I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 283
Chapter 283: Simple Love
Because the theme of this comic expo by Tongmeng.com is “electronic products”, there are a lot of shops selling computer accessories on-site. Items like mice, keyboards, speakers, mouse pads, monitor lights, and so on, are readily available.
Honestly, if I hadn’t come out to play with Xiao Mo this time, I really wouldn’t have known that computer accessories could have so many variations. For example, the mouse I usually use only has the basic left and right buttons with a scroll wheel in the middle. But here, mice come with a wide range of functions.
Some mice have a button behind the scroll wheel to adjust pointer speed, left-hand side buttons are already standard, and some even have two rotating discs on the side, I’m not sure if they’re for adjusting volume or what. Some support changing various button functions, and some even have a small screen set on top of the mouse for customizing the display.
In addition to these, mice themselves come in various types like wireless, wired, and so on. Even the cables come in a variety of materials, soft, hard, hot-swappable, and even for ordinary mice, the buttons can be either regular, made of PBT material, or ABS material…
Even the size and grip of the mouse can vary, ranging from small, medium, to large, left-handed, right-handed, symmetrical, ergonomic…
Some merchants design mice with yellow as the main color theme and name them “Cyberpunk 2077 edition mouse”.
Some add a large ring of RGB lights around the mouse, so it shines brightly when connected to a computer, looking particularly cool.
Some directly add weight to the mouse, making it look very big, too big for me to grip with one hand, and it’s very difficult to move, called the “special mouse for martial artists”.
“What about keyboards?”
In a seemingly reliable small shop, after listening to the introduction from the shop owner, Yin Xiamo picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.
“Do you have keyboards suitable for writing? Like for writing novels.”
“Writing novels?”
The shop owner looked at Yin Xiamo, then glanced at me.
“Are you both authors?”
At that moment, a few passersby happened to walk by, and upon seeing Xiao Mo and me, they immediately stopped in their tracks.
“Excuse me, can we take a photo?”
“Sorry, we’re here to shop!” Xiao Mo gave them an apologetic look.
“Taking photos is fine, but we might not be able to pose for you.”
“It’s okay, we’ll just take it here. You both look so beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
Yin Xiamo turned back. “I’m not an author, I’m… um, an artist. I don’t use keyboards much in my daily life.”
Meanwhile, I put down the tea in my hand, smiled at the passersby outside the shop, and made a few peace signs.
Ah… this is the trouble of coming over here dressed in cosplay, especially for people like Xiao Mo and me, who are fair-skinned and beautiful even without makeup. We’re like… that character Kuroyukihime from “Accel World,” always attracting attention wherever we go.
It seems that even when I’m wearing ordinary clothes, I still stand out.
I recalled my experiences of commuting to and from work or going to nearby shops and markets in the past two months.
People around me, regardless of whether they were boys or girls, would be drawn to my height, and the next moment, they would glance at my face, and then… various reactions followed, such as turning their heads, looking surprised, envious, admiring… I’m almost getting used to this feeling of being watched wherever I go.
Perhaps this is also why I prefer to relax with Xiao Mo on “Moon Orchid Island”. After all, only on that little island can I avoid the various gazes around me and do whatever I want.
Of course, this probably also has to do with the influence of my genes, belonging partly to the elven and catgirl races, favoring nature.
*Click, click, click…*
“Thank you, Nahida, goodbye!”
“Goodbye.”
Waving to a few passersby, who are by now a common sight to me, I turned around, picked up the cup of tea brewed by the shop owner sister on the table.
“As an artist, you still need to use a keyboard. And usually, you guys must use computers to input text or play games, right?”
The shop owner sister seemed to have a good temper, and she didn’t get angry when she saw us talking “indecisively”.
“Do you play games a lot usually?”
“To be honest… not really.”
I thought for a moment. “But in the future, maybe… if we have time, we’ll play.”
Putting aside various “big changes” that might occur in the world, like wars, energy depletion, or asteroids hitting the Earth, the future life for Xiao Mo and me is quite clear.
Regarding work, Ouyang Xue is just acting as a “temporary manager” at this café. The café will only be busy in the beginning. Once the commercial street is established, the local ecology improves, and the customer base stabilizes, as long as everyone goes to work on time and serves customers, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
By that time, when there are truly no major problems, Ouyang Xue might “step back” and vacate the position of “manager”. Without any surprises, this position will likely be given to me.
So, at that time, my main job will also shift to behind the scenes, as a manager of the café.
