Chapter 2 — The Illusion of Spring Peaches

Without missing a single beat, I leaned back against my chair, raised both hands in a nonchalant gesture, and spoke in an even, unbothered tone. "Oh, absolutely. You caught me, I am a fraud. If you don't believe me... go ahead and report me to the police."

"???" Young Master Li froze completely in his tracks. The entire livestream chat room was instantly struck collectively dumb. Perhaps none of them had ever witnessed a streamer "expose themselves" with such absolute serenity.

The truth of the matter was quite simple. I approached this profession with a strict "zero self-depletion" policy. My principle was delightfully straightforward: I refused to earn uncomfortable money. As long as I was not at risk of starving to death, not a single cent of wealth that caused me mental fatigue would ever enter my pockets.

Finishing my declaration, I maneuvered through the system management panel, swiftly requested a full refund for every single virtual gift he had just showered upon me, and gave a breezy wave to the camera. "Farewell, Young Master Li. Your funds have been returned, and I am declining this transaction."

Before my finger pressed the button to terminate the video call, my gaze drifted toward the massive Doberman standing beside him. The look that canine directed at its owner possessed something vaguely resembling a mixture of profound helplessness and seething resentment. Suddenly feeling a twinge of pity for the beast, I added one parting piece of advice. "Oh... and do stop dragging it off to be bred. It genuinely despises it. If you force the poor creature one more time... it is going to drop a fresh pile right inside your favorite shoes."

With a crisp click, I severed the connection.

The entire livestream chat room: "..."

All the viewers watching: utterly paralyzed.

[Big sis, did you seriously just hang up?!]

[She must be insanely wealthy, ten grand festivals returned just like that without a single blink!]

[Hey, the person above me, are you blind? She literally admitted she was a scam artist right to his face!]

[Spot on! When she ran into a high-maintenance VIP like Young Master Li, she obviously grew cold feet and bailed out immediately.]

I could not be bothered to pay any mind to those frantic comments. Instead, I simply lifted a hand and pointed toward the small chalkboard hanging behind me. "Say whatever is on your mind. Anyone who has a pet at home, send a connection request, and I shall take a look for you."

After a short while, seeing that not a single soul dared to send a request, I stretched my arms languidly, picked up my microphone, and sighed. "Very well then. If no one wishes to connect, I suppose I shall... sing for you instead."

Before the sentence had even fully escaped my lips, my "regular customers" inside the chat room scattered like leaves caught in a sudden hurricane. By the very second I opened my mouth to project my voice, the remaining handful of stray viewers fled the scene entirely. Who could blame them, really? My vocal range spanned five distinct notes, yet all of them managed to land completely off-key...

And yet, right in the absolute climax of my screeching performance, the screen suddenly blazed with brilliant light. The grand festival animation erupted across the display—ten times over in a single flash! Instantly, absolute chaos broke out in the chat room, and the viewer count surged like a violent tempest. Every single newcomer who stumbled into the room... was instantly assaulted by my vocal torture from the very first second:

[Aaaaaaa! Who is this?! Who on earth is torturing my eardrums?!]

[Wait... is that Young Master Li sending those massive festival gifts again?!]

I glanced sideways at the connection request blinking from that familiar user ID, and calmly responded, "I am currently in the middle of a musical climax, wait until I finish this."

Consequently, the entire audience was torn apart by internal torment. Leaving meant missing the spectacle, but staying meant enduring auditory agony. In the end, everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and suffer through the remainder of my howling.

"Thiiiiiiiisssssss is the great Tibetan Plateauuuuuuuu—"

"RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

...An earthquake of a song finally came to a torturous end. I leisurely pressed the button to accept the incoming connection.

The screen illuminated—revealing Young Master Li, his complexion as dark as ink, sitting sideways against his chair with an aura of absolute frost radiating from his frame.

"How did you know General hates being bred?" he demanded, his voice dropping low, strung as tight as a violin wire ready to snap.

I arched a brow, glancing at the muscular Doberman crouching beside him. "Were you planning to take it out for breeding?"

