Chapter 15 Popularity Contest

“I'm going to ogle at the goddess. We'll talk some other time.” Casper's face lit up upon reading the message on his phone. Scrambling to find his headset, he sprawled on his bed and joined the live stream with anticipation, totally ignoring his friends. Felix, Colton, and Remy were rendered speechless. Since he was using an old mobile phone, the app loaded at crawling speed. After staring at the loading screen for more than ten seconds, the app finally loaded. However, it took another while for the video to finish buffering before the stream could appear before him. Casper's expression darkened when he was being forced to wait further. After all, he was already impatient to hear Giselle's voice. At that moment, he had the urge to get a new phone. Luckily, a melodious voice filled his ear and calmed the frustration he was feeling. Consequently, a smile broke out on his face without him realizing it. “Ah!” Suddenly, the singing stopped. It was followed by Giselle gasping in shock. “Mr. Simpson is here! Welcome! Mr. Simpson!” Just as she spoke, the comments section burst into life: Mr. Simpson is here! Welcome, Mr. Simpson! Welcome! Welcome! Casper scratched his nose as he stared at the welcome messages that filled the comments section. He didn't expect to become famous on Giselle's live stream after his altercation with Sawyer in the afternoon. However, he was oblivious to the fact that his actions had caused more people to join the live stream. In fact, more people had joined to see him than to watch Giselle. Since he had garnered so much attention, Casper could no longer watch quietly. With a quick type of his fingers, a Banner emerged at the top of the live stream. Mr. Simpson has gifted a Banner! “Thank you, Mr. Simpson, for your Banner!” Giselle's melodious voice rang out. Smiling slightly, Casper composed a message and posted it: Go, Goddess! Go! “Mmm-hmm.” Nodding slightly, Giselle continued her song with the background music playing. The moment the song ended, the comments section was set ablaze again. “Thank you, everyone, for your support! Please remember to send me your gifts!” Giselle reminded. We want to hear another song! Encore! Goddess, encore! At that moment, many among the audience who wanted to hear more cheered her on. “All right! All right!” Given how much they clamored for her, Giselle naturally agreed as she didn't want to disappoint them. “However, I'm not sure what to sing at the moment. Which song do you want to hear?” The Girl From Ipanema! What A Wonderful World! Fly Me To The Moon! Just as she spoke, many audience members typed in the songs they wanted to hear. “Hmm...” Given the number of different requests, Giselle pouted. She fell into indecision. “Okay, why don't we do this?” Suddenly, she had an idea. “Why don't we let Mr. Simpson choose the song? What do all of you think?” No problem. Sure, let him choose then. Okay. Sure. “Very well, since we're all agreeable... Mr. Simpson, which song would you like me to sing?” “Me?” Briefly stunned by the attention she was showering on him, Casper began to rack his brains. He quickly replied: In that case, I would like to hear Summertime by Nina Simone. “No problem!” Giselle agreed without hesitation. The next moment, the strumming of a guitar was heard, followed by Giselle's enchanting voice. “Summertime, and the livin' is easy. Fish are jumpin', and the cotton is high. Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin'. So hush, little baby, don't you cry...” Closing his eyes, Casper immersed himself in the melody. He could not deny that Giselle wasn't just beautiful but also musically talented. Beyond singing covers well, she could also convey the emotions expressed by the original singers. Consequently, her voice brought him to a beautifully relaxing place. Soon, Giselle finished the last of the lyrics as the accompaniment came to a gentle stop. It's beautiful! Go, Goddess, Go! Mr. Simpson, aren't you going to show your appreciation given that our goddess has sung the song you've chosen? That's right. Show some love, Mr. Simpson! Come on, shower her with gifts! As the crowd cheered him on, Casper smiled and sent an avalanche of gifts. Mr. Simpson has gifted Gigi twenty-eight Yachts. Mr. Simpson has gifted Gigi nine Super Rockets. Impressive! Amazing! Someone who had just entered the live stream asked: Who is this rich and generous guy that gifted her Yachts and Super Rockets just for singing one song? Sheesh, that's nothing at all. Didn't you see the millions given away in the afternoon like it was nothing? Wow! That's unbelievable! Two “warm-up” songs later, the mood of the live stream grew livelier. Giselle did not continue singing. Instead, she spent some time chatting with her fans. At that moment, she suddenly received an anonymous notification. A link-up request? A link-up is commonly used by online streamers to increase their popularity. It is a widespread practice across all live streaming platforms. Prior to this, Giselle's live stream