Troublesome – Chapter 23

Sentimental

Teacher Jin, you’re so sentimental.

Lu Yan’s stream was shut down for three days. Not only was Lu Yan herself dumbfounded, but the fans in Lu Zhenqiu’s stream were also a bit lost. The bullet comments were all a string of question marks, and even Lu Zhenqiu was stunned for a few seconds.

Xiao Yu quickly called her to ask: 【What’s going on? Did they ban the wrong person?】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【???】

Only after sending it did Xiao Yu feel that something was off. She quickly apologized: 【Pah, pah, pah! I misspoke, what’s going on?】

Hua Luo: 【I see Lu Yan’s stream chat is in an uproar.】

Lu Yan’s stream was indeed in an uproar. Her fans were all demanding to know what was happening and why she was suddenly in violation. What rule had she violated? Her fanbase was quite formidable, and soon, a topic about the matter appeared on the forums. Lu Yan also hurried to find the section head.

Zhou-ge had no time to deal with her; he had already been “invited for tea¹” by HR. Lu Yan couldn’t reach him by phone, so she quickly spoke to her own moderator. The moderator reassured her: 【Don’t worry, don’t worry, let me take a look.】

As she spoke, she opened the backend system, and her heart sank.

Generally, there were two situations for a ban due to violations. One was when a streamer ran their mouth or did something against the rules; once corrected, they could be unbanned after a moderator reviewed it. The other was a ban from the higher-ups, which moderators had no authority to lift.

Lu Yan’s was the second type.

Her permissions were all grayed out; she had no authority to lift the ban. That afternoon, she had thought the incident with the new streamer served her right. Who would have thought that the one to be banned was Lu Yan? The moderator felt this matter couldn’t be delayed. She immediately went to find Zhou-ge. She was aware of the small transactions between Lu Yan and Zhou-ge and trusted that he would help.

The moderator hadn’t expected that Zhou-ge was now struggling to save his own skin.

She went to Zhou-ge’s office and was informed that he had been called to HR. The moderator frowned but decided to contact the general manager directly. When the general manager heard her reason for calling, he said, “You’re asking me? How exactly do you people do your jobs? You’re Lu Yan’s moderator, and you just stood by and watched as she posted that subtweet²?”

The moderator was stunned. “But that wasn’t…”

“What ‘that wasn’t this’ or ‘that wasn’t that’!” the general manager’s tone was heavy. “If she hadn’t posted that Weibo without any evidence, would she have been reported?”

“Reported?” The moderator was confused. “Who reported her?”

“Who else could it be?” The general manager sneered. “You all slandered the boss’s identity. Would she be happy? Put yourself in her shoes. You spend money only to lose face. Would you be happy?”

The moderator was astonished. “That boss wasn’t her?”

“Bullsh#t!” The general manager was fuming. It was a good thing the matter with Lu Zhenqiu had been handled before it blew up. He had almost agreed with Old Zhou to ban Lu Zhenqiu’s stream. If that had happened, he’d be the one packing his bags and leaving!

He said, “You can wait for Old Zhou to explain it to you.”

The phone hung up with a click. The moderator cursed under her breath and went to wait at the HR department. Old Zhou wasn’t having an easy time either. He not only had dealings with Lu Yan but also had monetary exchanges with other minor streamers. They were all harmless recommendations—the small-time streamers would slip him some money, and he would arrange a good spot for them. He originally thought no one knew about these things, but now they were being brought to light one by one.

Old Zhou swallowed hard. “Manager Pei, this all happened so long ago.”

“Just because it was a long time ago doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” Manager Pei looked at him coldly and said, “It’s one thing when no one asks, but now someone has reported it, and we’ve investigated. What do you propose we do? Handle it by the book?”

Old Zhou’s heart trembled. “No, no, no, Manager Pei.”

If this was handled by the book, how could he continue to survive in this industry? If word got out, who would dare to hire him? In the end, Old Zhou said, “I’ll resign.”

Preserving his reputation was the most important thing.

Of course, Manager Pei wasn’t really going to handle it by the book. He understood the principle of leaving people a way out. However, there was indeed no need for Old Zhou to stay at Sanshui. Skimming a little off the top wasn’t excessive, but what was excessive was acting as an accomplice while doing so. Manager Pei thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright. You know what to say to the public, right?”

Old Zhou nodded. “I understand.”

