◎Turns Out the Clown Was Me All Along◎
As soon as Chen Xiang heard that Zhong Yao needed help, she immediately made a call and summoned her cousin, Chen Zhu Jing.
“Cousin, you needed me for something?” he asked.
He was wearing a white hoodie, cropped jeans that revealed his ankles, and a pair of white sneakers. The whole look was clean and fresh, full of youthful energy.
“Can’t I call you if there’s nothing?” Chen Xiang patted the seat beside her, signaling for him to sit down.
When Chen Zhu Jing noticed that food had already been bought and set out at the table, his back stiffened and a chill ran down his neck. For his cousin to summon him so uncharacteristically, there was no way it was just to catch up. She definitely wanted something from him.
Instinctively, he tried to refuse, waving his hands and looking for a chance to slip away. But after Chen Xiang bared her teeth and threatened him, he had no choice but to sit down.
While eating, Chen Xiang nudged her chin toward Zhong Yao and said, “Actually, she’s the one looking for you.”
Chen Zhu Jing turned to look and saw that, beside his fierce and intimidating cousin, there was another person, delicate brows and eyes, bright and lively pupils, porcelain-white skin without a single blemish.
Zhong Yao lifted her hand in greeting. “Hello, [1]xuedì, “junior” is simply the English way to reflect the Chinese “学弟”, meaning a male student who is in a lower academic year at the same school. It’s not about age, and it’s not a … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1668848_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1668848_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });xuedì!”
With a crescent-eyed smile, she got straight to the point. “I heard from Ah Xiang that you do self-media and have tens of thousands of followers. I actually came to learn from you.”
Chen Zhu Jing froze. He didn’t expect her to say that, and for a moment he was at a loss for words.
“Uh, not to brag, but I’ve already got over a million followers now.”
He was just about to put on a show of modesty when his cousin’s palm smacked him square on the forehead. “If you’re talking, then talk. Why are you pretending to be cool?”
Chen Xiang narrowed her eyes at him, conveying her meaning purely through her glare: This is my roommate. Put away those dirty thoughts of yours, or I’ll cripple you.
Chen Zhu Jing felt utterly wronged. He had only wanted to show off a little, what dirty thoughts was she even talking about?
Zhong Yao’s eyes lit up. “Here’s the thing. I’ve been wanting to learn how to do self-media lately, but I’m completely lost when it comes to video editing and writing copy. So I was hoping to ask you for some advice, would that be convenient?”
Chen Xiang immediately pressed his head down and answered for him. “What’s inconvenient about that? If there’s anything you don’t know, just ask him directly.”
Zhong Yao beamed. “Then let this meal be my token of apprenticeship. I’ll be relying on your guidance from now on.”
Chen Zhu Jing finally managed to escape from Chen Xiang’s iron grip, only to find that the two people who were supposed to be asking him for help had already linked arms and were chatting animatedly, leaving him, the actual person in question, completely ignored.
He pursed his lips, already knowing that Chen Xiang didn’t call him over for anything good.
Even so, he still added Zhong Yao on WeChat on his own. After finishing the meal and returning to the dorm, he shared with her all the beginner tutorials he had used back in the day.
“These tutorials are perfect for absolute beginners. Start by learning the simplest video editing techniques. I’ll send you the Photoshop installer now.”
His fingers flew across the keyboard, simplifying the key points of each video into language so simple that even a complete novice could understand. He compiled everything into a Word document and sent it over.
Zhong Yao, sitting in the dorm eating a popsicle, couldn’t help but sigh: “Ah Xiang, your cousin is something else. No wonder he became such a big V with tens of thousands of followers. Fortunately I have you to pull some strings, otherwise, where would I even find such a reliable guide?”
Chen Xiang leaned over to look at their chat history, nodding with satisfaction. “If he dares to slack off with you, just tell me. I’ll deal with him for you!”
Zhong Yao expressed her thanks through the chat, then returned to her computer to quietly wait for the Photoshop installation progress bar.
As she was studying the tutorials Chen Zhu Jing sent, a figure suddenly appeared on her screen, it was Dou Dou.
It strutted across the screen as if it owned the place, then leaned over the installation bar. With a small hand, it dragged the progress bar forward, and the stalled bar instantly jumped to 100%.
Zhong Yao almost shouted in surprise. She glanced at Chen Xiang, who was sitting next to her wearing headphones and watching a show, and thankfully, he hadn’t noticed the commotion.
She covered her mouth, opened a new notepad, and typed: “I didn’t expect you could do this!”
Dou Dou ran three steps in two, took a pen out of its pocket, and pouted as it wrote on the notepad.
As it moved, words slowly appeared: 【Are you awed by my charm?】
By itself, the line sounded impressive, but for Zhong Yao, who had just watched the progress bar being dragged and every movement Dou Dou made, it looked exactly like a silly kid whose brain didn’t quite work right.
She nodded perfunctorily, just humoring the child.
Dou Dou slowly wrote another line: 【Forget the tutorials for now. Go check Yu Yin first, I’ve driven a huge stream of traffic for you.】
Zhong Yao didn’t take the phrase “huge stream” seriously. She thought her crappy video getting a thousand views would already be amazing, but when she opened Yu Yin, she found the video was being pushed right on the homepage.
Looking at it as an observer, she had to admit, the video really was trash.
Calling it a video was generous, it was more like a single photo she had taken with her phone, pointing at the sky, completely blurry. The caption was some random, nonsensical sentence with no hashtags or trending words.
And yet, that one terrible video was on the homepage recommendation!
It even had a spot on the trending list.
