I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 145

Chapter 145: The Liveliness in This World Arises From Loneliness

 

Coming out of the café and walking towards Ai Luodi’s house, I saw many elementary and middle school students on both sides of the road, all dressed in school uniforms similar to mine. Groups of three to five, both boys and girls, seemed to have just returned from school.

 

However, the uniforms they wore were the standard uniforms of Shenzhen City, with slight differences from the exclusive uniform of Starlight Elementary School—especially noticeable in the girls’ uniforms. In comparison to the boys, the only difference was the bow tie on the chest, replaced by a bow for the girls, and the lower half consisted of thick trousers.

 

It was only after becoming a girl that I realized the existence of gender differences, and they were quite apparent. In this weather, the biggest advantage for girls was being able to wear skirts when going out, which boys couldn’t do. Moreover, skirts had better ventilation compared to trousers, similar to the difference between “liquid cooling” and “air cooling” in the field of computers.

 

Taking this into account, at Starlight Elementary School, the girls’ uniform was designed in a skirt style, not confined by so-called “rules.”

 

“Can you play computer tonight? Can I come to your place?”

“No, my dad is at home tonight. I can only play on my phone for an hour due to anti-addiction measures.”

“I don’t even want to play on my phone. My teammates have been getting worse recently, and they even call me an elementary school student…”

 

Calculating the time, it seemed to be the end of various tutoring classes. Compared to schools in the central area of Shenzhen City, the elementary and middle school students in the vicinity of Nanqi District were relatively “peaceful.” The competition was not intense, the location was remote, but still, many parents sent their children to various interest classes on weekends.

 

If they couldn’t have extra classes in the core subjects like math, science, language, and English, they sent their children to piano classes, dance classes, martial arts classes, calligraphy classes… Anyway, it was better than leaving the kids alone at home playing on the computer during the weekend.

 

This led to both sides of the road in Nanqi District being filled with elementary and middle school students on Saturday nights. Some wore city school uniforms, some wore regular children’s clothes, some wore taekwondo uniforms, and some wore ballet uniforms…

 

Even more magically, I, wearing the uniform of Starlight Elementary School, blended in with these kids without any sense of awkwardness.

 

“How did the incident where you stole money for games go?”

“What else could happen? I got beaten up, and they made me write a thousand-word self-criticism. Let’s not talk about it.”

“So, how much money do you have left now? Do you have fifty cents? I have a bit here, let’s buy some snacks.”

 

What frustrated me the most was that the average height of elementary school students seemed to have increased quite a bit compared to my generation. Or maybe everyone coming out at this time were middle school students. Anyway, standing among these kids felt like being the youngest schoolgirl.

 

There wasn’t a single child around shorter than me.

 

“Hehe, did you notice? We have a little sister following us.”

“Her uniform is from Starlight Elementary School, right? I remember their uniform is a skirt.”

“Did she just come back from school?”

“I don’t know, who cares? I don’t play with girls anyway.”

“What the heck, am I following you guys? I’m going to school!”

 

The words of a few kids left me bewildered and amused.

 

I don’t know why, but the current generation of kids gives me a particularly wild feeling. When we were kids, if we made any mistakes, we were always obedient. When out in public, we tried to avoid talking if possible. On the contrary, it seems like today’s elementary school students, who are probably spoiled at home, have no concept of “social anxiety.” As long as they are in a familiar environment, they dare to say almost anything.

 

But the strange thing is, despite having such courage, when their parents ask them to go to the market to buy vegetables, these kids become timid. At least, I used to hear the old men and women selling goods near the Wujia House apartment talking about how their children were introverted, too shy to buy vegetables or even change a light bulb.

 

While online or playing games, these kids might use all sorts of vulgar language with strangers, expressing their impatience. However, once back in the real world, they dare not speak to their elders.

 

Well… forget it, no need to stoop to the level of children.

 

In the end, it’s that girl Yin Xiamo who made me look so much like an elementary school student! Absolutely twisted sense of humor!

 

“……”

 

Following the small road outside the café and heading north, with my hair styled into twin ponytails, wearing a vacant-looking beret and a cute elementary school uniform, I finally experienced the feeling of everyone around casting “check out the loli” glances at me. There were even a few young people who took out their phones and snapped pictures of me.

 

“That little sister is so cute!”

“Her face is so chubby, her legs are so fair. She must come from a good family, right?”

“I remember that outfit, it seems to be from the school on Starry Garden Road? I can’t quite recall the school’s name.”

 

The various comments made it feel like a storm of attention would erupt online soon. The surrounding sound of cameras clicking left me feeling quite helpless.

