Chapter 2
A progress bar raced across the big screen.
When it reached [100%], some experienced audience members shifted in their seats. “Here comes the good part.”
There was no such thing as a free lunch, especially with an opportunity this rare.
In exchange, the Bureau compiled the personal information it had collected and simulated, then screened it publicly.
I took out my pen and notebook and fixed my eyes on the screen.
Li Rui had been plain-looking and scruffy since childhood, and his grades had always been near the bottom. Hardly any girls had paid attention to him at school.
He’d developed an interest in girls early, though. On-screen, his teenage self often hid behind a book to steal glances at the pretty girls in his class.
Then he’d boast to his friends that girls confessed their feelings to him all the time, but he wasn’t interested in them.
The audience burst out laughing at that part. Li Rui’s face flushed red.
As an adult, he’d tried pursuing several girls. Every one of them had rejected him quickly.
He’d return to his rented room and curse them furiously.
“They’re all gold diggers!”
Lying in bed, he scrolled through short videos. Whenever a pretty girl appeared, he immediately commented:
[How much bride price would it take to marry you?]
When he came across videos of happy couples, he’d hammer out a comment:
[There’s no love that pure anymore. Women today only care about money. They don’t understand—you shouldn’t look down on a young man just because he’s poor…]
After watching videos, he opened his inbox and scrolled through his private messages. Not one female streamer had replied to him.
So he sent them filthy insults, one after another.
Even with parts of the screen blurred, the visible words made it obvious how vile they were.
He lived that way for two years.
After a fast-forward, the heroine of his story finally appeared.
Her name was Fang Min, the girl sitting in the corner. On-screen, she looked even younger and more inexperienced.
They met on a blind date. At their first meeting, he deliberately tested her by taking her to a street corner.
Two shops stood side by side: Mixue and Heytea.
“You girls all love milk tea, don’t you? What would you like? My treat.”
Fang Min had gone out at noon and spent two hours walking with him in the blazing sun. She really was thirsty, so she pointed. “This one is fine.”
Li Rui was delighted. He bought two lemonades and handed her one.
“Eight yuan. It’s on me, so don’t worry about it. Eight yuan isn’t nothing, but I’m treating you.”
“Isn’t it four yuan?”
Li Rui put in a straw and took a loud gulp. “I don’t normally drink this. I only bought mine to keep you company.”
“Oh.”
When he got home that day, he called his mother. “Mom, this one’s okay. A bit ugly, but she does as she’s told. She’ll make a dutiful daughter-in-law. Don’t worry.”