The old man was startled by Shen Zhiyao's solemn expression, but he just turned back to his phone and muttered:
"Such a pretty young lady, but is there something wrong with her head? My Heavenly Fairy Sister is still the best. Sister, I'll send you a gift, when will you come out on a date with me?"
The "sister" didn't appear, but an older woman did.
The woman grabbed the old man's ear and scolded, "Aha! You're secretly watching live streams again! What is this crap you're watching? Get home with me!"
As his ear was being pulled, the old man grumbled back, "Just because your greasy Scholar got banned, you're stopping me from watching Heavenly Fairy Sister. Hah, serves him right for getting reported!"
"You damn old man, you dare insult my beloved Scholar! Tell me, was it you who reported him?"
The woman kicked out in anger. The old man lost his balance and took a tumble, and his forehead started bleeding profusely.
It took the old man a moment to realize what had happened. He murmured, "Is this... the bloody disaster she mentioned?"
He looked back toward where she had been, but Shen Zhiyao was already gone.
Back home, Shen Zhiyao began to research live-streaming.
She was only relying on the original owner's memories to operate the phone. Although she was clumsy at first, she quickly got the hang of it.
She also found a few videos online to understand what exactly live-streaming was for.
In this day and age, everyone was obsessed with live-streaming. A top streamer could earn anywhere from hundreds of thousands to over a million yuan in a single stream, which was a perfect fit for Shen Zhiyao's current situation.
Soon, she started her own stream.
Her stream's name was similar to her real one: "Xiao Shen's Fortunes." The title read: "One thousand yuan per reading."
At first, the number of viewers fluctuated between one, two, and three. No one left any comments; they would basically just swipe past.
Shen Zhiyao wasn't in a hurry. She waited quietly.
About twenty minutes passed before the first comment appeared:
[CuteAndLovelyBeauty: Am I seeing this right? A fortune-telling stream? Quick, tell my fortune! Will my dad increase my allowance?]
Seeing that business had come knocking, Shen Zhiyao said, "One thousand yuan per reading. After we connect on a video call, I'll read your fortune by examining your face."
CuteAndLovelyBeauty swiped away, grumbling under her breath.
But she quickly returned: [I recognize you! You're the one who caused that huge scene at Zhou Ye's concert! You're Zhou Ye's girlfriend!]
CuteAndLovelyBeauty immediately shared Shen Zhiyao's stream in her classmate group chat, her group-buying chat, and her bestie chat. With this ripple effect, the number of viewers quickly soared into the triple digits.
However, these people weren't here for fortune-telling, but for gossip.
[Holy crap, it really is her! I just saw the trending topics. Streamer, are you really Zhou Ye's girlfriend?]
[Our Zhou Ye already said the photos were photoshopped! You're definitely just clout-chasing. See, now you've started streaming to cash in. So shameless! You've totally screwed over our Zhou Ye!]
[She's a stalker fan! She's followed Zhou Ye several times and scared him. What a creep!]
The chat was exploding, and the number of viewers was about to break one hundred, but no one cared about the fortune-telling.
Shen Zhiyao took a sip of plain water and said calmly, "I'm open for business today. Three readings for the day, one thousand yuan each. I only tell fortunes, I don't do gossip."
As soon as she finished speaking, a fan requested to connect.
It was CuteAndLovelyBeauty. She looked to be about nineteen and was very fashionably dressed.
Her background was an opulently decorated grand hall, and a second floor could be faintly seen in the camera's view.
Shen Zhiyao asked her, "What would you like a reading on? Your financial fortune?"
CuteAndLovelyBeauty replied, "I don't want a reading. I just want to know what exactly happened at the fan meet. Are you really Zhou Ye's girlfriend?"
"This stream is only for readings, not for gossip." Shen Zhiyao's eyes glinted as an idea struck her. "However, if you want to know the answer to that, I can satisfy your curiosity after we finish the reading."
CuteAndLovelyBeauty couldn't help but laugh out loud. "And here I thought you had some integrity. After all that, it's just about the money! Fine, I'll take one reading. But after it's done, you have to answer all my questions!"
One thousand yuan was a lot for an average family, but CuteAndLovelyBeauty came from a wealthy background. She spent tens of thousands every month, so spending a thousand to get some firsthand gossip was nothing to her.
Shen Zhiyao said, "As long as you're still in the mood to listen by then, I'll definitely satisfy your curiosity."
CuteAndLovelyBeauty didn't catch the hidden meaning in her words and just said, "But let's be clear. If your reading is wrong, I'm not paying."
Shen Zhiyao nodded. "We can do the reading first, and you can pay after."
CuteAndLovelyBeauty, determined to make the streamer look like a fool, said, "Fine, read my financial fortune then! Today's the day I get my allowance. Tell me how much I'm going to get."
'She didn't believe in this fortune-telling nonsense at all. The streamer would probably just guess a random number and try to bluff her way through it.'
'Besides, the allowance her dad gave her was a very specific number that no one could possibly guess.'
Shen Zhiyao glanced at the girl's face on the screen and calmly stated a number: "Zero yuan."
"??"
CuteAndLovelyBeauty burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHAHA, streamer, are you drunk? Do you have any idea what my dad does for a living? And you're telling me zero yuan?"
Shen Zhiyao calmly replied, "Your previous monthly allowance was 99,999 yuan. Tonight was supposed to be the night you receive it. In eight minutes, you will have a huge fight with your father, and in his anger, he will cut off your allowance. Therefore, your allowance for this month is zero yuan."
[Hahahaha... I'm dying! What kind of dad gives his daughter an allowance that's just a string of nines... Is he treating her like his sugar baby or what?!]
[She probably failed at clout-chasing Zhou Ye, lost her mind, and decided to play at being a psychic.]
[CuteAndLovelyBeauty, as long as you don't fight with your dad tonight, you'll save your allowance.]
[I'm not curious about the streamer and Zhou Ye, I just want to see when this bogus fortune-telling gets exposed. I'll be waiting!]
The comments on the screen were all mocking her.
Only CuteAndLovelyBeauty's expression changed, almost imperceptibly.
'99,999. That was the exact amount of her monthly allowance.'
'Her father was a businessman who was superstitious about tarot cards, and the cards had indicated that the number 9 was his lucky number.'
'That was why her monthly allowance was five nines.'
'The streamer had actually gotten it right!'
'No, it must have been a wild guess!'
'CuteAndLovelyBeauty was an only child, and her father doted on her more than anyone. He would never cut off her allowance.'
'Besides, she was sure she wouldn't get into an argument with her father.'
'Tsk, with such flimsy tricks, she still has the nerve to do readings for people.'
'Let's see how you're going to talk your way out of this in a bit!'
Just then, the main door to CuteAndLovelyBeauty's house opened, and a warm, fatherly voice called out, "Sweetheart, Dad's home!"
CuteAndLovelyBeauty turned her head to look, only to see that her father wasn't alone. There was a woman with him.
She knew this woman well. It was her best friend.
Her best friend didn't come from a good family. For their entire time in college, CuteAndLovelyBeauty had been the one buying her food, drinks, and clothes, and she often brought her home to hang out.
But this same close friend was now linking arms intimately with her father.
CuteAndLovelyBeauty was stunned. "You two... What is the meaning of this?"