Chapter 13: Game

Since they were already in Fog City, it was definitely not going to be a chain restaurant, but rather, according to what the netizens said, “Any random ^[1]九宫格 (Nine-Square Grid) hotpot refers to a special type of Chongqing-style hotpot where the pot is divided into nine sections using a metal grid. This design allows different ingredients to be … Continue readingNine-Square Grid hotpot place will be super delicious.”

The real reason why Ah Yan and Sister Fei didn’t come was probably because they couldn’t handle spicy food.

Hotpot is supposed to be lively to set the mood, so Su Shiyi declined the offer to reserve a private room and chose to sit in the main hall. She had four bodyguards with her, one of whom sat at the same table, while the other three sat at separate tables, saying this way they could have a wider field of vision.

Fine, anyway, they could order whatever they wanted, and Lucy would foot the bill.

The menu was handed to Su Shiyi, and she didn’t hesitate at all, quickly checking off all her favorite dishes under the special recommendations, ordering three portions each of her beloved fatty beef and shrimp paste. When the menu got to Xu Wenwen, she only needed to check off some vegetables.

Lucy went to place the order, and as Su Shiyi sat back in her seat, the smell of beef tallow wafting from the main hall, she felt like she might just float away from happiness.

“I think I’m a bit pathetic,” she whispered to Xu Wenwen, “Other wealthy people eat truffle, foie gras, and caviar, but what I crave most is still spicy hotpot. Even if I flaunt ten plates of fatty beef, it still doesn’t cost as much as a piece of bluefin tuna.”

“The point of having money is exactly this, right?”

Xu Wenwen replied calmly without any surprise, “Your current state is just fine. Money in your hands is a tool, you can use it to get everything you want, instead of being tied down by it and demanding yourself to live the ‘high society’ life. That way, you’re not the master of money, you’re its slave.”

Besides, wasn’t she already flown to Fog City for hotpot? Isn’t this what rich people do? What’s more luxurious than this, TAT?

Su Shiyi couldn’t hear the latter thoughts, but the earlier words filled Xu Wenwen’s image with an aura of wisdom.

She excitedly took her hand, “You’re absolutely right! I don’t need to worry about how much money I’m spending, what matters most is living the life I truly want!”

“Exactly!” Xu Wenwen also genuinely met her gaze. “So when are you going to treat me to those expensive ingredients? You shouldn’t be a slave to money, let me take care of that for you!”

Su Shiyi: ???

My eyes have seen too much.jpg

While waiting for the hotpot, Su Shiyi logged into the Lujiang Literature City. In her collection folder, she saw that the book Empress had an updated icon in the top-right corner. She clicked it happily and found that the book’s data had undergone a dramatic change.

Her comment had long since been buried, but the comment section was filled with “Forum members coming over to check in on the wealthy lady,” and after asking Xu Wenwen beside her, Su Shiyi finally found the forum entrance.

The post about her crazy tip-throwing spree in the Ancient Transmigration works, was pinned at the top, and there were almost constant new comments like “Waiting for the wealthy lady’s favor in my dreams.” Some people even asked if changing the pen name to Momo Sauce, Meowmeow Sauce, or Woofwoof Sauce would help attract the attention of wealthy ladies.

The wealthy lady herself didn’t think it would work, but she was still pleased to be flattered like that.

Su Shiyi: I’m just an ordinary dog, and I love hearing people flatter me!

Adhering to the principle of “spending money to make myself happy,” Su Shiyi posted for the first time on the forum. She filled in her reader ID, One Strawberry, and her title was: 【I heard some authors have never seen what a deep-water torpedo looks like, let’s have you experience it today.】

Content: As the title says, I’m in a good mood today and want to share my happiness. Leave the title of your work, and if I’m interested, I’ll send you a deep-water torpedo.

This post is a bit arrogant. Forum users browsing the site clicked into it and saw, oh, this is a five-star account. Then, noticing the username, they were like, wow, isn’t this the reader name of the rich lady?

1#: Is this even real?!

2#: A humble question to the rich lady, do you eat any kind of genre?

3#: Front row group photo, holding onto the rich lady’s thigh.

4#: The smart ones have already claimed the spot, id6341xxxx, Fantasy Channel welcomes the rich lady!

Su Shiyi didn’t understand what the ID left behind meant until she asked Xu Wenwen. Complaining internally that the Lujiang Literature City interface was really complicated, she opened the search box and found the story.

She glanced at the synopsis—it was neither good nor bad, and it didn’t hit any of her red flags. Su Shiyi casually waved her hand, sending a deep-water torpedo towards the author’s backend.

When she switched back to the forum, there were already a lot of replies. She randomly clicked one to search, and the lucky author on the fourth floor had already returned to confirm it was real.

95#: Ahhh! I love the rich lady, there’s really deep-water, the bottom is crying in space! Waaah, what a little angel saving the world! I wish you a lifetime of peace and happiness (loud voice)

Hmm, these cute authors really know what they’re doing.

Su Shiyi was quite satisfied as she scrolled for a few minutes, enjoying all the praise and compliments. She randomly chose a few of the most flattering comments to send torpedoes to, and she also saw the ancient fantasy author whom she’d previously sent deep-water torpedoes to, who had come back to express their gratitude with a slightly long little essay.

They left a comment: Writing is often a lonely journey, filled with self-doubt. Am I really talented? Am I suited to continue writing? Why are my clicks and comments getting colder? My collections hardly increase, and each update even loses readers. Is my writing really that bad?

