Chapter 57: How Gao Yun Became an Internet Sensation

Chapter 57: How Gao Yun Became an Internet Sensation

The room fell silent for a good four or five seconds. The guests glanced around, seemingly unsure if they had heard correctly. The waiter repeated in the same tone:

“From now until the end of tonight, all expenses of the guests here will be covered by Gao Yun, Master Gao!”

Applause, whistles, and cheers gradually rose, growing louder and stronger.

“Unbelievable! I never thought I’d hear a line from the movie ‘Big Shot’ come to life.”

“Damn, I should’ve ordered more drinks.”

“Is anyone filming this? This is definitely going viral!”

The woman who first guessed Gao Yun’s name held up her phone, excitement shining in her eyes. “Recording! I started filming when that table got into a fight.”

At that moment, Liu Ximing spoke up just in time: “Alright, everyone, let’s disperse and enjoy your drinks back at your tables.”

The young man quickly backed down and agreed, “Okay, today I’ll give you and Gao Yun face.” He gave a thumbs-up toward Gao Yun from afar before turning to lead his two companions back to their seats.

With the matter resolved smoothly, Diao Jun and his two companions returned to their seats. Liu Ximing couldn’t help but grumble, “Who the hell was that idiot? I don’t even know him. He acted like he was tight with me and then said he’d give me face. What do I need your face for?!”

Diao Jun took a sip of peach wine and sighed, “The kid’s smart. If he hadn’t pretended to be close to you, I would’ve gone after them. After all, Gao Yun — Master Gao — is covering all medical expenses tonight!” He winked at Gao Yun. “Right?”

Gao Yun nodded in agreement. “I’m paying, absolutely paying! From that spirited young man’s funeral costs to your lifetime’s food, clothing, and lodging after being sentenced to life imprisonment, I’m covering it all!”

“Ha ha ha~”

Everyone burst into laughter. Zhou Tian even expressed some regret, “Honestly, Yun, you’re too generous. You’re really laying it all out. With more than a hundred people here tonight and all this food and drink, it must have cost at least thirty thousand.”

The waiter hurried over and whispered a few words to Ah Hua, who nodded after hearing them. “You were right, it’s thirty-six thousand.”

“Whoever wants a discount must earn it!” Gao Yun chuckled and directly transferred thirty-six thousand yuan to Ah Hua via WeChat, ignoring his and Wang Xiaole’s refusals. Then he used his phone to call Liu Xingsheng, roughly telling him that he and his friends had opened a bar and inviting him and some friends to come visit.

Receiving an immediate reply, Gao Yun ended the call and told Ah Hua and Wang Xiaole, “My friend used to be a professional fighter. He’s coached boxing, worked security, and served as a bodyguard. I learned my fighting skills from him. He loves to drink, so from now on, whenever he brings some friends here, let them drink for free. If any trouble comes up, just call him.”

Wang Xiaole looked knowingly at Gao Yun. “Liu Xingsheng? We know him. He’s managing two bars here in Hulu City. He’s a good guy.”

Ah Hua nodded. “I’ve even had a drink with him once. He’s got great manners. But Ah Yun, I definitely can’t accept your money. I just returned it to you. This bar is actually your investment. The business is ours. Why would you give this money?”

Gao Yun waved his hand dismissively. “My six-man team’s daily wage is over forty thousand yuan. This is nothing. Keep it.”

“What? Seriously?”

All five of them were stunned. They had seen Gao Yun’s videos and knew he hired a team to help with his fitness, but they never imagined the salary would be so high—forty thousand yuan a day! This completely shattered their expectations.

Liu Ximing grimaced and scratched his head. “With that, how much of the fifty million you earned from futures is left?”

“Yeah, you can’t just throw money around like this!”

“Be frugal, brother. Your gym might make a few million a year once it’s up and running. Think about the future!”

