Chapter 2 Imitation Show: "Use yourself to pay off your debt."
"After deducting your deposit, you'll still have to pay this much in compensation." The apartment manager wanted nothing more than to slap the bill in her face. "With the apartment damaged like this, we have the right to terminate the contract early. Please move out tomorrow, or I'll contact headquarters for a forced eviction!"
A fierce hiss came from behind. Shu Qing turned around and saw that the little white snake had pushed open the cardboard box lid and was baring its teeth at the butler in a very unfriendly manner.
She arrived just in time, pointing at the little white snake: "Can't we be reasonable? This was entirely an accident caused by an animal—"
"You still keep such a dangerous thing!" The housekeeper's face changed drastically upon seeing the snake, and he and the repairman took a step back together. "Whether it's you or your pet, it's all your fault. Get rid of such a dangerous thing immediately! In short, pay up and move out, or we'll call the police. This loss is definitely grounds for prosecution!"
Shu Qing was baffled: "Who said this is my pet? I don't even know where it came from..."
Wait, where did it come from?
Shu Qing suddenly stopped speaking—she suddenly realized where the little snake came from.
The egg that was "short-weight" that she put in the refrigerator yesterday, upon closer inspection, looks a lot like a reptile's offspring...
She's a seasoned pet lover who's seen countless adorable creatures, yet she didn't recognize it last night. No wonder she's been working overtime all night and looks silly!
The little white snake was still hissing, trying to scare away the steward. It wasn't even half the length of the steward's arm from head to tail, yet it dared to roar like a dragon here. I wonder what kind of self-awareness it had.
Is it a case of chick complex, where one unilaterally recognizes her as their mother and therefore overestimates their own abilities to jump out and protect her?
The butler was still babbling away in her ear, spitting as he spoke. Shu Qing took a deep breath, resisting the urge to hit him, and stared at the little white snake a couple more times.
Although it was quite destructive, the little snake was undeniably beautiful. Its body was completely free of any other colors, and its red eyes shone brightly. It looked to be of exceptional quality, the most beautiful little snake she had ever seen; no wonder the butler had taken it for his pet.
She's always been quite loving; she likes any cute little animal, and if she sees it on a short video platform, she'll definitely add it to her favorites.
If you ignore its origin, isn't it just a "beautiful and special" little animal?
In this world where appearance is everything, a beautiful little white snake might even be able to be converted into cash?
“Fine, I can pay for it,” Shu Qing interrupted the butler’s long-winded speech and said decisively, “But since you’ve put me in charge, you can’t get rid of this snake; it’s mine!”
"Also, how much compensation do you want? Is this the price for rewiring the circuit? I need to have someone calculate it again..."
The butler was furious after hearing this, and the two groups argued for a full ten minutes. Finally, fearing that the snake might suddenly appear and bite someone, the butler, with a dark expression, said, "Don't even think about fixing the circuit unless you pay for it," and stormed off.
Shu Qing closed the door and collapsed onto the sofa, utterly exhausted. A moment later, the little white snake silently approached her, hesitantly flicking its tongue, probably trying to confirm her survival.
Exhausted, Shu poked its head with a finger and said, "It's all your fault."
The little snake dodged backward and bit her—it didn't hurt, just a little itchy, and didn't even break her oily skin.
Yes, although it looks fierce, it is actually a newly hatched cub.
However, judging from the state of her kitchen, it didn't seem to be an ordinary snake cub...
Shu Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she asked jokingly, "You're not a little monster, are you?"
The little snake stared at her without moving.
Shu Qing quickly dismissed this far-fetched idea. Those little monsters online were incredibly rare, with countless wealthy people willing to pay huge sums of money for them. Any one of them could easily be worth seven figures, enough to buy a house.
She's an unlucky player who has to rely on the pity system for every gacha pull, so it sounds unrealistic for her to casually pick up a house.
It's likely that some unlucky reptile breeder bred a pet snake egg, which, after a series of unimaginable adventures, ended up in a supermarket giveaway and eventually hatched in her refrigerator, accidentally damaging some crucial component...
“Since you’ve destroyed my home,” she sighed, gently stroking its tail, “then follow the fine tradition of you snakes and pay off your debt with yourself.”
...Who would offer themselves to pay off your debts?
The little white snake flicked its tongue in frustration.
