Shen Chuchu almost spat out blood when she saw that her acting skill was only at 19 points when the actual full score was 100. Didn’t that mean her pitiful acting skills have become even more pitiful? How was she supposed to mingle in the entertainment industry with a score like this? She didn’t look bad by any means but how would she manage to get her name out there when she had neither the background nor the skills? The entertainment industry had no shortage of good-looking individuals!    

Also, how would she increase the fate value anyways? She felt that the introduction was unclear on this part.

She remembered that the system would previously pop up whenever she thought of a question in her head. She reasoned that it must be an extremely intelligent system so she decided to ask it a question in her mind. However, the system gave no response at all. Perhaps the question she asked was too complicated? She thus thought of an easy question such as who gave her this system. The system remained unresponsive. After a few more questions, she understood that it would not answer her.

She felt disappointed by this revelation but still found the system very interesting and wanted to continue exploring it. But after the car accident, the hospital visit and then this system all in one day, she felt that her mind was messed up as it is. As she thought about how to go about helping people with marital issues, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

The sun had long since risen by the time she woke up the next day.

Shen Chuchu stared at the ceiling and thought, did she have to change her profession and open a matchmaker agency now? If she didn’t complete the tasks given to her, her acting skills would continue to plummet. At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to be an actress anymore. But she couldn’t just ask people on the street if they have any marital problems. What could she do?

At that moment, her phone made a noise. She picked it up and saw a Weibo notification message.

“90s internet celebrity sold clothes on Weibo, monthly income in the millions…”

Shen Chuchu suddenly felt a burst of inspiration when she clicked open the message.

She could totally follow the route of this successful internet celebrity. She would first put down her roots in Weibo then open a store on Taobao* to earn money. What a wonderful thing! She could both earn money and complete tasks while increasing her acting skills. This was truly akin to killing two birds with one stone.

*TL-note: Taobao is an online retail store. It’s like the Chinese Amazon/eBay.

If this was the case, she would not have to worry about starving to death since her company no longer accepted any commercials for her. This would let her earn money at home while practising her acting skills!

Step 1: Create a new Weibo account with the name: I am Yue Lao. The profile picture was of Yue Lao which Shen Chuchu had downloaded off the internet. Her biography said: “A fake quack* making a living by fortune-telling.” She then posted her first message on Weibo.

*TL-note: This is deliberate irony or a double-negative. Shen Chuchu is advertising herself as a “quack”, or a scammer. However, she’s a “fake quack”, meaning that she’s legitimate.

I am Yue Lao: No.1 Do you want to know who your future husband(wife) will be? Comment below with a picture and let me tell you who it is. There will be only one fortune-telling per day, and let fate smile upon you.

When Shen Chuchu saw an ad to promote to Weibo fans, she took an overdraft of 200 yuan on her credit card and then promoted the ad to ten thousand potential fans. From what she knew about people on the internet, she believed a lot of people would become curious and send a photo after seeing the Weibo message.

After finishing things up on Weibo, Shen Chuchu then hopped onto Taobao to apply to become a seller.

Once everything was done, an hour had already passed.

At that moment, Shen Chuchu received her first comment.

Tiny Workplace Newbie: Really? I’m 26 this year and I’ve never had a relationship before. My mother is urging me to get married and it is driving me insane. OP*, please help. [Photograph]

*TL-note: OP short for Original Poster. Used on online message boards and forums.

Shen Chuchu opened the person’s photo: it was a very pretty girl who did not look 26 years old at all. Three seconds later, a small pink heart appeared on top of the girl’s head.

Status: Unmarried

Marriage Partner: Ding Jicheng [Photograph]　

Marriage Date: December 31st 2018

Marriage Rating: 5 Stars (Conjugal Bliss)

Red Thread of Fate: [Open]

She clicked open the Red Thread of Fate which revealed the couple’s path to marriage.

Red Thread of Fate

Encounter Reason: Classmates during junior high school

Date of First Meeting: September 1st 2005

Meeting Location: North Latitude XX, East Longitude YY, Kang Zhen Junior High School

Relationship Start Date: December 31st 2018

First Night: December 31st 2018

She looked at the five-star rating then looked at the reason and felt that this was all very romantic. Perhaps one side was already secretly crushing on the other.

Shen Chuchu was just about to write a reply when another few comments appeared. Getting started was the hardest part, but the first comment was able to draw out the second and the second then drew out a third. She did not expect such good results from the promotional ad. She was originally prepared to buy some followers but it looked like there was no need for that now.

There was a lot of people so today’s tasks would surely be completed. However, she did not intend to do more than she needed to. She wanted to grow on Weibo for a few days first. Then, when the time was ripe, she would cast out the killing machine on Taobao to complete the rest.

As she stared at the comments on Weibo, it was as if she could already feel countless RMB* waving at her.

