I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 118
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Chapter 118: Heading to the Cat Café in Shenzhen, Log in!
As for the novel group I created several years ago, my feelings for it are still deep. Although… um, in a sense, that group is no longer the original novel group.
When the group was first created, I distinctly remember that most members were old friends I met on the Tieba forum at that time. Later, perhaps everyone started families or became disinterested in novels. The initial “founders” left the group, disappeared without a trace, and we disbanded.
This situation persisted until my novel received recommendations, attracting a significant influx of readers. In the book review section, someone asked if there was a reader group. Since my own novel group had few members left, I made a few modifications to the name and publicly announced it.
Later on, as the novel reached a certain word count and was recommended regularly, more people started reading, and gradually, more joined the group. However, some people joined, saw that there were only a few members, realized that the atmosphere was different from what they imagined, or got into an argument with someone in the group, and they left one after another.
Over four years, the number of members in my reader group remained around two to three hundred people, becoming a small but overall good-natured community. As a lazy author who checks the backstage comments, reads reviews, and monitors various monthly ticket and reward situations whenever I have free time, I remember the IDs of those who frequently comment in the book review section or boast in the group very well.
In this reader group associated with my two novels, the members are generally divided into three factions. The first faction, and the largest and most active one, is the gaming faction. They primarily focus on competitive and humorous games, such as 300 Heroes, World of Tanks, and CSGO. When they play games, they directly use voice chat in the group, a behavior referred to as “??” (“drive”). There’s a rule that no matter who messes up, no one is allowed to scold them. If someone wants to play, they simply join the voice chat by saying “??” (“get on the car”).
Apart from gaming, members of this faction also discuss various games, as well as topics related to mobile phones, computers, and building PCs. For example, someone might share a story about getting a graphics card that hasn’t been used for several years from their relatives and making a few thousand by selling it, or they might discuss the excitement of pulling a rare SSR card in a game.
This faction is mainly managed by individuals with IDs “?????” (“World of Dreams”), “??” (“Ice Spirit”), “?????” (“Physics Duck”), and “????” (“Kill Kirito”). I recognize their IDs, and if I’m not mistaken, “World of Dreams” is inspired by a certain video creator, “Ice Spirit” seems to be from a game called “Dragon Nest,” with corresponding IDs like “??” (“Fire Dance”), “????” (“Time and Space Lord”), and “????” (“Dark Queen”). The name “Physics Duck” is derived from the character Nyaruko in the anime “Nyaruko: Crawling With Love!,” with “???” (“Physics”) originating from Nyaruko’s weapon, the “Physics Sword,” and “??” (“Duck”) being a shorthand for the pronunciation of “Nyaruko”[1]. In the group, however, everyone usually just calls him “Duck,” and this person serves as the group’s comedic relief.
Lastly, there’s “????” (“Kill Kirito”), which seems to be a meme from the game “300 Heroes.” Apparently, in this game, there are numerous memes related to the hero “Kirito Kirigaya”, similar in nature to Yasuo in “League of Legends” – joyful, somewhat prone to targeting others, handsome, and almost every round someone picks him. The probability of getting a problematic player is particularly high. Subsequently, someone issued a call to “Kill Kirito” and promoted it on a certain random matching app. At that time, everyone would anonymously use the app for random matchmaking. If they encountered someone of the opposite gender, they would send a message like “?????” (“Kill Kirito?”). If the other person was also a fan of the game, they would respond with something like “??????” (“Madoka is incredibly strong”), indicating that they, too, were a 300 Heroes player. Then, both parties would coincidentally end the “date.”
As for the “Kill Kirito” in my reader group, I truly never expected her to be a girl. In my memory, she often played games with Ice Spirit, Duck, and others, and her conversations in the group were sometimes even more “greasy” than mine. She would comment on explicit images with phrases like “Do you have more after this? My friend wants to see” or “White stockings are great,” and occasionally, she would actively participate in sharing such images. Her QQ profile indicated a “male” gender, and the ID “Kill Kirito” didn’t seem like it could belong to a young lady. The revelation came only after meeting her offline—she turned out to be a female college student who cosplays as Kirito, and she doesn’t even need to buy wigs.
