A live stream that dramatically transformed a depressed schoolgirl shocked netizens across the count

Shen Qingci's chest rose and fell slightly.

The back of the hand is hidden in the side of the canvas bag.

When she pulled it out again, she slammed an unopened bottle of mineral water onto the aluminum alloy scale pan with her backhand.

With a muffled "splat," water splashed up.

The entire movement was extremely swift and precise.

"The weight of a 500ml bottle of mineral water, including the plastic bottle, should have a standard error of no more than 15 grams."

Her voice was icy cold. "If your scale is working properly, the number should stop at around 515 grams."

She lowered her eyes.

My gaze was fixed on the glaring red text on the electronic display screen, which had been flashing wildly before finally settling on "750 grams".

Then, she raised her eyes and stared directly at the bald, fat man with a face full of scars.

"Move your thumb away from the M3 button in the bottom right corner."

"This is called a password scale. Your seafood, one pound of water will weigh one and a half pounds."

The surrounding clamor of voices abruptly stopped for two seconds.

Several tourists carrying plastic bags suddenly realized what was happening and all stared at the stall.

"Damn! No wonder the black tiger prawns I bought yesterday were almost half a pound less when I weighed them! This is blatant robbery!"

"You heartless, rotten bastard! You cheated me out of the weight and you still have the nerve to complain?!"

The bald boss's feigned kindness instantly crumbled.

The fleshy part at the corner of his eye twitched violently, and a purplish-red aura rushed up to his forehead.

"Bullshit!"

He grabbed the long-handled scoop net, which was covered in slime, from the cutting board and slammed it onto the water tank.

Water splashed out, carrying with it a foul-smelling mud droplet.

"You little brat, barely out of your teens, coming here with a broken bottle of water to cause trouble?!"

He suddenly took a big step forward.

The massive body pressed down, and the hand with black mud under its fingernails reached directly for Shen Qingci's thin shoulder.

"You're buying this grouper today, whether you like it or not. If you don't, I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish! Let's see who dares to stop me!"

Just as that dirty hand was only half an inch away from Shen Qingci's windbreaker collar.

A large, well-defined hand silently reached out from behind.

Without any unnecessary movements, he precisely locked the fat man's wrist pulse.

Chen Lang lazily lifted half of his eyelids.

The nonchalant smile in his dark eyes vanished completely, replaced by a genuine chill.

The five fingers suddenly tightened.

"Click—"

The sound of bones dislocating clearly drowned out the surrounding shouts and curses.

"Ugh—!!!"

The fat man's arrogant features instantly contorted in pain.

The massive body buckled at the knees and slammed onto the anti-slip mat covered in black sewage with a loud thud.

Mud and water splashed all over his head and face.

Chen Lang maintained the posture of one hand in his pocket.

His tall figure stood in front of Shen Qingci, looking down at the person on the ground.

"Forced sale?"

His voice was low and had a nonchalant, roguish quality, yet it also revealed a crazy and ruthless streak.

"If you don't smash this broken scale yourself today, I'll smash your whole business and your hands to pieces."

The fat man's dirty vest was soaked with cold sweat.

The excruciating pain at his severed wrist prevented him from uttering a complete sentence.

"I'll smash it! Young master... young master, spare me! I'll smash it right now!"

"I must have been blind! I must have been out of my mind! Dude, let go... the bone, the bone is really going to break!"

Chen Lang smirked and shook off his hand.

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Shen Qingci behind him, and his signature nonchalant smile returned to his lips.

"Teacher Shen, this online time was definitely worth it."

Shen Qingci stood still.

The faint scent of mint mixed with tobacco wafted from Chen Lang, filling the air around my nose.

That aroma powerfully shielded the fishy stench of the seafood area.

She lowered her eyelashes, her gaze falling on her hands at her side.

On the palm of his hand, four crescent-shaped white marks, hardened by fingernails, were seeping out cold sweat.

She slowly loosened her stiff joints.

She raised her eyes and looked directly into Chen Lang's eyes.

"You knew from the beginning that there was something wrong with the scales at this store."

Chen Lang did not respond.

He simply turned his head, his gaze passing over her thin shoulder blades and landing on the muddy, noisy seafood alley behind her.

The greasy red light bulbs on the pork stall swayed in the wind.

The workers at the next stall were using a high-pressure water gun to wash away the blood and entrails mixed on the ground.

Chen Lang's smile remained unchanged as he put his hands back into the pockets of his large work pants.

"What do you think?" he asked in return, his tone relaxed.

Shen Qingci stared at him intently.

He neither admitted nor denied it.

Chen Lang turned around, his dark eyes locking onto her, and a very low chuckle escaped his throat.

There was no mockery in that smile, but rather a sense of helpless understanding.

"That's just how life is, Shen Qingci."

He lowered his voice, completely suppressing his usual eccentricities.

"Just because you memorize physics formulas doesn't mean life will give you a perfect score based on the standard answers."

Shen Qingci's eyelashes trembled.

"This chapter wasn't taught in the textbook."

Her voice was very soft, with a hesitant tone at the end.

"No, no."

Chen Lang pulled his right hand out of his pocket and curled his index finger.

This time, he didn't feint.

The back of his finger, still warm from his body, flicked her forehead firmly.

The force wasn't strong, but it still left a small, reddish mark.

"Textbooks only teach you to recognize characters, not people."

He withdrew his hand and gestured with his chin toward the bald, fat man who was trembling as he moved the new scales.

"Some people are worth opening your heart to; but some people, if you give them your sincerity, they can immediately sell it by weight on Xianyu (a second-hand marketplace app)."

