Volume 2 Chapter 4: How About We Stream Together and Become Virtual Idols Together
Gasp—
Looking at the gentle and elegant big sister in front of her, Lin Lin took a deep breath.
She rubbed her small hands excitedly. She felt proud that her guess was right. The big sister’s real-life style really looked like her anime avatar. Feeling both excited and nervous, she stepped closer, stood in front of her, and nodded quickly.
“Ah, I guessed right! You really are Ari-chan?”
The big sister smiled and looked Lin Lin up and down. Then she nodded and praised her, “So cute. In real life, you’re even cuter than your little vampire avatar~”
“Ah…” Lin Lin blushed. “Um, you flatter me. Big sister, you’re… Princess Hydrogen Hki in person, right? You look just like your Live2D model too. Very gentle and mature…”
“Oh? Are you saying I’m old?”
“No, no, not at all!”
Lin Lin quickly waved her hands nervously to explain. Seeing how nervous she was, the big sister laughed again. She pointed at the seat and smiled.
“That’s quite an amazing compliment, haha. Anyway, sit down first!”
“Oh…”
The girl nodded and sat across from her. Since both of them were there now, the big sister started ordering food on her phone while introducing herself.
“Alright, let me properly introduce myself. Hello, my real name is Du Wenmei. I’m currently a full-time virtual streamer. My ID is Hki. You already know that.”
“Mm…” Lin Lin nodded. Seeing that Du Wenmei was now looking at her, she shyly introduced herself too.
“My name is Lin Lin. I’m still in high school. I do virtual streaming part-time. My ID is… Ari-chan.”
“Mm, as I guessed, Xiao Lin is still a student.”
Du Wenmei nodded with a slightly troubled expression. For a moment, it seemed like her fighting spirit had weakened a little after hearing that.
Lin Lin froze for a second and asked uncertainly, “W-What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Ah, wait a moment, I’ll go get the food first.”
Du Wenmei went to pick up their set meal for two and brought it back. She pushed the tray toward Lin Lin and signaled her to start eating. Then she spoke casually.
“Well, the reason I wanted to meet you offline this time is because I recently have a project. I’m looking for some new talents with potential.”
“A project?” Lin Lin held her burger, took a bite, and mumbled, “What kind of project needs new people… um, is it about virtual streamers?”
“Something like that.”
Du Wenmei smiled and said, “Actually… it’s a virtual idol group project!”
“A g-group?”
The girl looked surprised. Du Wenmei quickly waved her hands and explained.
“Haha, don’t be nervous. I’m not working for any talent agency. It’s just a personal project.”
“Oh…”
Lin Lin felt relieved for a moment. Good, at least she wasn’t trying to recruit her into some company and trick her into working.
“Xiao Lin, think about it. Streamers like us who work independently may be more free than those big company streamers. We don’t have strict rules, and we don’t need to worry about big business disputes. But when it comes to promotion and platform support, we don’t get many resources, right?”
Du Wenmei patiently began to explain. Lin Lin nodded again and again.
That was true. She really didn’t have any resources. The only promotion she ever got was when Dog Bro sent her expensive gifts and the platform announced it to everyone…
“You see, your skills are not much worse than some top streamers. But your popularity is very different. You’ve only been streaming for a little over a month, and not even every day, yet you already have more than one thousand followers. If you had proper promotion, you would definitely grow faster, right?”
The big sister smiled gently and continued, “But if things continue like this, not hot but not terrible either, it might be hard to reach ten thousand followers. You might end up graduating in a hurry. It’s really hard to grow in this circle~”
Hmm…
It sounded reasonable, but…
Lin Lin looked at her with suspicion and asked, “So, Sister Wenmei, what are you thinking?”
“Ahem. Of course, being independent or being in a company both have their own advantages. It’s hard to get the best of both worlds. But we independent streamers also have a way to use our strengths and avoid our weaknesses. We can gather our resources and grow together. In other words… form a group! Something like a small studio team!”
Du Wenmei took a big bite of chicken and stretched out her hand.
“Xiao Lin! I have fifty thousand followers. You have one thousand. If we grow separately, we each gain fans on our own. But if we grow together, we can create group fans. Then our growth speed will increase together!”
“Each person becomes exposure for the other. That’s why company virtual idol groups often debut together or do many collaborations. They share traffic. And don’t you think streaming together would be fun?”
Du Wenmei suddenly looked at Lin Lin sincerely and blinked.
Lin Lin quickly pulled her eyes away from the large chest hidden under the sweater and scratched her head.
“Ah… it does sound fun. So, Sister Wenmei, you want to form a small group with me? But… why me? There are many streamers in Huadu, right?”
She was confused. Their follower numbers were not even close. The other girl was not a huge star, but she herself was just a small nobody.
“No, Xiao Lin, you need to be more confident!”
Wenmei reached out and held her hand, speaking sincerely.
“Because I admire you. I think with your ability, you will definitely become popular in the future. Your potential is very high. You’re completely different from those streamers who have tens of thousands of followers but just get by without real skills!”
“But…”
Lin Lin was silent for a moment. Then she narrowed her eyes and looked at her suspiciously.
“Actually… is it because streamers with more followers don’t really want to accept this kind of proposal from you?”
“Uh…”
Du Wenmei quietly turned her head away and pouted. After a moment, she turned back with teary eyes and said in a small, hurt voice,
“D-Do you have to say it so clearly?”
“Ahem, no, no! I didn’t mean to mock you. I’m just a small streamer. It’s already an honor for me to be invited to collaborate with you!”
Lin Lin quickly waved her hands to explain. But soon she looked troubled again.
“It’s just… you see, I’m still a student. Students have to go to school every day. So about your invitation…”
“Ah! That’s not a problem!”
Du Wenmei quickly said, “This is just a small project for now. Just a small group for fun. We can collaborate online remotely. You don’t need to go to a studio every day, and there’s no contract to sign!”
Hmm…
Seeing Lin Lin still thinking quietly, Du Wenmei asked again,
“So… are you willing to join?”