Chapter 53:
"Oh?" A hint of confusion flashed in Tang Yu's eyes. He looked at Yi Hui and asked: "What are the additional benefits?"
Yi Hui gave a mysterious smile but didn't answer directly. Instead, she countered: "Guess?"
Tang Yu couldn't be bothered to guess and simply shook his head.
The fans in the live room had already lost patience and started spamming:
{Just say it already! Stop teasing!} {So annoying! Can't you just say it all at once? Who takes a dump halfway?!} {Yi Hui, I think you shouldn't be a director—you should write novels! Your suspense-building is top-tier.} {......}
The top streamers also burst out laughing.
{Haha! Looks like we still have to learn from Sister Yi! Program effect is exploding!} {I think the extra benefit is probably shorter streaming hours with full freedom to choose times!} {Yeah! Or maybe higher commission rates than our normal SSS contracts!} {Sigh! So jealous… When I joined Douyin, they offered me SSS and I just said yes immediately—didn't even negotiate, haha!} {...}
Yi Hui saw that everyone had been teased enough. She spoke word by word: "Besides the SSS contract, Douyin is willing to give you 1% of the company's shares."
BOOM!
Yi Hui's words exploded in the live room like thunder!
Netizens' eyes widened, mouths hanging open!
No way!
Douyin shares?!
Is this real?
They rubbed their ears to make sure they hadn't misheard!
{WTF! Insane! Face card maxed—1% shares might sound small, but that makes him an owner now!} {I'm just a broke loser, but even I know that 1% of Douyin is worth a lifetime of never worrying about money.} {Douyin is really bleeding cash here! To sign Tang Yu, they're willing to pay this much!} {.....}
Unlike the viewers' shock, the top streamers had a completely different emotion.
Because when Douyin signed them, the best they got was an SSS contract.
Shares? They didn't even dare dream of it!
{Da Sima: Everyone… I'm kinda jealous, what do I do?} {Dai Mei'er: Do we have to call Tang Yu "boss" from now on?} {Tang Daxian: Haha! Sour sweet sour sweet—that's me! I'm so sour!} {...}
Back to Tang Yu.
He was stunned when he heard Yi Hui's words!
Shares!
This was something he had never even considered.
Honestly, for a brief moment, Tang Yu was tempted.
If he signed with Douyin, he'd only need to stream a few hours a day and still earn a very good income.
But that would also mean giving up his freedom.
And right now, Tang Yu's ambitions had already begun to swell.
When he first activated the system, all he cared about was making money.
But now, money alone could no longer satisfy him.
"I want to start a business. I want to become a legend in this world."
Tang Yu silently declared in his heart.
With the system and a 2D harem, he already had advantages no one else could match.
If he still couldn't become a legend with all that, he might as well hang himself with a noodle.
"So… what do you think?" Yi Hui saw Tang Yu freeze and smiled inwardly.
But she understood. If she were in his position, she'd be stunned too!
"Hm. Thank you for the generous offer, but I refuse," Tang Yu said calmly after snapping back to reality.
Yi Hui: "..."
She was stunned.
"What did you say?" She bit her lip repeatedly before asking Tang Yu again. She still couldn't believe someone would reject such a tempting offer.
This was an SSS-level contract! This was 1% of Douyin!
"I don't want to sign," Tang Yu repeated in a tone that left no room for negotiation: "Compared to signing, I prefer freedom. As long as I don't sign, I can stream whenever I want. How great is that?"
Yi Hui was speechless.
For a moment, she couldn't say a single word.
Meanwhile, the viewers' mouths had all turned into perfect O shapes.
{No way! Why refuse? Where else can you find conditions like this?!} {Douyin is the top live-streaming platform in the country! Can't you think about it before rejecting?} {Host… you… you have to reconsider!} {...}
Most of the fans urged Tang Yu to think carefully.
To them, an opportunity like this was once-in-a-lifetime.
Miss this village, and there won't be another shop.
But unlike the fans, the top streamers all secretly breathed sighs of relief.
Tang Yu's current popularity was unstoppable. If he signed with Douyin, they would go all out to push him.
And Douyin's traffic was already saturated.
If Tang Yu absorbed all that traffic alone, the others would be finished.
So when Tang Yu refused, they were genuinely happy deep down.
Of course, they couldn't possibly show those inner thoughts.
So they followed the fans' lead and also tried to persuade Tang Yu to accept.
Meanwhile.
Tiger Cat Headquarters.
In the conference room.
Tiger Cat CEO Tan Guiyang sat at the head of the table. In front of him, his laptop was playing Tang Yu's live stream.
Suddenly he stood up and slammed his palm on the table, his face blooming into a chrysanthemum-like smile.
He had been watching Tang Yu's stream the entire time.
Originally, he planned to connect with Tang Yu and discuss signing him.
But Yi Hui beat him to it.
The moment he heard Yi Hui's conditions, he felt despair.
In his opinion, no one could refuse such generous terms.
But then… Tang Yu refused.
How could he not be shocked?!
After the shock came wild joy!
If Tang Yu wasn't signing with Douyin, then Tiger Cat still had a chance!
Tiger Cat's executives saw their CEO's manic expression and exchanged awkward glances.
But no one dared say a word!
Unlike Douyin, Tiger Cat was founded single-handedly by Tan Guiyang. He held 100% of the shares. He was the absolute boss.
He had complete authority at Tiger Cat.
If someone upset him even slightly, getting fired was just a single sentence away.
"Only 1% of shares? Douyin is really stingy!"
"Since that's the case… then it's mine for the taking."
Tan Guiyang muttered to himself, the corners of his mouth rising high.
His subordinates exchanged glances again.
Tan Guiyang sat back down, scanned the room, and asked: "I want to sign Tang Yu. Any objections?"
"None?"
Everyone replied in perfect unison—astonishingly coordinated.
Tan Guiyang nodded. He moved the mouse and clicked "Request to Connect" in Tang Yu's live room.
If you enjoyed this chapter, thank you so much for reading! Translating these stories takes a lot of time and effort, and your support really helps me keep going and release more regularly.
If you'd like to read a few chapters ahead (or just want to help fuel more translations), consider checking out my Patreon: Patreon.com/arthursink
