Su Ying hadn’t expected to be reprimanded by Su Jiayue, and for a moment she was at a loss.
She opened her mouth to speak, but the tears fell first: “I—Senior Brother, I… I’m sorry…”
Su Ying felt deeply wronged. She had merely sent a red envelope; why was Senior Brother speaking to her so harshly? Weren’t all the members of this family and friends group his own relatives and friends, after all?
She had simply wanted to grow closer to Senior Brother’s relatives and friends.
On the other end of the line, Su Jiayu pressed his hand to his forehead and sighed. He realised his tone had indeed been too harsh just now; he’d frightened Su Ying a little.
He took a deep breath and, adopting his usual, earnest tone, said: “Junior Sister, it’s not easy to earn money these days, and it’s even harder to hold on to it. Don’t empty your pockets just because of a few flattering words online. At the end of the day, you’re nothing more than online acquaintances to them. With all that money, wouldn’t it be better to buy yourself a few nice clothes or treat yourself to something tasty? If you want to do charity, you’d be better off donating to a charity organisation. Giving it to them is like throwing it into the water—you won’t even hear a splash.”
Su Ying clutched her mobile tightly, biting her lower lip as she whispered in her own defence, “I thought… we were all friends and family…”
Su Jiayu snorted derisively. “Friends and family, my foot. Call it what you like—online acquaintances at best, complete strangers at worst. Unplug the internet, and who knows who’s who? Anyway, stop sending out red packets. Next time you fancy sending one, open Taobao and buy yourself a new outfit instead.”
Su Ying nodded meekly. “I understand, Senior Brother…”
After hanging up, Su Ying found it hard to accept the fact that Su Jiayu had just scolded her. Deep down, she felt a tiny flicker of irritation. Of course she knew Su Jiayu was right, but on the other hand, she wondered: what right did he have to tell her what to do?
Was this what people online referred to as having a possessive urge over other people’s money?
Su Jiayu’s ‘lecture’ wasn’t over yet; after hanging up, he sent Su Ying another text.
[Senior Brother: Remember, if anyone comes to you asking to borrow money, you’re not allowed to lend a single penny! If you dare to lend it, I’ll dare to tell you off!]
Su Ying blinked, thinking Su Jiayu was overthinking things. Who on earth would ask her for a loan?—
However, to her surprise, in the brief time it took to make that phone call to Su Jiayu, the messages on her phone had exploded.
Aside from messages in the family and friends group, several people had messaged her through the group, and she’d even received a few friend requests.
【10,000 Woofs: Yingying, could you lend me some money? I just spent a thousand on a fashion item for Miao Miao last week, and I sprained my ankle playing football the week before. My living expenses are running low—please have mercy on this poor soul. Pitiful.jpg】
【10,000 Woofs: Photo of my leg.jpg】
【Keep a Backup: Hey bro, I’m a bit short on cash at the moment. Could you lend me five thousand to help me out?】
【Get Rich: Yingying, fancy joining me for a dungeon run later? I can see your gear isn’t quite sorted yet. I’m super high-level; I guarantee you’ll clear the dungeon in one go.】
【Scammed Out of 50k in an Online Romance: Sweet Ying, shall we grab some screenshots together later? I’ve just set up a new show stage—it’s perfect for duo screenshots. And look, doesn’t this outfit of mine go perfectly with yours?】
……
Su Ying had never received so many private messages at once, nor had anyone other than Su Jiayu ever invited her to play together. She clutched her phone, at a complete loss, unsure which message to reply to first or how to respond.
Just then, a message tagged everyone popped up in the family and friends group chat. In her panic, Su Ying tapped on it.
It was Su Jiayu.
【Su Yuyu: @Everyone, are you all bullying my junior sister whilst I’m away? Why are you all egging her on to send out red packets? Why aren’t you sending any yourselves? Break it up, break it up.】
[Rock Sugar Stewed Konjac: We’re just trying to share in the good fortune. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?]
[Su Yuyi: What about those who got the best luck? Why aren’t they sending red packets so everyone can share in the good fortune?]
After Su Jiayu sent this message, the family and friends group fell silent.
Su Ying pursed her lips. She knew her senior brother meant well, but she still felt a bit downcast. Deep down, she sensed that these people were simply after her money and taking advantage of her naivety.
She returned to the main screen and began replying one by one to those who had sent her private messages:
“Sorry, I’ve arranged to meet my senior brother today. Next time, for sure.”
“Sorry, I’m not really free.”
……
Su Ying breathed a sigh of relief after replying. When she hadn’t received this much attention, she’d desperately craved it; but now that the spotlight was truly on her, even just giving perfunctory replies left her physically and mentally exhausted.
However, that wasn’t the end of it.
After half an hour of silence, the family and friends group chat sprang back to life, though this time it was a far cry from the earlier barrage of “Rich lady! Red packets!”
[Cai Baobao: No wonder they say you don’t need to spend a penny on this game, ‘Blades of Jianghu’. Just sending a thousand-yuan red packet is enough to play the part of a big spender here.]
【Wan Yi Miao: Hahahaha, I’m dying of laughter! You’re absolutely right. In other games, spending a few million just gets you a sound effect, but here, spending a few ten thousand on an account is enough to play the part of a rich lady.】
【Rock Sugar Stewed Konjac: How do you know it’s bought? There are loads of people in the game who take out loans to pretend to be rich, but it looks like there’s no shortage of people willing to fall for it either. After all, there’s Bo Yangyang. Though I wonder if Bo Yangyang actually looked at the photos—she might just be a 200-pound Qiao Biluo, hahaha.】
【Scammed 50,000 in an Online Romance: I don’t mean anything by it, I’m just curious. How did someone who couldn’t even afford a 6-yuan fashion item suddenly get rich? No wonder they say women make money fast.】
【Wan Yi Miao: The online dating bro’s got the truth down pat.】
……
Su Ying watched these people trading barbs and veiled insults, feeling a rush of blood to her head as a buzzing sound filled her ears.