Several friends offered advice. Diao Jun, who had experience in social media, expressed a different perspective. He pounded the table and said, “Don’t underestimate him. He can make money, too. Gao Yun is definitely a big online celebrity now. On Douyin alone, with 12 million followers, even without livestreaming, he can easily earn hundreds of thousands from ads. I don’t know much about Bilibili, but the combined income from all these platforms must be similar. Just from these two video platforms, if he manages them well, making tens of millions a year is a breeze. Not to mention other platforms like Kuaishou and Volcano.”

“Oh, by the way!”

Diao Jun suddenly remembered something and asked Gao Yun, “How’s your YouTube channel going? How many subscribers do you have now?”

“I’ve only been on for a little over a month. About a hundred and something thousand.”

Gao Yun pulled out his phone, logged into YouTube to check, and exclaimed happily, “Hey, over two hundred thousand now.”

“Awesome! Your growth rate is insane!”

Diao Jun gave a thumbs-up. “YouTube has the strongest monetization. If you reach a million subscribers, making over a million yuan a month isn’t a problem. Li Ziqi has ten million subscribers on YouTube and makes over a hundred million yuan a year.”

Everyone was stunned, finally realizing just how terrifying social media monetization could be.

Ah Hua himself had a Douyin account where he uploaded videos of performances or song covers, but with only tens of thousands of followers, he was puzzled. “Ah Yun’s videos are really good, but I don’t get why his follower count is growing so fast. He just films his daily life, nothing extraordinary.”

Diao Jun explained, “The main reason is the trainee series. The creativity is brilliant. I don’t know how Ah Yun comes up with it. It hits multiple trending topics and attracts all kinds of viewers who see what they want.”

Wang Xiaole agreed. “Definitely. I watch that video every day. I especially like the eating segments. When can I come over to your place and try the chef’s cooking? Just watching the screen makes me drool.”

Liu Ximing said, “I like the fitness parts best. Those two foreigners are incredible. They managed to boost your strength so much in one month. Let’s all train together sometime and get some guidance.”

“Exactly!” Zhou Tian nodded in agreement. “The four of us haven’t trained together for a long time.”

There were many reasons why the four fitness buddies had drifted apart—Caesar lived farther away, their work schedules clashed, and mostly because when Gao Yun was a fitness coach, their workout times never matched his class hours. So they were always training apart.

Without hesitation, Gao Yun said, “No problem. You’re always welcome to visit for a meal. As for fitness, once Yunhai is renovated in three days, we can train together again every day.”

Ah Hua chuckled. “I love the clips of you learning to sing from Brother Wang. Seeing his pained expression cracks me up. But seriously, Ah Yun, you’re improving fast.”

“See? You all love watching Ah Yun’s videos, right? That’s why his follower count is skyrocketing!”

Diao Jun summarized, “First, it’s the daily life of a rich man, feeding the voyeuristic desires of ordinary people. Most rich people’s daily lives revolve around work, eating, drinking, entertainment, and consumption, which isn’t that interesting. But Ah Yun isn’t an ordinary rich man! His daily life is incredibly rich and varied.”

Then he raised his finger and listed the reasons:

“One: The trainee series—learning to sing, play guitar, street dance, combined with good looks and muscles—attracts a huge number of young women and fans of singing, guitar, and dance.”

“Two: The fitness part—almost half the fitness enthusiasts and even some professional athletes on Douyin follow Gao Yun. That’s mainly because of the amazing body management team behind him, a dream team any athlete would envy. I dare say even most Olympic champions couldn’t afford such a team.”

“This kind of team is usually only available to top athletes in popular sports like soccer, basketball, or combat sports. If you’re an ordinary fitness enthusiast or athlete, wouldn’t you want to see how this team supervises training and diet? Wouldn’t you want to learn and improve your physical condition?”

“Three: The food segment. No explanation needed—everyone loves food. A top private chef cooks every day with new dishes. Even if you can’t taste it yourself, wouldn’t you want to watch it on video?”

“Actually, about the food part, I suggest Ah Yun have the chef film the cooking process each day and edit it into the videos. I’m sure people would love it.”

Thanks to reader “Book Friend 161207133658409” for the generous support.

(End of chapter)