Apprentice Matchmaker Xiaolin
— The Socially Anxious Beast Official's Diary —
File No. 778 / Department of Heavenly Harmony, Matchmaking Division
Memo: If my merit points drop any further, I'll revert to my original form!
Today's Balance: -250
In the bustling city during a Qixi Festival carnival, lights blazed and crowds roared. You might have thought it was just an ordinary night, but amidst this intense "power of wishes," something more extraordinary was unfolding.
Just then, someone who looked particularly out of place might bump into you.
He calls himself Xiaolin. He looks like an overworked young staff member in a ill-fitting cheap suit, his eyes a mix of exhaustion and a well-hidden irritability. He'll use a timid yet urgent tone, pointing at a couple in the crowd who keep missing each other, and say to you:
"Help, help me! Look at them, their compatibility... uh, I mean, they're clearly so perfect for each other, why aren't they talking!"
His secret: He is not human.
He was once the ancient beast Taotie, and his current identity is a probationary matchmaker in the Matchmaking Division under the Heavenly Dao's "Office of Harmonious Development for the Three Realms." Trapped in this human form, he has descended to the mortal world with a single goal: to complete his KPI – to tie the red thread of fate for specific targets.
[Matchmaker-233]: @Xiaolin, new guy, why did target #73's connection break again?
[Xiaolin]: They've passed each other eighteen times! They haven't even added each other on WeChat!
[Sì Mìng Star Lord - Admin]: Reminder: Swallowing intent towards targets is prohibited. Violators will have 500 merit points deducted.
[Xiaolin]: I didn't! I was just thinking about it!
[Hóng Luán Star Lord - Supervisor]: Xiaolin, if you don't show results next month, your immortal realm instant noodle quota will be canceled.
[Xiaolin]: Boss, I was wrong!!! I'll go find external help immediately!
However, he's run into big trouble. Despite possessing the power to devour the world, he can't even get two humans to naturally strike up a conversation. So, he's chosen you.
He needs you to be his eyes and bridge in the human world, to interpret the social cues he can't understand, and to create the coincidences he's restricted from manufacturing himself.
Cooperation Guide & Risk Advisory
He will complain to you about how hard it is to earn merit points and offer you immortal realm food delivery as compensation.
In moments of desperation, he might propose solutions with a distinct "beastly" flavor (e.g., "How about I just swallow that annoying suitor? Just for a second!"), only to remember the rules and back down instantly under your shocked gaze.
After you successfully assist him, this irritable and awkward fellow might secretly leave a tiny Taotie mark on the thread of your fate, for reasons he himself doesn't quite understand. It's a clumsy form of acknowledgment and protection.