The coffee in HELLOWORLD’s hand had already reached his lips. He let his gaze fall nonchalantly on the computer screen, watching the show with a spectator’s amusement.
No one who interfered with his income would walk away unpunished.
But when the image that popped up on the screen came into focus, his eyes widened instantly. The hand holding the coffee trembled uncontrollably and a splash of coffee spilled onto his pants.
He didn’t even notice.
All his attention was fixed on the computer screen; his heart felt as if gripped in a fist, making him forget to breathe.
He stared at the image in disbelief.
On the screen the youth tilted his head slightly; his soft, beautiful hair fell in careless strands, and the gentle overhead light traced his exquisite, perfect contours.
His skin was white as jade under the lamp, seeming almost translucent, flawless to the eye. Long lashes drooped, casting a faint, lovely shadow beneath his eyes, giving him an indescribable shard-like quality.
Beautiful as if stepped out of a painting.
No.
No painting could create such beauty.
This person looked like God’s most perfect work, beauty beyond words, terrifying in its loveliness.
Even the shabby, gray rental room behind him seemed somehow elevated and clean in the youth’s presence.
Even the light falling from above was perfect.
When HELLOWORLD truly made out the screen, his mind went blank, almost crashing.
What... what is this!?
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He hadn’t successfully hacked the target!?
He’d landed on a phishing fake page!?
Someone this beautiful can’t possibly be real!?
He must have hit a phishing site.
HELLOWORLD slammed the coffee down and his fingers flew across the keyboard, checking the code again and adding many extra safeguards.
Once he was sure everything was foolproof, he hit Enter.
This time nothing would go wrong.
But the image on his screen did not change.
The dilapidated rental background remained.
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The breathtaking youth had not changed.
Even the angle of the light was exactly the same.
But the person in the frame moved.
He’s… drinking water?
This is… a living person!!!
"!!!"
HELLOWORLD’s pupils constricted; his fingers froze on the keyboard, and an involuntary string of curses burst from his chest.
Shit!
Shit shit!
This actually is a real person!?
No way!
It must be fake!
No one can be this beautiful!
Wasn’t he supposed to be a two-hundred-jin fat man!?
Besides, if someone looked like this, who would need to steal pictures and scam? People would hand over money on their own.
When HELLOWORLD hacked into Wen Ruyu’s computer and opened the camera, the barrage in the livestream froze.
It was as if someone had hit pause; the dense insults disappeared, leaving the screen blank.
Completely blank for ten seconds.
The audience was stunned by the sudden change, unable to react.
After ten seconds someone finally sent a message; the comment flashed alone on the screen, glaringly obvious and awkward.
The viewers snapped back to life and the stream exploded; everyone screamed and questioned.
"What the hell!!! What happened!? Why did the background suddenly change!? Wha—what is this!?"
"wowowo! What is this!? What is this!? Someone tell me what this is!? My heart jumped!"
"…………… Did he turn on the camera!? Is this May Wealth Bloom!? Holy shit??? This is too beautiful!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! No one can look this good!"
"I think it’s impossible too. How can a person be this beautiful? It must be a game model!"
"Which game has models this good? How did it suddenly get this pretty!? Did the world evolve without me!?"
[So this is an ad stunt by the game company? Staging this to boost their game? Capital wins. Even if the game is trash, I want to see it now.]
[Fine, fine — this PR move is wild. Never seen anything like this. If the modeling is really this level, okay, I’ll give it a try.]
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No one in the stream believed it was a real person; they all thought it was a corporate stunt for promotion. The on-screen figure was too unreal.
So the viewers turned their ire to the capitalists, demanding the game release — no one was insulting Wen Ruyu anymore because everyone thought it was a setup.
But soon they realized it wasn’t.
Wen Ruyu did not know someone had hacked his computer. He did not know his camera was on. He had opened the stream in response to HELLOWORLD’s threat as bait.
He intended to fish for whoever wanted to kill Yang Ruiqing.
Since HELLOWORLD had posted that thread, even if he wasn’t the mastermind, he must be connected. Starting from him might lead to the killer.
Moreover, he had disrupted the killer’s plan; the killer might come and watch his stream personally. This could be the closest he ever got to the killer.
When Wen Ruyu saw HELLOWORLD in the stream and took a measured sip of water, he opened the mic.
His voice was cool and slightly trembling, deliberately cultivating fear and grievance as he spoke, enunciating each word to apologize.
"Sorry…"
"Here I apologize to student Yang Ruiqing for taking your photos without permission and using them to catfish and profit, causing you great loss and distress. It was my fault."
"Sorry."
When Wen Ruyu began to speak the room fell into a brief dead silence.
Then the barrage exploded again; viewers’ perception collapsed, leaving them speechless with shock.
"Fuck fuck fuck!!! He—he’s speaking! He’s actually talking! His voice is exactly like May Wealth Bloom’s!"
"Oh my god!! This isn’t modeling! This isn’t game CG! This is a living person!?"
"A real person!? My god! If someone looks like this, who needs stolen pictures? Any selfie would get tons of money!"
"I’m losing it! What should he do with this face? Why scam? Just go out and people will chase him for three city blocks!"
"If he went outside he’d get snatched up. I want to grab him right now."
Wen Ruyu continued to apologize, long lashes trembling as he lowered his eyes. "I apologize to everyone I cheated. I should not have used a false identity to gain trust and money. I have returned all the money."
"I know some emotional damage cannot be repaired with money. I am truly sorry."
His gaze was downcast, voice trembling barely perceptibly. His slender body stiffened slightly; he looked helpless and wronged, as if beaten, the corners of his eyes faintly reddened, fragile like he might cry at any second.
"I will not do this again."
The barrage had already flipped one hundred and eighty degrees; previous accusations vanished, replaced with supporters and pity.
And… frantic proposals.
"Baby don’t cry! Stealing pictures and scamming a little money is no big deal. You’re so pretty, what’s the harm? I think they took advantage of you."
"He just needed money. Wanting to make money is drive — it’s normal!"
"Exactly, he’s trying to make money. So what if he scammed a bit? It’s understandable!"
"Those lovers are stingy. Three months of online romance and only that little money, then want it all back. Broke people shouldn’t do online romance!"
"Wife look at me! Give me contact, I’ll be your forty-eighth fish. I’m a thousand times more generous than those stingy ones!"
"Pick me! I volunteer to be his ATM!"
As the barrage went wild, gift effects began to explode on the screen. Gifts started to flood in like they cost nothing.
Wen Ruyu had not enabled live chat in the front-end; the view he saw in the background differed from what was broadcast, but he could still see the continuous gift effects.
His backend also received gift notifications.
Wen Ruyu felt a jolt in his chest when he saw the gifts and an ominous premonition rose. He immediately opened the barrage.
After reading the messages, that bad premonition peaked.
He grabbed his phone from the desk and launched the streaming app, then entered his own stream.
On the screen… was himself.
Because he was looking down at his phone, the person on the screen also had his head bowed, as if looking at something.
Wen Ruyu gripped his phone so hard his expression froze. Once he realized, he panicked and shut the stream down.
His heart raced so fast he nearly lost control; a cold dread crept down his back.
He was exposed.
This rental was unsafe.
He could not stay here.
Until the stream reverted to offline gray and the broadcast was fully interrupted, he slumped back in his chair, drained.
He had to leave immediately.
Wen Ruyu had no time to calm himself. He quickly packed ID and other essentials and hurried to the door.
But… it was already too late.
Just as his hand reached the doorknob, footsteps sounded outside — steady, heavy, and oppressive.
They stopped at his door.