149
âLia, how in the world did you find out about all that?â
Merry trailed behind Cordelia us they walked toward the school gates. Sheâd been on a rant, reeling off the whole saga and cursing the streaming platform before her curiosity finally .
Cordelia, backpack slung her shoulder, hands tucked nonchalantly into her pockets, fingers brushing against her homemade flashcards, muttered a word to herself while multitasking, âI just had a hunch something was up with you, so I checked with Little Flame.â
Merry was rendered speechless.
Sheâd thought Cordelia had seen something on Twitter or something. Clearly, sheâd overthought it.
After a quick word to Larry, the two made their way to Merryâs rented room, situated in a family housing unit close to the school. She had the main bedroom to herself.
As Cordelia stepped inside, she noticed the living room was a bit of a mess and the bedroom was rather spartan, with a bed, a desk, and a modest wardrobe with only a few clothes.
âWhile tidying up a bit, Merry explained, âI left home in such a rush, didnât even grab much clothes. Lia, take a seat here.â
She cleared the only desk in the room, offered a chair to Cordelia, then perched on the edge of the bed.
Merry looked at her friend earnestly, âLia, how do you plan on helping me prove it?â
Cordelia thought for a moment before answering, âThey say my studying on stream is just for show, right? Do they think itâs fake? Well, Iâll just do a live problemâsolving session.â
Merry nodded, acknowledging it as the most direct approach, and whipped out her smartphone, âMy stream got banned, so letâs just go live on Twitter.â
âSure thing.â
Merry fired up the live stream on Twitter and asked, âLia, do you want to show your face, or should we just film hands?â
Knowing Cordeliaâs preference for privacy, especially given the scrutiny often faced by affluent families, Merry wasnât surprised when Cordelia opted for anonymity.
As they chatted, viewers began pouring into the stream, with comments flying.
âWhiteLightâs doing a live? Why wasnât there a headsâup?â
âWhose that cool voice? Sounds so alluring, even Iâm swooning here.â
Merry noticed the viewer count spiking to over thirty and posted a tweet,
âYou wanted proof? Letâs do this, @StreamRapidOfficialâ
Returning to the live stream, Merry announced, âThe official stance has been that my last video was a foul play, and theyâve banned my stream for three days without explanation, and itâs totally unfair. So I invited in my classmate, the brainy girl who sits behind me, to prove to everyone that sheâs not faking it.â
She then pointed the camera at Cordelia, âLia, itâs showtime.â
Cordelia nodded, pulling out a blank test paper, âThis is our math homework for today.â
And with that, she began.
Cordelia rarely needed scratch paper, and even the toughest problems seemed to unravel after a mere glance The room fell silent except for the scratching of her pen on paper.
The comments section buzzed with excitement,
âThat hand is gorgeous, oh my god, hand fetish over here.â
âThe set sheâs doing is hard, but sheâs really writing fast and itâs inexplicably comfortable for me to watch
âSheâs blazing through that test. I usually spend half an hour just on multipleâchoice, and sheâs done in five minutes. Incredible.â
No one had seen live problemâsolving before, and the novelty drew in more viewers. Before long, the stream hit a viewership of twenty thousand
Although the content was dry, the purity of the session stood out in the chaotic online world.
Watching Cordelia work was refreshing. Her pen moved swiftly, each glance at a problem bringing the solution almost instantly.
Merry was mesmerized, feeling a sense of aesthetic pleasure watching Liaâs fluid problemâsolving. The pace was so smooth.
She sneaked a peek at her follower count and couldnât believe the jump up by thirty thousand, crossing eighty thousand.
However, skepticism crept into the comments,
âNo way she can solve these fast without thinking. She mustâve memorized the answers.â
âExactly, this is even more proof of faking. She could worked them out before and memorized the answers.â
âNo wonder the StreamRapid platform blocked your live chatroom, you did put on a show.â
After the jealous voices gradually grew, Merry got anxious and said, âThere will always be people who, unable to accomplish something themselves, assume that others are incapable of doing it too. This is the homework that was handed out in our class today, and the teacher hasnât given out the answers yet. If you donât believe me, you can go check my schoolâs homework records.â
Those people, however, were still mocking, âEven if you donât have the answers, you can still do it by yourself first, memorize the answers, and then copy them onto the paper.â
As the negative comments mounted, Merry grew defensive, âWhy canât there be more trust between people? Lia usually finishes math tests in half the time and always hands in her tests before teachers can vouch for that.â
But the more she explained, the harsher the comments became. It was a losing battle.
Merry was in argument mode with the commentators, âYou all wanted this live proof, and now that itâs here, youâre still not satisfied? Seriously, what more do you want? How can netizens be this terrifying?â
Cordelia, despite being engrossed in her work, caught the gist of Merryâs rant and calmly interjected, âDonât worry.â
Just as she finished the test, Cordelia grabbed Merryâs phone and logged into the live stream. After scanning the comments, she made an offer, âWhy you guys throw out some problems in the comments? Ill solve them live. That should be proof enough, right?â
The chat went quiet for a moment, then exploded with enthusiasm,
âDamn, that confidence is killer.â
âChallenging the chat to give problems? Why do I feel like she just bossed up.â
âThis girl not only killer hands but also a voice thatâs like ear candy? Itâs got this sultry vibe thatâs off the charts, am I right?â
âSheâs cool and all, but strutting around like you own the place fast track to a faceplantâ
âThe girl is way too cocky, throwing down the gauntlet for everyone to challenge her? Thatâs just begging for a smackdown Come on, seniors in the chatroom? Toss a question her way, I wanna see her crash and burn
Chapter 149
live on air.â
âThis girl is biting off more than she can chew, for real. I canât wait to see how she talks her way out of the tailspin when it hits.â