I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 209
Chapter 209: Open the Dust-covered Photos
“So, you’re my Xiao Luo’s boyfriend, right?”
After walking around the room and glancing at me, then at Zhou Xiaofei, who was curiously looking in our direction with wide eyes in the living room, the middle-aged woman who had just entered from outside approached Lan Jiajia in the kitchen.
“Are you the one… the little yellow chicken?”
“Eh?”
Lan Jiajia obviously didn’t hear the conversation between me and the middle-aged woman at the entrance just now.
She looked confused as she finished arranging the chicken and put it into the steamer, “Little yellow chicken?”
“It seems so.”
The middle-aged woman crossed her arms and stared at Lan Jiajia with a keen interest.
“Looks gentle, good personality, adept in social settings and in the kitchen – that’s how this girl is described.”
Embarrassed, Lan Jiajia asked, “May I ask who you are?”
I, sitting on the sofa in the living room, propped up on the armrest, picked up a toothpick and casually stabbed a piece of watermelon, enjoying the spectacle.
“I’m Ai Luodi’s mother.”
The middle-aged woman didn’t seem at all bothered and walked into the kitchen.
“I was planning to arrange blind dates for Luo in these few months. She said she already has a boyfriend, asked me not to bother her. I was wondering which lucky young man had such good fortune to capture the heart of our Xiao Luo.”
This middle-aged woman who came in from outside looked similar to most women in their forties on the street. She wore very ordinary clothes, but she seemed to have some understanding of the pursuits of young people. The phone she held was the latest model released in recent months, and the lock screen wallpaper was a second-dimensional anime character – wearing a vibrant school uniform, wrapped in long black stockings, with cherry blossoms fluttering in the background.
In addition, this aunt gives me a particularly warm feeling. She doesn’t seem like the typical parent with a slightly “fake” kind of “politeness.” As soon as she entered, she warmly asked, “Child, what’s your surname?” “Have you eaten today?” Like, “I am XX’s XX, please take care of XX in the future…” After exchanging a few casual words with me as if we were old friends, she headed straight to the kitchen. When talking to Lan Jiajia, she didn’t treat her like a stranger, speaking in a casual and non-formal manner, devoid of the usual sense of unfamiliarity towards strangers.
I suspect Ai Luodi learned that “sarcastic” attribute from her mom when she was an editor before.
“Yes, that’s the temperament. Just as Xiao Luo said, you must be the boyfriend she mentioned.”
After listening to the middle-aged woman’s “self-introduction,” Lan Jiajia was stunned for a while. It was Ai Luodi’s mom at the kitchen door who continued speaking on her own, “Since it’s like this, I can be at ease. Xiao Luo, this child, doesn’t rest or eat on time. She found a girlfriend who can cook, so you must help me take care of her.”
“Eh?” Lan Jiajia was completely confused.
Her usual “wife” attribute was showing signs of being at a loss for the first time.
“Um… this… aunt? What you said about boyfriends and girlfriends just now…”
“My Xiao Luo said she has a boyfriend she met online, in the game, during college, picking some profession, a little yellow chicken, or a hidden sword? Is it you?”
The middle-aged woman walked towards Lan Jiajia. “Back then, I helped her buy that laptop, spent over ten thousand yuan.”
“Ah…” Upon hearing this, Lan Jiajia seemed to have some realization. “You also know about The Legend of Sword and Fairy?”
“It’s just a martial arts online game, right? You can play that one for quite a while with just 30 bucks. Let me tell you, when I was young, I played crazier than Xiao Luo. Don’t judge by appearances. Back in Shenzhen City…”
As she spoke, the middle-aged woman turned to look in my direction, as if concerned that her words might have a negative impact on us and Zhou Xiaofei, the two “kids.”
Hesitating for a moment, she cleared her throat and continued, “Have you heard of ‘Meteor Butterfly Sword’? In the early days of domestic games, it was at its peak. Back then, in the internet cafes… where didn’t they have Meteor Butterfly Sword? I was nicknamed the Dagger Goddess in Shenzhen City. There were two Meteor Butterfly Sword competitions held in Shenzhen City back then, and I won the group stage championship both times!”
“At that time, games weren’t as fancy as they are now. Equipments dropped on the ground, and you just picked them up. As long as I got a dagger, it was like ruling the world, shadows of ghosts following me…”
When it came to the topic of games, the middle-aged woman seemed to activate a special switch, and even her speaking volume increased by several decibels. “As long as you accumulated enough energy, unleash the dagger’s ultimate move, no matter how much health you had, one slash directly killed!”
