5.
I hurriedly asked, “Does the bathroom door lock?”
Only then did Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name realize what was happening. She hurried into the bathroom and quickly locked the door.
“First, send me your address in a private message. I’ll call the police for you!”
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name’s hand shook so badly that the whole screen wobbled as she started typing. The door flew open with a bang.
Just three seconds later, the bathroom doorknob began twisting over and over, and the metal lock rattled sharply.
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name collapsed onto the bathroom floor, completely terrified and confused.
No, if this kept up… the bloody aura between her brows was growing heavier by the second.
I silently recited in my heart, “Heavenly eye, open!”
Luckily, Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name lived not far from me.
I took my little pink flip phone into the living room and called Li Chengyi.
“Li Chengyi, go help me rescue someone, hurry! When you leave the police station, turn right and go straight for two kilometers to No. 1605, Building 33, Jinxiu Gardens.”
“Please trust me! I’ll explain everything else to you later!”
Li Chengyi didn’t ask anything else. He just replied with one word: “Okay.”
Then I heard him start the car over the phone.
I hung up and went back to my office. Through my phone, I could hear frantic pounding on the door.
“Bang! Bang, bang, bang! Bang!”
“Xiaoyan, open the door! It’s Dad!”
When Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name didn’t answer, the doorknob began shaking violently again.
“Xiaoyan, did you faint in the bathroom? I’m going to get something to break the door down. Don’t be afraid.”
I messaged Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name on the livestream: [Keep him there—I’ve called the police! Don’t let him break down the door!]
Though Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name was so frightened she was on the verge of collapse, she still managed to steady herself: [What should I do?]
[Play on his feelings, then tell him you want to sing him a song. It’ll only take a minute!]
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name said in a trembling voice, “Dad… I just went to the bathroom. I’m fine.”
“Xiaoyan, good girls don’t lie! I saw clearly that you weren’t using the bathroom…”
Those words plunged everyone in the livestream into an icy chill!
[???]
[I’m out! I’m freaking out! Does that mean he’s watching Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name?]
[Help! This is terrifying! I’ll be traumatized for life…]
6.
“Dad, I’m begging you… I can pretend none of this ever happened today. Could you let me go?”
Then a strange laugh came from outside.
“Xiaoyan, you’re a smart girl! Open the door. I’ll just grab my things and leave. I won’t hurt you!”
“I can open the door, but I have one condition.”
“Xiaoyan, stop wasting time! I can break this door open with one swing of a hammer. Even if you call the police, they won’t get here in time! Open the door for me. I won’t hurt you!”
“Dad, please—just one minute! Don’t you love me most of all?”
“Oh… I really won’t do anything to you, Xiaoyan.”
I quickly typed a message on the livestream: [Everyone except Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name should mute the audio! Otherwise, you might get into trouble!]
I messaged Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name again: [Turn your phone’s volume all the way up, set it on the floor, and cover your ears tightly.]
[When I say OK on the screen, you can uncover your ears.]
After Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name covered her ears, I began chanting loudly.
“Heavenly and earthly spirits, countless eyes, dark and deep. Before me, a mountain; behind me, a pool. On my left, the dragon’s banner; on my right, the tiger’s markings. By the command of Master San Shan Jiu Hou: bind!”
This was my Daoist spell—the immobilization spell!
When my heavenly eye showed me that the man outside the door had stopped moving, I signaled OK to Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name.
“I’ve got him restrained for now. You have one minute to get out of this house.”
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name sounded uncertain. “Can I really get out?”
“Trust me!”
“Okay!”
She cracked the door open and, sure enough, saw her stepfather standing motionless outside.
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name snatched up her phone and rushed into the elevator without looking back…
When she got downstairs, she ran into Li Chengyi in his police uniform.
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name immediately crumpled to the ground and began to cry.
Just then, her stepfather came running out too. When he saw Li Chengyi in his police uniform, he panicked and tried to flee.
Li Chengyi lunged like a leopard and slammed her stepfather to the ground.
[Curiosity killed me! I was setting off firecrackers with my friends and blowing up a cesspit. The streamer told me to mute the audio, but I didn’t! After we threw the firecrackers in, everyone ran away, but I couldn’t move and got covered in shit…]
[Good thing I muted it…]
[Me too…]
[I’m out! There’s definitely something strange about this streamer!]
[Anyway, it definitely wasn’t staged, because I saw the police myself.]
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name sat on the ground for a long time before coming to her senses. She looked pale, with tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m truly grateful to the streamer for saving me today. I’m going to the police station now to help with the investigation. Once it’s over, my mother and I will definitely come thank you.” With that, she waved goodbye and logged off.
