Chapter 9: I Am Not Alone on My Path

The money, barely even warm in his pocket, was swindled away in an instant. Jiang Chen didn't feel a shred of heartache over it.

You can't catch a wolf if you're unwilling to part with the child.

As long as he could win over Li Shurui, what did this little bit of money matter?

"Brother Chen, how's the situation?"

In the dormitory.

Bai Zheli and the other two were all there, clearly waiting for his return.

Walking through the door, Jiang Chen looked composed. He made an "OK" gesture, appearing completely confident.

"Everything is going according to my plan."

Luo Peng couldn't help but laugh.

"Plan? Why don't you tell us, what kind of plan do you have?"

"Do you know Xu Siyi? She's Li Shurui's best friend. She said she would help me."

"Why would she help you?" Luo Peng asked, puzzled.

Being quite candid with his good brothers, Jiang Chen explained, "She had her eye on a bracelet, so I bought it for her. We're allies now."

"What?!"

Luo Peng wasn't as naive as Jiang Chen. He knew all too well the vanity, cunning, and opportunism of certain girls. He immediately asked, "How much was that bracelet?"

"Five thousand five hundred."

Li Shao was stunned. "You gave her all the money Li Shurui gave you?"

"I have a little over a hundred left."

Jiang Chen spoke matter-of-factly; he had also spent a bit on lunch earlier.

Luo Peng froze, then said with agonizing grief, "She's treating you like a sucker just to get something out of you! She has no intention of helping you at all!"

Even Bai Zheli, whose romantic experience was a complete blank, understood that Brother Chen had most likely been scammed.

The girls at the Arts Academy were truly ruthless.

Even someone as pitiful as Brother Chen wasn't spared.

"Jiang Chen, let's go. Let's go find her. We have to get that money back!" The dorm leader, Li Shao, said indignantly, stepping forward to pull Jiang Chen along.

"No."

Who would have thought that even at this point, Jiang Chen remained unrepentant? He pushed Li Shao's hand away.

"You're all misunderstanding. Xu Siyi didn't lie to me. I gave her the money willingly. If I go asking for it back, how can I show my face in public?"

Li Shao and the others were speechless.

So now he cared about his reputation?

"Then tell me, how did she promise to help you?" Luo Peng asked with a dark face, looking like a policeman dealing with a defrauded elderly person.

"She said that girls of Li Shurui's type don't respond to persistent pestering. If I keep hounding her, it will only have the opposite effect."

"That's all bullshit! Everyone knows that! Did she give you any actual, reliable method?" Luo Peng pressed. "If not, then we're going to find her right now to get a refund!"

Five thousand plus.

For a college student, that was definitely not a small sum.

Moreover, Jiang Chen had no family to rely on.

It was one thing for these girls to use their looks to scam others, but to scam even Jiang Chen...

Do they really have no conscience?

"Of course she did."

Jiang Chen said unhurriedly, looking perfectly at ease. "She gave me Li Shurui's Xingkong account."

"Xingkong account?"

Xingkong.

It was one of the hottest short-video apps currently, where users could share their beautiful lives with the whole world.

"That's right."

Jiang Chen continued, "Shurui doesn't like it when I go to see her, so I won't go. I can interact with her on Xingkong instead. Plus, Xu Siyi told me that Shurui frequently livestreams on Xingkong. I can talk to her while she's streaming."

Luo Peng, Li Shao, and Bai Zheli were all rendered speechless, dark lines appearing on their foreheads.

"What kind of 'method' is that?"

Luo Peng said, "Do you have any idea how many followers Li Shurui has on Xingkong?"

"You know?" Jiang Chen asked.

"Of course I know. I even follow her."

Luo Peng said, "She has a hundred thousand followers. She's already a decent-sized influencer. She only comes from an ordinary family; where do you think her lavish spending comes from? It's all earned from being a streamer on Xingkong."

"So she's that independent and self-reliant," Jiang Chen remarked with admiration.

Luo Peng was exasperated and raised his voice, "That's not the point!"

"Then what is the point?"

"Brother Chen, the point is that Li Shurui has a hundred thousand followers! A hundred thousand! That's ten times the total population of our school. Do you really think if you try to talk to her on Xingkong, she'll even see you, let alone pay you any attention?"

Luo Peng felt helpless.

Look at that.

Even the newbie understood.

"That does seem to be a problem."

Jiang Chen frowned, seemingly finally realizing that he might have been played.

Xu Siyi had seemingly given him a great idea, but in reality, she was just blowing him off.

Just as Luo Peng thought he had finally come to his senses and was about to drag him to demand the money back, he heard Jiang Chen say to himself, "It's fine. I'll make sure she sees me."

"Alright, go do whatever you were doing."

The hopeless Jiang Chen sat in his chair, pulled out his phone, opened the Xingkong app, and searched for Li Shurui's account.

*Shurui Sonya*

Luo Peng hadn't exaggerated.

To be precise, Li Shurui's followers had already reached 140,000, making her a minor celebrity.

There were dozens of videos posted under her account—mostly dancing, some singing, and some daily outfit showcases. She was cool and seductive. Clicking on the comments revealed a screen full of "simp" style remarks calling her a goddess.

In this moment, Jiang Chen felt a strange sense of warmth, like finding home.

*I am not alone in my path.*

It was one thing to be the campus beauty, but it turned out Li Shurui had just as many simps in the digital world. Some of the comments were so cringeworthy that even a veteran simp like Jiang Chen found them nauseating.

No wonder she was so arrogant.

Forget 140,000; if anyone had thousands of simps swarming them every single day, they'd be walking on air. How could they possibly care about ordinary people?

Despite the harsh reality, Jiang Chen felt no pressure. He quietly clicked "follow," becoming one of the insignificant 140,000 followers on Li Shurui's account.

*Irregular livestreams, meeting by fate.*

Looking at the bio under the account, Jiang Chen smiled.

A beauty is a beauty.

She had total confidence.

"If Shurui goes live, remember to notify me immediately," he messaged Xu Siyi.

Xu Siyi didn't reply.

Jiang Chen didn't mind. He casually browsed his own Xingkong account.

In his spare time, he also liked scrolling through short videos and looking at news or interesting tidbits, though he had never posted a single update.

Yet, he had over a dozen followers, though he had no idea where they came from.

Opening his following list, besides the Li Shurui he had just followed, he only followed one other person.

His ex-girlfriend, Ai Qian.

Even his profile picture was still a photo of the two of them together.

It was time to end this.

Jiang Chen unfollowed Ai Qian and changed his nickname.

*Lonely Shadow on the Cold River.*

His profile picture was also changed to a lonely silhouette of a man wearing a straw raincoat and hat, standing on a boat facing the vast river.

The "vibe" was instantly elevated.

Next, Jiang Chen browsed through some livestream rooms. Almost none of the streamers paid him any mind, though some streamers acted as if they had seen their parents when certain people entered, acting incredibly enthusiastic.

"What is Brother Chen smiling about?" Bai Zheli whispered, puzzled.

Jiang Chen was holding his phone, grinning to himself.

"How should I know?"

Luo Peng sighed, his eyes filled with pity and pessimism.

"The kid has probably gone insane."

(End of Chapter)