Master of his heart (Max and Brielle)

Emma glanced at the viewer count in her livestream room-half a million. For a moment, she was at a loss. Sure, she'd had thousands of viewers before, but that was mostly due to Leona funneling traffic her way, inviting people to throw shade at her.

But now, these viewers were genuinely drawn in by the dazzling "Enchanted Castle" effects from other streams. They had no clue about her past drama, so the chat was full of compliments about her looks.

More viewers meant more donations, and Emma saw that today's tips, split fifty-fifty with the platform, already totaled over sixty thousand dollars. That was more than she could make in years of foraging in the countryside.

Still, she knew the gap between her and the other streamers was huge. They had hundreds of thousands of fans, while she barely had ten thousand.

Bridging that gap wouldn't happen overnight. But given the chance, given a lifeline, she wasn't about to miss her shot at climbing higher!

Emma took a deep breath, trying to appear calm and collected as she continued her livestream. In just two hours, her followers had surpassed thirty thousand.

Could going viral really be this powerful? It was almost laughable.

On Leona's end, seeing that the "Enchanted Castle" effect had made its way into everyone's streams, she noticed Emma's sudden rise. Could it really be that Emma she knew? It seemed impossible. Who would donate an "Enchanted Castle" to such a country bumpkin? Leona clicked through in a hurry, and what she saw left her in disbelief. Emma's follower count had broken thirty thousand, and her viewer count was an astounding half a million!

Damn it! How did that wretch manage it?

Leona's face soured, but remembering she was still live, she tried to keep her emotions in check. "Wow, Emma's room is buzzing today, huh? Did someone make a big donation or something?"

She chatted with her fans just as one of them returned from Emma's channel, launching into the conversation. "Yeah, someone just dropped a hundred grand in one go. Wonder who that big spender is."

Leona was green with envy. Wealthy patrons like that were what every streamer coveted, and though she herself doled out cash prizes worth several hundred thousand to her fans daily, no one had yet been as generous with her.

Even though she wasn't exactly hurting for money, it still stung. "Really? I'm curious about who that could be."

"Leona, I checked it out. It's a new account, not even verified. No idea who it could be."

A dark gleam passed through Leona's eyes as she pursed her lips. "Could it be some rich kid with no concept of money, just thinking the effect looked cool and clicked on it five times? Some kids do get their hands on their parents' phones. If this blows up, it could spell trouble for Stellar Stage Entertainment too."

Her words were dripping with sarcasm, but her fans saw her as faultless. "Leona's so kind, even worrying about that. My kid once used my phone to donate thirty thousand to a streamer. I was so mad grounded him, and it took a I month to get the money back from the platform."

"Yeah, kids these days just don't understand the value of money, especially when they know their parents' passwords."

"My kid did something similar. If it turns out a kid made the donation to Emma, she's in for a heap of trouble."

Seeing these comments, Leona's

lips curled slightly. "Oh, I was just speculating Still, it's nice to see Emma getting donations. She's been lagging behind in the rankings, so maybe this will help her attract more followers. Then she and her mom won't have to go scavenging anymore. I ran into them collecting

leaves the other day."

Collecting leaves, scavenging for treasures. These stories, spun by Leona, had attracted many followers to her.

Now, the mention of collecting leaves again stirred excitement in her livestream. "I knew there was something off about Emma's livestream background. So the leaves were scavenged."

"Leona's so generous, probably helped them collect, too. Can't believe they've stooped that low."