As for Maple, she represents the second faction of readers in the fan group. These readers are typically more reserved, occasionally participating in discussions about novel plots or recent interesting events. They share cute pet videos from websites like Tongmeng Net but seldom play games or engage in gaming-related discussions. Their presence in the group is relatively limited, and at least until now, I never connected “Kill Kirito” and “Maple” as they seemed completely unrelated in the group.
“Kill Kirito” has a more aggressive personality, enjoys gaming, and likes various explicit topics. Surprisingly, she can seamlessly integrate herself into discussions about laptops and other topics that typically interest boys. On the other hand, Maple is a pure and innocent “soft girl” who doesn’t play games, and her name and style are quite different from “Kill Kirito.”
And shockingly, they happen to be roommates in the same university? Is there a hint of a more ambiguous relationship between them? My worldview feels like it’s collapsing.
“I… I do remember.”
In the slightly cool café with the air conditioning on, facing the question from “Kill Kirito” in front of me, it took me quite a while to connect this girl with a certain group member from my memories of the past few years. I quickly pulled out my phone, opened the QQ group, and found a member who often bragged in the group, with a group level already reaching 100.
“Are you…are you sure you’re not mistaken? Are you Kill Kirito?”
“You can call me Tongtong as well.”
The girl in front of me, dressed in the uniform from the GGO game, seemed entirely unbothered by the glances from the surrounding crowd. “My real name is Cai Jingtong. She…” As she spoke, the girl who called herself Tongtong turned to glance at the girl behind her, “Maple.” She seemed hesitant for a moment, as if unsure whether to reveal her friend’s name, and after a few seconds, she continued, “You can call her Lulu or Juan Juan.”
What on earth is Juan Juan?
“Lulu’s two favorite anime are ‘BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense’ and ‘Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online.’ The full name of the female protagonist in the latter is Xiao Bi Lei Juan Xian (Karen Kohiruimaki), that’s Juan Juan. Originally, I planned to have her cosplay as that P90 Pink-Haired Girl, but because the anime’s popularity is so low and there were no costumes available online, I gave up.”
“Ah…”
At the signal from “Kirito,” the girl behind, “Lulu,” once again retreated shyly behind her shield. She nervously surveyed the customers around who were showing keen interest in this direction and said, “H-hello, Sister Nuo’er, are you really our group leader?”
Can I say I’m not?
I can accept Maple being a girl, but “Kill Kirito” is also a girl, and I am just…
At this moment, the meme of someone claiming to be an otaku but turning out to be surrounded by high school beauties flashed in my mind – I fell for it. In reality, everyone was a high school beauty, and I’m the only true otaku.jpg.
“So, I told you a long time ago, the group leader is a girl. When I recommended this book to you, I predicted it. Being able to describe the emotions of the female lead so well and having this writing style, most likely, it’s a girl. You still didn’t believe me.”
The girl who called herself Tongtong patted the shoulder of the girl behind her, Maple, and said, “Now you believe, right? I’ve had experience pretending to be an old man in that group for so long, I can easily tell the group leader is just pretending.”
No… ma’am, I really wasn’t pretending.
At least, I used to be a genuine uncle. It’s just that now…
I don’t know how to explain it to you, but the truth is, I used to be an older guy, but not anymore.
And, to be honest, you’re really skilled at pretending to be an old guy in the group. Using the ID “Kill Kirito” with a male Kirito avatar, and in your profile pictures, there’s no trace of anything “feminine.” When playing games with others, you even flawlessly use a voice changer to the point where they can’t detect any flaws. Just in these aspects alone, you’re much better than me.
