Chapter 1 Red Fuji apples are big and round.
"I'm so hungry. I should have ordered takeout when I was at the office."
Under the dim night sky, Ning Jia, exhausted and feeling like she was about to drift away, walked home with a sunken belly, thinking with some regret.
She immediately felt a chill and stopped the wicked thought:
No, no, no, no, how can I order takeout?
The takeout options near the office are expensive and not very good. Although I was hungry tonight, I saved at least 30 or 40 yuan! It's still a good deal!
However, there have been more and more unexpected overtime shifts at the company lately, so I might as well bring more food with me every day, so that if I suddenly have to work overtime again, I can at least have something to eat.
Just then, Ning Jia's stomach started growling again.
Hindsight is always 20/20. Right now, the person in question is starving, extremely starving.
Ning Jia paused for a moment as she passed the brightly lit convenience store.
Just hold on, you can eat as soon as you get home. Although bread is discounted after 8 pm, it's expensive and not very nutritious, so eating at home is more cost-effective.
With a bit of self-motivation, Ning Jia strode forward in the neighborhood. As she walked, she became so hungry that she stopped, rummaged through her bag, and took out her treasure: a big, red apple.
This apple looks delicious. Ning Jia couldn't help but swallow.
I was originally planning to save it for tomorrow, but oh well, I'll just eat it today.
She picked up the apple, wiped it casually with a tissue, and was about to take a big bite when she suddenly tripped and stumbled. The apple slipped from her hand and rolled forward with a gurgling sound.
"Ah, my apple!"
Ning Jia was stunned for a moment, then suddenly felt a surge of strength and took off running, chasing after the enemy.
But the apple just kept rolling further and further away, showing no sign of stopping. Ignoring the stares of several passersby, Ning Jia continued to chase after it.
Seeing that the apple was covered in a layer of dust, Ning Jia was also panting heavily, but she still did not stop and continued to chase after it.
Just kidding. This noble Yantai Red Fuji apple, which lives in a maritime climate, grows in high-quality soil rich in minerals, and thrives under the sea breeze, with ancestors that have been to space, is crisp and juicy. But she carefully selected it on a fruit store's discount day. It costs several yuan. How could she let so much money slip through her fingers?
As Ning Jia thought this through, her steps became even more resolute:
Even though it's already past 10 PM! Even though her stomach is growling! Even though she has to get up early for work tomorrow! She's still determined to reclaim her Red Fuji apple!
And that apple, as expected of a legendary superior variety, had amazing explosive power, rolling forward and rolling and rolling, quickly rolling a long way until it disappeared into a desolate garden.
Ning Jia hesitated and stopped. This small garden in the community had been abandoned for a long time and no one took care of it. Wouldn't there be a lot of bugs?
But the thought of the runaway apple made her compose herself and, using the dim yellow light of the streetlights, walked into the garden.
Hey, where did that apple go? It was definitely rolling this way!
Ning Jia pushed up her glasses and carefully looked around at the ground, but couldn't find any apples at all.
Did it roll into some kind of sewer?
She sighed regretfully, thinking to herself, "If only I had eaten the apple at the company. Now I'm hungry and tired, and I've lost almost four yuan's worth of the apple."
Okay, I'd better hurry back and make dinner. I'm starving.
Ning Jia shook her head helplessly and was about to leave when suddenly, a rustling sound came from the bushes...
She turned her head and blurted out instinctively, "Who!"
Before she could finish speaking, a tiny, almost invisible shadow darted out of the bushes and, in its haste, ran right up to Ning Jia's feet, their eyes meeting.
Ahhhhhh, there's a mouse?!
Seeing the little creature on the ground, Ning Jia froze in fright, almost screaming on the spot:
Ugh, she hated herself for having such good eyesight, seeing so clearly that she could even tell the rat looked really strange—not only was it standing upright, but its features were also human-like…
—Huh? The facial features look human? That can't be right, can it?
She couldn't believe her eyes. A mix of fear and curiosity flashed through her mind as she watched the little creature run off again until it crashed into a rock and fell to the ground.
Hahaha, Ning Jia couldn't help but laugh. This little mouse is quite stupid.
Perhaps because the enemy was too weak, she forgot her fear and watched as the little mouse quickly got up again, rushed into the grass, and when it came out again, it was being carried on its head...
Ning Jia was stunned for a moment: the big, round, perfectly shaped fruit, with the gold circular label that she hadn't remembered to tear off... Yes, this was her lost Fuji apple!
Upon closer inspection, the little animal with the apple on its head certainly didn't look like a shifty-eyed mouse; after all, what mouse would wear a grass skirt...
Big eyes, a small nose, slightly curly bangs, and a gray (or green?) grass skirt...
For a moment, Ning Jia thought she was hallucinating: What? This, this really is a little person?
No way, I must be hallucinating from working so much overtime!
She said that working is extremely harmful to a person's physical and mental health, and overtime is even more poisonous. She's been working too much overtime lately, and she's almost developing paranoia...
Just as Ning Jia was standing there in a daze, doubting herself, the little man in the grass skirt thought Ning Jia was going to capture him, and was so frightened that he froze.
She had a huge red Fuji apple on her head, her hands trembling as she clutched it tightly. Under Ning Jia's gaze, she shivered and stared at her with fear in her eyes, not daring to move.
Ning Jia, completely oblivious, continued muttering to herself:
No, maybe it's not delusions. It might just be hunger. It's said that people can hallucinate when they're extremely hungry.
