Chapter 60: PS-Chapter 59 Back on the Popularity Chart
The vast majority of male viewers are undoubtedly the main audience for all live-streaming platforms.
Whether single or in a relationship, whether students or working professionals, energetic young people can always find their fun in various live streaming rooms—watching girls acting cute and singing, learning from skilled gamers, or admiring outdoor enthusiasts fishing and hunting.
However, always remember this important point: the growing number of female viewers cannot be ignored!
Especially for a talent-selling host like Lu Chen, the number of his female fans, or "charming fans," is considerable and must be taken care of.
Charming fans, compared to male fans, possess a very valuable quality: they are often skilled at budgeting and adept at using promotional activities on the platform to earn free Fish Balls, which they then donate to their favorite hosts.
Don't underestimate the free Fish Balls from promotions. The number available for a hundred or a thousand people is limited; however, if thousands or tens of thousands are involved, that's quite impressive. Moreover, charming fans have a much higher average donation rate than male fans.
Therefore, Lu Chen chose "Cinderella" as the third song for the PK live-streaming show, knowing that the beautiful girls are hosts and not merely viewers. This song is sure to resonate with and be loved by them.
What girl hasn't dreamed of being Cinderella at some point?
To demonstrate his sincerity, Lu Chen even created a Flash animation MV (Music Video) for this song.
The previous new song MV, which consisted of movie clips matched with lyrics, was relatively simple to produce.
However, this 7-minute animation was original content from Lu Chen. Although it wasn't professional-level work and used some small online materials, it took him three full days to complete!
''[Lu Fei's Work]''
First, four exquisite artistic fonts appeared in the live-streaming interface.
Then, as the main title faded away, the text "Cinderella / Lyrics and Music: Lu Fei / Animation: Lu Fei / Post-production: Lu Fei" gradually emerged, revealing a sketch-like image of a girl.
"Wow! The host is so talented!"
"He can sing, play, create original works, and even make animations— so awesome!"
"Lu Fei is amazing!"
"I have to record this and save it to my computer to admire."
"Clearly, he could rely on his looks, so why does he insist on relying on his talent? I really don't understand!"
"Enough talking; let's listen to the music!"
"Let's listen to the song."
Just as Lu Chen had hoped, the animation he created struck a chord with the charming fans, and 100 Fish Balls began to flood the screen, with successive numbers frequently reaching 100+, showcasing the fighting spirit of the girls.
"How did I become infatuated with you? I'm asking myself, I can give up everything, yet it's so hard to leave today."
"You aren't beautiful, but you're incredibly cute! Oh, Cinderella, my Cinderella."
A simple guitar performance, without any electronic music accompaniment, showcased Lu Chen's voice— which wasclean, resonant, and full of emotion. It flowed like a clear spring, washing away people's restlessness and worries, allowing everyone to unknowingly sink into the song's atmosphere.
The animation displayed in the live streaming room perfectly matched the lyrics' theme, depicting the love story between an ordinary girl and a handsome guy on campus, illustrated with muted colors and simplified lines. Although it wasn't exceptionally refined, it still deeply moved those who loved and pursued romance.
At this moment, countless male viewers showed their generosity and tolerance; very few used comments to disrupt the atmosphere, tacitly leaving space for the charming fans.
"…Maybe waiting for you to arrive."
After the 5-minute performance, the animation continued for another minute, providing everyone with a beautiful conclusion.
All the feelings of admiration, appreciation, and emotion were expressed through comments and Fish Balls.
At 8:45 PM, in Lu Fei's live streaming room on 'Whale TV', the online popularity reached: 579,020.
At the same time, the overall popularity chart on 'Whale TV' was updated again.
The prominently displayed overall popularity chart had only 12 slots. Based on the number of online viewers, comment counts, and donation amounts, a fixed formula automatically ranked the hosts, serving as one of the most important measures of a host's strength.
The overall popularity chart on 'Whale TV' refreshes every 15 minutes.
Since the PK-themed show officially started at 8 PM, the top heroine on 'Whale TV', Baby Qing'er, had firmly occupied the top position on the popularity chart. She had not relinquished her throne through three refreshes, demonstrating her immense popularity.
The competition for the 11 positions below her was just as fierce, with no exceptions; all the hosts on the list were popular streamers.
In the first two updates, Lu Chen was nameless on the chart.
But after the refresh at 8:45 PM, he suddenly ranked 11th!
"Lu Fei is on the overall popularity chart!"
Immediately, sharp-eyed fans noticed and quickly typed in the comments: "11th place!"
A wave of responses followed.
"General Lu is powerful!"
"Congratulations, host! Keep climbing and aim for the champion's throne!"
"Hahaha, let's all work hard together to help the host keep pushing forward, go Encore!"
"People from Jiangbei send their congratulations!"
"People from Sichuan send their congratulations!"
"People from the Capital send their congratulations!"
"People from Shanghai send their congratulations!"
"People from Taiwan send their congratulations!"
"People from Chaoshan…"
One after another, congratulatory messages filled the screen, celebrating Lu Chen's first achievement in the PK-themed show.
It was no easy feat for Lu Fei to make it onto the overall popularity chart, and it was definitely worth celebrating. While he had been on the chart before, that was during a less intense competition than the current evening's PK theme show, where being ranked was largely a matter of chance.
Being ranked at this moment indicated real popularity, especially since Lu Chen had the lowest base data among all 24 PK hosts, making his achievement stand out even more.
Many Fish Fans understood this and felt a deep sense of pride and accomplishment, knowing that Lu Chen's success depended on their support. His achievement was worth sharing with the more than 500,000 online viewers!
Furthermore, countless members of the Lu family believed that Lu Chen could definitely break into the PK Top 5!
However, for Lu Chen's competitors, especially those ranked closely to him, this was quite distressing.
This year's PK theme show on 'Whale TV' offered substantial rewards, marking a rare big investment from the platform, with promotional efforts well in place. This demonstrated the official intention to revitalize the site's glory.
As top-tier hosts on 'Whale TV', no one wanted to concede defeat in this competition. The strong wished to grow stronger, while the second tier hoped to replace the stronger ones; fierce competition was to be expected.
The 24 hosts participating in the PK theme show had received early notifications from the site and knew the list of their competitors in advance. To win, one had to prepare thoroughly— knowing oneself and one's enemies was essential.
Initially, no one paid any attention to Lu Chen or Lu Fei.
As a newcomer on 'Whale TV', his experience was minimal. Despite his rapid rise, the lack of a sufficient fan base was a fatal weakness, destined to keep him in a minor role.
As for themes like graduation season or original folk songs, they were merely attention-seeking tactics.
They would use facts to teach the rookie a lesson, making it clear that newcomers were indeed newcomers and shouldn't dream of challenging the established hosts.
However, the reality gave those who underestimated Lu Chen a resounding slap in the face!
With nearly half of the live-streaming show's PK time gone, Lu Chen ranked 11th on the overall popularity chart, with online popularity approaching 600,000!
To say he didn't qualify to challenge the Top 5 would be blatant nonsense.
Fans of some hosts ranked close to Lu Chen quickly recognized the threat he posed. While they intensified their support for their champian, they also began plotting targeted strategies in their groups.
Any ranking has the potential to be manipulated; there are many ways to suppress a competitor, such as finding violations to report, flooding comments with negative messages, or inciting conflicts among fans.
Some fans became so zealous that they disregarded any sense of reason.
As the popularity chart updated, an undercurrent surged toward Lu Fei's live streaming room.
At that moment, Lu Chen was still unaware of this brewing tension; he was focused on preparing for the performance of his fourth song.
''(End of Chapter)''
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