My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 193 - 160: Money or the Person

Chapter 193: Chapter 160: Money or the Person

"What post-processing? You really have a way with making things up.

If you had even a little Photoshop skill, your college friends’ circle wouldn’t all be filled with your straight male style."

Duan Xian brought over a fruit platter and set it in front of Meng Lang.

"What’s straight male style?" Meng Lang stuffed a piece of apple into his mouth, puzzled.

"Women’s selfies have the three treasures: big eyes, pouted lips, and a forty-five-degree angle. The straight males’ photography is all about being serious, snorting, the uglier the better."

"Uh... Hey! I was a proud member of the ’Photography Enthusiasts Association,’ at least. Was I really as bad as you say?"

Duan Xian rolled his eyes at that comment.

"You really shouldn’t mention your so-called enthusiasts’ club. I believed your nonsense and let you take a photo of me once. And what happened? Not only was my posture stiff and the composition peculiar, but you also managed to make my six-foot frame look like it was barely five feet three.

Do you have any idea, since that day, all my male classmates set that photo as the background for their incoming calls?

I really should thank you for standardizing the measurements for me!"

emm...

I thought I had skillful technique and my work was well-loved by my classmates, but was I unwittingly salvaging their dignity?

"Who makes you so envious that they’d want to put you in a sack in the middle of the night? Living in the same era and the same school as a single dog like you is truly a tragedy..."

Talking about their college days, both Meng Lang and Duan Xian couldn’t help but show a trace of smiles.

Having been on edge for a while, Meng Lang was actually enjoying this rare, relaxing moment.

So many people try their hardest just to live an ordinary life.

It’s just that their generation’s ordinary future... is precarious...

After dinner, Duan Xian’s parents went out for a walk, leaving the house to the three young people.

Seeing Mrs. Duan’s implied suggestive look before she left, Meng Lang knew that the old lady hadn’t given up just yet.

At that moment, Duan Xiaoyi was curled up watching TV, while Meng Lang and Duan Xian sat on the sofa chatting.

[On the morning of April 10th, the price of Bitcoin suddenly plummeted, with a drop of up to 10%, causing 100,000 people to be liquidated. Financial regulatory authorities once again remind investors to be aware of related risks...]

Duan Xiaoyi idly switched through channels.

"This Virtual Coin thing seems to be quite popular lately; a lot of people around me are playing with it. They told me I could retire on it. Is that true?"

"If you buy it now, I don’t know about retirement, but it sure can accompany you to the end." Meng Lang, munching on fruit, dropped this line.

"Uh..."

[Xinhua News Agency reports that the Snake Head, one of the twelve national treasure-level Beast Head artifacts, has finally seen daylight after 158 years and will be exhibited for the first time at the Su City Museum soon...]

[The continued fallout from the data breach of 87 million users on ’Faceless’ prompts Bergzak to appear before Congress at Black Palace on the 10th for questioning. Here are the live images...

"Do you think you’re not monopolizing the market?"

"Yes, we’re not."

...

"I swear, he looks like he’s wearing a mask."

"Can you smile for us, just to prove you can do it?"

"Okay, stop smiling now; it’s a bit frightening."

"Are you sure you’re not a robot?"]

It’s currently seven in the evening, and after Duan Xiaoyi flips through a few channels, it’s all news.

"Tsk! This robot’s expression management is on point." Duan Xian couldn’t help but comment on the perfectly symmetrical, eerie smile on the screen.

"Hmm! At least this robot has a lot of say..." Meng Lang, however, looked at Bergzak on screen thoughtfully.

"One-third of the world uses Faceless; how can he not have a lot of influence?"

"But tell me, if I hacked his Faceless account and used it to force a ’Doomsday Declaration’ announcement, how many people in the world do you think would believe it?" Meng Lang stroked his chin.

"Hmm! Your idea is quite creative, with maximum trolling effect, but we don’t use Faceless here in our country."

"What if I add Tencent to it?

If you combine the social media of these two companies, they cover nearly half of the world’s population. Announcing simultaneously, wouldn’t the impact be explosive?"

"I don’t know how others might react, but I certainly wouldn’t believe it.

Don’t believe in rumors, don’t spread rumors, stop the goose from passing on the message..."

"Hey, at least consider a Doomsday officially announced by the authorities. Is that so hard to do?"

"Instead of worrying about the end of the world, I think it’s better to pay attention to housing prices. Thanks to the trade conflicts, Su City’s property prices have risen again these past few days..."

Meng Lang sighed helplessly.

Indeed, for ordinary people, instead of worrying about Doomsday decades from now, it’s probably more practical to care about tomorrow’s housing prices.

The content of men’s conversations is nothing more than housing prices, the stock market, macroeconomics, CPI...

Duan Xiaoyi didn’t disturb them, aimlessly pressing the remote control.

When the channel switched to a variety show, she sat up a bit straighter, finally finding a program that interested her.

"Hey! Have you really not considered going into the entertainment industry? It’d be a waste of your good looks. If you work hard, maybe you could even be more popular than him?"

Meng Lang pointed to the TV, where a heartbreakingly handsome male star was given a big close-up.

Although he couldn’t name the star, this male celebrity seemed to be very high in exposure lately.

"The entertainment industry? Haven’t you heard, ’Once you’re in the circle, it’s as deep as the sea, and from then on, sincerity is but a stranger’? How complicated could the entertainment circle be?"