Chapter 5: The Ultimate Gossip Tool!

Among many cover videos, the most popular was actually a little girl, six or seven years old.

The video's background seemed to be a family gathering; the private room was filled with adults. The girl sang a few lines of the chorus of "Apple Fragrance" a cappella. The entire video lasted less than twenty seconds, but her singing was excellent, rich with feeling. Combined with the stark contrast between her age and the song's style, the video went viral instantly, accumulating over 800,000 likes.

Wow!

More popular than Dad's livestream clip!

Zhang Xian couldn't help but silently marvel.

But this is exactly the charm of the short-video era: in the past, a song needed long-term dissemination to become popular; now, it can go viral overnight.

And often, a song goes viral because of some casual cover—like this little girl's video, clearly just a casual recording of daily life by an adult, yet it blew up instantly.

Ding!

Check-in successful!

This is the third day the host has been slacking off and not working!

Reward: 10,000 R Coins.

Random reward: one Skill Blind Box

(Note: Skill Blind Box randomly grants one skill.)

As Zhang Xian scrolled through videos, the system alert sounded again.

Zhang Xian's eyes lit up instantly.

Another random reward? This is awesome!

【Yes】 【No】 Open Skill Blind Box?

The system voice sounded again.

Yes!

Zhang Xian responded immediately!

Ding!

Congratulations, host! Skill Blind Box successfully opened.

Acquired skill: Bagua Eye

Huh?

Bagua Eye?

What the hell kind of skill is this?

"Pingping, what does Bagua Eye do??"

The system gave no direct explanation, so Zhang Xian asked the customer service Pingping.

"Sorry, Pingping cannot answer this question. The host must discover the skill's function themselves."

That's acceptable!

Zhang Xian was speechless.

But discovering the skill's function himself gave him a gaming-like feeling—exploring its uses was oddly enjoyable.

"Hey kid, any luck with fish?"

At that moment, an old man approached Zhang Xian carrying a fishing box.

Zhang Xian, lost in his system reward, hadn't noticed anyone coming. He jumped in surprise, turned to look at the old man, and froze again.

"You, this..."

Zhang Xian noticed the old man's head had grown "three red threads."

"Kid, what's with that expression?"

"Is there something on my head?"

The old man puzzledly touched his head.

"Uh, no!"

Zhang Xian quickly shook his head, realizing the three red threads were virtual—visible only to him.

As expected, this must be the effect of the Bagua Eye skill.

But what did these three red threads represent?

Zhang Xian fell into deep thought.

"Still empty-handed!"

"Clearly no bite— I'll fish over there!"

Seeing Zhang Xian's fish basket was completely empty, the old man picked up his fishing box and walked off to the other side.

After he left, Zhang Xian reeled in his line, hopped on his electric scooter, and headed to the nearby seafood market.

But his main goal today wasn't to buy fish—it was to analyze what the "red threads" meant. The seafood market was crowded, offering many more "samples" for analysis, so he'd surely find patterns.

After circling the seafood market, Zhang Xian indeed reached a preliminary conclusion.

As expected, the red threads he saw represented how many people this person had had intimate relations with.

For example, the old man by the river had three red threads on his head, meaning he'd had intimate relations with three women.

Wait...

More precisely, three people!

Zhang Xian suddenly noticed two men walking toward him—one red thread on each head was connected. According to his theory, two people with connected red threads had had intimate relations.

For instance, the couple at the seafood stall to his left front: the man had five red threads, the woman had three, and one thread from each was linked.

Interesting.

Zhang Xian couldn't help but smile—he finally understood why the system had named the skill "Bagua Eye!"

He'd been thinking it was some mystical thing, but this had nothing to do with mysticism at all!

Purely a skill that satisfies people's gossip instincts.

Forget distant examples—just look at this small seafood market: Zhang Xian spotted several love triangles.

For instance, the husband at the seafood stall had a red thread connecting his head to a middle-aged woman at the next stall, and one of that woman's red threads also linked to a man at another stall.

And if nothing unexpected happens, these two men probably don't know they're fellow travelers.

No wonder it's the Bagua Eye!

If this skill were given to paparazzi in the entertainment industry, the whole scene would explode!