These were the very people who, just moments ago, had been fawning over her in the group chat and private messages, calling her ‘rich lady’. Yet now, simply because she hadn’t agreed to their demands, they’d instantly torn off all pretence and revealed their true, hideous faces.
Su Ying’s hand holding the phone was shaking violently; her vision was already blurred by tears, and large, heavy tears fell onto the screen.
She frantically tried to type a rebuttal, but the tear-stained screen kept malfunctioning, and she couldn’t manage to type a single complete sentence for ages.
When she finally managed to type out a complete sentence with trembling fingers and went to tap ‘send’, a system notification popped up in the centre of the screen: ‘The administrator has muted all users’.
Su Ying froze.
[Su Yuyu: @Wan Yi Miao @Scammed Out of 50,000 in an Online Romance, have you just come out of the toilet after a hearty meal to be so spiteful? Do yourself a favour and build up some karma!]
[Su Yuyu: @Rock Sugar Stewed Konjac @Cai Baobao, sourpuss, it’s obvious you two have no money and no one pays you any mind; even a passing dog would spit at the sight of you.]
……
Su Jiayu’s fierce tirade left Su Ying somewhat dazed. The insults were so vicious, and some of the language was downright unspeakable.
But Su Ying knew deep down that her senior brother was standing up for her. A wave of warmth instantly welled up inside her, bringing tears to her eyes.
Sure enough, whether in the game or in real life, the only one who would ever stand up for her like this was her senior brother.
After his tirade, Su Jiayu kicked everyone who’d been giving Su Ying a hard time out of the group chat, and Su Fufu, the group administrator who’d been absent for ages, popped up.
[Su Fufu: I originally created this group mainly to make it easier for friends and family to play together. Now, all these years on, I’ve been away for nearly two years. With friends inviting friends, the group has changed beyond recognition—there are even people here I don’t know. But regardless, Su Yuyu is my brother, and his junior sister is my little sister too. It’s only natural that relationships vary in closeness. I won’t hold back anyone who wishes to leave. Let’s leave it at that, and give everyone a little dignity.] 】
Within minutes of Su Fufu’s message, a dozen or so people began leaving one after another.
Once Su Fufu saw that most had left, he lifted the group-wide mute.
But Su Ying had neither the heart nor the interest to speak in the group anymore. Without a moment’s hesitation, she blocked the group. Her senior brother was right—they were all just strangers.
As long as she had her senior brother, that was enough.
Su Ying still felt a little uneasy inside. She opened Su Jiayu’s chat window, deliberated for a while, and after editing her message several times, finally sent a message:
“Senior Brother, if it weren’t for me, would the family and friends group have fallen out like this…”
If she hadn’t posted that screenshot from the game, none of this would have happened today.
Su Jiayu’s reply came quickly:
[Senior Brother: It’s got nothing to do with you. They were just online acquaintances to begin with—if they got on, they played together; if not, they went their separate ways. It’s just that they went too far; they shouldn’t have taken your red packet and then sniped at you to your face.]
“Right, thanks for today, Senior Brother.”
Su Ying thought for a moment, then sent Su Jiayu another 200-yuan red packet. Senior Brother had always looked out for her; it made no sense to send 1,000 yuan to a bunch of strangers but not to him. Besides, it was thanks to Senior Brother standing up for her this time; otherwise, given her timid nature, she would have just had to put up with the abuse.
Su Jiayu didn’t accept it.
[Senior Brother: I’ve told you before, if you want to send a red envelope, just open Taobao and buy yourself a new outfit.]
[Senior Brother: I’m not short of money; spend it on yourself.]
Su Ying didn’t press the matter.
Su Ying felt a deep ache in her heart. The events that had unfolded in the space of a single hour felt like a dream—so many people had lifted her up only to let her fall hard.
Whether in real life or in the game, she was always the one left in the dust, unseen by others. In this game that prided itself on being ‘social-friendly’, the only person who could be considered a true friend or relative was her Senior Brother.
In the past, she could convince herself that it was because she had no money, because she was poor, that no one wanted to play with her.
But now that she had money, she’d still managed to make a complete mess of things.
Doesn’t that suggest it’s not about money at all, but rather a problem with her own character?
But if it is a problem with her character, why has her senior brother remained by her side all this time?
Su Ying couldn’t make sense of it.
After this whole affair, Su Ying had no heart to play the game anymore. She opened a social media platform and scrolled through it aimlessly. It’s true that big data has a mind of its own— the homepage was flooded with headlines like ‘Lottery winner squanders 12 million in under two years’, ‘Received 3 million in demolition compensation, then fell into a trap set by an acquaintance and now owes the bank 2 million’, ‘A rundown of the scams that follow overnight riches’, ‘Why does a former 10-million-yuan demolition beneficiary now live in a slum’…
Su Ying broke out in a cold sweat. She suddenly realised she’d spent nearly 200,000 yuan in a single day. At this rate of spending and with this mindset, her 5.04 million yuan wouldn’t last even a year.
No, no, absolutely not. She still wanted to live the good life on that 5 million yuan!