Speaking of Science in a Supernatural Livestream 1

Chapter 1: White Whale Live

“I’m dead tired…”

Jiang Shu dried her hair with a towel as she returned to her seat. She casually draped the towel over her head, which carried the scent of shampoo—her favorite, white peach.

Picking up her phone, almost without thinking, her fingers habitually tapped on an app with a cute blue whale logo.

White Whale was a livestreaming app that had been very popular recently. It boasted a wide variety of categories: singing and dancing, gaming and entertainment, casual chats and heart-to-hearts, and even metaphysics and astrology.

Jiang Shu tapped into a livestream category she had never watched before—Metaphysics and Astrology.

She had a little something on her mind; she wanted to see if there was anyone who did love readings. Although she had already looked up horoscopes and star charts online, she just wanted to hear a real expert talk about whether she and Senior Bai Tao were fated to be together.

White Whale Live had an identity verification system, divided into three types of V-badges: white, yellow, and red. White and Yellow V-badges could be applied for as long as one’s follower count reached a certain standard. The Red V-badge, however, was a mark that could only be obtained by being at the top of one’s respective industry. On the entire White Whale Live platform, there were only five streamers with a Red V-badge.

Jiang Shu scrolled through the listings, not expecting to see a Red V-badge in the metaphysics section, so she prepared to pick a Yellow V-badge streamer to watch.

A Yellow V-badge required five million followers for verification. In other livestream categories, a Yellow V wasn’t rare, but modern society was all about science, and not many people paid attention to metaphysics. Therefore, it was quite difficult for a streamer in this field to have a Yellow V-badge.

Among these livestreams, there were ones for reading horoscopes and ones for doing tarot card readings. Jiang Shu didn’t want to watch these; she just wanted to find someone who could read Bazi.

It was now 11:30 PM, and the livestreams in this category were quite lively. The one recommended on the homepage was a streamer named Daoist Master Wenren. Her popularity was very high, with over eighty thousand concurrent viewers.

Jiang Shu tapped into the livestream room and was stunned for a moment. Seeing the streamer’s name, she had thought it would be an elderly and highly skilled Daoist master. She hadn’t expected it to be a girl who looked about her own age, with deep-set eyes, red lips, and white teeth, and somewhat exotic features, as if she had some ethnic minority heritage.

She then glanced down at the bullet comments—

【Young Mistress Wenren, link up, link up!!】

【Young Mistress, look at me! I’ve been lonely and miserable since childhood, fought my way through life just to get a phone, and came to White Whale Live just for you, Young Mistress!!!】

【To the person above, that trick doesn’t work anymore. The Young Mistress won’t fall for it again.】

【Hahahahahaha, the Young Mistress is no longer the naive Young Mistress she once was!】

Jiang Shu didn’t understand what was going on in this livestream room, until—

The beautiful streamer sent out a red envelope. One hundred thousand yuan.

Jiang Shu: “…”

She finally understood why all these people were here. This was a real young mistress. That was way too much money to be giving away!

Looking at the red envelope icon in the top-left corner, Jiang Shu didn’t hesitate and tapped to participate.

What if I win?

A sudden cool breeze brushed past her ear, and a damp strand of hair fell down. Only then did Jiang Shu realize she hadn’t dried her hair yet, so she put down her phone to go blow-dry it.

The low hum of the hair dryer continued for nearly five minutes against the backdrop of frantically refreshing bullet comments on her phone’s screen.

Five minutes later, Jiang Shu came back and picked up her phone again. The screen showed that she had won. From the hundred-thousand-yuan red envelope, she had received three hundred.

Getting three hundred yuan just for tapping into a livestream—how was that any different from picking up free money?

Jiang Shu felt her luck was good today, an unstoppable smile on her face, so she stayed in the young mistress’s livestream room for a while longer.

There weren’t many people in Nancheng with the surname Wenren who were also this rich. After watching the bullet comments for a bit, Jiang Shu figured out the streamer’s identity.

The daughter of White Whale Live’s big boss, Wenren Jin. Not only that, she was also a student of the vice-chairman of the Celestial Master Association and would soon be taking the test to determine her Celestial Master rank.

Jiang Shu didn’t understand any of this, but she could tell from these comments that this young mistress had some real skills.

Young Mistress Wenren’s livestream room was extremely popular, and she often invited people to link up, but there were too many people, so the probability of being chosen was too low.

After a few failed attempts, Jiang Shu lost interest and exited, preparing to go to bed.

It was currently summer break, and she was the only one in the dorm who had stayed at school.

She didn’t know what she touched while getting into bed, but by the time Jiang Shu lay down, she had entered another livestream room.

There was no one in the livestream room. Just as she was about to exit, a face suddenly appeared on the screen—fair and clear, with light makeup. A pair of round, bright, and lively eyes held a light smile.

Jiang Shu’s heart skipped a beat. She was so beautiful it startled her.

Immediately after, a voice came through: “Welcome, ‘A Tree by the River’.”

“A Tree by the River” was Jiang Shu’s account nickname. Many of her accounts on various platforms used this nickname. Usually, she didn’t think much of it, but hearing it spoken by this streamer, Jiang Shu found it especially pleasant to the ear.

Since the streamer had already said her nickname, Jiang Shu’s hand, which had been about to press the exit button, drew back. She felt a bit too embarrassed to leave now.

She was the only person in the livestream room.

Jiang Shu glanced up at the name of the livestream room and was shocked again.

She had thought she’d accidentally tapped into some beauty streamer’s room, since those were filled with beauties, but when she saw “Supernatural Livestream, Believe in Science,” she blinked in disbelief.

