Chapter 5 part 1
As a scalper who would photograph anything for money, his livelihood depended on selling artists’ private information.
He didn’t choose his jobs; secretly following, 24-hour car chases, live-streaming artists’ private rest time from a corner—he did it all.
He didn’t discriminate either; he photographed whoever was popular, regardless of who it was. He had no moral compass or qualms.
Those obsessive fans who lacked time but had money were very generous; one shoot could earn him several thousand. When he didn’t get “custom-made” jobs, he occasionally live-streamed on short-video apps, attracting voyeuristic passersby or obsessive fans to give him gifts.
He was always reported; mostly by true fans condemning his actions, but he had many accounts and could easily start over.
Some people just couldn’t resist seeing more of the stars than what was shown on the big screen.
So, he came today.
He wasn’t a professional photographer known for her skill or composition; he wasn’t legitimate, had no love for the profession, and didn’t care much about the photo quality, nor did he spend much on camera equipment.
But his camera was definitely clearer than the photos taken by passersby’s phones. He chose a good angle, tested it with his phone first, confirming it could only capture a vague outline, then he felt relieved.
He scanned the people sitting on the steps; few were taking pictures, those using their phones looked like passersby, and the images would be unclear, only showing a general shape.
Fans were so naive for not squatting here to take pictures. But this high level of fan conduct was beneficial to him; he would be the only one with on-site photos and could sell them at a higher price.
He happily raised his camera and started working.
After taking a few pictures, the scalper felt his hand aching. Considering the advertisement would last several hours, there was no need to hold the camera continuously; it was silly.
So, he went to buy a bottle of water and wandered around for a few minutes before returning.
He continued shooting, his eyes lighting up.
Right, the buyer said she was a CP fan and specifically asked him to identify each member. This wasn’t related to professionalism; it was mainly to avoid the buyer rejecting the photos if he made a mistake and not hiring him again. Therefore, he carefully memorized the faces and names of the five members of Skye, making sure he wouldn’t mix them up.
Honestly, Skye was the easiest group he had ever photographed—the five members had distinctly different styles and were all handsome and recognizable; he couldn’t get them confused.
Having photographed too many celebrities with similar makeup, hairstyles, and body types, the scalper’s taste had become quite picky.
Today’s buyer shipped “Peach Blossom Forest,” a CP pairing of Hua Yan and Berlin.
The scalper looked at the images on the screen and laughed.
What a coincidence! As soon as he picked up the camera, he saw Hua Yan standing in front of Berlin, very close.
He slowly moved and adjusted the angle, wanting to take a picture with a strong CP vibe and atmosphere.
People were dynamic; afraid of missing any moment, he didn’t look closely, continuously pressing the shutter button at a high frequency.
Only after the two and another teammate entered the tent did the scalper carefully review the photos.
Well, they were good.
He scrolled back, and suddenly stopped.
…Huh?
He stared at the photo for a moment, then quickly scrolled back to the previous one.
He had taken continuous shots, so they looked like a dynamic video, the actions could be connected, with virtually no time difference between shots.
But something strange happened.
His position allowed him to capture Hua Yan’s full face and part of Berlin’s side profile.
In the previous photo, Hua Yan seemed to be wearing no makeup, her face unusually pale.
But scrolling forward, in less than a tenth of a second, Hua Yan’s features had changed significantly!
The scalper looked back, his eyes widening.
Every photo showed the change.
Her eyes became more elongated, mysterious black lines appeared at the corners of her eyes. Her nose bridge seemed higher, every feature increasingly refined, even her skin seemed to shimmer under the sunlight.
Most shockingly, her pupil color changed.
From ordinary black pupils, they gradually transformed into blood-red.
The scalper’s hair stood on end; a chill ran down his spine as if he’d seen a ghost in broad daylight.
What…what’s going on!!
Hua Yan’s face was directly towards the camera. The scalper intentionally tried to capture eye contact, and he did. Looking at this photo, it felt like he was really making eye contact with her.
In the last photo, those blood-red eyes seemed to stare at him through the camera screen.
The scalper’s scalp tingled, almost dropping his camera.
His legs felt weak, and he sat down on the steps, trying to calm his rapid breathing.
