I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 425
Chapter 425: Fruit, Pine Nut, Rabbit
Thanks to the efforts of Xiao Mo and me, the livestream exposing the “offline real-life slanderer” quickly came to an end.
In the end, I didn’t explicitly ask the dorm members to send the “Grumpy Old Dragon” to the police or take any other action. After giving them some coupons, distributing the cake, and handing out “Yin Nuo’er” standees, we chatted briefly and then left, citing that we needed to return to work.
As for the “Grumpy Old Dragon” promising to turn himself in to the police, I wasn’t concerned if he would follow through, as our goal had already been achieved.
As long as he deletes the videos, apologizes on all platforms, and the clips from today’s livestream spread on Tongmeng Net, the misunderstandings should be cleared up.
Moreover, this incident would subtly instill a concept in Tongmeng Net’s audience: next time they see a video defaming the café, they should learn to distinguish its authenticity first.
With this as a precedent, I believe people will be less likely to trust or even click on similar content in the future.
“When he said he would turn himself in, he probably didn’t mean it,” Xiao Mo said as we walked on a bustling path of this junior college after leaving the boys’ dormitory. “But he does seem to have genuine remorse.”
“You mean…” I thought for a moment, “he might not dare to go to the police, but he won’t make those videos anymore, right?”
I’ve used Xiao Mo’s body before, and it has a very strong ability to sense subtle changes in a person’s facial expressions, heartbeat, body temperature, and so on. Even for someone like me, who’s not an expert, it’s easy to tell if someone is lying. When Xiao Mo herself is doing the sensing, it’s almost like mind reading.
“Yes, he seems quite afraid of us,” Xiao Mo nodded.
“He probably won’t try to make money this way again, but his character isn’t fundamentally good.”
I tilted my head. “A more balanced approach?”
A famous person once said that people like us have always preferred a balanced approach. If you ask someone to delete videos and apologize, they’ll argue. But if you suggest they turn themselves in to the police, they’ll come to you, ready to delete the videos and apologize.
If Xiao Mo is right, I suspect he might verbally agree to “turn himself in to the police” but secretly plan to drag it out, hoping the issue will lose attention over time.
Given that he has posted so many videos creating conflict and inciting arguments to gain traffic, and his comments section is full of fights, he’s likely received his fair share of insults and curses via private messages.
Despite this, he continues his ways, making a lot of money from these posts. This suggests he has a thick skin and strong psychological resilience.
So, he might be able to endure his roommates’ disdain and the online backlash that follows.
His roommates—the baldy brother, the guy with glasses, and the skinny one—might have seemed ready to deal with him in front of us. But if “Grumpy Old Dragon” doesn’t turn himself in, their years of camaraderie will probably soften their resolve. They might just distance themselves from him instead of pushing the matter further.
After all, neither I nor anyone from the café has any direct interests with those who like us in that dorm. They’re not our die-hard fans willing to go to great lengths for the café. So, it’s likely they’ll just let it slide.
I can almost predict what will happen in that dorm. “Grumpy Old Dragon” will claim he’s going to turn himself in that afternoon, but nothing will happen. The next day, when everyone goes to class, the baldy brother, who might really like us, might ask, “Didn’t you turn yourself in?” “Grumpy Old Dragon” will dodge the question.
A few days later, when the baldy brother asks again, “Grumpy Old Dragon” will likely make some excuse like “I don’t want a criminal record” or “I donated all the money I made, give me a chance,” and then continue to play dead.
The baldy brother, weighing the pros and cons, might decide it’s not worth pushing for the sake of a café and some girls they’ve only met a few times. Being a big guy, he might just let it go.
Now it’s already July, and most universities have internships in June, July, and August. If “Grumpy Old Dragon” can keep a low profile for a couple of months, everyone will be out on internships and then go their separate ways after graduation, and no one will remember this incident.
“No next time.”
Stopping under a tree along the shaded campus path, Xiao Mo said coldly, “I don’t care if he goes to the police or not. If he gets involved in any more negative news about the café, I’ll step in directly.”
“Yeah, if it happens again, I won’t stop you.”
As I was speaking, a gust of wind blew through, and I heard a “whoosh” sound of something falling from the tree above. I instinctively tilted my head—
“Plop!”
A small mango fell from above, landing on the ground in front of me, bursting open with its yellow juice splattering everywhere.
“Hehe!”
I made a victory sign towards Xiao Mo. “I didn’t get hit!”
The next second, there was another “whoosh” sound, and another small mango fell from above. This time, I wasn’t so lucky. The mango hit the middle of my beret, and through the hat, it collided with my head, making a “thud.”
“Ouch!”
I instinctively covered my head. “Why is there a second one!”
“Ha…”
Xiao Mo covered her mouth and laughed, “That has nothing to do with me.”
I know! But this is just too…
I squatted down and picked up the small mango that had not split open completely thanks to my head cushioning its fall.
“Is this…ripe already?”
The small mango in my hand was slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball, with a yellow-green skin. Since it had just fallen from the tree, its tiny stem was still oozing juice and emitting a faint fragrance.
Almond fruit, a plant unique to the south, is commonly used for greening in Shenzhen City, often planted along roadsides or in campuses and residential areas as ornamental plants, similar to banyan trees. Both are large ornamental trees, and their fruits are edible.
