I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 285

Chapter 285: Pick Someone, Go Ahead, the Person You Pick Won’t Be Able to Go Home

 

After finishing the afternoon tea provided by Xiongxiong, Xiao Mo and I wandered around the comic expo, accepted several requests for photos from passersby, and also took pictures with other cosplayers. This year, because there might not be any particularly popular anime, the cosplays at the expo were quite diverse.

 

Overall… it seemed that there were quite a few cosplayers related to “Genshin Impact.” Characters like Nahida, Klee, and Qiqi, due to certain body type limitations, although popular, didn’t have a very high proportion at the expo. Most were characters like Keqing, Ganyu, and Kamisato Ayaka, who had a slender female body type.

 

Of course, there were also many cosplayers from popular mobile games like “Arknights” and “Honor of Kings.” If I passed by and saw them, I would actively go over to take a photo with them, exchange contact information, and enrich my contact list. Different from the previous Honeydew expo where I just went to the store and stood as a mascot, this time was one of the times I enjoyed the most.

 

After truly experiencing the expo, I realized that a person seems to only show their pure and innocent side like a child when they are facing their favorite things.

 

Even though in the past few days, when I looked at messages on my phone and read comments online, the world felt like a battlefield where a casual word could ignite a conflict, and people would curse each other’s hobbies with the most malicious curses and words. But when it came to the real world, everyone could laugh so carefree and play with some things that seemed a little “childish” at first glance.

 

“Nahida, want to try hopping in hopscotch?”

“Is that gun of yours real? I remember your character is made of steel… Awooo!”

“Miss, your over-the-knee socks are falling down, the left and right sides are different, my OCD is acting up.”

“Come on, Klee, Nahida, and Qiqi, are there any kids here? Come over quickly, Keqing is taking attendance!”

“Destroyers, over here… Destroyers from both Azur Lane and KanColle/KanColle R are welcome. Submarines are also okay… I must say, Miss, you’re really going all out.”

 

After wandering around, buying some small hair clips, little bows, headbands, and other decorations for girls, I was coerced by Xiao Mo to buy a lot of weird and cute clothing, like white stockings with cat claws and spliced leggings with cat ears. Around four in the afternoon, Xiao Mo and I, with our backpacks filled to the brim, arrived at the last shop of the comic expo.

 

By this time, our backpacks were almost full, and although we bought a lot of stuff here, we surprisingly didn’t spend much money. Items like small hair clips and headbands were only a few yuan each, and with a little bargaining, we could buy a lot without spending more than a few tens of yuan, only the socks were a bit more expensive.

 

In addition to these items, Xiao Mo and I also had the “Hua Dan” keyboard we bought at the computer accessories store earlier. With its 87-key layout and unique key positions, the keyboard was quite compact and convenient to carry anywhere.

 

Actually, I had some kind of inexplicable connection with “keyboards” long ago. As a half “writer,” back when I wasn’t a full-time author, my typing time was very limited. During that time, I lived in a very remote rental house in the urban village, coming and going early every day.

 

The company stipulated getting off work at six in the afternoon, but the boss usually kept us until seven or eight before letting us go. Sometimes, he would even call unnecessary meetings, talk nonsense, and it would be past nine when I got home from work, close to ten.

 

From ten to twelve o’clock, that was my writing time. If my stomach was too hungry, I would eat while typing. If I was really tired, I’d buy some stimulating food on the way, like those extra spicy hot strips that cost only a few cents a pack, spicing up my energy and then continue typing.

 

The problem with writing during this time was that if there was any “accident” in the neighborhood, like a power outage in the rental house, a power outage in the community, or a network failure, it could easily lead to a novel being “interrupted,” and thus miss out on the perfect attendance reward.

 

I’m not a big author, don’t have many subscribers, so the perfect attendance award is still very important to me. So, my only choice at that time was to go to the nearby internet cafe, turn on the computer, and continue writing.

 

The environment in the urban village was always very poor, and the equipment in the internet cafes around was not much better. The internet cafes near my rental house at that time were all equipped with very low configurations.

