperor privilege in Hu Tao's live room.}
Combined with her fans' comments, intense curiosity surged in Dai Xiaomei's heart.
Who the hell is Hu Tao? A 2D beautiful girl?
She racked her brain through the streaming circle—no one by that name came up!
Watching her own viewer count drop rapidly, Dai Xiaomei panicked a little.
A random wild streamer, fresh on air, already pulling huge gifts and Emperor favor? That shouldn't be possible, right?
Unless a big guild was hyping a potential newbie? But even then… what kind of rookie was worth that level of investment?
Full of doubt, Dai Xiaomei faced the camera and said to her fans: "Brothers, I'm gonna raid their room. Let's go see who this Hu Tao really is!"
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Thanks for reading, legends! Next chapter soon~