Chapter 8: Delivered to Your Doorstep

"Strawberries are just a fruit, tangy, sweet, soft, and packed with nutrients. See..."

Fana picked up a strawberry and cut it open, revealing glistening red flesh.

"Not just cute on the outside, but gorgeous on the inside too." Fana turned into a salesperson.

"Oh, got it, so she's selling strawberries." That guy who loved to stir up trouble seemed to think he had seen through Fana's scheme, and instantly got excited again.

"Trying to trick everyone into buying strawberries? No chance!"

Fana gave a faint smile. "That's right, I'm selling strawberries. I didn't steal, didn't rob. All my paperwork is legal and compliant."

"The strawberries have already passed the platform's sample safety inspection. They're non-toxic and healthy. Sir, if you don't like them, you don't have to buy them, but please don't act like a passive-aggressive jerk here. It's a real shame."

Fana's verbal assault was in full swing. "You look young and perfectly normal, so why do you insist on not acting like a decent person?"

A moment ago, Fana had used her mind to check the viewer's profile. His nickname was "Not Worth the Fight." His avatar was a side profile of a boy, probably himself, looking fairly clean-cut. Who would have thought he was so twisted inside?

Some viewers loved this kind of drama, and the barrage of comments instantly thickened.

"Not acting like a person, so what's he acting like?"

Fana rolled her eyes. "He likes being a dog! Not a single human word out of his mouth all day!"

Not Worth the Fight: "The streamer is attacking me personally! Careful, I'll report you!"

"Go ahead, report me, report me! I'm not scared!" Fana rolled her eyes again.

Even though she was a clueless newbie in this world, she liked to figure out every detail before doing anything.

Before going live, she had already read through all the reward and punishment rules of AurumStream.

The extent of what she had just said was not nearly enough to violate any rules.

Even if Not Worth the Fight reported her, it would not do any good.

Soon after, Not Worth the Fight vanished from the comments.

The stream was finally quiet, and Fana settled down to make strawberry jam.

Making strawberry jam was even simpler. All it required was patience and control over the heat.

She washed the strawberries, soaked them in salt water as usual, and once the water drained, she started making the jam.

Because the strawberries Fana grew herself were top-notch, the jam came out looking like crushed rubies.

"Looks pretty good."

"I finally get what it means to win over every woman's heart."

"But is this stuff actually edible?"

"I just looked it up. Strawberries are indeed a fruit included in the Imperial recipe guide, but very few people sell them. The only store I found is probably the streamer's."

"Kind of want to try it, but also a bit scared..."

"Oh, you guys are worrying over nothing. If there were a real problem, the streamer would not get away with it!"

"That's true..."

Seeing the lively discussion in the comments, Fana replied, "Don't worry, everyone. My ID is locked in by the platform. If you can't trust me, can't you at least trust the platform?"

Fana was not someone who argued forcefully, but what she said made most people feel she was reliable.

Almost the next second, Fana's online store received an order.

A comment flashed by: "Ladies, I bought a little first. I'll send it to my brother's lab later. Once the results come out, good or bad, we'll have solid proof."

"Go, sis, you're awesome!"

"I don't want to overthink it. I'll sacrifice my body for this experiment!"

Ding-dong. Fana got a second order.

"Tsk tsk, the viewers here are all loaded, just throwing money away." That Not Worth the Fight was back.

Before Fana could fire back at him, the comments started flooding.

"Dude, reporting did not work, so you're back to stalk the streamer?"

"A grown man being this petty all day. Honestly, it's hard on the eyes..."

Not Worth the Fight: "Everyone, I'm doing this for all of you!"

Not Worth the Fight never expected that after stirring up trouble on the streaming platform for so long, he would face his first Waterloo.

Not only had he failed to drive the streamer mad, but he had also been mocked by the other viewers.

"If you really care about everyone, then buy a jar of strawberries and try it."

"Yeah, and make sure to tell the truth afterward. That's what's actually good for all of us!"

"Have me buy her stuff?" Not Worth the Fight was furious. "Absolutely not!"

Not Worth the Fight was actually named Rylan Hawke, an eighteen-year-old kid from a famous military family in the Aethelgard Empire. But he had not inherited his elders' courage and bravery. Though his brain was a bit sharper than others, his emotional intelligence was rock bottom.

He had plenty of money. Rylan's monthly allowance alone was five hundred thousand imperial coins, and the price of a jar of strawberries was pocket change to him.

But he did not want to buy Fana's stuff. In his eyes now, Fana was nothing but an outright liar.

Yet more and more comments were telling him to buy it and prove himself, and the taunting was making Rylan's blood boil.

So he could not help but speak up in the stream: "Fine, I can buy it. I'm not short on cash. But if those strawberries taste bad, you better get the hell off AurumStream and Vendora yourself!"

Rylan made his bold claim, and if Fana did not honor it, he definitely had the power to make her unable to survive on either platform.

"And if my stuff tastes good, will you apologize to me?" Fana's face showed no expression, her tone flat and indifferent.

Rylan thought for a good while before replying, "Deal."

Fana raised a well-shaped eyebrow, a hint of disdain on her face. "Young master, your apology isn't worth much to me. Don't bet if you can't handle losing."

"If you're really sincere about betting with me, then if you lose, you'll handwrite ten copies of The Imperial Codex of Virtues and post them on your personal page. One wrong character costs you a hundred imperial coins, one missing copy costs you ten thousand. That's what a real bet looks like!"

Rylan never expected this small-time streamer to have such confidence.

But the casual tone in Fana's voice riled him up, and in a fit of haste, he agreed to the bet outright.

"Fine, then we'll bet exactly what you said, and I'll place the order right now!" Rylan was not about to waste more words.

He did not want to look at this arrogant little streamer for another second. He just wanted to chase Fana out of AurumStream like a drowned dog.

Rylan went straight to Vendora, found Fana's little shop, and ordered a pack of strawberries.

The reason he was so sure Fana was lying and scamming was that he had had the fortune to taste strawberries grown by his distant cousin.

The appearance was a bit different. His cousin's were uglier. But Rylan was certain it was the same kind of fruit.

Back then, he had had high hopes for the strawberries his cousin sent over, since cousin Talia was a top student in agricultural science at Aurelia University.

But that thing? After one bite, he had no confidence left to take a second one.