He had been in the business for so many years; how could he not know the platform’s rules? If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to skim so much. As soon as Old Zhou left HR, he received a call from the moderator. He sighed, “It’s my fault.”

The moderator was dumbfounded. “Zhou-ge?”

Old Zhou said, “The platform has a bug recently. The duplicate IP wasn’t that streamer’s problem; it was a platform issue.”

The moderator was at a loss for words.

So, that streamer wasn’t at fault? No wonder they banned Lu Yan’s stream. She stirred up the rhythm too quickly this time. But they all thought it was concrete evidence. Who would have thought it was a platform bug?

Unfortunately, moderators couldn’t check IPs; that required at least a Section Head level. However, the moderator didn’t doubt Old Zhou’s words because she knew his personality. He was a shrewd person. If it wasn’t a platform bug, Old Zhou would definitely be arguing with HR right now.

The moderator had nothing more to say. If it was a bug, then they had all misunderstood Lu Zhenqiu and would have to apologize. The thought of Lu Yan’s temperament gave the moderator a headache. She hastily hung up and called Lu Yan.

“What bug? Impossible!” Lu Yan still didn’t believe it. The moderator said, “Do you think Zhou-ge has any reason to lie?”

Lu Yan held it in for a moment, but she couldn’t resist and still called Old Zhou, only to learn that he was about to resign and a new Section Head would be taking over.

She was completely thunderstruck, frozen in place.

She wasn’t the only one who got the news. Sanshui quickly made a decision regarding the matter: The Section Head, having made arbitrary assumptions that the boss and the new streamer were the same person without verification, has now resigned to take responsibility. Sanshui platform streamers 【Lou Yifeng】 and 【Lu Yan】, due to inappropriate remarks, will have their streams banned for three days.

As soon as the news broke, the fans who had been clamoring for an explanation fell silent. A few even went to Lu Zhenqiu’s stream to apologize.

【Sorry, girl, it was a misunderstanding.】

【Just a misunderstanding, our Xiao Lu didn’t mean it.】

【Yeah, we’ll apologize on behalf of Xiao Lu.】

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t say much, but her fans posted: 【Told you it wasn’t our Qiuqiu.】

【Our Qiuqiu really doesn’t have that much money.】

【You kicked an iron plate³, serves you right!】

【Alright, alright, stop arguing. Let’s just listen to Qiuqiu sing peacefully.】

Xiao Yu also posted in the group chat: 【Whoa! This boss of yours has quite the background, @Lu Zhenqiu.】

Hua Luo asked: 【What do you mean?】

Xiao Yu: 【The news I heard is that Qiuqiu’s boss was unhappy about the rumor, sent a report to Sanshui, and directly got the Section Head taken down. That head has been there for several years, so this boss is no small fry.】

Hua Luo: 【@Lu Zhenqiu, quick, give me the boss’s contact info.】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【@Hua Luo, what for?】

Hua Luo: 【I want a rich woman to hold me @Lu Zhenqiu.】

Lu Zhenqiu shot her an exasperated eye-roll emoji. Afterwards, she looked at her WeChat. She and her boss hadn’t chatted since the day she said she was straight. She thought the boss would have moved on to a new target, but she hadn’t expected her to help with today’s matter.

Lu Zhenqiu thought for a long time before finally sending: 【Boss?】

Jin Shuilan tilted her head and saw her phone light up. It was a message from Lu Zhenqiu. She pulled her attention away from the script and replied casually: 【Hm?】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【Thank you for what happened today.】

Jin Shuilan frowned when she saw this message.

Thank her? What for? She then entered the stream and saw the bullet comments were all about the incident with Lu Yan and the Section Head. She pursed her lips, went on Weibo to understand the whole story, and replied to Lu Zhenqiu: 【You’re welcome.】

A conversation killer. Lu Zhenqiu looked at those two words and was momentarily unsure of what to say. If this were in real life, she could treat the other person to a meal or buy a gift. But asking her out online… it wouldn’t be good if the boss misunderstood.

Especially since the boss had already said she was interested in her. Lu Zhenqiu’s scalp tingled with awkwardness. After much thought, she sent the boss a red envelope.

As expected, it wasn’t accepted.

A moment later, Jin Shuilan replied: 【Haven’t linked a card.】

Lu Zhenqiu’s embarrassment eased considerably. She sent: 【Well then, if there’s any song you want to hear, you can tell me. If I don’t know it, I’ll go learn it.】

Learn a song for her?

