The woman was Ren Donglai's wife, named Jia Li, a bank employee. After Ren Donglai gained fame, she helped her husband with signing contracts, endorsements, and other matters, essentially acting as his agent.
When Ren Donglai first defeated the "Master" of Tai Chi and became famous, it was his wife, Jia Li, who suggested he start an account on the Mo Yin Platform. It was also her suggestion to livestream his challenges at various martial arts halls, post videos afterward, and sign contracts with influencer companies for livestream sales. Jia Li was the brain behind these ideas.
Indeed, following Jia Li's suggestions had rapidly increased Ren Donglai's popularity on the Mo Yin platform. Now, he had more than five million fans and could earn over two hundred thousand yuan per month from livestreams and sales, which was more than his annual income in the past. Thus, Ren Donglai generally heeded Jia Li's advice.
However, this time, he was somewhat upset.
"You actually worry that I might lose to some little punk?" he said.
Jia Li helplessly replied, "It's not about fearing that you'd lose to him, it's unnecessary to fight him ."
"Is that, what the company thinks?" Ren Donglai asked.
Having gained fame, he had signed with a celebrity management company, and Jia Li had always been the one contacting the company on his behalf.
Jia Li nodded. "Manager Zhang just called me and asked you not to accept the challenge right now, and I agree."
Ren Donglai was somewhat puzzled. "If not now, when should I accept the challenge?"
Jia Li smiled. "Right now, he's just catching a wave of attention, but he's not famous enough. You have more fans than him, and you're more popular. Defeating him would just be the icing on the cake."
"So you mean, stir things up a bit more?" Ren Donglai understood.
"Yes, play along with him for a while."
"Wu." Wu Li let out a breath, ending tonight's livestream.
It was his third livestream, and the highest number of online viewers had reached fifty-three thousand, with over seven thousand yuan in donations. Wu Li's fan count also surged past a million, making him quite a figure on the Mo Yin Platform.
However, he had specifically observed many influencers with fan counts over a million, even ten million, and noticed that the number of people in their livestreams varied from a few hundred to several thousand. This led Wu Li to realize that while the fan count looked impressive, it was mostly superficial. Many influencers were quickly forgotten once their popularity waned.
If he couldn't maintain his popularity, Wu Li estimated that his livestream audience would soon drop to just a few hundred or a thousand each night, and the growth rate of his Fan Value would plummet.
He received more private messages in the backend, and noticed a few flagged by Mo Yin. Upon checking, he saw several officially recognized MCN companies on the Mo Yin Platform wanting to sign him.
MCNs, internet celebrity management companies, assist influencers in operating their accounts, creating specific images, seeking endorsements, and finding resources.
With more users on Mo Yin, internet celebrities had become a profession. Therefore, Mo Yin had introduced several officially recognized MCNs, and many of the popular influencers on Mo Yin were crafted by these MCNs.
It could be said that nine out of ten influencers were backed by an MCN company. Joining an MCN was a trend, and Wu Li also planned to find an MCN to join. Making money was secondary; his main aim was to gain better promotional resources and enhance his fame. Operating on his own was definitely less efficient than having a professional team.
After carefully reading the private messages, besides the three officially recognized MCNs by Mo Yin, seven other MCN agencies wanted to sign Wu Li, all leaving contact details for negotiations.
But Wu Li had no immediate plans to contact these MCN companies. He wanted to wait until after his fight with Ren Donglai to discuss terms. By then, his popularity would undoubtedly climb another notch, giving him more leverage in negotiations with big companies.
"Old Wu, come and see this!" Chen Dong suddenly called out.
"Hm?" Wu Li stood up and walked over to Chen Dong, with Wang Xuecheng also looking on.
"Wu Li? Challenge me?"
In the video, a muscular man spoke with disdain—it was Ren Donglai.
"So many have wanted to challenge me, what's he compared to them? Get in line!"
The video was short, just a few seconds, with likes exceeding five hundred thousand.
"This is what Ren Donglai said during his livestream tonight. Someone recorded it and posted it," Chen Dong explained to Wu Li.
"What the hell? He's so arrogant?" Wang Xuecheng said indignantly.
"Heh." Wu Li chuckled. "This is getting interesting."
Ren Donglai's refusal to fight certainly drew some criticism, but what he said was true—many wanted to challenge him, so why should he bother specifically with Wu Li?
It had to be admitted, Ren Donglai's tactic was rather irritating. He not only rejected Wu Li but didn't appear cowardly and even managed to belittle Wu Li, elevating himself in the process.
"Old Wu, what now, fire back?" Chen Dong looked at Wu Li.
Wu Li shook his head. If he aggressively sought a fight, while the other party continuously ignored him, he'd just end up looking like a jumping clown.
No way around it, given that Ren Donglai's fan count was several times that of Wu Li's. If they had been on the same level, Wu Li wouldn't be so passive.
"No rush, let me think it over," Wu Li said.