After receiving the money, Li Jiangyuan led his parents away.
Before walking out the door, Li Jiangyuan's mother could not resist throwing out a parting threat: "There are plenty of people lining up for a catch like my son, don't live to regret this!"
Wang Xiuying hurled her pillow at the door. "Whoever ends up with your family is cursed for eight lifetimes! Have you people no shred of conscience?"
The words struck the three of them like sharp thorns. They glared furiously at Wang Xiuying, but had to choke back their anger and leave.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What shameless faces. No wonder they're the kind of family who could dream up such a despicable trick." Lin Yu shook her head, then turned to Shen Xue. "Sister Xiaoxue is a blessed person, we don't need to cross thresholds like that."
Shen Xue and Wang Xiuying nodded, their gloomy moods lifting considerably. Lin Yu was their benefactor; without her, they might actually have fallen for it. These Li family members were far too good at putting on an act.
Shen Xue sat down next to Lin Yu and asked, "Little Sister Lin, how did you know? Did you know Li Jiangyuan beforehand?"
Lin Yu shook her head and said mysteriously, "I know physiognomy."
Shen Xue and Wang Xiuying exchanged glances, though they didn't take it seriously, assuming Lin Yu had merely crossed paths with Li Jiangyuan and Zhao Yue by chance.
That evening, Shen Xue ordered a spread of delicious food to reward Lin Yu, and even returned the ten yuan she had placed on the table earlier. Lin Yu didn't refuse; ten yuan was still money, and she was so broke she couldn't even afford her medical bills. Every little bit saved helped.
After the meal, Lin Yu opened her livestream and adjusted the beauty filter to hide her haggard face. In her past life, she hadn't just worked as an offline matchmaker; she had also used livestreaming to help many new couples happily tie the knot. Now that she was hospitalized, livestreaming was the fastest way to monetize her skills.
Shen Xue watched as Lin Yu typed a message and pinned it to the screen:
"Matchmaker Hotline: Matching You with Your Ideal Match"
After struggling to find the right words for a long time, Shen Xue finally asked, "You want to be a matchmaker?"
Lin Yu nodded. She was simply picking up her old trade again.
Shen Xue was deeply puzzled. Weren't matchmakers usually women in their forties or fifties? Had the rat race really gotten so intense that eighteen-year-olds were doing it now?
"Welcome everyone to the livestream. Your host is a matchmaker. If any of you are hesitating and can't decide whether to stay with your partner, come ask the host. I'll escort your romance safely along the way."
Beneath the beauty filter, Lin Yu flashed a playful smile, but the smile vanished almost immediately as the viewer count plummeted from one to zero, leaving behind a single parting comment.
[Whoever falls in love is a dog: Long live being single!]
It took a full five minutes for Lin Yu to recover her senses. To think that she, the legendary gold-medal matchmaker, could actually score a flat zero on a livestream!
Watching people cycle in and out of the stream without staying, a wave of frustration washed over Lin Yu. Her gaze fell on the delicate little face in the frame, and she muttered to herself that being too young was definitely to blame.
Decisively, Lin Yu switched to an elderly filter. "This looks much more authoritative."
Shen Xue stared at the wrinkled face on the screen featuring a prominent matchmaker's mole, a tangle of question marks hanging over her head.
Little Sister Lin's train of thought was truly... bizarre. Yet from a practical standpoint, it made a strange kind of sense. Given Lin Yu's apparent life experience, forget actually believing it—not mocking her was already showing restraint.
"Oh, someone's connecting."
Seeing the pop-up window, Lin Yu clicked on it without hesitation.
The other person was a very pretty young woman with the ID "Jingzi Doesn't Eat Fish."
The moment she saw Lin Yu, Huang Jing was visibly startled, but professional courtesy kept a smile on her face. "Hello, Yuyu is the Rest of Life!"
Huang Jing had originally intended to randomly link with someone for a PK battle to make a bit of money, but she hadn't expected to connect with someone wearing a matchmaker's makeup filter, in a livestream room that didn't even have a single viewer. She figured she would just say hello and bail.
"Don't rush off just yet, Miss. I'm a matchmaker host. If you have relationship problems, you can confide in me, and the host will point you in the right direction."
From the prompt hovering above Huang Jing's head, Lin Yu knew she had just been arguing with her boyfriend.
Perhaps drawn by the connection, several dozen people flooded into Lin Yu's livestream, curiously firing off questions.
[Jingzi's Treasure: The host has such a sweet voice, why is she wearing a matchmaker filter? Is she really a matchmaker?]
[Apple Pie: Matchmakers have evolved to online platforms these days? Well, you're going to be disappointed, our Jingzi has a boyfriend. Their five-year relationship is rock solid, she doesn't need emotional counseling.]
Unflustered, Lin Yu smiled at Huang Jing. "You've been feeling very upset lately because your boyfriend hasn't been checking in with his whereabouts like he used to. You two just had an argument today."
