Chapter 187 - 70% to the Streamers!

Just then, Maya, who had finally finished freshening up upstairs, heard voices coming from the dining room.

She paused for a brief moment before suddenly remembering that Lucas wasn’t alone. There were other people in the house.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"...Oh no."

She looked down at herself.

She was still wearing one of Lucas’s oversized shirts. Although it was comfortable, to anyone else it was painfully obvious whose clothes they were.

After hesitating for several seconds, Maya let out a quiet sigh.

There was no point hiding upstairs forever. Since they had already noticed someone was there, she might as well go downstairs.

Trying her best to remain composed, Maya slowly walked down the staircase.

The sound of her footsteps immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The three girls instinctively looked up.

For a brief moment, the entire dining room fell strangely silent.

Among them, only Mia recognized Maya immediately.

After all, Maya Laurent wasn’t just Ashford University’s second campus goddess. She was also the Student Union President.

Whether inside or outside the university, her popularity was extraordinary. Countless students knew exactly who she was.

Seeing Maya suddenly appear inside Lucas’s house...

Wearing Lucas’s clothes...

Even Mia couldn’t stop her eyes from widening slightly.

Meanwhile, Maya could clearly feel all three pairs of eyes resting on her.

Especially Debbie and Daisy.

Although neither of them said a word, the expressions on their faces practically screamed the same question.

"So..."

"Care to explain what happened?"

Maya instantly felt heat rising to her face.

She had never experienced such an awkward situation before.

She opened her mouth...

Only to realize she had absolutely no idea where to begin.

Fortunately, Lucas immediately noticed her embarrassment. Without giving anyone the chance to misunderstand, he smiled calmly and took over the conversation.

"Everyone..."

"This is Maya."

"She came over last night."

"I actually wanted to introduce all of you, but you girls were having your girls’ night at your apartment, so you never got the chance to meet."

He naturally continued,

"And from today onward..."

"Maya will officially be my personal assistant."

He then glanced toward Daisy and Mia before adding,

"If you both decide to join Switch Live Streaming..."

"She’ll also be one of the company’s managers."

The simple explanation instantly eased the awkward atmosphere.

Maya secretly let out a breath of relief.

She couldn’t help glancing gratefully at Lucas.

If he hadn’t stepped in...

She genuinely wouldn’t have known how to explain herself.

Quietly, she walked over and took a seat beside Lucas. Before long, Mia naturally placed a bowl of warm porridge in front of her as though nothing unusual had happened, and the conversation smoothly shifted toward Switch Live Streaming.

Since both Daisy and Mia were already streamers, they were naturally far more interested in the platform than anyone else.

After chatting for a while, Daisy suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right."

She looked toward Lucas.

"There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask."

Lucas smiled.

"What is it?"

Daisy leaned forward slightly.

"I heard in several streamer groups this morning that Switch Live Streaming plans to use a forty-sixty revenue split."

"The platform takes forty percent."

"The streamer keeps sixty."

"Is that actually true?"

This question happened to be the hottest topic among countless streamers across the internet.

At present, almost every major live-streaming platform followed roughly the same revenue-sharing model.

Half of every virtual gift belonged to the platform, while the remaining half belonged to the streamer. Although plenty of people complained about it, most eventually accepted reality.

After all, maintaining a streaming platform required enormous expenses~servers, bandwidth, technical support, recommendation algorithms, daily operations, and endless marketing campaigns.

Especially for smaller streamers, most of their viewers came directly from the platform’s recommendation system. Without that traffic, many of them wouldn’t even have an audience. Because of that, the fifty-fifty split had gradually become the industry standard.

However, everyone also understood something very clearly.

If they could keep just ten percent more of their income...

It would completely change their earnings.

Suppose a streamer received one million dollars worth of gifts in a single day.

Under a fifty-fifty contract...

They would earn five hundred thousand.

But under a forty-sixty contract...

They would earn six hundred thousand.

That additional one hundred thousand dollars...

