Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I started doing mukbang at Fang Yunsheng’s new media company.

After eating eight bundles of Fujian thread noodles, twenty five-kernel mooncakes, ten bowls of brown sugar tangyuan, six bowls of Nanchang mixed noodles, fifty soup dumplings, and for dessert an eight-inch chocolate cake and five cups of Overlord Fruit Tea, I went viral.

Of course, some were shocked, some were skeptical, some tried to replicate the amount, some scrutinized frame by frame for tricks, some swore I must have purged afterward-in short, it was chaotic.

I ignored all that. As long as I could eat my fill, it was fine.

Fang Yunsheng said he’d reward me and took me and the team on a hunting trip in Africa.

The scenery on the grassland was beautiful.

Fang Yunsheng raised his hunting rifle and killed a majestic lion with one shot; blood pooled on the ground.

“These are beasts specially bred by locals for hunting, half a million each. For people of our status, this is the true game of the powerful.”

“Do you want to try, Taotao?”

He half-embraced me from behind, teaching me how to hold the gun and aim.

Someone from the entourage tossed a bloody deer leg from the vehicle, quickly attracting several leopards.

“This is the essence of hunting. A little bait stirs the primal greed in these beasts. Even knowing the danger ahead, they follow without hesitation-”

“And then-bang!”

Fang Yunsheng whispered the last word softly, his hot breath hitting my neck.

My hand trembled; the bullet whizzed over the leopard’s head. The leopards, startled, grabbed the deer leg and quickly ran away.

Fang Yunsheng didn’t blame me, just patted my head indulgently.

“It’s okay, I know young girls like you are soft-hearted.”

I leaned into his chest, forcibly suppressing the sharp claws about to burst from my fingertips.

Lately, my body had been growing stranger, as if something unknown was about to awaken.

The only constant was the raging hunger in my stomach.

After returning home, another anonymous message came.

“I know who you are.”

“You’re Tao Yun’s sister. You’re getting close to Chen Yuan and his gang-are you trying to avenge Tao Yun?”

“You can’t beat them.”

Annoyed, I simply blocked the account.

The other side quickly applied with a new account.

“I really mean no harm, I just want to help you!”

“If you really don’t believe me, let’s meet!”

I thought for a moment. “Only if you treat me to a meal.”

The other party set the meeting place at KFC.

I ordered five family buckets without hesitation.

The girl across from me, wearing a hat and mask and wrapped up tight, stared in disbelief.

I chowed down on fried chicken happily, and in between sips of cola, I glanced at her.

“Ah, you’re Tao Yun’s roommate.”

The one who gave me the diary.

She looked incredulous. “You recognized me even with this disguise?”

I shrugged my nose. “I remember your scent.”

She hesitated for a long time before saying, “Don’t you have anything to ask me? Like… the real cause of Tao Yun’s death?”

“Oh, I read the diary. It seems like she helped someone and was retaliated against by that group, couldn’t take it, so she committed suicide.”

She stared at me. “That’s it?”

I was puzzled. “Like what?”

She grew agitated. “You know how she died, and you can still talk about it so casually? Do you have any idea how much she suffered before she died?”

I lifted my eyes to look at her. “So? What were you doing while she was going through all this? Wasn’t she the one who helped you back then? Why, as the instigator, did you get off scot-free while she was driven to a dead end?”

“How did you know…”

“I guessed.”

The girl deflated. “You guessed right… Back then, I was vain and fell into Chen Yuan’s trap. He took me to a luxury store, deliberately coaxed me into putting on an outrageously expensive outfit, then refused to pay, forcing me to strip in public. They were live streaming the whole thing for fun… It was Tao Yun who happened to pass by and paid for the clothes for me.”

“That’s what angered that group.”

“They shifted their target to Tao Yun. At first they tried the same trick to lure her, but when she remained unmoved, they started suppressing her. Relying on their money and power, they twisted the truth, slandered and insulted her on any occasion. In the end, even the school believed it, and the day before graduation, they told her that due to immoral conduct, she would be expelled and wouldn’t even get her diploma! That’s why she couldn’t take it…”

I listened while eating from the family bucket in my hands, and finally licked my fingers. “I’m done eating. Thanks for the treat.”

She stared at me dumbfounded. “You…”

“I get what you’re implying. You’re saying that group is really powerful. Don’t worry, I know what to do.”

Just then, my phone suddenly rang.

I pressed the answer button, and my voice immediately turned soft.

“Brother Yunsheng?”

The voice on the other end was light and cheerful. “Where is Taotao right now? I’ll come pick you up. We have an important live broadcast tonight, can’t be late.”

I gave the location, hung up, and before the smile on my lips faded, I saw the girl opposite staring daggers at me.

“I see…” she sneered. “So you never intended to take revenge at all. Your sister’s death is just a ladder for you to climb up.”

“After all, without this, an orphan from the bottom of society like you wouldn’t even have the right to speak to those rich second-generations with power and influence, isn’t that right?”

“You’ve already been captured by that group, haven’t you? You saw their power and class, and you think you can climb high and become one of the elite? Dream on!”

“You think you’re special, so they treat you differently? It’s just bait. If you persist in your delusion, your fate will be a hundred times worse than mine and Tao Yun’s!”

I wasn’t angry; I wiped my fingers clean and stood up.

“No way. Brother Yunsheng is different from Chen Yuan’s group, and I’m different from you.”

“How are you different?”

I tilted my head, showing two little canine teeth. “You’re all after money. I’m different – I just want him.”

“Tao Tao!” she shouted mournfully from behind. “Your sister died so miserably, and you’re still willing to be the enemy’s bootlicker? She cherished you most in life, you ungrateful wretch!”

“Don’t say that,” I turned back with a smile. “You know, we’re all orphans. Tao Yun was never my biological sister.”