Otaku Translation: My Girlfriend Is a Cello Player C52

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Soon, Xu Yong sent over a WeChat ID, and Lin Tian clicked to add it. Thankfully, he had spoken with Su Ran just a few days ago—during that time when Gan Yanyu came to his school, and Su Ran had asked about their relationship. Having already exchanged words made adding her on WeChat feel less awkward.

While waiting for Su Ran’s approval, Lin Tian searched for the TikTok account Xu Yong mentioned. He wanted to see what all this talk about "the absolute boldest of them all" was really about.

The search result came up:

"No Cilantro (Won’t Reply to DMs)" – "120k followers"

Lin Tian broke into a cold sweat. (TLN 1.)

Why did female influencers always have such predictable stereotypes?

Thinking back, Su Ran, the class beauty of Class A, often received criticism from other girls labeling her as Green Tea Bitch. It wasn’t surprising that someone like her would post suggestive content online.

Clicking into her profile, Lin Tian was immediately greeted by a kaleidoscope of colorful cosplay outfits. Opening one video, he saw Su Ran wearing a little duck hat and dressed in kindergarten-style clothing, yelling at the camera:

"Hentai!"

"No way!"

"..."

Ah, so this was the "suggestive" Xu Yong was talking about.

Scrolling further, most of Su Ran’s videos featured her playing cute anime characters, reciting lines from classic shows.

But… this didn’t seem particularly suggestive? She was fully clothed, even in childish outfits, and acting adorable.

And yet, Xu Yong still thought it was provocative…

Wait…?

Lin Tian was now seriously considering reporting his friend to the police.

Still, seeing the normally composed girl who sat in front of him transform into a lolita persona online was… unsettling, to say the least.

Before long, Su Ran accepted his friend request on WeChat.

"Is this Lin Tian?"

Before Lin Tian could send a message, she beat him to it.

"Yeah."

"You’re asking about how to handle ads on TikTok, right? Xu Yong told me everything."

"..."

Lin Tian hadn’t expected Xu Yong to act so quickly. They weren’t exactly close, but knowing Xu Yong, he probably couldn’t resist the chance to chat with a pretty girl. Still, it saved Lin Tian some trouble.

"Right."

"Mm-hmm, let me clarify something first. Even though I have tens of thousands of followers, I’m more of an appearance-based influencer. Since interaction with my audience is limited, smaller creators like me rarely get ad deals. So far, I’ve only done two sponsored videos myself, and the rest of the information I got was from friends who told me about it."

Lin Tian understood. This was her way of giving a disclaimer.

Since she was willing to help, Lin Tian didn’t mind. But he still asked: "Aren’t you at 120k followers?"

"..."

"??? How do you know my TikTok account?!"

Three question marks appeared in rapid succession. Lin Tian could practically feel Su Ran panicking on the other side of the screen.

"Aaaaah! How did you find out about my TikTok?!"

"Xu Yong told me," Lin Tian replied calmly.

"..."

"He said he stumbled across it randomly and promised not to tell anyone in class…"

"Aaaaaah!"

Su Ran was clearly flustered.

"Listen, Lin Tian, those lines I say, those costumes I wear—they’re all part of my character! You know how we otaku are—it’s all for the roleplay! It doesn’t mean I actually have issues or anything!"

"Mm-hmm."

Lin Tian responded briefly.

Frankly, no one cared.

He also didn’t understand why Su Ran felt the need to explain herself so much to someone she barely knew. Lin Tian wasn’t interested enough to share any of this with others. After all, the internet was full of strange people.

Moreover, given Su Ran’s reputation for being a Green Tea, Lin Tian half-suspected her frantic act might be fake, meant to amuse—or distract—him.

Still, playing along, he replied:

"Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re secretly a loli."

"...... Forget it, forget it."

Su Ran steered the conversation back on track.

"Okay, first things first. Big TikTok influencers usually set their own rates for sponsored videos, depending on whether they’re doing short or long-form content. Your account isn’t at 'million-follower' status yet, right?"

"Nope."

"Well then, I’ll focus on explaining the pricing model for accounts under a million followers."

"There are two main ways advertisers pay: CPM: Cost Per Mille (per thousand impressions). For example, if someone offers you 5 yuan per thousand views, you earn 5 yuan every time your video gets a thousand views. CPC: Cost Per Click. If they put a link in your comments section, you earn money based on how many clicks it gets. The more clicks, the better. Of course, big influencers sometimes charge flat fees regardless of views—but that’s reserved for top-tier creators."

"I see."

Su Ran’s explanation was straightforward and easy to grasp. These basics could be found online or by simply asking advertisers, but Lin Tian wanted insider knowledge to avoid getting lowballed.

"Here’s some practical advice. Before hitting a million followers, the average rate tends to be around 0.06 yuan per follower. So, 10k followers = 600 yuan, 100k = 6,000 yuan, 500k = 30,000 yuan, and 1 million = 60,000 yuan. That’s roughly the market standard."

"Got it, thanks."

With a rough estimate in mind, Lin Tian began calculating. With 320k followers—and growing—his minimum price for an ad should realistically start at 20,000 yuan. Given the high quality of his videos, he could potentially push for even higher rates. Of course, ads varied widely between hard sells and subtle promotions, requiring case-by-case analysis.

"If I have questions later, I’ll ask again."

"Sure."

Lin Tian switched back to his TikTok dashboard. Now, it was time to decide which ad to take.

Together, Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu sat on the couch, carefully reviewing options. Among the eight pre-selected ads were offers from gaming platforms, shopping apps, and social media tools. Based on Su Ran’s market standards, Lin Tian realized these brands were quoting prices as if he had 700k–800k followers—a generous offer indeed.

"What about this secondhand trading platform?" Lin Tian pointed to an app called "EarnEasy," seeking Gan Yanyu’s opinion.

This type of ad was ubiquitous on TikTok and had become something of a meme among viewers, making it less likely to provoke backlash.

"The requirement is for a hard sell—they want us to cut into our performance just before the climax of a song to introduce the product."

Lin Tian read aloud, feeling less confident by the second. Interrupting their music with blatant advertising? He couldn’t imagine anything worse for alienating viewers.

"To be honest, I’d prefer not to include ads in our videos at all. But if we must choose, I think we should pick something that won’t interfere with our musical performances," Gan Yanyu said softly.

"Agreed."

Lin Tian hated forced ad integrations too. But hey, everyone needed to make money—it wasn’t shameful.

They decided to go with something less intrusive.

"What about this one?"

Lin Tian pointed to an advertiser called "Lucky Music Shop." Their offer was lower than others, but since it aligned perfectly with their musical theme, Lin Tian included them in the list of viable options.

The requirements were simple: "Use their provided instruments for one video shoot."

TLN 1.: "No Cilantro" in china refers to a TikTok user named @不吃香菜 (No Cilantro) , whose real-life drama became the subject of viral memes and commentary. The story unfolds as follows: A woman nearing marriage ("No Cilantro") made scandalous comments under someone else's post, boasting about her past relationships. She claimed to have had three abortions, lived with nine different partners, and dated 26 boyfriends. She also mentioned that her fiancé was unaware of her history but still paid a dowry of 290,000 yuan (approximately $40,000).

A well-meaning individual took screenshots of these comments and shared them with her 11 followers. Among these 11 people was her fiancé—an unsuspecting, honest man. Shortly after the exposure, the bride-to-be announced that due to unspecified reasons involving the groom, they had decided to cancel the wedding and proceed to the civil affairs office for divorce proceedings.

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