Chapter 11 I have lots of cards, you can't possibly play them all.

In Su Mu's opinion, the account id6653365211 seems to belong to a madman.

He made the above judgment in his mind.

Every time Su Mu goes live, mainly at the request of the gatekeeper and some fans, to continue his serious forklift tutorials or share some daily factory life, this ID 6653365211 will appear on time like a pre-programmed ghost and start his fixed routine of causing trouble.

First, there was a barrage of gifts.

These aren't the cheap little hearts and stars that cost a few cents or a dollar; they're the most expensive virtual gifts on the platform, with the most extravagant special effects, the longest duration, and the loudest notification sounds.

One after another, without stopping, the dazzling animation effects instantly filled the entire phone screen, completely engulfing Su Mu's thin face and the factory background behind him.

Golden rain, rainbows, exploding cannons, fluttering feathers... it had everything, just like a grand electronic fireworks show.

Then, amidst this extravagant visual and auditory bombardment, a comment will slowly but conspicuously float by, in a tone that speaks of concealing one's accomplishments: "Enough gifts, right? Headmaster, go take a rest."

Su Mu was completely bewildered at first.

He couldn't understand what this person was trying to do.

Why send him so many expensive gifts just to get him to stop streaming and rest?

Moreover, this ID seemed determined to support his live stream duration. On one occasion, after he finished his stream, they even sent him a private message saying they would boost Su Mu's live stream volume for the next six months so he could rest.

This practice of using money to forcefully interfere with others' behavior made Su Mu feel extremely uncomfortable and bewildered.

What's more troublesome is that Su Mu was initially unfamiliar with the functions of the live streaming software and had no idea where to turn off gift effects and notification sounds.

So every time this ID appeared, his live stream would come to an abrupt halt.

The screen was completely blurred by the gift effects, and he couldn't even see his own face or other comments in the comment section. You can imagine how bad the effect was.

They often can't last more than a few minutes before they have to abruptly end the broadcast amidst embarrassment and chaos.

Su Mu originally wanted to try to avoid this 6653365211, but found that it was there at all times.

Later, he couldn't stand it anymore, so he spent some time studying the settings of the live streaming software and found the option to turn off the gift animation effects and gift notification sounds.

The world became quiet instantly.

However, id6653365211 clearly has no intention of giving up.

After realizing that the gift bombardment had lost its visual and auditory disruptive effect, the person quickly changed tactics and began another form of harassment: spamming questions and comments.

These weren't normal inquiries about forklift technology or factory life, but rather some nonsensical, even inappropriate, statements imbued with strong personal emotions and a critical tone.

One message after another appeared at an extremely fast pace, almost taking over the entire comment section and instantly drowning out the comments from other viewers.

Su Mu initially responded, for example, when he saw id6653365211 say "Master, don't laugh", he would subconsciously suppress the faint smile that naturally appeared when interacting with netizens, and then seriously ask the camera, "Why?"

I felt a little silly after I said it.

id6653365211: Your smile is so beautiful.

Su Mu: "…………"

But when id6653365211 started commenting on his clothes, Su Mu felt something was wrong.

id6653365211: The clothes are a bit see-through.

That day he was wearing a plain light gray cotton short-sleeved work uniform, which was a little sweaty and clinging to his body, but it was definitely not see-through.

Then, the problem started to get even more inexplicable.

id6653365211: Why work outdoors?

id6653365211: Why not assign a security officer?

It's a disguised form of fault-finding.

Other audience members quickly became dissatisfied.

The comment section on the screen was initially quite harmonious, with occasional technical discussions, but mostly good-natured banter and casual conversation. However, the moment this user, 6653365211, appeared, the atmosphere completely changed.

The constant stream of gift effects was already eye-catching, but the barrage of comments with strange tones and inappropriate content quickly aroused the resentment of others.

—Who is this? Does he have too much money to burn? Sending gifts is nothing special? Can you please stop spamming?

—That's strange of you. You're so nosy. What business is it of yours where the anchor works?

— Ignore the main package; just treat it like air.

—This is so annoying, kick this person out! Block them!

Similar comments began to appear, initially just a few here and there, but soon they increased, pointing directly at id6653365211.

The atmosphere in the live stream room was thrown into a chaotic mess.

Looking at these messages, Su Mu didn't want to ruin the relatively relaxed communication environment that he had worked so hard to build because of one person.