 

“Shocking! A maid from a certain café is actually a legitimate elementary school student, working during the day and attending school at night.”

“A discussion on how the recent internet-famous café’s capitalist owner is manipulating elementary school students to work at the store.”

 

The current café was gaining popularity. If the pictures taken by those young people along the way were circulated, headlines like these were likely to spawn various unethical media reports. What would I say then? Would I claim to be a friend visiting her school? And then face questions like, “Why does an adult like you have an elementary school friend?” How would I respond to that? It’s a bit troublesome. I’ll just have to play it by ear.

 

Returning along the familiar path to Ai Luodi’s Starry Garden neighborhood, I entered the “community” and walked through the main road of the community, permeated by the fragrance of almond trees, to reach the vegetable garden behind the community.

 

It was 7:00 in the evening, and the sun had already set behind the mountains, leaving only a faint red glow near the horizon.

 

At the highest point of the vegetable garden, I could see the security booth near the entrance of Starlight Elementary School illuminated. Many buildings inside the school were brightly lit, numerous streetlights were on, and the metal guardrail used to block cars at the school gate was flickering.

 

I took out my phone and glanced at the time—7:20. Hmm… it seemed like it was almost time for the evening self-study sessions. How was I going to find their teacher? And why was the elementary school so peculiar? Evening self-study was one thing, but having many classes combined? Wasn’t that no different from university?

 

Pondering these thoughts in my mind, I continued walking towards Starlight Elementary School. It had been half a month since I, transformed by some unscrupulous Grim Reaper, became the present little girl. I had somewhat come to understand my current body.

 

Matching the superficial data, my height was now just under 140 centimeters, a complete “loli.” Although the proportions of this body were designed exceptionally well, with the length of the legs perfectly adhering to the golden ratio based on a height of 140 centimeters, both the thighs and calves appeared especially slender and soft. However, due to the short height, I still had a sensation of having… short legs while walking.

 

Furthermore, I believed this body had been “enhanced.” Besides the peculiar attributes mentioned by Yin Xiamo, such as the skin being “naturally fair,” “immune to tanning,” and “insect repellent,” it seemed that my body’s sensitivity, strength, and endurance were somewhat stronger than those of an ordinary person.

 

I mean compared to ordinary people of the same age, height, and weight. For example, the dressing table in the Wujia House apartment was a mini version, and the wood used was relatively lightweight. If it were an adult male, he could probably lift it with one hand. However, I needed to take breaks, resting for a while after moving a short distance, repeating the process several times to carry it upstairs.

 

If it were an ordinary little girl, someone who hadn’t exercised her arm strength much, hadn’t graduated from elementary school yet, and was around 140 centimeters, it wouldn’t be feasible for her to carry such a large item upstairs alone. I should be slightly “stronger” than a “same weight” little girl, just a bit.

 

To give an example… let’s say a just-turned-12-year-old girl, 140 centimeters tall, with all her strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, and other data at 1. Then I might be around 1.3.

 

I think this might be the limit that an ordinary human body can achieve.

 

“Hurry up, hurry up! Students behind, hurry up, don’t be late!”

 

Skipping through the vegetable fields where mosquitoes and bats could be seen everywhere, I arrived at the asphalt road next to Starlight Elementary School. From a distance, I saw a middle-aged woman at the school gate who looked like a head teacher continuously shouting to the students running towards this side, “Hurry up! Don’t be late!”

 

“Meow…”

 

I stealthily emerged from the vegetable garden’s small path like a little cat. What to do? Should I directly go and swipe the school card at the machine? I reached into the pocket of my skirt and took out Li Denghua’s school card. I looked at her passport-sized photo and then glanced at the school gate of Starlight Elementary School.

 

At this moment, only a small gate was open at the entrance of the school, with a card-swiping machine nearby. The barrier next to it was tightly closed, and the students were queuing up, orderly entering the campus through that small gate.

 

“Ding, off-campus stay, Class 5, Grade 3, Li Zihao.”

 

“Ding, off-campus stay, Class 1, Grade 6, Huang Xuan.”

 

Under the watchful eye of the seemingly fierce “head teacher,” these students conscientiously swiped their cards to enter the school one after another.

 

Come to think of it, it seems like I haven’t entered this kind of campus in over ten years, right? University gates don’t need card-swiping, anyone can enter. After entering the workforce, it became even less of an issue. Freedom.

 

Four years of university, seven or eight years of work… It should be more than ten years.

