DLRC – Chapter 18 About to Become a Rich Woman

“I’ll see for myself whether it’s suitable.” As she spoke, she scooped up Yu Hui from the ground, then turned her head to look at him. “My son likes watching it too. Don’t you, little Huihui?”

Yu Hui didn’t say anything. He glanced at his grandmother and the nearby aunties down below, then pursed his lips and clung to her neck tightly.

Yuan Guifang scolded her, “Oh, so now your temper’s so big I can’t even say a word anymore!”

Her daughter’s temper really was strange. Before going to the countryside, she was always running around, impossible to keep at home, always hanging out and messing around.

But after she came back, it was like she’d turned into a different person—especially after she was diagnosed as pregnant with Yu Hui. At first, she threw a fit about wanting an abortion. Then the doctor said no, said her body couldn’t take it and she might not be able to get pregnant again if she did. Well then, she had no choice but to have the baby.

But not long after giving birth, her personality changed again!

She became a lot more even-tempered and didn’t like going out anymore. She shut herself up at home every day, refused to go out, ignored everyone who came to see her—not even those few girlfriends she used to be closest with could see her.

Now look, she hit her head and her personality changed again!

Yuan Guifang just couldn’t figure it out. Was her daughter some kind of face-changing actress from a past life?

Yu Wei didn’t bother arguing with Yuan Guifang anymore. She walked straight to the entrance of the alley and ran into Fang Yanyan—the same woman who came looking for trouble yesterday. Yu Wei didn’t even spare her a glance. She just held her son and walked right past her.

Fang Yanyan glared at her hurriedly retreating back and spat viciously on the ground. “Slut. Off to seduce someone else again, huh?”

This trip out was to look for a place to live—somewhere with a nice environment and far away from the Yu family.

She now had nearly fifty yuan in savings. For breakfast, she picked a random noodle shop and ordered a bowl of noodles and a bowl of wontons. Yu Hui, delighted, quickly forgot everything that had happened earlier. He sat on a tall stool, looking from Yu Wei to the busy shop owner, his face expressionless, but the constant movement of his little limbs gave away his excitement.

He still thought everything that happened yesterday was a dream. But now, his mom had brought him out again to eat something delicious. He had so many questions—he wanted to ask if this new version of his mom was real, if life would really stay like this from now on…

But in the end, all those thoughts were swallowed up with that rich, fragrant bowl of wontons.

Another satisfying meal.

Yu Wei asked around as she walked, planning to head to the quiet park where she’d done her first livestream. It was a bit of a walk from home, and she was getting tired from all the walking, but after asking directions along the way, she finally found it.

Outside the park was a wide avenue. It wasn’t far from the city center. At the gate, a few street vendors had set up stalls. It was around nine in the morning, so business was slow—people were either at work or in school. Only a few scattered passersby were strolling nearby.

Yu Wei held her son’s hand and walked over. The stall in front of them was packed with toys that were dripping with nostalgia—things that only lived in Yu Wei’s childhood memories and the occasional vintage post on the internet.

It was Yu Hui’s first time seeing so many toys. He was overwhelmed, his eyes darting around in all directions. His little fingers curled with excitement, brows raised as he stood on tiptoe, trying to see everything on the stall.

Yu Wei chuckled and picked him up so he could get a better look. “Which toy do you want?”

The little one had never played with these toys before, but he had seen them in the hands of the other kids around Da Niu. That frog—the shiny green one that could jump! He’d seen someone play with it before.

He didn’t know it was called a frog, but he’d etched the image into his memory. The moment he saw it, he recognized it.

He stared, utterly entranced, not even hearing his mother’s question. Yu Wei noticed his fixed gaze and followed it to the small green frog with the painted patterns on its back. She pointed at it and said to the vendor, “I’ll take this frog.”

“Sure thing!” The vendor, a man in his forties, had been watching her—a stylish and good-looking woman—browse his stall for a while. Beaming, he handed the frog to her.

“One jiao!”

Yu Wei nodded, took the toy, and continued picking through the stall. Yu Hui saw the frog he’d just been admiring now in his mother’s hand, and stars practically lit up in his eyes—but then she spoke again.

“Can I also get this one, this one, and that little plane?”

The vendor, seeing that this beautiful young woman holding a child was so generous—grabbing three or four toys at once and not even haggling—felt like this deal couldn’t be sweeter!

Yu Wei, having to hold Yu Hui, couldn’t carry the toys herself. She handed all four to him and let him clutch them in his arms before heading into the park.

