Chapter 293 - 237: The Legend Reappears

Chapter 293: Chapter 237: The Legend Reappears

In the large-scale live stream studio, Lin Qingge stood front and center before the camera. Watching the suddenly clean comment section, her eyes instinctively flickered off-camera to Gu Heng, who was surrounded by a crowd of company executives.

Judging from the executives’ reactions, Gu Heng must have been the one to solve the problem that had been plaguing the company.

Composed, steady, calm, wise...

His upright posture and profound gaze made Gu Heng incredibly charismatic.

There’s a reason why so many young women in modern society are drawn to mature, older men. When they run into trouble, these men can always handle the situation with the calmest demeanor and resolve it with incredible speed.

That sense of security, of having someone to rely on, was the fundamental reason their hearts were stirred.

In response to Gu Heng’s questioning, Chu Zhengxiong quickly replied, "Chairman Gu, as long as Qingcheng Entertainment stops making trouble, we can keep pouring money into promotion. The stream’s traffic should pick back up quickly."

"How long has the stream been live?"

Gu Heng asked Chu Zhengxiong.

"Almost two and a half hours."

Chu Zhengxiong glanced at his watch and answered truthfully.

"How long is the debut stream scheduled for?"

Gu Heng’s gaze fell on the seven girls in front of the camera. After so long under the hot lights and dancing nonstop, their makeup was beginning to run, and none of them looked to be in top condition.

"Four hours."

Chu Zhengxiong answered again.

Gu Heng mulled this over for a moment. "Chairman Chu, give the girls half an hour to rest in shifts. Once they’ve all had a break, I’ll help you drive traffic. Your methods are too slow."

"Okay."

"We’ll do as Chairman Gu says."

Chu Zhengxiong agreed immediately, without a hint of hesitation.

After what had just happened with Qingcheng Entertainment, he knew that the power Gu Heng wielded was far beyond his imagination.

Once Chu Zhengxiong and Gu Heng gave the word, the stream host immediately followed the two top executives’ orders. He activated a preset contingency plan and had the girls rotate off-camera for a break.

As the one who had received the most gifts during the broadcast, Lin Qingge was in the last group to be rotated out for a break.

Gu Heng, who had been discussing matters with Chu Zhengxiong and the others by the control booth, saw Lin Qingge step away from the camera and walked straight toward her.

"How are you holding up?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

The makeup artist touching up Lin Qingge’s face saw the company’s top executive suddenly appear before them. She instinctively started to stand and greet him, but Gu Heng raised a hand to stop her, signaling for her to continue her work.

"I’m fine."

Lin Qingge hadn’t expected Gu Heng to approach her in front of everyone. A flicker of joy lit up her bright eyes as she replied in a clear, crisp voice.

"Don’t be nervous."

Gu Heng reassured her. "With your level of professionalism, you’ll be perfectly fine."

"Mhm!"

Lin Qingge nodded. Then, with a hint of anticipation in her eyes, she asked Gu Heng, "How long will you be here today?"

"I’ll probably be here until your group stream ends,"

Gu Heng replied with a smile.

In the distance, the moment Gu Heng had walked toward Lin Qingge, the gazes of the many company executives had followed him, all landing on her.

"Who’s that?"

Chu Zhengxiong asked quietly.

"Chairman Chu, her name is Lin Qingge."

Feng Ming, the acting general manager of Xingchuan Entertainment, immediately stepped forward. "She’s a freshman in the vocal performance department at the Jilin University School of Art. Just turned eighteen this year."

"How does she know Chairman Gu?"

Chu Zhengxiong nodded slightly.

"Well..."

Feng Ming replied in a low voice, "I’m not entirely sure."

"Keep a close eye on her. Nurture her talent carefully."

Chu Zhengxiong instructed, "And don’t let any of that industry nonsense bother her."

"Understood."

Feng Ming replied with his head bowed.

In truth, even if Chu Zhengxiong hadn’t said a word, he was already planning to do just that.

The mere fact that Lin Qingge was acquainted with Gu Heng was enough to make him treat her with the utmost importance.

「Five minutes later.」

Gu Heng returned to Chu Zhengxiong’s side. Lin Qingge, having composed herself, was back in front of the camera.