"We've long since settled our differences," the little snake demon thought. "All the events of our past lives have been wiped clean. You and I have no connection whatsoever, and we should never cross paths again."
But why did this new demon form take shape in your dwelling?
I happen to owe you a debt... and by sheer coincidence, we meet again.
Inside the room, the human and the snake had different thoughts, but they shared a common feeling: they were both in a terrible mood and felt like they had been dealt a cruel blow by fate. Shu Qing didn't even have the appetite for breakfast, so she casually tore off a piece of milk candy and put it in her mouth to barely replenish her energy.
The little snake stared intently, a hint of longing flickering in its red eyes, yet it refused to come closer and beg.
Shu Qing refused: "You can't eat it."
Snakes and humans are too different species, so we can't just feed them anything. We need to buy them mice quickly...
Shu Qing's phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was Brother Yu sharing a great article in the industry group.
The article, spanning several thousand words, delivered a data-driven satire of contemporary young people who engage in self-media, with the underlying message being "stop daydreaming."
He also made a sharp comment: "Young girls these days are full of unrealistic ideas; they haven't been toughened up by society enough. I wish some people all the best!"
...When she filled out the resignation form yesterday, she had just given a vague answer in the "future plans" section: "I want to try self-media."
Shu Qing crunched on the milk candy, then deleted the sentence "That's right, you've been beaten more times than we've been hit with cards" from the input box, and muted the group message.
She gritted her teeth and stood up, determined to update her short video right now!
Shuqing's short video account is a self-taught pet content creator, and it's also her "golden touch," a special function that gives her a boost—every time she finishes an update, she gets a bunch of "so cute" comments, which makes her feel energized for days, and it's especially effective before deadlines.
She shared this with a friend, who patted her on the shoulder sympathetically and said, "It's just psychological."
Shu Qing: "..."
She had no choice but to quietly hide her cheat code, only occasionally extending it for herself.
Since it's a cheat code, it needs to be managed even better, Shu Qing thought about what to update. She likes small animals, but when she was working, she was so busy every day that she didn't have time to raise them. She could only go to various pet stores on weekends to make up for the cost.
Once, I casually filmed a video, which unexpectedly attracted a lot of viewers, and I accidentally entered the pet racing industry.
Now that she has her own little snake, it should be a good thing.
However, reptile enthusiasts are a niche group. Ancient humans have ingrained their fear of snakes into their genes, and people today still turn pale at the mention of them. This is a real stumbling block on her path to "monetizing her looks".
If it were to be used to film everyday cute videos, it definitely wouldn't be as popular as a fluffy one.
After racking her brains for a long time, Shu Qing decided to open a short video app and refer to the experiences of other predecessors.
She lay on the sofa, scrolling through the pet section of a short video app. A drowsy little white snake, captivated by the colorful images on the screen, coiled up discreetly a short distance away, seemingly studying diligently alongside the human.
When in doubt, it's always best to consult with an experienced person. In less than three minutes, Shu Qing found an inspiration: "I've got it! We can also imitate 'superhuman beings'!"
"Extraordinary creatures," commonly known as monsters, are officially called "natural energy supernormal species." In the circle of trendy people like Shu Qing, they also have a nickname: Pokémon.
The sheer number of names speaks volumes about the level of interest people have in it. Seven or eight out of ten of the most popular content creators in the pet section own little monsters, and even videos of ordinary pets imitating these monsters garner significant views.
These kinds of videos don't require being "harmless," and the fifth most popular video was a giant snake demon that could use illusions. Shu Qing discussed with the little snake, "Shall we imitate this?"
The little snake turned its head away, ignoring her, a hint of disdain faintly surfacing in its red eyes.
Shu Qing exclaimed in surprise, "You're quite good at this!"
The snake demon's popularity isn't just due to its superpowers, but also because it has a "tsundere" label—every time the uploader makes a video, they have to beg it for ages before it agrees to perform.
The illusions conveyed through the screen are all about wonderful things like promotions and sudden wealth, like a beautiful dream that you wake up in three seconds.
The little white snake's turn of its head just now carried a similar air of arrogance, and Shu Qing immediately saw a glimmer of hope.
The director finalized the plan, but the actors refused to cooperate at all.
