After Transmigrating as the Northeast CEO's Pampered Little Husband - Chapter 46

Gu Jiaoyang drew on a portion of his spiritual power to scout the area. The results pointed to a certain location upstream of the stream. He cleverly narrowed his search parameters to inanimate objects, thereby eliminating all plants, the forest cameras, notice boards, and any rubbish left behind by rangers from his spiritual map. By using his divine sense to probe further, he could then filter for spherical objects.

“Based on the density of the surrounding vegetation, it’s probably nearby. Let’s start looking.” Gu Jiaoyang stopped. He didn’t head directly for the target he had already sensed, but instead pretended to deliberate. He explained that the vegetation here was sparse, suggesting frequent human traffic. Given the organisers’ typical style, the nearest balloon wouldn’t be hidden too deeply; it was likely in the most obvious spot.

Zhu Zhengwen and the others immediately scattered to search. Even Li Lili, contrary to her usual behaviour, offered no rebuttal and quietly began looking for the balloon nearby.

Livestream Platform.

According to the number of creators, the total 13 livestream screens were pinned to the top of their respective section homepages. A master link was also shared on the main landing page. This front-page exposure wasn’t just limited to one section’s traffic; it was a dynamic feast for the entire app. Provided they were eye-catching enough, they could attract a considerable number of future followers.

Tech Section reporting! Brothers, assemble! Shout out our slogan!

Beauty Section reporting! Sisters, pound those screens with your manicures!

Food Section reporting! In terms of weight class, no one can rival us!

…

Each section spontaneously organised itself into traffic legions, not only for the sake of their favourite creators but also to compete for the overall section championship for the most traffic.

Ahhh, our Little Yan Zi must have status!!! Sisters, flood the comments!!!! Yan Yan, I love you!

Pump up our Yan Yan!

Yan Yan’s world-class looks!!! You are all mere mortals!

…

What the hell… Fan circles, get a grip, hey. Your darling only attended the opening ceremony; he’s not in our section, alright?

Let it go. After all, he did turn up to support us. Just keep quiet, everyone.

What confusing talk is that? Sounding like an old appeaser right out of the gate? We all only live once, why should we have to give way to him?

That’s ridiculous. Even if you contribute a lot of traffic, today’s stream features the big creators, alright? Brainless fans, look clearly where you are, and stop making your idol look bad!

Honestly, Orange Blossom isn’t the Orange Blossom it used to be. It’s becoming too focused on fan culture and too juvenile. I might as well uninstall the app!

Screw this, heh. I knew it. Every time, there’s always a group of people trying to piggyback on the traffic and cause trouble. Block, block, set filters. Reject trolling, reject shilling!

The red carpet opening was a recorded broadcast. Since it was officially edited, it was a fair and square segment of normal proceedings, with no special camera angles. It was as dull as plain water, without any post-production, purely a warm-up preview for self-media to screenshot and write articles about.

Yan Yan and another veteran actor were both participating in the competition. So, including the two celebrity stream rooms featured on the landing page, there were a total of 15 screens to watch. This led to a mix of personnel, leaving the moderators completely overwhelmed.

In contrast to Yan Yan’s generally younger fanbase, the other veteran actor, Feng Ming, was known for playing cunning prime ministers in period dramas. Aged over forty, he also had an ‘old cadre’ style and disliked interaction. Feng Ming’s fans were as quiet as zombies, lost in their own screen where they were ridiculing Feng Ming’s little palace-style steps, completely unaware that a storm was slowly brewing.

Wang Xiuxiu was earnestly watching her beauty creator admiring the stream without any makeup on, sighing at how wonderful the air quality was in the forest. Suddenly, a barrage of comments popped up: a continuous stream of “Little Yan Zi Global Fan Club” messages, featuring 520 special effects gifts. Not only did it drown out everyone else’s questions, but it concluded with a particularly spiteful line that roughly meant: Oops, sorry to bother you all, but we absolutely must strongly promote our Little Yan Zi!

“Are they bloody insane????”

Wang Xiuxiu switched to Yan Yan’s stream. Seeing the densely packed comments, she couldn’t bring herself to start fighting back, so she could only return to her original stream, grumbling about the overbearing behaviour of the opposing fans.