Is the bar for metaphysics this high nowadays? One a young mistress, the other a top-tier beauty and sweet girl.

Coming back to her senses, Jiang Shu sent a bullet comment.

【A Tree by the River: Streamer, are you in the wrong category?】

The streamer’s eyes curved down into crescents as she said with a grin, “Nope. Supernatural livestream, but I can also tell fortunes and catch ‘floaties’.”

Civilized livestreaming. Can’t say the word ‘ghost’.

Jiang Shu checked the streamer’s profile page again. It was a new account, without even a single follower.

Returning to the stream and seeing the streamer’s face, Jiang Shu silently tapped the follow button. She could be a fan of her looks.

She was the only one in the livestream room, so that single follow was honestly a bit too conspicuous.

When the streamer saw it, her eyes curved into a smile again. “Thanks for the follow.”

The person was beautiful, and her voice was pleasant too. Jiang Shu rolled over, and for some reason, she began to feel a sense of trust for this ‘three-nos’ streamer with no popularity, no followers, and no V-badge.

Maybe she’s like that young mistress and has real abilities, she thought. So—

【A Tree by the River: Streamer, can you do love readings?】

On the other side of the phone, Sang Jing looked at the only new bullet comment and smiled. “Of course. You can send me your Bazi birth details through a private message.”

Soon, a private message appeared.

“Do you have a recent photo, preferably a full-face one? I’ll take a look at your facial features,” Sang Jing said.

Jiang Shu blinked. What a coincidence. She had just taken a photo with Senior Bai Tao today.

【A Tree by the River: I do.】

Jiang Shu cropped herself out of the group photo and sent it via private message.

Sang Jing looked at the young girl in the photo. The background was an artificial lake, which looked like it was on a school campus.

There was another person’s hand resting on the girl’s shoulder; it was a group photo.

This girl wanted a love reading, which meant she had someone she liked.

Sang Jing had already looked at the Bazi and deduced that the girl’s romantic life would not be smooth. She asked for the photo to see if her relationship problems would manifest soon.

Generally speaking, a person’s bone structure doesn’t change much after adulthood, but their facial features can.

“You’ll have a peach blossom in the next few days…” Sang Jing paused. “But it’s an yin peach blossom.”

【A Tree by the River: What’s an yin peach blossom?】

Before Sang Jing could answer her, another bullet comment floated up.

【Little Monster: Her title says to believe in science. How can the person above actually believe this?】

Another person had entered the livestream room.

Sang Jing didn’t get angry at this comment. Instead, she smiled and explained to A Tree by the River, “Peach blossoms are divided into yin and yang. Yang refers to the mortal world, and yin refers to ‘floaties.’ Do you have someone you like a lot recently?”

After a long moment, a bullet comment finally floated up.

【A Tree by the River: Yes.】

【A Tree by the River: She’s a senior at my school. Is she the yin peach blossom you’re talking about?】

Sang Jing nodded. “Yes.”

【Little Monster: This is hilarious. You haven’t even met the person and you’re calling her an yin peach blossom. Streamer, if you don’t have any real skills, don’t spout nonsense and ruin someone’s romantic prospects.】

【Little Monster: To the little sister above, if you want a reading, you’re better off finding those with V-badges. They’re verified, and more trustworthy than this new account scammer.】

After Little Monster sent the bullet comments, the number of people in the livestream room immediately dropped from 2 to 1.

Sang Jing sighed, unable to help feeling that starting a business was hard.

【A Tree by the River: Streamer-jie(sister), go to bed early. Good night.】

It seemed her last viewer was about to leave too. Sang Jing raised an eyebrow and spoke in a light, gentle tone, “I stream from Monday to Friday. If you run into any trouble, you can come find me.”

After she said this, the viewer count in the livestream room dropped to 0. Sang Jing didn’t know if A Tree by the River had heard her final words.

Nancheng University Dorm—

Jiang Shu lay in bed, thinking about what the streamer had just said. Drowsiness washed over her, and she fell asleep.

In her dream, she saw Senior Bai Tao. The senior’s skin was pale, but her lips were a vibrant red.

In the dream, Jiang Shu was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling, completely oblivious to the fact that while she was dressed lightly for the hot August weather, the other person seemed to be dressed for late autumn.

“Senior.”

“Mm, I missed you so much.”

The senior’s hand brushed the hair from Jiang Shu’s ear, her fingertips bringing a damp chill. “Ah Shu, will you come find me tomorrow?”

“Okay!” Jiang Shu agreed instantly, without any hesitation.

“Then come. I’ll be waiting for you at 156 Fenglin Road.”

“…Okay.”

On the bed, Jiang Shu mumbled her assent. In the silent dormitory room, a black shadow stood quietly by Jiang Shu’s bed, watching her for a long time.

***

Translator’s Notes

1. A Tree by the River (江边一棵树): The character’s name is Jiang Shu (江树), where 江 (Jiāng) means “river” and 树 (Shù) means “tree.” Her username, “A Tree by the River” (江边一棵树 – Jiāngbiān Yī Kē Shù), is a direct and literal pun on her name.

2. Bazi (八字): A traditional Chinese fortune-telling method based on a person’s birth date and time, often referred to as the “Eight Characters.”

3. Peach Blossom / Yin Peach Blossom (桃花 / 阴桃花): In Chinese culture, “peach blossom” (桃花) is a metaphor for luck in love or a romantic encounter. An “yin peach blossom” (阴桃花) implies a romantic entanglement with a non-human entity, like a ghost.