Late Night Livestream

Phoenix City, Xia country.

Jade Apartments. 

10 PM

Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, steady and unhurried.

A faint rustling broke the silence, followed by a soft click that echoed in the corridor.

Yun Qingqing pushed open the door to her apartment. Before she could step inside, her cat enthusiastically greeted her.

"Meow? Meow! Meow!"

Her amber eyes lit up with a smile as she bent down to scoop up the white blue-eyed Persian that had pounced on her.

"Princess, did you miss Mommy?" 

Princess meowed in response as if understanding. 

"Are you hungry, baby?" 

Yun Qingqing tapped the cat's nose and asked dotingly.

Princess once again meowed eagerly.

Yun Qingqing closed the apartment door behind her and stepped inside.

Her apartment was small but cozy, decorated in soft pinks and warm creams.

The entire space was visible right from the entrance.

The living room was furnished with a cream couch, a coffee table, and a rug. A television was positioned opposite it.

She gently placed the princess on the sofa, rubbed her head, and went to the kitchen.

The open kitchen had a round dining table and cream cabinets against light pink walls.

She grabbed the cat food from the cabinet and returned to the living room. Bending down, she began filling the bowl.

"BREAKING NEWS—"

A clattering sound filled the air.

The cat food had spilled across the floor. She turned to see the culprit elegantly sitting on the TV remote. 

She gently nudged the cat aside and picked up the remote to turn off the TV.

"—A small-budget movie has caused a stir in the entertainment industry. The film Her Own Judgment, a small-budget film has been nominated for Spring Blossom Film Festival."

Yun Qingqing raised an eyebrow, listening to the news. 

Is this anchor complimenting the movie or being sarcastic? Why does he keep emphasizing the small budget?

She shook her head. 

These days, anything can qualify as breaking news.

She turned off the TV and cleaned the cat food that had spilled. Then, her eyes darted towards the clock on the living room wall.

"Oh no! It's so late already! This time, I will definitely lose a bunch of followers."

She slipped into the bedroom, quickly removing her makeup, changing into an oversized hoodie and baggy trousers, and pulling her long, silky black hair into a bun.

By the time she was ready, it was 10:30. 

Her streams typically began at nine, but a late finish at work had forced her to announce a delay to her followers, pushing the stream to ten. Now, she was a further half-hour behind. 

An aspiring influencer like herself couldn't afford such missteps; these delays could damage her growing audience and cost her valuable followers.

Moving to her vanity, the usual site of her live streams, she placed her phone on its stand and opened a streaming app called StreamHub.

The app's waiting room already had a small gathering of eager viewers, chatting amongst themselves in anticipation.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed the "start" button. Her smile was apologetic. 

"Hello everyone, I'm so sorry for the delay. I had a photo shoot that ran late. I promise it won't happen again." 

The scrolling chat reflected a mix of reactions; some offered understanding, while others expressed disappointment. Reassuringly, no one seemed to be leaving, and the viewer count steadily climbed.

Within five minutes, the viewer number had reached around a thousand. While the number might seem modest to some, for Yun Qingqing, it represented significant progress. 

Just a year ago, she sometimes streamed to an empty room. Her manager, Liu Jie, had told her the importance of perseverance and consistency, regardless of the viewers.

Yun Qingqing did not wait any further and started introducing what would be done in today's live stream.

She held up a box filled with products and showed it to the camera.

"Look at all this! Today, we are trying out these makeup stamps and stencils. I have seen so many people talking about them, and I just had to try them myself."

The chat instantly came alive.

"Wow, makeup is such a struggle for me. I hope these help!" 

"Those products never work."

"Yes! Test them out for us so we don't waste our money!" 

The comment about wasted money resonated with Yun Qingqing. She knew some of these products were probably overpriced and ineffective, but she was simply following the current trends.

"I'll do half my face with stencils and the other half with stamps. First, let's prep our base."

She applied foundation and concealer on her face.

Then, she picked up a stamp-like product and showed it to her viewers.

"This is an eyeshadow stamp. Look, it has this marking made here for cut crease."

She applied eyeshadow to the stamp and pressed it onto her left eyelid.

"Hmm? Not bad, but it looks a little harsh. I think we can soften it by blending."

After a few strokes with a brush, the eyeshadow looked perfectly blended.

"Our first product gets a 10/10!" 

She moved to the next product, which was a stencil for eyeshadow. After several attempts to align it correctly, she finally stacked it to her right eyelid and then applied eyeshadow.

"They both work well, but I think I prefer the stamp. Finding the right position for stencil took a lot of time."

She continued with contour, highlight, eyebrows, and eyeliner, using both stamps and stencils. 

"Okay, that's it for the stamps and stencils. Let's finish the look with some lipstick."

After applying lipstick, she showed both sides of her face to the camera.

"Which one do you like better?"

Chat exploded with opinions.

"They both look the same."

"I like stamps."

"I think stencils are better."

"Honestly, stamp or stencil, it all comes down to blending in the end."

Yun Qingqing shared her own assessment.

"If you don't position these correctly, they can mess up your makeup. So, while these products claim to simplify makeup application, they still require a bit of skill."

The chat agreed to this.

"Alright everyone, that's all for today! See you in the next one. Bye!"

She closed the livestream and exhaled deeply.

Finally, it's over.

Yun Qingqing always found livestreaming exhausting. She preferred vlogging, at least with pre-recorded videos, she could edit out the parts she found awkward.

While she was lost in her thoughts, her phone buzzed on the stand, making a harsh noise that pulled her attention.

A message notification popped down. 

It read, "I think I have a lead."