found it hard to break out of its shell. After all, very few online streamers chose not to show their faces. Therefore, hardly any of her peers noticed her, let alone wanted to conduct a link-up session with her. However, after Casper showered her with tons of money that day, she shot right to the top of the daily gifts leaderboard. Her sudden rise in popularity piqued the interests of other online streamers who then wanted to get to know her. What shocked Giselle was that the online streamer who made the request was Jeanette Queen, who was consistently one of the top ten streamers on the platform. Before she knew it, Giselle accepted the request, and the live stream screen split into two. On the left was Giselle; on the right was a new window that popped up. It's Jeanette! Wow! Jeanette is actually here! Jeanette! Jeanette! Why is Jeanette here? Amidst the barrage of comments, the new window finally loaded. A lady with shoulder-length hair wearing an off-shoulder sweater emerged in front of everyone. “Hello! Hello!” The moment she greeted everyone on the screen, the comments section exploded with Jeanette's name. It felt as if a famous celebrity had just stepped in. “Jeanette Queen?” Casper gasped. He was stunned by the hearty reception the online streamer received. Who is she? Why is she so popular? “Jeanette Queen? Casper, did you just mention that name?” Colton, who was playing games on the next bunk, suddenly turned around to ask. “Mmm-hmm.” Casper nodded. “Do you know who she is, Colton?” “Of course, I do! She is a famous online streamer and is extremely popular. Why are you asking? Are you watching her live stream? Isn't she gorgeous?” Squinting, Colton gave him a mischievous look. After glancing at Jeanette's face, Casper squirmed in ambivalence. She looks all right but is still a far cry from Giselle. If Giselle reveals her face on the live stream, she will easily steal the limelight from Jeanette. “Hey! If it isn't today's leader on the daily gifts leaderboard, Gigi... We finally get to link up. How are you?” At that moment, Jeanette's voice rang out from Casper's headset. “Hello, Jeanette!” Giselle replied sweetly. “Hmm... I am curious as to how you look like, Gigi. After all, you are the one who received the most gifts today. Why don't you show your face? I'm sure everyone is curious like me,” Jeanette asked, giggling. At the moment, there was an uproar in the comments section. Most of the comments were about Giselle revealing her face. Watching his phone, Casper furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Jeanette intently. Despite how friendly she looks, her words put Giselle in a spot. I wonder if she did it on purpose. “Huh? This is how I run my live stream. Moreover, everyone comes to watch because of my voice. Therefore, my appearance isn't important,” Giselle replied. “Come on! You're just being petty by not letting everyone else see your face.” Pouting, Jeanette pretended to complain. Not knowing what to say, Giselle would only respond with a wry smile. Casper furrowed his eyebrows intensely. The first attempt might have been unintentional, but her insistence the second time made it obvious that she was trying to cause trouble. It seems by sending Giselle to the top of the charts, she has invited a jealous rival. “All right, all right. Why don't we do this? Let's have a Popularity Contest. If I win, you reveal your face to everyone here. If I lose, I'll do anything you ask. How about that? I'm sure everyone here wants to see your face. You don't want to disappoint them, do you?” Jeanette continued to speak jovially. However, her words had put a lot of pressure on Giselle, to the extent that she was unable to decline. “Erm...” Knitting her eyebrows, Giselle was in a dilemma as to whether to agree. A Popularity Contest between online streamers is a competition in which the winner was the party that received the most gifts from fans. Generally, the loser would have to do something requested by the winner as “punishment.” Usually, such a challenge would only be issued when both online streamers are of similar stature. However, Jeanette was a well-established top-ten streamer while Giselle was still considered a small fry. Hence, the gulf between them was extremely wide. Giselle would have gladly accepted a well-intentioned challenge. After all, competing with such a famous online streamer would definitely boost her own popularity. However, the request Jeanette made was one that Giselle could not agree to. Accept the challenge! Gigi, accept it! Gigi, don't be afraid. We have Mr. Simpson on our side. Accept it! Accept it! Suddenly, the comments section went ablaze with fans egging her on. This put Giselle in an even more difficult position. Under such circumstances, it would reflect badly upon her if she declined the challenge. What am I going to do? Just as Giselle was stressed by her inability to decide, a private message popped up on her screen. Mr. Simpson: Gigi, accept the challenge. Don't worry, I'll make sure you win.