Chapter 291: A Man and a Woman Alone

Feeling Rong Anyao’s delicate body, Jiang Fan didn’t resist this time.

He sighed, an inexplicable sadness welling up in his heart.

“Jiang, I’m scared!”

“It’s okay now, Yaoyao.”

“Jiang, I didn’t mean to get in contact with Liu Yingtai!”

Rong Anyao suddenly explained.

Jiang Fan frowned. The name Liu Yingtai made him uncomfortable.

Rong Anyao continued, “At first, this person just showed up in my livestream chat. He sent me a lot of gifts, but I’m not the kind of streamer who just asks fans for things. I feel like that’s taking advantage of my fans. I’m already more than happy when people just buy my handmade crafts.”

Rong Anyao was completely earnest, and of course, Jiang Fan believed every word she said was true.

She continued, “Later, Liu Yingtai sent me a few ‘Carnivals’—one Carnival is worth several thousand yuan—and said he wanted to add my WeChat to buy my little crafts. I added him, but mainly to persuade him to stop mindlessly sending gifts. But Liu Yingtai said he owned a company and wanted to buy my crafts as gifts for his employees. Then he asked to meet me in person. After I refused a few times, he started saying some very rude things. Basically… basically, he wanted me to be his mistress.”

As Rong Anyao finished this part of the story, Jiang Fan naturally understood what had happened.

This Liu Yingtai was clearly an old hand at this sort of thing.

Back when he was delivering food with Wu Qiang, Wu Qiang often watched livestreams too.

Through Wu Qiang, Jiang Fan later learned about some of the unwritten rules of the streaming world.

Some top donors, or ‘whales,’ will continuously send a streamer gifts, with the ultimate goal of getting them to meet in person.

Of course, most streamers understood what these top donors were after. As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Those top donors weren’t fools. No matter how much they might like a particular streamer, they wouldn’t send a mountain of gifts for no reason at all.

So, as a streamer, one naturally understood the intentions of these top donors.

Even though Rong Anyao was a novice, she understood what Liu Yingtai meant by asking to meet in person.

“I tried to persuade Liu Yingtai many times not to send me so many gifts, and I was even willing to give back the money for the gifts he’d sent. But his words just got nastier and nastier, so I eventually just ignored him.”

“So… Yaoyao, why did you go to the anime convention and run into that Liu Yingtai? Are you a cosplay fan too?” Jiang Fan asked.

He had a feeling that Rong Anyao showing up at the convention wasn’t a coincidence.

And just as he suspected, Rong Anyao said, “A few days ago during my stream, a local anime convention association contacted me. They wanted me to attend their event to help generate some buzz and offered me a handsome fee. I’m not really into cosplay myself, but they pulled me into a cosplay group chat, and the people in there were really friendly. So, thinking I could make some money, I agreed.”

Rong Anyao paused here.

“Then I went to the convention with a group of people from the chat, and that’s where I ran into Liu Yingtai. It was my first time meeting him in person. He approached me and started a conversation. He knew I was promoting lingerie for Xuerong International on my stream and said he was willing to invest and partner with me. He then asked me to go to the convention’s break room to talk in detail. Next thing I know, I sort of absentmindedly drank a glass of water, and after that… I don’t remember anything…”

Hearing this, Jiang Fan understood everything.

It was highly likely that her attending the convention had been part of Liu Yingtai’s scheme from the start.

“Jiang, I felt something was wrong right after drinking that water, so I texted you immediately. After that… I vaguely remember being put into a car, and then I completely lost consciousness. I… I’m okay, right?”

As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face.

“Don’t worry. You were quick-witted enough to act fast, and I got there just in time.”

Jiang Fan then gave her a brief account of what happened afterward, though he downplayed the events, not wanting to cause her any more stress.

Rong Anyao’s face fell as she listened.

“Jiang, you’re not going to get into trouble because of me, are you? I looked up that Liu Yingtai; he really is the general manager of a publicly traded company in Chenel. I wouldn’t have agreed to discuss a partnership with him otherwise.”

“It’s all my fault. Not only did the partnership fall through, but I also caused you so much trouble.”

Hearing Rong Anyao’s words, Jiang Fan was deeply moved.

He reassured her, “It’s okay, Yaoyao. Trust me, I can handle it.”

Jiang Fan hadn’t expected her first thought to be for his safety, not her own. She had only been trying to help him with good intentions, yet here she was, blaming herself.

This, in turn, made Jiang Fan feel even more indebted to her.

He gently released Rong Anyao and helped her lie back down on the bed.

“Yaoyao, don’t worry about Liu Yingtai. I promise I’ll handle it. You’re weak right now, so don’t go anywhere today. And remember, from now on, your safety always comes first, okay?”

“I know!” Rong Anyao replied.

Jiang Fan stood up, but Rong Anyao grabbed his hand.

“Jiang, can you not go just yet? Please stay with me for a little while. I’m a little scared being alone.”

Jiang Fan gave a wry smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving yet. I was just about to get you a glass of water.”

Hearing that, Rong Anyao finally let go of his hand.

Jiang Fan glanced around, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Rong Anyao.

He noticed that Rong Anyao hadn’t lain back down; instead, she had sat up in bed, still looking a little frightened.

Seeing her like this, Jiang Fan didn’t have the heart to leave immediately. After all, it was normal for her to still be shaken after what she had just experienced.

Still, with the two of them alone together, things were undeniably awkward.

After all, Rong Anyao was a young woman living by herself, and here they were—a man and a woman, alone in a room together.

In the heat of the moment, Jiang Fan hadn’t had time to overthink things, but now he was at a bit of a loss.

Jiang Fan’s eyes swept across the room, and he noticed a drying rack not far away, on which hung some of Rong Anyao’s personal feminine items.

The sight instantly made Jiang Fan’s face flush red.

To make matters worse, his eyes met Rong Anyao’s, and he realized she had noticed his little “discovery.”

“Ahem… So, Yaoyao, is this where you usually stream?”

Jiang Fan quickly pointed to another corner of the room, desperate to change the subject.

Rong Anyao pursed her lips, a subtle smile playing on her face.

“Mhm, I stream here every night, starting at eight p.m. and going until two or three in the morning. Occasionally, I’ll stream during the day, too.”

Jiang Fan took a look at her streaming setup. It was pretty decent.