When it comes to livestreams, the rule is usually chattier the better, right?

But popular Chinese actor Jackson Yee might have just proven that silence might be the way to go in getting millions of followers.

The 24-year-old kicked off a live stream on Tuesday (Sept 16), quickly greeting followers before spending the next 17 minutes silently stacking stones.

Yup, much like how kids stack Lego, with zero commentary and minus the colourful bricks. 

Sounds boring? Well, tell that to the millions glued to their screens. Within eight minutes, more than 12 million viewers had already tuned in.

By the time Jackson ended the live stream, the total viewership had rocketed past 13 million.

The highlights were brief. The silence was punctuated at one point when the TFBoys member was seen frowning before muttering, “The big one looks too ugly. So boring. I am done. Bye” before logging off.

Just like that, 13 million viewers were left stunned staring at their phones af if they had just witnessed modern art in the making. 

A viewer counted how many words he said in total during the live stream. 

The answer? No more than 30.

However, it seems netizens had questions, many asking the point behind the live stream.

“Was he forced by someone to do it?” joked a fan.

Loyal fans also hit back at trolls who criticised Jackson for wasting their time.

“If you are a fan, you will know that Jackson is already someone who doesn’t speak much,” read a comment, while another wrote, “Just be yourself. Loving you is our job”.