"How do you know?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Huang Jing regretted them. Her entire account was built on showing off her romance, and if people found out she and her boyfriend were fighting, her followers certainly wouldn't be happy.
Comments scrolled past in her chat:
[Tinkerbell: No wonder Jingzi didn't have any energy during her stream today. Turns out you guys were fighting?]
[Clumsy Bear: Where's Haozi? How dare he upset my little Jingzi, asking for a beating!]
Huang Jing had already been feeling distressed by her boyfriend Wu Hao's coldness. Now, faced with the concern of the live chat, her suppressed grievances welled up, and she desperately wanted to vent to everyone. Yet reason reined her in. Relationships were a private matter between two people, and Wu Hao cared a lot about his pride. If he found out she was airing their dirty laundry to internet strangers, this relationship really might come to an end.
While Huang Jing was gathering her thoughts, Lin Yu had already browsed through her profile and naturally realized she was a couple vlogger.
"It's normal for young couples to bicker. Who hasn't hit a few bumps in the road?"
Hearing Lin Yu's words, Huang Jing nodded repeatedly. "Maybe I'm just being too sensitive."
After five years together, she should try to be more understanding and avoid letting her imagination run wild just because her boyfriend suddenly grew cold.
"However—" Lin Yu paused, looking straight into Huang Jing's eyes. "What would you do if your boyfriend cheated?"
"Dump him!"
The words slipped out before Huang Jing could stop them, though she quickly laughed. "Not that he has the guts."
As if trying to prove her point, her fans flooded the chat with comments.
[Jingzi's Treasure: Host, that's not very ethical. Who just assumes someone else's boyfriend is cheating? Jingzi and Haozi have a great relationship.]
[Daidaixiong: Haozi is trained so well by Jingzi, would he dare cheat? Hahaha, if he found out, he'd probably cry and protest his innocence.]
[User: I reckon the host is just jealous of Jingzi and Haozi. Jingzi, let's go. A newbie with zero fans, you won't even get a single coin thrown at you in a PK battle.]
Huang Jing genuinely didn't want to say anything more and was about to leave when she heard Lin Yu say, "Jiahe Hotel, Room 1205. Go take a look and you'll see whether Wu Hao is cheating or not."
"What do you mean by that?" Huang Jing's face chilled. "Jokes need to have a limit. Since when do you go around cursing people like that?"
She might be angry with Wu Hao, but that didn't give a stranger the right to orchestrate smear campaigns against him.
Huang Jing's fans rapidly swarmed into Lin Yu's livestream.
[Ride a Donkey to Find a Donkey: Yuyu is the Rest of Life, if your brain is broken go see a doctor, stop spreading rumors here. Their relationship is doing just fine.]
[Everlasting Peaceful Hao CP: Some weirdo hiding behind a filter, what did Jingzi ever do to you? You're obviously just trying to ruin their relationship.]
[Tinkerbell: Where did this bitter melon crawl out from? I can smell the sourness right through the screen. A matchmaker? Who the hell has the time to hire you to set them up?]
"Let's make a bet. If Wu Hao isn't cheating, I'll apologize to you. How about that?"
Lin Yu sounded so certain that even Shen Xue beside her began to wonder if she actually knew something.
[Jingzi's Treasure: Jingzi, take the bet! I want to see what kind of nonsense she's trying to pull. When she loses, make her take off the filter and apologize.]
[Daidaixiong: It's not about the steamed bun, it's about the principle. Nobody gets away with spreading rumors about Haozi.]
Seeing two of her top fans chime in—and with the rest of the audience eager for the spectacle—Huang Jing thought it over and agreed. Besides, the location "Yuyu is the Rest of Life" had mentioned wasn't far from where she was. Going to check it out would be a good way to clear her boyfriend's name anyway.
"Fine, I accept. I hope you'll be ready to take off that filter and apologize when the time comes."
Lin Yu nodded. "No problem."
Huang Jing picked up her phone and hailed a cab to Jiahe Hotel. Along the way, she didn't forget to order a food delivery, and when she arrived, the delivery guy reached the hotel entrance at the same time.
Hearing that Huang Jing was going to catch her cheating boyfriend red-handed, quite a few netizens stubbornly stayed in the livestream, refusing to leave.
Staring at the door of Room 1205, the palms of Huang Jing's hands were slick with sweat, her heart pounding heavily. A sense of unease washed over her, but she quickly forced it down.
[Daidaixiong: Just waiting for Yuyu is the Rest of Life to get slapped in the face. Today we'll show you what true love looks like.]
[Jingzi's Treasure: Little stool is ready, get your filter off and get ready to apologize!]
Smiling without a word, Lin Yu leaned back in her chair.
Having learned that Huang Jing was catching an unfaithful partner, the delivery guy also perked up, putting on his best game face. Once Huang Jing hid herself away, he knocked on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
After a full five minutes of knocking, the door was yanked open violently. "Knock, knock, knock! Knock your mother's—"
The moment she saw him, Huang Jing's mind went completely blank, and the live chat exploded.