She showed the snake her hand, and the snake bit her, vividly demonstrating what "The Farmer and the Snake" is like; she let it near a Coke can, and it overturned the Coke can with its tail, giving her a performance of "The Flood of Jinshan Temple"; she tried to lure it with food, and it simply hung itself on the lamp stand, performing "Refusing to Eat Zhou Millet".
There were quite a few programs, but none of them were coordinated.
Shu Qing was at her wit's end. She slumped down in the dismantled set, looked up at the little snake coiled on the lamp stand, and sadly realized: this guy probably only knows how to destroy things.
Could it be that Brother Yu was right, and she just can't do it?
"Honey, can you cooperate?" She clasped her hands together and bowed to the little snake, muttering in vain, "If you don't cooperate, where am I supposed to get the money to pay the apartment? I can't possibly jump back into this fire pit..."
Baby, darling...?
The white snake's scales exploded, and its red pupils shrank violently to an extremely thin line.
What a flippant nickname! Who's her darling?
Shu Qing's vision blurred, and before she could understand what was happening, she felt a chill on her wrist. Then, she realized she couldn't move. Looking closely, she saw the little snake using her as a rope, wrapped around both of her wrists, hissing and baring its teeth at her.
Ah, this...
This scene doesn't look good. The snake cubs have only been out of their shells for less than a day, and they're already this capable?
Shu Qing quickly dismissed the strange thoughts in her mind and tried to struggle gently, but to no avail. The little snake had her completely bound, and it was quite strong.
"Let go..." Shu Qing never imagined in her life that she would be kidnapped by a pet snake. She didn't dare to struggle too much. The snake was not even as thick as her little finger. She was afraid of accidentally hurting it. "Let go... no, anyway, let go of yourself?"
The little snake stared at her indifferently, its body slowly tightening its coils, its belly scales rubbing against her wrist.
The snow-white scales moved slowly, and beneath them, a faint red mark was already visible on the girl's fair wrist.
Shu Qing was extremely helpless. "Fine, you won't cooperate with me, but I still have to work. What if I get kicked out? Can you help me earn money to support the family, baby?"
This time, the little snake finally reacted; it lowered its head and bit her fingertip.
The forked tip of the snake's tongue, wet and glistening, brushed against the delicate flesh beneath her fingernails, startling a host of sensitive nerve endings. Shu Qing couldn't help but shudder, a jolt running through her entire body as if electrocuted.
She had to resort to a combination of coaxing and threats, frantically working for five minutes before finally managing to remove the snake, leaving herself drenched in sweat.
Shu Qing sat amidst the mess and sighed. She crawled in front of the camera and played back the video she had just recorded.
Forget about the impersonation show; the little snake was coiled on the sofa, coldly watching her, clearly not going to cooperate with her for any other filming.
I can only try to find some footage from the already shot scenes, at least enough to get one update...
Shu Qing conceived the idea on the spot, quickly edited it into a video, and after watching it again, she found it quite exciting.
But it's not enough for her to just like it—she used to work as an animation designer at a major internet company, and every time she submitted a draft, she was told to "cater to the market," which shows that there is a significant discrepancy between her vision and the market's preferences.
The idea of imitating supernatural beings was a plan she carefully devised after browsing the pet section. Now, suddenly going free to improvise, wouldn't that be too unreliable?
"Anyway, there aren't any better options," she said to herself, glancing at the remaining unusable materials. "Let's just leave it at that!"
Shu Qing didn't have much hope. She uploaded the video to a short video platform and then opened an outsourcing website, intending to take on a few camera design outsourcing jobs to tide her over.
Unfortunately, outsourcing platforms are even more competitive than the job market. Not only are the prices driven down, but when she inquired with several, they either required trial drafts, competitive bidding, or had long turnaround times, which were not a quick fix.
She slumped onto the graphics tablet in anguish, scribbling on it with a pen, muttering, "Making money is so hard..."
The only other creature in the room was completely unable to empathize; it was curled up in a corner of the computer desk, its vertical pupils coldly glaring at her.
Shu Qing sighed, deciding to stop torturing herself, and closed her laptop. She opened her phone and instinctively found the short video app, tapp.
Her heart pounded as her finger hovered over the icon. With the self-comforting thought that "it's okay even if there's no response," she pressed the button with the same anxiety as checking her college entrance exam scores.
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