He looked towards the beach—
Filming had started. Skye members were drinking beverages, surrounded by dozens of staff, and cameras were running.
No one noticed anything unusual.
The bright daylight gave a sense of security, so the scalper felt a sense of unreality, as if he were dreaming.
He wondered…Did I see wrong?
Many passersby were also sitting on the steps, none of them reacted, oblivious to what he had photographed.
The scalper looked at the photos again, self-doubting.
…No! He was right!
He didn’t see wrong; he wasn’t hallucinating. The evidence was irrefutable, he had proof!
Hua Yan from Skye was not human!!
After reaching this conclusion, his palms were sweaty.
The warm sunlight gave him security, and he looked around at the crowd again; the large crowd gave him reassurance.
It’s fine. There are so many people, Hua Yan can’t do anything to him.
Most scalpers lacked morals. He was first afraid, then thought of something else. Some people only had greed in their minds.
He started thinking, I’ve discovered a shocking secret.
A member of a national-level idol group is not human. If I upload this online, as the first person to discover this, won’t I become famous?
Once famous, I’ll use this to gain popularity, everyone will remember me!
This will all become money, I can talk about my amazing experience during live streams, the process of Hua Yan transforming…
He forgot his fear and felt a surge of excitement.
Yes. Yes.
He had nothing to fear. It’s the information age; if he uploaded it online, Hua Yan would be exposed. He could hide for a while, because once Hua Yan was exposed, someone would catch her. He would be safe.
Having made up his mind, the scalper was ecstatic and decided to leave immediately.
He didn’t dare linger, directly boarding a boat. He paid extra so the boatman wouldn’t wait for more people and left immediately.
On the boat, the scalper immediately edited the photos and uploaded them online, unable to wait a moment longer.
He was afraid people wouldn’t see it, so he posted it on various platforms, not missing a single one.
He carefully chose a sensational title and tags.
[Old Wang Takes You to Chase Stars/Give More Gifts to Support V: #Terrible! A Member of the Popular Group Skye is Not Human!!! #[Picture]]
He wanted to post a nine-grid image, but decided against it; nine small pictures wouldn’t be as impactful as one large picture.
He watched intently. Within minutes, the comments, forwards, and likes…the popularity exploded at an unprecedented rate.
The scalper didn’t know how to describe his excitement.
His fingers trembled; he saw unread messages exceeded 999+ in under five minutes. Thinking of making big money and reaching the peak of his life, he laughed happily.
He had to see what the netizens were saying, they must be as shocked as him; after all, who would have thought this would happen?
However, upon opening the comments, his smile froze, slowly turning into a face full of question marks.
The comment section was filled with passersby and fans.
The popularity was indeed high, abnormally high, incredibly high.
…But not as he imagined.
[My Fateful Peach Blossom Forest V: Wow!!!!!!! I came here to oppose scalpers, but when I saw this photo…Damn, I have to shout before reporting: Hua Yan’s plasticity is amazing!! Vampire makeup fits her perfectly!! Peach Blossom Forest CP feeling explodes!![Heart.jpg]][11k likes]
[Scalper Stay Away From My Baby V: I came in cursing, now I’m drooling…Damn, I look at the poster’s name, then this picture…I don’t want to report it呜呜呜呜呜呜 I’m guilty qaq][10k likes]
[Eat Sleep Watch Skye: I’m crying waaahhhh My Peach Blossom Forest Ahhhh! [Tears][Tears][Tears] I never expected the best meal I’ve ever eaten would be made by a scalper 555555 Why is this happening…Is there any fanfic? My child is craving, wants to read about the first embrace (incoherent mumbling.jpg)][9k likes]
[Reporting Everywhere on the Internet Today: Is this a leaked material? Where did it come from? Scalpers should stop doing such bad things, be careful you have money to earn but no money to spend[Speechless.jpg]][8k likes]
[There’s a possibility I only love Skye V: The scalper is better at praising than me…《Popular Group》（Yes, our Skye is globally popular）《(Handsome) Not Human》（Yes, our Hua Yan is amazing QAQ）]
Scalper: “…”
Scalper: “???”
What’s going on?
Are fans’ brains wired differently from normal people??