Everyone Loves the Villainous Scumbag [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 22

Over the weekend, Gu Qiu drove home from the hospital. After returning from the underground garage, the first thing he did was head to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of red wine. He loosened his tie and tossed his suit jacket carelessly onto the sofa.

Outside, the sun was still blazing. He had not even eaten lunch yet, but he had already started drinking. He possessed refined features, and his three-piece suit clearly outlined a physique maintained by regular exercise. At this moment, however, there were dark circles under his eyes, his gaze was somewhat blurred, and his once-ruddy lips had turned pale.

He had been suffering from insomnia for a month, relying on red wine every day to help him sleep. Recently, his insomnia had worsened to the point where even red wine at night could not bring him rest. Due to his irregular sleep schedule, he would often drift off unexpectedly and wake up unable to remember where he was or when he had fallen asleep.

It had been two years since he took over the company from the patriarch of the Gu family. Fortunately, he had not made any major mistakes at work, but his insomnia haunted him; over time, errors would become inevitable. Gu Qiu had begun to feel anxious, yet his physical examinations at the hospital showed that all his vitals were normal. To ensure his health, a former classmate who was now a doctor had recently added sleeping pills to his regimen.

As the two glasses of chilled red wine took effect, he recalled his friend’s advice.

“If I were you, raised with such a twisted upbringing and almost thirty without ever having a serious relationship, living twenty-odd years as a robot that only knows work, I would have insomnia too. No, I probably would have ended it all a long time ago.”

“Find some time to pay attention to your surroundings, President Gu. You are young and exceptionally capable; surely there is no shortage of women throwing glances your way. It is about time you experienced a relationship.”

He had been dismissive of this. “Is romance really that important? It is not as if people who live alone their whole lives do not exist. Does everyone suffer from sleeplessness like me?”

The speechless expression on his friend’s face remained vivid in his memory. “Romance is important! But more importantly, there is no normal person in your life. If you date a normal person, you learn how to be a normal person yourself.”

Seeing his indifference, his friend could only rub his forehead and offer one final suggestion.

“How about this: just download a random streaming app and register an account with your phone number. If nothing else works, watch some live streams to distract yourself. Insomnia does not happen for no reason; you likely have hidden stress you have not even noticed. You do not have the financial worries others have, as money has already solved ninety-nine point nine percent of your problems. Since that remaining zero point one percent cannot be solved right now, you might just need a different form of entertainment. Give it a try. If it does not work, come back to me and I can prescribe something stronger.”

Gu Qiu’s tolerance for alcohol was actually quite low; two glasses of red wine were enough to make him feel slightly tipsy. To prevent his physical condition from worsening, he resisted the urge to drink more; he limited himself to one bottle of wine per day. Although plagued by insomnia, he would not allow himself to become a drunkard.

Ordinarily, Gu Qiu would never have taken his friend’s words to heart. How could he take such a joke seriously? But today, with his head swimming from the alcohol, he actually felt like trying his friend’s suggestion.

He searched online and ultimately did not choose any of the major platforms. Instead, he found an app called “Little Rabbit,” which was ranked neither too high nor too low. He avoided the popular apps because his family’s business had previously been involved with them, and he already had accounts there. However, once the algorithms identified him as male, those apps would automatically push videos designed to grab a man’s attention. From “lolitas” to “hot moms,” flipping through the videos felt like a chore. He did not believe he was the type to enjoy women who postured for the camera; thus, even knowing it was just data-driven promotion, he had no interest in scrolling further.

Though “Little Rabbit” was not very famous, it had good ratings. With a “why not” attitude, Gu Qiu opened the app and quickly registered an account. To his disappointment, once the algorithm learned his gender, it pushed female streamers of all ages to him, ranging from those dressed in Lolita fashion and JK uniforms to those in sexy, revealing outfits.

Just as Gu Qiu’s frustration grew, the platform shifted tactics and began recommending muscular men and athletic students. Seeing the focus jump from women posturing to men doing the same made him laugh in annoyance. He felt he should never have believed his friend. Though his medical skills were good, that friend was unreliable by nature; how could he have trusted him?

Gu Qiu shook his head. Just as he was about to close the app and uninstall it, his finger swiped across the screen.

A handsome and beautiful youth entered his sight. The boy wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt. His hair color was very light, and it was obvious he had not spent money on styling it; his natural curls were fluffy, with a few strands hanging over his brows. He smiled somewhat shyly, holding a guitar on his lap.

