1RomanceEB Chapter 26 Crane Immortal
Chapter 26 Crane Immortal
At 9:30 p.m., Chu Sheng sat cross-legged at his desk, with a copy of "Madame Bovary" open in front of him and a glass of warm milk beside him.
Gu Yanru brought the milk herself. Tonight, she was wearing a light gray knitted loungewear dress. Her hair wasn't styled up properly; it was just loosely held up with hair clips, with a few curls hanging down beside her ears. The dress was made of soft fabric, which was quite substantial thanks to her mature and voluptuous figure. Her chest was noticeably heaving, but her waistline was slender, and the hem of the dress swayed gently against her legs as she walked.
When she placed the milk on his desk, her tone was much softer than usual: "Don't stay up too late tonight. You can go online if you want, but don't overindulge yourself."
Chu Sheng was stunned. Seeing him standing there dumbfounded, Gu Yanru gently patted his head: "Auntie isn't here to arrest you, get some rest."
After saying that, she turned and left.
The moment the door closed, Chu Sheng immediately rushed to the door and locked it from the inside, then pressed his ear against the door and listened for half a minute.
He only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Gu Yanru's footsteps had faded into the distance.
Dr. Xie actually managed to change Gu Yanru's personality!
Chu Sheng returned to his desk and pushed "Madame Bovary" aside. He had more important things to do tonight.
He opened his phone and typed in the search bar: How should a new virtual streamer prepare for their debut broadcast?
At first, he was quite excited. Ten minutes later, he quietly picked up the milk and took a sip.
The virtual YouTuber business is much more expensive than he imagined. He naively thought he could just borrow the equipment from Shangguan Fengyi, but the suit was out of the question!
A decent Live2D suit almost always starts at several thousand dollars, with additional charges for binding, facial expression differentiation, hand tracking, commercial licensing, and subsequent maintenance.
"This skin I'm wearing is free." He touched his face and seriously considered the possibility of appearing on camera for a second.
No, let's not even talk about whether this counts as a virtual streamer or not. What if Gu Yanru sees this?
Instead of figuring it out on his own, Chu Sheng decided to ask online. He opened Zhihu (a Chinese Q&A website) and registered a new account.
He thought for a moment and then posted a question.
[A friend of mine wants to become a virtual YouTuber, but he has no money or equipment. However, his persona, looks, and potential for entertaining content are all very strong. How should he choose his account for his first broadcast?]
[A friend is planning to become a virtual YouTuber (VTuber) with a gothic lolita theme. The character is supposed to be a magical girl, with a stubborn personality, good at creating humorous content, and skilled at video editing and makeup. The downside is the limited budget, but they can try to borrow equipment.]
The goal is to become a minor hit in three months, a major hit in six months, and a top star in one year.
What should I prepare for the premiere?
The reply came in less than five minutes after I sent it out.
First, delete the word "friend".
[Don't get involved with virtual YouTubers if you're broke; they're free to dream about.]
[Gothic Lolita? These days, you could kick ten vampires down with one kick in the AV world. It's so cliché.]
[Three months for a small surge, six months for a major surge, a year for a top-tier trend? I suggest your friend try mining in bed; that's a faster way to take off.]
Chu Sheng kept a straight face and finally saw a slightly more serious answer.
Don't overcomplicate your debut broadcast. The biggest problem for newcomers isn't a poorly designed costume, but rather having nothing to say. Prepare a self-introduction, a content plan for the broadcast, ten topics to discuss, and ten self-deprecating jokes. You need to be able to hold your own when no one is sending comments.
Chu Sheng saved this message. Just as he was about to continue scrolling, his private messages suddenly lit up.
[Crane Hermit]: Your friend wants to become a verified user?
The profile picture is a white crane wearing headphones, squatting on a computer chair, with a very smug expression.
[User 114514]: Who are you?
【Crane Immortal】: Former virtual YouTuber.
Chu Sheng sneered. It's a classic internet scam: someone claims to be a senior figure guiding you into the industry. The next step is to say, "I have an insider course here, originally priced at 9980, but today I see you're lucky enough to only pay 998."
[User 114514]: Why is a former virtual YouTuber sending private messages to strangers on Zhihu? Are you trying to sell courses?
【Crane Immortal】: No lessons, but tons of pitfalls. Add me as a friend if you want to listen, otherwise pretend I was never here.
Chu Sheng was now a little unsure, so he clicked on Crane Immortal's homepage.