What is this confusing display? Giving gifts in our stream but shouting Yan Yan’s slogan?

I’m so fed up. This is why I tell you not to follow celebrities; they clearly don’t use their brains.

What the hell? Forced shilling??? Holy crap, they must have spent about 30,000 yuan, right? What can I say? Money talks?

The beauty creator’s stream room fell into an awkward silence after the sudden, forceful visit by Yan Yan’s fans, and then it exploded. But for most people, the chance to win a share of 30,000 yuan was enough to make them back down.

As they put it, while the other party’s actions were rather disgusting, their money didn’t grow on trees. Why pretend to be high and mighty when there was money to be made?

Consequently, some viewers left. Whether it was purely the lure of money or simple curiosity, the comments section became extremely awkward for a time.

The moderators were in a difficult position. If they banned the users, the lost traffic certainly wasn’t from the hardcore fans, and those users wouldn’t generate 30,000 yuan anyway. But if they did nothing, it felt like they were letting people get away with blatant bullying.

In the end, they could only issue a simple warning, reminding users not to post irrelevant comments, and let the matter fade away.

This type of incident occurred in every stream room, prompting different degrees of reaction.

“Brother, it was organised by the leader of one of their small fan groups. Should we…”

“Mind what? Whether it’s good or bad, it’s traffic! I was worried he was running out of topics recently. Everyone’s tired of the same old purchased trending searches. Let’s work this one up, stoke the fires, then dismiss that small fan leader. We’ll cull the herd a bit, consolidate the fan base, and then just release a statement.”

“But…” The assistant still seemed uneasy. After all, Orange Blossom represented a particular culture, which was different from the concurrent traffic platforms.

“Oh, stop waffling! Don’t forget our performance-based contract. If we don’t hit 1.8 billion in revenue by the end of the year, we’ll lose more than just those shares!”

The manager was busy looking at his documents and was utterly fed up with the assistant’s worried, maidenly behaviour. He yelled at him a few times and then dismissed him.

“Hello? CEO He? Yes, it’s me. Listen… this is the situation…”

After the assistant left, the manager bypassed his direct supervisor and called CEO He, reporting the upcoming arrangements.

“Stop with the unnecessary chatter. I need you to meet the target before August. I don’t need to hear these platitudes. Yan Yan? Who cares about him? Haven’t we made a fortune from him since we started promoting him? It’s time for him to give back to the company.”

CEO He on the other end clearly lacked patience. The manager knew the boss was entirely focused on whether they could win this performance contract and didn’t care about the artist’s welfare. So, he quickly agreed, deleted his planned fallback, and implemented the most aggressive plan.

Turn the spotlight up to maximum. Ensure they claw back every bit of traffic they can in these last few months. There might be wins and losses, gains and sacrifices, but their Emperor Sky Entertainment would absolutely not lose out!

After confirming the final plan on the call, the manager looked at Yan Yan’s profile on his desk and sighed. He got up, poured a fresh cup of coffee, and returned to his computer, ready for the battle ahead.

In the entertainment industry, where capital chases profit behind the scenes, having justice or genuine liking doesn’t make you a winner.

The rise and fall of the idols, the squabbling of the fans the final result is always guided by the invisible hand of capitalism, which profits from the traffic generated.

“Over here! I found it!” Zhu Zhengwen was the first to find a balloon. The bright pink balloon was tied to the bushes on a slope, half-hidden. From a distance, it might not have been obvious, but up close, the slightly reflective surface of the balloon was visible. Zhu Zhengwen had to struggle quite a bit to haul his chubby body up the slope and pluck the balloon down.

“Congratulations. You’ve got good luck after all.” Gu Jiaoyang dusted off his hands, which were smudged with dirt from pretending to search, and smiled at Zhu Zhengwen.

He hadn’t planned on finding the first balloon himself. Giving it to Zhu Zhengwen was a matter of expediency. Although he was playful and intensely curious, he wasn’t someone who liked to show off.