However, compared to banyan trees, almond trees are more suitable for greening purposes because banyan trees attract insects, especially caterpillars.
If pest control isn’t done properly, during the breeding season, a lot of insects can be seen crawling all over the trees, deterring people from seeking shade underneath.
The fruits of the banyan tree, those small, less-than-a-centimeter pink round fruits, often contain small insects, and parasitic wasps like to lay their eggs in these fruits. Therefore, even though the Xinhua Dictionary clearly states that banyan fruits are edible, not many people actually eat them in reality.
But almond trees are different. They naturally don’t attract many insects, and the leaves, branches, and almond fruits have a faint fragrance.
The only downside is that during the fruit ripening season, which is in July, August, and September, the fruits fall with a loud noise when the wind blows, potentially injuring passersby.
“Wow! Here comes the wind!”
As I picked up the almond fruit, a few passing students nearby seemed accustomed to this “wind blows, fruits fall” scenario. They had prepared many bags, and whenever a fruit fell, they quickly ran to collect it.
“Hello.”
Before long, a boy holding a bag came up to me, pointing at the almond fruit that had cracked open from falling to the ground. “Do you want this one?”
“No, we don’t.”
I shook my head. “Why are you collecting these?”
“To eat.”
The boy, whose skin was somewhat tanned, smiled. “If you eat it yourself, it can be a fruit to supplement vitamins. If you don’t eat it, you can also sell it outside the school for around 1 yuan per jin.” [1]
“Oh…”
I nodded, thought for a moment, and handed him the almond fruit in my hand. “Here’s another one.”
“Thanks.”
The boy took the fruit, but before he could say anything else, a few more fruits fell nearby with a “plop plop” sound. He dashed off to collect them.
Around 1 yuan per jin…
Watching the slender figure of the boy walking away, I felt a pang of sadness. He must be a student at this school too.
Although almonds look very much like small mangoes, they are not domesticated fruits. The shell is extremely large, making up 70-80% of the fruit. Once you remove the skin, there’s only a tiny bit of flesh left, which is why they sell for so little.
This boy might spend the entire afternoon here and probably won’t gather more than a few yuan.
Compared to the guy in the dorm who took shortcuts, exploiting the platform’s system, stirring up conflicts for traffic and earning thousands in a few months—the difference is staggering.
The most ironic part is that they both attend the same school.
“Let’s go.”
After watching the people under the big tree for a few dozen seconds, I took Xiao Mo’s hand. “Back to Moon Orchid Island.”
Just like when we came, Xiao Mo and I need to return to Moon Orchid Island first. When the time is right, we’ll reappear at the cafe.
In theory… if someone had immense power, enough to monitor all the surveillance footage in Shenzhen City, and had the patience to check every intersection, reviewing every taxi, bus, and subway we might have taken in this half-hour, they might discover that Xiao Mo and I didn’t appear on any surveillance cameras during that time.
But that’s just theoretical. Even if someone had that much time, they would have to be someone on the level of Ye Yuqing.
Plus, they probably wouldn’t think Xiao Mo and I used magic, they’d just assume the Shenzhen City’s surveillance network was incomplete or that they missed something.
“……”
“Nuo’er, Xiao Mo, you’re back.”
After spending some time on Moon Orchid Island fertilizing and watering the “coconut” and “white strawberry” plants, and tidying up the large estate behind the fairy tree, we returned to the cafe.
There, I saw Su Yunjin sitting at a table near the entrance with someone of average appearance, about 1.7 meters tall, wearing a plain shirt.
In front of them were the sticky rice dishes I made in the morning, a free drink of sour plum juice, and a plate of sour porridge, with a free orange fruit platter in the middle.
When Su Yunjin saw me come in, he gestured to the person beside him.
“Let me introduce you. This is a provincial leader and one of the developers of ‘Age of Aquarius,’ Lin Yidong. You can call him Uncle Lin.”
“Uncle Lin.”
I walked over and, puzzled, asked, “Brother Ji, you’re treating the leader to just this?”
A provincial leader? That rank must be… even higher than Ye Yuqing. And also a developer of “Age of Aquarius”? No wonder the game could secure the city’s approval.
“Oh no, this was my request. I heard there are a lot of free treats here, just like childhood memories, so I wanted to give it a try.”
The leader seemed very approachable and pointed to the kitchen. “I just asked your chef to make some white-cut duck. It should be ready in a few minutes.”
“Oh.”
Xiao Mo and I sat down opposite the leader without hesitation. “So, Uncle Lin, what instructions do you have for us?”
“As expected from the girl everyone respects, not afraid of anyone.”
Uncle Lin looked at Xiao Mo and me with great approval.
“I came today mainly to check out your gaming equipment, experience the charm of a popular restaurant, and wait for you to come back so I could discuss some provincial decisions regarding the metaverse.”
Then, the man in front of us adopted a serious tone.
“This matter is quite serious. We’ve only mentioned it to you and some city leaders so far. Unless it’s necessary, please don’t discuss it with anyone outside.”
“……”
……
TL Note:
Jin is a unit of weight in China, equal to 1.33 pounds