848 Ten Points (1/2)

Zoom.

Engines hummed outside the pet shop, followed by vibrations of wheels running over the sidewalk.

Sihwa opened the curtain and saw the Wuling Hong Guang, which was always parked at the entrance, heading east.

She knew it had to be Zhang Zian driving. He always drove to the beach at that hour of the day to collect the harvest––rare fish, shrimp, and so on––from the fishermen.

The pet shop was close to the beach, yet his round trip would take at least half an hour if he returned empty-handed. If the harvest was plentiful, it might take more than an hour.

The pet shop had just opened. The young boys and girls were doing their routine cleaning on the first floor, making noises while they moved chairs and vacuumed the floor.

Nobody would come upstairs at that hour. Sihwa picked up her phone happily and activated the live broadcast app.

”Hahaha! Hello, everyone! I'm here for the broadcast!” She paused. ”What? Why there are so few people?”

Sihwa glanced at the number of subscriptions of the live broadcast room. There were about 3,177 people. The number had stopped growing a few days ago, and then continued to drop.

It was too early. There were only two or three people online. They were all regulars, and they didn't seem to have anything to do all day long.

[Watermelon] entered the live broadcast room.

[Mr. Grape]: Welcome.

[Watermelon]: Hello.

[Little Confused] entered the live broadcast room.

[Mr. Grape]: Welcome.

[F*ck The Wildest Dog]: Hostess, you started your shift early.

[killme]: She starts at this time every day, when most of the other hosts are still sleeping.

[Watermelon]: I'm new here. I heard the hostess is gorgeous. She is, indeed, but not enough to get ten points.

”What? What ten points?” she asked immediately with an angry face. Sihwa was conceited about her own beauty, and could not withstand any questions about it.

[Watermelon]: Lady Perfect should be a female, alive, rich, pretty, with fair skin, a sweet voice, a smart brain, big boobs, a small waistline, and long legs. If all ten of these pieces of criteria are met, then she gets ten points. As long as she's a woman, she gets one. If a woman is alive, she gets two. So two points is basically the bottom line.

”So… How many points do I get?” Sihwa asked, pointing at her own nose.

As it was morning, there were barely any bullet screen comments in the room. [Watermelon] could send as many comments as he needed and say whatever was on his mind without worrying about being interrupted by other comments.

[Watermelon]: Well… I'll tell you the truth. Please don't get mad at me… You get top score for being a female, alive, having fair skin, a sweet voice, big boobs, and a small waistline. You can get at least seven. As for your legs… I can't see them, but I suppose they are quite long. I think I can give you eight.

”What! Only eight? I think you need to see an optometrist!” Sihwa turned so mad. In her eyes, if she didn't get twelve, then [Watermelon] definitely had something wrong with his eyes.

[killme]: Hostess, don't get mad… Although, you are still gorgeous when you are mad.

[F*ck The Wildest Dog]: Grant me administrator privilege. Let me kick this guy out for you.

[Little Confused]: I have a stupid question. Is this criteria treating women as objects?

[Watermelon]: Haha, according to this standard, Lin Chi-ling only gets seven. Hostess, eight is a very high score… Someone just said this criteria treats women as objects. Indeed. But our society these days not only treats women as objects, but it treats men as objects, too. They get judged by height, job, income, face, background, character… These are women's criteria to evaluate men, so it works both ways. Let's laugh about it and don't be too serious.

”Tell me then… Where exactly did I lose the two points?” Sihwa asked in discontent. She didn't care about being treated as an object at all. She didn't know who Lin Chi-ling was, but was slightly relieved after hearing that she had scored above her.

[Watermelon]: First of all, you don't meet the criteria of being ”rich.”

Sihwa turned her head and glanced around the shabby bathroom decoration. She blushed and argued, ”I… Money is a bit tight right now, but it's only temporary. I'll be rich very soon! Very, very rich! I'll make one million a day like the other hosts! By that time, I'll stuff the entire bathroom and the bathtub with cash! I'll swim in dollar bills!”

[Watermelon]: Hostess, you misunderstood me. The criterion of being ”rich” doesn't only include material wealth, but also your spiritual wealth. Even if you can swim in cash, you only get half a point.

”Spiritual wealth?” It was the first time Sihwa had ever heard that word.

[Watermelon]: Yes. What kind of positive hobbies do you have? How many books have you read? How many movies have you seen? What insightful comments can you make on the books you've read and the movies you've seen? What's your point of view on the economic trend in China today? What do you think about the current international situation? What's your education level? What jobs have you done? What do you have to say about life?

His questions made Sihwa completely lost and speechless.

Her hobbies included playing with the phone and sleeping. She had never read any books… or watched any movies. Economic trend? International situation? What were those? Were they food? Education? Jobs? Ahh…

After a long pause, Sihwa's confidence was half gone. ”I… I've watched Korean dramas…”

[Watermelon]: Korean dramas… They will do. I don't discriminate against Korean dramas. But what are your insights after watching them?

”Insights… Insights… Insights…” Sihwa thought very hard. ”Emm… Long-legged Oppa was very handsome and very rich. Do they count as insights?”

[Watermelon]: …

[killme]: …

[Mr. Grape]: …

[F*ck The Wildest Dog]: Oh crap! Mr. Grapes, you are not a robot?

[Watermelon]: Insights are comments you make about movies, novels, or dramas that make people think, or at least broaden their perspectives… As for how handsome and rich the hero is, these are part of the character's set up, not insights.