Young Master Li clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, grinding out each syllable through his teeth. "I was planning to take him... But a slight accident occurred."

Hearing those words, my brain instantly assembled the entire sequence of events. The corners of my lips twitched upward into a subtle smirk. I leaned back into my seat, drawing out my words deliberately. "Lift your foot up and let me take a look."

"Don't you dare push your luck!" he suddenly bellowed, his face flushing crimson with boiling anger.

I crossed my arms and offered an indifferent shrug. "Suit yourself. If you refuse to show me, consider the money refunded, and I shall disconnect right now."

Before my hand could even touch the refund interface, a fierce, desperate roar echoed through the speaker. "Fine, I'll let you see!"

Immediately following that outburst, the screen lit up brightly, revealing Young Master Li's foot—clad in a white sock, trapped inside a dark slipper, and smeared with... an indescribably brownish patch of filth.

The comment section erupted like a string of firecrackers:

[HAHAHAHAHA! True to your word, General literally dropped a load straight into his shoe!!!]

[Oh sweet heavens! Even the legendary Young Master Li has days this utterly humiliating!]

[General: "I told you I didn't like it, but you refused to listen..."]

[Now this, my friends, is what we call instant karma served fresh!]

Comments flew across the stream like a blinding snowstorm, moving at a dizzying velocity. Meanwhile, Young Master Li's facial expression grew darker by the minute, closely resembling a heavy thunderstorm about to break. Knowing that playful teasing has its limits, I forced down my bubbling laughter, leaned slightly closer toward the camera lens, and adopted a serious tone.

"Bring your dog closer, and make sure its eyes are facing directly into the camera. I am going to ask it."

Young Master Li drew in a deep, shuddering breath, reached out to grab the thick scuff of the powerful Doberman's neck, and hoisted the heavy animal up directly in front of the screen. His voice remained low and strained through gritted teeth. "Ask it what kind of... female it prefers. I'll go out and find a dozen of them for him!"

The Doberman, hoisted aggressively by the scruff, had its facial skin pulled taut, stretching its eyes into two narrow slits. The canine's pupils darted rapidly across the screen, displaying a clear and undeniable sense of a guilty conscience.

I observed the animal for a few seconds before softly parting my lips. "It... does not like females."

The entire chat room: "..."

A suffocating silence hung heavily over the stream for three solid seconds. And then, the comment section exploded into total anarchy:

[Not liking females...]

[...Don't tell me...]

[Is my mind wandering in the direction I think it is?!]

[Holy mother of—!]

......

Young Master Li glared daggers at me through the screen, his gaze harboring one final, desperate spark of hope. "Are you implying that... it doesn't like females, but that doesn't necessarily mean..."

I offered a gentle smile, nodding slowly to confirm his worst fears. "Precisely. It prefers males. But they must be significantly larger and taller than itself."

I paused for a brief moment, then leisurely added, "Furthermore... It mentioned that you should stop calling it 'General' anymore. From now on... you are to address it as 'Honey'."

"......"

At that precise fraction of a second, every remaining spark of light in Young Master Li's eyes vanished entirely. The tall, imposing man of unyielding, ice-cold demeanor... now sat hunched over, burying his face in his hands while desperately clawing at his hair as if attempting to violently digest this devastating mental shockwave.

Meanwhile, the Doberman, upon hearing its deeply guarded secret exposed to the world, lunged forward with lightning speed and bolted straight out of the camera's frame.

"Honey, you get your ass back here right now!" Young Master Li roared, launching himself out of his seat in frantic pursuit.

Instantly, the camera began to shake violently because across four hundred square meters of polished flooring—stretching all the way from the spacious living room down to the long hallway—a trail of mysterious, brownish footprints had just been left in the animal's wake.

The viewers in the stream completely lost their composure:

[AAAAAAAHHHH! SOMEONE SAVE US, YOUNG MASTER LI'S MANSION IS COVERED IN SHIT!]

[I am officially speechless... the cold-blooded tycoon has been transformed into an involuntary victim of circumstance.]

