Chapter 120: Chapter 120: A Parent’s Heartbreaking Love

As Shen Zhiyao’s stream popularity grew, her viewer count quickly reached 1.3 million. All of them, however, were there to curse her out, giving Shen Zhiyao a true taste of what it meant to be famous for being hated.

Shen Zhiyao ignored the comments in the chat. “Alright, let’s not be swayed by the chat,” she said. “We’ll now begin the first reading.”

Soon, a young woman connected and appeared on screen. Her username was “Wei Aizhou Lun.”

You could tell at a glance from her username that she was a fan of Zhou Lun. She was also part of the group of fans who had been the most vicious with their insults after the guest list for the variety show *Qing Qing Wo Wo* was announced.

The moment Wei Aizhou Lun opened her mouth, she spat, “You? You’re not even that good-looking! What gives you the right to be on the same show as my dear Brother Lun? Why don’t you just drop out?”

In all the time Shen Zhiyao had been streaming, this was the first time she had encountered someone so aggressive right from the start of a call.

“Whether I drop out or not isn’t your decision to make. Furthermore, this is a fortune-telling stream. If you don’t want a reading, I’m ending the call.”

Wei Aizhou Lun quickly shot back, “I want one! Of course I want one! I’m not an idiot. Why else would I call in if not for a reading?”

Shen Zhiyao reminded her, “I should warn you, one reading costs one thousand yuan. Are you sure you still want to proceed?”

“What!” Wei Aizhou Lun was stunned. “You dare charge a thousand for a single reading! You’re out of your mind for money!”

Wei Aizhou Lun was a college student from a poor family.

Her parents could only give her one thousand yuan a month for living expenses. Every month, she scrimped and saved, and whatever was left over, she’d use to buy her idol’s merchandise. Where would she find the spare cash for a fortune-telling session?

“Are you insane?! You must have seen it was me and jacked up the price on purpose! You’re just trying to mess with me! You’re such a money-grubbing streamer!”

Shen Zhiyao explained, “It’s always been one thousand per reading, ever since I started this stream. My regular viewers all know this. I’m not targeting you specifically.”

“Damn, making money as a streamer is so easy. Just spout a few words, who knows if they’re even accurate, and demand a thousand yuan. Shit! Even the most heartless boss isn’t as crooked as you!”

She let out another curse and was about to end the call when a swarm of people in Zhou Lun’s fan group started @’ing her.

[@Wei Aizhou Lun, get a reading and expose this fraud’s true colors! It’s only a thousand yuan, that’s nothing!]

[@Wei Aizhou Lun, don’t chicken out! She said you don’t have to pay if she’s wrong. Expose this charlatan, ruin her reputation, and make sure she’s too ashamed to go on the show!]

[We absolutely cannot let our dear Brother Lun be on a show with a quack like her! We have to protect him!]

[It’s just a thousand yuan, Wei Aizhou Lun. Don’t tell me you’re too broke to afford it? Just do it! Otherwise, don’t you dare call yourself a fan of Zhou Lun ever again!]

Wei Aizhou Lun hadn’t wanted to spend the money on a reading. But after being goaded by everyone in the group, she felt that backing down would make her an unworthy fan. She’d probably be ostracized by the others and would never be able to show her face in Zhou Lun’s fandom again.

As far as she was concerned, fortune-telling was wrong nine times out of ten.

’If she’s wrong, then I won’t have to pay, right?’

’The thousand-yuan price tag must just be a scare tactic, meant to make me back down.’

’I can help my idol expose this streamer, and I won’t even have to pay.’

’Maybe Brother Lun will even see a recording of this and notice me!’

At this thought, Wei Aizhou Lun’s resolve hardened. “Fine, I’ll do it! It’s just a thousand yuan, what’s the big deal? Acting like no one can afford it! But let me make one thing clear: if your reading isn’t accurate, I’m not paying. It’s not that I can’t afford it; I just refuse to give my money to a scammer!”

Her little speech sent Shen Zhiyao’s fans into fits of laughter:

[If you can’t afford it, just say so! Stop with that nonsense about ’refusing to pay a scammer.’ If you’re too broke, just give up your spot to someone else!]

