Chapter 20 What’s wrong with me, from the countryside?

As a shameless college student, Zhou Hui knew the principle of repaying a drop of kindness with a spring. After eating the strawberries Xia Xia sent him, he knew very well that Xia Xia wanted to prove her innocence and dispel the rumors about the script, so he made a decision that went against his ancestors:

Everyone from dormitory 407 appeared on the scene!

On the afternoon of October 23rd, a video suddenly appeared and was uploaded to Kuaishou.

Zhou Hui and his five enthusiastic roommates all followed Xia Wu's account, and in the comment section, they equally refuted every rumor that Xia Wu was filming a script:

"I, Zhou Hui, have gone public with my real name and certified that Xia Xia's strawberries are the most delicious in the world! If you don't believe me, check out @盗塔天王's video!"

With this comment, six bored male college students went through all of Xia Wu's videos, quickly attracting some attention. "Is this true? Are they hiring internet trolls again?"

"You idiot, you tomato head, if you don't believe me, just watch the video. Zhou Hui is lying and eating shit while standing upside down!"

"Who is Zhou Hui? He can't be so cruel, right?"

Soon, a large number of people flocked to the Kuaishou account with the ID [Tower King]. Zhou Hui wanted to beat his roommates to death, "You mua, you made me use my real name to go online, right?"

"Hey, aren't you trying to attract the goddess' attention? How could she notice you if you have no special features?"

"But, can this really attract Xia Xia?"

"Don't worry! It's guaranteed!"

Xia Wu did notice these comments. [Tower-stealing King] sent her a private message, saying that he had posted his review of the meal and asked her to visit his homepage to view it.

But Xia Wu also didn't expect that this person would be so abstract... She almost harassed all the comments saying that she was a script writer.

After clicking into his video, Xia Wu finally understood what "more abstract" meant. It started with an exaggerated cartoon face, and the normal unboxing video was interspersed with the roommates' cries of gratitude after eating the strawberries, and the Chinese curse words that were constantly blocked out as "beep——".

After watching the three-minute feedback video, Xia Wu's soul was shocked and he sat there motionless holding his phone.

She began to doubt herself. Was she really the right person to look for online?

This video quickly became popular and many people flocked to watch it. Some people even called the Tower Stealer a water army hired by Xia Xia at a high price, but after watching the video, they all fell silent.

"I don't know why, but my intuition tells me that the seriousness of this matter cannot be solved with money. Money can buy a person to lie, but can it buy the self-esteem of a college student?"

"I'm convinced. Who dares to say this is a script? Which online troll army would be so generous?!"

"I didn't even finish watching this video..."

"Cooking Boy should choose you guys to play the live-action version."

"Help, am I the only one curious about the taste of strawberries? My strawberry head is practically crying out of greed!"

Zhou Hui and his roommates engaged in a debate, and they kept replying to the video with their extremely powerful replying ability.

Xia Wu watched and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Oh my God, she just wanted to find a normal person to speak up for her, how could things go so wrong?

Seeing her frowning and laughing as she held her phone, Liu Guizhen asked worriedly, "Xiao Wu, has there been any movement on the package you sent?"

Could it be that someone was talking nonsense in the comments section of the video and made the child angry?

Xia Wu shook her head firmly, "Mom, the delivery isn't that fast. We have to wait a little longer."

"Okay, then wait a little longer. Don't be too anxious."

"Hey..." Xia Wu lied with a guilty conscience, "Actually, I'm not anxious. I've let it go."

She has really let it go. She doesn't even care about the Xia family's troubles, so why should she care about what netizens think?

Especially after what happened to the Tower-Stealing King, she couldn't be anxious anymore.

It's really laughable.

Li Yun, who was far away in Beijing, only noticed the feedback video from the Tower Stealer the next day. As of now, the video has been viewed over 100,000 times in just 27 hours since it was uploaded.

In addition to netizens from Xia Xia's side, some netizens who were unaware of the situation were attracted by this ghost video.

"I thought I was clicking on Kuaishou, but why did it end up on Beta?"

"Is this some kind of cult? What's going on? Can anyone please explain it to me?"

Soon, enthusiastic netizens pointed these viewers who had strayed in to Xia Xia’s video. They then learned that the cause was that a blogger girl who was in the farming track was questioned about the strawberries she grew being not tasty, and that it was all a script. Then the girl recruited enthusiastic netizens to try the strawberries. Unexpectedly, she recruited a group of college students who loved ghost animals, and this earth-shaking video was created.

