Chapter 17
While the demon world buzzed about the livestream, Shao Mian sat in his meeting room, a strange expression on his face as he rewatched it. Although the streamer hadn’t shown his face, Shao Mian recognized him instantly as the young human who had bandaged his leg. Even his words, like “Your fur is so beautiful” and “So soft and smooth,” were eerily familiar.
Were these just the human NPC’s default lines, triggered by any injured demon he encountered?
[Lion’s world crumbling.jpg]
But as he watched the Luna Clan cub’s ability awakening, his expression turned serious. His unusual silence made the school principal nervously glance at his secretary.
The demon secretary, however, remained impassive, offering no help.
“Um… Mr. Shao? Was there something wrong with our work these past few years?” Principal Qi asked cautiously.
He was the only one who knew about Shao Mian’s true identity. During a childhood trip abroad, he had been chased by a large, shadowy creature and almost died. Shao Mian had saved him, making him the sole survivor of the infamous “Continent S Ground Collapse Incident.” He had kept this secret for decades.
Now, his hair was turning grey, while Shao Mian looked ageless. This reinforced his belief in the existence of supernatural forces.
“Nothing. Just thinking about something,” Shao Mian said, closing the video.
“Shall we have lunch? Are you interested in our school cafeteria? It’s not fancy, but it’s healthy home-style cooking, and you can see what the students are eating,” Principal Qi offered, relieved.
“Sure,” Shao Mian said, not picky about food.
As they entered the cafeteria, they heard an argument. It was Mr. Lei Hong and Director Lu. The students and staff, seeing the principal and vice-principals, fell silent, curiously glancing at Shao Mian.
“Principal, you’re here! I’ll resign if I can’t clear my name today!” Mr. Lei Hong exclaimed, holding up two peaches.
“Director Lu accused me of taking kickbacks, but you see these peaches? Which one looks better?! He’s rejecting these high-quality, affordable peaches and buying rotten fruit instead! Is this what we should be feeding our students and teachers?”
“Lei Hong, stop talking nonsense! Put those peaches away…” Director Lu paled, seeing the school leaders. Exposing the shady dealings in procurement, especially in front of a foreign guest, would be disastrous.
“Peaches! Peaches!” Abyss, the flame sprite, perked up, tugging at Shao Mian’s sleeve, wanting to eat them. He had been obsessed with human peaches ever since trying them at Lin Ran’s stall, though Shao Zi Jue suspected his interest wasn’t purely culinary.
Shao Mian paused, his gaze falling on the two peaches. There was no comparison. One was plump and fragrant, yielding slightly to the touch. The other, though not bad, looked inferior, especially considering its higher price.
Principal Qi, seeing Shao Mian’s scrutiny, felt embarrassed. He hadn’t expected to encounter such a situation. He turned to the vice-principal. “Vice-Principal Gu, could you look into this? Don’t renew Director Lu’s contract this year.”
Director Lu’s face turned ashen. Losing his position at Lu Wai would be devastating. He knew he was in serious trouble.
“I apologize for this unfortunate incident,” Principal Qi said to Shao Mian, who was examining a peach.
“Are you also interested in these peaches? Foreign and domestic peaches should be similar, right?”
“No, the scent is just familiar,” Shao Mian said, the sweet fragrance reminding him of the human’s scent. Perhaps he was imagining things.
The next day, Lin Ran received good news shortly after waking up and starting work in the orchard.
“We signed the contract, Lin Ran! We’ll come pick up the peaches in a few days! And thanks to you, I even got promoted! Director Lu was fired!” Mr. Lei Hong’s jubilant voice boomed through the phone. The unexpected turn of events delighted Lin Ran.
“Really? That’s great, Uncle! Come anytime; we have plenty of peaches,” Lin Ran said, beaming.
“See? Good quality always speaks for itself! Good peaches will always sell,” Mr. Lei Hong chatted excitedly before hanging up.
“Lin-zai, did the school really accept our peaches?” his grandmother, Huang Guiying, asked nervously, as if afraid to jinx it.
“Yes, Grandma! We’ll be selling to them every year now. It’s a huge relief. It’s real!” Lin Ran reassured her repeatedly.
