The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 256 Becoming an internet celebrity by playing the victim? Who dares to be more miserable than me?

Seeing the surprised expression on Yang Muyi's face, Su Mingyu realized that she had reacted a little too excitedly.

“My family’s situation is rather special, so I’m not eligible for a scholarship,” she explained.

Yang Muye nodded, indicating his understanding.

Even without applying for financial aid, Su Mingyu's annual scholarships, plus the subsidies for publicly funded teacher trainees, were enough to maintain her normal study and life.

But the reason why she still works so hard to squeeze out every spare moment to work is quite intriguing.

“I have watched some of Cheng Dongqing’s speech videos. According to him, the reason he took extra classes at Yenching University in violation of regulations was firstly because his family was poor and he owed a lot of money to relatives after taking the college entrance examination three times. Secondly, he and his girlfriend wanted to go abroad and needed money for various training courses and visas.”

"So I'm really curious, why does Senior Su work so hard to earn money?"

Faced with Yang Muye's probing question, Su Mingyu was stunned.

Before Su Mingyu could speak, Yang Muye's voice rang out first.

“As a government-funded teacher trainee, I can think of reasons why she would need a lot of money during her studies. Excluding family reasons, the only remaining reason is that she wants to terminate her contract after graduation.”

The reason for ruling out family reasons is what Su Mingyu herself just said.

Due to special family circumstances, we are not eligible to apply for student grants.

In other words, if the need for money is due to family reasons, then they will definitely apply for a student grant.

If a publicly funded student at East China Normal University terminates their contract, in addition to returning the publicly funded education expenses received during their four years of university, they will also need to pay a penalty of 50%.

In Su Mingyu's case, if the contract is terminated, she would have to pay about 10 yuan in compensation.

Even though she worked her hardest, the shortfall was still huge.

Seeing Su Mingyu completely stunned, Yang Muye knew he had guessed correctly.

This explains why Su Mingyu was so easily "lured" away by Meng Zhiyuan in her previous life.

Su Mingyu was really short of money. Apart from working in sales, it would be difficult for her to raise the 100,000 yuan termination fee in a short period of time.

"Mr. Yang, whether or not to terminate the contract is my personal matter and has nothing to do with my tutoring Liu Wenjing, right?"

Yang Muye shrugged and said, "Of course it's related. Do you think I told you Cheng Dongqing's story just as a casual chat? If Cheng Dongqing hadn't been expelled from Peking University and hadn't been completely desperate, do you think Xinmengjia would have been born?"

"Similarly, you're now in a desperate situation. Even if you work every day for the next two years, you probably won't be able to raise enough money for the termination fee when you graduate, right?"

At this point, Yang Muyi glanced at Su Mingyu, who seemed hesitant to speak.

"Would you choose to push yourself like Cheng Dongqing, or give yourself a break like most ordinary people?"

"I--"

Su Mingyu thought about all the unfair treatment she had received at home over the years.

I thought of how my mother had secretly gone to the school to change my college application.

He also thought of his good-for-nothing second brother, Su Mingcheng.

She was unwilling to accept it!
Seeing that the time was almost right, Yang Muyi threw out the carefully prepared "bait".

"There are still 7 months until next year's college entrance examination. At a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan, you will only receive a little over 20,000 yuan."

“I have another option here—you won’t receive a penny of salary during the tutoring period, but if Liu Wenjing gets into a university with a 211 or higher degree, you can receive a bonus of 100,000 yuan.”

Su Mingyu subconsciously clenched the mineral water bottle in her hand.

The 100,000 yuan was the amount of compensation she needed to pay to terminate her contract after graduation.

Yang Muye's ability to offer such conditions clearly indicates that he knew she wouldn't be able to refuse.

However, Su Mingyu still had one question in her mind that remained unanswered.

Yang Muyi not only hired a tutor for a nanny, but also gave her 100,000 yuan as a bonus, just to help her get into her desired 211 university.

Even if Liu Wenjing had once acted bravely and helped Yang Muye's mother stop criminals, it was not worth Yang Muye putting so much effort into Liu Wenjing.

Su Mingyu would never believe it unless there was some other reason behind it.

After Su Mingyu asked the question directly, Yang Muye smiled.

"Would you believe me if I said it's because Liu Wenjing is very beautiful?"

Su Mingyu was stunned again.

Besides shock and disbelief, there was also a hidden anger.

Do I look like an idiot to you?
Yang Muye spread his hands: "Don't misunderstand, this isn't some melodramatic plot from a romance novel where a domineering CEO falls in love with a pitiful nanny. I'm interested in Liu Wenjing because she's worth the price."

"I started a startup project called 'Homework Helper' a while ago. Recently, New Dream has taken a liking to this project and plans to become an angel investor."

"At the latest, Zuoyebang will be officially launched next month. I plan to use Liu Wenjing's participation in the college entrance examination to advertise Zuoyebang."

