My Three Hundred Yuan

It was 2:24 AM.

In the dim room, the only light came from electronic devices. Beside the monitor's speakers, the idle characters on screen occasionally made playful sounds.

"Big Qiuqiu is sick, Second Qiuqiu looks, Third Qiuqiu gathers herbs..."

But the beautiful girl sitting in the chair with her hair tied up in a high ponytail couldn't even spare a glance for her favorite characters. Her beautiful eyes were filled with exhaustion.

She then skillfully exited "a certain two-character game."

"Finally finished grinding..."

She let out a long sigh, picked up the Da Mi phone on the desk, which was covered in cracks, placed her legs on the gaming chair, and leaned back.

Compared to before, she was noticeably much smaller now. The not-so-large gaming chair could now fit her entire body.

She opened her WeChat clone, which had a remarkably simple avatar consisting only of the words "account boosting." Hua Xin's eyes showed a hint of anticipation as she opened the chat window.

Hua Xin: "Boss, the 100% exploration for this round is done..."

She propped her phone up on a stand, cupped her face with both hands, and waited for the other person's reply with a very cute expression. However, her eyelids fluttered rapidly, and sleepiness soon washed over her.

"Is it too late...?"

"They should be asleep by now."

Hua Xin mumbled softly, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

Confined to her home, she often survived on various online gigs, such as account boosting for "a certain two-character game" and "a certain six-character game" from the same company.

Sometimes, she also made money by editing videos, photoshopping images, or doing AI voiceovers for comics.

After deducting utilities and internet fees, there was still money left over each month, so she didn't have to worry about starving.

However, sometimes work was scarce, so she needed to have some savings.

About ten minutes later, the phone screen finally lit up.

Hua Xin's sleepiness vanished instantly, and she quickly grabbed her phone.

I love playing QQ Speed: "All 100% exploration completed?"

Hua Xin quickly replied: "Everything is 100% explored, Boss. Just transfer the agreed-upon three hundred yuan to me."

She clicked send.

The expected transfer didn't appear. Instead, a prominent "?" appeared next to her message.

The girl froze on the spot.

Did she...

Was she ghosted?!?!?

Where were all the good people online they talked about? Where were all the good people in the world? Where were all the Hao Jian on the side of the road??

"I love playing QQ Speed, my ??!!" Hua Xin cursed angrily, her fingers trembling as she tapped on the other person's profile, then started typing a message to re-add them.

":? Boss, please don't ghost me. My grandpa and I depend on each other, and I only make money selling tea and account boosting. Please, just pay me for the job, I can even take half the amount..."

The light from the phone screen clearly illuminated the wronged, pretty face of the single-ponytail girl.

It was like a real-life scene of sorrow.

Meanwhile.

In a small barbecue restaurant in Yongji District.

A man with an earring put down his Blue Fairy and laughed heartily as he looked at the message from the re-added friend.

"Brother Yan, look, here's some entertainment. This clown is even making up a story about selling tea. If they had used any other excuse, I would have felt bad and paid them back."

The person addressed as Brother Yan frowned, then relaxed and smiled. He quickly scanned the message in the other person's hand and then said softly, "Mu Feng, you're not short on money, are you? Why ghost her?"

Mu Feng chuckled, downed the wine in his glass, and then said mysteriously, "I just wanted to experience the thrill of ghosting someone."

"Everyone else's account boosting requires a deposit upfront, but she was the one who wanted to get paid last."

"If not her, then who else?"

The tall guy sitting opposite Mu Feng, wearing white socks, AJ sneakers, and holding a fragrant bullfrog, mocked, "Brother Yan, don't mind him. People who play ○ are all like this."

"Their minds are full of things like Origin Stones all day, they can't distinguish reality from fantasy, and they keep babbling about being linked to money."

Mu Feng sneered, "Xiang Guan, you 'fire fan' shut up."

"Go run a hundred meters in 59 seconds with your super armor and clear water."

"People who play ○ are like this," Xiang Guan retorted unhurriedly.

Xia Yan looked at the two of them stuck in a deadlock, his handsome face filled with helplessness, but he was used to it. He picked up his drink and took a sip.

After the college entrance exam, they could see their dormitory information in the school's software, and contacting each other in the large group chat wasn't difficult. They happened to find out that all three of them were in Magic City, so they decided to get together often.

Tonight, it was because Xia Yan was working at this barbecue stall. There weren't many customers in the latter half of the night, so he called the other two to help clean up the remaining food. As for the other roommate...

He couldn't be reached, but it didn't matter. They would find out in a week when school started.

"Buzz." The phone screen suddenly lit up.

Xia Yan unlocked his phone with a puzzled expression and then opened the message. Who would be messaging him at this hour?

Invincible Cat Fist: "I'm gonna fucking kill you."

"..."

It was that person again.

Looking at the chat history from a few days ago, after he'd given her his address, she'd gone silent, only to return later with her usual sporadic outbursts of insults.

He really shouldn't have accepted that solo match...

Even so, Xia Yan still hadn't deleted her as a friend.

It was quite interesting to check in on her occasionally.

"Brother Yan, who are you chatting with? Some pretty girl?"

Mu Feng teased, watching Xia Yan type. Given Xia Yan's looks and demeanor, he must have dated quite a few girls already.

"Just an online friend."

Xia Yan smiled and put down his phone.

"Tch... Boring."

Back in our little otaku's room.

Hua Xin shed tears of grievance, and when the computer screen displayed the "Incorrect Password" for a certain two-character game, her sorrow reached its peak.

She wasn't even given a chance to ruin the account...

Hua Xin sniffled. Her fair little face was streaked with tears, and her watery eyes were now a little red.

So mean...

She was just too mean...

"Waaah," Hua Xin turned and buried her face in the pillow, crying her heart out into it.

"I'm going to kill you, QQ Speed, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill kill kill kill... cough cough cough."

After choking on her own spit, Hua Xin sat up, patted her chest, and then continued to cry and curse.

This was a big order she'd taken...

Three hundred yuan could buy so many things, it wasn't just a few numbers in her WeChat.

After a while.

The girl picked up her finger and blew her nose, her little nose tip turning pink.

Looking at the Hu Tao plushie winking beside her, it offered no comfort; instead, it felt like it was mocking her.

Hua Xin: "..."

She almost burst into tears again, unable to hold back.

She stretched out her delicate foot and stomped fiercely on the innocent quilt, ravaging it in a fit of impotent rage.

"I'll kill you, I'll stomp you to death, I'll kill you, I'll castrate you..."

"Beep beep beep."

A message popped up on the computer, making Hua Xin stop her outburst.

The Eldest Son on the Internet: "Stop cursing, go to sleep early."

"At least you have a conscience..."

Hua Xin muttered softly, surprisingly not replying further.

She turned off the computer and lay down in bed, obediently pulling the quilt up to cover her navel, ready to sleep.

Twenty minutes later, Hua Xin started sobbing again.

"My three hundred yuan... ??????."