The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 74-75

Chapter 74: Her Answer

“…Are you ready?”

Several days had passed since that day. It was supposed to be a normal stream, but she—Sayaka—seemed nervous, her face tense.

“Y-Yes…”

“You don’t need to be so nervous. Just like always, smile…and have fun with the stream.”

“My…”

I nodded in agreement with her words. The location was the same as always—her room. She didn’t want Kanna and the others to see, so it was just me here with her now.

“Eiji-san…”

“What is it?”

Looking anxious, Sayaka called out to me and extended her hand.

“…Please hold my hand…”

When I looked closer, I saw that her hand was trembling slightly. It was proof of her fear—not just about the stream, but about herself.

“…Alright.”

I grasped her hand firmly. It seemed to calm her down a little, as her complexion improved slightly.

“Thank you…Sigh…”

After taking a deep breath, she seemed to brace herself and put on her usual streamer’s face.

And then, she started the stream.

: Aoi!!

: She’s here!!

: Are you okay? Are you pushing yourself?

: Konpare!

Seeing the warm words from the viewers, her face twisted as if she was about to cry, but she quickly switched gears.

“Everyone, konpare! It’s been a while, it’s Tenharu Aoi-chan!”

It was a slightly shortened greeting, but even so, Sayaka—no, Aoi’s feelings reached them. The comment section moved faster than usual.

“Sorry. I couldn’t stream because of some personal stuff.”

: Oh, I see.

: Are you okay?

: Did you mess up again?

“To the person who wrote, ‘Did you mess up again,’ I didn’t mess up! It’s just that I couldn’t stream because of some, just a little, family circumstances!”

: Really? lol

: Sounds kind of fishy, lol.

: It’s so like Aoi, lol.

“Wait, why are you all reacting like I messed up?! That’s totally unfair!”

It was clear she had a talent for streaming.

Though the viewers’ comments helped, she was able to quickly change the mood—not by using them, but by being herself.

“…Today, I have something I want to talk to everyone about, which is why I started this stream.”

Aoi’s tone shifted. The viewers sensed the change and also grew tense.

Her face was contorted, as if the weight of her anxiety was crushing her.

I gripped her hand tightly. It’s okay, you’re not alone.

Understanding that, she spoke again.

“I’ve been thinking…about reducing the frequency of my streams a little.”

: What!?

: Are you busy?

: Why?

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand! It’s not because I don’t want to stream or because I hate you all! Let me explain.”

Looking at the somewhat chaotic comment section, Aoi corrected herself and began explaining.

“How should I put this…During the break, I was thinking…Do I really have any appeal? Have I been letting everyone down?”

: Oh…

: You’ve been thinking about that?

: That’s heavy…

“And because of that…I even considered quitting streaming for a while…But…but…”

Her voice started to tremble with tears. But those tears began to reveal the feelings she had kept hidden.

“After reading everyone’s comments, I realized something. If I quit like this, I’d make everyone sad. I didn’t realize…how important I had become to all of you…”

: That’s right!

: Aoi, you’re amazing!

: Don’t push yourself…!

“Yeah…but even though I feel that way…standing in front of this stream scares me. I wonder if I’m really someone worth supporting…The fear is almost crushing me…Even now, I feel like running away.”

But then…after pausing, she spoke.

“I still…want to stream. Even though there’s not much to me…I still want to talk to all of you again…!”

Her voice echoed throughout the room and into the hearts of the viewers.

This was the answer she had come to.

“But the fear is still there. So, I might stream less often…But even then…will you still support me?”

: Of course!

: No doubt about it!

: Aoi-chan is our priority.

: Thank you for having the courage to tell us. Of course, we’ll support you.

“Everyone…”

Seeing the warm comments, Aoi—Sayaka—started crying. Now that she had revealed her true feelings and been accepted by everyone, it seemed like she had reached her limit.

“Sniff…Sniff…Wait? Is that…a red superchat?”

She saw the message on the screen, gasped, and then turned toward me.

(Sayaka…You’ll be fine. No matter how you choose to do it, there will always be people supporting you…)

: We’ll be waiting for the day you can truly smile during your stream, Aoi.

Reading my quiet message in the chat, Sayaka covered her mouth, trying to suppress her sobs as she cried harder.

“Eiji…san…Thank you…Thank you…!”

And with that, her stream came to an end.

—

Chapter 75: Afterwards

“Ugh…sniff…”

“You did really well. That was amazing.”

As the stream ended, I placed my hand on her head and gently stroked it as she sobbed. She must have been so scared…feeling anxious the whole time. It’s no wonder she’s crying.

“It’s not that…It’s not that at all.”

“What do you mean?”

Her words puzzled me. Not that? What isn’t?

“I was scared, yes…but…sniff…more than that, I was happy…”

She tried to hold back her tears as she began to speak.

“I realized there are so many people supporting me…So many people saying kind things to me…and when I thought about that, I couldn’t stop crying…”

“Sayaka…”

So, she finally feels that way, huh? I patted her head gently, letting those thoughts sink in.

“This proves it. Sayaka…Tenharu Aoi is an incredible person.”

“Ah…Eiji…”

Just as her tears were about to flow again, the door to her room opened. Turning around, I saw Kanna and Rinmei standing there.

“Y-you two…”

Sayaka tried to say something to them, but before she could, they rushed over and wrapped her in a hug.

“You don’t have to say anything…It must’ve been so hard for you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…I said those things without considering your feelings…I didn’t understand how you felt…”

“No…it’s not like that…!”

“Sayaka, you did really well. So…you don’t have to hold it in anymore…”

“L-let’s not say that…If you do, I’ll start crying again…”

As she said this, feeling the warmth of the two, she quietly began to cry, stifling her sobs.

Watching the three of them, I decided I didn’t want to interrupt and quietly opened the door, stepping out of Sayaka’s room.

“…Phew.”

Even I felt the tension in my body release. I wasn’t sure if her decision was the right one.

Maybe I made her walk a painful path…but I convinced myself that this was for the best, repeating those thoughts in my mind like a mantra.

Just then, my phone rang. Looking at the screen…it was Soji.

“What’s up?”

I answered the call and started talking to him.

“What’s up? How’s Sayaka doing?”

The concern in his voice was clear, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah, you saw the stream, right? I think she’ll be fine.”

“Is that so…But was it really okay to let her continue the stream?”

“I didn’t want her to have any regrets.”

“You really took a big risk, didn’t you?”

“You know me, that’s just how I am.”

“No doubt about that. Oh, by the way, Manaka and Yuna were worried too. Make sure to give them a call later.”

“Yeah, I’ll let her know. Thanks for all your help.”

With that, I ended the call with Soji.

I had relied on Manaka and Yuna, along with Sayaka’s brother and sister, to uncover Sayaka’s past.

I honestly didn’t expect to learn about her family situation, so I was pretty surprised.

“I should do something to thank the three of them…What would be good?”

As I thought about that and started heading downstairs…my phone rang again.

I wondered if Soji had forgotten something, but when I checked my phone…it was a message from Karen Himura.

“I want to see you. Come to that park.”

…It was already dark, but I didn’t have anything else to do, so why not?

After replying to her, I made my way to the park where we had met before.

◇

“Ugh…it’s cold…”

Winter must be getting close…Even though I had layered up, the biting wind pierced through my clothes, making me shiver.

Rubbing my arms, I walked through the night until I arrived at the park.

Looking around, I noticed the park had a lot of small playground equipment like slides and bars.

I thought to myself that this would be a nice place for families with kids…when I spotted a woman with red hair in the distance.