Chapter 197: Mooching Screen Time

Chapter 197: Hitching a Ride on the Lens

The variety show featuring two male celebrities and two athletes was centered on basketball; the athletes were, naturally, a national team player from China and an American-born Chinese NBA star.

Naturally, the two male celebrities were also basketball enthusiasts.

This group appearance was designed to interact with the audience through basketball-related activities.

A hoop appeared in the center of the stage, and the host walked over with the four guests.

"Friends in the audience, if you open the Tmall Double 11 Gala page now, you will see a newly refreshed event. The challenge is to guess whether these four will make their shots. Each will take one, for a total of four guesses. Guess correctly, and you could win a generous basketball gift pack."

The host briefly explained the rules and asked the four to choose the first shooter.

"I'll go first."

The celebrity standing next to Jay Chou took a shot and sank it, drawing a wave of applause.

Next was Jay, who chose a greater distance and also made the basket.

The national player and the NBA star both chose to shoot from beyond the three-point line, and both shots went in.

The interaction was simple, but the celebrity aura made it lively and engaging.

"Now, things get serious."

The interaction clearly wasn't over. The host led the four stars to a greater distance, roughly half-court, and stopped with a smile. "Next is the grand prize round. Our two basketball stars will take turns shooting from here. Refresh your pages; you should see four options: both make it, both miss, or one makes it and one misses. Start voting; you only have thirty seconds."

During those thirty seconds, the host let the two celebrities try a shot; both hit the rim but missed—the difficulty was undeniable.

"Alright, voting is closed. Which of you will go first?" the host asked.

"I'll go."

The national player shot, hit the backboard, and it went in!

The applause was much louder this time, accompanied by endless screams.

It was the NBA player's turn. He launched a high arc; it was accurate, dropping right into the rim, but it kissed the inner edge and bounced out. It flew high and landed directly in the audience, coincidentally right into Meng Fan's hands.

"Did it hit you?"

The host asked with concern. Seeing he was fine, he laughed and said, "Keep it as a souvenir."

Before the words had even faded, Meng Fan threw the ball back toward the stage.

Swish!

Nothing but net!

The people on site were stunned into silence.

The director reacted with incredible speed, cutting all cameras to the live feed.

The audience in front of their screens were dumbfounded. What kind of move was that?!

Is this fake?

That's at least a full court's distance!

And he just threw it in like that?

Are there masters hidden among the common folk?

Wait? Why does this guy look so familiar?!

"Awesome! When I saw the ball land in Brother Tie's hands, I knew something big was coming. Brother Tie didn't disappoint—he just threw it! Hahaha, let them feel the terror of being dominated by a god-tier shooter!"

Students at the Art Academy watching the stream recognized Meng Fan instantly. Who didn't know how lethal Meng Fan was with a basketball? In the school tournament, he could hit any spot he wanted!

"666! Fat Meng!"

"Check out the world record holder for the basketball arcade game!"

"He's at it again! Streamer Meng is starting trouble again!"

"Hahaha, the bloopers you were waiting for didn't happen, but the whole crowd is confused!"

"The highlight of the Double 11 Gala has been claimed by our streamer Meng!"

The chat rooms of the three major video sites were suddenly flooded with Meng Fan-related comments, leaving other viewers baffled.

Isn't this the sand art performer from earlier? How is he a world record holder?

Can you stop fanboying? Can you explain before you hype him up?

Back at the gala, Meng Fan's shot was stunning. While it didn't embarrass the four stars—none of them made their living off this specific shot—it certainly posed a problem for the host. This completely derailed my hosting flow; how am I supposed to continue?

"Hmm?"

The host paused after hearing the director's voice in his earpiece. He looked closely at Meng Fan, gathered his thoughts, and said with a smile, "I'm sure many have recognized him. This god-tier shooter is Meng Fan, the sand art artist who just performed 'The Elf.' Actually, there's another identity of Meng Fan's you might not know: he is the creator of the latest world record for the basketball arcade game! Thank you for such a stunning shot!"

Of course, even without this buffer, the gala would have continued.

As for inviting Meng Fan on stage, that was impossible. It was a live broadcast with limited time and a set schedule. Besides, what would he do on stage? An interview? Or more shooting? It would be fine if he made it, but what if he missed? It was better to let that stunning shot serve as the perfect conclusion to the interactive segment.

How perfect—it left behind suspense and magic.

Perhaps—no, the vast majority of the audience would assume that stunning shot was a deliberate arrangement by the organizers.

What a beautiful misunderstanding!

Meng Fan's unintentional stunt grabbed at least a dozen seconds of screen time. The director clearly recognized him and politely split the screen, giving Meng Fan his own dedicated frame.

Of course, this treatment was standard professional conduct for a director.

Not giving such a shot would have earned the director a verbal lashing from the chief producer and the audience.

Meng Fan felt great as he watched the experience points for his [Live Streaming Expert] task climb.

What felt even better was that after the interaction ended, Jay Chou, who stayed on stage to sing, kept casting curious glances his way, which gave the director more opportunities to cut back to Meng Fan!

As for whether he could ask for another milk tea if they met backstage, he probably would... right?

"Ding!"

Soon, the [Concert Killer] judgment appeared in his mind. Clearly, that shot had impacted the gala. The damage value calculated was quite high and interesting: 66!

Even the system thought his move was "666"!

This judgment came more than an hour after the last one.

A while later, Meng Fan checked his [Live Streaming Expert] status and calculated that he had gained another 10 million views.

Large-scale galas are truly powerful!

His total views had now reached over 62 million!

However, Meng Fan also discovered a fact that made him somewhat uncomfortable: after the director cut to him, his view count didn't increase!

He had noticed this before the shot but wasn't sure. Later, he opened his live streaming assistant to watch the stream and confirmed that the director had cut to him during Jay Chou's performance, but the view count hadn't budged.

In other words, just being on camera was useless; he had to be "performing" during the stream to gain views.

After confirming this, he felt a bit of regret, though it was logical.

Since there were no more lenses to hitch a ride on, Meng Fan headed back to the backstage area.

Double 11 was almost here, and he had plenty of things he needed to buy.

I was too busy rehearsing before, but now this trip feels truly complete, and I must reward myself with a little indulgence.

My spirits are high, so I have decided to scatter some wealth and clear the shopping carts for a few lucky souls.

(End of chapter)