CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 165: THE VALUABLE DAD, MASS RELEASE (1/5)

Xia Liang responded to Qingxue with undeniable logic. "Didn’t you tell me you had to go on a trip with your parents?"

Obviously, Qingxue was not satisfied with this explanation.

"But I don’t have to go. Besides, I didn’t want to go in the first place just to be their third wheel."

Qingxue’s heart was filled with resentment as she said this. In the past, every time she went with them, she was just a tool to watch them flaunt their affection and take their pictures.

Xia Liang had originally intended to reason with her, appealing to both her emotions and logic by using the rare family outing as an excuse. But hearing her say that, he knew it wouldn’t be so easy to move on.

So he just blurted out, "Then how about joining us for the National Day trip?"

"Ah? But didn’t you say you already declined for me?"

Qingxue was clearly tempted, but since Xia Liang had already turned down the offer on her behalf, she felt it wouldn’t be right to go now.

At this moment, Xia Liang knew he couldn’t hesitate. This was the perfect excuse for her to hold a grudge against him later.

He immediately said in a serious tone, "It’s fine. I’ll just tell them I misunderstood."

"Forget it."

In the end, Qingxue still rejected the idea of going with Xia Liang. She didn’t want to leave a bad impression on Xia Liang’s family. After all, it would look bad to go back on her promise to travel with her own family, making her seem fickle.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Just then, someone tapped on the glass door to the balcony. Xia Liang turned his head and saw Xi Yiqian holding a coat. Seeing him turn, Xi Yiqian pointed to the coat and mouthed a word.

It was already late September, and since Qingyun City was a coastal area, the nighttime temperature could drop as low as six degrees Celsius. Xia Liang, with his robust constitution, simply didn’t feel it.

He read her lips mouthing a single word: "Cold..."

Xia Liang smiled and nodded.

Xi Yiqian then opened the glass door, draped the coat over Xia Liang, and quietly turned back, re-entering the room and closing the door behind her.

This girl...

Xia Liang chuckled and shook his head.

Since Qingxue had decided not to go, the two of them didn’t talk for much longer before hanging up.

Right after ending the call, Qingxue thought for a moment, opened WeChat, and sent a message to Mother Xia.

"Sorry Auntie, I won’t be coming this time."

Qingxue didn’t have to wait long; Mother Xia’s reply arrived almost immediately.

"That’s okay, it was Auntie who was hasty. But next time, you must come."

Hasty? Hasty about what? Qingxue was confused.

But she didn’t ask any further.

"Sure, Auntie."

...

With that, the matter was settled.

「On the other side.」

Xia Liang, having hung up the phone, returned to the living room where Xi Yiqian and Luu Qi were watching a Korean drama. Seeing him, they made a space for him, and he sat down. Since he was bored anyway, Xia Liang decided to watch with them.

After enduring over-the-top dramatic plot twists like car crashes and amnesia, he watched the two girls silently wiping away their tears. Xia Liang was completely exasperated, unable to understand what there was to cry about.

Shaking his head, Xia Liang said, "I’m going back to my room."

He hadn’t forgotten about Su Yi’s PK battle today.

The preliminaries had already ended. Even though Xia Liang hadn’t sent any gifts in the last two days, Su Yi still managed to break through at rank 20, entering the top 100. Today’s round was the 100-to-50 advancement, which was also based on gift points, and all previous points had been reset to zero. This time, the rule was more straightforward: one yuan worth of gifts equaled one point. Anchors were matched in pairs for PK battles, and the top fifty with the most points would advance, meaning half of the contestants would be eliminated.

Su Yi had started her stream at 7:30 tonight. Tens of thousands of viewers had gathered. Her opponent, having made it into the top 100, naturally had some skill but wasn’t particularly powerful. Unlike Su Yi, this person was an Anchor from a guild. However, she was the type of guild Anchor who only receives a few starter Super Rockets—the kind who probably couldn’t even win a gift battle against Yezi.

Su Yi was still singing. Even without Xia Liang making a move, she had already crushed the opponent’s health bar until only a centimeter remained. Seeing how weak the opponent was, the audience in the stream chat began to lose interest.

"The opponent is so weak, there’s no need for Summer God Hao to even make a move."

"I’m outta here. There’s nothing exciting to see."

"Exactly! I was hoping for a strong opponent today so we could watch God Xia drop a million."

"With an opponent this weak, I guess God Xia won’t be showing up today."

...

Just as a viewer mentioned Xia Liang, a dazzling entrance effect flashed across the public screen.

"Emperor [Your Big Brother Xia] has entered the live stream."

Seeing this name, everyone was stunned for a moment before frantically typing in the chat.

"Holy crap! Is that Big Brother Xia? He really came?"

"No duh! That’s our Summer God Hao! Didn’t you see the Emperor emblem?"

"God Xia, I’m your long-lost son! Do you remember me?"

"Are you accepting any new followers to latch onto your leg, God Xia?"

"Does God Xia need a watchdog? Don’t worry, I don’t eat much!"

...

However, Xia Liang didn’t reply to them.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

One hundred Super Rockets soared into the air!

"Your Big Brother Xia sent Su Sannian a Super Rocket. Click to enter the room and open a treasure chest."

"Your Big Brother Xia sent Su Sannian a Super Rocket. Click to enter the room and open a treasure chest."

...

The two-minute-long scrolling banner made the opposing Anchor want to cry. Was this really necessary? After all, she was already winning by a landslide even without Xia Liang’s gifts. And now he had dropped a hundred rockets straight up. That was a whopping Two Cents, tossed aside without a second thought.

This time, Su Yi didn’t tell Xia Liang to stop, as they had already reached an agreement. She even said playfully, "Daddy Xia, send more."

"Okay!" Xia Liang replied with that single word.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Two hundred Super Rockets soared into the air!

"Your Big Brother Xia sent Su Sannian a Super Rocket. Click to enter the room and open a treasure chest."

"Your Big Brother Xia sent Su Sannian a Super Rocket. Click to enter the room and open a treasure chest."

...

Damn!

"So this is a God of Wealth?"

"As expected of Summer God Hao! He drops Two Cents right off the bat!"

"Is a single ’Daddy’ worth that much? Four Cents for one call?"

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

...

Countless more viewers swarmed into the live stream. Especially on the live-streaming platform, many visitors were just there for the spectacle. What they loved to watch most wasn’t singing or dancing, but a gift-giving war between the rich.

Most people watch live streams for the fun of it or for some interaction with the Anchor. They are ordinary people whose monthly salary might barely be enough to get by, making it impossible for them to spend lavishly on gifts. As a result, people tend to crave what they lack the most.