Jin Shuilan’s mood improved quite a bit. She asked: 【No need to learn a song, but could you record one just for me?】

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t hesitate: 【Of course. What song would you like to hear?】

Jin Shuilan: 【”Nuan Nuan⁴“, maybe? Do you know it?】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【I do. I’ll send it to you after my stream ends.】

Jin Shuilan: 【Okay.】

Closing the chat window with Lu Zhenqiu, Jin Shuilan was in a rather good mood. Her typing speed even picked up, and she quickly sent the revised section to the director. Then she received a call from Ji Zibo: “Have you asked Zhenqiu yet? Is she coming to the studio for the recording?”

Jin Shuilan said: “I’ll ask tonight.”

Ji Zibo: “It’s just a simple question. You’re making it seem like a confession. Do you need to pick an auspicious date for it too?”

Jin Shuilan snorted. “Get lost.”

Ji Zibo teased her with a couple of cheerful remarks and got lost. Jin Shuilan casually opened the stream. Lu Zhenqiu was singing. The thought that this person was right next door sent a warm current through Jin Shuilan’s heart.

Just as Lu Zhenqiu finished a song, she saw the gift effect. She read it out: “Thank you Lu Yan for the warship.”

Lu Yan? Lu Zhenqiu read the name twice. It really was Lu Yan.

The fans in her stream grew restless, afraid that Lu Yan was there to cause trouble. But she didn’t. After dropping a few gifts, she apologized: 【Sorry, Qiuqiu. About what happened this afternoon, I also just heard it from someone else. I got angry and said the wrong thing. Please don’t mind.】

Quite sincere.

As for this “hearing it from someone else,” who else could it be but Lou Yifeng? Pushing all the blame onto Lou Yifeng, her fans started to feel sorry for her: 【Yeah Qiuqiu, our Xiao Lu has a really good personality normally. She’s just a bit silly, someone must have used her as a pawn.】

【Qiuqiu, don’t be angry anymore. I really like both you and Xiao Lu as streamers. I hope you two can get along.】

Seeing someone with a Lu Yan fan badge say they really liked her, Lu Zhenqiu lost her temper. But she didn’t really hold a grudge. Since Lu Yan dared to apologize in front of so many fans, she knew Lu Zhenqiu wouldn’t hit a smiling face. With so many fans watching, she said, “Just be more careful next time.”

Lu Yan: 【Thank you, Qiuqiu. You’re so nice.】

Afterwards, she dropped a dozen more gifts.

It had to be said, for Lu Yan to make it to the top three, she had some ability. She could bend and stretch, reacting so quickly to save face and apologize. Lou Yifeng was probably still cursing in a group chat, while she had already moved on lightly.

However, she didn’t just apologize in the stream. She also deleted that Weibo post and tagged Lu Zhenqiu in a new apology. Other marketing accounts and netizens quickly found out what had happened.

【Making wild guesses is not good. Be careful next time.】

【Xiao Lu, Xiao Lu, are you not streaming anymore?】

【Xiao Lu, my heart aches for you.】

【Our Xiao Lu is just silly and was taken advantage of.】

Lu Yan replied to her fans with a pitiful emoji, making them feel even more sorry for her. The matter was finally more or less suppressed. However, Lu Zhenqiu’s fame had grown even more than before. Many people came to her stream, drawn by the reputation of her boss, and others came after hearing how well she sang. Most who came never left. The popularity of Lu Zhenqiu’s stream remained high, and her followers soon broke one hundred thousand. Aside from her own fans giving gifts, many of Lu Yan’s fans also sent gifts. Of course, there were also people who couldn’t stand her, sarcastically wondering if she was being kept, which was why someone was promoting her. Naturally, these IDs were all banned by the moderator.