I told Pipi and the others that I made up having a voice changer, but only you actually have one.
“So, both of you…”
To ease the awkwardness, I forcibly changed the topic, gesturing towards the electronic screen on the table and the QR code, and handed over the menu. “Is there anything you’d like to order? Everything in our shop is 20% off today!”
“Uncle… cough, no, Nuo’er, the makeup you’re wearing today is a bit too anime-inspired.”
“Tongtong” took the menu, graciously avoiding further discussion on this topic.
“Your cuteness is somewhat unreal. Otaku guys might like this style, but regular people might think it’s a bit much. Of course, I think it’s pretty good. After all, I’m a fat otaku too.”
Huh?
You… a fat otaku?
I scrutinized the “Kirito” in front of me.
The self-proclaimed “Cai Jingtong,” a female college student, estimated her height to be close to 1.7 meters. She described herself as handsome, with a modest chest, probably at the same size as Miss Grim Reaper. Arms and thighs didn’t appear too thick even through her clothes. Well, she looked like she might weigh around 100 kilograms.
Can someone like her really call herself a “fat otaku”?
Comparatively, the girl behind her, “Maple,” looked a bit better. She had a similar height and figure to Ai Luodi, with short hair and shy big eyes.
If their relationship at school has surpassed mere friendship, according to the specialized terms in the “yuri” community, it’s a “D” and a “S” situation, with the one having long hair being the “D.”[2]
“Do you have any combo meals for two here?”
Ordering like a considerate husband, “Tongtong” carefully read through the menu, discussing various dishes and services: “Fried chicken, steamed chicken, and milk tea? Free cat-petting? A photo with a maid for just one yuan? This place is so cheap…”
Setting the menu aside, Tongtong looked at me with some disbelief. “How can taking a photo only cost one yuan each time? Can you really make money like that?”
“Hello?”
At this moment, two girls who had been playing with cats not far away cautiously approached, subtly indicating “Kill Kirito” and “Maple” with their eyes. “Is this… your café’s special performance?”
“No.”
I quickly shook my head. “They’re customers.”
“We’re here to eat and catch up with an old friend.”
Tongtong, looking quite dashing, sat down in the chair and placed the “lightsaber” to the side. “My wife and I are about to graduate from college, and I wanted to have a little fun with her, so I ordered these costumes and came to play.”
“Ah!”
The girl who had been hiding behind the shield, Maple, immediately peeked out. “Who’s your wife? Don’t act like this outside…”
“You see, she can’t handle it. It seems I haven’t trained her enough, not open-minded enough.”
Tongtong glanced at the girl behind the person who spoke. “Are you all here to play together?”
“Yeah, we saw the advertisement on Tongmeng Net, saying that you can pet cats for free here, so we wanted to check it out.”
The girl nodded, looking very happy. “And it turns out there are indeed a lot of cats here, all kinds of breeds. It’s so much fun…”
“Lulu also likes cats, but she’s a bit shy.”
Tongtong pushed “Maple” next to her. “Weren’t you saying you wanted to play with cats the whole time in the car? Why are you so shy now that we’re here?”
“Ah…”
Seemingly a bit socially anxious, Maple continued to hide behind the shield. “I… I’m fine just watching them.”
“The menu says it’s one yuan for a photo here. Can we take pictures with anyone?”
The girl beside us interjected, “Is it also one yuan for taking pictures of customers or cats? In case someone secretly takes pictures of you, would you notice?”
“It’s only for taking photos with maids that we charge. Feel free to take pictures otherwise.”
I smiled, explaining, “When we say ‘maids,’ we mean the waitresses in maid costumes here, like me and the one over there… Xiamo on the cat side, Sister Ouyang in the kitchen, our head maid. If you want to take a photo with us, there’s a charge because it requires our maid’s time, which is considered a service fee. You can even request specific poses as long as they are appropriate, since it’s a service that takes up our time.”
