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LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Who even tries to be a good person these days?”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“What does it even mean to be a decent person…?” What’s a righteous man supposed to look like? Lin An liked to think he was a good guy.
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And yet—Xia Hua, she, of all people, had the audacity to ask him to do something so shady.
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‘I absolutely will not—’ Lin An had planned to righteously rebuke her, loudly and with moral indignation.
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That was the plan—right until Xia Hua pulled out that keyboard.
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A pristine, rare 1989 Cherry keyboard.
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He bit his own tongue the moment he saw it. “Gah~~~~~…”
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“Wait—what the—! Is that—?!”
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“Brand new,” Xia Hua said casually.
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“1989 G80-3000, first-generation, limited edition Cherry mechanical keyboard…!”
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“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh~~~~”
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The keyboard was still wrapped in plastic, though coated in dust.
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Xia Hua’s clothes and hands were already smudged and grimy from digging it out.
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But in Lin An’s eyes, at that moment, she had never looked cuter.
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He stared at the keyboard like it was his one true love.
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Why? Why was she the one who got to find such a priceless treasure? He was overwhelmed—envy, jealousy, heartbreak—Awei died for this, you know?
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Xia Hua gently tapped a few keys with her delicate fingers.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
The crisp sound of the Cherry MX switches made Lin An’s heart race.
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Xia Hua tilted her head and feigned innocence, “Hmm? What? What were you saying earlier? I didn’t catch it. Could you repeat it for me?”
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“I didn’t say anything,” Lin An declared righteously.
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That keyboard was too damn tempting.
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“You said you’re a man of justice?”
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“I’m not.” Lin An shook his head.
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“You said you’re a decent person?”
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“Nope.” He turned his head away, not wanting to be lumped in with those fake goody-two-shoes.
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“And didn’t you also say you’re a good guy?”
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“Who even tries to be a good person these days? Do you?” Lin An firmly disavowed all such nonsense.
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He was a certified scoundrel now.
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As expected, men are all pigs.
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None can resist the lure of electronics.
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Just like—do women really exist who don’t like makeup?
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That one keyboard alone was enough for Lin An to brag from his teenage years well into middle age.
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And even in old age, he could still lovingly kiss that keyboard twice, then pass it down as a family heirloom to his grandson.
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Men. We’re really that simple. That easy to please.
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Xia Hua curled her lips, barely holding back a smile. “Alright, alright! The keyboard’s yours. In exchange, help me smuggle out this i5 CPU and those two RAM sticks, okay?”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Absolutely no problem.” Lin An agreed without hesitation.
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But now, he started to feel a bit guilty.
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Anyone who could name a 1989 G80-3000 Cherry keyboard like that obviously knew just how valuable it was.
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Xia Hua’s straightforward generosity only made Lin An more self-conscious.
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Still, both of them were in a good mood.
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Because they each got exactly what they were looking for.
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Finding an i5 processor and matching RAM was already a huge stroke of luck.
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Looking across the landscape of schools in the 2020s, even having i7s in computer labs was rare.
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Practically a myth. So i5s? That was already top-tier tech by school standards.
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“So, what do you need these for anyway?” Lin An asked, puzzled.
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“Putting together a PC,” Xia Hua replied casually.
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She dug around for a while longer, but eventually gave up.
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The rest of the parts were too scattered, untested, and probably non-functional.
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Compared to CPUs and RAM, the durability of those other components just didn’t hold up.
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She opened up an old tower case and stuffed her salvaged parts inside.
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When she picked it up and gave it a shake—
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It rattled.
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Loudly.
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Which only made it look more like a junk heap, not worth inspecting.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Lin An was torn.
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As a hardcore collector, he didn’t want to disassemble the keyboard just to smuggle it out.
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What he wanted was an original, untouched piece—something worthy of becoming a family heirloom.
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But the teacher at the warehouse door was known to do inspections.
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And an intact keyboard had a high chance of getting confiscated.
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That’s when Xia Hua patted him on the shoulder and said, “I’ve been watching. The warehouse teacher’s a chain smoker. Needs a cig every ten minutes or so. You get what I’m saying?”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Wait—really?” Lin An’s eyes lit up.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Swear to God. If I’m lying, I’m a dog. Anyway, I’m heading out. See you at the usual spot.”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“You’re not even gonna pretend to throw out some trash? Just for show?!”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Xia Hua waved her hand behind her and said without turning back, “No need. I’m not into that whole performative nonsense.”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
It was mainly because she’d done a fat-burning workout the night before, and then went for a morning run again today.
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Now her whole body ached—there was no way she could handle any kind of hard labor.
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She walked out of the warehouse like nothing had happened.
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The warehouse teacher saw her empty-handed and didn’t bother checking if she’d taken anything.
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As usual, she went to the designated trash drop-off point, washed her hands, and waited for Lin An.
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She knew him well, so she trusted him completely.
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After all, if even your closest friend isn’t trustworthy, then what in this world still is?
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Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Lin An came into view.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
He was walking fast, excitement practically glowing from his face.
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No doubt—he’d successfully gotten the keyboard out.
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“Hahaha! I had my friend pretend to trip and fall.”
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“The warehouse teacher got totally distracted by that, so I slipped out with the keyboard—flawless plan! I’m a genius. Truly, no one can compare…!” Lin An, like most guys, was getting a bit carried away in his own triumph.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Xia Hua simply held out her hands.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
She took the computer tower from him.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Then pulled out her keys and started unscrewing the case.
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A short while later, an i5 CPU and two RAM sticks sat neatly in her hand.
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She tucked them carefully into her pocket.
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With a wave, she said, “Alright, thanks for today. I’ve got something else to take care of, so I’ll be heading off.”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Still riding the high of his success, Lin An suddenly came back to his senses and called after her, “Hey! Wait a sec!”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“What?” Xia Hua turned around.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“I mean… you helped me out a lot, and I, uh, I…” He was clearly flustered.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Xia Hua replied offhandedly, “It’s not like I’m some keyboard fanatic. That thing wouldn’t have meant much to me anyway.”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Then… how about I treat you to a milk tea?”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“On a diet. No thanks,” Xia Hua replied flatly.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Then, uh…” Dammit, are you not even going to let me repay the favor?
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Lin An glanced at the pocket where she’d stashed the i5 CPU.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Didn’t you say you’re putting together a computer? That keyboard you got me is actually worth a lot. So how about this—”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Is there anything else you still need?”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Nope,” Xia Hua said. She’d already ordered the rest of the parts secondhand.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Then, uh…”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Seeing how anxious he was, it was clear Lin An wasn’t the type who liked to owe people.
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
She thought for a moment.
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There really wasn’t much else she needed.
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Emmmm… Wait, there was one thing.
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“I still need a drawing tablet,” she said. “If you really want to return the favor, get me one of those.”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
“Deal.” Lin An finally breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll get one and send it to you in the next few days.”
LongStringOfTextToSimulateLargeRandomDataSet123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Drawing tablets are usually used by people who do heavy illustration or design work, and one of Xia Hua’s professions happened to be ceramic design.
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She really did need one.
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All in all, today had been a pretty good haul.
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Lin An stood there watching Xia Hua walk away.
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Then looked down at the rare keyboard in his hands.
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He still felt like he had to treat her to a milk tea to show his appreciation.
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