Chapter 13:
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Yi Hui straightened her back, looked straight at Tang Yu and Hu Tao, and announced:
"Here's the deal: due to your enormous potential, after discussion with Douyin's senior management, we've decided to offer you an SSS-level contract. Top-tier recommendation resources, and an eight-figure signing bonus."
The moment those words dropped, the entire chat exploded.
Especially Lu Yan and Zhao Xiaozhen—their jaws practically hit the floor!
Eight figures! Even the lowest eight-figure number was still tens of millions!
And an SSS contract meant that if Tang Yu accepted, Douyin would push him with full, uncompromising force. After spending that kind of money, there was no way they wouldn't promote him hard.
If Tang Yu became an official Douyin-signed streamer, then trying to mess with him would require serious second thoughts. One wrong move and she could end up destroying herself instead.
Yaoshi Rongguang might be one of Douyin's bigger guilds, but at the end of the day, they still relied on Douyin for survival.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaozhen's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Unlike them, the viewers were purely shocked!
{WTF! Eight figures?! That's insane!} {Carp leaping over the dragon gate—this is real life now? Tens of millions!} {Hu Tao deserves this price! Hahaha! My wife is about to become a little rich lady.} {.....}
In the viewers' minds, they had already assumed Hu Tao would accept. Eight figures! No normal person could possibly refuse.
On Tang Yu's side, hearing the terms, he fell silent. He turned to look at Hu Tao, letting her make the call.
Hu Tao's brows furrowed tightly, then slowly relaxed. She looked at the camera and asked Yi Hui: "Ms. Yi Hui, does this SSS contract cover both me and Tang Yu?"
Yi Hui shook her head firmly. "This SSS contract is only for you."
Hu Tao's expression subtly changed. A faint trace of worry appeared between her brows.
Yi Hui noticed immediately and quickly added: "As for Tang Yu, Douyin can also offer him a contract—but not SSS level. It would be a much lower tier."
"No. I refuse," Hu Tao said seriously.
Tang Yu opened his mouth to persuade her, but Hu Tao reached out and gently covered his lips.
"I won't go solo. Don't worry."
With that, she pulled her hand back and turned to Yi Hui: "Thank you for the generous offer, but we don't want to sign with any platform or guild for now."
Yi Hui frowned. "Are you sure? This is an SSS-level contract."
"Miss this chance, and it's almost impossible for any other platform to offer anything close to this price again."
Hu Tao nodded firmly, her expression deadly serious: "Once we sign, there will be a lot of restrictions."
"We might earn less as wild streamers, but the freedom is priceless!"
She paused, then tilted her head up at Tang Yu with a mischievous grin: "Freedom is worth more, right?"
Looking at her cheeky, clever expression, Tang Yu felt a complicated rush of emotions.
He knew Hu Tao was refusing for his sake. Otherwise, facing such an incredible offer, anyone who didn't accept would be a fool!
"Yes," Tang Yu replied with a warm smile.
The two shared a knowing look and smiled at each other.
Yi Hui sighed softly, feeling genuinely sorry for Hu Tao. "Alright then. I wish you both smooth sailing on your streaming journey. Even though you're not signing with Douyin, as long as you stream here, I'll still give you the recommendations you deserve."
With that, Yi Hui ended the connection herself.
Seeing that Hu Tao and Tang Yu had actually rejected Douyin's offer, the previously dark faces of Zhao Xiaozhen and Lu Yan instantly brightened.
"Hahaha! I never thought there were people this stupid in the world—hilarious!" Lu Yan looked at Hu Tao, her eyes full of undisguised mockery.
In her view, this Hu Tao was just a lovesick brain. Giving up a launchpad opportunity for a man? Utterly foolish.
Zhao Xiaozhen sneered coldly: "The road is long in this industry. I also hope your streaming journey goes smoothly—hahaha!"
Her laugh was ice-cold.
If Tang Yu and Hu Tao had signed with Douyin, she really wouldn't have dared touch them! But now… she had already decided: after they ended stream today, she'd have people monitor their room. The moment they slipped up even slightly, she would blow that mistake up until they were completely ruined!
And everyone could tell from her tone— she was saying the exact opposite of what she meant.
The viewers couldn't stand the two women and immediately jumped to defend Tang Yu and Hu Tao.
{Two clowns—get out of the live room!} {Disgusting. If you dare trip up the host, we'll cyberbully you into oblivion.} {...}
Seeing themselves getting flamed, the two women finally stopped embarrassing themselves.
Just as they were about to end the connection, Hu Tao, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke up.
"Wait—don't leave yet!" She gave a devilish little smile and stared at them.
Lu Yan and Zhao Xiaozhen froze. They had no idea why Hu Tao was suddenly talking to them.
Hu Tao continued smiling: "First, let me give you both a follow."
The two women exchanged confused glances, not understanding her game.
Hu Tao didn't explain. She quickly found their accounts and hit follow.
"Alright, now you can go," Hu Tao said with that same wicked grin.
The two were baffled and immediately ended the connection.
The viewers were equally confused and started spamming questions.
{Wife, why'd you follow those two bitches?} {That kind of people—following them just pollutes your feed.} {Exactly! Even dogs wouldn't follow them—ah no, wife, you're not a dog, I am! Woof woof woof.} {...}
Hu Tao didn't answer the viewers' questions.
They streamed for a few more hours before finally ending.
"Our followers actually hit 88,000 already," Tang Yu said, staring at the backend stats, his mouth practically reaching the top of his head.
He was genuinely thrilled.
Hu Tao's ability to attract fans was terrifying.
Hu Tao giggled. Compared to Tang Yu's excitement, she was much calmer. She didn't care much about follower count—she cared about how much money they made.
"How much did we earn?" Hu Tao asked.
Tang Yu tapped the screen and opened the revenue tab.
The breakdown was crystal clear: Gifts + streaming rewards added up to nearly one million yuan.
Seeing the number, Tang Yu sucked in a sharp breath.
He immediately applied for withdrawal.
Hu Tao asked eagerly: "So… can we open the funeral parlor now?"
Tang Yu nodded. "Tomorrow we'll go look for a storefront."
Hearing this, Hu Tao jumped in place with joy. Her arms wrapped around Tang Yu's neck, legs hooked around his waist—she turned into a full-on octopus.
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