Volume One, Chapter Two: A Life Exchanged for a One-Yuan Red Envelope
“Did someone really fall for it? 6666.”
“You actually caught a fish with a straight hook???”
“666666.”
In an instant, the livestream viewers jumped from a handful to over fifty.
Qin Yu straightened her posture. This was her first divination since she started streaming, the very first shot in her journey into the world of online fortune-telling. She summoned all her energy.
Qin Yu invited Handsome Grandpa to join her via video.
A few seconds later, a handsome young man appeared on screen. The light above glinted off his earring, making his pale face look even more colorless, the dark circles beneath his eyes stark and evident.
“(emoji) Wow, such a hottie!”
“Who picked that ridiculous middle-schooler username? Oh wait, I see the face now. The fool is me, sob…”
“What do you want to ask?” Qin Yu inquired.
The young man pressed his lips together, sounding a little dejected. “I don’t even know what to ask. I just feel incredibly unlucky lately. I choke on water, I get food stuck in my throat, I trip over nothing when I’m walking, and even just now, when I was topping up my account, I accidentally added an extra zero.”
He’d stumbled into this livestream by chance, and for reasons he couldn’t explain, was compelled to send gifts before he could stop himself.
“An extra zero? Am I hearing this right?”
“666666, that’s so classic.”
“I wish I could add an extra zero, but my balance won’t allow it.”
“Your complexion is tinged with green—an omen of misfortune. Yet, your natural features indicate you should be riding a streak of good luck. Now your color is turning from green to black—very ominous. Have you received anything strange lately?”
“She really sounds like a fortune-teller now.”
“She IS a fortune-teller.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Handsome Grandpa scratched his head. He was usually careless, even if he had gotten something odd, he wouldn’t remember.
“Have you experienced anything strange recently?”
Handsome Grandpa was about to shake his head when something came to mind. He slapped his forehead. “Oh, I ran into a beautiful woman a while back. After we added each other on WeChat, she transferred me one yuan and then deleted me. Does that count as strange?”
“What kind of beauty would need a hottie to approach her? I’m crying.”
“That’s it.” Qin Yu took a sip of water and continued, “Most likely, someone swapped luck and fate with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone exchanged luck with you. Judging by your current appearance, the person must be someone with a short life. If you don’t retrieve your good fortune soon, your life may be in danger.”
“She’s got that old-school fortune-teller vibe now!”
“I can tell that Handsome Grandpa is just a plant.”
“Thank you, upstairs! Otherwise, I’d still be fooled!”
Handsome Grandpa was stunned. Had someone really swapped his luck for just one yuan?
But something else annoyed him more. “Me, a plant? Ever heard of Lu Corporation? That’s my uncle’s company. What kind of price could make me a fake guest?”
Qin Yu was speechless.
To swap luck and fate, you needed the other person’s birth date and time. Qin Yu had wondered how his information had gotten out. Seeing him announce his background so publicly, she immediately understood.
This guy was seriously reckless—he’d say anything.
Meanwhile, Handsome Grandpa saw nothing wrong with it and kept arguing with the chat.
The barrage accused him of showing off, and he was so flustered he nearly pulled out his ID to prove himself. During all this, he kept choking on his own saliva, his face turning red and his neck thick with the effort.
“That’s exactly how your personal information gets leaked. Can’t you be more cautious?” Qin Yu’s voice was soft, but her words carried a warning. Handsome Grandpa fell silent immediately.
“Send me your address in a private message. I’ll send you a talisman to keep you safe from bad luck for three days. In those three days, find a way to return the money.”
Chastened, Handsome Grandpa didn’t dare make a sound and quickly left the video, sending his address in a private message right after.
“That was the worst acting. Obviously fake.”
“But I just checked online—there are photos on Baidu. It really seems to be him.”
“No way! Is it real?”
“If I’m not mistaken, it’s really him!”
“Wait, what kind of background does this streamer have to get a real heir as a plant?”
“Maybe he’s not a plant. Maybe the streamer really has some skills.”
Suddenly, the number of viewers surged to over three hundred.
Qin Yu glanced at the clock. She’d started her livestream late today—it was already ten o’clock.
“I’ll do one more reading before ending the stream. If you want to ask, do it quickly.”
Thunderstorm sent a True Love Forever gift.
Pink Memories also sent a True Love Forever gift.
Almost at the same time, both gifts came in.
Qin Yu glanced at the backend to check the gift times, then invited Thunderstorm to join the video.
“I’ll only do one more reading today. Pink Memories, please come back tomorrow. You’ll be the first.”
“Wow, so cool? Turning down money?”
Pink Memories: “My issue is quite urgent. Could you let me ask first?”
By then, Thunderstorm had already joined the video—a slender young girl appeared on screen. She had also seen Pink Memories’ message in the chat.
“Sis, let her go first. I’ll ask tomorrow,” the girl said gently and modestly.
“All right. I’ll start streaming at one o’clock tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
With that, the girl left the video.
Qin Yu gazed at the young girl’s face and quietly shook her head. Another pitiful child.
Soon, Pink Memories joined the video.
“Streamer, I want to know if the baby I’m carrying is a boy or a girl.” The woman on screen looked exhausted and haggard.
“???”
“What’s this?”
“Seriously? In this day and age, does it matter?”
“You can’t say that, streamer. If you do, it’s like committing murder.”
“Why are you asking the streamer about this? Shouldn’t you ask your husband?”
“That’s not it. I’ll keep the baby no matter what, boy or girl. But…” The woman suddenly changed her words, “I just want some peace of mind.”
“Don’t listen to her, streamer. She’s lying.”
“Strongly oppose favoring boys over girls! Both are equal!”
“Well said, upstairs! Support!”
The woman was at a loss for words, nearly in tears. “A friend of mine works at a hospital. A month ago, I went for an ultrasound. Because we’re close and she knows how much I love my child, she secretly told me it was a girl. But today I went back for another check, and suddenly the baby is a boy!”
“Determining a fetus’s gender is illegal!”
“Chill, it’s her friend—and her friend only told her because she knows she wouldn’t abort.”
“Girl turning into a boy… that sounds creepy.”
“What’s so creepy about that? Maybe her friend just made a mistake and it was always a boy.”
“No, my friend is a professional. She wouldn’t make that kind of mistake.”
Qin Yu said, “Your friend didn’t make a mistake. It was a girl at first.”
“???”
“Is this a joke?”
“Can a fetus really change gender?”
“You’ve had miscarriages before.”
This was a statement, not a question.
The woman looked slightly surprised and nodded. “I’ve been pregnant twice before, but both times, due to my health, I miscarried.”
“That wasn’t an accident,” Qin Yu said firmly. “Someone deliberately caused you to lose those babies, because both were girls.”
The woman covered her mouth, disbelief warring with hope in her eyes. But both miscarried fetuses had already been developed girls.
“Who killed my children?” The thought of her two daughters brought tears streaming down her face.
“Wait, it really was two girls?”
“Streamer 666!”
“The one who most wants you to have a boy—that’s your answer,” Qin Yu said, stopping short of naming names.
The woman trembled with anger, but she already knew. “I know who it is.”
It was her mother-in-law! Her mother-in-law had constantly wished for a big, healthy grandson, and when this pregnancy was confirmed, she’d been overjoyed, always talking about finally having an heir. Though the woman herself hadn’t liked it, she’d never argued with her.
Now everything made sense.
“You can’t keep this child.”