Short, Light, Free

I"m not sure how long I went on with my live stream that night .

Because I had retired, my newer computer had no webcam and microphone . I was convinced that I would never play again, clearly not expecting that to last only half a year . At this point, I could only play and stream old games that I was familiar with . However, this generated a spike in the number of fans, from a few hundred to a few thousand . I had close to 30,000 fans following my account by the time I logged out .

My heyday was when there were over 200,000 fans watching . I was still far away from that . There were also all kinds of strange comments, and a part of my fans believed that I was an imposter who had hacked into the account . Only after a few rounds of good results did they acknowledged my return .

At midnight, Xiaoai"s virtual projection appeared behind me . "You"ve been sitting in front of your computer for more than eight hours now . Please take breaks and pay attention to your health . It"s getting late and you should be sleeping now . "

It was then that I realized the time . I finished up my last game, opened up a drawing application, and wrote a "goodbye" with my mouse .

Two minutes later, I shut off my computer .  

It was a wonderful experience to return to the very beginning . However, I understood that no matter how skillful I am, I"m never going to be able to partic.i.p.ate in compet.i.tions again .

After all, that was the reason why I gave up on games altogether .

I turned around and made eye contact with Xiaoai .

"Time for bed, Master," Xiaoai told me with a smile .

I got up and moved to my room . Without changing my clothes, I hopped into bed .

I was woken up by continuous knocks on my apartment door .  

Half-awake, I walked out to open the door and was greeted by a man in a polo tee . On his shirt was a big Xiaomi logo .

He handed me a leather case and bowed .  

I took the case and before I could ask him what it was, he said a cheery, "Have a good day . "

He was long gone before I could even put the case down and process what had just happened .

I shut the door, squatted down, and opened the case .

There wasn"t any seal . The moment I opened it, I heard a cat meowing insistently .

It was then that I remembered about my order . There were a few other bags in the case as well .

They contained saw cat grains, cat litter, and a cute plastic bowl .

"The case itself can be torn and dismantled into a cat litter box . Tear along the dotted line at the bottom . Do you need me to do it with you?"

I took everything out and raised the case up . Indeed, there was a row of dotted lines that took ten minutes to tear up .

It was only when I started pouring the litter into the box did I wonder where the cat had gone to .

Upon a closer look, I noticed that it had already found a comfortable spot above my system unit and had fallen asleep . I was amazed by its ability to jump since the system unit was placed significantly high .

I put the bowl on the floor and filled half of it with grains .  

"Any reminder function?" I asked, looking at Xiaoai .

"Yes . "

"Remind me to top up the grains during meal times," I ordered, walking toward my computer even before she could reply .

I turned it on and got my live stream and game ready .

I then remembered that I had no microphone and webcam .

Xiaoai and Xiaomi"s products came to mind immediately, but I covered my mouth before I could say anything .

Frustrated, I went on my phone and found two of the cheapest brands and quickly made my purchase, along with more cat grains and grooming tools .

When that was done, I started on a MOBA game but was interrupted by a call after the first round .

It was the webmaster from the night before .

I picked up the phone .

"So Brother Chalk, are you planning to return to your old trade for good?"

"Will you take me back to my days of glory if I say yes?" I asked faintly .

"For sure . You don"t know how many fans you took along when you left us . A whole 10% of them! All we hear now are fans screaming your name . We"re willing to promote you as best as we can if you come back to us . "

"Words are useless . What"s the shortest contract term?" I questioned .

"Three years . I promise to push you onto all platforms . "

"Those are internal . What about the external?" I challenged .

"Aren"t you making things difficult for me?"

"Am I worth only internal platforms?" I asked bitterly .

"Fine, I"ll appeal for the navy with 100,000 . "

"You"re able to do that?" I asked doubtfully .

"It"s been half a year, Brother Chalk . I"m no longer the same lowly webmaster . I"m the one in-charge now . "

"Fine, three years then . I"ll send the contract over tomorrow . " 

"I"m relieved . I"ll email the contract to you right now . I"m already filling up the first page for you . I know there"s nothing for me to worry about because I have faith in you . "

The call ended and I noticed that the number of comments had doubled .