Zhang Xian couldn't even imagine what chaos would erupt if he showed up at some award ceremony—those stars' heads would be tangled in red threads everywhere.

"Big brother, give me a carp."

"I want this one, jumping around!"

Zhang Xian approached a stall and pointed to the most lively fish in the tank.

He then discovered that even the carp had red threads above its head.

That meant he could not only feast on human gossip—he could feast on animal gossip too.

"Got it! Need it killed?"

The vendor grabbed his net and skillfully scooped up the fish Zhang Xian had pointed to.

"No, just keep it alive."

Zhang Xian waved his hand, and just as he was paying, the vendor's wife walked out from behind.

Whoa!!

Zhang Xian glanced casually—and froze.

The vendor's wife had so many red threads above her head he couldn't count them—at least thirty or forty.

Truly experienced!

Zhang Xian looked at the vendor, whose head had only one red thread, and couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

Without doubt, the vendor, fresh out of the newbie zone, had encountered a seasoned player.

But Zhang Xian didn't dare comment on strangers' private affairs—he picked up the carp and left the seafood market.

On the way back, Zhang Xian felt like he'd opened a door to a new world, constantly scanning passersby; most had only single-digit red threads, some had none at all—usually children.

Zhang Xian glanced at himself in the rearview mirror of his electric scooter—three red threads hung above his head.

Hmm, definitely accurate!

Zhang Xian had seriously dated two girlfriends, both of whom he'd slept with.

There was also one during his internship—his company boss took him to a foot spa, and he couldn't resist the temptation of the masseuse, so he added an hour.

Since his attention was always fixed on passersby's heads, when he passed an alleyway, a large yellow dog suddenly darted out—he couldn't dodge in time, and the dog slammed straight into his electric scooter.

Zhang Xian was tall with long legs; he quickly planted his feet on the ground and stabilized the scooter.

But the large yellow dog lay on the ground, howling "Ao ao!"

"How the hell are you riding?!"

"Blind?!"

"If you're blind, don't go out!"

Before Zhang Xian could recover, a bulky woman stormed forward and launched into a furious tirade.

Zhang Xian steadied himself—he'd planned to argue. Though his focus wasn't perfect, the woman clearly erred first by walking her dog without a leash.

If assigning blame for this "accident," the woman was entirely at fault.

But the words died on his lips—he was stunned to discover one of the woman's red threads was connected to the dog lying on the ground.

This…

Zhang Xian looked at the woman, then at the dog on the ground.

He thought: no wonder she's so angry—she thinks I hit her husband!

"Dundun, are you okay?!"

"Come here, Mommy's got you!"

The woman crouched down and picked up the yellow dog.

Mommy?

Zhang Xian's lip twitched.

His brain struggled to keep up with this shift in relationships.

Sigh!

Society is advancing too fast.

Zhang Xian suddenly felt like a primitive man.

"You hit our Dundun! Pay up!"

At that moment, the woman's voice rang in Zhang Xian's ears again.

"Miss, get this straight—I didn't hit your husband..."

"Uh, your dog!"

"It hit me! I'm not even asking you to pay for my scooter!"

Zhang Xian pointed to his scooter: "Look, the paint's chipped!"

"You..."

The woman was clearly shocked by Zhang Xian's "your husband" remark—this wasn't something to be exposed; if it went public, she'd be socially destroyed.

"Your dog's fine. I'll count myself unlucky—we'll each mind our own business."

"Next time you walk your dog, use a leash!"

Zhang Xian didn't bother to argue with this woman.

She wouldn't even spare a dog—better keep far away from this kind of psycho.

The woman had originally wanted to extort money, but Zhang Xian's remark "your husband" carried too much intimidating force; she opened her mouth, then finally just muttered "I'm just unlucky" and led the big yellow dog away.

Zhang Xian restarted his electric scooter, silently marveling inside: this Bagua Eye really is too nosy!

It's literally the ultimate gossip tool!

He returned home.

As soon as Zhang Xian parked his electric scooter in the courtyard, Zhang Zhaodi ran out.

"Xiaoxian, you're back!"

"Wow, we're eating carp tonight again!"

