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

Inside the red plastic tent of the food stall, fumes billowed and incandescent light bulbs turned yellow from the smoke.

The sounds of drinking games, clinking beer bottles, and sizzling woks blended together into a chaotic mess.

Chen Lang carried Shen Qingci through the shed entrance and found a corner against the wall to put her down.

He pulled out the plastic chair opposite him and sat down, facing the exit.

Standing at 1.85 meters tall, his broad shoulders and casually extended long leg blocked out all the murky views from the food stall.

The proprietress, carrying a greasy menu, came over and asked in a loud voice, "What would you like to eat, handsome?"

"A bowl of plain congee, a basket of steamed shrimp dumplings." Chen Lang tapped his fingers on the table, speaking very quickly.

"Forty more skewers of lamb, two bottles of ice-cold beer, and a plate of garlic oysters, please. Make sure the lamb is extra spicy."

The proprietress glanced at the thin figure across from her, wrapped in a large men's coat, whose face was obscured, and hesitated before speaking.

"Why are you looking at me? Do I have a QR code on my face?" Chen Lang lifted his eyelids, a smirk creeping onto his lips. "Hurry up, boss lady, I'm starving, I could eat a whole cow alive."

The proprietress was startled by the laughter and stumbled into the kitchen, responding repeatedly.

Throughout the entire process, Chen Lang didn't ask Shen Qingci a single question like, "What do you want to eat?"

Shen Qingci huddled on the plastic chair, her large black coat making her appear as a shadow with almost no volume.

Her gaze fell on the dried grease stain on the table, her pupils unfocused.

The congee and shrimp dumplings were served first, steam rising from the white porcelain bowls.

Chen Lang reached out and pushed the bowl of porridge three centimeters towards Shen Qingci, then quickly withdrew his hand.

He didn't urge her, nor did he stare at her.

Chen Lang grabbed a handful of freshly grilled, sizzling lamb skewers and took a bite.

The oil, cumin, and spiciness explode in your mouth.

He took a deep breath, downed half a glass of ice-cold beer, and let out a satisfying sigh.

One string, two strings, five strings.

Chen Lang ate without restraint.

Shen Qingci on the other side remained motionless.

But her gaze, which had been fixed on the oil stain, quietly shifted half an inch upwards and landed on the steaming basket of shrimp dumplings.

Just then, a deafening burst of laughter erupted from the next table.

Five middle-aged men, their faces flushed from drinking, were playing a drinking game.

One of the bald men suddenly leaned back in his chair, his head almost hitting Chen Lang's back.

The bald man turned his head, his pupils suddenly contracting.

"Holy crap! Bro! Aren't you that guy on Douyin—the one who jumped off the bridge?!"

The plastic chair was kicked over, its metal legs slamming against the concrete floor, the sound echoing loudly in the cramped food stall.

The bald man, reeking of alcohol, rushed over and slapped Chen Lang on the shoulder with his large hand.

"Holy crap! Sixty meters, bro! Were you a special forces soldier who retired?!"

His voice was so loud it sounded like he was speaking through a megaphone.

The four drunkards behind them were not to be outdone. They dragged their chairs around and surrounded the group, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Wow, that's awesome! I watched that video three times!"

"Cheers! I have to toast you!"

Five grown men huddled around the table, the sounds of clinking bottles, slapping the table, and laughing and cursing mingling together, creating a volume that rivaled that of a pile driver at a construction site.

Shen Qingci across from him frowned slightly.

Her pale fingers, resting on the edge of the table, unconsciously clenched into her palms, and her originally thin and slumped shoulders tensed slightly.

She raised one hand, her fingertips pressed tightly against her temple.

Chen Lang caught this subtle movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately stood up.

He casually picked up a bottle of beer from the table, strode over, and familiarly put an arm around the bald man's shoulder.

"Brother, you've mistaken me for someone else."

Chen Lang was all serious, but a roguish smile that was hard to tell was genuine.

"That's my twin brother, Chen Tao. He's 0.5 percent more handsome than me. I'm still so jealous that I can't sleep."

The bald man was stunned: "Twins? Really?"

"That's for sure." Chen Lang sighed and shook his head, his acting was ridiculously exaggerated.

"We've been rivals since we were kids. If he jumped off a bridge, I could only jump off a building. If he saved the school beauty, I could only save her best friend. I've lived in my brother's shadow for eighteen years. Isn't that tragic?"

The five drunkards at that table all collapsed from laughter.

Chen Lang put his arm around each of the five people, half-dragging and half-leading them towards their own table.

He took large strides and deliberately lowered his voice by half an octave, as if he were talking about some secret that only his buddies could hear.

Five burly men were led by the nose by this eighteen-year-old boy, and they all happily followed him back.

The laughter has faded, the smell of alcohol has faded.

The entire corner was once again enveloped in the low-frequency hum of the food stall's background noise.

The distant sounds of stir-frying, indistinct voices, and the whistling of the wind through the plastic sheeting no longer sting.

Shen Qingci slowly loosened his fingertips that had been pressed against his temples.

The wrinkle between his brows gradually smoothed out.

She didn't know why Chen Lang suddenly stood up and took the group of people away.

But my headache is gone, and it's quiet around me, and that's enough.

