18
In the bedroom, Xie Zhengjie had just finished reading his third children’s book.
If Chen Linyao knew that he had learned to read and write Mandarin in just half a day, she would probably be stunned.
For cultivators on the path of self-discipline, there was an extensive amount of knowledge to acquire.
In the basics of cultivation, there was a technique to unlock intellectual potential, which significantly enhanced one’s memory and ability to review information, akin to photographic memory.
Thus, Xie Zhengjie could commit the content of a book to memory after just one read-through.
Moreover, while it might seem surprising, the language of Xie Kingdom and the language here were remarkably similar.
Most differences were in the appearance of the characters, while pronunciation and meaning were often the same.
However, there were some differences in the names of certain items.
Of course, technical terms related to modern technology didn’t exist in the Xie Kingdom, but those could be learned quickly.
As Xie Zhengjie picked up the smartphone, he found himself understanding the device much better.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the locked bedroom door, followed by Chen Linyao’s voice.
“Your Highness, may I come in to grab something?”
Earlier, after her extended venting session, the young man had grown wary.
When he got the chance, he retreated to the bedroom with his books and locked himself in.
Thankfully, the woman respected his privacy and hadn’t insisted on coming in to continue her monologue.
When Xie Zhengjie opened the door, Chen Linyao walked over to the wardrobe.
She opened it to reveal Xie Zhengjie’s boxed clothes on the lower shelf, with some of her own clothing hanging above.
On the top shelf, there were various boxes of different sizes.
Chen Linyao pulled out a cream-colored box and reached inside.
Then, Xie Zhengjie saw her take out a red mask that covered almost the entire face, leaving only a small part of the lower face exposed.
Xie Zhengjie had only seen two types of people wear such items:
1.
Actors.
2.
Criminals.
Ordinary people wouldn’t wear such masks unless it was during a specific festival.
The only exceptions would be young children who liked to play with such things, but the woman in front of him seemed far beyond that age, at least four or five years past it.
Could she be up to something shady?
Xie Zhengjie considered the possibility seriously.
If she was about to do something illicit and sought his help, how should he respond?
Should he comply or refuse?
These thoughts flickered through his mind in an instant.
However, Chen Linyao simply took the red mask and left the room quickly.
Just as he thought she wouldn’t ask for his assistance, she stopped in her tracks and turned around.
“Is something wrong?” The prince of the Xie Kingdom asked warily.
“The clothes in that box are all wrinkled. Pick out something to wear for tomorrow, and I’ll iron it for you.”
Perplexed, Xie Zhengjie complied.
After Chen Linyao left the room, the young man couldn’t stop thinking about why she had taken the red mask.
The apartment’s front door hadn’t opened, so the young woman was still in the room.
Why did she need the mask?
Xie Zhengjie found the situation puzzling, almost like a riddle. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
He felt as though the answer was within reach—he could solve it by simply stepping outside and taking a look.
However, tackling challenges like this intrigued him.
Finally, he decided to gather some clues first.
He picked up the smartphone.
And then he opened Baidu app (China’s search engine, similar to Google).
He learned this from the children’s educational books.
Typing “red mask” into the search engine, a wealth of information appeared on the screen.
Impressed, Xie Zhengjie began typing various terms to see what he could discover.
It was even more entertaining than he had anticipated.
It was a stroke of luck that he had asked her to buy him a smartphone.
Initially, the young man had intended only to find clues related to the red mask.
But he became so engrossed in the search engine that about half an hour passed before he heard Chen Linyao speaking to herself outside.
“Hello, everyone. How are you today? Let’s climb the ranks together!”
Xie Zhengjie froze.
What was happening out there?
Had someone entered the room while he was distracted?
But aside from the television and the woman’s voice, there didn’t seem to be anyone else outside.
Xie Zhengjie felt he needed to revisit his investigation.
He typed a search for the meaning of the red mask again; it had to be related to something.
“Hit them already!”
The young man turned sharply toward the voice outside.
“Wow, three kills. I’m amazing.”