Zhong Yao felt a bad premonition in her heart. She switched back to the “Shao Siming” account, and sure enough, her phone started “ding-dong ding-dong” nonstop, the red notification dot in the message bar instantly swelling to 99+.
If it weren’t for the fact that this phone was new, she might have thought it was going to crash.
With a racing heart, she nervously opened the homepage and discovered that the video had over ten million views, with likes and comments numbering in the millions as well.
Her phone nearly slipped from her hands onto the desk. After staring blankly for a moment, she began typing frantically: “Dou Dou, what exactly did you do?!”
The video had only been posted for about two hours, wasn’t this traffic way over the top?
“Isn’t this a bit too flashy?” She felt like crying. Just like the first time she saw a video Dou Dou pushed and thought it was a scam, mocking it for faking the news and tricking people into clicks, she could almost imagine how everyone would ridicule her now.
【That’s exactly the point, to let more people see it. Weather forecasts are prophecies that affect livelihoods. Every prophecy concerns thousands of people. Have you thought about how much merit you’d earn if thousands avoided harsh weather because of your video?】
Dou Dou scribbled furiously across the screen: 【If you don’t hurry, do you want to retire in the newbie village forever?】
The little figure on the screen suddenly vanished, diving back into the phone. It opened the video’s comment section for her: 【True warriors dare to bleed and make sacrifices. Don’t be afraid. And those foolish humans will soon pay the price for their ignorance.】
Back on the phone, Dou Dou was in its element, no longer needing to painstakingly write each word by hand. Whatever it wanted to say appeared in a speech bubble beside its mouth.
Seeing this, Zhong Yao’s hands stopped trembling, her heart calmed, and she even felt a little amused.
Before Dou Dou’s real form appeared, she had guessed from its style of speaking that it was a cheeky little spirit. Now, it felt more like the goofy son of a neighbor’s landlord, clumsy and endearing.
Zhong Yao took a deep breath and looked at the comment section.
“Is it really that easy to get traffic these days? This crappy video got so many views?”
“Why even attempt prophecies in Chuan City? It’s like jumping into the lion’s den. I’m in Chuan City myself, and I can confirm the floor here can fry eggs!”
“The weather forecast said only a 10% chance of rain, yet this person speaks with more confidence than the meteorological bureau. @WeatherBureau, come debunk this!”
“This is exactly pandering content, no cost at all, yet they speak so confidently. No wonder it hasn’t rained in Chuan City recently, thanks to you, I’m speechless.”
Mocking and scornful comments flooded the entire section, making Zhong Yao feel a sour twist in her stomach.
With this wave of public criticism, she even began to doubt whether she was actually spreading rumors.
She sighed softly and poked the little figure on her screen: “Thanks… you’ve definitely made my life a lot more interesting.”
She had never been roasted like this her entire life.
Dou Dou didn’t pick up on her sarcasm at all and replied: 【Follow me, and where there’s a bite of meat for me, there’s a sip of soup for you. No need to be too grateful.】
Zhong Yao silently facepalmed, choosing not to argue.
Dou Dou tilted its head, suddenly sensing something. It walked across the screen, exited the comment section, and opened a live stream: 【Quick, watch this live stream.】
Zhong Yao was about to ask what was so interesting when she noticed the streamer’s IP address, showing they were in Chuan City.
She thought she roughly understood why this live stream existed.
Now that the topic carried the “Shao Siming” tag, it naturally attracted traffic. In no time, hundreds, even thousands, of viewers crowded into the live room.
The streamer spoke in authentic □□: “I’m currently on Changming Street in Chuan City. There are only ten minutes left until the three hours Shao Siming predicted. I’ll show you all whether this so-called prophecy is real.”
He walked along the main road, the camera facing outward. Viewers could almost feel the heat rising from the asphalt. The comment barrage started streaming in.
“Front row selling peanuts, sunflower seeds, and bottled water, hope everyone enjoys the show!”
“Poor streamer, walking outside in 40°C weather just to livestream for us. His feet must be burning!”
“It’s clearly cloudless in Chuan City now. How could there suddenly be a torrential downpour? I’m in the front row, ready to see Shao Siming proven wrong.”
Zhong Yao watched the livestream silently, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her chest.
Dou Dou rolled its eyes at her: 【Look at you, so nervous over nothing. Rest easy, my prophecy is 100% reliable.】
As the predicted time drew nearer, the streamer simply stood still and began a countdown with the viewers: “Fifteen seconds left… 10, 9… 3, 2, 1… whoa?”
The moment he finished “1,” torrential rain poured down, immediately soaking the streamer like a drenched chicken. He froze for a few seconds in the rain before sprinting toward nearby shops to escape.
The phone screen flickered a few times and then went black.
The streamer patted his phone helplessly, wanting to cry, if he had known the rain would hit so suddenly, he wouldn’t have gone live. And this was a brand-new phone, not waterproof!
Unbeknownst to him, viewers who had just been watching the livestream erupted online.
“W-what the hell, did I just see rain?”
“Yes, but the livestream ended so abruptly, I barely noticed. Someone explain downstairs!”
“Downstairs can’t explain, they’re still in shock. Anyone who knows, please help!”
“But the meteorological bureau said only a 10% chance of rain, right?”
Suddenly, a comment appeared: “Is it possible the rain was always going to happen, and the 10% refers to the area of Chuan City that would get rain, not the probability itself?”
Netizens: The clown… is me?
Holy crap, Shao Siming’s prophecy was correct!
They rushed to search for Shao Siming’s Yu Yin account, only to suddenly see on screen: This account has been banned due to multiple reports for spreading false information.
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