Three minutes later, Chen Lang, after being given half a glass of beer and having three group photos taken, slowly swayed back.

He sat down, picked up a slightly cooled skewer, and continued eating it without looking up.

"Grilled skewers don't taste good when they're cold. Eat them while they're hot."

A very faint sound came from the other side.

A pale hand emerged from the sleeve.

Slowly and hesitantly, he picked up a skewer from the plate.

She took a small bite.

The mutton fat melted between my lips and teeth, and the aroma of cumin and chili powder filled my senses, making my nose sting.

Chen Lang ignored her and continued eating his own food.

After she quietly finished eating her third skewer, he seemed to remember something, took out his phone, and the screen lit up in her direction.

The Douyin backend data interface lights up.

Number of followers: 7.4.

Chen Lang tapped the screen with a bamboo skewer.

"See that? Seventy-four thousand people."

"Based on the lowest revenue share, tonight's show is enough for me to eat barbecue skewers for a whole year."

He tilted his head and bit the bamboo skewer.

"I've already thought of the title for tomorrow's live stream."

"A 250-point streamer helps a 720-point streamer see the world. You're responsible for being the background, occasionally showing your profile to boost the viewership. I'm responsible for creating mischief, getting criticized, and being the clown."

"The profits are split 50/50, so you won't lose money."

Shen Qingci bit into her fourth skewer without making a sound.

The lips, smeared with chili oil, finally showed a hint of the color of a living person.

After a while, she spoke.

"You really... only got 250 points?"

Chen Lang didn't even lift his eyelids.

"It's all in black and white, with the Education Bureau's official seal."

"My average score across all subjects was less than 42. I drew stick figures on the math problems and wrote 'I am very happy to die' in my English essay."

Why?

She stared at the boy opposite her.

The incredible calculation ability and composure you displayed on the bridge just now definitely don't deserve this score.

"He's really clueless."

Chen Lang smiled openly, his long legs casually stretched out under the table.

"Studying is something that depends on being born with talent. When God is about to serve me, he probably just flips my table over."

He leaned back, and the chair back creaked slightly.

"You can focus on getting into Tsinghua and Peking University, I'll play my heart-pounding game. Even if it's a dead end, I can't just keep banging my head against it."

Shen Qingci looked at him.

She was used to giving her all for perfect grades, and this was the first time she had ever seen someone talk about failing an exam so confidently.

Her fingers, which were holding the bamboo skewer, froze in mid-air.

Chen Lang's smile faded, and for the first time, his gaze fell directly on her pale yet stunningly beautiful face.

"Besides living, is there anywhere you particularly want to go right now?"

Shen Qingci looked at her blurry reflection on the table, then looked up at the deep night outside the shed.

The noise from the food stalls grew louder and louder.

Her gaze fell on her interlaced fingers, the tips pressing slightly to leave faint white marks.

Erhai Lake.

The two words were spoken in a very low voice, but they were not drowned out by the sounds of people playing drinking games at the next table.

"In junior high geography class, the teacher showed a picture." She spoke very slowly, her voice so calm it was almost hollow.

"The sky is very blue, the clouds are very low. The water is like a mirror. There is a line of small text at the bottom of the picture that reads... 'Romantic beauty, carefree Dali.'"

She lowered her eyelids. "I've kept this photo in my mind for three years, and I've never told anyone about it."

Chen Lang didn't ask anything.

He took out his phone, unlocked it, opened the map, and typed in the four characters "Dali Erhai".

The screen zoomed in rapidly, locking onto that crescent-shaped expanse of azure water.

Chen Lang took a screenshot, flipped the screen over, and pushed it in front of her.

"OK."

Chen Lang answered crisply and decisively.

"Our first stop is here."

The moment the words fell.

A large stream of dark blue data suddenly appeared in front of Chen Lang's retina.

[Ding! Target (Shen Qingci) has established a short-term survival anchor point!]

[Main Quest - Redemption: Puppet Stage Update!]

[Stage Goal: Escape Jiangcheng with the target and head to Erhai Lake in Dali to complete initial psychological reconstruction.]

[Immediate disbursement: 3,000,000 RMB as start-up capital for your trip (funds have been legally laundered and are tax-free).]

hum.

My phone, which was in my pocket, suddenly vibrated.

The screen lights up, and a bank deposit notification pops up directly on the lock screen.

[Your savings card ending in 8874 has received a deposit of RMB 3,000,000.00, and your current available balance is RMB 3,008,250.00.]

Chen Lang glanced at the long string of zeros that made his head spin.

The corners of his mouth were pulled open.

Three million.

This system is quite impressive.

Chen Lang stood up and went to the front desk to scan the code to pay.

He walked back, circled around to Shen Qingci's side, and naturally turned his back and squatted down slightly.

Shen Qingci obediently climbed onto his back.

Shen Qingci tilted her head slightly, her eyes blank.

"Where to?"

"Lita Plaza".

Chen Lang twitched one corner of his mouth.

"Let me show you around and let you see our new home."

Shen Qingci stood there, stunned.

The words "new home" were too unfamiliar and too heavy for her.

Chen Lang didn't explain much, and casually beckoned with his finger in mid-air.

"Walk."

"Let me show you... something that can flatten this shitty world."