Billionaire: Literally, My Time Is Money

Chapter 17: This Is Simply Too Miserable

The guild manager of Alexis’ streaming group, Amy—whom Alexis now calls Sister Amy—was summoned at Alexis’ request.

After being called over, Sister Amy posed a few simple questions to Aaron.

Upon learning that he was an avid livestream viewer and, moreover, that his day job was in customer service—practically identical to the role of a livestream moderator—she nodded in satisfaction and allowed him to start immediately.

This counted as an online part-time job, requiring him only to be present whenever Alexis was streaming.

Alexis typically began her streams around seven in the evening and ended at ten.

Of course, this was only temporary; once she found her rhythm, the streaming hours would be extended to about six hours a day.

As long as Aaron was present whenever Alexis was living, that would suffice.

However, at the moment, there were so few viewers on Alexis’ stream that having even one moderator felt like a waste. Consequently, Aaron’s salary was minimal—just $1,500 per month.

Naturally, the job was extremely easy; most of the time, all he had to do was idle in the chat, keep Alexis company, and engage in small talk.

Sister Amy also assured him that if Alexis became popular and the stream attracted more viewers, his salary would be increased—and earning over $10,000 a month would not be out of the question!

Aaron, however, cared little about the income, so he readily agreed to everything Sister Amy proposed.

…

After arranging for Aaron to act as moderator, Sister Amy turned her attention to instructing Alexis. She held high hopes for this young woman.

From the moment of their first meeting, Sister Amy had been deeply impressed by Alexis.

Alexis was a junior at New York University—educated, strikingly beautiful, radiating an air of pure innocence, so unlike the flamboyant, gaudy streamers who flooded most platforms.

Her singing voice was enchanting, her speaking voice soft and gentle.

A girl like this would surely endear herself to viewers.

If luck were on her side, she might even become a top-tier streamer.

That was why, even at the very start of Alexis’ streaming journey, Sister Amy arranged for her to have a moderator—an extraordinary privilege for a newcomer.

“Alexis,” Sister Amy began, “your streams are just starting, so your viewership is bound to be low. Hardly anyone will stumble upon your channel on their own.

You need to be proactive—connect with some of the more popular streamers in our guild. Do voice duets, have impromptu singing battles—anything is better than sitting alone in your room like a fool. You’ll also pick up a few followers along the way.

"Every small-time streamer has to go through this phase before they can rise.”

Sister Amy’s advice was heartfelt; she meticulously taught Alexis the ropes of the streaming world.

Alexis nodded shyly, signaling her understanding.

After searching for a while, she finally found a fellow guild member willing to go live with her.

The other streamer, apparently bored and with time to spare, accepted the connection request immediately upon seeing that it was from a guildmate.

“Hello to the streamer on the other hand, and greetings to your viewers! My name is Alexis; I’m a singing streamer. "It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Alexis said with the customary opening line, introducing herself politely.

“Hello to you too, Alexis, and a warm welcome to your viewers. "I’m Anna, also a singing streamer. "Alexis, aren’t you new? "I remember yesterday was your first day—I even dropped by to show my support,” the other female streamer replied amiably.

“Yes, Sister Anna, I just started streaming and don’t know much yet. Sister Amy told me to reach out and do more collabs. "Thank you so much for agreeing to connect with me—I hope I’m not wasting your time,” Alexis said, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

“Oh, don’t be so formal! We’re all on the same team. I was just idly passing time, so your call came at the perfect moment. "What do you say—shall we have a quick PK and do some dueling songs?” Anna replied with a hearty laugh.

On every streaming platform, female streamers vastly outnumber male ones.

After all, women inherently have the upper hand—even those without any particular talent can attract viewers simply by being pretty and sitting on camera, their presence itself pleasing to the eye.

Even if they don’t become top-tier streamers, earning tens of thousands of dollars a month is often a breeze. And if they happen to catch the eye of a wealthy patron, they can skyrocket overnight.

Male streamers, on the other hand, face a brutal dichotomy: they either rise to the top with a massive fanbase and earn fortunes daily, or they languish in obscurity and starve—there’s virtually no middle ground.

In Glory Guild, where Alexis streamed, all the dozens of active streamers were young women—not a single man among them.

“All right, but… I hardly have any viewers. "I’d hate to waste your valuable PK opportunity,” Alexis admitted sheepishly.

PK opportunities were limited each day, typically reserved for maximizing revenue.

In a stream like hers—where it was just her and Aaron—there was no realistic chance of generating any income.

Likewise, her opponent needed only a token gesture of gifts from their viewers to win the PK, but even that wouldn’t amount to much.

Fully aware of this, Alexis couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Anna, however, dismissed her concern with a laugh: “Oh, don’t worry about wasting anything—small streamers like us could have endless PK chances, and it wouldn’t make a difference. We’re not making any money anyway. My viewers are mostly dummy accounts!”

…

By now, it was past nine o’clock in the evening, and the number of visitors on the platform had increased. Even Alexis’ stream attracted a few newcomers.

She hurriedly greeted them: “Welcome to my stream! A Big Health Potion gift lets you request a song—whatever you like, I’ll sing it for you!”

The “Big Health Potion” was a premium gift on the Tik’Y’Tok streaming platform, priced at $6.60.

In other words, for just $6.60, viewers could request a song—a surprisingly cheap deal compared to, say, paying $20 for a street performer.

Unfortunately, not a single visitor was willing to spend even that much.

Much like Aaron used to do, they were perfectly happy just watching for free.

Despite her repeated pleas, not one gift appeared.

Meanwhile, the PK progress bar on Anna’s side showed “6600”—but don’t be mistaken: that wasn’t $6,600, just $6.60. A $1 gift added 1,000 points to the PK bar.

It seemed someone on Anna’s side had requested a song.

But on Alexis’ side, the PK bar remained a glaring “0”—not a cent had been spent, not even a $0.10 gift.

Alexis glanced pitifully at the empty bar, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

With no song requests, she couldn’t just start singing randomly.

Aaron, watching all this unfold, couldn’t bear it any longer—it was simply too heartbreaking.

He checked his account and found a stash of 67 gift bags, worth $6.70 in total—not much, but better than nothing.

Though these were gifts that wouldn’t actually earn Alexis any revenue, it was still better than an empty bar.

So Aaron selected all the gifts and sent them in one go.