The moment Rahul woke up, he blinked his bleary eyes and reached for his phone. Within seconds, he sat bolt upright in bed.
The screen was a sea of red notification dots and unread messages.
"Holy crap! The response is this big?"
He scrambled to open the main video platform. The message icon had already maxed out at "99+." When he clicked into the comments, the sheer density of the feedback made his head spin.
He didn't have time to read individual posts yet; he dashed straight to the creator backend. His heart skipped a beat—the pilot video had already surpassed 800,000 views! Not only that, but it had landed squarely on the platform's trending homepage.
Immediately after, he switched to Instagram and TikTok. The data there was even more exaggerated. On TikTok, the views had already cleared 5 million! The video had 258,000 likes and 56,000 comments. Every time he refreshed, the numbers climbed higher.
Most importantly, his follower count was about to hit 100,000 on TikTok and 80,000 on Instagram.
Rahul was stunned. He had uploaded this with no existing fan base and zero promotion. To achieve this kind of explosive growth with a single video meant he was effectively the "Chosen One" of the algorithm.
He jumped off the bed, pacing the room with excitement. It was just past 2:00 PM. Once people got off work and started scrolling in the evening, these numbers were going to reach nuclear levels.
He sat down at his computer and opened the desktop backend to analyze the sentiment. On the main video platform, the comments were almost uniformly filled with envy. Thousands of users were begging for an immediate update, desperate to see the follow-up of Samina taking him to the police station.
Rahul realized his video had hit a massive nerve for the modern Indian man. In a society where men are expected to bear the brunt of financial pressure—from expensive dates to massive wedding costs—the revelation that there was a place where a woman would offer a 1.5 Crore dowry to a man was a total paradigm shift. It subverted their entire worldview.
Next, he checked the TikTok comments. The atmosphere there was a bit more chaotic. While thousands of female fans were "simping" over his looks and demanding he start live streaming, there were also a fair share of bitter comments calling him a "pretty boy living off women" or a "scam promoter" trying to lure people to Bangladesh to have their kidneys harvested.
Rahul ignored the haters. A massive sense of accomplishment surged through him. His pivot into self-media wasn't just a dream; it was a success. Now, he had to strike while the iron was hot and release the next episode to capture this momentum.
Just then, his phone rang. It was Mr. Sharma, the CEO of the media firm where he had recently resigned. Rahul knew exactly why he was calling. When Rahul had left, the company had been professional and settled his dues promptly. For that alone, he took the call.
"Mr. Sharma," Rahul greeted.
"Rahul! My boy, you're a superstar now!" Sharma's voice was booming with enthusiasm. "The whole office has been watching your video this afternoon. You quietly generated a tidal wave of traffic!"
"I knew you were special when you walked out that door. The next ten-million-follower vlogger is none other than you!"
Flattery is a powerful drug. Rahul found it hard not to enjoy the praise from his former boss.
"You're exaggerating, sir. I just happened to catch the right trend," Rahul said modestly.
"Exaggerating? Not at all!" Sharma replied. "Everyone in the industry is talking about that 'dowry' reveal. Listen, Rahul, I'm calling to extend an olive branch. Why don't we cooperate?"
"You're a creator. You should be out there shooting material, not bogged down by the boring backend stuff. Hand over your account operations to us. It'll be a partnership, not a job. We have the best advertising tie-ups in Mumbai. You won't ever have to worry about money again."
"We'll take a small 30% cut of the ad revenue just to cover our overhead. Everything else—the platform rewards, the gifts, the brand deals—it's all yours. Our goal is to build a super-influencer. What do you think?"
Rahul fell into deep thought. The offer was incredibly tempting and very sincere. However, his gut told him to slow down. He had just started. Monetizing too quickly could make him look greedy and alienate his growing fan base. He needed to build more authority and a larger follower count first. He had enough cash for his next trip thanks to the twins' "gift" anyway.
"I appreciate it, Mr. Sharma. I really do," Rahul said carefully. "But the account is still in its infancy. I want to stabilize the brand and the content before I start taking ads. I trust you, and I'm sure we'll find a way to work together down the line."
Sharma, a veteran of the business, didn't push. "Understood, Rahul! Smart move. Are you free tonight? Let's grab dinner and just chat."
Rahul laughed. "Sir, I wish I could, but I have to edit the next episode. My fans might hunt me down if I don't post soon!"
After hanging up, Rahul felt a surge of confidence. He sat down to start the edit, but his phone buzzed again. It was Kabir.
"BHAI! MY DEAR BROTHER! IT'S GONE VIRAL!" Kabir screamed into the receiver. "Have you seen the college alumni WhatsApp group? Everyone is losing their minds! They're literally planning a massive dinner party just to invite you out! Check the group right now!"
Expert Guide Follow-up:
Rahul's old college friends, many of whom likely looked down on him when he was struggling under his mortgage, are now desperate for his attention. Should he attend the dinner to show off his new Omega and status, or should he stay home and finish the "Twin Penthouse" edit, proving that his work now comes before social validation?