[Honey: "I warned you beforehand... but you simply refused to listen."]

[This transcends mere karma at this point... this is an outright declaration of war.]

......

I watched the chaotic screen while laughing so hard I had to clutch my aching stomach. The audience was either screaming in disbelief or cackling hysterically into their microphones. And yet, I could intuitively sense that this evening's revelations were far from over.

While the camera continued to tremble slightly from Young Master Li's frantic chase after Honey, my eyes inadvertently caught a flash of small, golden fur huddled tightly inside a dark corner of the room.

I immediately raised my voice. "Hold on a second!"

That sudden, sharp cry startled Young Master Li so badly he nearly tripped over his own feet and crashed heavily to the floor.

"What is it now?!" he demanded, spinning around instantly, his face tight with raw tension.

I fixed my steady gaze firmly upon the corner of the screen. "That little dog hiding in the corner... I wish to examine it."

The profound seriousness etched into my expression caused Young Master Li to hesitate for half a beat before he finally walked cautiously toward the spot.

It was a small mixed-breed dog, possessing a coat of curly golden fur as soft as silk, making it only slightly larger than a miniature Poodle. Beneath that fluffy, gentle fleece were a pair of round, moist eyes, as clear and bright as polished crystal, brimming with an innate, quiet obedience.

"Its name is Tang Yuan," Young Master Li spoke up, his tone softening considerably. "My elder sister originally raised it, and later sent it over to stay with me."

As he spoke, he gently scooped Tang Yuan up into his arms, bringing the creature close enough for its innocent eyes to meet the camera's lens. "Well? Is there something wrong with it?"

I studied Tang Yuan in silence for a few moments before slowly shaking my head. "It is not the dog. It is... your elder sister."

I continued at a measured pace, my voice growing solemn. "The man who stays by her side... appears to drive her to tears on a regular basis. Only a few days ago, Tang Yuan even bit that man in defense."

Upon hearing those words, the color drained completely from Young Master Li's face, and he blurted out in denial, "What nonsense are you spouting?! My brother-in-law and my sister share a wonderful relationship!"

I stared straight into his eyes without a trace of hesitation. "I can see the reality clearly. Not only does he make your sister cry, but he treats Tang Yuan with vicious cruelty as well. Whenever your sister is away from the house, he frequently drags Tang Yuan into secluded corners, wraps it tightly inside a cloth, and repeatedly beats and kicks it."

"You are talking utter rubbish!" Young Master Li snapped back, his voice strained to its absolute breaking point.

I exhaled a long breath and responded quietly, "If you believe I am lying, simply test it yourself. Grab a piece of fabric, hold it right in front of Tang Yuan, and observe its reaction."

Young Master Li froze for several seconds, his eyes wavering with heavy doubt, but in the end, he rose to his feet. He walked over to the bathroom, retrieved a clean face towel, and returned to sit back down beside Tang Yuan.

Before his fingers could even graze the cloth, the moment Tang Yuan caught sight of the towel, it let out a soul-shattering shriek. It was not the familiar, cheerful bark of a canine, but rather a heartbreaking, agonizing wail—trembling so violently that its entire body curled inward, burying its small head deep between its front paws.

The tiny frame shuddered uncontrollably, vibrating as if the slightest touch might cause the fragile creature to shatter completely.

The atmosphere inside the livestream plummeted into a suffocating heaviness. The comment section fell abruptly silent as nearly every single viewer held their breath in unison.

Young Master Li stared blankly down at Tang Yuan, his voice dropping into a thick, hollow rasp. "It turns out... ever since my sister sent it here, it has been behaving with such abnormal obedience. I foolishly thought it was merely... missing her and feeling depressed. I never could have imagined... that this was the real reason behind it all..."

I nodded gently, my tone softening, though every single word remained heavy with sorrow. "Tang Yuan says... No matter how brutally it gets beaten, it can endure the pain. But it simply cannot bear to watch its 'mother' cry. That was the sole reason it bit him the other day."