“This is from my childhood training. Currently, I only know how to play Ode to Joy and Two Tigers. If you like it, I will learn something else later.” After speaking, he narrowed his sparkling eyes and smiled gently, thanking the viewers who were sending gifts.

Gu Qiu checked his follower count and found it was less than a hundred. There were no previous videos posted; it was clearly a new account. The platform would not normally be so kind as to promote a new account; it was mainly because Gu Qiu and this streamer were in the same city. Since there were not many live streams happening at this hour, he had reached it after only a short time of scrolling.

“Jianghe, Luo Jianghe,” Gu Qiu muttered to himself, looking at the streamer’s profile.

When he looked back, the streamer had begun playing a song. It was the very simple Two Tigers, and the rhythm was not very good. Gu Qiu could play the violin; it was a hobby he picked up specifically to apply for universities abroad. Even though he had set it down, he certainly would not play worse than this streamer named Jianghe.

Even though the playing was that poor, this person possessed a unique charm that could attract anyone’s gaze. Upon closer inspection, his skin condition looked very real. At that moment, a viewer happened to ask exactly what Gu Qiu was wondering.

“Streamer, did you not turn on the beauty filters?”

The youth finished his song and leaned toward the lens to look at the few comments. He spotted that one immediately.

“Yeah, I feel like the beauty filters look weird. Why? Are you not used to it? Do you need me to turn them on?”

As soon as he said this, the viewers currently online exploded, spamming the chat with “No need.” Out of a total of forty people in the room, at least a dozen sent that same response. It was rare to encounter such pure, natural beauty; appreciating beauty is human nature, and the more natural it is, the more captivating it becomes.

The streamer only knew two songs and his technique was not great, so many people simply started chatting with him. He always smiled tenderly, answering everyone in a soft voice without a hint of arrogance about his looks. He was a complete amateur.

As the future head of the Gu family, Gu Qiu had seen many treasures since childhood. Today was the first time he truly understood the feeling of finding a gem. Perhaps his friend was right; he really did need to fall in love.

The Luo Family

Luo Jianghe hardly missed a single comment. Currently, the only thing he could turn into cash was his face.

In his past life, he had heard many people say you could make money through live streaming, especially for someone as good-looking as he was. If he dressed even slightly trendy, he would easily be mistaken for an internet celebrity. However, back then, he had no financial difficulties. Being satisfied with his life meant he did not feel anxious about how much money he made. He had loving parents, a naughty but cute younger sister, and he earned enough for his own needs in a job with weekends off and full benefits. Aside from his parents occasionally nagging him to date, his life was free of worries.

Perhaps thanks to his looks, he was never afraid of interpersonal relationships, and he was rarely overlooked for promotions. Therefore, he never considered becoming an influencer or a celebrity. Even back in high school, film crews heard of his looks and invited him to act in youth dramas, but he had refused them all. His parents supported his decision. As they put it, their family was ordinary, and Luo Jianghe was an ordinary child. Placing an ordinary child on an extraordinary path could very well destroy them. Their only hope for him was to be an ordinary, healthy, and happy person.

But things were different now. He had been swept into an extraordinary situation, and he had to choose an extraordinary path. He had just reached adulthood; working a part-time job would not earn enough money and would easily disrupt his life. Thus, it was better to try streaming; at least he had a face worth showing.

Luo Jianghe did not have massive goals currently; he just hoped to earn as much money as possible while he was still in this world. After he left, he wanted to have at least reduced the financial burden on the Luo family. Regardless of whether his parents divorced, the family’s lifestyle was bound to be downgraded. Luo Jianghe wanted to do his best to ensure the quality of life for his mother and sister. Since he was already here and had gained a mother and a sister, he had to do something.

“How old is the streamer? The streamer is almost nineteen this year,” he said with a gentle smile, actively interacting with the viewers and fans.

“Yes, I start university officially in September.”

“I think I did okay on the exams. My dream school is M University. I estimate my score reached the cutoff, so I am just waiting for the admission notice.”

“Is the lighting bad? My streaming equipment has not arrived yet, so this is just natural light from home. It is not too dark, is it?”

“Hmm? My face looks unnatural? I have not had any work done; my nose is natural.”

As they chatted, Luo Jianghe checked the time and realized he had been streaming for nearly two hours. Since it was his first time, playing, singing, and talking, he was already a bit tired.

“That is all for today. It is summer break, so I will stream whenever I have time. I will post the schedule in the app if I am free. Thank you for your support. Let us leave it at that for now. Bye-bye.”

With that, Luo Jianghe ended the stream.

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