Could completely transform someone’s monthly income.

Who wouldn’t want to earn more money while doing exactly the same work?

Naturally, the moment rumors spread that Switch Live Streaming intended to adopt a forty-sixty split, the entire streaming community became restless. Especially the larger streamers.

Unlike newcomers, they already had loyal fan bases. Even if they changed platforms, most of their viewers would simply follow them. Their biggest obstacle wasn’t traffic~it was their contracts.

Almost every famous streamer had signed long-term agreements with their current platforms. Breaking those contracts meant paying enormous penalty fees.

Because of that, although many of them were tempted, most could only continue watching from the sidelines.

On the other hand, small and medium-sized streamers faced far fewer restrictions.

Many of Daisy’s friends had already begun discussing whether they should make the jump.

Looking at Lucas, Daisy explained honestly,

"Everyone’s interested."

"They’re just not sure whether the announcement is real."

"So..."

"I’m asking on behalf of all of them."

Lucas nodded thoughtfully before calmly picking up his phone and dialing Paul’s number once again.

The call connected almost instantly.

"Chairman Lucas?"

Paul’s respectful voice came from the other end.

Lucas got straight to the point.

"Paul."

"I heard Switch Live Streaming plans to use a forty-sixty revenue split."

"The platform takes forty percent while streamers keep sixty."

"Is that correct?"

The instant Paul heard the question, his heart skipped a beat.

His expression immediately changed.

For a split second, he thought Lucas was calling to question his decision.

After all, when the management team finalized the 40/60 revenue model, they hadn’t officially reported it to Lucas.

As chairman...

He had every right to reject it.

Paul hurriedly explained,

"Chairman Lucas, I’m sorry."

"I should’ve discussed it with you first."

"I made that decision myself."

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"My reasoning was simple."

"Switch is still a brand-new platform."

"We don’t have traffic."

"We don’t have famous streamers."

"We don’t even have an established reputation."

"If we want talented streamers to choose us..."

"We have to offer something the other platforms don’t."

"So..."

"I decided to sacrifice part of the company’s profits to make us more competitive."

"When the platform grows larger in the future..."

"We can always adjust the ratio again."

Paul’s voice became noticeably more nervous.

"I promise..."

"I wasn’t trying to overstep my authority."

"I only wanted what was best for the company."

Listening to Paul’s anxious explanation, Lucas couldn’t help smiling.

"No, Paul."

"You misunderstood."

"I’m not blaming you."

"I’m actually curious about something else."

Paul blinked.

"...Something else?"

Lucas leaned comfortably against his chair.

"If we only wanted to maintain normal operations..."

"Cover employee salaries..."

"Servers..."

"Maintenance..."

"What’s the lowest platform share we could accept without operating at a loss?"

After thinking for several seconds, Paul answered honestly.

"If we’re only maintaining operations..."

"Thirty percent would still be enough."

"The company could continue operating normally."

"Although..."

"Our profits would become much smaller."

Lucas nodded.

"So..."

"Thirty percent is enough?"

"Yes."

Paul replied confidently.

"As long as we’re not pursuing massive profits..."

"Thirty percent is completely sustainable."

The next second, Lucas made his decision without the slightest hesitation.

"Then change it."

Paul froze.

"...Change it?"

Lucas smiled casually.

"If we’re trying to attract people..."

"Then let’s make our advantage impossible to ignore."

"Starting today..."

"Switch Live Streaming officially adopts a thirty-seventy revenue split."

"The platform keeps thirty percent."

"The streamers receive seventy."

"For us..."

"Thirty percent is more than enough."

Complete silence filled the other end of the phone.

Paul even wondered if he had heard incorrectly.

"...Chairman..."

"...Did you really say..."

"...Thirty-seventy?"

"We only keep thirty?"

He repeated it almost instinctively.

"You have to understand..."

"At thirty percent..."

"The company won’t make much money."

"After deducting salaries..."

"Maintenance..."

