My aunt is a magical girl, and so am I.

Chapter 27 If you don't copy, how will others copy?

Crane Immortal sent another long message.

[Crane Hermit]: The niche of Gothic Lolita magical girl isn't new. I suggest that, as a beginner, the first step is to copy.

Chu Sheng's eyes widened.

[User 114514]: Copy?

【Crane Immortal】: Yes, copy.

[User 114514]: Isn't this a bit inappropriate?

【Crane Immortal】: What's wrong? This is called competitive analysis, structural deconstruction, track reuse, and content adaptation.

【Crane Immortal】: Find a mature verified account of the same type, but not a top-tier one, as they have too many followers and you can't afford to mess with them. Look for someone in the upper-middle tier who is doing well, but not so big that they'll attract legal attention.

【Crane Hermit】: Let's dismantle her debut broadcast. How she enters, the order of the PPT slides, how many minutes her self-introduction lasts, when she throws out the first joke, when she cries pitifully, when she's stubborn, when she gives the audience nicknames, when she reads SC, when she sings, and when she ends the broadcast.

[Crane Hermit]: First, build the framework. Replace the content with your own, but don't mess with the pacing. Newcomers don't lack quality; they lack a flow that can sustain the entire performance.

Chu Sheng was somewhat unconvinced.

[User114514]: Isn't that still copying?

【Crane Immortal】: If you don't copy, how can others copy? That's how this industry is; everyone copies what they've learned.

Chu Sheng was taken aback.

[Crane Hermit]: First, you need to fit yourself into a template that the audience is familiar with, so they know how to criticize you, how to praise you, and how to edit your videos. Once you become famous, someone will disassemble you into a template, and newcomers will copy it. That's when you've succeeded.

【Crane Hermit】: If you're good at being stubborn, then use stubbornness to break down defenses. If you're good at embarrassing yourself, then turn embarrassment into a selling point. The cheapest way for a newcomer to get traffic is to embarrass themselves and then have it edited into clips.

Chu Sheng thought about it and realized that this statement was somewhat similar to Shangguan Fengyi's statement, "In the traffic industry, being remembered is an advantage."

Am I really meant to be humiliated?

[User 114514]: Is there a slightly more respectable route?

【Crane Immortal】: Yes.

Chu Sheng's eyes lit up.

【Crane Immortal】: He's got a gold mine at home, he just buys traffic directly.

Chu Sheng placed his phone face down on the table and closed his eyes.

I'm a rich person.

A few seconds later, he flipped his phone back over.

[User114514]: If I copy as you say, who should I copy?

[Crane Immortal]: Don't rush. Send me your friend's prepared premiere plan tomorrow, and I'll take a look. Find three more examples in the same field: one to copy the rhythm, one to steal the interaction methods, and one to learn the title style. The costumes can't be identical, and the settings can't be copied exactly, but the process can be copied boldly.

[User 114514]: Why are you willing to teach me?

After sending the message, there was a moment of silence on the other end. Chu Sheng stared at the screen, feeling a little nervous.

Half a minute later, Master Crane returned.

【Crane Hermit】: Because you want to be famous.

As Chu Sheng read the message, he felt increasingly proud of himself. So he picked up his phone and sent a message to Crane Immortal.

[User 114514]: I've made up my mind, I won't copy!

The hermit crane returned quickly.

[Crane Hermit]: Has your friend made up his mind?

Chu Sheng was silent for a moment.

[User 114514]: Forget friends, it's me.

[User 114514]: I want to be famous, but I don't want to become famous by relying on others.

[Crane Immortal]: You can dismantle the process, but don't steal the skin, the catchphrases, or the core of the character. Newcomers should focus on survival first, then talk about style.

[User 114514]: I understand what you mean. But if I follow someone else's pace in the first live stream, the audience won't remember me.

【Crane Hermit】: You are very confident.

[Crane Hermit]: Your biggest weakness right now is your confidence, but that confidence also happens to have some value. You're incompetent, stubborn, and eager to become famous, which might actually create some entertainment value in the V-chat community.

Chu was so angry that she gritted her teeth and almost crushed her phone.

[User 114514]: Confidence is clearly a strength, so can you please not describe it in such an unpleasant way?

[Crane Immortal]: When I was a verified user, my fans would curse at me every day. But I later discovered that the more they cursed, the more frequently they sent me gifts.

[User 114514]: What kind of weird industry is this?

