Very soon, quite a few netizens saw Zero's post.
Some suggested he raise his budget, or just download a fortune-telling app himself.
Others said that if he was only willing to pay 100 credits, there was no need to even look at the birth charts, they already knew the two of them were incompatible.
Zero, "..."
Zero prided himself on being a thrifty and economical person. When buying milk tea, he would deliberately get one more cup just because the second one was half-price.
For a moment, the netizens' comments left him dazed and doubting life itself.
Had the value of credits gone down? Was even a hundred thousand not enough to hire someone to match birth charts anymore?
Thinking of the talisman papers he'd sold for prices averaging in the eight or nine digits, he mulled it over and decided to add another fifty thousand.
So, he changed the title of his post.
[Matching Birth Charts, Payment: 150]
After all, matching birth charts was no big deal, any diviner from the Divination Commission could do it.
Zero waited and waited until finally, a netizen replied.
The other person said they were just a beginner, not very skilled yet, so their reading might not be accurate.
Zero didn't mind and immediately sent both his and Jingliu's birth charts for this lifetime.
After seeing the charts, the netizen stayed silent for a long time before sending a message,
[Uh… this age gap… is that even legal? You won't get arrested for this, right?]
Having deliberately ignored his actual age, Zero felt scolded once his secret was exposed. He angrily asked for the person's payment account and transferred only fifty thousand to shut them up.
[!!!]
[Okay, boss, I'll start right away.]
After waiting a dozen minutes or so, the netizen sent back several hundred words, a whole essay.
[You two are love at first sight, you know.]
Zero frowned and continued reading.
[The moment you laid eyes on each other, you were deeply drawn in, instantly falling in love.]
[Such a handsome man and beautiful woman, what a perfect little couple.]
[But the younger one hides too much in their heart, worries too much, overthinks everything.]
[Acts too freely, too impulsively, stubborn, always insisting on their own views, won't turn back until they hit a wall.]
[And spends credits without any restraint.]
At that last line, Zero frowned even more.
Jingliu wasn't like him at all, she was much more frugal. This person really wasn't accurate at all.
As he thought about it, he suddenly remembered, he was the younger one.
Zero, 'Hm. Overthinks things, acts impulsively, can't control spending…'
Even though the way it was phrased was unpleasant…
It wasn't totally wrong. Some of it did line up.
Unexpectedly, this person was actually kind of accurate?
'Fifty thousand credits, worth it.'
[My advice, be more honest with your partner. After arguments, don't always try to smooth things over with apologies or sweet talk. You need to actually fix your flaws if you want your relationship to grow closer.]
Zero automatically ignored that part and kept reading.
[The older one has too strong a sense of morality. Sometimes, it's really necessary to let go of that so-called moral compass.]
When Zero saw the words "too strong a sense of morality," he believed it completely.
Yes, Jingliu was different from him, she had normal principles and values.
[This person is easily deceived.]
[When in love, they must be cautious and keep their eyes open. Don't get tricked by a scumbag man or woman.]
[Choose carefully when picking a marriage partner, or arguments will be inevitable.]
Zero fell silent, feeling something was off again.
What did they mean, Jingliu was easily deceived? Deceived by who, him?
He was just trying to hide his past life, how did that count as "deceiving" her?
At first, he'd thought the person's reading was accurate and had planned to pay the full 1.1 million credits, making up the missing million.
Forget it. He wouldn't. This person's words were too unpleasant, and their fortune-telling too unreliable.
Zero closed the chat window and kept scrolling through the thread to find someone else.
The second netizen seemed more experienced.
Zero asked for their payment account and transferred fifty thousand credits up front.
[…]
[You've got fifty thousand credits, and you're still asking random people online to tell your fortune?]
Zero sighed. If not for all the acquaintances at the Divination Commission, would he really need to resort to the internet?
Through the screen, he couldn't help but type out a bit more.
[Too many acquaintances in real life, not convenient, so I have to find someone online.]
He sent over both birth charts.
Just like the first netizen, this one also went quiet for a while before replying.
[With this kind of age difference… are you the third party here?]
Zero, "..."
He took a deep breath and angrily typed, [Give me back my credits.]
The netizen refused to refund him and started sending messages instead.
[The older one won't say much about how much they love you, but they'll show it through actions instead.]
[They care about you, but you might not be the only one in their heart.]
Zero, "..."
So this person really thought he was the third wheel, huh?
Pathetic skill level. He really wanted to grab this person and throw them in jail.
After thinking about it, he realized that what he'd said earlier, "too many acquaintances" and "not convenient", could indeed be misunderstood.
But putting that aside, were they actually wrong?
No, this person's skill was just terrible. If they were on the Xianzhou, they'd be caught by the Cloud Knights and starved to death in the Detention Ward.
Zero took another deep breath, took a screenshot of his account balance, and sent it to the netizen with a message.
[The fifty thousand was just a deposit, but since your reading isn't accurate, the remaining one million will go to someone else.]
As expected, the netizen immediately changed their tune, sending message after message apologizing and insisting they'd redo the reading for free.
Zero felt that fifty thousand credits had been completely wasted.
Sure, the amount was nothing to him, not even pocket change, but it was still annoying.
He decided to be cautious this time, send the birth charts first, and if the reading was good, then he'd pay.
As he kept scrolling through his post, he noticed a surge in comments. Many netizens were recommending themselves.
Among them, one seemed very experienced, often posting online to read fortunes for others.
They even attached client reviews from past readings, which immediately caught Zero's attention.
This time, Zero didn't transfer money right away. He just sent the birth charts.
[The younger one is generous, easygoing, plans ahead, has sharp insight, and can handle pressure well to solve problems.]
Zero relaxed.
Finally, a reliable person.
[Extremely intelligent, almost to a frightening level. Naturally skeptical of things, thinks far ahead, and is good at analyzing situations from multiple perspectives.]
[Very good at listening to others' advice, rare and commendable.]
Zero was convinced.
Accurate. Dead-on accurate.
Who would've thought, he'd actually meet a true master online.
He immediately asked for their payment account and transferred 1.1 million credits.
After receiving the payment, the netizen maintained their composed, masterly attitude, calmly continuing to send messages.
In short, their conclusion was, Zero and Jingliu were a match made in heaven, the perfect couple, one in a thousand years.
After reading it, Zero couldn't help but exclaim how incredible this master was, then turned back to his post to find more people.
Suddenly, hundreds of people flooded the thread, all fighting to match his birth charts. After carefully selecting, he contacted several more.
Their opinions were perfectly consistent, saying the two of them were extremely compatible, a pair destined by the heavens themselves.
Zero did the math and realized he'd spent ten million credits in just one morning.
So he decisively stopped, ignored the flood of new replies, and deleted the post altogether.
He glanced at the time on his jade terminal, it was mealtime, so he began browsing takeout options.
When he went to pay, the terminal showed that one of his bank accounts had hit its limit.
Zero, '???'
He had no choice but to contact customer service.
The customer service rep said, "You're from the Xianzhou, right? We checked and found that your account recently activated a minor protection feature…"
Zero, "..."
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