Chapter 42: I Didn’t Want to Buy It Either, But She Called Me Baby

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: I Didn’t Want to Buy It Either, But She Called Me Baby

The livestream had very few viewers, only a dozen or so people.

Her clear, soft voice came through the headphones.

"Welcome, MWqq, to the stream."

"What I’m holding right now is the product from link number one, a small handkerchief made from Flowing Light Brocade..."

[MWqq has placed an order for item number one.]

’An order?’

A flash of pleasant surprise crossed Claire Kendall’s eyes. She hadn’t expected to make a sale so quickly.

After all, a handkerchief that cost a few dozen was not exactly cheap in a market dominated by fast-moving consumer goods.

"Thank you so much for the order, MWqq sweetie!"

’Sweetie?’

The word burrowed into Miles Warren’s ears through his headphones, making his fingertips, which were tapping on the screen, freeze mid-motion.

[MWqq has placed an order for item number two.]

[MWqq has placed an order for item number three.]

...

Claire Kendall was slightly taken aback. Staring at the constant stream of order notifications on her dashboard, she found it hard to believe.

In the study’s sofa area.

Miles Warren wore a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, his deep-set eyes fixed on the woman’s beaming face on the screen.

’Selling a couple of trinkets makes her this happy?’

To be honest, a grown man like him had no use for these silk products.

But—she had called him ’sweetie’.

A flicker of annoyance went through Miles Warren. She was certainly well-practiced at sweet-talking people online.

He wasn’t happy about it, but his hands didn’t stop. It was pure indulgence. He bought everything from the shop’s link, from top to bottom.

In just five minutes, he had spent over thirty thousand.

As Claire Kendall watched her sales ranking shoot up, a sliver of suspicion grew in her heart.

She clicked on MWqq’s gray avatar. The profile was completely empty, and the likes and collections tabs were bare as well. It was clearly a brand-new account.

IP address: Aethel.

’MWqq?’

’Miles Warren’s initials?’

’What’s the qq? Could it be... for Claire?’

’And the IP is in Aethel. Could it really be such a coincidence?’

Claire Kendall’s eyes darted around. She subconsciously glanced at Miles Warren out of the corner of her eye. He was also looking at his phone at that very moment.

She cleared her throat and spoke in a playful, probing tone.

"MWqq, you should shop responsibly. Buying so much... you’re not going to secretly return it all, are you?"

A reply came back almost instantly.

[MWqq: Not returning them. They’re gifts.]

Claire Kendall looked at Miles Warren again. Just as she’d thought, he was typing.

’So he wasn’t wearing earbuds because he found me annoying. He was secretly watching my livestream.’

’This man...’

She gave a slight smile, choosing to see through his act without exposing it.

Claire Kendall softened her tone again, deliberately drawing out her words.

Every syllable was designed to test him.

"That’s good. Thanks, sweetie. Thanks for the support. Mwah, mwah~~"

On the other side of the screen, Miles Warren’s body went stiff. A blush spread from the base of his ears down to his neck.

He didn’t even dare to look at Claire Kendall across the study.

Claire Kendall took it all in.

Suppressing a laugh, she was about to continue her presentation.

Suddenly, a request to link streams popped up on her screen.

"Luxury Selects Vivian," five million followers.

’A streamer this famous wants to link with me?’

This could bring in some traffic and exposure. Without hesitation, Claire Kendall clicked ’accept’.

The screen instantly split in two.

The scene on the other side was brightly lit. The streamer, Vivian, was dressed in haute couture brands and held a luxury silk scarf in her hand.

When she saw that the "Moonstone" stream only had a dozen or so viewers, she first looked confused. Then, her perfectly shaped eyebrows knitted together, her voice dripping with superiority.

"Oh my, did I connect to some little artisan?"

"I’m surprised a dozen people can generate over thirty thousand in sales in five minutes. Little sister, aren’t you being a bit too shameless, selling these few rags for thousands, even tens of thousands?"

The smile on Claire Kendall’s lips slowly faded. She explained in a serious tone.

"These aren’t rags. This is the Flowing Light Brocade technique, passed down from the colonial era."

The streamer Vivian on the other side of the screen flashed an exaggerated smile.

"Flowing Light Brocade? What’s that? Never heard of it. You look so innocent, so why are you busy running scams?"

"Hiring shills to boost your sales? Can’t you leave some breathing room for us legitimate streamers? Stop trying to drive out the good with the bad."

Vivian’s words ignited her fans’ fury.

Her fans instantly flooded Claire Kendall’s stream and began flinging insults and curses.

[One of Vivi’s scarves is worth more than your annual salary.]

[Handmade crafts, my ass. It’s just cheap junk.]

[How many shills did you hire to fake your sales numbers?]

[Scamming bitch, go die!]

...

Claire Kendall suppressed her anger and tried to explain again.

"Flowing Light Brocade is expensive because it’s made purely by hand, and there is currently no machine that can replace this manual process..."

"Alright, alright, cut the crap. Anyone can spout that kind of nonsense to trick people."

She clicked on a PK challenge invitation.

"What? You don’t dare accept?"

’Dare not? With the crown prince of the Warrens of Aethel on my side, what is there to be afraid of?’

Claire Kendall, perfectly calm, directly clicked ’accept’. She added coolly, "Fine. Let’s PK. Whoever loses quits streaming for good."

The bullet comments exploded instantly.

[With only a dozen people in her stream, she dares to act this cocky?]

[One of Vivian’s bags could buy her life. I don’t know what she’s so proud of.]

[Maybe her brain never developed properly.]

Vivian scoffed as if she’d heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Alright. Don’t say I’m bullying you. If you can get one million ’votes,’ I, Vivian, will quit streaming immediately."

"But if you can’t, don’t blame my fan ’babies’ for cursing you out."

One million votes would require one hundred thousand.

The PK had just begun, and Vivian’s side was already flooded with all kinds of extravagant gifts, causing her gift value to skyrocket.

Claire Kendall’s side only had a few scattered likes. Her blue health bar was crushed so small it was almost invisible.

She sat there quietly, not at all anxious. She methodically arranged the silk items in her hands, continuing to show them to the viewers in her stream from time to time.

Vivian, certain of her victory, said mockingly, "Little sister, if you don’t want to quit, that’s fine too. Just get on your knees, apologize to my fans, and promise you’ll never scam people again."

Claire Kendall remained unfazed, continuing her explanation in a gentle voice.

Vivian was infuriated by her attitude. She was about to taunt her again, but in the next second—

[MWqq has sent Carnival x10]

[MWqq has sent Romantic Galaxy x50]

[MWqq has sent Dream Castle x99]

...

In an instant, the most luxurious, top-tier gifts, multiplied by dozens, exploded wildly across Claire Kendall’s stream.

The special effects on the screen couldn’t even keep up.

The opposing gift value was instantly crushed, shrinking to a tiny sliver with no power to fight back.

Vivian’s sarcastic words caught in her throat, the smile on her face frozen stiff.

Claire Kendall watched the screen fill with gift effects, a foxy little smile on her face.

In just one minute, the PK was over.

The notification sound was exceptionally crisp. Vivian’s carefully maintained composure completely shattered.

Claire Kendall lifted her gaze, her voice calm and clear.

"Vivian, remember your promise. A permanent retirement, okay?"