Yu Hui, suddenly gifted four toys, was so stunned he nearly forgot to breathe.

His whole focus was now on the toys in his arms. He wanted to touch them, but he was afraid they’d break if he did. Among them, one especially caught the eye—a panda, even bigger than his fist.

It was cuter than Da Niu’s little dog.

“Mama,” he suddenly said. Yu Wei had already walked over to the same secluded patch of grass from before.

“Mm?” Yu Wei looked at him and smiled.

That gentle smile eased the tight grip on Yu Hui’s little heart. He wanted to ask if all these toys were really his—but he was scared that if he asked, she might not give them to him after all.

So he carefully maintained his obedient image in front of her.

Don’t ask. Don’t speak. That way, she won’t get mad.

Because every time Grandma spoke to Mama, she’d get angry and start yelling.

He didn’t like that fierce version of his mother.

Yu Wei didn’t know what Yu Hui wanted to say. He was a quiet kid, aside from calling out “Mama” all the time. Other than that… she had no idea.

The phone in her pocket had her heart pounding already. She was wondering how much money she’d make today. If she could get another fifty or sixty yuan, then her hopes of escaping the Yu family would be that much closer.

She found a clean and dry patch of grass, then placed Yu Hui down and let him play with the toys they had just bought. After he obediently nodded, promising not to run off, Yu Wei finally turned and walked over to a large tree about ten meters away to check her phone.

The time read 10:26. It wasn’t that early anymore—most people should be awake by now.

Her follower count, which had been just under 2,000, had somehow jumped to 2,977?! An increase of nearly 1,000 overnight?!

Holy crap. That was a massive spike. Was the livestream really that popular?

Yu Wei wasn’t too sure. She first tapped into her balance—seeing a reassuring 356 units—feeling immediately more secure.

Next, she opened the Jiumi livestream platform. A post she made during dinner yesterday had already received 4,000 likes and 1,000 shares, but the comment section… had 8,000 comments?!

What the heck happened here? Did a fight break out in the comments or something? Looks like most of the new followers came from this. She knew something was up…

She opened the comment section and was immediately bombarded with text. The most eye-catching, of course, were the top comments, and unsurprisingly, all of them were discussing Yu Wei’s livestream from yesterday. She glanced at the most recent comment—it was posted just two minutes ago. The hype hadn’t cooled off yet.

Looking further into the comments, the top-liked one was a post containing an old photo. It wasn’t laminated. In the picture, two little boys were holding popsicles, grinning ear to ear. A date was printed in white in the bottom right corner: June 3, 1984.

The username was a familiar one: “Summer Wine”. His caption read:

【I swear, this photo was definitely taken in 1984. I won’t even explain the date—you can see it for yourself. Just look at the photo’s material. Who even uses this kind anymore? Now compare it to the screenshots from the stream. Who dares say it’s not the same person?】

Yu Wei zoomed in on the image. The material was clearly from decades ago—slightly blurred, unlaminated, with faded colors and crumpled edges. Aside from the two bright smiling faces, the rest of the photo was worn and scratched with white cracks.

She tapped into the replies under the top comment and was instantly hit by a wave of screaming. It made her eyes ache. The first reply was also from “Summer Wine”, who had posted another photo—this time, of him and his brother all grown up.

Summer Wine:【I’m even exposing my grown-up photo here. If anyone dares say it’s fake again, I really don’t know what to say.】

What followed was an endless series of exclamation marks.

【Oh my god, I believe it now. I really do. I watched yesterday’s stream. No way those two kids were hired actors. They look exactly like the poster!】

【I don’t want to believe it either, but that photo is too uncanny. Someone slap me awake!】

【Watched the whole stream. Got tons of detailed screenshots on my homepage—check them out if you’re curious.】

【No way people can look that alike. I even went digging through old photos of Lucheng, compared them with the screenshots—uploaded everything to my page. I’m convinced.】

【Just saw the comparison shots upstairs. I’m frozen in my seat. Can’t even move.】

【Oh my god—goosebumps everywhere!】

【Is it real? Really real?! Ugh I missed the stream!】

【The comment above—are you dumb? There’s a replay!】

【Marked! I’m watching it right now!】

Yu Wei scrolled through more comments. Half were in disbelief, the other half were analyzing details. The discussion was intense. People were even arguing over the whole thing.

On one side were atheists, another group were skeptics, and then there were the hardcore believers.

