At the time, when Qiao Liang criticized “Lonely Desert Highway,” he never intended to promote Tenda. He just made a video on a whim, mainly to gain popularity for himself.

Although the outcome was a win-win—the game became popular and Qiao Liang gained attention—after all, the show was meant for criticism, and he had been so harsh. How could the game’s producer not hold a grudge against him?

He could only hope that the producer would be magnanimous…

Soon, Lü Mingliang replied.

“Mr. Pei is very pleased, but he says this video must be posted in the ‘This Month’s New Game Recommendations’ series, and the commentary script cannot be changed. Also, you can’t let viewers feel it’s ironic; your acting must be convincing, like it’s coming from the heart.”

Qiao Liang was stunned.

It’s over—this Mr. Pei does hold grudges!

He just wants to see me humiliated!

Although “This Month’s New Game Recommendations” was a series specifically for monetization, and viewers were well aware of this, praising a game so shamelessly would attract criticism!

Moreover, since this series was inherently for monetization, viewers wouldn’t think it was ironic or sarcastic.

Plus, Mr. Pei required convincing acting, like it was coming from the heart…

It was foreseeable that viewers would see this video as lowering the standards of selling out, as Qiao Laoshi betraying his own integrity!

Mr. Pei was doing this on purpose, right?

Revenge—this was undisguised revenge!

He wouldn’t take this job, no matter how much money they offered!

Qiao Liang immediately typed a reply: “I’m sorry, Mr. Lü, but this requirement is too demanding. I don’t think I can do it. Please find someone else.”

Lü Mingliang: “Six thousand, Mr. Qiao!”

Qiao Liang: “…”

Will you ever stop?

You’re just going to keep raising the price to test my moral limits, just to humiliate me, right?

This wasn’t about the money, though six thousand was indeed very tempting…

Qiao Liang’s heart was weeping.

Such a large sum of money!!

With six thousand, if he spent it carefully, it would be enough to live comfortably for two months.

Two months without working, just playing around—what an enormous temptation…

He was struggling intensely inside.

Ah, he still couldn’t get over this hurdle, couldn’t lower himself to that level.

After much consideration, Qiao Liang began typing.

“This isn’t about money.”

Just as he typed halfway, a new message came through.

“Mr. Qiao, I just consulted with Mr. Pei again, and he says we can go up to ten thousand! This should be the final offer. I know you’re a video creator who values your reputation. If you don’t want to accept, we won’t force you.”

Qiao Liang’s hand trembled, and he accidentally hit the Enter key.

“This isn’t about money.”

The two sentences were sent one after another.

It looked as if Qiao Liang was firmly refusing.

Lü Mingliang: “Alright then, I wish you success in your work. I won’t bother you anymore.”

Qiao Liang panicked instantly. Wait, that’s not what I meant! Don’t go!

He quickly typed on the keyboard, his typing speed—honed from being single for over twenty years—reaching its peak at this moment.

“This isn’t about money.”

“Mr. Pei is my old friend, I’ll help him with this!”

The message was sent.

Qiao Liang breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this Lü Mingliang hadn’t blocked him immediately.

Lü Mingliang: “Really? That’s great! I’ll send you more video materials right away.”

As Qiao Liang received these new video materials, in the span of just a few minutes, his emotions had gone from anger to worry, to fright, to secret joy…

In the end, his mind was now calm as still water.

Would posting in “This Month’s New Game Recommendations” damage his reputation?

It’s just monetization, nothing to be ashamed of!

The viewers would surely understand, yes, that’s it!

……

……

“Qiao Laoshi accepted?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

In the office, Pei Qian listened to Lü Mingliang’s report and nodded with satisfaction.

That’s what you get for messing with me!

Without you, my 50,000 yuan loss might have changed the entire script!

Qiao Laoshi must be the first to release the video. Let’s see how he handles it with ease.

Of course, Pei Qian wasn’t only seeking revenge; part of his reasoning was that he feared repeating the outcome of “Lonely Desert Highway.”

According to Qiao Laoshi, if it was posted in “Trashing Garbage Games,” and if it became popular again because of the criticism, Pei Qian would rather bang his head against a wall.

So, it would be posted in the lowest-traffic, least-watched “This Month’s New Game Recommendations,” with “I’m getting paid for this” written all over it—absolutely no problem!

Just thinking about how such a simple pleasure could be achieved with just 10,000 yuan of system funds, Pei Qian couldn’t help but smile.

However, in front of Lü Mingliang, he had to remain composed; he couldn’t break character.

“What about the other content creators?” Pei Qian asked.

Lü Mingliang answered truthfully: “Some still refused even after we raised the price, but quite a few accepted—more than half.”

“Initially, most people refused when they saw the script, but when they heard that other video creators would also be saying the same commentary, that they wouldn’t be the only or first ones to post the video, that they could delete the video after a month, and considering we offered them more money, many agreed.”

Pei Qian was very satisfied with this.

Indeed, no matter how embarrassing the script, as long as you pay enough, someone will read it.

And for other video creators, the matter wasn’t so serious; at most, it would just be a bit of embarrassing history.

If N content creators had already posted it, they would just be re-voicing the same script, nothing major.

The first video creator to post would have the hardest time, because initially, viewers wouldn’t understand the situation. Having been fed garbage, their anger would naturally concentrate on him.

Pei Qian planned to let Qiao Laoshi be that first one.

As for why…

Heh, Mr. Pei is a petty person. Is that a problem?

……

……

In the rental apartment.

Qiao Liang had to hold his nose to barely make it through watching the video he had recorded.

“What have I done…”

Qiao Liang’s feelings were very complicated now.

On one hand, making a video for ten thousand yuan—money had corrupted his will.

On the other hand, he felt very uncomfortable.

Because eating shit was much harder than he had imagined…

Logically, this job shouldn’t require much work—just reading the script and cutting the provided videos. It should have taken just a day or two.

But Qiao Liang had struggled for five whole days, right up to the deadline, before he finally felt it was acceptable.

Just to make the “slurp slurp” tongue-licking sounds as required, Qiao Liang had to practice seven or eight times before it no longer sounded awkward.

All that time was spent on this!

Tomorrow would be April 1st, April Fools’ Day.

According to the original plan, Tenda’s new game would be released on this day, and Qiao Liang would also release his video on the same day.

Qiao Liang felt grateful; it seemed Mr. Pei still had some conscience!

Releasing it on April Fools’ Day would make many viewers think the video was an April Fools’ joke, reducing the criticism Qiao Liang would face.

However…

Also, because it was April Fools’ Day, wouldn’t more people watch the video?

“Forget it, I don’t care anymore.”

“I’m getting paid to do a job. At worst, I’ll post the video and then not log in again, hiding like a turtle with its head pulled in.”

“With ten thousand yuan in hand, I’ll just play games every day, vanish from society until the storm passes!”