The woman’s monologue made the prince of the Xie Kingdom feel uneasy.
What kind of mystical technique is this, hurting people in complete silence?
And who did she kill just now?
Xie Zhengjie typed multiple search terms together—red mask, monologue, killing.
For some reason, the clues seemed to point to some form of mental illness.
“Damn it! Why didn’t anyone come to help me? This sister is about to die here.”
Alarmed, he abandoned his search for clues and rushed out of the bedroom.
What he found was Chen Linyiao, wearing the red mask that covered almost her entire face, sitting in front of some kind of machine.
A sound from the screen followed, and a strange language appeared:
“YOU LOSE”
The woman slumped in her chair, muttering something under her breath that he didn’t quite understand.
The tone, however, was unmistakably cursing someone.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m streaming a game,” she replied, then turned back to the screen, muttering, “I was doing so well just now. I even had forty viewers—the most I’ve ever had.”
Chen Linyao glanced at her viewer count, which had now dropped to three.
“Where did everyone go?!” She quickly scrolled through the comments.
Normally, even after losing a game, her viewer count didn’t drop this drastically.
‘That’s a man.’
‘Damn it!
There’s a man in Miss Red Mask’s room.’
‘What the hell!
She already has a husband?
I’ve been waiting for her to reveal her face, but now I’m done waiting.’
Even though her gameplay is bad and she’s kind of a troll, I found joy in watching her.
But today, my happiness has come to an end.’
‘Goodbye.’
‘Goodbye +1.’
‘Goodbye +666.’
Chen Linyao was stunned.
Too embarrassed to reveal her full face, she had hoped her gaming skills would attract viewers instead.
And yet, here they were, criticizing her for being a bad player.
If I’m so bad, why do you watch me?
She stroked her chin in thought.
After a moment, realization struck—her lower face must be too captivating.
Even just her mouth and jawline were irresistible.
It wasn’t her fault, really.
Sighing, she turned to Xie Zhengjie, feeling a bit deflated.
It looked like she’d have to create a new account and pick a different mask color.
However, when she glanced back at her screen, her viewer count had skyrocketed to 800.
Even more stunned than before, she quickly scanned the comments.
Surely, this must be her loyal fans rallying to support her.
Or so she thought.
‘Screams!!!!!!!
So handsome!!!!!’
‘So handsomeee.’
‘Sister, let the handsome guy stream instead, please.’
‘Is he your brother, sister?
Please introduce him to everyone.’
‘Handshake tickets, please.’
‘Handshake tickets +1.’
‘You all have gone mad.
He’s not even a celebrity.
What are you going to do with handshake tickets?’
‘A national treasure doesn’t need a title.
His appearance alone speaks volumes of his value.’
Chen Linyao was stunned.
The viewer count continued to climb.
Xie Zhengjie noticed the bizarre comments and stepped closer to read them, trying to make sense of it all.
‘Screeeeammm.’
‘Brother, please introduce yourself.’
“What is this?” The young man asked in confusion.
Chen Linyao, looking exasperated, replied,
“These people want to talk to you.”
He spotted a comment that read, Sister, introduce your boyfriend to us.
Feeling it might damage Chen Linyao’s reputation, Xie Zhengjie quickly refuted,
“We’re not a couple.”
‘SCREAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM’
‘Handshake tickets +8888888888888888888.’
‘Name your price for a handshake ticket.’
‘I’m a wealthy person.
Just tell me how much I need to pay for you to have dinner with me tonight.’
‘The commenter before me is a detestable rich snob.
Do you think you can do anything just because you have money?’
‘We’re conducting business.
So what?’
‘I’m not an obnoxious rich person like the previous commenter.
I respect you.
Just name your price, and I’ll double it.
I know many great restaurants.’
With just one sentence from Xie Zhengjie, the viewer count soared to 3,000 in a matter of seconds.
Chen Linyao was speechless.
‘Sister, why are you still sitting there?
Call that gentleman to join us instead.’Chen Linyao closed the program, ending the stream immediately.