“Hahahaha, is it because it’s my birth year this year? Well, actually, I’m not the Year of the Pig, but Long Live the Year of the Pig!!!”

“In that case, you should mourn the compatriots you ate a few days ago,” Gu Jiaoyang jabbed Zhu Zhengwen with his elbow. Their playful banter was typical of close school friends.

“Congrats!” Liu Nuo emerged from the bushes nearby and looked at the balloon, so she could have a rough idea of what to look for next time.

“There’s also a hornet nest right there. Good thing I, Piggy, am a well-known agile fatty; I took it down with ease,” Zhu Zhengwen bragged.

“Hornets?” Gu Jiaoyang heard this and became interested. In his previous world, his junior brother raised hornets as spirit pets. They were a terrifying sight—a vast, buzzing cloud whenever deployed, used specifically for tracking. They were a famous lethal weapon in the cultivation world; small and swift, they were almost impossible to guard against. Anyone targeted by his junior brother’s small hornets would be pursued to the ends of the earth.

“I haven’t seen a hornet before. I’m going to take a look.” Gu Jiaoyang pulled the hood of his jacket over his head, tucking his neck into the collar. He stood on his tiptoes and carefully climbed up the nearby slope. Sure enough, behind a bush on a tree, he saw a hornet nest the size of a washbasin.

There was likely a much larger nest hidden behind the shadows; it couldn’t be just this small visible part. After all, his Junior Brother’s spiritual hornet nest had weighed a good 35 kilograms. This tiny exposed part couldn’t be all there was.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz…” The large hornets were much slimmer than honeybees. At a finger’s length with a thin waist, they possessed a peculiar kind of beauty.

“What species is this?” Gu Jiaoyang moved a little closer. His Junior Brother raised the Golden Hornet, which wasn’t aggressive but was incredibly gluttonous.

“I don’t know. Stand back, they’re vicious. These ones are bigger than the ones in the city; they’re definitely venomous.” Zhu Zhengwen also stood nearby, craning his neck, both curious and terrified.

“I’ve only heard of the most famous ones, the Yellow Jacket Hornets. I heard they’re venomous and eat people. Quite scary,” Liu Nuo chimed in, also staring at the nest.

“Surely not? The organisers wouldn’t put a balloon in such a dangerous spot. Maybe you’re mistaken, and they’re just normal bees,” Li Lili stood aside, afraid to step forward. Whether they were large hornets or small bees, they all sting, and she wasn’t willing to risk it.

“You’re right, but even bees aren’t good. Bee stings hurt too!” Liu Nuo looked back at Li Lili, deep in thought.

“Maybe no one saw it. If the organisers came to put the balloons out this morning, they probably wouldn’t have seen this nest. It’s a few steps away from the balloon bush, and the light is poor in the morning forest; it must have been hidden by shadows.” Zhu Zhengwen didn’t consider this possibility either; he had only noticed it accidentally when looking up.

“Hey, maybe it’s a dead nest. There are no hornets inside. Look, there aren’t any flying around.”

“Poke it. There definitely won’t be any hornets inside. Don’t worry.” Liu Nuo suddenly patted Gu Jiaoyang, then reached out with her wooden stick and poked the hornet nest directly.

“Wait!!!!”

By the time Zhu Zhengwen realised something was wrong, it was too late. Liu Nuo’s poke had knocked off a piece of the hornet nest. Following that was a gradually intensifying buzzing sound. The previously quiet nest suddenly erupted with activity. Large, disoriented hornets flew out of the hive, searching for the culprit who had harmed their home.

“Liu Nuo?!!!” Li Lili, standing the furthest away, had the biggest reaction. She screamed and ran off immediately. Zhu Zhengwen was so startled by her shout that he froze. By the time he regained his senses, Gu Jiaoyang had already grabbed his hand and started running.

Grass, is she insane?! Temporary madness?

Zhu Zhengwen ran while being pulled by Gu Jiaoyang, looking back at Liu Nuo, who was running for cover just as panicked as he was, and couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Only Gu Jiaoyang, pulling Zhu Zhengwen along, allowed his expression to darken behind the livestream drone’s view.

014. He really hasn’t left.

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