"Chairman Chu, what are the viewership expectations for this debut group stream?"

Gu Heng asked Chu Zhengxiong.

"It would be great if we could hit thirty thousand concurrent viewers."

Chu Zhengxiong answered honestly.

"Oh..."

"That shouldn’t be too difficult."

Gu Heng replied, then silently took out his phone.

Ever since that night he’d extravagantly spent seventy million, the account "Prince Heng" hadn’t made a public appearance. Even when Gu Heng occasionally browsed streams he found interesting, he always entered using the "Anonymous" status.

As Gu Heng deactivated his "Anonymous" status and entered the stream under his real account, a dazzling entrance animation immediately flashed in the bottom-left corner of the Xingchuan 001 stream.

Seeing this, the stream host shot up from his seat, his eyes wide with utter shock.

"Welcome, Prince Heng!!!"

The host was beside himself with excitement, his voice cracking under the strain.

Upon hearing the host’s announcement, the reaction of every staff member in the large studio was virtually identical to his.

"Prince Heng? Did I hear that right?!"

"Holy shit, a Level 75 account! It really is Prince Heng!"

"What’s going on? Why would Prince Heng suddenly show up in our stream?!"

"I think this is his first public appearance since that night!"

...

Many of the staff on site were industry veterans. They all knew about the event that had shaken the entire live-streaming world that night, so they understood perfectly well what the name "Prince Heng" represented.

A living legend.

His legendary feats were unparalleled across the entire web!

In the stream chat, many viewers had heard the stories of Prince Heng. Now, seeing the internet-famous legend appear before their very eyes, the chat exploded.

"It really is Prince Heng! I used to follow him!"

"Good lord, what did Xingchuan 001 do to deserve a visit from Prince Heng?!"

"Don’t tell me we’re about to witness history tonight?"

"Talk about hitting the jackpot! These girls are so lucky!"

...

In stark contrast to the wildly excited staff and viewers, the company executives looked completely dumbfounded.

"Chair... Chairman Gu..."

"Could you possibly be..."

"...the Prince Heng from the internet?"

President Zhou Gang stared at the screen of Gu Heng’s phone, feeling a strange sense of unreality.

Xingchuan International Group was undergoing an industrial transformation. As the group’s executive president, he had begun closely monitoring their target sectors six months prior. Naturally, he had also heard about the event that had rocked the entire live-streaming world that night.

Spending seventy million in a single night—he was well aware that before Xingchuan International Group had secured its latest financing, the company’s annual net profit was only slightly more than that.

In other words, this "Prince Heng" had thrown away nearly a year’s worth of Xingchuan International Group’s net profit in a single evening.

Even Zhou Gang had been in awe of such an extravagant display.

And yet, this living legend was now standing right before him. How could he not be shocked?

"That’s me."

Gu Heng replied with a faint smile.

"My God!"

"Chairman Gu, you’re truly a man of hidden depths!"

Hearing Gu Heng’s personal confirmation, Zhou Gang was shocked beyond words.

"What’s going on?"

Watching everyone’s reactions and listening to the exchange between Zhou Gang and Gu Heng, Chu Zhengxiong realized Gu Heng must have done something incredible again. He turned and quietly asked Feng Ming, who was standing beside him.

"Chairman Chu, it’s like this..."

Feng Ming’s reaction was actually quite similar to Zhou Gang’s; he had also never imagined that Gu Heng was the legendary Prince Heng of the live-streaming world. Now, faced with Chu Zhengxiong’s question, he quickly recounted the events of that night in the simplest terms.

As Chu Zhengxiong gradually understood the full story, the way he looked at Gu Heng began to change.

Now he finally understood why Qingcheng Entertainment had folded so quickly after Gu Heng made his move.

Trying to compete with a man like Gu Heng in a battle of cash flow?

That wasn’t just courting death; it was a guaranteed suicide mission.

No wonder Gu Heng had said their methods for driving traffic were too slow. He knew perfectly well the kind of influence and appeal his account commanded.

Even as he was faced with the shocked stares of everyone around him, Gu Heng’s expression remained as calm as still water. He silently opened the gift menu on his account. His eyes fell on the special gift pinned at the very top—one custom-made for him by TikTok’s official live-streaming team—and a flicker of keen interest appeared in their depths...