Before her rebirth, Vivian and her grandpa had made a living this way. But the funeral supplies she sold in her previous life weren't anywhere near this ridiculously expensive.
And there definitely wasn't anything like live streaming sales back then. After all, in this business, the lower profile you kept the better.
For living people, running into this stuff in broad daylight would feel unlucky. But at night... and streaming it live?
Vivian figured the paper ingots priced at 15$ each had to be some kind of absurd performance art stream.
With her looks, just sitting there motionless would make hearts skip a beat with that delicate pitiful beauty that made people want to protect her.
Throw in some contrasting stream content, and she could hook some shut ins.
A pretty girl who live streaming funeral supplies at midnight was definitely eyecatching enough. Creepy enough too.
And the prices were insane. Those paper ingots her grandpa used to stuff in burlap sacks for 3$ a bag now cost 15$ each.
15$ for one paper ingot... The guy could've just robbed people, but instead he gives you a paper ingot.
"This streaming company's boss is seriously nuts."
Vivian turned off her phone and crawled out from under the covers. Her pale arms stretched toward the charger on the table.
Her phone's battery icon blinked red.
She didn't have any professional streaming equipment. Not even a ring light. Her phone was so old it needed to stay plugged in just to run the streaming app.
The rental room was a dump too, so the stream quality would be terrible for sure.
Vivian wasn't counting on selling any of this stuff anyway. She just needed to earn that base salary. Combined with her savings, it'd be enough to buy some daily necessities and get her life back on track.
As for that $42million debt, she'd pay it back if she could, but if she was broke, well, there wasn't much she could do about it.
Vivian climbed out of bed. Her pale feet touched the cold concrete floor. Her toes, painted with chipped red nail polish, curled up from the icy surface.
She searched around the floor until she found her rabbit slippers kicked under the bed.
She shuffled into the narrow bathroom in her little slippers and examined herself in the half-broken mirror. Even disheveled she was still beautiful.
But considering she'd be streaming soon, she decided to clean up a bit.
First, she squeezed out some packet shampoo to wash her hair. The freezing tap water hit her scalp. She winced and her shoulders tensed up.
Her bottom lip trembled slightly. Probably because the original body owner had been spoiled since childhood.
But these were the conditions now. Nothing she could do about it.
After a quick wash, she looked at herself in the mirror. Even without makeup, this face was absolutely stunning.
Anyone who saw it would gasp "gorgeous" without thinking twice.
Too bad when you're broke, a face like this isn't exactly a blessing...
She tidied up the messy rental room, clearing out a relatively clean corner for streaming.
Her cracked screen phone was her only streaming equipment.
After finishing everything, it was around 10:30. Because she was so weak, the cleanup had taken quite a while.
Since she had nothing else to do anyway, she might as well start streaming early and get familiar with it.
Once the stream was over and she got paid, the first thing she'd do was eat. She definitely couldn't eat that sketchy takeout anymore. If the hunger didn't kill her, the food poisoning would.
Cooking for herself was obviously healthier, more nutritious and cheaper.
Vivian Sterling opened the streaming app.
The room's lighting was terrible, and the crappy front camera made her look ghostly pale. She had to admit, it really did have that underworld atmosphere.
"This kind of stream is way too weird. Anyone who accidentally stumbles across it would get the life scared out of them."
Her mouth curved into a bitter smile, but the 15$ base pay didn't have any requirements. As long as she completed the stream, she'd get paid. So she didn't plan to put on much of a show. Just sit in front of the phone and respond to comments.
If nobody watched, even better. Getting paid just for sitting there. Who wouldn't love that job?
Vivian glanced at the product links attached to the stream. Her head shook back and forth.
Handmade paper ingots, $15. Handmade paper servant boy and girl, $450. Handmade paper mansion, $4,500 per square meter.
"This is insane. Who would buy this stuff?"
Looking at the product showcase images, Her eyebrows drew together.
The paper ingots were folded all wrong, the servant boy and girl were full of flaws, and the most expensive paper mansion looked like it would have ghosts complaining about drafts.
"Ugh, this stuff isn't just scamming the living. It's scamming the dead too."
She shook her head again as she closed the product links.
Maybe the platform gave her some traffic, or maybe she really was that goodlooking, because a dozen or so people gradually trickled into her stream.
Almost without exception, they all complained about how creepy her stream was, but also without exception, they all praised her looks.
{BRUH WHY ISN'T SHE DANCING???? This is giving me serial killer vibes ngl 💀💀💀}
{YOOOOO WHAT THE ACTUAL F*** IS SHE CHARGING?!?!?! MY KIDNEY IS WORTH LESS THAN THIS SHIT 😭😭😭}
{Wait wait wait... did mommy's perfect hands actually touch these??? BRO I'M BOUT TO DROP MY ENTIRE PAYCHECK AND BURN ONE FOR THE HOMIES WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT 🔥🔥🔥}
{WAIFU PLEASE NOTICE ME I'VE BEEN SIMPING FOR HOURS.. STEP ON ME PLEASE 🛐🛐🛐💸💸💸}
A few scattered comments floated by. I didn't even know how to respond. My smile looked forced and awkward.
"I can actually read faces too."
Vivian figured just sitting there grinning like an idiot wasn't going to work.
The person who hired her said she could get a cut of any sales, plus she'd get a share of other stream revenue too.
In that case, she might as well show off some real skills. Read people's faces, say some nice things, maybe earn one or three dollars in gift money per session.
{Can you read my face?}
{STREAMER GODDESS LISTEN... I DON'T NEED THE FACE READING PSYCHIC STUFF... I JUST NEED 5 MINUTES OF PURE EYE CONTACT THROUGH VIDEO CHAT SO I CAN PRETEND WE'RE SOULMATES AND YOU ACTUALLY KNOW I EXIST PLEASE I'M BEGGING 👁️👁️💕💕💕}
The comments showed some interest, but nobody wanted to pay. They were all just messing around for fun.
*{Can you read mine first?}*
A bright red comment floated by, followed by a 7$ gift. After all the platform cuts, Vivian would only earn seventy cents from it.
But seventy cents was seventy cents. That could buy two packets of instant noodles.
"Sure, let's video chat. You're so generous, your face definitely shows fortune and prosperity."
When Vivian learned face reading, her grandpa taught her that no matter what, start with the good stuff. You can't go wrong that way.
Unless someone's face was seriously messed up, it was about good luck and building karma for yourself.
And if she actually saw something unclean in someone's face, saying nice things could help her play dumb and avoid trouble.
Soon, the video connected.
What appeared before Vivian was a beauty so exquisite it went to the bone. Gorgeous red hair highlighting her cool proud temperament. Just one look could make your heart skip a beat.
{HOLY FUCK, THAT REDHEAD IS ABSOLUTELY FIRE! 🔥🔥🔥}
{Damn girl, you're giving me serious boss energy... wanna grab drinks sometime? 😏💕}
{Sweet innocent black hair vs smoking hot redhead... RIP my heart, I can't handle this combo 💀}
{Wait... this better not be some scripted bullshit, right?}
But looking at the beauty in front of her, Vivian's smile faded. Her eyes widened. Her hands gripped the phone tighter.
Because this woman's face, by all rights... should have been dead for decades!