These words left me, who had just put a piece of watermelon in my mouth while sitting on the sofa, completely frozen.
You’re telling me this is a mother in her forties?
“Swordsman Online, that game, I’ve played it too. Just do daily tasks, save money, then upgrade equipment. When there’s a new fashion, buy it. Hey, I have an account too, but it’s Xiao Luo who plays for me most of the time. When I’m free, I go online to PK. There aren’t really many people who can beat me.”
As the middle-aged woman in the kitchen spoke, she gestured enthusiastically, “There are too many professions in this game, and it’s very unbalanced. Not like the old days when everyone was the same. Whatever weapon you picked up on the ground was your skill. The big hammer had high damage, wide range, double daggers were agile, long spear had a long reach…”
Getting excited, the middle-aged woman even grabbed a cucumber from the kitchen and gestured with it, saying, “At that time, Xiao Luo was still very young, and her dad couldn’t be bothered to take care of her, so I carried her on my back to the internet cafe for competitions. It was always one against three or one against five. Those scenes were truly spectacular.”
Well, now I finally understand where Ai Luodi’s obsessive gaming personality comes from.
I “crunch” on a piece of watermelon, continuing to silently watch the show.
“Meteor Butterfly Sword… um, I played it for a while too.”
After handling the steamed chicken, Lan Jiajia turned to the middle-aged woman at the door, “But because the game is too old, and the controls are a bit complicated, I couldn’t beat the beginner’s tasks after entering, so… I didn’t continue playing.”
“In fact, there were many simple games at that time, like ‘Seal of Swords’ and ‘Chinese Paladin.’ We played until we forgot to eat and sleep…”
Perhaps noticing the pile of things in the kitchen, the middle-aged woman changed the topic, “Girl, what are you doing here? This is fish, and there are also crabs…”
“Oh, today is someone’s birthday here, and Nuo’er has a friend coming over, so we bought a bit more.”
Lan Jiajia gestured towards me with her eyes, “And that kid, she’s a student from the nearby Starlight Elementary School, also our friend.”
“Girl, so capable.”
However, the middle-aged woman didn’t even look in our direction, her attention fully on Lan Jiajia, “In that case, I can rest assured. You and Xiao Luo have known each other for… five or six years, right?”
“Ah…”
The expression of the middle-aged woman, looking at her daughter-in-law, made Lan Jiajia even more embarrassed. She tentatively said, “I am female.”
“I know.”
Ai Luodi’s mom seemed as if she didn’t understand Lan Jiajia’s implication, “My daughter has told me. She has a boyfriend, met online, and now that boyfriend has moved in. They have already confirmed their relationship.”
“Confirmed the relationship?!”
Lan Jiajia was somewhat dumbfounded, then seemed to remember something and frantically gestured, “I… um, Auntie, I am also a girl.”
“I know, you mentioned it just now.”
Ai Luodi’s mom asked strangely, “You’re a girl, that’s correct. Is there a problem?”
“Then… what do you mean…”
Lan Jiajia pointed to herself, “Xiao Ai… saying I am her… her what?”
“Boyfriend, but now you should call it girlfriend.”
“So, our relationship… Auntie… don’t you find it strange?”
“Where is it strange?”
“Both Xiao Ai and I are girls, you know?”
“Then are you and my daughter in a romantic relationship?”
Ai Luodi’s mom put on a look of “I know everything”.
“My daughter has made it clear. She and you are a couple, in love, and planning to live together in the future. Do you have any other thoughts?”
“No, I… I don’t… No, wait, I mean…”
Lan Jiajia was clearly flustered, “Although our relationship… um, online, is indeed that of lovers…”
Ai Luodi’s mom interrupted her words, “In real life, isn’t it?”
“In real life, in real life… in real life… well, yes.”
Lan Jiajia’s entire face turned red, “But, in our situation, is it considered… considered a same… same…”
“Same-sex relationship, right?”
Ai Luodi’s mom once again interrupted Lan Jiajia, “What is your opinion on this?”
“Ah? Me? Me?”
Lan Jiajia lowered her head, appearing like a shy young bride, “I’m actually fine with it. I… I’ve had limited interactions with boys since childhood, almost no male friends. The… best female friend I have is Xiao Ai…”
“Well, that settles it.”