【Crane Hermit】: Welcome to the virtual streamer.

Chu Sheng leaned back in his chair and sighed. Just then, his phone rang again.

【Crane Hermit】: Are you free recently? Let's meet in person.

Chu Sheng's vigilance instantly reached its peak.

[User114514]: What are you doing?

【Crane Immortal】: Let's talk about your premiere plan.

[User 114514]: Can't we chat online?

【Crane Immortal】: Can chat, but inefficient. Eight out of ten sentences you exchange are defensive towards me, and the remaining two are just you trying to save face.

[User 114514]: You won't be on guard if we meet offline?

【Crane Hermit】: So you choose the location. The police station entrance or the management bureau entrance are both fine. Forget about coffee shops; you probably can't afford them.

Chu Sheng gritted his teeth. This is so humiliating! What do you mean I can't afford it? It's just a cup of coffee, how expensive can it be?

[User 114514]: What makes you think I should believe you?

【Crane Immortal】: Scammers will first praise your extraordinary talent, then sell you account creation courses. I, on the other hand, immediately tell you to leave the community and even suggest you copy their strategies—that's honest enough.

[Crane Immortal]: To tell you the truth, after I retired from the entertainment industry and graduated, I opened a studio called White Crane Studio. It's a small workshop, not very large-scale, specializing in helping new verified accounts get started, handling everything from the initial broadcast process and character packaging to the pacing of video clips and interactive design.

[User 114514]: Formulaic methods for making someone famous?

【Crane Immortal】: I wouldn't call it making someone famous, but I can get them a chance to be seen. Whether they actually become famous depends on fate and their words.

【He Xianren】: A few years ago, the environment was better. Platforms provided traffic, and bosses were willing to spend money. Viewers would click in to take a look when they saw a new verified account. But it's not like that now.

[User 114514]: Is it that bad?

[Crane Hermit]: The suit costs money, the microphone costs money, the sound card costs money, the room soundproofing costs money, and the copyright of the materials costs money. With the current economic climate, where am I going to get so much money?

【Crane Immortal】: That's why many newcomers don't do VIP anymore.

【User114514】: So what are you going to do?

【Crane Immortal】: Writes online novels.

Chu Sheng was stunned. Online novel?

【User114514】: Why?

【Crane Immortal】: Cheap and easy to copy. All you need is a mobile phone and a keyboard. If you fail, just switch accounts and start over. At worst, you can just find someone else to copy from. Just don't stick to copying one person indiscriminately. It's much cheaper than being a verified user.

Chu Sheng found it amusing, but then felt a pang of sadness. Being a VTuber sounded even more dangerous than being a magical girl!

【Crane Hermit】: The White Crane Society is barely surviving. The overall environment is bad; bosses don't like to invest, newcomers are afraid to join, and fewer and fewer people are willing to spend money on costumes.

[Crane Hermit]: I now take on new talent assessments, premiere scripts, and segment planning. If I come across an interesting one, I'll personally mentor them for a segment.

[User 114514]: Am I being funny?

【Crane Immortal】: I just watched your audition video.

Chu Sheng trembled all over, his face turning deathly pale.

[User 114514]: Where did you come from? How did you know it was me?

【Crane Immortal】: This is an inner circle of magical girls in Haicheng. You think the magical girl circle is that big? By the way, the scene where you hugged the propaganda minister's leg and cried was pretty good.

Chu Sheng closed his eyes peacefully, his appearance solemn and dignified.

【User114514】: Delete.

【Crane Hermit】: It can't be deleted, someone has already made it into an emoji.

As he spoke, Master Crane sent a GIF showing Chu Sheng in Lilith form hugging his leg and crying – a famous scene.

Chu Sheng slammed his phone face down on the table, took a deep breath, looked up at the sky and sighed, two lines of tears streaming down his face.

What will my colleagues think of me? What will the bureau chief think of me?

After a long while, he turned his phone over again.

[User 114514]: Tomorrow morning at 10:30, at the coffee shop opposite the Haicheng branch, I don't know the name, it's the one with all English signs.

[Crane Immortal]: English? That's French. Are you sure about this place?

【User114514】: So what if I speak French? I can still afford to buy you a cup of coffee. Don't look down on me!

【Crane Immortal】: Okay, that's good.

The reason for arranging the meeting near the branch office was not only for safety, but also for another reason. After meeting with Crane Immortal, he could conveniently go upstairs to borrow equipment from Shangguan Fengyi.