If you're going to be an advertising spokesperson, of course you have to find someone good-looking.

However, what Yang Muye really liked about Liu Wenjing was not just her appearance, but also her background and experience.

Born in a remote rural area, her parents favored boys over girls, so she dropped out of school after junior high and is now facing pressure from her family to get married.

The bride price in Jiangxi Province has always been notoriously high.

Liu Wenjing's parents were actually planning to "sell" their daughter.

The money from Liu Wenjing's betrothal gifts will be used to help Liu Wenjing's younger brother get married in the future.

A girl who ran away from an arranged marriage came to a big city like Shanghai, but was rejected by her relatives.

Even though things were already so bad, she still didn't give up trying.

She worked as a nanny while also studying hard to prepare for the college entrance examination.

Isn't this inspirational story more compelling than the viral "Da Vinci the Wanderer" story that went viral earlier this year?
That's right, Yang Muye is planning to have Liu Wenjing also start live streaming on Panda TV.

She even came up with a name: "The Mountain Girl Who Ran Away from Her Bride".

The live stream is called "I'll end the stream once I get into a 211 university!"
Although it may seem like an attempt to gain attention by playing the victim, that's just how internet celebrities are.

Especially the internet celebrities of the 1.0 era, who became popular by exploiting netizens' curiosity.

People like Back Dorm Boys and Sister Furong can only gain traffic by making pranks and acting ugly.

Compared to these people, playing the victim is already a sophisticated way to gain traffic.

After hearing Yang Muye's explanation, Su Mingyu remained silent for a long time.

It also broadened my horizons.

Yang Muyi has managed to make such a simple tutoring session so interesting.

After calming herself down, Su Mingyu had already made up her mind.

"Mr. Yang, I have another question."

Since it's a live stream of preparations for the college entrance exam, shouldn't I also participate in the live stream?
"What, are you not available to appear on camera?" Yang Muye asked back.

Su Mingyu shook her head.

Yang Muye then told Su Mingyu that she would not only participate in the live broadcast, but also provide online tutoring to Liu Wenjing through the Zuoyebang website.

This was once again beyond Su Mingyu's expectations.

She thought that when Yang Muyi talked about advertising, he just meant putting up the Zuoyebang logo on the side during the live stream.

I didn't expect it to be so complicated.

"Does that mean I have to pretend to be a tutor from Zuoyebang?"

"It's not a fake; you just need to officially join Zuoyebang. The final 100,000 yuan bonus will be given to you as a performance bonus. Don't worry, it's after tax."

It sounded very tempting, but Su Mingyu had a feeling that Yang Muye's real purpose was to trick her into joining Zuoyebang (a homework help platform). He claimed he was having Liu Wenjing do a live stream, but it seemed more like he wanted to trick her into joining.

And it's all done for free!

This made Su Mingyu wary.

If Liu Wenjing doesn't get into her desired 211 university, then wouldn't I have been working for Yang Muyi and Zuoyebang for free for the past seven months?

"Mr. Yang, I admit that the terms you offered are very tempting, but I still prefer to receive a monthly salary. Besides, 3000 yuan a month is not enough for me to do online live broadcasts as a tutor at Zuoyebang!"

Su Mingyu looked up at Yang Muye with a determined gaze.

You have to add money!
Yang Muye smiled.

Su Mingyu's reaction was somewhat unexpected, but upon closer inspection, it made quite a bit of sense.

Even so, Yang Muyi still kindly reminded him, "You should think it over. 3000 yuan a month, and that's for online remote tutoring. If I could increase that salary, I could hire a teacher's college graduate for a full-time job. Why would I choose you?"

Su Mingyu had anticipated that Yang Muye would ask this question, and she already had a response in mind.

"Mr. Yang, before answering your question, I'd like to first talk about my salary requirements. See if they're acceptable to you."

"can!"

Yang Muye raised his hand in a gesture of invitation, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Su Mingyu took a deep breath:

“I tutored Liu Wenjing online for seven months, earning 10,000 yuan a month. If Liu Wenjing is able to get into her desired 211 university, the company will give me an additional 30,000 yuan bonus, and that's after tax.”

They didn't ask for an exorbitant price; the total was still only 100,000 yuan.

The only difference is that it has changed from a one-time reward to a salary plus commission model.

Yang Muye readily agreed.

The prerequisite is that Su Mingyu has to prove that she is worth a monthly take-home pay of 10,000 yuan.

"Mr. Yang, is it true that anyone who participates in a live stream, whether a teacher or a student, can get views as long as their background is tragic enough?"

Yang Muye pretended to look at Su Mingyu with surprise, but in reality he was overjoyed.

Bite the hook!
It finally took the bait!
"Aren't you from Suzhou? What, is your family pressuring you to get married so they can earn a dowry for your brother or sister?"

