Chapter 51: Explosive News
Ma Wu looked at Li Mida with some surprise and whispered again, “Mida, you didn’t even call me a rascal this time. Looks like you’ve really been lonely lately.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Li Mida’s face flushed crimson, almost to the point where her mind stopped working. She stomped hard on Ma Wu’s foot and snapped, “Rascal!”
After a while of affectionate teasing, Ma Wu and Li Mida finally remembered Wu Ting. By then, Wu Ting was already standing at the doorway to Ma Wu’s room, peering inside with evident curiosity.
Ma Wu approached and threatened, “What are you doing? Trying to upstage the host? This is my room—off to the guest room with you.”
Wu Ting rolled her eyes at him, her tone dismissive, “Please, it’s just a little room. Do you think I’m interested in your stuff? I just wanted to see if there’s anything special in here. But at first glance, it’s surprisingly tidy.”
As she spoke, her gaze landed on a large cardboard box under Ma Wu’s bed. Her eyes sparkled, and, pretending to roll up her sleeves, she darted over, knelt down, and tried to drag the box out.
Ma Wu panicked. That box was filled with his treasured collections from his days as a shut-in—if Wu Ting saw what was inside, it would be mortifying, not to mention the terrible impression it would leave. He rushed over in two long strides, wrapped his arms around Wu Ting, and carried her away.
Wu Ting, petite as she was, dangled from Ma Wu’s grip like a kitten, utterly unable to resist. She kicked her legs in protest, but it had little effect.
Seeing that Li Mida and Wu Ting got along well enough, Ma Wu didn’t worry too much. He set Wu Ting down in front of Li Mida and said, “Mida, this is Wu Ting—she’s… well, let’s say my adopted little sister. Please find her a guest room, will you?”
Wu Ting, in contrast to her feisty attitude with Ma Wu, greeted Li Mida sweetly, “Big sister!”
Li Mida’s expression softened instantly. She smiled warmly, stroked Wu Ting’s head, and said gently, “Hey there, little one, don’t play with that rascal Ma Wu. Come, I’ll help you find a guest room.”
Watching Wu Ting and Li Mida walk off, chatting happily, Ma Wu breathed a sigh of relief. Still, he wondered to himself: Why could Li Mida get along with Wu Ting but not with Lin Erke? Was it because Li Mida had a soft spot for cute, younger girls?
Shaking his head, Ma Wu, clever as he was, couldn’t figure it out. He decided not to dwell on it.
He pulled out his phone, opened the Goldfish TV app, and entered Lin Erke’s live-streaming channel.
The news and recordings of Ma Wu acquiring Goldfish TV had spread across the entire internet. Anyone interested in the streaming world had seen the impressive display Ma Wu put on during the acquisition, and he had quickly amassed a legion of online fans.
For Lin Erke’s viewers, they finally got to see the real face behind the legendary “I Really Am Broke.” Many had assumed that with so much wealth, he must be a middle-aged man like Jinshan, but to their surprise, Ma Wu turned out to be a rakish, handsome young man.
In the blink of an eye, many of Lin Erke’s diehard fans became diehard fans of Ma Wu as well.
As soon as Ma Wu entered Lin Erke’s stream, every fan took notice. The chat instantly abandoned previous topics, flooding with messages:
“Welcome, Master of Goldfish TV!”
“Welcome, Master of the Lin Erke Fan Club!”
“The Ma Wu Fan Club greets our leader!”
Ma Wu shook his head, half amused, half exasperated.
Lin Erke, noticing Ma Wu’s presence in her chat, forced a small smile at the camera. After a pause, she said softly, “Boss, you haven’t come to my stream in ages.”
Fans, seeing Lin Erke’s coy demeanor, were immediately intrigued and began playfully teasing her:
“Oh, our sister-in-law is blushing!”
“Sir, I have to say, how could you leave Erke alone all this time? You really ought to visit her more often.”
“Hahaha, everyone here is cracking up.”
Lin Erke, realizing her true feelings had been so easily spotted by her fans and turned into a topic of conversation, grew embarrassed. Flustered, she waved her arms and stammered, “It’s nothing like that! I was just saying, don’t get the wrong idea.”
Ma Wu couldn’t help but laugh at her adorable reaction.
Since the news of Ma Wu’s acquisition of Goldfish TV, Lin Erke’s fans had been showering her with gifts at a much higher rate—her channel was regaining its former glory.
Of course, now half of those gift revenues went to Lin Erke, and the other half, instead of going to Jinshan, landed in the hands of Goldfish TV’s new owner, Ma Wu.
Watching Lin Erke’s stream, Ma Wu simultaneously checked Goldfish TV’s current earnings. The situation was dire; his exposure of the platform’s scandals had wounded Goldfish TV deeply, downgrading it overnight from a top-tier platform to second-rate, leaving it severely weakened.
Because of Jinshan’s reckless expansion, Goldfish TV now faced enormous daily operating costs. Within the platform, Lin Erke was the only significant streamer left—everyone else had negligible viewership. The main source of income was her channel, as she had become the undisputed queen of Goldfish TV.
Without competition, fans no longer felt compelled to outdo each other with gifts, and most of those who did were already loyal supporters. The rest saw no point—Lin Erke’s position was unshakable.
Ma Wu exhaled softly, muttering to himself, “This won’t do. Erke’s dominance is actually holding Goldfish TV back. New streamers know they’ll never get ahead here, so they keep leaving or give up on the platform entirely.”
“If Goldfish TV can’t attract new blood, it’s doomed.”
After some long contemplation, Ma Wu finally had an idea. He sent Lin Erke a private message, asking her to connect his microphone to the stream.
Lin Erke quickly complied. Ma Wu cleared his throat and addressed the fans, “Hello, everyone. I’m Ma Wu—also known as ‘I Really Am Broke.’ I’m here today with some big news.”
Ever since Ma Wu announced his intention to acquire Goldfish TV, he hadn’t spoken in Lin Erke’s stream for a long time. The moment his voice returned, the chat exploded—especially among his new fan club, who sent gifts and messages with wild enthusiasm:
“Oh, oh, Ma Wu! I want to have your babies!”
“Boss Ma Wu, why don’t you start your own channel? All of us diehard fans have nowhere to send gifts but Erke’s stream.”
“Come on, Ma Wu’s so rich—why would he bother streaming himself?”
Among the feverish supporters, some more rational fans began to express curiosity about his promised big announcement.
Ma Wu smiled slightly and said in a solemn tone, “I plan to have Erke leave Goldfish TV…”
He hadn’t finished the sentence before the chat turned into a storm, the barrage of messages blotting out the entire screen:
“What! Boss Ma Wu, are you breaking her heart?”
“Please, don’t! Erke is so pitiful!”
“Last time you said you’d make her the eternal queen of Goldfish TV—why the change of heart?”
“Oh dear, the words of love spoken that day are already worthless, it seems…”
After hurriedly muting the chat, Ma Wu saw Lin Erke on screen, momentarily stunned, then revealing an expression as if she’d half-expected this.
She wrinkled her delicate nose and tried to force a smile, but tears welled up and quickly fell. Before she could manage a brave face, she broke down, covering her cheeks and sobbing.
Ma Wu’s heart twisted with pain. He hurriedly said, “Erke, don’t cry! That’s not what I meant—I wasn’t finished!”
“I mean, I want you to leave Goldfish TV and start streaming on TigerWho TV!”
As he blurted it out, Lin Erke’s sobs gradually subsided. She realized her loss of composure and, embarrassed, kept her face covered.
But the fans were stunned and immediately flooded Ma Wu with questions, wanting to know why he had made such a decision.