 

The keyboards in the internet cafes belonged to the type that could only be used as long as the main keys like WASD, QER, and spacebar were fine. I often went to the internet cafe, turned on the computer, sat down, opened the writing software, and found that some keys were malfunctioning, some were incorrect, or some keys couldn’t be pressed at all.

 

Most people wouldn’t mind if one or two keys on the keyboard were broken when they went to the internet cafe, as long as they could play games. But I couldn’t. I had a strong demand for keyboard keys when writing.

 

After experiencing a power outage, going to the internet cafe, finding the keyboard broken, changing to another computer, and finding that the keyboard of this computer was also broken, I could only continue to change the computer.

 

Eventually, after the incident of missing out on the perfect attendance award due to the novel, I gritted my teeth and developed the habit of bringing my own keyboard every time I went to the internet cafe.

 

As an author, I need to adapt to any new keyboard I receive. I estimate that I’ll need a day or two to get used to the mechanical keyboard we bought today with Xiao Mo. The reason for choosing this type of keyboard that can easily fit into a backpack is because I’ve had a bad experience in this regard before.

 

Although with the current development of my fate… it’s unlikely that I’ll need to carry a keyboard to the internet cafe to write in the future. But on one hand, I’ve gotten used to the idea that a keyboard should be able to fit into a backpack, and on the other hand… the café has computers.

 

If the business in the shop slows down in the future, I can carry the keyboard to work every day and write on the café’s computer when I have free time.

 

Over the years, the keyboard at home has been with me for a long time. Now it’s time for it to retire, and I’ve replaced it with a new, cute, girly keyboard. But I’ve decided to keep the habit of “carrying the keyboard when going out.” Even if I don’t usually carry the keyboard out, the keyboard itself should still be able to fit into my bag.

 

“The last shop seems to sell candies, and there are also jellies!”

 

After walking around the comic exhibition, we arrived at this last shop, which was close to the second restroom and somewhat remote. I glanced at the products in the store.

 

Candies, biscuits, dried meat, shredded squid, muesli, planet cups, as well as various jellies and canned fruits.

 

Hmm… it seems quite diverse, doesn’t it? It feels a bit like those brand candy sections in the supermarket, displayed on the counter.

 

“Do you want to try this, Nuo’er?”

 

Seeing my gaze fall on the jelly section of this shop, Yin Xiamo smiled, treating me like a ‘kitten who wants to eat canned food of a certain flavor’.

 

“Do you like green apple flavor or peach flavor?”

 

“Ah… no, these are usually expensive, forget it.”

 

I shook my head. “We’ve finished visiting the last shop. Let’s go back! Xiongxiong should have finished setting up the computer by now.”

 

To be honest, whenever I think about ‘traveling with my keyboard,’ I can’t help but feel a tinge of loneliness.

 

After all, back when I lived in the urban village, “power outages” and “internet disconnections” were rare occurrences, maybe seven or eight times a year, and not every time would happen at night. Moreover, after moving to the apartment, even if there was a power outage, repairmen would quickly come to fix it, and I wouldn’t need to go to the internet cafe.

 

The reason I developed the habit of bringing a keyboard to the internet cafe to write was… because there was a blackout on my birthday once.

 

So that night, I went to the nearby internet cafe with my ID card, swiped my card—”Ding, happy birthday! Your card balance is 12.5 yuan.”

 

“Wow! It’s your birthday today! Here’s a special gift for you.”

 

That day, a cashier was a young lady, and upon hearing the notification, she habitually brought a bottle of cold tea from behind the counter, saying it was a feature of the internet cafe, and birthdays come with rewards.

 

Perhaps for her, such things happened every month.

 

But for me, “happy birthday” was truly a great blessing.

 

Even if it was said by a machine.

 

And… that was also the first time I received a birthday gift after I became an adult.

 

Even though it was just a drink that cost less than one yuan to produce.

 

Originally, I only sat in the “regular section” when I went to the internet cafe, but that day, I went to the “private room” and placed the drink that the internet cafe cashier girl gave me in the most conspicuous place on the table.

