Chapter 4

The next day, Xia Zui slept until the afternoon before waking up. Upon opening her eyes, she was greeted by the cramped quarters of her rented room. She stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before sluggishly getting up. After tidying herself and ordering takeout, she finally opened her phone.

It was already three in the afternoon, and Kele was live-streaming. The moment Xia Zui entered Kele’s stream, she was stunned by the dazzling golden font that appeared.

[Golden Meower Xia Xia Xia has entered the streamer’s room.]

Xia Zui stared in disbelief. “Such a cheesy title!” she muttered.

“Welcome, Xia Xia, my dear wife!” Kele greeted her with a smile upon seeing her.

“Has my dear wife Xia Xia just woken up?”

The chat was abuzz with greetings.

[Xia Xia’s wife is here! Welcome, welcome.]

[Is this the wealthy patron who showered Kele with 990,000 gifts?]

[Wow, there are so many people in the stream today. What happened?]

[Don’t you know? Yesterday, this rich lady gifted Kele ninety-nine mermaids!]

[Ninety-nine!!!]

[Xia Xia Xia: Just woke up! Thank you for the skins you sent me! They’re great, though I still can’t seem to win any games.]

Kele chuckled at Xia Zui’s comment. “Glad you like them!”

Yesterday, Kele had noticed that Xia Xia Xia’s gaming account had very few skins. She had wanted to gift her some but couldn’t top up during the stream, so she waited until it ended to send them immediately. Although the skins weren't worth as much as the gifts Xia Xia Xia had given her, they represented Kele’s heartfelt appreciation. After all, Kele didn’t even have any other way to contact Xia Zui and was unsure how to express her gratitude.

This was the first time anyone had liked Kele so genuinely. The companionship and the gifts from Xia Xia Xia meant a lot.

“Wanna play some games, my dear wife Xia Xia?” Kele asked as her current match was nearing its end.

[Xia Xia Xia: Can I still join?]

[Rich lady, be bold! You’re the top donor, so the streamer should play with you all month!]

[Be bolder! A whole year!]

[Be bolder! Ten years!]

[Be bolder! A hundred years!]

Kele laughed at the chat and replied, “Sure, but if it’s a hundred years, I’ll probably be six feet under by then.”

[Xia Xia Xia: Wow, that sounds great! Logging in now!]

Xia Zui happily logged into the game. After all, with her wife Kele playing alongside her, even losing was enjoyable. Moreover, Kele’s gaming skills were excellent, so Xia Zui could relax and still climb the ranks.

For several days, Xia Zui joyfully roamed the gaming canyon with Kele, only logging off at night to give Kele time to compete in the peak matches.

Meanwhile, Ruan Ruan’s stream had returned to its usual quiet state.

Actually, Ruan Ruan had heard from fans in her chat about the mysterious Xia Xia Xia gifting a streamer ninety-nine mermaids. But Xia Xia Xia had not visited her stream recently, making Ruan Ruan wonder if her last song, “Old Clothes,” had been unpleasant to listen to.

After her stream ended, Ruan Ruan had gone to practice singing “Old Clothes” and refine her skills, hoping to attract Xia Xia Xia’s attention. But Xia Xia Xia never appeared in her stream.

As she sang, Ruan Ruan pondered whether Xia Xia Xia had simply stumbled into her stream by chance and gifted something just because she liked her.

After all, Xia Xia Xia followed only Kele.

Unaware of Ruan Ruan’s thoughts, Xia Zui was blissfully lost in her new world.

***

Only on the final night of the week did Xia Zui take a deep breath to prepare for the next week’s quota.

“Xia Xia, are you ready?” the Wealthy Patron system asked.

Xia Zui nodded seriously. “Ready!”

“Good! This week’s quota is ten million! Xia Xia, where will you recharge?”

Over the past few days, Xia Zui had grown familiar with the two systems. She had simplified the name of the Eleven system to just “Eleven,” and she called the Wealthy Patron system “Hao Hao” after Eleven did.

Both systems affectionately called her “Xia Xia Xia.”

“If all online platforms are available…” Xia Zui thought for a moment. “I’ll put nine million into Cat Paw and the remaining one million into Green River.”

Green River was a novel platform she frequented.

Its novels were concise yet imaginative.

Sometimes, when she was working, Xia Zui would sneak a peek at the novels, often becoming so engrossed that she read whenever she had a moment, even in the bathroom.

She had been reading every night before bed recently.

In the past, she had made countless vows when reading novels, promising that if she ever became rich, she would sponsor anime and movies for the stories she loved.

Though she couldn’t fund animations or films yet, she could still shower gifts.