 

How nostalgic…

 

The passport-sized photo on Li Denghua’s school card was quite blurry, and the expression wasn’t as mischievous as the real Li Denghua. I don’t know if it’s the school’s printing or if she looked like this when taking the photo, but just by looking at the picture, it was challenging to recognize the child as Li Denghua. I don’t know how to describe it, but in reality, Li Denghua gave me a feeling of being mischievous, while the “Li Denghua” on the school card looked more dull.

 

Moreover, considering that Li Denghua herself has long hair, and it’s pitch dark everywhere in the late evening, even if some teacher were to check my school card, they wouldn’t be able to see much. Not to mention, there were no teachers checking the photos on the school cards when swiping into the school over here.

 

“…”

 

As time was getting later and the number of students around was decreasing, I had no choice but to take a risk! I popped my head out from the small path and ran towards the school gate.

 

“Five more minutes, hurry up, everyone!”

 

As I expected, due to the height issue, wearing the school uniform, I seamlessly blended in with the surrounding students, raising no suspicions.

 

Poor me, a sturdy and tall man of six feet, reduced to running errands at school in an elementary school girl’s uniform…

 

“Ding! Off-campus stay, Class 2, Grade 6, Wang Shuli.”

 

Under the cover of the night, I followed behind these kids, and when I was a few meters away from the “head teacher” at the entrance, I raised my hand in a polite gesture, “Teacher!”

 

“Hmm?”

 

The middle-aged woman, wearing glasses and dressed in professional attire, turned her gaze toward me and asked, “What can I help you with, student?”

 

“It’s just… if I want to attend the evening self-study… Where is the classroom?” I tried to use a humble tone. “Where is it?”

 

In theory, I could directly explain to this teacher that I was commissioned by someone to find a person, but doing so might have a taste of “deception” towards Li Denghua. So, unless absolutely necessary, I planned to use Li Denghua’s identity in the school to investigate a bit before confessing my real purpose to the teachers here.

 

“Is this your first time attending evening self-study?”

 

The “head teacher” at the school gate didn’t seem surprised by my question at all. Instead, she turned around as if it was a common occurrence and pointed not far to the left at a teaching building, saying, “The evening self-study classrooms are over there. What class are you in?”

 

“Class… Class 3, Grade 6.”

 

“All sixth graders are on the third floor. The third classroom on the third floor, Room 303. If you don’t know, ask a teacher on the first floor.”

 

“Alright.”

 

While speaking, a few students ahead had just swiped their cards to enter. I quickly used Li Denghua’s school card to “beep” on the card reader.

 

“Ding! Off-campus stay, Class 3, Grade 6, Li Denghua.”

 

“You’re in sixth grade and haven’t attended evening self-study before. Try to come when you can in the future,” the teacher remarked.

 

Just as I entered the school, the voice of the “head teacher” came from behind, “It’s already May. In a little over a month, you’ll be promoted to junior high. Don’t always stay at home playing, there’s a study atmosphere at school, you know?”

 

“Okay… okay.”

 

I maintained the “little lady” posture from when I entered, “Teacher, may I ask you a question?”

 

“What question?”

 

“Do… um, do you know about the ‘butterfly’?”

 

“Butterfly? What’s that?”

 

Under the curious gaze of the surrounding students, the “head teacher” frowned and said, “Are you trying to catch butterflies?”

 

“No, it’s… maybe a person?”

 

“In that case, I don’t know. How could a teacher remember the names of so many students? Go ask your class teacher.”

 

Impatiently, the teacher waved at me, “Alright, alright. It’s almost time for class. Go to the evening self-study first, and ask after class.”

 

“Okay, teacher, goodbye!”

 

Seems like it didn’t work out quite well. Was this a test question from Li Denghua, or was there some significance behind it?

 

As I followed the crowd towards the teaching building on the left side of the school, I silently pondered. When Li Denghua mentioned “butterfly,” her eyes kept flickering, as if she wasn’t describing a person but rather… some kind of prop?

 

The issue is, if the legendary “butterfly” is an object, there’s no reason why she wouldn’t dare to come and get it. If it’s a person’s name, it’s even stranger. Someone named Hu Die (Butterfly) sounds like a girl, and usually, teachers have some impression of kids with such names in school. Why wouldn’t this seemingly “respectable” “head teacher” know about it?

 

Or, as she said… maybe she genuinely doesn’t remember such a person? Perhaps I should go ask another teacher?

 

Take one step at a time. Consider this a break from the tension of work in the past few days. I really want to see what Li Denghua has up her sleeve.

 

“Every time… in the wavering loneliness, stand strong. Every time… even if deeply hurt, don’t shed tears…”

 

At this moment, the preparatory bell song “Invisible Wings” echoed from the teaching building ahead, accompanied by the increasingly impatient shouts from the “head teacher” behind: “Hurry up! The preparatory bell has rung, don’t dawdle!”