This account doesn't seem like a newly registered scam account. There aren't many answers, but every single one is packed with valuable information.
[New users, don't rush to sign the contract; check the penalty for breach of contract first.]
If the operations team says "We treat you like family," it's advisable to call the police immediately.
[Graduation, reincarnation, separation—can the person behind the character truly have a peaceful end?]
Looking at these titles, Chu Sheng felt a little uneasy; this person seemed to know a lot.
He hesitated for a moment, but accepted the friend request anyway. The moment they added each other, the other person sent a message.
【Crane Hermit】: What's the budget?
Chu Sheng thought for a moment and gave a conservative reply.
【User114514】: Three hundred.
【Crane Hermit】: Unit?
【User114514】: Block.
【Crane Hermit】: Go back, child, go home and play.
Chu Sheng immediately became anxious.
[User 114514]: I can borrow the equipment!
【Crane Immortal】: Who borrowed it? A relative? An internet cafe? Or the propaganda department?
Chu Sheng was stunned. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs? How did this person know?
[User 114514]: How do you know about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
[Crane Hermit]: You asked about magical girls in your question, but you also asked about virtual YouTubers. If a magical girl wants to become a VTuber, it's most likely she was pulled into a trial role by the Bureau's external publicity department.
Chu Sheng remained silent; this man was indeed quite something.
[User 114514]: Did you really do it?
【Crane Immortal】: I've done it all, lost money, graduated, reincarnated, and failed at reincarnation. My live stream has had a peak of over 10,000 concurrent viewers, and a minimum of 90.
【User114514】: So tell me, what mistakes are newcomers most likely to make on their first broadcast?
【Crane Hermit】: First, you wrote too much background information. Times have changed, nobody cares whether your costume setting is some kind of vampire loli.
Chu Sheng glanced silently at the sentence in the memo, "Lilith, an ancient bloodline from the dark side of the moon, burdened with the sealed destiny of the vampires," and then deleted it.
【Crane Immortal】: Second, you come in and immediately say you have social anxiety. Eight out of ten new verified accounts are pretending to be socially anxious. If you have social anxiety, why are you even a streamer?
Chu Sheng silently deleted the line "Actually, I'm a little shy."
[Crane Hermit]: Third, don't say "I spoil my fans" in your first broadcast. In the VTuber world, that's like a debt declaration. If you don't post anything in the future, your fans can use those four words to write a denouncing letter. The most important thing in the VTuber world is training your fans, not spoiling them.
Chu Sheng silently deleted "Lilith will always be with everyone".
【Crane Hermit】: Fourth, speak even when no one is sending comments. The scariest thing about a new VIP's first broadcast isn't the haters, it's the tense atmosphere.
Chu Sheng became more and more convinced as he read, and even began to take serious notes.
【Crane Immortal】: Let me tell you about the common tactics of this kind of organization. The boss starts the meeting by making grand promises, saying we're going to create our own virtual idol universe. In reality, the office is a shared workstation, the microphones are secondhand, the operations team brings five virtual characters a day, and the finance and art teams are the same person.
【Crane Immortal】: The contract is beautifully written, euphemistically called "resource support." What exactly are these resources? A repost, a poster, a collaborative effort to ride on each other's popularity. If you disagree, they'll tell you that newcomers should be grateful.
[Crane Immortal]: Graduation isn't as romantic as you think. Viewers thought the streamer was saying goodbye in tears, but actually, he's either calculating breach of contract fees or preparing for pregnancy and childbirth. Today he cries and says goodbye, tomorrow he'll be reincarnated in a different costume. Fans pretend they don't know you, and you pretend you don't know your fans. We're all playing house together.
Chu Sheng felt a chill run down his spine.
[User 114514]: Is that person in a better position?
【Crane Hermit】: You have complete personal freedom, but you have to do everything yourself. You'll be the streamer, operations manager, editor, customer service representative, accountant, and public relations manager.
Looking at this sentence, Chu Sheng suddenly realized that he would be very busy in the future.
[User 114514]: So what should be done about the premiere?
【Crane Hermit】: What type of person is your friend?
【Moonlight Researcher】: Gothic Lolita, magical girl, wants to be famous, very attractive, singing and dancing are average, to be precise, she hasn't mastered them yet. But she's good at creating drama, and her stress tolerance is decent.
【Crane Immortal】: Your friend is a bit like someone who failed a talent show and was then forced by the propaganda department to become a V.
Chu Sheng almost jumped up from his chair. How could he have guessed that?