"Is the girl okay now? I guess you regret it?"

"Mmmm, it's all because of this weird video. I can't even tell if the strawberries are really delicious or just pretending to be. Is this a cross-dressing?"

"I can't tell the difference, I really can't tell the difference!"

"Is there anyone else posting videos? Some normal people, please tell me if it's true or not."

Li Yun watched the video of the Tower Stealer and silently turned it off.

"Xiaoyun, I brought you your meal!"

Mei Min, who had entered the company at the same time as her, handed her lunch and curiously peered into her computer. "Xiao Yun, are you still following that rural blogger?"

"Didn't they say her posts were all scripted? Short videos are booming right now, and many people want to start their own media. Who knows, maybe it's another company that created this account? Sure enough, before she even posted a few videos, netizens saw through it. Even Sister Xu said it wasn't okay. Why don't you find someone else?"

Since they joined the company at the same time and were both girls, it was natural for Mei Min to become close to Li Yun.

It's just that Mei Min has a higher degree than Li Yun, a better image, and was born in a big city, confident and outspoken. Of the three interns, she's probably the one least worried about not getting a permanent position.

"Thank you, Xiao Min," Li Yun smiled politely, gave Mei Min a cup of the coffee he ordered, did not respond to what she had just said, and started eating.

"Hey, do you really like this blogger that much?" Mei Min inserted a straw, took a sip of coffee, unlocked her phone and found Xia Wu's homepage. "Honestly, she's quite good-looking. She must have had plastic surgery. Look at her nose and cheeks. She's definitely not a natural beauty. With her looks, everyone's doing livestreaming. Who would be so stupid as to farm in the countryside?"

Li Yun ate quietly without making any comment.

"Huh? She even had a strawberry tasting and asked netizens to testify? She must be feeling guilty, and she must have only asked people she knows, otherwise why would she even bother to testify?"

"Xiaoyun, don't you think so?"

Li Yun took a deep breath. She knew that Mei Min was not a bad person, she was just outspoken. As a girl who was spoiled by her family, she might not care much about others when speaking. But she really didn't like Mei Min's firm words saying bad things about Xia Xia.

"I also signed up for a taste test." Li Yun said casually.

"What!? Xiaoyun, you really believe this!"

Mei Min shouted exaggeratedly, instantly attracting the attention of her office colleagues.

"I thought you were just angry with Sister Xu, but I didn't expect you really liked this blogger. What if she was deceiving you? I'm telling you, you're just inexperienced and don't know how many scams there are in the city. You'd better try not to take advantage of others in the future!"

"Xiao Min, what happened? What happened to Xiao Yun?" A colleague was curious and came forward to ask.

Mei Min quickly recounted the entire story. "A while ago, Xiaoyun told Sister Xu she'd discovered a blogger with potential. She's called [Xia Xia in the Mountains], a woman who travels around the countryside. She's quite pretty, and a few of her videos went viral. But then someone exposed her videos as fake, all scripted. But Xiaoyun foolishly believed they were genuine. She even signed up for a food tasting and asked someone to give her strawberries."

"What's so delicious about strawberries? We can buy them at the convenience store downstairs. They have both imported and domestic varieties. Why take advantage of this little bargain? What if they're a scammer?"

Mei Min was heartbroken and tried to think from Li Yun's perspective.

My colleague chimed in, "That makes sense. Isn't there anti-fraud propaganda online every day? It's true. Scammers are constantly coming up with new tricks. You all know the WeChat tea girls. They're completely unskilled, yet they still manage to scam a lot of people every year. A distant relative of mine got scammed once."

Seeing someone agree with her opinion, Mei Min also said with a smile: "I thought this kind of scam could only fool old men who can't find girlfriends. I didn't expect Xiaoyun to fall for it."

"Xiao Yun is just too naive. She has never seen the world and doesn't know how complicated the city is."

"That's why I'm worried. After all, she and I both just joined the company and are about the same age. I've already considered her a friend."

Mei Min was fighting with the others, and Li Yun was sitting at his workstation, his lunch in front of him becoming difficult to swallow.

Li Yunchang had heard many words like "city", "countryside", and "for her own good" on his journey.

Even a fool could sense Mei Min's malicious intentions at this moment.

But Li Yun didn't know how to resist.

She could only sit silently at her workstation, and give an awkward smile when faced with other people's "kind" advice.

In the eyes of others, her reaction became an example of not turning back until she hits the wall and not listening to any advice.