30,000 fans turned into 60,000, but I was still far from what I had achieved during my peak days .

I found a decent game that I had dabbled in half a year ago and started a chatroom .

I opened a word doc.u.ment and started typing, "First ten accounts, 10,000 a person, per region . "

The chatroom exploded the next instant and I was spammed with private messages containing account names and 1,000 deposit and so on .

I picked one at random, collected the payment and paused my broadcast .

The account pa.s.sword had been sent over and I started doing what I did best .

After some thought, I made a call .

"Is anything else the matter, Boss Chalk?"

"How many orders did I receive a month in my heyday?"

"One in two days? 15 accounts?"

"Give me one a day, so that"s 30 orders a month . Set a base price and start an auction . I"m sure you know the procedures, so get it done quickly . "

"Sure, I"ll take care of it for you . I"ve sent the contract over so just fill it up and send me a copy . "

I hung up and sent to the chatroom, "First gen fighter"s back . "

I did not press send, however, since things were already crazy in the chatroom .

When the gifts filled half the screen, I turned to look at Xiaoai and thought about the future .

I had started to cook, clean, and wash for half a month at that point .

I was living like any normal person, except for the fact that I had a Xiaoai behind me .

I chatted with her from time to time, and if it weren"t for the additional fees, I would think that Xiaoai made a decent friend .

Without the cleaning robot and washing fees, I was left with a 10,000 per month payment for the smart housekeeper . With what I could earn from my live stream, this amount wasn"t too big of a problem .

Ever since I started using the webcam and microphone, fans would greet Xiaoai warmly and call her sister-in-law .

No matter how hard I tried to explain it to them, it was to no avail .

It was popular science and everyone knew that she was Xiaomi"s limited edition housekeeper . Nevertheless, I never stopped hearing the word "sister-in-law" .

I started ma.s.s-accepting orders and within another half a month, my fans gradually increased back to 130,000 and 170,000 .

My cat would climb up to my keyboard and take over my mouse at times, tearing at whatever cables it could get its hands on .  

Everything was good until one morning when I was woken up by a stream of messages .

