Chapter 52: Jiang Sui, Quite Skilled

Bai Xue’s outburst at Ji Chuan caused her carefully crafted persona to collapse, immediately drawing a wave of criticism from netizens. The hashtag #BaiXueScoldsJiChuan even shot to the trending topics. Jiang Sui learned about this incident while glancing at the comments in her own livestream chat. She wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Bai Xue had always intended to gain popularity by playing the “slacker” role, but that act relied heavily on Ji Chuan’s cooperation. After all, who wouldn’t want to do nothing while having a doting, capable young boss’s son to handle everything? But if Ji Chuan messed things up, then Bai Xue would be exposed as a lazy, spoiled child ordering around an even more incompetent kid. Naturally, the audience wouldn’t blame the child; they’d lay all the fault on the adult orchestrating things.

So, when Ji Chuan bungled the task, Bai Xue couldn’t help but vent her anger at him. Jiang Sui brushed a lock of hair from her temple, the corner of her lips curling with amusement. She deliberately maintained a perfect atmosphere and expression, enough for viewers to screenshot and set as their new wallpapers.

After all, Bai Xue was still just a sheltered young woman with little experience, always under the protection of that man. Her battle experience was much too shallow. Not like herself—she’d played the game of palace intrigue for several lifetimes.

Lu Ye watched the woman on the screen, her posture casual and languid as she reclined sideways in the video feed. Though it seemed an offhanded gesture, every angle and frame was flawless, each image so stunning it was impossible to look away. Seemingly unintentional, yet clearly calculated.

In just a short while, the trending topics of the show had been dominated by her breathtaking screenshots and photos. But actually, it wasn’t just this episode. Even during the previous broadcast, many had already noticed her beauty, and viral images of her had begun circulating.

Jiang Sui knew exactly what she was doing. She seemed to understand precisely how to draw people in, always displaying just enough at the camera to keep their interest piqued.

But—she was never like this in front of him.

A faint crease appeared between Lu Ye’s brows, his refined and gentle features tinged with a trace of annoyance. Still, he sent several more grand rockets as gifts. Beside him, Xie Yuan kept his expression neutral, eyes lowered. Why did it feel so odd, watching the Boss send gifts while watching a livestream?

“Too little,” Lu Ye suddenly said in a cool, detached voice.

“Huh?” Xie Yuan was caught off guard. Had he missed something?

Lu Ye frowned. “The maximum tip is too low. I have to keep sending gifts over and over—what a hassle.”

Xie Yuan was speechless. Was the Boss really complaining that the platform’s maximum tip—ten thousand per gift—wasn’t enough? In just this short time, he’d already sent two million.

The next day, as soon as Jiang Sui’s livestream began, a massive wave of viewers flooded in. Those with weaker connections found their screens lagging like a slideshow or were simply booted out. The platform’s staff worked overtime to expand server capacity, especially setting up dedicated traffic monitoring for Jiang Sui’s channel—just in case her stream crashed the entire site.

In all these years, they had never seen such a surge in viewership.

Riding this wave, Bai Xue’s stream had already begun featuring live product placements. Just as many advertisers reached out to Jiang Sui, but she turned them all down.

Her reason: “I didn’t join this show to advertise. I only signed a contract with the producers to let everyone see my daily life with the child. Since it’s our real life, I want to show everyone our truest selves. It’s not like Xuanxuan and I would suddenly say, ‘This New Year, don’t bother with gifts—just buy health supplements!’ in the middle of a conversation.”

This frank, unvarnished response only won her more fans.

Lu Xuanxuan, exasperated, tilted her head up to look at Jiang Sui. “Mommy Jiang Sui, do we have to recite that again today?”

Jiang Sui, for once enjoying a rare moment of leisure as she watched television, replied, “Of course.” She shot a glance at the man reading on the opposite sofa, a slight frown creasing her brow.