 

It was from that moment on that every birthday, I would bring my keyboard to the internet cafe, place my ID card on the punch machine, listen to that “happy birthday” sound, then take the drink handed to me by the waitress girl, choose a good spot, start up the computer with a cheerful mood, plug in the keyboard, and then write stories all day.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want it?”

 

In a daze, I saw Yin Xiamo running towards the jelly.

 

“If I remember correctly, these snacks are very popular among the Earth girls, right?”

 

“Ah… I’m a bit hesitant. It’s just that they’re too expensive…”

 

Whether it’s pork jerky, beef jerky, or dried squid, or jelly, pudding, or turtle jelly, they are all snacks that I love to eat.

 

But these snacks have one drawback, they’re expensive.

 

Not to mention the meat ones, even for snacks like jelly and pudding, grabbing a few casually amounts to a few kilograms, and you end up spending tens of yuan when you pay.

 

In Xiao Mo’s bag, that handwritten screen costs five to six thousand yuan. Buying jelly once would cost fifty to sixty yuan. You could buy another identical board for Xiao Mo a hundred times over.

 

“What are you afraid of? I can feel that Nuo’er has a strong desire for this, right?”

 

With the ability to directly perceive a person’s heartbeat, body temperature, and other “vital signs,” Xiao Mo decisively pulled me over.

 

“Come on! It’s rare to come out like this, and Nuo’er’s little belly happens to not hurt anymore. Let’s buy some to take back. I’ll pay!”

 

“Huh?”

 

Dragged to the table full of jelly, I suddenly came to my senses. “Um… you really don’t need to!”

 

“What would you like to order?”

 

At this moment, the owner of the shop walked over. “Would you like some jelly? Or perhaps some canned fruit…”

 

Before he could finish his sentence, the voice of this young man seemed to be interrupted by something, as if he was stuck on a word.

 

“You… you are…”

 

Then, this young man quickly walked towards us, his voice trembling slightly. “You’re the one from that day…”

 

“Huh?”

 

The strange movements of the shop owner made me subconsciously turn around.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

This person… seems somewhat familiar?

 

I glanced at the clothes the boss was wearing, then looked at his face.

Hmm… indeed very familiar. I must have seen him somewhere before.

 

This snack booth at the convention was located at the very edge of the venue, occupying a small area with just a small tent. Inside were many tables and counters displaying snacks. It was situated close to the restroom, so the geographical location could be said to be quite poor, and there weren’t many people coming here to buy things.

 

As for the boss… the young man in front of me looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing glasses. He had on a light yellow T-shirt with “I ?? Humanity” printed on it, similar to what Sora often wore in “No Game No Life”, and jeans, giving off a very youthful and geeky vibe.

 

The young man’s face felt particularly familiar to me, probably someone I had seen before but didn’t have much interaction with.

Maybe… he’s a customer who has dined at the café before?

 

“Are you the… angel from that day?”

 

Under my curious gaze, the young man spoke up. He took a step towards us and then, as if remembering something, scratched his head and explained, “Sorry, I… a bit excited, so… let me introduce myself first. I’m Zheng Zisheng.”

 

Zheng Zisheng? I don’t remember this name…

Although I didn’t understand why the boss would introduce himself right away upon meeting, out of politeness, I still nodded and gestured to myself.

 

“I’m Yin Nuo’er, and she’s my friend, Yin Xiamo.”

 

“Hello, hello.”

 

The boss nodded. “Do you two want to buy some jelly? How much do you want? Today, our store… ahem, our store is running a promotion and can give you two pounds for free.”

 

Two pounds for free?

I looked at the person in front of me with some confusion.

 

“Don’t misunderstand, it’s just… um, it’s that you’re lucky customers and can… can get two pounds for free, or you can have however much you want…”

 

Seeming nervous under my scrutiny, the boss added a few more sentences, then once again self-deprecatingly laughed and patted his head.

 

“Ah… forget it, I’m still… too socially awkward. Do you remember me?”

