The Deliveryman Tears Into a Shady Livestream

Wang Qiang crouched on the back seat of an electric scooter, gnawing on a steamed bun. A text message popped up on his phone: his sister had taken out her third online loan. Yesterday, she'd bought another five cases of "Maotai Town Original Brew" in a livestream. The streamer said the QR-code price was 3,999 yuan, but viewers could get it for just 299. The cardboard boxes held yellowed glass bottles with crooked labels.

After delivering thirty orders of milk tea, Wang Qiang was still carrying his last two cups. He pushed open the door and stumbled into the livestream. A streamer wearing a thick gold chain was clutching the cleaning lady by the collar and shouting, "You old hag! You damaged the sample. Pay me 2,000 yuan!" The woman was trembling all over, and half a bottle of blended liquor lay on the floor.

Comments flooded in: "We're with Brother Hu! Make him pay!" Wang Qiang pulled out his phone and started recording. Brother Hu suddenly let go and laughed. "A delivery guy wants to be an influencer too?" The floor manager blocked the door as three ring lights swung toward him. Wang Qiang stared at the production date printed in the gap between the stand's clamps: October 35, 2023.

The cleaning lady suddenly grabbed her mop and jabbed it at the breaker box. The livestream went dark. Wang Qiang felt around and stepped on the bottle that had rolled to his feet. On the back of the label, he saw the suggested retail price: 9.9 yuan.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any similarities are coincidental. Do not imitate.