Episode Summary
Fu Yudong tries to help Zhang Ran's streaming career by secretly sending gifts and buying fake followers, but the latter backfires and gets her shadowbanned. Meanwhile, a disgruntled Xiao He leaks a video that destroys Lin Anran's reputation, causing her severe anxiety. Fu Yudong enters a high-risk sales deal with Sister Wanwan, but he grows increasingly concerned that his partner Li Daoqi is acting like a reckless gambler.
Spoiler Alert
Back to the Origin Episode 32 Recap
Secret Fans and Silent Treatments
Fu Yudong has officially turned into Zhang Ran's biggest fanboy. He doesn't just support her career; he camps out in her livestreams. He waits for the broadcast to start and immediately starts throwing digital gifts her way to boost her numbers. He’s doing this from the office, though. He claims it’s to give her space at home, but he has company.
Li Daoqi is also hiding out at the office. His situation is much bleaker. He and Cheng Man are at war over their child’s schooling. He drags his feet at work until 10 PM just to avoid talking to her. When he finally goes home, the silence is deafening. They sleep in the same room but might as well be on different planets.
The Power Outage and the Bot Fiasco
Fu Yudong eventually heads home and immediately causes chaos. He accidentally knocks out the power while Zhang Ran is live. It looks like a disaster. Zhang Ran handles it with surprising grace. She doesn't let the interruption break her stride. She uses her time online to clear up old misunderstandings with other streamers. Fu Yudong feels guilty. He secretly spams expensive gifts during a PK battle to ensure she wins. Zhang Ran thanks the "anonymous" donor profusely, having no clue it's her husband in the other room.
The next day, Fu Yudong gets impatient. He asks Li Daoqi how influencers like "Sister Wanwan" got so big so fast. He wants a shortcut. Li Daoqi suggests buying 30,000 fake followers to trick the platform's algorithm into promoting the stream. Fu Yudong hates the idea. He thinks it's fraud. He does it anyway because he wants Zhang Ran to succeed.
It backfires immediately. The platform detects the bots. Instead of a boost, they limit Zhang Ran's traffic. She finds out and doesn't know whether to laugh or cry at his incompetence.
Xiao He Flips the Script
Xiao He is still stinging from being fired by Lin Anran. She has plenty of free time now. She spends it watching Zhang Ran. She sees Zhang Ran's courage and decides to intervene. Xiao He has a secret weapon: a video she secretly recorded of a private conversation between Zhang Ran and Lin Anran.
She uploads it. The internet reacts instantly. Public opinion swings violently against Lin Anran. It becomes a top trending topic. Lin Anran panics. She scrambles to delete comments and tries to buy other trending topics to bury the scandal. Her anxiety spikes. She feels completely betrayed by the assistant she thought was a harmless kid.
The boss at Giant Wave Network tries to do damage control. He and Qian Dan comfort Lin Anran, who is too anxious to stream. The boss is desperate to keep his star earner working. He even agrees to change her contract and give her a better profit split just to calm her down.
High Stakes Gambling
Business is getting risky. Sister Wanwan invites Fu Yudong to put his products in a major "National Goods" sales event. The exposure is great, but the price point is brutal. There is almost no profit margin. Fu Yudong tries to negotiate a better cut. Wanwan only agrees to waive the connection fee.
Fu Yudong is stressed. He complains to Li Daoqi that they don't have the capital to front the production costs. Li Daoqi doesn't blink. He tells Fu Yudong to play along and plans to get Xing Kai to foot the bill.
Later, Fu Yudong confesses his fears to Zhang Ran. The livestream sales world moves massive amounts of money in a single night. It feels less like a business and more like a casino. He is terrified. But mostly, he is worried about Li Daoqi. His partner isn't acting like a businessman anymore. He is acting like a gambler chasing a high.
