Chapter 11: Who Still Tries To Be A Good Person These Days?

“Who even tries to be a good person these days?”

“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.

And yet—Xia Hua, she, of all people, had the audacity to ask him to do something so shady.

‘I absolutely will not—’ Lin An had planned to righteously rebuke her, loudly and with moral indignation.

That was the plan—right until Xia Hua pulled out that keyboard.

A pristine, rare 1989 Cherry keyboard.

He bit his own tongue the moment he saw it. “Gah~~~~~…”

“Wait—what the—! Is that—?!”

“Brand new,” Xia Hua said casually.

“1989 G80-3000, first-generation, limited edition Cherry mechanical keyboard…!”

“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh~~~~”

The keyboard was still wrapped in plastic, though coated in dust.

Xia Hua’s clothes and hands were already smudged and grimy from digging it out.

But in Lin An’s eyes, at that moment, she had never looked cuter.

He stared at the keyboard like it was his one true love.

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?

Xia Hua gently tapped a few keys with her delicate fingers.

The crisp sound of the Cherry MX switches made Lin An’s heart race.

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?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Lin An declared righteously.

That keyboard was too damn tempting.

“You said you’re a man of justice?”

“I’m not.” Lin An shook his head.

“You said you’re a decent person?”

“Nope.” He turned his head away, not wanting to be lumped in with those fake goody-two-shoes.

“And didn’t you also say you’re a good guy?”

“Who even tries to be a good person these days? Do you?” Lin An firmly disavowed all such nonsense.

He was a certified scoundrel now.

As expected, men are all pigs.

None can resist the lure of electronics.

Just like—do women really exist who don’t like makeup?

That one keyboard alone was enough for Lin An to brag from his teenage years well into middle age.

And even in old age, he could still lovingly kiss that keyboard twice, then pass it down as a family heirloom to his grandson.

Men. We’re really that simple. That easy to please.

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?”

“Absolutely no problem.” Lin An agreed without hesitation.

But now, he started to feel a bit guilty.

Anyone who could name a 1989 G80-3000 Cherry keyboard like that obviously knew just how valuable it was.

Xia Hua’s straightforward generosity only made Lin An more self-conscious.

Still, both of them were in a good mood.

Because they each got exactly what they were looking for.

Finding an i5 processor and matching RAM was already a huge stroke of luck.

Looking across the landscape of schools in the 2020s, even having i7s in computer labs was rare.

Practically a myth. So i5s? That was already top-tier tech by school standards.

“So, what do you need these for anyway?” Lin An asked, puzzled.

“Putting together a PC,” Xia Hua replied casually.

She dug around for a while longer, but eventually gave up.

The rest of the parts were too scattered, untested, and probably non-functional.

Compared to CPUs and RAM, the durability of those other components just didn’t hold up.

She opened up an old tower case and stuffed her salvaged parts inside.

When she picked it up and gave it a shake—

It rattled.

Loudly.

Which only made it look more like a junk heap, not worth inspecting.

Lin An was torn.

As a hardcore collector, he didn’t want to disassemble the keyboard just to smuggle it out.

What he wanted was an original, untouched piece—something worthy of becoming a family heirloom.

But the teacher at the warehouse door was known to do inspections.

And an intact keyboard had a high chance of getting confiscated.

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?”

“Wait—really?” Lin An’s eyes lit up.

“Swear to God. If I’m lying, I’m a dog. Anyway, I’m heading out. See you at the usual spot.”

“You’re not even gonna pretend to throw out some trash? Just for show?!”

Xia Hua waved her hand behind her and said without turning back, “No need. I’m not into that whole performative nonsense.”

It was mainly because she’d done a fat-burning workout the night before, and then went for a morning run again today.

Now her whole body ached—there was no way she could handle any kind of hard labor.

She walked out of the warehouse like nothing had happened.

The warehouse teacher saw her empty-handed and didn’t bother checking if she’d taken anything.

As usual, she went to the designated trash drop-off point, washed her hands, and waited for Lin An.

She knew him well, so she trusted him completely.

After all, if even your closest friend isn’t trustworthy, then what in this world still is?

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Lin An came into view.

He was walking fast, excitement practically glowing from his face.

No doubt—he’d successfully gotten the keyboard out.

“Hahaha! I had my friend pretend to trip and fall.”

“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.

Xia Hua simply held out her hands.

She took the computer tower from him.

Then pulled out her keys and started unscrewing the case.

A short while later, an i5 CPU and two RAM sticks sat neatly in her hand.

She tucked them carefully into her pocket.

With a wave, she said, “Alright, thanks for today. I’ve got something else to take care of, so I’ll be heading off.”

Still riding the high of his success, Lin An suddenly came back to his senses and called after her, “Hey! Wait a sec!”

“What?” Xia Hua turned around.

“I mean… you helped me out a lot, and I, uh, I…” He was clearly flustered.

Xia Hua replied offhandedly, “It’s not like I’m some keyboard fanatic. That thing wouldn’t have meant much to me anyway.”

“Then… how about I treat you to a milk tea?”

“On a diet. No thanks,” Xia Hua replied flatly.

“Then, uh…” Dammit, are you not even going to let me repay the favor?

Lin An glanced at the pocket where she’d stashed the i5 CPU.

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—”

“Is there anything else you still need?”

“Nope,” Xia Hua said. She’d already ordered the rest of the parts secondhand.

“Then, uh…”

Seeing how anxious he was, it was clear Lin An wasn’t the type who liked to owe people.

She thought for a moment.

There really wasn’t much else she needed.

Emmmm… Wait, there was one thing.

“I still need a drawing tablet,” she said. “If you really want to return the favor, get me one of those.”

“Deal.” Lin An finally breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll get one and send it to you in the next few days.”

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.

She really did need one.

All in all, today had been a pretty good haul.

Lin An stood there watching Xia Hua walk away.

Then looked down at the rare keyboard in his hands.

He still felt like he had to treat her to a milk tea to show his appreciation.