The Wealthy Patron system hummed affirmatively. “Done! The funds have been credited!”

Xia Zui checked the Green River platform and saw that her balance had indeed increased by a full one million.

She gasped, then quickly found the novels she had previously bookmarked and selected her favorite one.

It was a cute pet story filled with cats and dogs.

She opened the gift section and quietly typed in a thousand deep-water torpedoes.

Then she found another novel she had read before, a redemption-themed quick transmigration story, and sent another thousand deep-water torpedoes.

There were three derivative works and one more uplifting novel.

Xia Zui distributed deep-water torpedoes to each before continuing her search for more captivating books.

***

At seven in the morning, Luo Zhu dragged her tired body into the company after getting off the bus.

She was a part-time writer, spending her days working and nights writing novels.

Writing had always been her passion and a way to earn extra money for her family.

Lately, though, things had been tough. She often worked overtime, and her novels earned her only a few dollars a day.

Sitting at her desk, Luo Zhu stared wearily at her computer.

Her mother’s illness had worsened, requiring at least sixty thousand yuan in medical expenses. But with her mortgage payments, she had only managed to gather fifty-five thousand yuan.

She was still five thousand yuan short.

Her monthly salary was just four thousand yuan, leaving barely enough for food and utilities after loan payments.

Rubbing her temples, Luo Zhu opened the Green River app to check her novel.

Only the reader comments brought her some comfort.

But this book had barely any reviews.

Sighing, Luo Zhu clicked on her old works and suddenly stared in disbelief.

“Huh?”

Her novel, completed three years ago, was ranked just over one hundred on the bestseller list. She exited and re-entered the page, unsure if she was seeing things correctly.

What had happened?

Wide-eyed, Luo Zhu opened the bestseller rankings and discovered that a reader named Xia Xia Xia had gifted her a staggering one hundred thousand in gifts.

Suppressing her excitement, she bit her thumb and tried to recall if she had purchased any votes to boost her ranking.

Usually, authors bought such ‘dominator votes’ themselves to climb the charts.

But she hadn’t bought a single one!

Panicked, Luo Zhu hurried to the editor’s contact and typed, “Editor! My novel from three years ago suddenly received 100,000 dominator votes! Is this a bug?”

To know, if the votes were genuine, with a fifty-fifty split with Green River, she would earn fifty thousand yuan.

With that, she could afford her mother’s treatment and ease her own burden.

Luo Zhu waited anxiously but received no reply—editors were busy with too many tasks each day.

Nervously working while sneaking glances at her phone, she finally saw a notification after completing a spreadsheet.

[Editor: Verified. No issues.]

Luo Zhu gasped.

So the money really came from a reader?

She opened her beloved novel again—a heartwarming story about a protagonist collecting adorable pets.

It had once amassed forty thousand favorites, earning her thirty thousand yuan, but now earned less than ten yuan a month.

Who knew that reader loved her book so much?

Luo Zhu wanted to contact the reader but found Green River offered no way for authors to reach readers.

She decided to write an extra chapter to post, sincerely thanking the reader named Xia Xia Xia.

Since it was nearly the end of the month, she could withdraw the fifty thousand yuan soon to cover urgent expenses.

Holding her phone, Luo Zhu silently thanked the mysterious reader and pondered whether to write another pet-themed novel dedicated to them.

***

At that very moment, Xia Zui remained unaware of Luo Zhu’s thoughts. It was still morning, and she was still fast asleep.

She had stayed up until two a.m. reading novels, completely spending the one million she had recharged.

Though a million sounded like a vast sum, giving each book one hundred thousand in gifts meant she could only support ten books.

A miscalculation on her part—she would ask the Wealthy Patron system to add more funds to Green River next week.

But the impact of that one hundred thousand gift astonished far more than just Luo Zhu.

On the Green River author forum, a thread was buzzing.

[Help! Books finished years ago suddenly received 100,000 in gifts!]

[Original poster: Bug or what?]

[Reply 1: 100,000?]

[Reply 2: 100,000?]

[Reply 3: 100,000?]

[Reply 4: The formation is broken.]

[Reply 5: Better report to the editor and check the address. Could be money laundering.]

[Reply 6: Same here! I got 100,000 in gifts out of nowhere. I’m so anxious. My book flopped hard!]

[Reply 7: Just from gifts, that’s level two stars. Envious.]

[Reply 8: Sneaking a peek!]

[Reply 9: Asked the editor; they said it’s normal.]

[Reply 10: Whoa, 100,000! So jealous!]

[...]

[Reply 56: I got gifted too, and my book finished a long time ago.]

[Reply 72: Reading you all made me check my dashboard. Only earned one yuan. Crying.]