C11 The Server Crashed

Since she started live streaming, she had never seen her chat room so packed with water friends, nor had she witnessed such fervent discussions.

At that moment, the White Rabbits were also live. Initially, they were singing, but soon noticed a drop in viewers. Upon inquiring with the water friends, they learned that the audience had flocked to the live stream titled "This Girl Isn't That Pretty".

She was puzzled. Her post from the day before had caused Tang Qingjing's fan count to plummet, so why the sudden surge in viewers?

With curiosity, she logged in with an alternate account to check out "This Girl Isn't That Pretty" and was astounded by the bustling activity in Tang Qingjing's stream.

As a broadcaster herself, she had never seen such a frenzy of gift-giving by wealthy patrons or such a barrage of comments from water friends.

In a fit of anger, she took matters into her own hands. During her live stream, she made accusations like "Tang Qingjing is being kept" and "The spike in viewership is due to someone behind the scenes supporting her".

But this time, the water friends weren't having it. They bombarded the chat with comments, mocking her claims.

"Her popularity is due to her captivating voice, what does that have to do with being kept?"

"You're just envious of Jing, that's why you unfollowed."

"You should focus on your own stream instead of trying to grab attention by bad-mouthing Jing. It's repulsive!"

"Let's all unfollow and stop watching her stream."

"The more we engage with her, the more we boost her stream's popularity. Let's unfollow and leave. Don't be fooled by her ploy."

...

Heeding the collective call to action, water friends deserted the White Rabbits' stream, and the viewer count dwindled to the hundreds.

Over at SharkTV, the management quickly took note of the "This Girl Isn't That Pretty" streamer's talent, the audience's enthusiasm, and the tycoons' spending sprees, promptly featuring the stream on the homepage.

One hour into the live stream, viewership hit two million.

After two hours, it skyrocketed to ten million.

Three hours into the livestream, the viewer count in "This Girl Isn't That Pretty" room skyrocketed to eighty million.

At 10:09 AM, SharkTV's server crashed—a first in the platform's four-year history. Programmers sprang into action, working feverishly to get the server back online.

Thanks to the collective effort of SharkTV's tech team, the server was restored after a thirty-minute outage. Tang Qingjing, having streamed for over three hours, was feeling the strain and decided to take a break. She checked her phone and browsed through the comments in her Fish Bar.

"This is outrageous. It's definitely a smear campaign. Those White Rabbits are behind this."

"Jing is so talented. Why would she need anyone to sponsor her?"

"Envy comes with fame. Those White Rabbits are just jealous of Jing's popularity."

"Stay strong, Jing. Don't let the gossip sway you. Just be true to yourself."

"We've got your back, Jing, always!"

...

Her pinned posts were unanimously supportive. Any offensive comments were quickly reported by her fans and removed by the moderators.

Tang Qingjing felt reassured by the overwhelming support from her water friends. She then looked at the slanderous posts by White Rabbits and saw that the community was united in the belief that White Rabbits was the one spreading falsehoods.

Following the incident, SharkTV officials took notice of "This Girl Isn't That Pretty" and started monitoring the channel closely.

Upon discovering White Rabbits' claim that Jing was being financially supported, they reached out to her with an ultimatum.

"You have two options. One, delete the post and apologize; or two, face a permanent ban of your channel," declared the SharkTV administrator with authority.

"Why? I'm just stating facts. Why aren't you shutting down her channel instead of mine? Are you really that kind of team, one that mocks the poor and flatters the rich?" White Rabbits defiantly challenged the SharkTV administrator.

"Your post was highly provocative and stirred up the community without a shred of solid evidence. Consider it a courtesy that we haven't taken legal action for defamation."

"Who says there's no proof? I'm heading to her place right now. She's cohabiting with a man and has the nerve to lie to her fans, claiming she's single. Utterly shameless." The White Rabbits ended the call with a click.

The White Rabbits were fellow students at A University, familiar with Tang Qingjing. They had managed to get her address through connections in the Student Union.

Upon discovering that Tang Qingjing, a student on financial aid, was renting a two-bedroom apartment with a living room and bathroom, they concluded that there was more to her than met the eye.

The Shark TV manager started to panic at the White Rabbits' audacity.

If rumors that the modestly attractive girl was being financially supported by someone were true, it would be a significant blow to Shark TV's reputation.

He wasted no time in escalating the issue to his superiors and, following their directive, promptly reached out to Tang Qingjing.

"Hello, is this the streamer known as 'Not Too Pretty'? I'm Shark, the Super Administrator from Douyu. I'd like to discuss a certain matter with you."

"Yes, what's the issue?" Tang Qingjing responded with composure.

She was a minor streamer and had never had a Super Administrator contact her before. But given the surge in her viewership today, which even crashed the Shark TV router, she wasn't taken aback by Shark's call.

"I've come across allegations online claiming you're being supported by someone and that you're living with a man..."

"That's absolute rubbish. The White Rabbits' accusations are unfounded—they're just trying to smear my name," Tang Qingjing replied, her temper flaring at the Super Administrator's question.

"I trust you. A talented and capable streamer like you wouldn't need to be supported by some old man. However, I've just been informed that the White Rabbits are on their way to your apartment to live stream you allegedly cohabiting with a man. I'm not sure what to believe, but I wanted to give you a heads up. It's best to avoid any negative exposure that could harm your reputation."

The Super Administrator believed in Tang Qingjing's integrity but remained concerned that the White Rabbits might fabricate a scandal that could tarnish her good name.

"She has the nerve to show up in my live stream? I was just fretting over how to track her down, and here she is, falling right into my lap without any effort." Tang Qingjing chuckled.