Su Mingyu gave a wry smile and shook her head.

Although Yang Muye's prediction was wrong, Su Mingyu firmly believed that if she hadn't severed ties with that family...

Someday in the future.

Whether it's Su Mingzhe from abroad or not.

Su Mingcheng was still just coasting along at a third-tier university.

If her two older brothers needed a large sum of money to get married, and she could obtain that money by marrying someone she didn't like, her mother, Zhao Meilan, would definitely try every means possible, whether it was coercion or pleading.

In short, Su Mingyu will definitely be sacrificed in order to allow her two older brothers to live a better life.

Because that's how Su Mingyu has lived her life since she was a child.

“My family didn’t force me to get married, but they forced me to choose a publicly funded teacher training program that I didn’t want to study at all.”

“I was a science student in high school. In the 06 college entrance examination, I scored 682 points, which was 10 points higher than the admission score of Tsinghua University that year.”

"My score ranked two places higher than my older brother's when he got into Tsinghua University."

"But my family has to support my eldest brother's studies abroad and my second brother's education at a private third-tier university. They don't have the money to let me go to the school I want to attend."

“My mom even secretly went to the school to change my college application, for fear that I would take away the resources of my two older brothers.”

When my two older brothers were in high school, their breakfast was always ham and eggs.

Su Mingyu only had one bowl of rice porridge.

During the crucial period of preparing for the college entrance examination, my two older brothers drank either juice or milk.

Su Mingyu can only drink plain water.

The two older brothers did nothing but study and play; they didn't have to do any housework.

Su Mingyu has to wash dishes, wipe tables, and sweep the floor, and is often late for school because of her chores.

What's most infuriating is that Su Mingyu is about to take the college entrance exam, and her second brother, Su Mingcheng, comes home for the holidays, wearing dirty clothes that Su Mingyu has to wash for him.

Despite all that Su Mingyu did, her mother, Zhao Meilan, refused to pay even 1000 yuan for her child's tutoring class.

……

Recalling the past, Su Mingyu's eyes reddened, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

She turned her head and raised her hand to wipe away her tears.

Just then, a box of tissues was placed in front of Su Mingyu.

"Thank you."

Su Mingyu took out a tissue to wipe away her tears, calmed herself down for a while, and then looked up at Yang Muye again.

If playing the victim can make you an internet celebrity, who dares to be more miserable than her?

Liu Wenjing's parents forcing her to marry could be explained by the ignorance and backwardness of a poor farming family deep in the mountains.

Su Mingyu's parents were both educated and lived in a city like Suzhou.

This kind of treatment of one's daughter cannot be explained simply by favoring sons over daughters.

It can be described as absolutely vicious.

Su Mingyu felt that she had already suffered enough.

This is why she dared to ask Yang Muye for 10,000 yuan a month.

Because only 3,000 yuan of this money was Su Mingyu's reward for tutoring Liu Wenjing, and the remaining 7,000 yuan was what she deserved for playing the victim during her live stream.

Only Yang Muye knew that Su Mingyu's hard times were yet to come.

Only after Su Mingyu's mother, Zhao Meilan, dies and her father, Su Daqiang, fully unleashes his "mischievous" nature will Su Mingyu realize what true misery is.

Now that Su Mingyu has already taken the initiative to hook up, Yang Muye certainly wouldn't be that kind of heartless boss.

Moreover, his ultimate goal is to win over Su Mingyu.

"Here's what we'll do: you tutor Liu Wenjing via live streaming for seven months, and I'll give you a total of 100,000 yuan in salary, not a penny less, and it's after tax."

"In addition, if Liu Wenjing is admitted to a 211 university as she wishes, the company will give you a bonus of 100,000 yuan."

Su Mingyu looked up with a look of surprise, but before she could say her thanks, Yang Muyi raised his hand to stop her.

"Now that we've covered the advantages, let's talk about the disadvantages!"

"You're doing live streaming, and sooner or later the school will find out. Even if it's just a part-time job, people can guess that you might have to terminate the contract after graduation."

As the saying goes, when you are famous you are prone to gossip.

If Su Mingyu becomes popular through her live stream, the school's reaction will be a minor issue; the bigger problem might be a backlash from the increased popularity.

After all, the termination of contracts by publicly funded teacher trainees involves a breach of integrity and also the issue of squeezing out public resources.

Of course, the way to prevent this kind of traffic backlash is also very simple.

That means from the very beginning of the live stream, Su Mingyu had to take the initiative to admit that she was preparing to terminate her contract as a publicly funded teacher trainee, and to explain the whole story behind her mother's secret change of her college application.

In this way, people will not criticize Su Mingyu for breaking her contract after being admitted to a publicly funded teacher training program, and all the criticism will be directed at Su Mingyu's mother, Zhao Meilan.

This also means that Su Mingyu must completely break ties with that family!
(End of this chapter)