Chapter 55
As soon as Xie Mi said those words, they struck a chord with countless overworked corporate drones.
[Do you really have to be this real, Old Xie?]
[If my regular shift starts at five, fine, I can deal with it. But if they suddenly tell me to come in at five? Oh hell no!!!]
[Damn, I’m breaking down here, isn’t this exactly me?]
“Let’s be real, we’re all just wage earners working for money. Why can’t we say we’re tired? Has this world really gotten so tyrannical that even the right to say we’re exhausted is stripped away?”
“If you’re tired, just shout it out loud. If you want to complain, then curse like hell—fuck! Fuck!! Fucking fuck!!!”
“See? Things that could’ve been solved just by swearing a few times, why keep it bottled up? What, save it up until you develop breast nodules later?”
Arms folded, Xie Mi looked at Xu Shuangrong’s gradually pale face with a calm smile.
Then she dropped a classic line, “If you’re sick, vent it out—the sky won’t fall.”
[That makes way too much sense, holy shit!!!]
[Isn’t this more hype than Boruto?]
[I’m fired up! I’m going to steal every single AC remote from that shitty company today. If I’m not happy, no one else gets to be happy either!]
[I only live once! I’m gonna make sure I enjoy myself first!!!]
#XieMi The Ancient Greek Goddess of Anti-Overthinking#
At six in the morning, in packed subways and buses, weary commuters and students alike were all holding up their phones, watching the viral clip that had just hit the trending list.
That one-minute short video captured Xie Mi’s anti-overthinking speech on the show. People kept rewatching it, each time feeling more and more fired up.
The buses and subways, which had been filled with gloomy vibes, suddenly turned into raging bonfires!
“Well said!”
“Ahhhhh I quit! I’m resigning today! I already got diagnosed with breast breast nodules and I’m still slaving away for that shitty boss—why the hell should I?!”
“I’m going to tell the teacher that Li Shuai and those guys keep making me do their homework! They know I won’t refuse, so they’ve been guilt-tripping me with ‘friendship.’ Well fuck that, I’m done! I’m going straight to complain!!”
…
Another glorious tale was added to Xie Mi’s legend.
Xu Shuangrong, who had tried to build a “kindhearted” image by giving an empathetic speech, was instead slammed as “morally manipulative”—totally backfired on her.
Even Director Niu, who had just faced Xiao Jingxi’s questioning so confidently, now let out an awkward, guilty laugh.
After all, Xie Mi’s words resonated with the on-site staff as well, and since he was the one who’d dragged everyone out at 5 a.m., their resentful stares were now aimed squarely at him.
He quickly shifted the subject.
“Ahem! Anyway, let’s get to the main event. Since none of you have experience with clamming, I specially invited a local fisherman to teach us. Please welcome—”
“Mr. Diao Mao!!” (TN: Diao Mao = Similar pronunciation with hairy d*ck)
[Pfft]
[Diao what? Repeat that again, Diao what?]
That familiar name made Xie Mi shiver. She turned her head and saw a dark figure sprinting across the beach.
He was carrying a shovel and a bucket, striding forward like a monkey that had just been born.
“I—am—here—!!”
Yep, that voice was unmistakable.
But after just two days, the kid had gotten so tanned his facial features were almost unrecognizable.
“Good morning, everyone! Good morning, Sister Xie!”
Mao Mao ran straight up to her, flashing a wide grin that revealed a row of gleaming white teeth against his pitch-black face.
“How are you here?” Xie Mi couldn’t help asking.
Mao Mao giggled, covering his mouth mysteriously. “I followed Boss Zhang’s uncle to learn clamming, then saw there was a part-time gig here, so I came. Ten yuan an hour!”
Xie Mi was speechless.
What a tragic kid—and he’s still grinning.
Director Niu came over too. “Teacher Xie, this is the clamming instructor we hired. You know him?”
Xie Mi chuckled twice. “What a coincidence, he’s my assistant.”
“What?!”
Director Niu looked shocked, then regretful. “If I’d known he was someone you knew, we could’ve gotten a discount. Five yuan an hour would’ve been fine…” ( 5 yuan = 0.7 dollar)
“Are you even human?”
[Wow, look at that clear, innocent gaze. Definitely a college student.]
[Great, great, so us college students are just cheap labor, huh? Waaaaa]
[Fun fact: For 1,800 yuan you might not get a cleaning lady, but you can get a college student.]
[Comment above, we’re just online strangers, but your roses are starving [heartbreak].]
“In order to improve efficiency, please split yourselves into three groups for the clamming…”
Before Director Niu could finish, a breeze lifted Xie Mi’s hair.
Turning her head, she saw Shen Yanqing standing beside her at some point.
Looking at her calmly, he said, “By the principle of proximity, how about teaming up with me, Teacher Xie?”
[Did I see that right? Just now, Mr. Shen practically leaped across like a giant monkey!]
[Hey, upstairs, is that polite? Hahaha! Mr. Shen just has long legs, he’s not a giant monkey!!]
[Bro, could you be any more obvious?]
“I have a question,” Xie Mi didn’t answer Shen Yanqing right away. Instead, she asked Director Niu, “After forming teams, do we have to share whatever food we find?”
“Excellent question.”
Director Niu nodded approvingly. “That’s right, the food is not shared. Once you’re in a team, you only eat what your team gathers. So, don’t take this lightly.”
The others, who hadn’t cared much before, now looked serious.
After all, four people hadn’t had breakfast, and lunch was going to be very important.
“Xie Mi, team up with me.” Xiao Jingxi walked straight up to her.
She let out a laugh at his shamelessness. “You don’t actually think we’re on good terms, do you?”
His face stiffened. “Don’t joke around. If you team with me, I can at least guarantee you’ll have food. If you want lunch, stick with me.”
“Confident again, are you?”
“I’m a diving enthusiast. I’ll have a big advantage in the fishing part. This isn’t confidence, it’s just stating facts—”
“Oh?”
Shen Yanqing suddenly spoke up. “Oops, I accidentally tapped my phone and a page popped up. What’s this again?”
He looked lazily at Xiao Jingxi, eyes glimmering with a faint smile.
“Oh, turns out it’s my AOW diving certificate.”
Xiao Jingxi’s lips twitched.
Xie Mi immediately grinned. “Goodbye, ‘diving enthusiast.’ I choose AOW.”
[Absolute dimensionality reduction strike]
[Lmao, Xiao Jingxi dabbles in everything but masters nothing, yet he’s always so damn confident]
[Can’t believe Mr. Shen turned into a little green-tea manipulator! Who gets it?]
[Don’t you dare call him green tea, sob. He just wanted to make Old Xie happy, what’s wrong with that?]
[Question: How many times has Xiao Jingxi lost to Mr. Shen in this male rivalry now?]
[Serves him right. He could’ve just locked in Xu Shuangrong, but instead he suddenly turned to chase Xie Mi. Makes no sense, really.]
Face dark, Xiao Jingxi walked away. Xu Shuangrong hurried up to comfort him.
“Jingxi, you want to team with Teacher Xie, right? I can help you.”
He frowned. “Help me how?”
Xu Shuangrong gave him a mysterious smile, then turned to Shen Yanqing.
“Mr. Shen, may I request to join your team?”