I 39 m not sure how long I went on with my live stream that night . Because I had retired, my newer computer had no webcam and microphone . I was convinced that I would never play again, clearly not expecting that to last only half a year . At this point, I could only play and stream old games that I was familiar with . However, this generated a spike in the number of fans, from a few hundred to a few thousand . I had close to 30,000 fans following my account by the time I logged out . My heyday was when there were over 200,000 fans watching . I was still far away from that . There were also all kinds of strange comments, and a part of my fans believed that I was an imposter who had hacked into the account . Only after a few rounds of good results did they acknowledged my return . At midnight, Xiaoai 39 s virtual projection appeared behind me . You 39 ve been sitting in front of your computer for more than eight hours now . Please take breaks and pay attention to your health . It 39 s getting late and you should be sleeping now . It was then that I realized the time . I finished up my last game, opened up a drawing application, and wrote a 39 goodbye 39 with my mouse . Two minutes later, I shut off my computer . It was a wonderful experience to return to the very beginning . However, I understood that no matter how skillful I am, I 39 m never going to be able to partic.i.p.ate in compet.i.tions again . After all, that was the reason why I gave up on games altogether . I turned around and made eye contact with Xiaoai . Time for bed, Master, Xiaoai told me with a smile . I got up and moved to my room . Without changing my clothes, I hopped into bed . I was woken up by continuous knocks on my apartment door . Half awake, I walked out to open the door and was greeted by a man in a polo tee . On his shirt was a big Xiaomi logo . He handed me a leather case and bowed . I took the case and before I could ask him what it was, he said a cheery, Have a good day . He was long gone before I could even put the case down and process what had just happened . I shut the door, squatted down, and opened the case . There wasn 39 t any seal . The moment I opened it, I heard a cat meowing insistently . It was then that I remembered about my order . There were a few other bags in the case as well . They contained saw cat grains, cat litter, and a cute plastic bowl . The case itself can be torn and dismantled into a cat litter box . Tear along the dotted line at the bottom . Do you need me to do it with you I took everything out and raised the case up . Indeed, there was a row of dotted lines that took ten minutes to tear up . It was only when I started pouring the litter into the box did I wonder where the cat had gone to . Upon a closer look, I noticed that it had already found a comfortable spot above my system unit and had fallen asleep . I was amazed by its ability to jump since the system unit was placed significantly high . I put the bowl on the floor and filled half of it with grains . Any reminder function I asked, looking at Xiaoai . Yes . Remind me to top up the grains during meal times, I ordered, walking toward my computer even before she could reply . I turned it on and got my live stream and game ready . I then remembered that I had no microphone and webcam . Xiaoai and Xiaomi 39 s products came to mind immediately, but I covered my mouth before I could say anything . Frustrated, I went on my phone and found two of the cheapest brands and quickly made my purchase, along with more cat grains and grooming tools . When that was done, I started on a MOBA game but was interrupted by a call after the first round . It was the webmaster from the night before . I picked up the phone . So Brother Chalk, are you planning to return to your old trade for good Will you take me back to my days of glory if I say yes I asked faintly . For sure . You don 39 t know how many fans you took along when you left us . A whole 10 of them All we hear now are fans screaming your name . We 39 re willing to promote you as best as we can if you come back to us . Words are useless . What 39 s the shortest contract term I questioned . Three years . I promise to push you onto all platforms . Those are internal . What about the external I challenged . Aren 39 t you making things difficult for me Am I worth only internal platforms I asked bitterly . Fine, I 39 ll appeal for the navy with 100,000 . You 39 re able to do that I asked doubtfully . It 39 s been half a year, Brother Chalk . I 39 m no longer the same lowly webmaster . I 39 m the one in charge now . Fine, three years then . I 39 ll send the contract over tomorrow . I 39 m relieved . I 39 ll email the contract to you right now . I 39 m already filling up the first page for you . I know there 39 s nothing for me to worry about because I have faith in you . The call ended and I noticed that the number of comments had doubled . 30,000 fans turned into 60,000, but I was still far from what I had achieved during my peak days . I found a decent game that I had dabbled in half a year ago and started a chatroom . I opened a word doc.u.ment and started typing, First ten accounts, 10,000 a person, per region . The chatroom exploded the next instant and I was spammed with private messages containing account names and 1,000 deposit and so on . I picked one at random, collected the payment and paused my broadcast . The account pa.s.sword had been sent over and I started doing what I did best . After some thought, I made a call . Is anything else the matter, Boss Chalk How many orders did I receive a month in my heyday One in two days 15 accounts Give me one a day, so that 39 s 30 orders a month . Set a base price and start an auction . I 39 m sure you know the procedures, so get it done quickly . Sure, I 39 ll take care of it for you . I 39 ve sent the contract over so just fill it up and send me a copy . I hung up and sent to the chatroom, First gen fighter 39 s back . I did not press send, however, since things were already crazy in the chatroom . When the gifts filled half the screen, I turned to look at Xiaoai and thought about the future . I had started to cook, clean, and wash for half a month at that point . I was living like any normal person, except for the fact that I had a Xiaoai behind me . I chatted with her from time to time, and if it weren 39 t for the additional fees, I would think that Xiaoai made a decent friend . Without the cleaning robot and washing fees, I was left with a 10,000 per month payment for the smart housekeeper . With what I could earn from my live stream, this amount wasn 39 t too big of a problem . Ever since I started using the webcam and microphone, fans would greet Xiaoai warmly and call her sister in law . No matter how hard I tried to explain it to them, it was to no avail . It was popular science and everyone knew that she was Xiaomi 39 s limited edition housekeeper . Nevertheless, I never stopped hearing the word 39 sister in law 39 . I started ma.s.s accepting orders and within another half a month, my fans gradually increased back to 130,000 and 170,000 . My cat would climb up to my keyboard and take over my mouse at times, tearing at whatever cables it could get its hands on . Everything was good until one morning when I was woken up by a stream of messages .