But blocking them directly... he hesitated. After all, the other person had sent so many expensive gifts, and although their behavior was annoying, they didn't seem to have done anything truly bad?

After much deliberation, he decided to try communicating first. He opened the private messaging interface and sent a message: "Hello, ID 6653365211, your comments in the live stream are a bit affecting other viewers. Could you please be a little more mindful? As long as you don't say anything inappropriate and just communicate normally, I won't block you, okay?"

Soon, a reply came through the private message.

It's very fast, almost instantaneous.

id6653365211: I didn't say anything wrong.

id6653365211: Why do you listen to others? Are other people's opinions important? Or do you really want to block me?

id6653365211: You've changed?

Su Mu: ...I'll return the money you spent on gifts to you. You see, the platform takes a cut, so I don't get much. I'll calculate it and return it to you.

He thought that if the money was exchanged for the goods, perhaps this strange guy would stop.

ID6653365211 replied instantly, decisively: No.

Before Su Mu could react, another message came: If you need money, you can tell me.

It's terrifying.

Are you an ATM slave?

He closed the private messaging interface and ran to the guardhouse to ask the old man for advice.

"Uncle, don't you think this kind of person is particularly strange? What exactly is he trying to do?"

The security guard's face revealed a knowing look: "His behavior doesn't seem like that of a typical fan throwing money at you for attention. It's more like... he wants to possess you. He's marking his territory. You've encountered a crazy fan."

"Possess me?" Su Mu repeated, feeling that the word sounded even more bizarre when applied to himself. "Then what should I do?"

The man recalled for a moment: "I've encountered similar situations before when I did live streaming. There was a woman from the next village, over forty years old, who went crazy when she saw me doing a live stream where I was playing PK battles with other people. She started cursing in the comments section and harassed the female streamer I was connecting with via private messages. Later..."

The man paused for a moment: "Later, she even came to the factory gate to block me, saying she wanted to have a good talk with me. I was so scared that I didn't dare to go live for several days."

The older man, seeing his pale face, said, "But it's alright, don't be afraid. You're a grown man, strong and healthy, what are you afraid of? She's not going to eat you, is she? I was just embarrassed and didn't want to get entangled with her, but you..."

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you just ignore him for now and give him the cold shoulder?"

Su Mu took out his phone and found the homepage of ID6653365211. He hovered his finger over the option to add the user to the blacklist for a few seconds, and then pressed it.

The screen displays: Operation successful.

ID6653365211 has disappeared.

Su Mu thought this inexplicable farce was finally coming to an end.

However, this tranquility did not last long.

Soon, a new one appeared, ID 6653365985.

ID6653365985 sent me a private message.

In the center of the photo, several brand-new, neatly arranged phone cards are spread out. There are more than one or two; roughly speaking, there are at least seven or eight.

Immediately afterwards, a text message arrived.

id6653365985: Don't block me, I have many cards, you can't block them all.

id6653365985: I won't say anything nonsense anymore. Open the gift and I'll give you a little money every day. That will be enough for me.

Su Mu: ...Okay, if you exceed that, I won't let you refresh it.

Su Mu felt that this person's SIM card was almost on par with Jiang Ran's.

Speaking of Jiang Ran, Su Mu suddenly realized that Young Master Jiang had been unusually quiet these past few days. The calls from different numbers, filled with anger or harassment, and the attempts to inquire indirectly through Shouhou or other channels, all seemed to have come to an abrupt end.

No wonder Su Mu felt like he hadn't blocked anyone in a long time.

Su Mu subconsciously touched his abdomen, a complex mix of emotions flashing through his mind.

Relief or disappointment? He couldn't say.

Perhaps, Young Master Jiang has finally forgotten about him? Or has he found a new, more interesting pastime? That's fine too. It saves trouble. He never wanted to have anything to do with him again anyway.

But as the thought crossed his mind, a bitter feeling, one that he himself was unwilling to admit, still arose.

In fact, a long time ago, Su Mu had also mustered up the courage to try to get a little closer to that seemingly unattainable light.

He remembers it very clearly.

It was a weekend during his sophomore or junior year of college when he found a well-paying tutoring job through an agency, tutoring a high school student living in an upscale neighborhood in the city center in math.