Ai Luodi’s mom walked to the stove, opened the large bag of vegetable leaves I brought back, and started picking them, “Anyway, my daughter has already told me she has a boyfriend, and she plans to spend her life with this boyfriend. If you don’t mind, then it’s decided. From now on, we are a family, and you don’t need to pay rent. Auntie made some money from mining graphics cards before. There are three properties in Shenzhen City alone, more than enough for you two to live comfortably.”
In the living room, I listened in a daze.
I still couldn’t believe it!
Was she really a parent from our generation?
So open-minded!
And… making money from mining graphics cards? What’s that all about? Buying cards during a mining shortage, selling them all when the mining boom comes…?
This auntie… was not simple.
At least a few decades ago, playing games at an internet cafe while taking care of a child was already quite disturbing for “traditional” people.
“But… Auntie, won’t people gossip about your family like this? We’re two girls…”
Lan Jiajia still seemed a bit uneasy, “The two of us, being girls…”
“Who’s going to gossip? Whether my daughter chooses a man or a woman is her business. Who gives them the right to gossip?”
Ai Luodi’s mom said solemnly, “Even if they talk nonsense, so what? Will I earn less money every month? Will it affect my daily routine of watching TV and playing games? I live freely in this world, however I live, my daughter should live the same. Even when I play games online, people often come and curse at me. If I have to care about such people, I’ll be infuriated every day.”
“Well, we might…”
From the tone here, I could sense that Lan Jiajia already had a sense of joy.
She continued tentatively, “Maybe we won’t be able to give you grandchildren…”
“So what? Do you need to bring a grandchild home for me to take care of and lower Auntie’s quality of life? If you want kids, raise and take care of them yourselves, I won’t help.”
Ai Luodi’s mom continued with a firm tone, “Whether to have children is your generation’s matter. Don’t ask me, Auntie doesn’t recommend it. It’s a different era now. Children are no longer a necessity. Our family doesn’t have an imperial throne to inherit.”
“Eh?”
Lan Jiajia still seemed a bit incredulous, “Auntie, are you serious?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
Ai Luodi’s mom turned her face away, “As Xiao Luo’s parent, my lifelong responsibility is to raise her. When she was 18, she was in college, and she was already able to act on her own. If she’s capable, she can work to earn her tuition at college. If not, I can help with the money. After college, she’s in her twenties. What rights and obligations do we, as parents, still have to oversee and manage her? None.”
“At most… I just hope Xiao Luo won’t be so lonely on the long road ahead, find a companion. I will only manage my daughter’s affairs, right? As for grandchildren, that’s something my daughter needs to consider. As long as Xiao Luo lives well, I’ve fulfilled my responsibility in this lifetime.”
After handling the large pile of vegetables, Ai Luodi’s mom walked towards the sink, saying, “We have a saying over there — living according to your own wishes is not selfish, but demanding others to live according to your wishes is selfish.”
After this speech, even I, who pride myself on having lived nearly thirty years and consider myself a mature man, couldn’t help silently applauding this middle-aged woman in my heart.
Hmm… how to describe this situation?
A parent open to accepting new ideas and thoughts?
As a web novel author, I am well aware of what it means to “accept new thoughts.” Times are always changing, like a surging river, pushing forward the people like pebbles in the river, rushing forward with great momentum.
Those pebbles willing to smooth their own edges, or rather, those willing to advance along with the river, can reach a broader world, see more beautiful landscapes, and merge into a wider ocean.
Back when I started writing novels, there were few authors, and there weren’t many books available online. Everyone was starving for content, so even novels with unclear titles but excellent plots could be discovered by a large number of readers. During that period, authors didn’t care much about book titles and synopses, as long as the title sounded cool, it was good enough. Now, more than twenty years have passed. If authors were to use titles like “Supreme Overlord” or “God King,” it’s unlikely to attract much traffic, even if the editors recommend it every day on the front page.
Times have changed. There are plenty of books online, plenty of authors, and readers now scan books casually, clicking into those that catch their interest. Most authors directly turn the selling points of their books into titles, like “Scammer Recovers My Game Account? Turns Around and Recharges Five Million.” Such titles usually attract clicks without the need for editor recommendations; once recommended, they skyrocket.
In this era, if authors still think “these books are all unorthodox” or “using such alternative names completely contradicts the traditional web fiction of the past,” and cannot let go of this mindset, they are likely to be overlooked.
Ai Luodi’s mom clearly belongs to the type willing to follow the trend of the times and continue learning throughout her life. Most importantly… she is willing to accept these new ideas of the modern era, which I did not anticipate. After all, two girls being in a romantic relationship is still considered quite progressive for this generation.