"Forget it, forget it. Xiaoyun is an adult and has her own judgment. There's no need for us to talk too much."

"Exactly, who would want to say so much if they didn't have good intentions?"

Seeing that Li Yun was unmoved, the others were somewhat dissatisfied.

Mei Min quickly tried to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, it's just some strawberries. Even if they were tricked, how much can they possibly deceive? I'm watching over you. Xiaoyun won't be that foolish."

"Xiaoyun, don't you think so?"

Mei Min also asked Li Yun, hoping to get her affirmation.

A phone call came like a life-saving straw. Li Yun, who didn't want to look at Mei Min, picked up the phone immediately. No matter whether it was from the mobile phone operator or a harassing call, it was better than answering Mei Min.

"Hello? How are you?"

"Ms. Li, are you at the office? Here's your Chengfeng Express, please sign for it."

"Okay, I'll be right down."

Li Yun stood up and gave Mei Min and his colleagues a helpless smile: "Sorry, I'm going to pick up the package, you guys chat."

She almost fled from the suffocating office, and went downstairs to the office building to pick up the express delivery, only to see that the shipping address was from Tong City.

"The strawberries Xia Xia sent?"

Li Yun's heart was beating fast. She believed Xia Xia, but because of what her colleagues said, she was afraid that something might go wrong when she opened the package and she would be laughed at again.

After much thought, Li Yun decided not to open the package yet and wait until he got home from get off work to look at it.

Who knew that as soon as she entered the office, she met Mei Min who came out of the tea room.

"Xiaoyun, what express did you buy? Let me see."

"without……"

Even though Li Yun was prepared, he was still no match for Mei Min. She saw the sender and address on the package and asked, "Tong City? Strawberries sent by that blogger you follow?"

"You actually sent it via Chengfeng Express. It's not cash on delivery, right? I'll open it for you and see if it's a rotten strawberry."

Mei Min spoke loudly to herself, attracting her colleagues. "Speak of the devil! The package arrived so quickly!"

"Open it quickly and let us see how many strawberries we can eat."

Li Yun was behind the crowd, her face flushed red, and she felt a nameless anger in her heart. Seeing Mei Min took out the utility knife and was about to open the package, she strode forward and shouted, "Wait a minute!"

"What's wrong?" Mei Min looked back at her innocently.

Li Yun's face darkened as he snatched the package back from her hand. "It's my own stuff, I'll open it myself. Please don't be so willful and casual without my consent. I don't like it."

After she said this, she walked straight back to her workstation with the express delivery, leaving Mei Min with a face that turned red and white.

Li Yun opened the express box with trembling hands. In an instant, a faint strawberry aroma overflowed from the box. The office was full of smells after lunch, and the strawberry fragrance was particularly eye-catching.

"Wow, this strawberry smells pretty good."

"The strawberries on the market now are all sprayed with pesticides, maybe even flavorings. Haven't you seen the news? Even eggs are fake now!"

“How scary!”

Li Yun sneered in his heart, took out all the strawberries in the box and put them on the table. There were sixteen in total, just as Xia Xia said.

She opened the foam net that wrapped the strawberries and carefully checked each strawberry to make sure they were not damaged. She took careful photos and close-ups, then put them back, leaving only five strawberries to be washed.

Li Yun didn't say a word the whole time. As soon as she walked out of everyone's sight, she started to receive sarcastic remarks:

"People who grew up in the countryside are so stingy. There were only a few strawberries, and he didn't even say that everyone could have a taste of them, but he only washed those few!"

"Forget it, forget it, stop talking, she's back!"

Li Yun simply rinsed the strawberries twice with clean water and returned to his workstation. The people in the office had dispersed. On the surface, they were doing their own things, but everyone was secretly observing Li Yun's reaction.

Li Yun leisurely picked the largest and reddest strawberry, took a photo and put it into his mouth.

Sweet and sour, soft and melt-in-the-mouth, juicy, it was like nectar that washed away the depression and bitterness in Li Yun's heart.

The strawberry seedlings take root and sprout in the soil, strive to bloom and bear fruit, and after experiencing the sun and rain, they finally bear fruit. They seem to carry the scent of the soil and wind of their hometown, and finally bloom in the mouth of the wanderer who has left home.

Li Yun misses home.

Looking at the broken strawberry between her fingertips, she lowered her head, tears flashing in her eyes, and whispered, "It's delicious. She didn't lie to you."