At that stage, I might… possibly… perhaps have time to explore the new world or play games.
But this doesn’t rule out the possibility of the café failing, or the investment in the commercial street being halted, or various other unexpected events occurring. Life can’t always be smooth sailing.
“Since one of you is an author and the other is an artist, and you occasionally have gaming needs, then you definitely shouldn’t buy a keyboard that’s too cheap.”
Amidst the energetic singing of the songstress brought in by Stage Tongmeng.com not far away, the young lady from this computer accessories store sat down in front of us and took out a diagram.
“Let me briefly explain keyboards to you. Keyboards nowadays are also a big market for computer accessories. Many people have more than ten keyboards at home. Some are for collecting, some are just for display, and some are actually used.”
“For example, the switches of this keyboard. Mechanical keyboard switches come in a variety of types. If you’re still living in a dormitory, it’s best not to buy switches like the blue, green, or other clicky switches. These switches, which produce crisp sound, are called ‘roommate-annoying switches’. They’re very loud, which can be satisfying for typing but not so much for your roommates.”
“You can consider whether you prefer a tactile typing experience with a clicky sound or a quieter, softer touch that’s easier on the fingers. Just now, a programmer came over asking me to recommend a keyboard. He said he types for at least five hours a day. For someone like him, I wouldn’t recommend the clicky switches because although the sound is satisfying, your fingers will get tired.”
“And then there’s the polling rate of this keyboard. If you’re a top-tier esports player, especially an FPS player, I recommend this one. It’s priced at 1800 yuan and has a polling rate of 8000, which makes typing smooth. However, it demands a high CPU requirement. If your CPU is not up to par, using this keyboard might cause system lag.”
“If you’re not a professional esports player, you can consider this one, the optical switch. Its main feature is extremely fast trigger response. You might accidentally trigger keys just by touching them. It’s recommended for players and esports enthusiasts who can touch-type without looking at the keyboard. This keyboard is a bit cheaper than the previous one, priced at 1200 yuan, and if you buy two, you can get a discount down to 1100 yuan…”
With the shop owner’s introduction, I suddenly realized that the world of computer accessories, especially keyboards, is not much smaller than that of mice. In fact, it seems to be a large community, akin to the realm of “audio equipment” and headphones. Some headphones cost thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, and enthusiasts discuss new products tirelessly every day. Keyboards are no different. Here, there are various types of switches and design styles, making my head spin just listening to the shop owner’s explanations.
Come to think of it, if I remember correctly… a long, long time ago, the keyboards and mouse at home were just cheap “Double Swallow” combo sets costing a few dozen yuan. I wouldn’t even dare to think about keyboards that cost over eighty yuan back then. The keyboard and mouse at my home were far from being luxury items.
And now, a keyboard costs thousands of yuan? And some even cost four or five thousand? Isn’t that more expensive than a graphics card?
“How about, Sister, could you show us what you have here? We’re just interested in the appearance,” I suggested.
After chatting with the shop owner for about ten minutes, Xiao Mo and I exchanged a helpless look overwhelmed by terms like “mechanical switches,” “keycap materials,” and “actuation response.” Finally, we decided—let’s buy something pretty!
Who cares about all these technical details? As long as it’s good for typing and looks nice, it’s good enough.
“How about something themed around Nahida? Like a regular mechanical keyboard but with a set of Dendro Archon-themed keycaps?”
“Or maybe pink Cherry switches?”
“Oh, right, this one is also quite good, many girls are using it.”
In the end, after doing some price and quality comparisons at a few nearby computer accessories stores, Xiao Mo and I bought a keyboard themed around “Hua Dan” (a type of female character in Chinese opera) at this store.
The keyboard only has 87 keys, lacking the right-hand number pad. It’s designed to be compact, with the main colors being red, black, and white, closely resembling the colors and elements of classical “Hua Dan” characters. The keycaps feel great, supposedly made of the legendary PBT material, with a matte texture that feels non-slippery.
The keyboard itself comes with a built-in rechargeable battery, supports wireless connection, and can also be used wired. It uses the versatile “Tea Axis” switches, known for not being too noisy and having moderate actuation force, suitable for both typing and gaming.
The reason for buying this small keyboard, besides its appealing “Hua Dan” design, is… the other keyboards with 104 keys couldn’t fit into my bunny backpack.
