Although Phoebe had been a streamer for a while, her content was quite monotonous. Aside from her pretty face, there was nothing particularly special about her streams. Moreover, unlike other female streamers, Phoebe didn't go out of her way to flatter wealthy viewers, so she received very few gifts each month.
The appearance of a "Battleship" gift in Phoebe's stream was a first.
Phoebe's big, watery eyes widened in disbelief, as if she couldn't believe what was happening.
The number of viewers in her stream began to increase again, going from a few hundred back to over ten thousand. "Who is 'Gone with the Wind'?"
"This is insane! A gift worth over two thousand dollars?"
"Is this person Phoebe's boyfriend?" "Who are you, Gone with the Wind?"
The chat exploded with comments, all speculating about the identity of 'Gone with the Wind.'
Brentley, watching the stream of comments, smiled faintly but didn't offer any explanations.
Brentley thought Phoebe was a kind-hearted girl, despite her somewhat aloof appearance. If it weren't for Phoebe, he might have been kicked out by his landlord today. So, he had registered an account and sent her a Battleship gift!
Two thousand dollars might be a lot for ordinary people, but for Brentley, it was nothing.
Phoebe sat there in a daze, even forgetting to thank Brentley.
"Wind, you're pretty bold, huh? I just said I was going to ban this streamer, and here you are showering her with gifts. What are you trying to say?" At that moment, a comment from Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan flashed across the screen.
Brentley saw the message on the screen and smirked disdainfully, choosing not to respond.
"Hey, rich boy, feeling confident with your money? Let's have a showdown today. I'll spend in Bunny's stream, and you spend in that other girl's stream. Whoever loses has to call the other 'Daddy!'"
Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan continued to taunt after Brentley remained silent.
"Go for it, Gone with the Wind!"
"Yeah, don't back down, Gone with the Wind!"
The viewers, eager for drama, began cheering on Brentley.
Phoebe, noticing the messages, quickly intervened, "Gone with the Wind, you've already given me an aircraft carrier gift, and I'm really grateful. Please don't engage with this kind of person!"
"Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan just sent ten rockets in Bunny's room!" "Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan just sent twenty rockets in Bunny's room!"
"Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan just sent fifty rockets in Bunny's room!"
At that moment, Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan had spent nearly $10,000 worth of gifts in another female streamer's room.
Meanwhile, Phoebe's stream remained quiet.
"Gone with the Wind, weren't you all high and mighty just now? Why so silent now? Come on, match my gifts!"
"Gone with the Wind, cat got your tongue? A broke guy like you thinks he can compete with me?"
"I'll crush people like you. If you don't dare to spend more, just call me 'Daddy' now, and I'll let you off!"
Seeing Brentley's lack of response, Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan continued to mock him through the chat.
Moreover, the fans who originally supported Gone with the Wind had now switched sides, joining Young Master Jordan in mocking him.
"Gone with the Wind just sent fifty aircraft carriers to Phoebe's room!"
At that moment, an enormous message floated across the platform.
Fifty aircraft carriers!
That's a whopping one million dollars!
It was as if the entire platform fell silent after seeing that message.
Phoebe sat there in a daze, feeling like it was all too unbelievable. Someone had just sent her a million dollars' worth of gifts in one go!
"That's insane, a million dollars!"
"Who on earth is this Gone with the Wind?"
After a brief moment of silence, the viewership in Phoebe's live stream skyrocketed to over 200,000, with countless messages flooding in.
Phoebe stared at her computer screen, completely dumbfounded!
"Where's Young Master Jordan? Wasn't he supposed to compete with Gone with the Wind in sending gifts?"
"Yeah, Young Master Jordan, keep going! Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Young Master Jordan, keep it up!"
The previously mocking Sunshire City's Young Master Jordan seemed to vanish into thin air after seeing Brentley send a million-dollar gift. He was nowhere to be found.