 

I once again took out my phone to check the time – 7:25 PM.

 

“Oh, such an advanced phone.”

 

At that moment, a boy happened to pass by me, saying, “Your mom actually spared no expense to buy you such an expensive phone?”

 

“Uh, yeah…” I quickly turned off the phone screen and held it carefully.

 

“Your mom is really nice to you.”

 

This boy didn’t seem malicious either. “I scored a perfect 100 in both subjects before, but when I told my mom I wanted to buy a better phone, she wouldn’t agree, saying I’d definitely use it for playing games.”

 

Well, isn’t that true? You can’t really buy a high-end phone for studying, can you? When I was your age, I had to go back during vacations and work in a sweatshop, making dumplings for others…

 

I remained silent for a moment. “Do you know about a ‘butterfly’?”

 

“Butterfly? What butterfly?”

 

The boy looked puzzled. “Are you planning to study insects?”

 

“No, it’s maybe a person, or it could be…”

 

I organized my words a bit. “It might be something else?”

 

“What’s that?”

 

The little boy looked at me as if I were a fool. “I don’t know, I’m not interested in bugs.”

 

I didn’t say it was a bug…

 

As we spoke, we arrived at the base of the teaching building. Because it was an elementary school, the structure was straightforward—enter through the main gate, and on the left was the large playground with various training equipment. A bit further back should be the office building. To the left was a large lawn, underneath which was the flag-raising platform, and to the right of the flag-raising platform was the office building.

 

It triggered memories for me. If I remember correctly, the elementary school I attended was similar to this one. The difference was that the school I attended twenty years ago was much more run-down, and the sports equipment wasn’t as “modern.”

 

“Don’t take out your phone during class, or the teacher will confiscate it.”

 

At the base of the teaching building, the boy walked straight towards the staircase. “What grade are you in?”

 

I blurted out, “Sixth grade.”

 

Wait, that’s not right. I’m an adult. Why did I say “sixth grade” so naturally?

 

“Wow.”

 

The boy, who was about 1.5 meters tall, exclaimed, “I thought you were on the first floor, at most second or third grade! Are you really in the sixth grade?”

 

Am I that small?

 

“Enough, I won’t argue with you. You girls are really strange, still so short in the sixth grade.”

 

I was about to say something, but the little guy walked straight into a classroom on the second floor and closed the door.

 

Following that, I overheard him talking to someone behind the closed door:

 

“Guess who I ran into when I came in? The senior girl upstairs!”

 

“I’ve never seen such a short female classmate before, it’s hilarious!”

 

“……”

 

I…

These words instantly made me feel the urge to rush in and give that guy a beating.

 

“Phew—”

 

Forget it, forget it.

I took a deep breath.

Don’t stoop to a child’s level.

 

Standing at the stairwell, I noticed the somewhat heavy school bag behind me. Come to think of it, does Li Denghua’s bag contain her textbooks and exercise books?

 

Since she handed me this bag, does it mean she agrees for me to check its contents?

 

If I’m going to be her private tutor in the future, it wouldn’t hurt to check her assignments in advance, right? To confirm where this child might be lacking… That should be okay?

 

With these thoughts in mind, I went up to the third floor and found the “third classroom” mentioned by the “instructor” earlier.

 

In comparison to the classrooms below, this one was packed with students who seemed diligently focused on their studies. The whole room was exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of pens dancing on paper and the flipping of pages creating a “sasa” noise.

 

What made me even more awkward was that the desks in the classroom were arranged in pairs, and every desk had someone seated. There wasn’t a single desk with both positions unoccupied.

 

After a quick observation, I walked over to a girl with a short ponytail in the back corner.

 

“Ding ling ling ling—”

 

Just as I entered the classroom, the bell for the beginning of the class rang.

 

“The new student, take off your hat.”

 

The teacher, who had been busy grading assignments with their head down, suddenly uttered this sentence. Startled, I quickly took off my beret and held it in my hands.

 

The teacher glanced at my phone, “During the evening self-study, pay attention not to use your phone, or else it will be confiscated.”

 

Alright…

 

After the teacher on the platform finished these two sentences, they lowered their head again to continue grading assignments. I quickly walked over to the girl with the short ponytail, pulled out a chair, placed my school bag down, and sat.

 

“Huh?”

 

Until this moment, the girl with slightly darker skin noticed my arrival. She looked at me and then glanced at the teacher on the platform.

 

“Is this your first time attending the evening self-study?” she asked.

 

“Yeah,” I replied, lowering my voice. “Hello.”