Then, after a moment of thought, I added, “Taking pictures of the environment, the cats, or even directly taking pictures of us is free, as long as it doesn’t involve requests for a photo with a maid.”
“Wow! That’s so considerate!”
Hearing me say that, the girl became even happier. “Free cat-petting, free photography, and we can freely use the air conditioning… It seems like the new café has really generous promotions.”
“This doesn’t fall under promotional items…”
I maintained a smile, “Even if you come to play in the future, taking photos with the cats will be allowed, and there won’t be any charges.”
If I’m not mistaken, most of the customers who came to the café early in the morning on May 10th, aside from a few who had coupons from Tongmeng.net for discounted breakfast, were probably streamers.
These content creators are likely still streaming or recording videos at this moment. If we leave a good impression on them, there will surely be a wave of publicity and traffic after they release their content.
“For instances like this one…”
The girl speaking held her phone and gestured to some features on the app, “With this tipping feature, if I directly tip you, how much do you receive?”
“The full amount.”
I eagerly opened a section for her, saying, “Here are the details. When you request to take photos with the maids, pose in a certain way, and give tips to the maids, the money goes directly to the maid’s account. This is not part of their salary. Only renting items in the café, purchasing goods and meals, and consuming in the café will enter the cafe’s company account. The earnings are calculated at the end of the month.”
I had done some calculations in the past few days. In places like Shangjing Cat Maid Cafe, not considering small incomes like tipping maids and taking photos, the average spending per person in the store is around 30 yuan. After deducting costs, we can make an average of 8 to 15 yuan from each customer.
During the lunch peak, the number of customers in the store generally stays around 20 people, and in the evening, it’s roughly 30 people. The peak period lasts for 2 hours, with an average time of 20 minutes per person in the store eating and interacting with the cats. During the lunch peak, there are approximately 100 people, and in the evening, about 200 people. Adding the scattered customers throughout the day, we can expect around 300 orders per day. These are the data from the first few days before the new café officially opened. In the best-case scenario, the daily net profit seems to be around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan, resulting in a monthly profit of around 100,000 yuan.
Currently, the store has two chefs, one staff member, a delivery truck driver, and us four maids. Excluding Ouyang Xue, there are already seven people. My base salary is relatively high, and with commissions, it’s estimated to exceed 10,000 yuan per month. Ouyang Xue didn’t mention the salaries of others, but it certainly won’t be less than 6,000 yuan per month. Considering these salaries, after paying us, there isn’t much money left in the company account.
Moreover, there’s the rent for the storefront itself, maintenance costs for various items in the café, and the expenses for cat food, cat litter, and other necessities for the cats. Don’t underestimate these little cats, even with affordable sources for supplies, with sixty cats, the monthly cost for food alone would exceed 10,000 yuan. Cat litter is another significant expense, not to mention various promotional fees, advertising costs, utilities…
If we go by the data from the first few days of operation, this month’s cat cafe is definitely operating at a loss. Not just a loss, but also requiring an injection of several hundred thousand yuan in funds. Now, it depends on how well those video creators and streamers who visited after May 10th, especially from Tongmeng Net, promote our cafe. Although, as an adult, I am well aware that large companies like Tongmeng Net wouldn’t care much about the small profits of a cafe, and the higher-ups won’t be concerned whether it operates at a loss or not.
True capitalists have no interest in jobs where time and labor are exchanged for returns. Those who play with money only care about stock prices, market capitalization, and similar metrics. To put it simply for beginners, it’s about “reputation.” When the cafe gains reputation and becomes well-known, it can boost the reputation of the business street, increase the visibility of the business street, and the business street can flourish, quickly triggering a chain reaction, influencing the surrounding land prices and visibility.
According to Su Yunjin, the area near the business street in Nanqi District is already under the control of the Shenzhen City government and has started a 58 billion yuan large-scale project. Many investors have been attracted, including some big-brand owners and shareholders. As long as the surrounding land prices rise and buildings are constructed, various projects can be initiated.