Brentley noticed his phone buzzing incessantly. Countless beautiful streamers and their fans were trying to add him as a friend. Some streamers even sent him explicit photos, but Brentley had no interest in these women.
"Gone with the Wind, thank you! Really, thank you so much!" Phoebe's voice was unusually tense as she exclaimed.
Her expression was no longer as composed as before.
"Money doesn't give you the right to trample on others' dignity. The wheel of fortune turns; don't underestimate the young and poor!" Brentley typed these words slowly and sent them before logging off and turning off his phone, ready to sleep.
As he closed his eyes, memories of his nearly twenty years of life began to flood his mind. He had never imagined that he would one day be able to spend money so lavishly or that women would throw themselves at him.
All of this, every bit of it, was because of money!
"Ophelia, you loved money so much. If you had waited just one more day before breaking up with me, you might have become the richest woman in the world. But unfortunately, you missed that chance!" Brentley couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Ding!"
At that moment, Brentley's phone suddenly chimed. He glanced over and saw that Phoebe had sent him six hundred dollars, probably from her recent live-stream earnings.
"Hey, are you asleep?" The phone chimed again, and Brentley picked it up to see that it was another message from Phoebe!
"Why would Phoebe talk to me? Could she have recognized that I'm 'Gone with the Wind'?" Brentley Carter felt a jolt of surprise and quickly picked up his phone to reply, "Not yet, why?"
"Come to my room, I'll treat you to something!
Hurry up!" Phoebe responded swiftly.
"She wants me to go to her room? What is this girl up to?" Brentley's confusion deepened as he read her message. After a few seconds of hesitation, he decided to put on his clothes and leave his room.
Brentley thought Phoebe was quite attractive. Even if she had some ulterior motives, he wouldn't be at much of a loss.
Knock, knock!
Brentley gently knocked on the door.
Phoebe opened the door slightly and smiled, "You came? Come on in!"
Entering the room, Brentley realized he might have over thought things. Phoebe had already set up a meal on the dining table.
"Why did you suddenly decide to invite me for dinner?" Brentley asked softly.
"I was in a good mood today and wanted to share it with someone. But I don't have any friends here, so I called you over!" Phoebe replied with a cheerful smile. She then recounted the events that had happened during her live-stream earlier. Brentley listened quietly, occasionally feigning surprise, as Phoebe had no idea that the generous benefactor she was talking about was actually him.
"I wonder who that 'Gone with the Wind' guy really is? How old is he?" Phoebe mused aloud while nibbling on some snacks.
"Just a rich guy," Brentley replied nonchalantly.
"Of course, he must be rich. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent me so many gifts. You have no idea, when he was showering me with gifts in the live-stream, I was really moved. If he's handsome, I wouldn't mind marrying him!" Phoebe said softly.
Brentley was taken back by her words and then asked gently, "Do all girls like rich guys?"
"Who says that? I don't like rich guys!" Phoebe quickly retorted.
"Then why were you moved by that rich guy?" Brentley asked softly.
"I was moved because he helped me out!" Phoebe explained seriously, looking at Brentley.
"Helped you out?" Brentley frowned slightly.
"Yeah, a year ago I ran away from home. I've been struggling on my own ever since, feeling lonely and helpless. I don't have many skills, so I became a streamer to make some money to support myself. But I never intended to sell my dignity for streaming. I have my limits. Many people have bullied me, but no one has ever helped me. 'Gone with the Wind' was the first person to help me online," Phoebe said slowly.
"Why did you run away from home?" Brentley asked softly, taken aback.
"It's... it's nothing!" Phoebe replied dismissively, then looked at Brentley and said, "Enough about me. Let's talk about you. I don't even know your name yet!"
Brentley gave a brief introduction of himself and then shared his story with Ophelia.
Both Phoebe and Brentley were alone in this city. Although Phoebe's life was slightly better than Brentley's, they found common ground and chatted while eating.
It wasn't
until past 2 a.m. that Brentley returned to his room and collapsed into bed.