The family was very well-mannered and treated him, a college student, with great courtesy. They would always prepare fruit and snacks for him whenever he visited. After each tutoring session, they would give him the agreed-upon fee in cash, in an envelope, without ever delaying payment.

After finishing my tutoring class that day, it was already dark, and a light rain had started to fall outside.

It wasn't big, but it was enough to soak your clothes.

Su Mu looked at the gray rain outside and hesitated whether to run to the bus stop in the rain or wait for the rain to subside.

The phone rang; it was Jiang Ran, asking why he hadn't returned to school yet. He asked where Su Mu was, and Su Mu honestly told him he was tutoring someone, giving the name of the upscale residential complex and the building number.

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Ran seemed to pause for a moment: "I also live in this community, which unit? I'm going back to get some things, you wait here."

Not long after, a sleek black sedan pulled up to the entrance of the building. The window rolled down, revealing Jiang Ran's handsome face, which appeared exceptionally clear in the dim rain and the car's interior lights.

He said to Su Mu, "Get in the car."

That was the first time Su Mu stepped into Jiang Ran's real home. Not the modernly decorated but always somewhat deserted apartment he occasionally rented near the school, but the home where his parents lived, the home that bore the marks of his growth.

The house was large, the kind of detached house Su Mu had only seen on TV or in magazines, with a yard and underground garage.

The interior decoration is not luxurious or extravagant, but rather full of design sense and a sense of refined, comfortable elegance.

A faint, pleasant aromatherapy scent wafted in the air.

Jiang Ran's parents were both home. When they saw their son bring his classmate home, they greeted him with smiles.

Jiang's mother was gentle and spoke softly. She asked Su Mu if he wanted some hot tea to warm him up. Although Jiang's father was more serious, he nodded to him and asked, "Is the rain heavy?" He then told them to go play.

They treated Su Mu like any other ordinary classmate their son brought home, someone who needed to be politely received—thoughtful, proper, and impeccable.

Jiang Ran led him upstairs. The handrail of the stairs was smooth and cold, and the floor was covered with a soft, thick carpet.

Jiang Ran's room was large and tidy, unlike a boy's bedroom. The bookshelves were filled with neatly arranged original books and models, and several abstract oil paintings hung on the walls. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a meticulously maintained courtyard landscape that looked particularly lush in the rain.

At that moment, standing in Jiang Ran's room, looking out the window at the misty yet still exquisite scenery washed by the rain, and smelling Jiang Ran's clean and crisp scent in the air, Su Mu's small joy and secret anticipation that had just risen because she was picking him up cooled down quickly, as if drenched by the cold rain, and settled into a clearer and heavier understanding.

It's a very beautiful house.

Jiang Ran is very good.

Well-mannered parents.

He was just a bystander who happened to wander in, still soaked from the rain.

He stood there, knowing clearly that no matter how hard he tried, he would never truly catch up with such a life, such a starting point, such a... world.

That gap doesn't stem from malice or discrimination, but rather from a more deeply rooted divide determined by birth, environment, and resources—silent yet clearly defined.

Later, that hard-won courage to confess his feelings quietly faded away.

Su Mu sometimes thinks that it would be better if he didn't like Jiang Ran that much.

Just like you would with other classmates or friends you're slightly closer to, maintain a proper distance and interact appropriately, neither getting too close nor too distant.

In this way, perhaps there wouldn't have been all that tossing and turning, all that cautious probing, all that torment of gain and loss, and... that final, disastrous loss of control and escape.

But ironically, I like it a little too much.

He was terrified, terrified out of his wits. He was afraid that his closeness would spoil the relationship he cherished, and that if his secret thoughts were exposed, they would arouse Jiang Ran's surprise, disgust, or even lead her to distance herself completely.

He had witnessed how cold and distant Jiang Ran was towards those overly enthusiastic suitors with impure motives.

He dared not gamble. He preferred to maintain that seemingly ordinary friendship with his classmate, at least that way he could stand beside him legitimately, exchange a few words, and occasionally receive his casual yet heart-pounding invitations or greetings.

University was so great. I could see him every day.

In the same classroom, Jiang Ran might be sitting in the front row or the back row. Su Mu could always catch a glimpse of that tall figure or profile out of the corner of his eye. Like a landscape with its own radiance, it formed the most hidden yet most vivid background color in Su Mu's youth.

After graduation, we went our separate ways and could no longer see each other.