In short, Yu Wei knew this was the perfect time to strike while the iron was hot. If she didn’t cash in on this now, was she supposed to wait until the hype died down?

She had a feeling—today was going to be another huge payday.

Her hands trembled with excitement as she tapped “+” and entered the stream title: “The Little Mermaid Streamer from the ‘80s Is Back!”

The stream went live. For the first five minutes, only about a dozen people trickled in. Yu Wei was already mentally preparing for a major flop. But after the 10-minute mark, everything changed.

Could someone please tell her what was up with the endless flowers, feathers, and the occasional airplanes flying across the screen?! Okay, okay, she definitely felt everyone’s enthusiasm and curiosity now.

It’s over—she’s going to be rich.

Yu Wei steadied her wildly excited heart and glanced back at Yu Hui. He was sitting quietly on the grass, happily playing with his new toy. His little face was expressionless, but his joyful movements said it all.

Instantly filled with determination, Yu Wei turned on the front camera, revealing a bare-faced but strikingly pretty young woman.

【Ahhh she’s here!!】

【Finally! I made it!】

【I missed the stream yesterday but I’m here now!】

【What are we watching today?!】

“Hi everyone! Your little mermaid streamer is back online!” Yu Wei said sweetly. Even though she wasn’t wearing any makeup and looked a little pale, her delicate features were so stunning it made people forget everything else.

FishHead:【Streamer, I love you!】 ‘Sent a rainbow.’

Seeing an old familiar name pop up, Yu Wei felt grounded again and continued to smile.

“Thank you FishHead for the rainbow! Today, I mainly want to share a bit about my current environment since arriving here—hopefully you all can give me some advice.”

【Heard you transmigrated? Honestly a little scary, but mostly just super curious. Sitting here quietly waiting.jpg】

【Tell us, streamer! We’re listening!】

【Speak!】

“So here’s the situation…”

Yu Wei calmly shared everything that had happened since the transmigration. Sometimes she felt lost and helpless, but sharing it now made her feel much lighter.

“So, honestly, I don’t know anyone here. You guys… you’re my only family now!”

As she spoke, she wiped at the corners of her eyes—intending to shed a few sparkling tears. But seeing the flood of virtual flowers and feathers on the screen, the tears just wouldn’t come.

【So that’s how it is… Streamer, that’s so tragic】

【Forget the transmigration part—just the crappy family you landed in is miserable enough】

【Can’t imagine sleeping in the same room with a total stranger】

【Wait… did anyone notice the streamer said she has a son?!】

【Thanks for pointing that out!】

“That’s not important. The main thing is—right now, moving out seems like my only option.”

【Streamer, I feel so bad for you.】

【Yeah, being thrown into a strange world is bad enough, but dealing with a toxic family too?

【Friends, gather up! Let’s help FishHead brainstorm!】

FishHead:【Streamer, you have to move out! Just hearing about your situation makes me wanna punch someone! If anyone dares touch my stuff, I’m breaking their damn head—!!】

Yu Wei facepalmed, “FishHead, calm down.”

Seeing the discussion start to go off track, Yu Wei cleared her throat and pulled it back. “Anyway, what I actually wanted to ask today is… does anyone familiar with Lucheng know if there are any nicer rental places around here?”

“I’m a Hero” sent a plane

Yu Wei was thrilled. “Thank you so much for the little plane, ‘I’m a Hero’! So—anyone know where in 1985’s Lucheng is nice to live?”

【Not sure… calling that guy from yesterday!】

【Yeah, streamer, ask if that guy from yesterday is here】

The comments weren’t full of hostile skepticism like yesterday, so Yu Wei was much more at ease. She asked, “Excuse me—are you here, the friend who lives in the communal building on Xing Sheng Road?”

No sign of “Summer Wine” in the chat. Probably busy. But two or three minutes later, someone with the username “I’m His Friend” popped up.

I’m His Friend:【Came here on my friend’s recommendation. I’m still skeptical, but I wanted to see what freaked him out so much.】

【Was your friend the one called Summer Wine yesterday?】

I’m His Friend:【Yeah. He said he saw the two of us as kids. So, Streamer, if you’re willing to go back to Building 8 of the Xing Sheng Chemical Plant housing block—if this turns out to be real—I’ll recommend a really nice place for you to stay. And I’ll send another plane.】

Yu Wei’s eyes lit up and her heart started pounding. The comment section erupted again.

Most people were begging her to go check it out one more time. This time, they were fully prepared—and they would find the truth.