I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 29
After that, it’s leisurely waiting time.
Mingzhu Square has a history of forty years in Shenzhen City. There are many relatively complete amenities in the surrounding area. For instance, just five to six hundred meters away from here, there are several free water dispensers providing disposable cups and drinking water.
Initially, this equipment was often taken advantage of by people in the vicinity. However, later, the person in charge of the central area ordered the installation of cameras next to the free water dispensers to randomly record videos, which were then played on the large LCD TV in the middle of the Mingzhu Tower. This deterred behaviors like filling large containers with water for other purposes or causing malicious damage to the water dispensers, reducing such incidents significantly, and ensuring the continuation of these basic facilities.
In addition to clean drinking water, this place also offers free charging stations, 10-cent bread, free phone booths, and more. These amenities, combined with the nearby scenery, quickly attracted a large number of tourists. As a result, the nearby land prices soared, and in just two years, three large pedestrian streets emerged, attracting numerous investors.
It is said that the district mayor responsible for planning in this area was honored for his decisions, making Mingzhu Square and the Mingzhu Tower one of the iconic areas in Shenzhen City.
Just like in an online game, “free things are the most expensive.” Mingzhu Tower and Mingzhu Square offer free admission, but the prices of items in the surrounding snack and beverage shops are exceptionally high.
For 20 yuan, you can only buy the most basic pearl milk tea here. Shaved ice desserts with more toppings like ?yangzhi Ganlu? cost at least 30 yuan. You can get a street-side fast food meal for 15 yuan outside, but here, a serving of braised pork rice starts at 30 yuan.
“Is your name Yin Nuo’er? What a cute name! Can I just call you Nuo’er?”
“Do you have any hobbies apart from writing novels? Do you play games? I’m really good at ‘King of Glory.’ Just pick Yao, and I’ll help you rank up.”
“How old are you this year? Are you in middle school? Which school nearby do you attend?”
While waiting for others, Divine Pet Pipi, took out his phone and started typing. Jituto put on headphones to listen to music, and Marisa’s Iron Butt opened the games ‘Rejecting the Sickly Son-in-law’ and ‘Woof Reversal Cumin.’ Only that ‘Cockroach Bullies’ guy kept his attention on me, talking non-stop, trying to strike up a conversation.
“……”
**Sigh**
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I rarely play mobile games, mainly because I don’t have much time…”
“You can call me whatever you want… but please don’t get too familiar, please.”
Out of politeness, I could only respond to this guy here and there.
To be honest, I also wish I could do like Pipi, casually sit down and start typing on my phone when handling matters, but I don’t have his talent at the moment.
Just imagine, this is the busiest place in the whole city. The large garden is filled with bustling noises, the sun shines brightly overhead, and you can even hear the advertisements from the LCD TV not far from the base of the Mingzhu Tower. Writing a novel in such an environment… probably only authors of the god-tier level can manage it.
Not to mention, writing a novel on a mobile phone further decreases the typing speed and thinking intensity.
“Nuo’er, how about you…”
Just as I was trying to pass the time by checking the group messages on my phone, the “Cockroach Bullies” suddenly came out with this:
“How about you scold me?”
I stood there dumbfounded for several seconds.
“Huh?”
I looked at this guy with some confusion, “What did you say?”
“Could you… just scold me a bit?”
The Cockroach Tyrant avoided my gaze and looked quite embarrassed, “Your voice is really cute, like that… that ‘Chino’ from ‘Is the Order a Rabbit?’, all soft and fluffy… can you curse at me a couple of times? Or just give me that look of disgust and disdain, please…”
This guy… is a pervert!
At this moment, Jiang Wei, who had somehow disappeared, came back carrying a big bag.
“Hahaha, bubble tea is here!”
“We have milk tea, milk with red bean, this cup has pearls, and this one has coconut and sago. Nuo’er, which flavor do you like?”
“I…,” I hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed, “I think I’ll pass. It’s too extravagant.”
I remembered that the nearby bubble tea must cost at least over 20 yuan per cup.
“No worries, haven’t we always been good buddies?” Jiang Wei said, “Good friends shouldn’t worry about these things.”
“Jiang Wei, Marisa’s Iron Butt” showed a nonchalant attitude and casually took out a cup of bubble tea from the bag, “Don’t overthink it just because you’re a girl. You, me, Pipi, and Jituto, we’ve been friends for years. Even if you were an uncle today, I’d still treat you.”
“Okay, then,” I agreed, considering that “Jiang Wei, Marisa’s Iron Butt” wasn’t the kind of person to make a big deal out of it. I accepted the bubble tea and said, “Thank you.”
If we calculate it as 20 yuan per cup, the total cost of the bubble tea on the grass would probably be over a hundred yuan. However, for “Jiang Wei, Marisa’s Iron Butt,” it didn’t seem like a significant amount.
Jiang Wei and Pipi were both popular authors during the Yae-Do Light Novel website era. Although the Yae-Do Light Novel website wasn’t one of the biggest, it wasn’t a completely obscure site either. They had enough traffic, and if an author’s subscriptions ranked them in the top ten across the entire site, their income was guaranteed to be in the hundreds of thousands.
With monthly earnings of over a hundred thousand, and Jiang Wei having other side businesses, such as computer and mobile phone repairs and running an online store, spending a couple of hundred yuan wouldn’t be a big deal for him. If I refused at this point, it would be like I didn’t consider him a friend.
I used the straw to puncture the thin film on the top of the bubble tea cup with a satisfying “pop.” I tried to sit in a ladylike manner, then carefully took a sip.
A faint aroma of black tea, not too sweet. It seemed like they had requested it with less sugar, and there were coconut bits inside.
Hmm… How long had it been since I last had bubble tea?
To have a cold bubble tea for free on such a scorching day… felt like a small happiness.
“Hello, is this the offline gathering of the Yae-Do authors’ rights protection group?”
As we were sipping our bubble teas, a few guys walked over from nearby. One of them gestured toward the crowd behind them and introduced each person one by one, “I’m Apatea, this is Dali, and that’s the boss of Jianlongyuan… who’s Pipi?”
Pipi stood up, “That’s me.”
“Can we get our overdue payments?”
“I’m not sure at the moment. I spoke to the editor-in-chief and said we’d bring people here today, then go to their head office to meet with the person in charge. Whether we can get paid depends on the situation.”
“Oh…”
The self-proclaimed “Apatea” author appeared thoughtful, “How long have you been waiting here?”
“We’ve been here for less than an hour. You can take a seat for now. We’ll all leave together at 12 o’clock. Their head office is in the nearby Mingzhu Tower.”
“Alright, we’ll take a break then. Is there anywhere nearby to get some drinks? I’m so thirsty.”
“There are a few bubble tea shops over there, but they’re a bit pricey.”
“No problem, boss, why don’t you go get a few cups of bubble tea, just not too sweet.”
Seemingly noticing my delight while enjoying my bubble tea on the grass, this “Apatea” guy looked somewhat puzzled and asked, “Is this your daughter, Pipi?”
“My daughter isn’t that old,” Pipi chuckled, “This is the author from our group, Uncle loves loli”
“Oh… huh!?”
Pipi’s words made the several guys who were about to buy bubble tea freeze in their tracks. They all turned to me with incredulous looks.
“She… she’s an author? Uncle loves loli? You guys kept calling him ‘uncle’ all the time?”
“Ehehe…”
Under the gaze of a large group of people, I felt a bit awkward and placed my bubble tea on the grass, extending my hand to wave at the people around me.
“Hello… you guys…”
“……”