Shen Qingci raised her hand to cover her forehead, her fingertips slightly cool, and remained silent.

Chen Lang leaned back against the rough cement pillar.

"Sincerity is always the ultimate weapon." He paused, "but this move should only be used on someone worthy of it."

A gust of cold, fishy sea breeze rushed in from the end of the market, making the hem of Shen Qingci's windbreaker flutter loudly.

"That auntie who sells scallions, at three in the morning, in the cold wind, carefully washes the mud off the scallion roots. You saw how hard she worked, and she genuinely gave you a discount of three cents."

Chen Lang's gaze returned to the bald, fat man, his smile turning cold.

"But for someone like that?"

"The more sincere you are, the more he will think you are an easy fool to manipulate."

Shen Qingci lowered her eyes.

A cold wind brushed against her thin shoulder blades.

She gripped the strap of the canvas bag tightly, her knuckles turning white, then nodded slightly.

"I've got it."

After a brief pause, the live stream chat exploded with comments.

Holy crap! I could feel the pain in my bones just watching Lang Shen snap his wrist!

[Questioning underachievers, understanding underachievers, and even admiring underachievers! Lang Ge's words are practically a perfect answer to a social psychology question!]

I used to think that being sincere to everyone was a virtue. But Lang Ge's words today completely blew my brain and woke me up—being sincere to trash is betraying yourself!

[Qin Feng, the Unlearned and Incompetent: Master, please accept my bow! This teaching method of letting her hit a brick wall herself, then gently applying medicine after the pain, is more effective than lecturing her with ten thousand grand principles!]

A burst of cheers erupted from the surrounding area.

Shen Qingci turned around and stopped in front of a stall next door that used an old-fashioned steelyard balance.

The stall was small, and the fish tank was a repurposed old enamel basin.

The blue paint chipped off the edge revealed rust, but the water was crystal clear, and the oxygen pump was bubbling away.

The stall owner was a woman in her fifties; her waterproof apron was faded from washing but still clean.

Shen Qingci stared at it quietly for three seconds.

This time, she didn't rush to speak.

There was no excess blood or scales on the cutting board, and the old-fashioned steelyard hanging on the iron hook was polished to a shine.

"Auntie, you've cleaned this cutting board so well."

Shen Qingci spoke, and the tension in his voice completely dissipated, revealing a sense of relaxation.

The woman was wiping the water stains with a rag when she heard this, so she straightened up.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her elbow and smiled, revealing a face full of simple, honest wrinkles.

"Oh my, little girl, you have a sharp eye. I can't stand dirt. I have to rinse my stall with water three times every day before I close up shop, otherwise it'll attract flies the next day."

The older woman lowered her voice and gestured towards the bald man next to her who was still changing scales, "Look at the filthy look on the other side, tsk tsk."

Shen Qingci smiled slightly and pointed to the enamel basin.

"Could you please weigh this grouper for me?"

The older woman deftly scooped up the fish and hung them on the scale.

The steelyard rod is raised high, and the weight is steadily resting on the scale.

"One pound and six ounces, that's eighty-five yuan a pound, that's one hundred and thirty-six yuan. Since the auntie likes you, she'll round it down to one hundred and thirty!"

Shen Qingci looked at the unambiguous scale and then at the old woman's open and warm gaze.

"Received payment via WeChat, 130 yuan."

The woman deftly tied a tight knot in the bag.

When handing it over, I deliberately used the rough back of my hand to pad the bottom of the bag.

"Little girl, take this. There's water at the bottom of the bag. Don't get your pretty clothes dirty."

Shen Qingci reached out and took it.

As her fingertips brushed against the calloused back of the woman's hand, the rough texture made her feel at ease.

"Thank you, Auntie. I'll only buy from your store next time."

Shen Qingci turned around.

He held a handful of earthy scallions in his left hand and carried a heavy grouper in his right.

The plastic bag swayed gently in front of her knees with each step she took.

She walked up to Chen Lang and stopped, tilting her head slightly to look at him quietly.

Chen Lang lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the spoils in her hands.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly by half an inch.

"He has good comprehension."

For the next half hour, the entire market became Shen Qingci's training ground for beginners.

Standing in front of the tofu stall, looking at the steaming whiteboard, she took the initiative to speak to the Bai ethnic woman.

"Auntie, your tofu smells so good, it has a wonderful bean aroma. I'd like to make fish soup, what kind of tofu best enhances the flavor?"

The old lady was delighted by the address and, with a swift motion, cut off a thicker piece and stuffed it into the box.

"Young lady, you have such a sweet tongue! Take this tenderest piece; it'll make such a delicious soup that it'll make your eyebrows fall off!"

Standing in front of the fruit stand, she stared at the red strawberries with water droplets in the bamboo basket and immediately put Chen Lang's formula into practice.

"Sister, your strawberries are all perfectly red and without a single bruise. Did you personally pick them one by one in the greenhouse early this morning? You're so dedicated."

The stall owner laughed so hard she slapped her thigh.

"Oh my! This girl wants to make me feel good before she haggles, right? Fine, fine, since you're praising me so sincerely, I'll give you two more big green mangoes!"

The bullet screen section was completely overrun.

[Oh no! Qingci's top-notch conversation skills are a direct inheritance from Brother Lang!]

[From a socially awkward academic genius who couldn't even afford scallions, to a sweet-talking little devil at the market, it only took Chen Lang!]

The way these two are shopping at the market right now looks just like a newlywed couple who've been married for three years and have amazing chemistry! Those who believe in pure romance are practically declaring today is Chinese New Year!