"Advertising..."

"There won’t be much profit left."

Running a company wasn’t charity.

Every businessman wanted to maximize profits.

Yet...

Their new chairman was voluntarily giving away another ten percent.

Lucas simply laughed.

"I know."

"But making money isn’t our biggest priority right now."

"Our biggest priority..."

"Is becoming the number one live-streaming platform."

"If sacrificing a little profit can attract more talented streamers..."

"Then it’s absolutely worth it."

Naturally...

Lucas had another reason he never bothered mentioning.

Compared to the company’s revenue...

His cashback system was infinitely more profitable.

The more beautiful streamers who joined Switch...

The more cashback targets he could bind.

By then...

One evening of sending gifts would easily surpass years of corporate profits.

Why would he care about another ten percent?

Paul slowly lowered the phone from his ear.

His entire body felt numb.

For the first time...

He truly understood the difference between Lucas and his former boss.

Back at TikTok Live...

Forget seventy percent.

Even asking Durnik to increase the split from fifty-fifty to forty-sixty had been impossible.

Yet Lucas...

Without even thinking...

Had directly approved thirty-seventy.

At that moment, Paul felt an indescribable excitement.

Following such a chairman...

How could Switch possibly fail?

His voice unconsciously became louder.

"Chairman Lucas!"

"I’ll implement it immediately!"

"I won’t let your trust go to waste!"

"And..."

"It’s my honor to work under someone like you."

After hanging up, Paul immediately gathered every department head for an emergency meeting.

When everyone learned that Lucas had personally approved the 30/70 revenue split, the conference room instantly erupted.

Many employees were stunned.

Some were excited.

Others simply smiled.

None of them had expected their new chairman to possess such courage.

He wasn’t merely thinking about immediate profits.

He was thinking about building the strongest live-streaming platform in the country.

For employees...

Nothing was more motivating than following a leader who genuinely believed in the company’s future.

The entire team instantly became energized.

Everyone immediately threw themselves into work with renewed passion.

Meanwhile, Lucas slowly put away his phone.

"...Strange."

He scratched his head.

"I just reduced the company’s profits."

"They should be complaining that their boss is incompetent."

"So why does everyone suddenly sound even more motivated?"

He genuinely couldn’t understand it.

After thinking for a while...

He simply shrugged.

"Forget it."

"If they’re happy..."

"Then they’re happy."

"At worst..."

"I’ll just give everyone a bonus later."

Money...

Was the one thing he never lacked.

Turning toward Daisy with a smile, Lucas said,

"I’ve already spoken with the company."

"From today onward..."

"Switch Live Streaming officially adopts a thirty-seventy revenue split."

"You stream every day."

"You work hard."

"You deserve the bigger share."

"After all..."

"The gifts your viewers send are meant for you."

"The platform doesn’t need to take any more than necessary."

Daisy’s eyes widened.

"...Thirty-seventy?"

"Seriously?"

Lucas nodded casually.

"Of course."

She nearly jumped out of her chair.

"Oh my god!"

"Lucas!"

"That’s incredible!"

Without wasting another second, she pulled out her phone.

"I have to tell everyone!"

"With a split like this..."

"My friends are definitely going to join Switch!"

She immediately opened the streamers’ group chat and excitedly shared the announcement.

Meanwhile, Maya quietly listened from the side. Although she wasn’t very familiar with the live-streaming industry, she silently memorized every important detail.

After all, if Lucas truly intended for her to help manage the company, she couldn’t allow herself to disappoint him.

Time passed quickly.

After breakfast, Maya gently placed her spoon on the table before standing up.

"I should head to school."

Lucas looked at her curiously.

"I thought you weren’t planning to attend classes today."

Maya sighed helplessly before rubbing her forehead.

"I wasn’t."

"But..."

"A certain annoying bastard changed my plans."

Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

A trace of dissatisfaction flashed across her face.

"There are some things..."

"I need to settle with him personally."

Then she stormed upstairs in anger.