 

“Hello, I’m Zhou Xiaofei, from Class 6-3,” the girl with slightly darker skin said.

 

Not particularly skilled in socializing, she asked, “And you?”

 

“I…” Feeling a bit embarrassed after hearing “Class 6-3,” I hesitated for a while before whispering, “I’m also from Class 6-3.”

 

“No way?” The girl was puzzled. “You’re in our class? I… I don’t know you.”

 

I had to take out my school card and explained, “I took a semester off. I’m Li Denghua.”

 

Looking at the name on the school card, the girl suddenly realized, “I remember now! You’re the senior from the last school year who had to repeat because of hospitalization!”

 

“You know about it?” I asked.

 

“Yeah, I heard some things,” she said. “So, is your health better now?”

 

“It’s alright,” I decided not to dwell too much on these questions. “Let’s focus on doing homework for now.”

 

Since this girl knew about Li Denghua’s situation, I thought I might ask her about the meaning of “Hu Die” (butterfly) during the break after class. Considering the various bell sounds I heard at home, if I’m not mistaken, the evening self-study here should last for about half an hour. After that, there should be a break of around ten minutes before the second half-hour of evening self-study begins.

 

So, for now, let’s outline the plan—utilize this half-hour of evening self-study to check Li Denghua’s homework, understand where she’s lacking, and then, after class, directly approach the person on the platform who should be the grade director or the class teacher to gather information. If things don’t go well, I might have to reveal my identity. I only took an hour off tonight, and delaying too much might not be good.

 

“Alright,” seeing that I didn’t want to say more, the girl next to me, who introduced herself as Zhou Xiaofei, nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “You… you look really beautiful.”

 

“Huh?” I, who had just opened Li Denghua’s backpack, was momentarily stunned. Then, I responded to this girl with a faint smile, “Thank you, you’re beautiful too, very cute!”

 

“Oh, come on, I know how I look. Dark skin, small eyes, not attractive.” The girl spoke somewhat self-deprecatingly, then turned away, saying, “But still, thank you for saying that.”

 

Well… about being “cute,” I wasn’t lying. Except for having slightly darker skin, this girl indeed belonged to the adorable type—round face, single eyelids, very pleasant to the eyes.

 

However, considering that I didn’t come here to make friends today, I didn’t continue the conversation on this topic. After searching in the backpack behind me, I took out Li Denghua’s Chinese, English, and Mathematics books, and briefly flipped through some notes inside.

 

I could see that these three books were very clean, with the exception of a few worked-out solutions at the end of the math book, the entire book felt almost brand new. Was she not paying attention in class at all?

 

With this question in mind, I went on to search the backpack again. This time, I found a… diary? Is it a diary or something like essays?

 

The small book in my hand was noticeably different from those “exercise books” that looked like they cost less than a yuan—a hardcover, beautifully packaged, and seemed to be taken out frequently, showing some signs of wear and tear.

 

With the thought of “if it’s a diary, I won’t read it,” I flipped open the first page of this book:

 

?Dad, idiot, Dad is an idiot?

?Alone at home again, so bored?

 

The notebook was filled with crooked fonts and various doodles. Perhaps Li Denghua’s vocabulary wasn’t enough, as some words were replaced with pinyin:

 

?Dad never comes back, Huang Kaili keeps teasing me that I look like someone without a dad?

?The meaning of Jinx? Just Jinx, stupid?

?Why learn Chinese? It’s enough to understand lectures, right??

?If I get a perfect score in English, Mom and Dad probably won’t care about me anymore. They might not even go to the parent-teacher meeting…?

?What child prodigy, I don’t want to be…?

?What does “Dad went to get milk and never returned” mean??

 

“…”

 

Looking at the various doodles and sentences in the notebook, I suddenly felt like I had found a clue. Glancing at the teacher on the platform, I placed the notebook on the desk and continued reading.

 

?Even though my Chinese grades are very poor, why do they avoid me one by one when I ask them questions…?

?Eyes hurt so much?

?I feel like I shouldn’t have won that prestigious award, being called a genius again?

?This time, my Chinese exam score will be even lower—January 9, 2022?

?Left eye can’t see, covered with an eye patch?

?I am the strongest!?

?Burst, reality! Shatter, spirit! Disappear! This world!?

?Feeling a bit scared…?

?Seems like I have to drop out of school?

?If I’m hospitalized, will Dad come to see me often??

?Classmates said they will make a big gift for me, everyone will write blessings on it, and when I return to school after recovering, I can go and get it?

?I don’t hate them, they’re too hypocritical?

?Really going to the hospital…?

?…?

 

“……”

 

……