Shenghai
A tenent building
Xiao Li was looking at ssages in a WeChat group.
This was a group she had just joined because the group owner claid they could get tickets to the musical starring Lan Yening. Moreover, they were internal tickets and relatively cheap.
Hello everyone, I’m Ningning’s assistant.
This group is a secret group, so please don’t leak anything. I only have 20 tickets in my hand, so I created this group for 25 people.
Everyone, rest assured. Since I know you’re all Ningning’s diehard fans, the ticket price I’m offering is cheaper than what’s on the official website. The tickets will go to whoever contacts first.
Xiao Li wanted to ask in the group where these tickets ca from.
However, the group owner had set a ban on ssages, so she could only contact them through private chat.
Xiao Li hesitated for a mont but decided to give it a try since the tickets were already sold out online.
Besides, this person was indeed previously quite active in their old fan group.
Xiao Li added the contact using the additional WeChat ID provided in the group.
"Hello, do you have Ningning musical tickets?"
"Yes, I do!"
"I want one."
"Sure! How old are you?"
Xiao Li was startled by the question and scratched her long hair, which hadn’t been washed for three days.
To save money, she and her parents usually washed their hair in the park restroom.
She detested this behavior, so she rarely went herself.
"I’m 15 years old."
Xiao Li quickly typed the number, intentionally making herself seem younger.
The light from her computer screen illuminated her face, making her look eerie—like a caged beast in the dim glow.
She picked up the rice bowl beside her and drank the remaining broth in one gulp.
This was leftover food from the restaurant where her mother worked, brought ho to improve their als.
"Oh! You’re so young! It’s not easy saving money, huh?"
"Not really. My parents give a couple thousand yuan as allowance every month."
Xiao Li’s expression turned fierce, her eyes—like slits carved into a pig’s head—glimring with serpent-like malice.
"Then I’m relieved. We usually don’t sell to young people because of concerns their parents might cause trouble for us later, accusing us of scamming kids."
"Don’t worry, Sis. I won’t. It’s just a few hundred yuan—barely enough for to buy shoes."
"Alright then! Here’s the ticket; take a look."
The person sent Xiao Li an image of a ticket.
"This resolution is too low; I can’t see it clearly."
"It’s already quite clear. Are you sincerely looking to buy the ticket?"
After seeing this reply, Xiao Li ignored it and instead picked up the food on her table, devouring it ravenously.
Broth and rice splattered onto her collar.
About five minutes later, another ssage arrived from the other side.
"Alright, I understand your suspicion. Kids should indeed be cautious."
After this ssage, they sent a high-resolution image of the ticket.
Xiao Li opened it and zood in to inspect it closely, her sinister smile growing more horrifying.
She quickly accessed the ticket purchase website and entered the anti-counterfeit code from the ticket. If it were a genuine ticket, the other person would receive a verification code.
"Well, little girl, have you checked it?"
Xiao Li was now certain the person on the other side was a scamr because they hadn’t asked about the verification code, as a legitimate seller would.
"How do I get the ticket?"
"Paynt upon delivery. If I ask for a digital paynt, you wouldn’t trust ."
"Oh."
Xiao Li knew this was an act to gain her trust.
"Little girl, just to verify that you’re capable of making this paynt, could you send a screenshot of your WeChat wallet or Alipay balance?"
"You don’t trust ?"
"It’s not that—I’m just worried about wasting my ti."
Xiao Li realized the scamr wanted to confirm whether she had money.
"Alright, please wait a mont." Xiao Li searched online and found a screenshot showing a substantial WeChat wallet balance. She doctored it with software and sent it over.
To follow Lan Yening, Xiao Li had learned various photo-editing techniques, which she used to create masterpieces of her beloved idol.
She hadn’t expected them to co in handy for this situation.
"Hmm! Great, now I’m assured!"
The scamr followed this ssage with a string of smiling emojis.
"By the way, little girl, you know Ningning released a new song recently, right?"
"Yes!"
"Ningning needs fans to boost his chart rankings by purchasing his song. If you spend 99 yuan to buy it, I can send you a signed selfie of his. Of course, the 99 yuan is just a virtual paynt—it’s not real. Moreover, I will gift you a 3888-yuan fan package."
The person sent Xiao Li a long string of ssages.
"Sure! I can help Xiao Ning."
"Okay then, scan this QR code for the virtual paynt."
The scamr sent over a QR code.
After scanning it, Xiao Li clicked to pay the amount of 99 yuan. As she had anticipated, the money was actually deducted from her account.
"Weren’t you saying it was a virtual paynt? Why is it real?"
"This is a temporary deduction. The money will automatically be refunded to you within two hours."
The scamr quickly responded with this ssage.
"Oh! Forget it. 99 yuan can just be my treat for Sis to enjoy a cup of milk tea. You all work so hard to boost Ningning’s chart rankings."
"... That’s unacceptable. If I said it was a virtual paynt, it must be virtual—it’s about protecting Ningning’s reputation."
The scamr hesitated for a mont before replying, clearly encountering such resistance for the first ti.
"Little girl, our accounting system needs a certain amount of money to open transactions. So you’ll need to make another virtual paynt of 1888 yuan. Afterward, I’ll send you the promised 3888 yuan package along with your money."
"Huh! I have to send more money? Forget it; I’m feeling tired."
"Don’t say that, little girl. We don’t rest when we’re boosting chart rankings, working tirelessly overnight."
"I’m truly exhausted. Keep the package for yourself. It’s just a few thousand yuan anyway."
The scamr quickly responded:
"That won’t do—I’m Ningning’s assistant. I can’t keep this money. It’s allocated specifically for fans like you. Plus, I have a quota to et of distributing 10 per day."
"Oh, I see. Alright then!"
Following the scamr’s instructions, Xiao Li transferred 1888 yuan.
As expected, the scamr neither sent her the promised package nor refunded her money.
Sweat began forming on Xiao Li’s forehead.
This was her first ti dealing directly with such scamrs.
In her job at a telecom company, she’d co across nurous people making complaints about this kind of thing.
This exposure had made her familiar with scamrs’ tactics.
"Little girl, my accounting system is still locked."
"Didn’t I send you the money already? Why is this so complicated? I’m really tired—I need to sleep."
Seeing Xiao Li’s ssage, the scamr realized they were dealing with soone "not short of money."
Both sides were essentially scamming each other. While this line of work could be considered clever, their foolishness lay in their greed.
Greed clouds a person’s rationality, turning what would otherwise seem absurd into sothing oddly logical.
This explained why so many people fell for scams.
"Little girl, you must help , just for Ningning’s sake, and I’ll try to get another signed photo for you."
"Okay! What else do you need?"
"I saw from your WeChat wallet balance that you have over 180,000 yuan. Can you transfer 180,000 yuan to ? This will just barely unlock my account, and I’ll send everything to you afterward."
"180,000 yuan to help you out this once? Sure, it’s just my monthly living expenses. But what if your system glitches again?"
"It won’t happen this ti; I promise."
"You’re just saying that—you haven’t given any guarantees, so I can’t send the money."
Xiao Li’s hands were now drenched in sweat. She was gambling on the scamr’s greed.
"What guarantee do you need?"
"How about this: You return the money I previously sent along with the promised package by paying out of your own funds. Once that’s done, I’ll send the rest."
The scamr clearly hesitated but ultimately couldn’t resist the allure of 180,000 yuan.
"Alright, I’ll use my own money as a guarantee—but you must keep your promise."
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