Su Mu thought that with the new environment and the new job, he could forget him, or at least let that affection fade and no longer have such a sharp and destructive power.

One day, Su Mu was being jostled by the crowd in a crowded subway station in City B, rushing to work overtime. As he passed a ground exit, his gaze inadvertently drifted to the bustling streets outside.

A car with an understated color but sleek lines slowly drove by. It was exactly the same model that Jiang Ran used to drive.

In that instant, without warning, Su Mu's steps suddenly stopped. All the surrounding noise, the roar of the subway, the clamor of the crowd, and the announcements seemed to fade away rapidly at that moment, becoming distant and unreal.

A sharp, acrid feeling surged up to my nose and eyes without any apparent reason, instantly blurring my vision.

He hurriedly lowered his head and quickly burrowed deeper into the crowd.

Su Mu knew then that he would never forget it for the rest of his life.

Su Mu stayed overnight at Jiang Ran's house that time.

"Please sit wherever you like, I'll show you something."

Su Mu was still a little reserved at the time, and looked at him curiously when she heard this.

Jiang Ran's room was large. He walked to the door and reached out to press the switch on the wall. With a "click," the ceiling light and wall light went out, plunging the room into darkness instantly. Only the hazy landscape lights in the courtyard outside the window cast a faint glow through the rain-dampened glass.

Then, Su Mu felt Jiang Ran walk over, and a soft, fluffy cashmere blanket, with a clean, sun-dried scent, was gently placed on his head, blocking his vision.

A warm darkness stretched before me.

"Don't move." Jiang Ran's voice rang out from very close by, tinged with amusement.

Then, Su Mu felt Jiang Ran sit down next to him, their shoulders almost touching, separated by a blanket. Then, a soft and steady light appeared in the gap between them.

The light wasn't harsh; it was a warm yellow, illuminating the small area. Su Mu blinked, adjusting to the light, before he could see clearly that it was a book. A book that could glow.

The paper of the book appears to be specially made, emitting a uniform light that illuminates the exquisite printed patterns and text.

The soft light shone on Jiang Ran's profile, which was so close to his face, highlighting his prominent nose and slightly upturned lips.

That was his birthday gift to Jiang Ran.

They had only known each other for a short time then, and their relationship wasn't particularly close, but Jiang Ran invited many people to her birthday party, including him.

Su Mu didn't know what to give as a gift. In his past life, he had almost never had the habit or budget to give gifts to classmates. He looked online for a long time and finally chose this book-shaped nightlight.

It wasn't particularly expensive, but the design was ingenious and the lighting was soft. He thought... Jiang Ran might like it, or at least, she wouldn't dislike it.

He remembered feeling incredibly nervous when he handed the wrapped gift to Jiang Ran, fearing that it would stand out awkwardly among the young master's dazzling array of birthday presents.

At this moment, the book lamp he had given her was not only well preserved, but also fully charged. On this unexpected rainy night, Jiang Ran took it out specially.

"Wow," Su Mu heard his own voice, "this...is beautiful."

Jiang Ran turned to look at him. In the cramped space under the blanket, their breaths almost mingled together.

Jiang Ran's eyes were bathed in the soft glow of the reading lamp, and her smile deepened: "Yes, I usually don't want to use it, but I do charge it."

Su Mu: "Young Master Jiang, please use it. Don't be stingy. If you break it, I'll buy you another one."

Jiang Ran looked at him and said, "Okay."

When someone is willing to give away what they lack most, it proves that they truly like that person.

At that time, Su Mu lacked not only money and expensive gifts, but also the courage and confidence to openly express his affection. What he gave was the most heartfelt gift he could think of within his means, and the one he most hoped would be cherished by the recipient.

Jiang Ran actually gave Su Mu the gentlest and most precious response.

That's enough.

Su Mu was still reminiscing about his bittersweet first love.

id6653365985 sent a message at a very inopportune time: Main package, what are you doing?

Su Mu: My dad is playing cards, so I called him home for dinner.

id6653365985: What does your uncle usually like? Tea or wine? Is your dad agile? I mean, if we take away his precious treasure, will he hit someone?

Su Mu thought to himself that this 985 guy was really crazy.

A note from the author:

Young Master Jiang: I really wanted to kiss her before, but my wife seemed really timid.

Little Wooden Head: I'm being haunted by a ghost. [Sigh]