Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Living on the outskirts had one major downside: the round trip into the city always ate up at least two hours on the road.
On the return bus, Jiang Li slid into the rearmost row—an inconspicuous spot by the window.
Kakayan had shopped until she was drained. Blame it on a mage's famously fragile constitution: her head drooped against the glass, eyelids fluttering with exhaustion.
Jiang Li felt fine, apart from the sting of dropping an extra ninety-nine yuan on a red cord.
While the bus rocked along, he fished out his phone to check on his latest video. Today's view count had already jumped by another twenty thousand. He'd been too busy playing tour guide to Kakayan to skim the new comments.
Most viewers were friendly—compliments and harmless memes. Still, the occasional troll always lurked in the comment section. As long as the algorithm kept pushing the clip, he had to watch the comments and the live barrage, deleting any toxic posts the moment they appeared.
After a quick sweep, he decided the thread was safe. Barring surprises, the video should top one-hundred-thousand views before it cooled off. He hadn't expected to earn much at first, but if every upload performed like this—six or seven a month—he could pull in two or three thousand yuan just from the traffic.
Originally he'd planned to spend this time helping Kakayan settle into Earth life. Using her looks to launch a vlog channel had been a side experiment. The numbers, though, were ridiculous. If they kept this up, Kakayan could easily become a minor internet celebrity under his management—though she still hadn't noticed. Every time he aimed the camera at her, she behaved as if nothing special were happening. That natural ease in front of the lens was a gift.
Once the comment patrol was done, Jiang Li opened today's raw footage. Two idle hours on the bus were perfect for previewing the clips and mapping out his edit. He'd actually cleared his phone's memory before leaving, terrified of a "storage full" warning mid-shoot.
He started the playback at double speed. Kakayan, head lolling against the seat, turned and yawned softly. "You can really earn money just from these videos?"
"Not yet." Jiang Li tilted the screen toward her. "These are only raw material—lots of junk, but a few perfect moments. Like your face when you tasted the ice cream, or your reaction to that jade cabbage."
"After I cut the good bits together into a ten-minute video and post it online—then we make money."
To illustrate, he opened the previous upload. Kakayan had never actually watched it. On-screen, she and Jiang Li were devouring xiaolongbao and trying on clothes.
"Jiang Li, what does 'so fierce' mean?" She tapped the video, pausing on the moment she'd stepped out of the boutique.
"It means they think you're gorgeous."
"Oh..." She nodded, half understanding.
"What about 'so much vibe'?"
"Same thing—they're saying you're gorgeous."
"Oh..."
"And this 'AUG' thing?"
"That one I'm deleting."
Tired of holding the phone, Jiang Li handed it over and let her scroll.
When the video ended, Kakayan returned the phone. Jiang Li's instinct was to pocket it.
"Jiang Li," she said idly, "someone messaged you. A white line popped up at the top of the screen, but it vanished before I could read it."
"Why didn't you say so?"
He opened the app and found a business inquiry from two minutes ago. Quick fingers flew over the keyboard.
[Could you tell me exactly what kind of collaboration you have in mind?]
The reply arrived moments later—long and detailed. The sender ran a small brick-and-mortar shop in the same city and wanted to know if Jiang Li could shoot a video there. Simple enough: they needed foot traffic and weren't pretending otherwise.
Jiang Li thought for a second, then asked the obvious: "What's your offer?"
Industry standard was roughly one-tenth of follower count. With twelve thousand followers, a thousand yuan would satisfy him. He hit send and waited.
Silence.
Frowning, Jiang Li tapped into the stranger's profile. Level-two account. His heart sank.
"What's wrong?" Kakayan asked, noticing the change in his expression.
"Nothing. Might've just met a scammer."
"Did you lose money?"
"No, just got my hopes up."
"Oh..."
Yet just as Jiang Li was about to pocket the phone, a new message blinked on-screen.
[We're just a tiny shop—no real budget. Would a free meal be enough?]
A free meal?
He glanced at Kakayan. "Free food—worth it?"
"Totally worth it." She nodded.
After a brief pause, Jiang Li typed:
[Cover our transport and one free meal.]
The reply came instantly.
[Deal.]