Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Collapse of an Adult, Just in an Instant
In that comment section, it seemed netizens were so thoroughly repressed that they were frantically dropping jokes.
"That up released a new video again! Everyone remember to hit like, subscribe, and ring that bell before watching. If you’re late, it might not just be you getting ’sent off,’ but your entire building!"
"For the safety of your neighbors’ lives and property, all dangerous activities are prohibited while watching the video. And definitely don’t just mooch by watching for free!"
"I just finished the video. It was brutal! Someone calculate the extent of psychological trauma and the shock level for all the property owners in that building!"
"This time, the up was actually quite kind. He didn’t even ’send off’ the property management. Are they keeping such useless property management around for Chinese New Year or something?"
"Maybe he’s planning to send them to jail to celebrate the New Year."
"..."
Qin Mu glanced at the comment section, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
My video this time... was actually quite low-key. I only ’sent off’ one person, he thought. As for the negligent property management... I really wanted to ’send’ them away too, but I lacked evidence and specific charges.
「Half an hour later.」
After scrolling through the comments, his stomach began to growl. He hadn’t eaten all afternoon and was now quite hungry.
But the takeout he had ordered an hour ago was already overdue, and it still hadn’t arrived.
The delivery rider hadn’t even called him.
Qin Mu frowned, opened a food delivery app, and checked his order’s location.
He found that his order was constantly about 500 meters away from him.
It kept circling the other residential complexes in the vicinity.
The delivery rider seemed to have completely forgotten his order.
After a brief thought, he picked up his phone and dialed the rider’s number.
"Hello, why does my order keep showing as being outside the complex but not delivered? It’s been overdue for ten minutes now."
Over the phone, the delivery rider, who sounded out of breath as if running through a residential complex, said, "Sorry, a few other orders are about to be overdue too. I’ll come over right after I deliver these. Please wait a moment."
After speaking, he seemed to enter an elevator, and the signal abruptly cut off.
The call disconnected.
Qin Mu scowled, roughly understanding the situation.
This delivery rider... when handling multiple deliveries, is prioritizing those that are about to be overdue. Since my order is already overdue, it’s been pushed to the very end. That’s why my food keeps appearing nearby but never actually arrives, always showing up in other residential complexes.
Delays were actually quite common when ordering takeout.
Most of the time... it’s because riders try to earn a bit more by handling many orders at once. No matter how they manage their time, some orders inevitably get neglected.
"Oh well, I’ll just wait a bit longer," Qin Mu thought, frowning again but deciding not to press the rider further.
Instead, he endured his hunger and continued to wait, keeping an eye on his takeout’s location.
However, another hour passed.
He noticed his takeout was still meandering around the nearby residential complexes.
At its closest, it was less than 200 meters away, but it was never delivered to him.
It was now more than an hour past the estimated delivery time shown on the app.
"This rider... surely he hasn’t forgotten my order, has he?" Qin Mu wondered, touching his stomach, which was starting to cramp from hunger. His expression turned grim.
He had just returned from a court hearing today and hadn’t eaten much on the way.
He hadn’t expected his takeout to be delayed by over an hour!
During this hour, the delivery rider had been frantically busy with other deliveries, seemingly having a grand time.
As for his takeout... it was as if the rider had completely forgotten it, tossing it to the back of his mind.
"Are you forcing me to give you a bad review?"
Qin Mu took a deep breath and, with a decisive tap on his phone, canceled the order.
He also left a review for the delivery rider: "Terrible attitude, severely delayed delivery."
Usually, he never bothered to leave reviews when ordering takeout.
But a delay of an hour was simply too outrageous.
Food is paramount. I ordered takeout because I was hungry. A delay of ten-odd minutes is understandable, but an hour is just too much, he reasoned.
Then, after the order was canceled, he immediately placed a new one for a single serving of spicy hot pot.
「Thirty minutes later.」
The takeout arrived on time, without the slightest delay.
"Finally, I can have dinner," Qin Mu thought with relief.
Sitting in the dining room, Qin Mu looked at the steaming hot spicy hot pot in front of him, ready to eat.
DING-DONG—
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Qin Mu paused, then stood up and opened the door.
He saw a delivery man in a yellow uniform standing there.
Before Qin Mu could speak, the delivery man pointed at the takeout in his hand and asked, "Is this the spicy hot pot you ordered?"
Qin Mu glanced at the takeout. He nodded.
This must be the rider from the order I canceled,
Qin Mu thought.He frowned slightly and said coolly, "I’ve already canceled that order. There’s no need for you to deliver it."
He was about to close the door, but the delivery man forcefully held it open.
"Canceled the order? Fine, cancel it, but why did you also have to leave a bad review?"
"Do you know how hard it is for us to deliver takeout? The platform exploits us, the restaurants look down on us, and you customers are always rushing us, rushing us, rushing us! One little thing goes wrong, and you slap us with a bad review!"
"Because of your one bad review, my entire day’s work was for nothing!"
"The restaurant owner just chewed me out, said I ruined their shop’s reputation! I told them I was about to deliver it, so why did you still give me a bad review?!"
The delivery man’s eyes were bloodshot as he railed at Qin Mu, his voice thick with complaints and accusations.
His emotions grew more intense.
As he spoke, he even threw the spicy hot pot he was holding toward Qin Mu’s doorstep.
CRACK—
The plastic container shattered.
The soup from the hot pot spilled everywhere, pooling at the entrance.
Seeing this, Qin Mu’s expression hardened.
He was just about to retort.
But then he saw the delivery man crouch down, a grown man suddenly breaking down on the spot.
He started to sob.
The long-accumulated pressure seemed to burst forth from the delivery man in that instant.
He could no longer control his emotions and just crouched there, head down, crying bitterly.
"I’m getting married this year," he choked out between sobs. "I was just trying to earn more money, save up for the betrothal gift and the wedding."
"I don’t have much education, so I can’t get an office job. I deliver takeout twelve hours a day, working myself to the bone, day in and day out, and my girlfriend still complains I don’t earn enough..."
"I didn’t want your order to be late either! But yours was already overdue, and other people’s orders were about to be overdue too. I had no choice but to deliver theirs first."
"My parents are also getting old..."
He remained half-crouching outside the door, sobbing and pouring out his grievances.
He vented all the pent-up frustration he felt.
Qin Mu just stood there, without saying a word, silently listening.
Life is never about poetry and romance; it’s about the nitty-gritty of daily survival, and no one has it easy.
And this rider... had clearly been shouldering pressure from his family, his girlfriend, and society all along. That bad review was just the final straw that made him break down.