William Clark gave Grace Bennett a thumbs up. “It’s even better than I expected. No wonder it’s based on big data retrieval. This is exactly the feeling I wanted. They’re not internet celebrities—they’re just the girls you brush past when you cross the street.”

Grace Bennett’s lips curled into a slight smile. The surprise on William Clark and Edward Harris’s faces was exactly the effect he’d hoped for.

“There are two rankings,” Grace Bennett said. “The selection methods for the influencer list and the ordinary people list are completely different. What’s an influencer? She’s a girl who’s determined to become famous, puts on makeup, strikes a pose, rehearses multiple times, hires a professional photographer, and deliberately creates a super cool, eye-catching effect.”

“But ordinary people are different. Maybe they’re just curious and film a bit of their daily life, or maybe they’re caught on camera by a stranger while riding the subway.”

“So, following this logic, my friend made a little module called the ‘deliberateness index’ to specifically distinguish which short videos are carefully designed and which are just shot casually. Personally, I think the ordinary people list is more attractive.”

William Clark nodded repeatedly. “I’m absolutely in awe of your friend. When can you introduce me? I want to meet him. To even come up with something like a ‘deliberateness index’—he’s definitely a genius!”

“I’m dying of envy here, you three pervs are killing me with your talk.” Ryan Carter waved his hand dismissively and said boisterously, “I’m not like you guys. I don’t need any beauties. As long as I have Julia Cooper and my dog in my life, I’m good.”

“Seriously, I really love this cute pet ranking. Look at this Labrador—those sad little eyes, like a girl sulking and jealous, helpless and pitiful. I just want to hug it.”

“And this husky, wobbling as it walks, like a big silly guy. Look, it actually got beaten up by a little kitten and is hiding in the corner crying. Bro, your ancestors were wolves—are you living up to your family name?”

The dorm was filled with laughter. Grace Bennett tried asking, “What do you guys think of my friend’s website? Do you think it could go viral?”

Edward Harris patted his chest. “This website is designed so well—it’s exactly the function I need. If it doesn’t go viral, I’ll streak around the track!”

“Yeah, right,” Ryan Carter scoffed. “A celebrity streaking is tabloid news. You streaking is visual pollution.”

William Clark thought for a moment, stroking his chin. “The features are fine. The key is how to promote it and let more people know. Once Sky Eye becomes widely known, it’ll be hard for it not to go viral.”

“Promotion has already started, actually. I hope your predictions come true.” Grace Bennett said calmly. “The logic of Sky Eye is really simple: find the best things and share them with everyone.”

“After all, even nobodies like us sometimes want something good.”

Grace Bennett turned his gaze to the window. Tonight, there was no wind, and the moon was bright with sparse stars.

Grace Bennett thought of his conversation with his mother on WeChat. The creditors had already come to their door. His father had always been honest and upright—even if he had to suffer, he was determined to pay off the debts.

The family’s house was already registered with a real estate agent, and now strangers came by from time to time to look at it. Besides bargaining, his mother was quietly packing up everything at home.

He hoped his website could start making money soon and help his family out of this urgent crisis.

A house itself isn’t much—just a building of reinforced concrete. What matters is that it holds the memories of Grace Bennett’s first half of life.

“Whoa, that’s unreal!”

At that moment, Edward Harris’s astonished voice suddenly rang out in the dorm. Everyone rushed over to look, and they were all left dumbfounded.

Edward Harris was the youngest, so his shouting was normal. But even the iron-willed Ryan Carter and the refined William Clark wore expressions of utter shock.

“Third, come look at this,” Ryan Carter called to Grace Bennett. “Your big data search seems to have found something really strange.”

Chapter 005: Monster

The moment he saw the screen, Grace Bennett thought he was seeing things.

He couldn’t imagine that in this world, there could be a girl like this—so stunningly beautiful, so otherworldly, that all three of his roommates thought they were looking at a fake person, or a legendary monster.

After a long stare and some painful thinking, Ryan Carter pursed his lips and said, “I take back what I said earlier. Before seeing this girl, I really thought life with just Julia Cooper and a dog was enough. But now I think, if it’s Alice Morgan plus a dog, I could just about accept it.”

Shhh~

The guys all shushed this hypocrite in unison.

“‘Just about’—come on, boss, I’m not trying to roast you, but if you really met this girl called Alice Morgan, even if you and Julia Cooper were lying in bed, in that post-coital sage moment, calm as water, you’d still kick Julia Cooper off the bed and throw yourself at Alice Morgan without a second thought. You believe it or not?” Edward Harris teased Ryan Carter.

The man from Inner Mongolia, as swift as the wind, actually blushed and muttered, “No way, Julia Cooper is my wife. As for this Alice Morgan, I don’t even know if she’s real. How could I do something like that?”