Chapter 6

The fact that Jin Li holds only a middle school diploma is as well-known as her fame.

When she exploded in popularity, netizens and fans traded insults, using this very fact as ammunition to attack her.

But unlike other idols with only a middle school education, Jin Li never made those lofty declarations about "dropping out to chase a dream," "devoting youth and sweat to the practice room," or "abandoning studies to focus entirely on one thing."

Facing the media cameras, Jin Li stated the reason herself: "No money to study."

This reason was once mocked by netizens; in the year 4202, how could anyone not attend high school due to lack of funds? What kind of primitive savage was this?

But Jin Li truly had no money.

The orphanage where she lived could have funded her schooling, but she refused.

As for the reason, the original owner never spoke it aloud; only Jin Li, who now inherited her memories, knew the truth.

She gave up that tuition fee, which amounted to several thousand yuan annually, persuading Mother Director to use the money for medical treatment for one of the orphanage children.

The child suffered from congenital leukemia, and the annual treatment costs were a bottomless pit.

Everyone knew it was a disease that pouring money into wouldn't cure, yet they still had to treat it; the child had been abandoned at age three, walking to the orphanage alone after her parents lied, telling her this was her new home.

And so, it had remained her home ever since.

The truth of the matter was just that damn frustrating.

There was no moving tale of human affection here; there was only the bloody, cruel reality exposed once the surface was peeled back.

After graduating middle school, Jin Li went out to work, waiting tables, working as a factory girl, washing hair... she did almost every job that didn't require a diploma.

At twenty-one, people told her she was pretty and suggested she try becoming a star, since she could earn money that way.

Earn. Money.

So Jin Li went from company to company; during an interview with her former agency, they happened to need someone for an event, were short-staffed, and since Jin Li was pretty, they pushed her out temporarily.

Just like that, she became an idol in a fleeting glance.

Jin Li snapped back to reality and walked to the bedroom.

In the corner of the room stood a desk covered with various stationery, inside which were also many study supplies.

Sticky notes, file folders, document bags... Jin Li even dug out from the very bottom practice books like "Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulation" and the "Huanggang Secret Papers."

She reached out to gently touch the practice books that looked as good as new, a thoughtful glint passing through her eyes; the original owner must have really wanted to go to school.

It was just that at her age, she had made what she believed was the right decision.

Jin Li did not judge her actions; many people, when doing something, do not consider the future, seeking only a clear conscience.

After dinner, Jin Li opened her laptop, searched the self-study exam website for first-year high school courses, and since ten lessons were available for free trial, she decided to watch them all.

Time ticked by second by second; lost in concentration, she didn't notice the hours slipping away until she snapped back to find her notebook filled with dense writing.

She checked her phone; it was ten o'clock at night, and not a single private message had arrived.

Jin Li stared at the various apps on her phone, hesitated for a few seconds, then decided to turn off the lights and sleep.

Her health was too poor to stay up late.

Time rewound to six o'clock in the evening.

A short video of climbing a mountain to burn incense passed through layers of traffic pool PK unlocks and was pushed before the public.

In the video, the blogger filmed the early morning incense-burning scene at the Great Temple of Yue Mountain in Nancheng, then panned the camera to the girl in black ranked first in line, giving a thumbs-up.

"Heard this girl started queuing when the temple closed last night; she's really going all out to grab the first incense stick. Wish her dreams come true!"

The scene shifted again to that same girl in black; wearing a hat, her slightly exposed eyes looked very focused, while her cascade of dark hair fell down, some resting on her shoulders, some playfully sticking to her cheeks.

Several lines of large text appeared on the screen—

[Great Temple of Yue Mountain, Nancheng: After a woman grabbed the first incense stick,

she ran to a nearby lottery station to buy 100 scratch cards.

She scratched them publicly in front of the main hall, hitting a 200,000 prize on the very last one!

Tourists rushed to the lottery station, buying out all scratch cards within half an hour!]

The scene shifted again, showing the real owner of the lottery station near the Great Temple.

"We've been operating for many years; usually, tourists come by to buy a few cards for fun, and some buy whole stacks. At our lottery station, anyone can pick their own scratch cards, as long as you don't damage them.

A girl won 200,000 this morning; everyone doesn't need to be too surprised, as this isn't the highest amount ever won in my shop—someone once won 500,000 here. Scratch cards are never rigged; we cheat neither child nor elder!"

This short video continued to ferment, being pushed to more and more people.

In just one night, it had gone viral across the entire internet!

WeChat Moments were the first to be overrun—

[What kind of contemporary koi fish is this? For someone who has never even picked up a single yuan in their life, here she is [Wang Wang]]

[Tomorrow I'm running to the Great Temple of Yue Mountain in Nancheng to burn incense, emulating that Koi Miss!]

[The Great Temple of Yue Mountain is right next to my house; the main hall enshrines the God of Wealth who scatters money to aid the poor—Liu Haichan! 'Liu Hai plays with the golden toad, catching money with every step!' I've heard this story since childhood]

[Why didn't I think of this trick? Got it, tomorrow I'm running to the God of Wealth's place to scratch for prizes!]

The image of the girl in black scratching the 200,000 winning card was screenshot and reposted to Qzone, blogs, forums... some even used it as their profile picture!

The event heated up quickly, with many netizens asking who this lucky Koi Miss was?

But for some reason, the Koi in black seemed nonexistent; no one stepped forward to claim identity, and even the omnipotent media couldn't find her.

That was, until a fan of Jin Li saw this video and, before even realizing it, happily shared it to the fan group.

[I scrolled onto Li Bao again; look how amazing I am, this time I found her in a passerby's video!]

Within moments, the fan group became active, starting with a bunch of hype men.

[So strong, too strong!]

[Oh God, you really have such fate with Li Bao!]

[When will I be able to scroll onto Li Bao too~]

Suddenly, a fan posted a long string of exclamation marks.

[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

[So Baby Li is actually the Miss Black-Robed Koi?]

This truly set the pot boiling over!

And all of this, Jin Li, lost in dreamland, knew nothing about.

Rising the next day, Jin Li checked her physical condition; she felt no dizziness or blurred vision, and her state was quite good.

She attributed this to her diligent studying yesterday, so she planned to continue studying today.

At noon, Sui Lingfang called her, saying, "I've already set up your Maozhao Live account for you; I'll send it to your phone shortly."

Although she had said yesterday that she would let Maozhao Live cool off for a bit, she hadn't dared to leave it too long.

Who knew if leaving it to cool might just let it go cold?

This livestreaming gig was relatively easy, doable from home, and she very much wanted Jin Li to secure it.

"Tell me when you're going to livestream, and I'll stay right beside you," Sui Lingfang instructed.

Jin Li agreed, then added, "I plan to start the livestream this afternoon, Sister Fang; if you're busy, there's no need to come over."

Sui Lingfang fell silent for a moment, seemingly pondering something.

Jin Li added, "I'll just chat with the netizens for a while, not for very long; I plan to livestream my studying."

Thanks to the donation from 'I Want to Be Quiet QAQ'; still asking for votes~

(End of Chapter)