*TL-note: Shortened acronym of Chinese currency “renminbi”.

Of course, getting some grub was the most important issue right now. She had already missed out on two meals and urgently needed something to eat to replenish her energy. She had already drafted two hundred yuan from her credit card and used up the remaining twenty-three yuan she had on the taxi yesterday.

She stared at the neatly packed ten thousand yuan in her bag. Shen Chuchu closed her eyes and took out five hundred with a hardened heart. If her plan was successful, she would start earning money very soon and would be able to easily return the money with a simple phone call. If by any chance this did not succeed, she could always borrow some money from her family in three days.

Now that she was penniless, a spicy hotpot was out of the question. Shen Chuchu walked to the closest supermarket and bought a few boxes of ramen, a bunch of sausages, and then finally just some milk and bread. It came to a total of around four hundred yuan. Even if she did not receive any advertisement jobs for a month, at least she won’t starve to death.

Although the trip was short, she had bought a lot of stuff. As soon as she got home she immediately cooked a packet of ramen.

She waited until ten o’clock at night to reply to the first comment. At that moment, her Weibo statistics showed her profile had been viewed 7543 times, with 22 comments, one share, eight likes and a gain of 20 followers. These statistics felt very satisfying to Shen Chuchu…

“Looking back at the sunset, that person resides in the dim light. Your future husband is your classmate from junior high school. You shall be married this year and the marriage will be very joyous.” Within a minute, Tiny Workplace Newbie replied.

“! ! ! My junior high school classmate? OP, you are joking, right? [Shock]”

Shen Chuchu directly messaged her instead of replying to the comment.

In order to convince the other party, Shen Chuchu pretended to be a fake quack.

I am Yue Lao: On that fine sunny day on the 1st of January 2005, a red thread representing love bounded a pair and brought them together. The man is called Ding Jicheng. At the age of twenty-six, both of you shall walk hand in hand through countless seasons together.

Tiny Workplace Newbie: Is this true, OP? Are you lying to me? How come I can’t seem to believe you at all. It’s impossible, he already has someone he likes and plus we were just simply classmates. More importantly, do you know me? How come you know my classmate’s name?

To insist upon her credibility, Shen Chuchu replied with the same text.

I am Yue Lao: On that fine sunny day on the 1st of January 2005, a red thread representing love bounded a pair and brought them together. The man is called Ding Jicheng. At the age of twenty-six, both of you shall walk hand in hand through countless seasons together.

Tiny Workplace Newbie: Hey OP, who are you exactly? Don’t be like this. Be careful or I will expose you!

I am Yue Lao: On that fine sunny day on the 1st of January 2005, a red thread representing love bounded a pair and brought them together. The man is called Ding Jicheng. At the age of twenty-six, both of you shall walk hand in hand through countless seasons together.

Tiny Workplace Newbie: ! ! ! Just you wait. I’m going to expose you.

How was that possible? They just spoke yesterday and he clearly did not like her, Chen Jingjing thought to herself. He had even jested that she wasn’t married even though she was already 26. She also felt hurt because the truth was that she did have some feelings for him.

Chen Jingjing held her phone and pursed her lips. She then simply sent a screenshot of her message with “I am Yue Lao” to Ding Jicheng.

After sending the message, Chen Jingjing began to feel apprehensive. He still had not responded and in desperation, as if she was about to cry, she decided to send another message.

Chen Jingjing: This is ridiculous right. This person actually said we will get married, who would believe that? My computer probably got hacked.

Then, the other person replied. After reading his message, Chen Jingjing became silent as well.

After replying to Chen Jingjing, Shen Chuchu put down her phone in satisfaction. Expose her? Oh, how was she going to expose her? Was it not as simple as just asking the other person? Ahh, what if the other person didn’t admit it or what if their relationship hadn’t yet progressed to love? Maybe she chose the wrong person? But their affection level was 5 stars so they should have both liked each other for a long time. Most people just have 3 stars who are on the edge of either having a divorce or just continuing their lives together.

She silently prayed that she would not tragically die to the opening shot. She then took off her face mask and went to sleep.

The next morning, she opened Weibo to continue promoting her page but instead found that her phone was out of battery. She still distinctly remembered that her phone percentage was still at least half full when she went to sleep last night.

She plugged her phone in then went to wash up.

Half an hour later, she powered up her phone. She was shocked to find Weibo had 99+ notifications. When she made the purchase to promote her message yesterday, there was 23 notifications plus some shares and comments. What exactly happened? With trembling fingers and a heart filled with excitement, Shen Chuchu opened her Weibo.

Right now, her profile had been viewed 8.9 thousand times, with 387 comments, 150 shares, 831 likes and a gain of 356 followers.

Did something happen that she knew nothing about?　　

Chapter 2 | Index | Chapter 4