Okay, I told you I'm not sick, and my mental state is still pretty nice~
Ning Jia finally convinced herself, breathed a sigh of relief, and ignored the little figure at her feet as an illusion. Just as she was about to hurry back to get something to eat, she suddenly heard a "thump":
The round apple fell to the ground with a thud and rolled right to Ning Jia's feet. The little grass skirt girl, who had lost her apple, stood frozen in place, trembling and afraid to go forward. She blinked her big eyes, then suddenly sat down on the grass with a thud and burst into tears.
Although the crying was soft and gentle, it sounded somewhat eerie in the quiet night, especially in this desolate garden.
Uh… the crying was so realistic that Ning Jia couldn’t help but pinch her arm. Yes, it hurt. She pinched it again, bewildered. Ouch, ouch, ouch! Then she stared at the crying little figure, frozen in place.
So... I wasn't hallucinating just now...?
That can't be right. Maybe it's just a kitten meowing?
Soon, a tearful cry, "I want to eat fruit, waaaah!" shattered her last illusion.
Suddenly hearing a tiny creature, no bigger than a finger, speaking in perfect human language, Ning Jia was so startled she almost jumped up. She stared in equal terror at the wailing little figure.
"You...you...you...you can talk?!"
The little boy was frightened by Ning Jia's questioning tone and cried even louder, sobbing uncontrollably, unable to answer her question at all.
"Uh, um, don't cry, I'm not a bad person."
Ning Jia couldn't bear to see the little girl crying so miserably, so she quickly squatted down and leaned closer to her to explain.
Unexpectedly, the little man became even more frightened as she approached. Even though she managed to force a kind smile, her enormous face only terrified him, leaving him paralyzed with fear and resignedly closing his eyes.
Ning Jia: ...
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, a nimble figure suddenly darted out of the bushes, holding a thin twig. Under Ning Jia's enormous shadow, it instinctively took a step back, but quickly moved to protect the little figure in the grass skirt.
"Damn giant, let go of Guoguo!"
Ning Jia: ...She didn't catch this little person at all!
But so this little guy's name is Guoguo? That's a pretty cute name...
Ning Jia, who had been labeled a villain without doing anything, was still in a daze when she saw the newcomer staring at her angrily, then waving the branch in his hand and stabbing at her.
Ning Jia quickly took a step back and said loudly:
"Let's talk this out! Don't fight! I'm a good person!"
...
Fifteen minutes later.
Ning Jia squatted down, resting her chin on her hand, almost forgetting her hunger. She asked again and again, still unable to believe what the little people were saying:
Are they little people from the forest? They've traveled a very, very long way and are temporarily staying in this little garden?
She found it incredible; wasn't this something from an animated film? Like Thumbelina, the Borrowers, and stuff like that…
Even though her left arm was almost bruised from being pinched, the two little figures were still standing alive in front of her. The intense pain told her that it was definitely not a hallucination.
Besides, these two little figures are so cute and adorable, a hundred times more adorable and lifelike than those artificial plastic figurines.
Ning Jia crouched down, getting close to the tiny figure that was about the height of her finger, and stared at the face of the little person named "Guoguo," becoming completely mesmerized.
Her apple-shaped face, her big, blinking eyes, still wet with tears from her earlier crying, were enough to melt anyone's heart.
Here, wipe your tears.
Ning Jia took a tissue out of her bag and handed it to the little man.
"Uh... thank you..."
Guoguo's voice was still soft and gentle, but the taller little person next to her, who called himself "He Meng," had a clearer voice:
"Hey, don't take other people's things without permission. Who knows if they're poisoned?"
From Guoguo's curious gaze, Ning Jia could tell that the little people were probably not familiar with modern society. She patiently unfolded the handkerchief and said, "This is a tissue, nothing dangerous." She shook the tissue a few times and placed it in front of the little people.
After He Meng nodded, Guo Guo carefully touched the tissue and then exclaimed:
Wow, this paper is so soft!
She couldn't bear to use the tissue to wipe her tears. Instead, she carefully folded the tissue, rolled it up, tied it with a blade of grass, and gently held it in her arms.
Seeing this, Ning Jia couldn't help but laugh and say, "You like this? I'll give you a few more."
It's just cheap tissue paper; she can afford to give that away.
She opened her canvas bag and rummaged through it. Oh, it turned out that the tissue she had just received was the last one. She said awkwardly, "...Never mind, I'll bring you more next time."
Seeing that Guoguo was alright, He Meng's expression softened. "Now that things have been explained, we'll take our leave. Giant, I hope you'll keep your promise and not reveal our whereabouts."
"Don't worry, if I reveal your whereabouts to anyone, I'll be punished by working 996 for the rest of my life, no, 006."
Fearing that the villains wouldn't believe her, Ning Jia made the most vicious oath.
Although she didn't understand what Ning Jia meant, judging from her expression, this "996" thing must be a terrible thing. So He Meng nodded with some doubt, indicating that she would believe her for the time being.
"Alright, we've been out for so long, let's hurry back."
He Meng was about to leave with Guo Guo when Ning Jia suddenly noticed the apples on the ground. She hesitated for a moment, then called out to them, "Um, you still have some apples you haven't taken..."
He Meng asked curiously, "Didn't you just say this was your apple?"
"Uh...it is indeed mine."
Ning Jia glanced at Guo Guo and, unusually generous, said, "But I feel you need it more, so I'll give it to you."
From Guoguo's unintentional words, Ningjia had already guessed that the newly arrived little people had not yet adapted to life here and that food was in short supply. Otherwise, Guoguo would not have been attracted by Ningjia's apples.
He Meng's expression changed, and she snorted, "What are you saying! Do you think you can bribe us with an apple? We little people never accept charity!"
That being said, her daughter Guoguo was staring longingly at the apple on the ground, which made her seem unconvincing.
He Meng smacked Guo Guo's head in annoyance, "Stop looking! That apple has an owner!"
A note from the author:
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Let's start writing!
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