Grandma chanted “Amitabha” and her eyes teared up. “Our Lin-zai is such a capable university student…”
“It’s not about that, Grandma. It’s because our peaches are good. We should call Uncle and Grandpa and tell them to come back early,” Lin Ran said, worried about her getting too emotional.
Despite the school’s order easing their financial burden, he still decided to try livestreaming. Self-reliance was always best.
He had gained some experience from his accidental livestream in “Demon World.”
“Lin-zai, do you think we’ll become rich after this summer? You’ll definitely be able to pay off your student loan,” Jiang Jie said, full of hope for the future. Life was definitely getting better with Lin-zai.
“A-Jie, focus on passing CET-4 next semester,” Lin Ran said, amused, packing another box of peaches. Jiang Jie’s future demolition compensation would be a true windfall.
Looking at the increasingly motivated Jiang Jie, he remembered the Complete Lilith’s Mirror. The basic version had shown him Jiang Jie’s future; what could the complete version do? Would it work on Sootball? He was curious about his cub’s destiny.
“Lin-zai, what should we do with these golden fruits? They look a bit scary to sell. What if someone gets sick after eating them?” Jiang Jie asked, looking at the unusual fruits.
“We can’t sell these yet. I need to study them,” Lin Ran said, suspecting they were related to the Golden Spirit Fruits in the game. If they had the same healing properties in reality, they would be priceless. Could they heal his grandmother’s leg? He had a bold idea.
“Lin-zai, if our orchard becomes really successful, it would be cool to hire a spokesperson, wouldn’t it?” Jiang Jie said, watching a TV commercial.
Lin Ran looked up. The commercial featured a popular child star, An Xun, advertising fruit tea. He was undeniably charming, making the drink seem appealing.
But even for a child star, endorsement fees were exorbitant, far beyond their budget.
“A-Jie, let’s be realistic,” Lin Ran said, ruffling Jiang Jie’s hair.
“Hey, what if our peaches become famous, and he likes them and comes to our livestream to buy some? Kids usually like sweet peaches,” Jiang Jie said, dreaming.
Lin Ran handed him his vocabulary exercises for correction, eliciting a groan. Grandma chuckled, happy to see her grandson so lively this summer. He wasn’t cooped up in his room all the time anymore.
Preparing for the livestream took time and effort. Finally, late at night, he lay in bed and opened his phone. A system notification appeared:
[You have a new homestead visitor. Accept?]
A visitor? Did the game have that feature now? Curious, he clicked “Accept.”
Back in the game, he looked for Sootball.
“Sootball—Soo-Sootball?”
“Cheep!” Sootball flew over, landing in his arms, nuzzling him affectionately, then gestured for him to look behind him.
Lin Ran stared, thinking he was seeing things. Three “Sootballs,” each larger than the last, stood in front of his house, blinking at him. Looking closer, he noticed some differences. The largest one had a round belly, the middle one looked elegant and refined, and the smallest one had longer, slightly grey fur.
As he stared, the elegant “Sootball” nudged the big-bellied one, which offered Lin Ran a suitcase.
Lin Ran: ???
“Cheep… cheep cheep!” Sootball chirped, explaining it was a welcome gift, urging him to open it.
Hesitantly, he opened the suitcase, revealing a box full of pale purple stones. These were special magic stones found only in the Luna Clan’s territory, containing moon magic, a valuable currency in the demon world.
Sootball looked up at him expectantly, thinking he could now renovate his house.
But Lin Ran, instead of admiring the stones, stared at the big-bellied “Sootball” holding the suitcase. Yorke, following his wife’s instructions, was supposed to assess the human’s character and intentions. But why was he staring at his belly?!
The next moment, Lin Ran’s “evil” intentions were revealed. He reached out and gently patted the giant fluffy Sootball’s belly.
“So soft… Baby, are you Sootball’s friend?” OwO This big baby felt even softer than Sootball! He wanted to hug it! He could take them all home! He had plenty of milk!
“Cheep?” Sootball, looking at Lin Ran, suddenly felt a sense of danger.
Yorke froze, his face flushing. This human… called him “baby”?!