“……”
After eating watermelon, I noticed that Zhou Xiaofei next to me also seemed to be attracted by the conversation in the kitchen with Ai Luodi’s mom. She stopped watching the cartoons and stared blankly at the middle-aged woman and Lan Jiajia in the kitchen.
“Let me tell you, our Xiao Luo, I spoiled her when she was young, she liked junk food. She started having stomachaches in high school. After taking her to see a doctor for a while, it finally got a bit better. Now that she has graduated, I can’t watch over her, and it’s happening again. You need to educate her a bit.”
“Ah… don’t worry, Auntie. I’m basically in charge of Xiao Ai’s three meals a day at home. At most, she eats something during work hours.”
“That’s good. Your cooking skills seem quite proficient. Where did you learn them?”
“I attended a training course for six months during college.”
“I see. Are you also a local in Shenzhen?”
“Not exactly. My… my grandfather used to live here.”
Looks like I don’t need to go back to the kitchen.
Ai Luodi’s mom and Lan Jiajia’s appearance in the kitchen, cooking while having a heartfelt conversation, left me feeling both helpless and gratified.
“Xiaofei.”
Realizing that I didn’t have much to do, I sat down beside Zhou Xiaofei and asked, “Have you always been living with your grandmother?”
“Yeah.”
The girl next to me spoke obediently, “My mom has been working outside and only comes back once in a long while.”
“What about your dad?”
“He divorced my mom.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.”
I reached out and gently rubbed the child’s head, “Where do you and your grandmother live now?”
“Just… over there…”
The little one raised her head, looked around, seemingly confirming the direction, then raised her finger towards the southwest, “After leaving the community, walk along that road, go down when you see the sea, follow the road until the end, and then walk a few hundred meters forward.”
There?
I mentally simulated the path Zhou Xiaofei mentioned.
Going out of the community and walking along the road, wouldn’t that be the main road to the beach that I and Xiao Mo take every day this month? Following the road to the end, wouldn’t that be… the small forest and meadow near Nanqi Tower?
No, the small grove near Nanqi Tower doesn’t require going all the way to the end, the location at the end should be…
Subconsciously, I took out my phone and opened the map of Shenzhen City.
“Is it here?”
After searching on the phone map for a while, I held the screen up to Zhou Xiaofei and pointed to an area, asking, “Is it here?”
Because I was worried that the little one might not understand, I specifically explained the path to her, “This road is the one you mentioned, the road you see after leaving the community and reaching the sea. Here is the end of the road, and this is Nanqi Tower.”
If it really is this location… there’s no community around, right? Forget about a community; it’s basically a wilderness. If people live in a place like this, it can only be a dwelling similar to the simple house under Nanqi Tower.
For most of this month, after finishing work at the cafe, I’ve been going to the top of Nanqi Tower to relax and enjoy the view. I’m quite familiar with the scenery over there.
The old man who guards Nanqi Tower occasionally tends to his vegetable garden behind the tower, fertilizing and watering it. A large area of fields, orchards, and gardens nearby is all cultivated by the old man. Planting flowers is purely for aesthetics, and the “fruit trees” he grows are mostly grapes, jujubes, peaches, and the like.
As for vegetables, there’s a variety, including bok choy, Chinese spinach, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, and more. The old man relies on these vegetables and the seafood he catches while clamming to make a living—half of the vegetables are for personal consumption, and the other half is sold in the nearby vegetable market.
If it weren’t for the market behind the Starry Garden community or a slightly longer trip to another market, he could probably encounter other elderly people selling their self-grown vegetables at a stall. After selling the vegetables and buying necessities, he returns home and cooks in the small house next to the vegetable garden. This is the old man’s daily life.
The room where the old man sleeps is very simple, a small single-story structure made of mud, bricks, and tiles. Next to it is a small kitchen for cooking with no water or electricity. Strictly speaking, it’s an illegal construction, but because Nanqi District is relatively remote, and the small forest near Nanqi Tower is considered suburban within Nanqi District, no one has been willing to bother with such trivial matters.
Thinking about it, I can understand the difficulty of Zhou Xiaofei’s family. If her home is similar to the one managed by the old man at Nanqi Tower, unable to afford a regular house and having to settle in a small forest, relying on subsistence allowances for daily living, then she would indeed be deeply attracted to the “roast duck” and “watermelon.”
