Chapter 52
The audience stared blankly at the words on the paper in front of Yanyan.
Pet Communication?
Seeing that the chat had little reaction, the boy even adjusted the paper to make it clearer. “You’re not seeing it wrong. Want to know what your little baby does every day? Want to know what your pet thinks about you? Feel free to connect and try!”
He waited for a long time… but no one applied to connect.
Most of the comments were half-believing, half-doubting, not very optimistic about Yanyan’s new segment.
[Uh… is this reliable?]
[It should be? Last time during the PK with Luo Huoxi, Yanyan accurately said the crow was sick…]
[Um, I thought that was just hype.]
[Hype? You think those two would fake it together?]
[Little bro QWQ, the rookie award is almost over. We worked so hard to get you to 8th place. Maybe you should stick to food streaming—we all like watching you eat.]
[Yeah, maybe try this pet thing after the competition.]
The chat was filled with skepticism.
At this stage of the competition, the streamers who made it into the top twenty all had stable content.
As for Yanyan… to put it bluntly, his popularity had surged because of his relationship. Then the ice sculpture incident with Si Jingce brought him another wave of attention.
And now, instead of stabilizing his traffic, he suddenly wanted to switch content?
Even showing affection with lcberg would be better than doing pet communication!
“Still no one wants to connect?”
Yanyan blinked and looked at Si Jingce.
Si Jingce spoke softly, only for him to hear, “It’s fine. Do as I said. Keep going.”
“Since it’s the first day, we’ll only take one person.” Yanyan called out energetically. “No one wants to try? Not even a little tempted?”
Si Jingce had suggested that they shouldn’t take too many requests at first—just one or two at fixed times each day, build a reputation, and create a sense of scarcity.
Later, people would naturally come.
[Honestly… I’m a bit tempted.]
[But pet communication is basically a scam everywhere.]
[I’ve seen ones where you just send a pet photo and name, and they claim they can communicate.]
[? Even fortune-telling sounds more reliable.]
Yanyan widened his eyes at the comments. “You can communicate just by looking at a photo?”
Were his “peers” really this strong?
Suddenly, his only specialty didn’t seem impressive anymore. Yanyan bit his lip, hesitating whether to continue…
“That’s fake.” Si Jingce tapped his head. “No one can communicate just by looking at a photo…”
Seeing the interaction between the two, the chat suddenly became lively.
[Wow, working but still needs hubby to accompany him?]
[Silly little bro, you believed that too?]
“Anyway, I can’t guess what animals are thinking just from photos,” Yanyan said after thinking for a while. “If you want to connect, your pet must appear on camera… Of course, I can’t guarantee success. If your pet doesn’t want to tell me anything, I can’t force it to speak through the screen.”
He also reminded everyone, “Please be careful too. Very few people can truly communicate with animals. Most just analyze behavior to guess their thoughts… I’m no exception.”
[Why are you exposing your own scam?]
Yanyan looked away guiltily.
Humans obviously couldn’t truly communicate with animals… but animals themselves were different…
To avoid raising suspicion, Yanyan quickly covered it up.
He continued inviting people to connect. “Really, no one wants to try? It’s free.”
The moment he finished speaking, someone immediately connected.
[Damn, too slow!]
[Didn’t you all say it was a scam? Why couldn’t I grab the spot?!]
[If it’s paid, I stay cautious. If it’s free, I must test it!]
[Ahhh I missed it QAQ, will there be free chances later?]
“Don’t worry, everyone will get a free chance,” Yanyan reassured.
After all, he didn’t plan to make money from this. The main goal was to find animals currently in the mutation period.
The other person hadn’t turned on their camera yet—only rustling sounds could be heard.
Yanyan waited patiently. Finally, the screen lit up, showing an empty table.
A timid voice came through the computer. “Sorry, sorry… I’m a bit socially anxious. I don’t really dare show my face.”
[Wow, her voice sounds so nice.]
“That’s okay,” Yanyan said gently. “Hello, what would you like to communicate with your pet about?”
The girl said, “Wait a moment.”
Then the camera moved, and she brought her phone over to an acrylic enclosure.
“My pet is called Yumi. Some people might find it scary, but actually, it’s very, very gentle.”
She generously showed her pet. As the camera zoomed in, Yanyan finally saw what was curled up in the corner—
A “mosquito coil.”
It was an albino hognose snake.
Its body was snow-white, with scattered brown patches of different sizes. Under the light, its scales shimmered faintly.
The moment Yanyan recognized it, his pupils shrank slightly, and he subtly leaned back.
Birds are literally on snakes’ menu!
[Ah, it’s a snake!]
[I got goosebumps.]
“People are still quite afraid of snakes,” the girl smiled shyly. “But my Yumi is super—cute—”
The coiled snake raised the front part of its body upon seeing its owner. Its round eyes stared at the camera, its small pink tongue flicking out with a soft “hiss.”
Yanyan froze in place, feeling like he was one step away from being scared to death.