This story was almost going to be axed to speed up the conclusion, but Su Shiyi’s ten deep-water torpedoes gave her huge encouragement. She was very happy that her work was still being seen and loved, and for the sake of the rich lady’s heart, she would continue to write it with quality and quantity!

Su Shiyi: I just wanted to hear people flatter me, but this author flattered me with such sincerity that I almost cried, waaah.

#It’s all because this author is too good at speaking

#Crying while giving ten deep-water torpedoes, this is the happiness I’ve cultivated

The Nine-Square Grid hotpot base was served, and a full table of ingredients was laid out. Lucy placed a whole plate of fatty beef into the bubbling hot pots, and Su Shiyi eagerly picked up a piece, not bothering with any dipping sauces, wanting to taste the most authentic spicy, fresh, and fragrant flavor first.

The hotpot’s boiling, spicy oil gave her tongue a huge sensation. The tender fatty beef was a familiar, simple, and delicious taste from her memories, and she even bit into a Sichuan peppercorn that numbed her whole mouth.

So spicy, yet so satisfying.

“I really want to eat hotpot every meal,” Su Shiyi voiced her longing, “Until I get tired of it. I want to eat as much as I want, and whatever I want.”

Lucy calmly added some sour plum soup beside her, “Of course, as long as you’re willing, you can do anything you want.”

Aww, Lucy is so nice, just as nice as Kevin!

Su Shiyi clapped her hands in determination and declared, “For the next week, I’m going to eat spicy hotpot every day!”

Lucy smiled and didn’t say anything, not expressing any objection to her decision, just glancing at the full table of food. An hour later, Su Shiyi’s overstuffed stomach and bulging belly were teaching her a lesson.

“Let’s just pretend I never said that,” she regretted her bold statement. “It’s impossible for someone to eat hotpot every day. I’m so stuffed, and so tired of it. I don’t want to see spicy hotpot for another half month…”

Back when she was a broke office worker, Su Shiyi often fantasized about the day she could eat hotpot without checking the price, just going all in without a second thought. Now that it’s come true, it turns out, it isn’t as enjoyable as she thought.

Moreover, they only spent a little over a thousand for two tables. The price cap for street-style spicy hotpot was set here, so it wasn’t really that expensive.

It’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance. Just a few days in, Su Shiyi no longer cares about numbers under ten thousand. If she had to describe it, it’s like everything she buys feels like 50-cent spicy strips—no emotional reaction whatsoever.

Lucy handed her some digestive tablets and warm water. Su Shiyi let go of her intense but short-lived obsession with spicy hotpot.

Goodbye, hotpot queen, though you were great, it seems that the white rice queen in the central palace is my true love, the one I can’t live without every day TAT.

There’s class tomorrow morning, so neither Su Shiyi nor Xu Wenwen felt like staying to tour the fog city. They took the same day’s flight back to G City. While flying might be tiring for others, the plane arranged for Su Shiyi by Gu Family not only had a bed and a bathtub but was also fully equipped with various life facilities.

Su Shiyi lay on the shampoo station, enjoying a professional head massage. In order to make it easier to manage, her hair had only ever been shoulder-length at the longest, but now, it seemed she could relax and grow her hair all the way to her waist in smooth, healthy locks.

Xu Wenwen was lying on the bed, watching dramas. She was a bit bored being here alone. Su Shiyi opened the app store, wanting to download some games to pass the time.

She had already gotten hooked on a lot of gacha mobile games yesterday, all purchased by Kevin with his flawless account. After happily enjoying full illustrations in games like ^[2]Shining Nikki (闪耀暖暖) is a 3D dress-up game developed by Papergames, and it is the sequel to Love Nikki-Dress UP Queen (奇迹暖暖). Unlike its 2D predecessor, Shining Nikki features fully … Continue readingShining Nikki, ^[3]Onmyoji (阴阳师) is a turn-based RPG developed by NetEase Games, inspired by Japanese mythology and Heian-era folklore. It was released in 2016 and has since gained a large international fanbase.Onmyoji, ^[4]Food Fantasy (食之契约, Shí zhī Qìyuē) is a mobile RPG and restaurant management game developed by Elex. It combines gacha mechanics, turn-based battles, and restaurant simulation with a … Continue readingFood Fantasy, and ^[5]Arknights (明日方舟, Míngrì Fāngzhōu) is a tower defense strategy RPG developed by Hypergryph and published by Yostar. The game is set in a dystopian world where a mysterious substance called … Continue readingArknights, Su Shiyi decided to set them aside, planning to spend money on them again when events came around.

Sigh, the downside of having such a perfect account is that there’s no motivation to grind anymore.

She was bad at King of Glory, and wasn’t really interested in it, nor did she want to play other competitive games. After browsing for a while, Su Shiyi still couldn’t find a game to dream about.

She decided to ask the all-knowing Kevin: “Do you have any fun and interesting mobile games to recommend? Preferably something newer and playable offline.”

Kevin replied: “I’ve sent the installation package to Lucy. She’ll help you with the setup.”

Huh? Aren’t game downloads all in the app store now? Her phone, a Pear Phone, should have the official download channel as Pear Store.

But since Kevin said so, she handed her phone to Lucy. Half a minute later, a new app, My Island, appeared on her phone.

Lucy explained: “This is a simulation management game designed and developed by a professional team under the instruction of Kevin’s secretary. It recreates your private island on the map in real-life proportions. You can operate freely on the island and build it however you like. We will help turn it into reality.”

Su Shiyi: !!!

Dreams turning into reality, a simulation game becoming real, she loves it!