Although my life has improved lately due to Xiao Mo, and I have more savings, I am, after all, a child who grew up in an orphanage. I vividly remember every detail of my life at the orphanage. In this world, there are rich people, there are tycoons, and naturally, there are also poor people. Around the orphanage back then, there were many families similar to the one with the old man in Nanqi District and Zhou Xiaofei’s grandmother.
Or rather, calling them “families” might be a bit of a stretch. The medicinal plant garden where the orphanage was located had small forests and streams around it. During that time, many people “wandered” in from other cities and settled down here when they saw fruit trees and rivers.
They would collect some stones from nearby abandoned construction sites or stone piles, find a vacant space, construct a “house,” pick up some wooden boards to make a “bed,” and then set up a few pieces of wood, covering the top with a piece of cloth as a makeshift “roof.” If it wasn’t raining heavily, staying in such a house was perfectly fine.
Zhou Xiaofei’s situation might be slightly better than those “semi-wandering” people, but it certainly hasn’t reached the living standards of an average person in Shenzhen.
“Yes, this is the place.”
Looking at my phone map for a while and confirming the direction, Zhou Xiaofei pointed to the “grassland” at the end of the road on the phone map without any markings, saying, “My grandmother and I live here.”
That should be it.
Zhou Xiaofei belongs to the category of extremely difficult households. In a city, people like Su Yunjin are considered “tycoons,” probably less than 0.01% of the entire city’s population, while people like me and those living in the Wujia Apartments are the “ordinary people,” making up more than 95% of the total. Zhou Xiaofei, as an extremely poor individual, is probably in a situation similar to Su Yunjin’s extreme on the other end.
I didn’t expect such a child to be living nearby. Speaking of which, why do I have a strange intuition…
The guardian of Nanqi Tower, the old man, an elderly man, and then Zhou Xiaofei’s grandmother – all alone, no grandfather. Can it really be just a coincidence?
“Oh, by the way.”
While chatting with Zhou Xiaofei, Ai Luodi’s mom, who seemed to be having a lively conversation with Lan Jiajia in the kitchen, leaned out and waved to me, “Hey, come over here.”
“What’s up, Auntie?”
I quickly got up and walked towards the kitchen, asking, “Are you looking for me?”
Ai Luodi’s mom got straight to the point, “When is Xiao Mo coming back?”
“Her?”
I checked the time on my phone, “She said she’d be back before eight, so there’s about an hour left. Should I give her a call?”
“No need, no need. Since she have something to do outside, let’s not trouble her.”
Ai Luodi’s mom also took out her phone, “Do you have Alipay or WeChat?”
“Hmm? Yes, I do.”
“Just open one of them, and let me scan your payment code.”
“What’s going on?”
Although I didn’t quite understand what this mother wanted to do, I obediently unlocked my screen and opened the payment code.
“Don’t move, let Auntie scan it.”
Ai Luodi’s mom scanned my payment code with her phone and seemed to enter some numbers.
“Beep, Alipay received 2500 yuan.”
“Huh?”
The clear sound of an Alipay transaction left me momentarily confused, “Auntie, what’s this for?”
“My daughter told me about the computer issue, and I talked to that distant relative of ours.”
Ai Luodi’s mom put away her phone, “Sorry, dear. I didn’t expect him to give you that kind of computer. He seemed fine when I saw him before…”
“Oh, well…”
Hearing about this, I quickly checked my phone balance, “You really don’t need to do this.”
“Accept it. Auntie went to that relative’s house by car yesterday specifically for this matter. I gave him a good talking to, and this is what he returned, deducting 200 yuan for the transportation fee.”
Ai Luodi’s mom had a look of “don’t bother returning it to me” and said, “Okay, that’s enough for now. I have a guild battle to attend shortly, so I won’t disturb you. I’ll rely on you to take care of my daughter in the future!”
After saying that, she walked straight to the entrance, quickly put on her shoes, opened the door, and said, “No need to escort me!”
With the “thud” of the closing door, I looked at the empty entrance and then at the newly deposited 2500 yuan on my phone, not knowing how to react.
“Auntie is really nice.”
At this moment, Lan Jiajia also walked out of the kitchen, “She chatted with me a lot just now. She feels more youthful in mindset than many young people nowadays.”
I nodded, “Indeed.”
“Nuo’er, you have to work hard too, right?”
Lan Jiajia looked at me with an interested expression, “When will you be conquered by Xiao Mo?”
“Why is it always me being conquered? Can’t it be me conquering her?”
I put away my phone dissatisfied and walked into the kitchen.
“Let’s focus on preparing the meal first.”