 

“You…”

 

I scrutinized the young man in front of me again.

He did seem very familiar.

 

“Um…”

I felt a bit embarrassed. “Wait a moment, I’m having trouble remembering.”

 

“My little kitty is always like this, carefree and playful every day, forgetting a lot of things.”

 

Yin Xiamo, standing nearby, came over and reached out to scratch my chin. “Sorry for making you laugh.”

 

“Don’t tease, I really feel like I know you…”

 

Next to a pile of jelly, I shifted my body, wearing a backpack with a rabbit design on it.

Then I was drawn to the sound of the keyboard shaking in my backpack.

 

Hmm… the keyboard. The reason I used to carry it with me was because of my birthday, and then… no, no, why am I thinking about that?

Almost as soon as the word “birthday” came to mind, an image flashed in my mind—

A suddenly braking bus, a young man clutching a small cake in confusion, tears streaming down his face as he eats the cake…

 

And the song playing on the bus at that time: ?Actually, I really want to see my parents argue again, but after the 94 family photo, it never happened again, Dad, Mom, Sister, are you all okay? I miss you, I miss our old home…?

 

“You’re from that day…”

 

In that instant, remembering who the young man was, my eyes widened. “Why are you selling jelly here?”

 

This person was the young man I encountered on the way back after taking Ouyang Xue to the hospital when she was sick. That day, he must have gone to the hospital alone, seen a doctor alone, and then bought a small cake next to the hospital, boarding the same bus as me.

 

That day, he seemed to recall something while eating the cake on the bus and ended up crying. Then, the bus driver had to brake suddenly to avoid a delivery guy, causing his fork and knife to fall out. I, dressed in a maid costume, went over to help pick them up and wished him a happy birthday.

 

If I hadn’t met this person at the expo today, I probably would have forgotten about this whole incident.

 

“Hehe, I… I quit my previous job, borrowed some money from an uncle, and opened a small shop selling this. Although I don’t earn much, I don’t have to work as hard as before, from dawn till dusk.”

 

Seeing that I recognized him, the young man became even more embarrassed. He even avoided my gaze, lowering his head like a child.

 

“When you wished me ‘happy birthday’ back then, I felt like I was dreaming because I… I had never seen such a beautiful girl before. You were like an angel to me at that time. I felt like I was saved, so I… I made up my mind not to overwork myself, to live well. Because if I don’t live well, I won’t have the chance to meet an angelic girl like you again, right…?”

 

I could sense that the young man indeed had some social anxiety. His words felt awkward and intermittent, and he seemed especially shy.

 

“Where’s the angel? I’m just an ordinary person.”

I smiled and pointed to my cosplay outfit. “Nahida, the goddess of wisdom in the game.”

 

“I know, I’ve played it.”

 

“So, how’s the new job?”

I picked up a large fruit jelly nearby. “Is it more lucrative than your previous job?”

 

“I’m making a little less now, and I also borrowed money from my uncle, so I have the pressure of paying it back every month. But since I’m running the business by myself, I don’t have to worry about my superiors, so it’s relatively a lot easier.”

 

The young man seemed to gather courage.

 

“Are you going to buy this? Just pick whatever you want. Everything I said earlier is true. If you buy it, you don’t… you don’t have to pay.”

 

“No need, I can’t take these for free from you.”

I looked around the small shop. “How about this, since you’re familiar with these snacks, why don’t you recommend some? What’s tasty, what’s a good deal, I’ll buy a bit of everything.”

 

“Then I’ll give you a 20% discount.”

 

The young man handed over a large bag.

 

“Don’t refuse. If it weren’t for you back then, I might have really given up. I was on that bus originally planning to go to the Shenzhen Bridge and then… well, never mind, at least everything’s in the past now.”

 

“Alright, give us some recommendations then.” I held Xiao Mo’s hand.

 

“And congratulations on pulling yourself together.”

 

“Thank you, you both… are you a couple?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Wishing you happiness.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Take a look at this. This super fruit jelly is the best in our shop.”

 

“……”

 

……