Zhang Zhaodi's gaze quickly locked onto the big carp in the plastic bag.

"Did we get visitors?"

Zhang Xian noticed an unfamiliar electric scooter in the courtyard, and voices seemed to be chatting inside; he asked casually.

"Yeah, your wife came."

Zhang Zhaodi said, grabbing the big carp.

"What?!"

Zhang Xian was completely stunned.

"Aunt Wang brought a girl, said she's here to be your wife—Dad was thrilled."

As soon as Zhang Zhaodi finished speaking, Zhang Dongshan walked out from inside: "Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"If you don't come back, the girl's already gone!"

Zhang Xian didn't reply immediately, because his attention was on his father's head—his dad had always bragged that ten thousand or eight thousand women had chased him in his youth, yet now his scalp had only two red threads; for a fifty-something widower, that was remarkably faithful.

"What are you zoning out for?!"

Zhang Dongshan tugged Zhang Xian's arm: "Your Aunt Wang's niece came by—she's your age, I think she's great, you've got to seize this chance."

"Dad, I don't even have a job—who'd want me as a husband?"

"Can we put off this matchmaking business for now?"

Zhang Xian had always resisted matchmaking—he longed for free love; who in their right mind does matchmaking?

"Shh!"

"I told her you quit your job and are preparing for the civil service exam!"

Zhang Dongshan whispered.

Uh… preparing for the civil service exam?

No problem!

That's exactly what they say in the matchmaking market.

Zhang Dongshan dragged Zhang Xian inside; Wang Shulan, who lived in the same alley, sat smiling on the sofa, beside her a girl who looked early twenties—her features were delicate, dressed in a light yellow dress, giving off the vibe of a sweet neighborhood girl.

But…

As soon as Zhang Xian entered, he was stunned by the countless red threads above her head.

The wife of the fish vendor who sold him the carp had only thirty or forty red threads, but this girl's head had hundreds—already forming a massive red "yarn ball."

This is definitely a professional player!

Now she's showing up for matchmaking? She's trying to switch from public to private!

6!!

"Xiaoxian, let me introduce you—this is my niece, Wang Jiajia."

"She's your age, though she didn't go as far in school—just community college. She worked in Guangzhou for the past two years, recently came to Beijing to develop—get to know each other."

Wang Shulan held her niece's hand and beamed as she introduced her.

"Hi, I'm Zhang Xian."

Love? Impossible. But chatting? Fine.

In Zhang Xian's experience, professional players like Wang Jiajia were usually great at conversation and skilled at providing emotional value.

But context mattered—providing emotional value was part of her job, and under these circumstances, it might not apply.

Indeed, Wang Jiajia was reserved, even shy—she gave a soft greeting and said nothing more.

"Old Zhang, let's go outside and cool off—let Xiaoxian and Jiajia chat alone."

Wang Shulan gave Zhang Dongshan a meaningful look.

"Yes, yes, young people have their own topics."

Zhang Dongshan nodded vigorously and pulled Zhang Zhaodi out too.

Now only Zhang Xian and Wang Jiajia remained inside.

Zhang Xian rubbed his chin, studying the professional player across from him—Wang Jiajia was attractive, with a good figure, a minor beauty.

With her looks and figure, she'd probably be popular in nightclubs.

And she was young—Zhang Xian was twenty-two; Wang Shulan said they were the same age, so Wang Jiajia was also twenty-two. Logically, she shouldn't be "retired" yet—this was prime earning time.

"I heard from Uncle Zhang that you quit a great job—very brave!"

Seeing Zhang Xian keep staring without speaking, Wang Jiajia spoke first.

"Don't believe him—he's full of nonsense. I got fired."

Zhang Xian shrugged: "My biggest strength is honesty—I don't lie!"

"Oh?"

Wang Jiajia looked at Zhang Xian in surprise, then asked: "Uncle Zhang said you're preparing for the civil service exam—where are you planning to apply?"

"Take what civil service exam!"

"You're putting gold on my face — I just plain don't have a job!"

"Uh, then are you looking for work?"

Wang Jiajia paused for a beat, then pressed on.

"Nope!"

Zhang Xian waved a big hand: "Work? Impossible. A job? Even dogs wouldn't do it!"