The girl reached out and gently held the snake’s head, giving it a light squeeze. The snake immediately looked a bit dazed, like a squishy gummy candy.
[Actually… if you stare long enough, it’s kind of cute.]
[Hognose snakes are the cutest snakes, I kiss kiss kiss!!!]
Yanyan snapped out of it, coughed awkwardly, and gathered his courage to greet the snake on screen. “Hello, Yumi.”
Hearing his voice, Yumi seemed to notice something interesting. Its whole body tensed instantly, launching forward like an arrow.
“Yumi, no,” the girl quickly restrained it.
Yanyan: QAQ!!!
“Brother!” Yanyan shouted as he threw himself into Si Jingce’s arms, immediately lodging a complaint. “It scared me!”
Si Jingce: …
He patted Yanyan’s shoulder while picking up a chocolate daifuku to “revive” him. “Don’t be afraid. It can’t bite you. Snake bad, Yanyan good.”
The girl had already given the snake a proper scolding.
“Yumi used to be a very gentle snake,” she quickly explained her recent troubles to Yanyan. “But these past few weeks, it’s become especially irritable.”
Yumi was a little snake she and her boyfriend had raised together. Normally, it was very well-behaved with both of them—letting them pet and handle it however they wanted, even coiling around their wrists like a bracelet.
“But recently, my boyfriend tried to touch it, and Yumi bit him.” The girl took out a photo. “The next day, his hand swelled up like a pig’s trotter.”
“After getting an IV at the hospital, it got a bit better… but when he came back, Yumi bit him again.”
She sighed. “Within half a month, Yumi bit him three times.”
Hognose snakes have mild venom. Most people are fine when bitten, but those with weaker constitutions may have allergic reactions.
[Getting bitten once is understandable, but three times in half a month? Did her boyfriend offend the snake?]
After listening carefully, Si Jingce analyzed, “Could it be that your boyfriend touched Yumi after handling its food?”
“No,” the girl immediately denied. “We’ve kept snakes for a long time—we’re very careful about that.”
“And also… recently, Yumi keeps tapping the acrylic enclosure with its nose.”
Si Jingce said, “Hognose snakes are very energetic—like the ‘cow cats’ among snakes. They like to burrow. You could try switching to akadama soil and let it dig as much as it wants.”
Yanyan’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, Brother, you know so much.”
[Taking notes, learned a lot.]
[My snake also loves digging and bumping the enclosure. Nothing serious, just being naughty.]
“If only it were that simple,” the girl said.
She found a video and showed them. “…it’s hitting way too hard.”
In the video, Yumi lifted its body and repeatedly slammed itself against the acrylic wall with loud thud thud sounds.
In several clips, it kept striking the same spot, as if trying to tell her something.
[Even through the screen it looks painful. What’s wrong with the snake QAQ]
[Shouldn’t this go to a vet?]
Yanyan rolled up his sleeves, ready to step in. “Sis, point the camera at Yumi. I’ll ask it.”
But when the camera actually turned toward the snake, Yanyan flinched again.
Yumi flicked its tongue, eyes round and bright.
“Yumi…” Yanyan gathered his courage and asked shakily, “Why did you bite the male owner, and why do you keep hitting the enclosure? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
On screen, the little snake kept flicking its tongue, as if truly communicating with him.
Everyone watched as Yanyan’s expression suddenly turned strange.
After a long pause, he finally looked up, hesitant. “Sis… did you go on a business trip to H City for two weeks at the end of last month?”
The girl: ?!
She was startled. “How do you know that?”
“The snake told me.” Yanyan pointed at Yumi.
He bit his lip and said with difficulty, “You should check on your boyfriend. While you were away, he brought another girl home… and even played with your snake together.”
[WHAT THE—?!]
“Yumi was very unhappy, because your boyfriend and that girl were rough with it and made it very uncomfortable.”
“You were away for as long as they stayed together at your home,” Yanyan paused, “and as for why it keeps hitting the enclosure… behind the flower pot in that direction, the unfamiliar girl accidentally dropped an ID card and some press-on nails there…”
[AHHH WHAT?? NO WAY??]
The chat exploded instantly.
The girl acted quickly—she turned on screen recording to preserve evidence, then carried the camera to search behind the flower pot.
Not long after, she actually pulled out a press-on nail and an ID card.
She quickly covered the ID and her voice turned heavy. “Thank you, little brother. If there’s any follow-up, I’ll post a video.”
She sent Yanyan several “deep-sea torpedoes” as thanks, then immediately ended the call.
[Is this real?! I’m shocked!!]
[This has to be staged, right?!]
[Snake good, protects owner. Little bro good, reveals truth. Boyfriend bad—trash man go die!!]
No one expected things to turn so dramatic.
Yanyan stood there in a daze for a long time. Only when the screen filled with donation effects, making the stream lag, did he snap back to reality.
His popularity shot straight to #1 on the daily rankings.
Yanyan said softly, “Alright… let’s stop here for today. See you tomorrow.”
[Don’t go—Master! Come read my pet too!!]
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