Because Nanqi District itself is considered an unpopular area, building houses and investing in such an area is inherently risky. Developers may invest and build, but if others don’t have confidence, the stock still won’t rise. However, if a particular location or project in this area gains popularity, similar to “Shangjing Cat Cafe,” it can boost visibility in the surrounding area. Excellent online promotion can attract a large number of visitors and maintain popularity, making it easier for the stock prices of new companies and projects in the vicinity to rise.
In this larger context, the café’s revenue itself is indeed not that important. As long as Ouyang Xue can make the higher-ups believe that “both the café and the business street will thrive,” it becomes easy to apply for various early-stage funds. Simply put, while the big shots above play with finance and stocks, individuals like us—little maids, small fry—focus on the café’s revenue and how much salary we can get each month, emphasizing the brand value.
“Full amount, that’s great. I felt tipping was too little when I read your book before. With full amount here, I’m going for it.”
My explanation with that girl prompted “Tongtong” to directly take out her phone and scan the QR code on the table with a “DiDi” sound. Before long, a notification and announcement appeared on the central screen in the hall—
“Thanks to the users Tongtong and Lulu for tipping 1000 fire coupons to the maid Nuo’er!”
“Hey!”
Hearing the announcement, “Maple” at the back couldn’t sit still, “Naming this is too weird!”
“Haha, anyway, you can definitely change it. It’s not like you can’t change names, right?”
Tongtong laughed like a boy and tapped a few times on her phone. “Alright, the first name change is free, the second one costs ten bucks. The people who designed this system are really geniuses.”
“Ah-choo…”
As Tongtong finished speaking, Ouyang Xue, who seemed not to have fully recovered from an illness, walked over. “What’s going on? Is this some kind of… cosplay?”
“They are my readers.”
I hurriedly explained, “From my reader group.”
“Oh…”
Ouyang Xue nodded in understanding, “So early.”
“Nuo’er is so cute. Of course, we have to come early.”
Tongtong grabbed “Maple” beside her, saying, “If I didn’t already have Lulu, I might have made a move on Nuo’er by now.”
“What are you saying!”
Maple at the back put down her shield, saying, “I won’t talk to you if you keep joking!”
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry, Lulu, don’t be angry. I’ll order something for you… something…”
Tongtong took out her phone, “I’ll order your favorite egg tart, one Portuguese egg tart, and let’s get two servings of xiaolongbao (small Chinese steamed bun). Also, a bowl of medicinal chicken soup, a big one.”
I quickly noted down these dishes on paper, “Anything else?”
“There’s also…”
The girl in front of me glanced at the nearby cat living area, “Is cat cuddling really completely free here? Can I cuddle cats while eating?”
“Yes, you can, but doing so may easily get cat fur on you. If you actively bring a cat over, you’ll need services like a lint roller and a cat teaser, which can cost anywhere from one to ten yuan per use.”
I gestured towards her phone, “The service list is all there.”
The girl was delighted, “Can I really bring the cats over?”
“Well… as long as the cats are willing.”
After some thought, I added, “If you want to hold a cat, it’s recommended to choose the ones that are more lazy and affectionate. Feed them while petting them. Otherwise, the cat may get impatient, and if the cat is unwilling, it’s better not to force it, as it may lead to injuries.”
Although all the cats in this café have their vaccinations up to date, I feel it’s better to be clear about these things and try to avoid them as much as possible.
“I want two… no, one will do. A well-behaved, affectionate one, easy to pet and cuddle, preferably with more fur. Lulu really likes cats, but she can’t have one at home. She came here today to enjoy some cat cuddling.”
“Snacks, I can handle. As long as it behaves… are there cats like that?”
Affectionate, easy to pet and cuddle? And it has thick fur?
I pulled down the microphone of my headphones, “Xiao Mo, bring Dingman over here.”
