I stopped in my tracks and turned toward the voice coming from inside the dance studio.
My secretary followed my gaze.
“This is the company’s newly signed live-streaming group,” she explained. “Their performances have been doing quite well. A few of the girls are earning a decent amount.”
The one speaking was Alicia.
I raised an eyebrow. So the group I’d been watching all this time… was actually ours?
Alicia was surrounded by several others—the other female streamers in the group.
“Who cares what he wants?” one of them said. “As long as he’s spending money on you, it’s yours. Why overthink it? Maybe he’s just a sentimental older guy who doesn’t expect anything—just wants to support your career.”
Alicia put a hand to her chest and made a gagging gesture.
“Please. What kind of nickname is ‘A Lifetime of Peace’? Even my dad wouldn’t use such an outdated name. Maybe he’s even older than my dad. You think that’s my salary? No—that’s my compensation for emotional damage!”
“I’ve seen plenty of men like that,” another girl chimed in. “They’re probably lonely old men—divorced, with kids who never visit—spending their time online to kill boredom. Who knows where their money comes from? Probably all they’ve saved in their lives.”
“Just wait and see,” Alicia added. “That million is probably almost gone. He hasn’t shown up in a week—he must be out of money. He’ll disappear soon. Honestly, thinking about some old man watching me dance every day… makes me lose my appetite.”
A burst of laughter followed.
“Hahaha! Doesn’t that prove you’re charming, Alicia? He’s even spent his life savings on you.”
“Exactly. Alicia’s the top earner in our group. I’m so jealous.”
“Come on, he’s an old man, but it’s just the internet—we’re not losing anything.”
Their words dripped with mockery and they kept calling me a disgusting old man.
I arched an eyebrow.
So this is what these “sweet” female streamers are like off-camera? The same ones who call everyone Brother in their streams?
I had first stumbled upon their stream over a month ago. Alicia was the center of the group and she caught my eye right away.
At the time, she’d been in the middle of a microphone vote, looking so pitiful that she reminded me of my stuffed cat. So I clicked into the stream and helped her win that round.
Since then, Alicia had followed my account, constantly updating me on her schedule, showing me new dances and fussing over me as if she were concerned.
I rarely replied to her private messages, but whenever I came across their group’s stream, I would casually send some gifts.
As for my nickname, “A Lifetime of Peace”—I’d only downloaded the platform to study its business model. The username was just the system’s random default and I was too lazy to change it.
I never imagined it would become their excuse to speculate about my identity behind my back.
In the past month alone, I’d spent over a million on gifts for Alicia.
Now, watching her boastful expression, my eyes narrowed.
Is a million a lot? Not really. It’s not even enough to buy a decent car.
And frankly, instead of wasting a million on an ungrateful woman like her, I’d be better off buying a car—at least the maid could use it to buy groceries.
That evening, when I got home, I opened the live-streaming platform out of habit. The first stream that popped up was Alicia’s.
“Steve has entered the live stream.”
The moment she saw me enter, Alicia—still holding her microphone—brightened instantly.
“Welcome, Brother Steve! I’m just one thousand votes short of passing the microphone. Are you here to save me?”
