5
That night, I heard the familiar, grating music again. It turned out Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt had started livestreaming in the room next door.
I immediately created a new alt account and sneaked into her livestream.
At that point, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt’s stream had over a hundred viewers. A few “big spenders” even commented that if she danced one more “uplifting” routine, they’d send her some big gifts on the platform.
Seeing those comments, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt grinned so broadly her eyes nearly disappeared.
“Thank you, boys, for all the love! Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt will dance for you right now!”
This time, she turned the music up to full volume and added a blurry grid overlay and hazy lighting to the screen, making me think I’d opened the wrong app.
That night, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt received at least three or four big gifts from the platform.
Just because she’d gotten a little attention, she thought she’d really managed to borrow some good luck. She became even more convinced that before, she’d just been a little unlucky—not that she had no talent.
The next morning, Tiết Nhạc Nhạc came to tell me Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt was getting ready to take everyone out to eat as a way to “make amends.”
A weasel paying a New Year’s call to a chicken—she definitely had bad intentions.
Wanting to see what she was up to, I agreed to go with Tiết Nhạc Nhạc and her boyfriend.
When she saw all three of us arrive, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt deliberately placed her brand-new phone face down beside the menu, as if she wanted to show it off.
“Nhạc Nhạc, I told you before—your job has no future!”
“Working for someone else your whole life? What’s so great about that? Look at me. I’m living the good life now!”
Then she turned to Tiết Nhạc Nhạc’s boyfriend with a falsely kind expression. “Hey, handsome, I’m Nhạc Nhạc’s cousin. I know I shouldn’t say this, but I’m only telling you for your own good: Nhạc Nhạc only makes three or four thousand a month, and her family’s not exactly well-off…”
Her opening remarks put a damper on the meal, like someone had doused us with dirty water.
Tiết Nhạc Nhạc had already been annoyed, and now she was even angrier, her face flushing red. “What are you talking about?”
Just as Tiết Nhạc Nhạc was about to blow up, her boyfriend pulled her back and held her in his arms.
“I know exactly what my girlfriend is like. Thanks for the warning, but what I like about Nhạc Nhạc is her character,” her boyfriend replied with a smile.
At that, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt looked as if she’d swallowed a fly, thoroughly disgusted.
I looked at her and laughed to myself so hard I nearly showed all my molars.
“Didn’t you say you were treating us to a meal? Aren’t you going to ask your guests what they want to eat?”
Want to show off, huh? Today, I’m going to teach you to be a little more humble!
Hearing that, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt didn’t even realize she was walking into a trap. Still full of herself, she said, “Oh, I know. You haven’t had many views lately, so you’re not making money. It’s only natural you’d want to eat here. Just order whatever you want!”
I smirked. “Excuse me, I’d like a king crab, a serving of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup, a plate of cheese-baked lobster, raw oysters, steamed scallops with vermicelli, and a few bottles of this wine!”
I rattled off ten of the most expensive dishes on the restaurant’s menu.
With every dish I ordered, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt’s expression grew more and more twisted.
I gave her a half-smile. “You can afford to treat us, right?”
She was probably cursing me out in her head, but she forced herself to keep smiling. “O-of course!”
“Great, then I can relax. Could you remind her to pay at the counter first?” I said deliberately to the server.
As if! What if she ran off?
Making money off my luck? Not so fast!
This meal would wipe out every big gift she’d gotten the night before.
If we couldn’t finish it, I’d take the leftovers home. As long as she was unhappy, I was happy!
After I’d “cleaned her out” over that meal, Tiết Nhạc Nhạc’s anger had eased quite a bit.
6
The dishes were served in no time.
Since we’d ordered so much, the owner even threw in a plate of fruit.
I picked up my chopsticks and ate to my heart’s content, while Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt sat there looking as miserable as if someone had stolen her life.
Seeing her like that, I was laughing my head off inside.
After the meal, Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt took out two gift boxes from beside her. “I was in the wrong before. I’m sorry, you two. I’d like to give you these gifts.”
She handed one box each to me and Tiết Nhạc Nhạc.
But I didn’t miss the eager look in her eyes.
Eager? What was she so eager about?
I stayed on my guard.
When I got home that night, I switched to my alt account and quietly entered Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt’s livestream again.
It was rare to see her not dancing suggestive routines. Instead, a few “big spenders” in the room were chatting on the mic.
“Don’t worry. If Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt promised you, she definitely won’t let you down~ Just log in with the username and password I gave you in a bit!”
“You promised you’d send me a Carnival today, right?”
“Haha, in a minute, in a minute. Let me check the goods first!”
I suddenly sensed something was wrong. I looked at the gift box she’d given me, hurriedly took the doll-shaped toy out, and remembered what she’d told me before leaving: “Make sure you take this toy out. It’ll get misshapen if you leave it in the box too long.”
I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the toy to pieces.
Sure enough, just as I’d suspected, there was something strange inside.
I knew there were people online selling “private perks,” but I never expected Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt to treat us as “perks” to make money from.
What kind of people were these? They’d pay a Carnival just to watch someone sleep in modest clothes?
I called Tiết Nhạc Nhạc and told her about the camera.
When she heard, Nhạc Nhạc was so furious she wanted to rush over and kill her.
“I knew it! Why else would she suddenly be so nice?! She was up to something after all!”
“I’m calling the police now!”
“Wait, don’t call just yet. Listen to me: get a tablet, pretend you don’t know anything, and play a horror movie on it. Once they’ve watched it and there’s a viewing history, we’ll have evidence when we call the police—”“Clear evidence!”
Hearing that, Nhạc Nhạc perked up. “All right!”
I gave her Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt’s livestream room number, and the two of us got ready to watch the show.
7
In the livestream room, the “big spender” was still waiting for his “goods.” Lương Nguyệt Nguyệt tapped away at her phone for a while, then both Nhạc Nhạc and I received a message from her: “Remember to put the gift I gave you out in the open! There’s a sachet inside that helps you sleep. It’s best to keep it in the bedroom!”
Nhạc Nhạc and I pretended we didn’t know anything and obediently put the item in the room.
She lowered her head and typed in some password again, apparently logging into a cloud account. When she saw us put the item out, she nodded in satisfaction.
She was probably gloating, thinking she’d make a Carnival without getting caught.
But she had no idea that this very livestream had exposed everything.
“Big brother, it’s done! I’ve sent you guys the account and password on WeChat. Remember to stop by and support your little sister—there are perks every day!”
After saying that, she even winked at the camera.
Perks, my ass!