Soon, Yin Xiamo brought a somewhat bewildered Dingman over, “Customers?”
“Yeah, they’re my book friends from the group.”
I took Dingman from Yin Xiamo and handed it to “Maple”.
“This one is easy to cuddle and pet, and it has a lot of fur. If you don’t like this color, there’s a white one, but it’s not as obedient as this one.”
“Such a big cat?!”
It’s evident that Maple hasn’t interacted much with cats. She cautiously held Dingman in her arms, “What kind of cat is this?”
“Maine Coon, one of the largest domestic cat breeds. This one is called Dingman, a male. You can basically pet him all over.”
I added, sensing it might sound inappropriate, “Except for the ‘boy’s thing’.”
“Ding Dong! Welcome!”
“Wait a moment, you can interact with the cats first. I’ll go welcome the new customer.”
I placed the written note on the table and picked up the copy paper, then walked towards the entrance, saying, “Welcome! Please come in, both of you.”
The new customers were two young individuals dressed like college students. In recent days, the customers of the cafe consisted mainly of college students, local anglers, and a few small groups of families. Overall, college students made up the majority, with a balanced gender ratio. The male customers were more interested in the maids and food, while the female customers were more inclined towards playing with the cats and taking photos.
“Wow! Seeing you in person is amazing.”
The two young men who entered seemed very excited. The one on the left exclaimed, “When watching the promotional videos on the website, I didn’t believe it. I even bet with my roommate that there couldn’t be such perfect girls in reality, but… cough, sorry, I got carried away.”
“She looks even cuter than in the videos. They must have used filters in the videos, it didn’t seem real.”
The other guy chimed in, “Is this not child labor?”
“Thanks, but I’m already an adult.”
I put on a professional smile, ready to guide the two customers to a nearby two-person table.
“Ohh, there are Kirito and Maple!”
As we walked towards the table, these two college students noticed Kirito and Maple on the other side enjoying the company of the cats. They immediately became curious and asked, “Is this your café’s special program?”
“No,” I shook my head. “They are just regular customers, and the clothes are brought by the customers themselves.”
“So, you guys allow cosplay here?”
I found it a bit strange, “Yes, we don’t prohibit it.”
“Tsk tsk, in that case, I might as well have some fun too.”
The guy on the left seemed to recall something and pulled the other guy, saying, “Come on, let’s go back and get our battle outfits, the one from Kamen Rider Saber. You, hurry and bring the set you just bought.”
“Sorry, Little sister Maid, we need to go change clothes. We’ll be back in a bit!”
“Eh?”
Watching the two guys walk away, I was a bit dumbfounded.
“Ding dong! Welcome!”
At that moment, another customer walked in.
“Is this place hosting a comic convention?”
This guy walked straight towards me as soon as he entered, “Can I wear any clothes?”
“Uh…”
I was a bit caught off guard, and after organizing my thoughts for a while, I finally said, “Any clothes that are appropriate… are all acceptable.”
“So saying that makes me feel relieved. Last May Day convention, I had to work overtime at my crappy company and couldn’t go to the comic convention. I bought clothes for nothing. Now, there are ladies here playing cosplay. I have to go back and change clothes to join in.”
After speaking, the guy walked straight out, saying, “Remember to save me a spot.”
What are they up to?
“Nuo’er, I feel like the atmosphere in the café is going to change today.”
In confusion, Ouyang Xue walked over, opened the forwarded messages on the mobile QQ group, and pointed to the window where Tongtong and Maple were.
“A few tourists passing by seem to have posted their pictures online. Several anime groups I joined have received messages saying that we are hosting a small comic convention here. Many cosplayers who missed the May Day convention at the convention center seem to believe it.”
“Now, it seems like it’s too late for clarification.”
“……”
……
“??” (“Duck”) = Y?zi
“???” (“Nyaruko”) = Nài yà zi
D = Dominant
S = Submissive