I was feeling a little tired too, so I told everyone in the livestream, “See you again in three days,” and ended the broadcast.
7.
After sitting there for a while, I got a message from Li Chengyi.
[I have something to take care of tonight. Go get yourself something to eat.]
[Okay.]
After tidying up, I was about to go out for dinner when Tiger Skin Live showed several private messages from Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name.
[Streamer, thank you for saving me today, but he’s ruined my life…]
[Do you know where he got the money to pay for my college tuition?]
[He’s a monster. He secretly filmed me, and not only watched the videos himself but sold them on porn sites…]
[The college tuition I was so grateful to him for paying came from selling videos of me naked!]
[When I go outside now, I feel as though I’m not wearing any clothes. Everyone looks at me strangely. I’m so desperate…]
Me: [You don’t have to despair. He’s the one who should be desperate now!]
[Producing and selling pornographic materials for profit is punishable by three to ten years in prison. If the circumstances are especially serious, the punishment can be life imprisonment.]
[As for the videos on porn sites, I have a junior fellow disciple who teaches computers at Wudaokou Vocational and Technical School. Once the police have gotten the paperwork, I’ll ask him to help you get them taken down.]
Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name thanked me again: [Streamer, my mother and I would like to come thank you in person. Would that be okay?]
[No need. I’m sure we’ll meet again if it’s meant to be. Also, congratulations on getting into graduate school.]
It wasn’t until midnight that Li Chengyi finally got off work and came home.
He saw me still studying the app in my office, came over, and told me a few things.
“We found several bottles of sleeping pills in that man’s garage. We concluded that he also deliberately tampered with the door lock…”
“I know.”
8.
Three days later.
I started livestreaming again.
Just one minute into the stream, Not Ashore, Not Changing My Name sent me twenty treasure maps.
The number of people watching the livestream suddenly surged.
Along with dozens of returning fans from last time, hundreds of new viewers joined, too.
[Streamer, please do a reading!]
[This streamer is seriously awesome!]
[I can still smell the poop…]
Some of the new viewers were confused and had no idea what had happened.
I said to the camera, “Same as before: one treasure map, one reading.”
[Lão Kim Chống Ung Thư sent one treasure map]
When I saw that people were still sending gifts, I turned off the gifting feature.
I sent Lão Kim Chống Ung Thư a private message.
[Hi, you can choose a video call. If you’re not comfortable showing your face, you can also send a high-resolution photo.]
Lão Kim Chống Ung Thư: [It’s fine. I can show my face.]
Once the video connected, the commotion in the livestream gradually died down.
A bald head appeared on the livestream screen. The man had a pale complexion and wore blue-and-white striped hospital clothes.
He held a cell phone in one hand and had an IV in the other, clearly in the hospital.
He weakly waved at the viewers with a strained smile. “Hello, everyone. I’m Lão Kim.”
The viewers in the livestream responded enthusiastically in the chat.
“What do you want me to read?”
Compared with the viewers’ enthusiasm, my reaction was rather indifferent.
Lão Kim Chống Ung Thư sighed and began to speak slowly.
“Three days ago, I was watching your livestream on the bus. When you told me to mute it, I couldn’t hear you clearly because the bus was so noisy.”
“After that…”
Lão Kim Chống Ung Thư hesitated a little, but still gathered his courage.
“Then I was held in place for a minute and couldn’t move… More than ten thousand yuan in cash was pickpocketed from me.”
He turned around to show the viewers a long scar on the back of his head. “I have brain cancer. That money was for saving my life…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the livestream erupted with noise.
[A chain is only as strong as its weakest link…]
[Streamer, are you going to compensate him for this?]
[The streamer gave a serious warning! Adults are responsible for their own actions!]
[There were only a dozen or so people watching the stream that day. What are the odds? Could this be a lie…]
Lão Kim Chống Ung Thư read the comments, his eyes reddening with anxiety.
“I’m not lying. I went to the transit security office and reported it to the police. But the police think this person is probably a habitual criminal who picked a blind spot to strike.”
His voice caught with sobs, and he pleaded with me in an almost begging tone. “Streamer, I’m not blaming you. But could you please help me figure out where this thief is? My child is only in elementary school. They can’t grow up without a father…”
I watched him wipe away his tears with a handkerchief, bewildered.
“Why are you blaming me? Don’t you deserve this?”
The moment I said that, the livestream exploded!