Anyway, as long as most of the keys don’t conflict and it lasts a long time, looks pretty, it’s already great for me. There’s no need to bother with things like an 8000 polling rate that adds burden to the CPU.
“Let’s make it a thousand yuan together. The keyboard and mouse combo originally cost 588 yuan. You two are so adorable, so I’ll just round it off for you.”
What surprised me is that this “Hua Dan” keyboard also comes with a mouse suitable for small hands. Although the mouse has few buttons, just one for adjusting the mouse speed, it still pleasantly surprised me. Because its size fits my palm perfectly.
During this period, I’ve been too busy to bother with these things. The mice at home belong to the “large mouse” category. Apparently, there’s a set of standards for mouse “size,” such as measuring the distance from the wrist to the fingertip with a ruler and categorizing it into “small hand, medium hand, large hand.” Without a doubt, I belong to the “small hand” category, and a particularly small one at that. The mouse originally meant for my uncle at home is completely unsuitable for me, making every movement and click uncomfortable.
Now, the mouse that comes with the Hua Dan-themed keyboard is of the particularly small type, and I liked it as soon as I grabbed it.
“Alright, a thousand yuan.”
I scanned the QR code next to me, made the payment, and Xiao Mo helped me put the mouse and keyboard into my backpack.
“As long as my wife is happy!”
“Happy!”
Just thinking that I’ll be able to use the new mouse and keyboard when I get home today. I subconsciously hugged Xiao Mo next to me affectionately and rubbed her chest a few times.
Xiao Mo can see through a person’s mind, so she knows better than me whether a thousand yuan for two keyboards and a mouse is appropriate or not, so she wouldn’t buy something expensive.
Although an average of five hundred yuan for one keyboard is considered “expensive” in my eyes, after all… it’s Xiao Mo’s gift. I will cherish them.
“Oh…”
Not sure if she didn’t expect me to suddenly hug her, Xiao Mo hesitated for a moment.
“Nuo’er, are… are you still having stomach pains?”
“Stomach pains?”
I paused for a moment, then quickly realized what she meant.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore, it stopped hurting yesterday!”
At that moment, my phone in the pocket of my skirt suddenly vibrated. It was a message from Xiongxiong.
“Where are you two? The event is about to start!”
As soon as I answered the phone, there was a noisy commotion on the other end, along with Xiongxiong’s curious tone.
“I signed you two up for the ‘Couple Truth or Dare Challenge.’ If you don’t come soon, your spot will be taken by the crowd below!”
I glanced at the many people gathered in the distance, and the stage where clear music could be heard. I broke free from Xiao Mo’s embrace.
“Ah, here we go, we’re at the computer accessories store next door. We’re coming right over!”
After hanging up the phone, I grabbed Xiao Mo’s hand.
“Let’s go, to join that Couple Truth or Dare Challenge!”
“Huh?”
Xiao Mo, who was being dragged along by me, was a bit curious.
“Why does it feel like… Nuo’er seems to want to prove something with this event?”
“No way!”
Feeling caught in my own thoughts, I subconsciously said, “I… I’m just interested in their prizes!”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“What are their prizes?”
“It’s… it’s… huh?”
I was at a loss for words.
It seemed like Xiongxiong really hadn’t told me what their prizes were.
“Um… well, they’re just really nice!”
I turned away. “Let’s go!”
“Hey, how about this… let’s get our stories straight before we go?” the girl behind me suggested with a light laugh.
“Like where we had our first date, when our first kiss was, things like that?”
“Absolutely not!”
I said confidently. “You’re my first love! How could I forget these things?”
“What did you say?”
“I said, I couldn’t possibly forget those things…”
“The sentence before that.”
“You… Xiao Mo, you’re my first love, why…?”
Before I could finish my sentence, Xiao Mo quickly stepped forward. In front of a crowd of people, she directly cupped my head in her hands and then leaned in for a kiss.
“Whoa?!”
“Oh my goodness! Lumine kissed Nahida!”
“Can we take a picture of this?”
“So sweet, are they a couple?”
“……”
The brief kiss ended amidst the exclamations of the passersby. As the person involved, it felt like an eternity had passed in that moment.
“What… what was that all of a sudden?”
Even after we parted our lips, a sweet taste was still lingering in my mouth. Wiping the sweet liquid from the corner of my mouth, I frowned and said, “That was so sudden.”
“It’s nothing, I just suddenly felt a little happy.”
This time, Xiao Mo took the lead and held my hand.
“Shall we go now, my first love?”
“……”
……