Around nine o’clock, Lu Zhenqiu ordered takeout. She remembered her neighbor, Jin Shuilan, and wondered if she had eaten. She sent Jin Shuilan a message asking if she wanted her to get her a portion. Jin Shuilan quickly replied: 【I’m going out to buy some, and I’ll take Maomao for a walk at the same time.】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【Okay, thank you, Teacher Jin.】

Jin Shuilan smiled, pursing her lips as she looked at the two lines of conversation. She took Maomao downstairs, wandered for over half an hour, and bought two dinners. Lu Zhenqiu quickly finished eating and rushed back to her stream. Xiao Yu asked her to play a game, so she streamed a game for a while. Lu Zhenqiu’s stream ended at ten o’clock. Typically, entertainment streamers ended around midnight, with some even later, at one or two in the morning. Lu Zhenqiu was currently in her rookie period, so she only needed to stream until ten. In reality, her traffic already surpassed that of many newcomers. Her moderator had also suggested she extend her hours to receive more gifts and a larger cut, but Lu Zhenqiu thought about it and declined. She had too many things to deal with recently. She would consider the stream duration once everything settled down.

Just past ten, she said goodbye to her fans in the stream. The fans were reluctant to see her go. With a popularity of nearly one million, any other newcomer would be loath to close the stream so easily, but Lu Zhenqiu didn’t hesitate and shut it down.

Jin Shuilan also exited the stream.

The sounds from next door were very faint. Perhaps Lu Zhenqiu was deliberately keeping her voice down, or maybe the soundproofing was just too good. She could barely hear a thing. Lu Zhenqiu walked barefoot in her room, stepping on the soft rug. She prepared her recording equipment, found the music, and began to sing. The first few takes were unsatisfactory in every way—the voice was off, the timing was wrong. It only started to get better later. The cheerful and sweet melody of “Nuan Nuan” filled her ears. Lu Zhenqiu closed her eyes, immersed herself, and began a new recording.

After a good half-hour, she finally finished the song and sent it to her boss.

A moment later, the boss accepted the file and sent back two words: 【Thank you.】

Lu Zhenqiu felt a little embarrassed. The boss had spent so much, yet she had only recorded one song and was being thanked for it. She lowered her eyes and typed: 【No need. In the future, if there’s anything you want to hear, you can just say it in the stream, no need to send a song request gift.】

Jin Shuilan: 【Got it.】

After settling the song matter, Lu Zhenqiu thought about the recording they had discussed that afternoon. She wondered if Jin Shuilan was asleep. She tiptoed out of her room and saw that Jin Shuilan’s bedroom door was ajar. It was dark inside, and no one was there. The study door, however, was tightly closed. She walked over, hesitated for a few seconds, and then knocked.

Jin Shuilan had just received the file and opened it. The cheerful melody of “Nuan Nuan” filled the room, followed by Lu Zhenqiu’s voice. Unlike when she sang those old songs, her voice for this one was sweeter and fit the melody perfectly. Jin Shuilan was so engrossed in listening that she didn’t react for two seconds when the knock on the door sounded.

“Teacher Jin.” Lu Zhenqiu called from outside the door. Jin Shuilan was startled and immediately looked toward the door. As she reached to turn off her phone, she knocked over the cup next to it, which fell directly onto her toes. Jin Shuilan cried out softly in pain and lowered her head, rubbing her toes with one hand while her other fumbled for the phone on the desk. After grabbing it, she raised her head and banged the back of it on the edge of the desk.

Pain from both above and below.

And the knocking continued.

Jin Shuilan turned off her phone and, ignoring everything else, walked to the door and opened it. Lu Zhenqiu was standing outside. When she saw that the corners of Jin Shuilan’s eyes were very red and teary, she asked in surprise, “Teacher Jin, why are you crying?”

Crying? Jin Shuilan wiped her eye and found that the corner was indeed wet. It must have been from the pain she couldn’t hold back just now, a little splash of tears that escaped. She explained, “I was just reading a novel.”

So that’s why. Lu Zhenqiu could deeply relate. She said, “Teacher Jin, you’re so sentimental.”

Jin Shuilan opened her mouth and choked on her breath. She coughed until the corners of her eyes grew even redder and a blush spread across her cheeks, a stark contrast to her usual stern and serious expression.

Lu Zhenqiu couldn’t help but walk to her side and pat her on the back, asking with concern, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Jin Shuilan waved her hand, catching her breath. What kind of pig ears did she have to have misheard Lu Zhenqiu’s words as: “Teacher Jin, you’re so sexy⁵.”

Sexy…

Jin Shuilan glanced at Lu Zhenqiu beside her, and her heart, because of these two words that had never surfaced before, began to pound rapidly again!

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, muah muah. Tonight is the jiazi⁶ feature, so I’m updating early, muah muah.

Jin Shuilan: Don’t speak carelessly if you have nothing to say.

Lu Zhenqiu: ??????????

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