[Are all college students this trashy nowadays? No manners at all, just spouting nonsense as soon as you connect. Your parents would be furious if they saw this!]

[What bullshit. If her parents knew she was on the front lines fighting for Zhou Lun, they’d be proud!]

The viewers in the chat split into two camps: one side was flaming Wei Aizhou Lun, while the other defended her.

Shen Zhiyao fixed her deep gaze on Wei Aizhou Lun. “Think carefully about whether you can truly afford this. It’s not easy for your parents to make a living. Just to give you one thousand yuan a month for expenses, they have to skimp on everything, eating only two meals a day. But you? Instead of studying, you’re hounding them to buy you a phone that costs fifteen thousand yuan. Do you have any idea what fifteen thousand yuan even means to them?”

Hearing this, Wei Aizhou Lun froze.

’How does she know I want to buy a fifteen-thousand-yuan phone?’

Recently, Zhou Lun had become the spokesperson for a new phone, and the fan group was rallying everyone to buy it. The goal was to show advertisers Zhou Lun’s commercial value, which would make it easier for him to land future endorsements.

Fans who bought the new phone were all showing it off in the group chat and on social media, using their purchases to demonstrate Zhou Lun’s appeal and influence.

Wei Aizhou Lun wanted to get a new phone too, but that particular model cost fifteen thousand yuan!

In comparison, the phone she was using now was an absolute piece of junk!

’Not enough memory, it lags all the time, it’s ugly, and it has no features!’

Ever since she started college, she had absolutely despised this phone.

Her father had bought it for her two years ago, right after she got into university. He had traveled over several mountains to get to the county town, just so she would have a way to stay in touch.

It cost a thousand yuan, and back then, she had felt a pang of guilt about the expense.

But her father had said, “Just take it! Don’t worry about using it! Your mom and I will earn more money, so don’t feel bad!”

Back then, her heart truly ached for her parents…

But after just one year of university, she had become dazzled by the glitz and glamour of the outside world and had fallen into an obsession with her idol.

She was willing to spend hundreds of yuan on signed photos and photobooks from scalpers.

Yet she forgot that her parents back home were working their fingers to the bone to support her. They wouldn’t even spend money on a washing machine for themselves, washing their clothes in the village river even in the dead of winter until their hands were covered in chilblains.

She no longer remembered how, just to pay for her schooling, her parents wouldn’t even buy a head of cabbage to eat at home. Instead, they would go to town to buy cheap pickled vegetables to eat with steamed buns, just to make do for breakfast and dinner.

Now, her mind was consumed with thoughts of how handsome Zhou Lun was and fantasies of how she could get closer to him.

She spent her days not thinking about her studies, but about when her idol would post a new handsome photo, when he might endorse another brand, and what his commercial value was.

Just yesterday, in her quest to support Zhou Lun, she had called her parents and told them her phone was old, slow, and basically useless—so bad she couldn’t even download her study materials.

Her parents, being simple farmers, heard that her phone was unusable and immediately replied, “Sweetheart, don’t you worry. If the old one is no good, we’ll just get you a new one. I’ll send you two thousand yuan tomorrow so you can buy it.”

Wei Aizhou Lun had retorted angrily, “Two thousand yuan! Is a phone at that price even usable?! I want the one that costs fifteen thousand!”

Her dad had been stunned. “What kind of phone costs that much! Fifteen thousand! What’s wrong with a two-thousand-yuan phone? Why won’t that work?”

Wei Aizhou Lun had angrily rattled off a long list of her phone’s supposed problems, stubbornly insisting on the fifteen-thousand-yuan model.

In the end, her doting parents had gritted their teeth and agreed.

They told her they would borrow some money in the next couple of days and send it to her. Whatever the other students had, their daughter had to have it too!

Nothing that had happened in Wei Aizhou Lun’s life could escape Shen Zhiyao’s all-seeing gaze.

For a moment, she actually felt a pang of pity for Wei Aizhou Lun’s parents.

But Wei Aizhou Lun was like a complete moron. Even after all this was laid bare, she thought nothing of it, even complaining that if her parents couldn’t afford to raise her, they shouldn’t have given birth to her in the first place…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep