I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 162
Chapter 162: Like, Lily Flowers, Real Magic
Coming out of the principal’s office, I waited for a while at the entrance of Starlight Elementary School. After roughly organizing the current situation, I took out my phone and glanced at the time.
Hmm… for some reason, I always feel a bit disoriented.
The sky over Shenzhen City is almost completely dark, nearing 8 o’clock. I can see elementary school students panting as they rush towards the school gate with their short legs.
Then there’s that middle-aged woman who seems like the headmistress shouting all kinds of things—
“Hurry up, all of you! The bell is about to ring, why are you so slow?”
“You there, run! What are you thinking?”
“Swipe your cards, swipe your cards!”
In the midst of this hurried crowd, I, holding my phone and standing still, appear somewhat out of place. Passing elementary school students continuously cast curious glances in my direction.
“Classmate, aren’t you leaving?”
“Girl, the bell is about to ring, stop daydreaming.”
“…”
It seems like this world has always been like this. People hurry past one another, walking by one pedestrian after another, and these pedestrians will soon be busy with their own affairs, passing by other pedestrians.
The friends and classmates I met in the orphanage when I was a child were like this, and the friends and classmates I met in school after growing up are the same.
Have I… been walking too fast during this period?
Looking around, I jogged to a corner under the exercise equipment, staring at the photo of myself and Yin Xiamo on the phone screen, swiping the screen a few times.
Xiamo should have already gone to the café, looking for Ouyang Xue for some “guidance,” I suppose. Ouyang Xue knows how to manage the Tengmeng website account and how to deal with various unexpected events.
Xiamo probably really hopes that our account on Tongmeng can be known by more people because that means more people will come to bless our relationship. This, in turn, can boost the popularity of the café and, consequently, my own popularity. Maybe it will even lead some idle individuals to read my novels, ultimately increasing our income.
Since the café and Ouyang Xue became popular, I’ve been receiving one “harassment message” after another—requests for collaboration, suggestions for selling things, suggestions for me to switch careers and become a voice actor, and even attempts to poach me.
Now, in real life, there are more cooperation requests similar to the one from the school principal of this school…
Although I sympathize with the situation at the elementary school here, I really haven’t been able to free up my time recently. Every day, I work as a maid at the café, and when I come back, I write one or two chapters of a novel to earn some extra income. If there’s still time left, I try to give Li Denghua some tutoring. Currently, these are already my limits.
Actually, this situation is similar to when a novel becomes “popular.” When an author’s novel becomes popular, the comment section is flooded with messages like “Already liked and subscribed, please return the favor.” Some external editors from other platforms also leave comments like “What’s the reader group?” Once a real reader replies with the group number under such a comment, these editors directly search for the reader group, copy the group owner’s information, and then try to add the author on QQ, asking if they want to start another book on their website.
Most online editors are okay. If negotiations don’t work out or if the author doesn’t have time to write, they move on. The problem lies with those “brushing orders” studios. They add a bunch of accounts and ask the author if they want to manipulate data. The author’s attitude can’t be too bad, or if they inadvertently provoke these studio people, a flood of fake accounts may start giving the book low ratings or reporting it.
As the saying goes, “With fame comes controversy.” Back when I was still a young man playing games with Pipi and Marisa, I often heard them complain about the immense pressure that comes with writing a novel once it gains popularity. If one isn’t careful, they can be overwhelmed by this pressure, leading to insomnia and mental exhaustion.
I never thought I’d experience this kind of pressure in my life. However, after transforming into the current appearance of a young girl and Ouyang Xue’s promotional video going viral online, things have become more complicated.
“…”
Sitting on the exercise equipment, I looked at the photo of Yin Xiamo and me for a few seconds. I turned on my mobile data, then opened the Tongmeng website’s app and navigated to the café’s live stream.
At this time, the number of viewers in the café’s live stream is relatively lower compared to the daytime, but I still see occasional barrage comments:
?It seems that there are fewer people in the store after 7 o’clock.?
?Nuo didn’t come today. Does anyone know where she went??
?Nuo is off today. Can’t you guys let such a young girl work every day??
?The new maid is quite good. I’ve been watching all day and feel like she has the persona of a gentle big sister.?
I casually switched between a few cameras. At this time, I saw Ouyang Xue in the store arranging various new furniture, Lan Jiajia cleaning the first-floor lobby, Ai Luodi shaking coffee at the second-floor workstation, and Yin Xiamo sitting in a corner playing with her phone. If I weren’t familiar with the situation in the shop, I might not have noticed her presence.
Hmm… so far, I’ve learned that Xiamo likes to eat fish and seafood, enjoys fluffy things, and likes to retreat to a corner when feeling down or hurt. The rest seems to require further understanding.
Since Ai Luodi is already at the maid, does it mean there’s no one at home right now?
Closing the Tongmeng app, I opened the Honeydew Novel website and found my own book. Compared to the scattered clicks and favorites in the first few days of starting the book, the click count of my book has soared—nearly 40,000 words and over 2,000 favorites.
Within the Honeydew platform, this is considered a somewhat average level. If the growth continues at this rate, when the word count reaches around 70,000, the editor might recommend it again, and the collection count might surpass 5,000 when it reaches 100,000 words.
Currently, almost all websites do not recommend authors to release frequent updates in the early stages of a novel. This is because a novel with only a few thousand words at the beginning tends to have few readers. Even if some people add it to their collections, they might just leave it on the bookshelf without actively following the updates. Therefore, it’s advised for novels in the early stages to have a stable release schedule, such as one or two updates per day.
Following the advice of the editor, I have been updating my book at a rate of 2,000 words per day, occasionally doing double updates of 4,000 words. After more than ten days, I’ve written about 40,000 words. Based on the current update speed, I should be able to get a recommendation by the end of May, and after some preparations in June, I can officially publish and start earning money.
In the Catnip group, there’s a rule for recommendations: as long as a novel performs reasonably well after signing a contract, it can obtain a recommendation slot between 70,000 and 100,000 words. During the recommended period, it is prohibited to go on hiatus.
Generally speaking, better-performing books – those with well-chosen titles, effective tag usage, and good initial plot development – can attract a large audience in the early stages. Novels with popular keywords, maxed-out buffs, well-crafted writing, and explosive initial plots often gain thousands of collections with just a few chapters. If such a novel gets a recommendation, the website tends to allocate more resources to it.
This is not favoritism, it’s simply that a book with good data can bring benefits to both the author and the website. The website’s page space is limited, and featuring a well-performing book can lead to increased revenue for both parties.
The current position of my new book is somewhat in between. It’s not like the works of popular authors that accumulate nearly ten thousand collections with just a few chapters, nor is it like the poorly received works with tens or hundreds of times more words than clicks. If everything goes as expected, the Catnip editor will likely give a relatively modest recommendation by the end of May, and then the book will be officially published.
I’m not a naturally gifted author, all my data relies on “endurance.” I previously wrote my first novel on Yae-Do, and now it has accumulated millions of words. During this time, I’ll wrap up the first novel, then focus on writing the second one, continuing to build a dedicated reader base through consistent updates and gradual accumulation.
However, the current situation is that many times, the conditions for authors don’t support “endurance.” Because most people have to make a living, either by working a regular job to support themselves and writing books in their spare time, or by disappearing along with the novel and the author if things don’t go well in the early stages, then creating a new author account to ride the popularity wave. This process is repeated countless times until a new book with explosive early-stage data is written, providing the potential to sustain oneself later on.
?The author’s writing is good, and it’s clear they’ve written a few novels. The plot is decent, keep it up.?
?Already added to my collection, please return the favor.?
?What a garbage novel! I watched the promotional video, and this is what the author writes? I’m out.?
?The plot is progressing too slowly. I’ve seen those hot-selling novels next door with fast-paced and explosive developments. Sorry, but your book doesn’t cut it. It’s not like it’s ten years ago; who reads slow-paced books like this now??
?Let me ask first, is this book going to be monetized later? Is the author planning to put it behind a paywall? Give us a straight answer. If it’s going behind a paywall, I’ll cancel my collection.?
“……”
As usual, I went through the comments section, selected a few messages to respond to, and after checking the time, I put away my phone and headed towards the “Class 6-3” teaching building from my memory.
“Ring-ring-ring-ring—”
Just as I reached the third floor along the stairs, the bell for the beginning of class rang. By this time, the homeroom teacher for Class 6-3 was already seated at the podium. Upon seeing me enter, she nodded but didn’t say anything, continuing to grade assignments.
Looking towards the back of the classroom, as I expected, the sixth-grade girl I knew before, Zhou Xiaofei, was sitting with Li Denghua. My appearance instantly caught the attention of the two young girls.
“How did you get in here?”
Zhou Xiaofei, who was clearly informed about the situation, looked surprised at me and Li Denghua appearing in the classroom simultaneously. “Do you have our school card?”
“The principal gave me one.”
I casually replied as I sat down on a chair next to them, looking into Zhou Xiaofei’s eyes. “So, what do you think of the new principal?”
“It’s… okay, I guess. Looks younger than the previous principal and speaks quite amusingly.”
Zhou Xiaofei obviously hadn’t fully recovered from the “Li Denghua is not that Li Denghua” incident. She looked at me, then at Li Denghua next to her. “Um… big sister, are you going to attend classes with us from now on?”
“I don’t have to attend classes.”
Amidst the ringing bell, I cautiously glanced at the teacher at the podium and said to Zhou Xiaofei, “Can we switch seats? I need to talk to Denghua.”
“Sure.”
Zhou Xiaofei sensibly stood up, holding her notebook and pen, and walked over, allowing me to take her seat.
“Student Li Denghua.”
In a voice audible only to the two of us, I asked the child who had now changed into the same elementary school uniform as me, “What do you think of your dad?”
“My dad?”
Seemingly completely unexpected that I would ask this question, Li Denghua stood still for a moment before saying, “He… he’s pretty nice. When I was very little, we used to play together a lot. Why do you ask?”
“Playing together when you were little, does that mean you were good friends?”
“Of course.”
“And now?”
I continued to inquire, “Do you still play together with your dad often?”
“Occasionally. He’s been getting busier with work.”
Talking about this, Li Denghua seemed somewhat disheartened. “He hasn’t been home much in the past year. It’s usually me going to visit him.”
“Did your dad ask you to study advanced physics and higher-level math and science when you were younger?”
I tried to use a conversational tone of good friends, saying, “It’s just the two of us here. You don’t have to worry about anyone overhearing. Just speak your honest thoughts.”
As the principal mentioned, my current appearance has a certain deceptive quality. Li Denghua’s issue lies in being “shaped into the ideal child by parents” and “having no friends.”
I’m confident that if it were an adult or an older student asking this question, Li Denghua would probably not tell the truth but rather give a “formulaic” answer. Just like when leaders visit the school, teachers would instruct students in advance to memorize various “answers” to handle questions from the media.
I have a premonition that Li Denghua is actually similar to a normal child, the difference being that she has been “mythologized” by her parents and the people around her.
“It was my dad’s request since I was little.”
Under my gaze, Li Denghua nodded without much thought. “My dad started teaching me those things when I was very young because we had a good relationship, and he often played with me. So, I was willing to learn.”
“Do you like those things?”
I continued to ask, “Physics, chemistry, and the quantum mechanics that come after.”
This time, Li Denghua didn’t hesitate. “I like them.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Li Denghua nodded vigorously. “Although there are many things I can’t understand, I really don’t tire of learning about them.”
“Quantum mechanics, ion collisions, can you understand those things?”
“I can’t understand many of them, but… but I really like it.”
Li Denghua seemed to misunderstand my meaning. “Big sister, you’re not going to say I’m weird again, are you? Can’t girls like this kind of stuff?”
“I didn’t say girls can’t like it. I was just asking to confirm your situation.”
I thought for a moment. “What about the online reports… the research paper you wrote. What’s the situation with that?”
“I only wrote a little, a lot of it was written by my dad.”
“Does your dad really want you to become famous?”
“He seems to be short of research funding over there. I’m not too sure about the details, I haven’t asked.”
“So, you also know that your dad hopes that after you become famous… more people will invest in his experiments?”
“Come on.”
Li Denghua looked at me with a somewhat foolish expression. “He’s my dad, you know? Even if I don’t know what’s going on with his situation, if my dad needs help, I’ll definitely help.”
“……”
Li Denghua’s answer left me silent. For some reason, the voice of a certain grim reaper lady and her casually confident tone echoed in my mind.
?Well, as long as you, Nuo’er, say the word, I’m ready to take on the whole world!?
“Sister?”
“Sister Yin Nuo’er?”
In a daze, Li Denghua’s somewhat impatient voice came from beside me. “Why are you asking me so many questions, doing a background check?”
“Oh… no.”
I snapped out of it. “So, you are aware that your dad might be using you for publicity. Still, you chose to study advanced physics, even if you don’t understand it, and even wrote a research paper, signing your name alongside your dad’s?”
“Yeah.”
Li Denghua frowned. “What’s the problem? I’m just a few years old. I don’t understand adult stuff, but I know I have to listen to my mom and dad. I do whatever they tell me to do.”
“No problem.”
I smiled. “Bring your Chinese and English textbooks and homework. I’ll review your specific issues in advance. I have some things to take care of, so I’ll only teach one class here and then go back in a while.”
“Oh… okay…”
Seemingly surprised by my attitude, Li Denghua took out her Chinese and English books from her backpack and placed them in the middle of the two desks. “I mainly struggle with English pronunciation, and for Chinese… I can’t remember many characters.”
“Can you use a dictionary?”
“Yes.”
“So, for this class, I’ll mainly assist you with English pronunciation and help you review the Chinese characters you need to memorize in primary school.”
“Okay.”
“Um… Sister Nuo’er?”
“What’s up?”
“You… you and your brother, I mean… your brother is not here, but you’re okay by yourself, right? My mom…”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about that, little one. Are your eyes okay these days?”
“No problem…”
“In the future, remember to take good care of your eyes. Look out the window and take a break every half an hour while studying, move around, and keep a cheerful mood.”
“Oh…”
Although I’m not a big fan of the principal’s speaking style, the evening self-study system at Starlight Elementary School gives me a pretty good impression. Without overly emphasizing discipline, students can interact with each other. Each class has a teacher present, and students can go directly to the teacher if they have any questions.
My memories of my own student days during “evening self-study” have become quite blurry. The few points I can recall are… evening self-study costs money, counted as extra lessons, and it’s very expensive. Teachers would often come in and say, “It’s voluntary to attend the class. If you don’t want to listen, do your homework on your own.” They would then start teaching, not only taking up the time for evening homework but also lacking the open communication and discussion seen in Starlight Elementary School nowadays.
“Ding-ling-ling-ling——”
As the first evening self-study session ended, I slung my bunny backpack over my shoulder. Having gone through the key points of primary school English and Chinese with Li Denghua, I took out two Crispy Sharks from inside and gave one to Li Denghua and another to the girl next to her, Zhou Xiaofei.
“Shall we go?”
Zhou Xiaofei widened her eyes, “It’s only the first class.”
“Let’s go. I’ll come to see you again when I have time.”
I waved to the two of them, smiled, and then, taking advantage of the fact that the other kids in the classroom hadn’t noticed my departure, I slipped out of the classroom with my backpack.
Heading downstairs, I retraced my steps to the school gate based on my memory. In front of the security guards, I used the card the principal had given me to swipe the card reader.
“Beep, teacher’s card, authorized passage.”
“Huh?”
The security guard was dumbfounded. “Uh… are you a teacher?”
“I have no idea.”
Sticking my tongue out at the bewildered security guard, I quickly walked out, leaving the security guard in disarray in the wind.
Outside Starlight Elementary School, back in the vegetable garden behind the neighborhood, as I walked along the path back, I dialed Yin Xiamo’s phone.
“Is the little cat’s matter taken care of?”
The call was quickly answered, and Yin Xiamo’s voice came through the phone, “Do you need me to come pick you up?”
“No, I… I called mainly to ask you a few questions.”
I looked up, gazing at the bright moon in the night sky. “Xiao Mo, would you support me if I decide to become an idol?”
“Huh?”
Yin Xiamo seemed surprised by my question, but she quickly responded, “Of course, I’d support you. But Nuo’er, why are you suddenly thinking of becoming an idol? Haven’t you always been opposed to that? Being an idol means wearing cute dresses every day, with knee-high socks and little leather shoes, you know?”
“It’s nothing, I was just asking.”
I changed my tone, “What if I want to become an internet celebrity?”
“Support.”
“Make it clear, it’s that kind of internet celebrity with tons of followers, facing the camera every day… like that ‘This is the reason you broke up’ internet celebrity.”
“Mm, I support.”
“Well, what if I don’t want to become an internet celebrity, and instead, I plan to open an online store, learn to sell computers, become a shrewd businessperson, selling a 3,000 yuan computer for 10,000 yuan?”
“Support.”
“I want to learn to paint, draw colorful pictures.”
“Support. As long as it’s something Nuo’er wants to do, we’ll support it!”
Seemingly realizing that I was just joking, Yin Xiamo’s voice carried a hint of curiosity, “Are you playing Truth or Dare?”
“Well…”
I stopped in my tracks, bathed in moonlight, and took a deep breath.
“Actually, I was just teasing you earlier. I don’t want to be anything.”
“I knew it!”
Yin Xiamo didn’t seem upset at all on the phone, “Does this count as me passing Nuo’er’s test?”
“I didn’t intend to test you!”
I wondered, “Just encountered some things and wanted to chat with you about it.”
“I know, girls in this world really like this, playing Truth or Dare, or deliberately saying strange things to test their loved ones…”
I hastily explained, “I really wasn’t…”
“I’m very happy because this shows that Nuo’er has adapted to the identity of a girl, starting to understand how to be willful and cute.”
“Huh?”
“Keep it up, maintain it, I want to pamper Nuo’er into the happiest and most willful girl in the world!”
“What are you talking about? I really just encountered some things and wanted to chat with you casually to relax.”
I continued walking towards Ai Luodi’s house, “Well, let’s leave it at that. I’ll hang up. I won’t go to the café tonight, I’ll make some herbal jelly at home for you when you return.”
“Is herbal jelly that transparent dessert with a herbal scent?”
“Yes, have you tried it?”
“The boss at the convenience store gave me a portion before when I was working there.”
“Do you like it?”
“I do. I like everything Nuo’er makes.”
“Sappy. Well, let’s leave it at that. I’m hanging up.”
“Mm-hmm. Love you.”
“……”
After hanging up the phone, I took out the business card of Principal He from the pocket of my skirt. Then, comparing it with the contact list on my phone, I opened a text message.
?I might not have time to livestream at the school and don’t really want to get involved in these matters. Thank you for trusting me.?
After editing these sentences, I copied Su Yunjin’s phone number into the message.
?As for the school’s funding and the children’s schooling issues, I have a friend. If you are interested, you can talk to him.?
After finishing, I entered Principal He’s phone number in the “recipient” field and clicked “send.”
That should be enough. Let official matters be handled by official personnel. I am just a little maid and a small author.
Coming out of the small vegetable garden, I walked straight towards the small road in front of the community, found a convenience store, and bought a pack of small raisins from inside.
Among the various “daily necessities” brought from the Wujia apartment, there was some herbal jelly I hadn’t finished making. Herbal jelly is similar to turtle jelly, grass jelly, and agar, requiring some herbs to be boiled in water and then cooled for congealing. However, the color of herbal jelly is translucent, crystal clear, and it is a popular summer snack in the southern region.
Previously, there was a promotion at a supermarket near the Wujia apartment, and I bought several packs of herbal jelly for a few cents each. Each pack could make a large pot, and I still haven’t finished eating them.
After checking the café’s surveillance and feeling that there was nothing unusual there, and since Xiamo and Lan Jiajia were coming back soon, I decided to go home first and prepare a snack for the two of them.
According to the estimated time, I had prepared the herbal jelly, cut it into pieces, and placed it in the refrigerator. By the time they returned, it would have cooled down just right. I added some raisins, making it ready to eat.
“How much is it?”
“Six yuan for the raisins.”
“Okay, I’ll pay with Alipay.”
After getting the raisins from the small shop, coincidentally, at that moment, a vendor selling flowers and plants with a cart happened to pass by outside.
“Wait a moment, uncle!”
If it were before, I wouldn’t have had much interest in flowers and plants. However, today, for some reason, thinking about Xiamo, who waters the flowers every morning, I suddenly had the idea of “buying a pot of flowers.”
“Uncle, what flowers do you have here?”
Seeing the uncle with the small cart being stopped, I walked up quickly, “Are there any flowers in bloom now? Something beautiful.”
“Little girl, interested in growing flowers?”
The flower seller sized me up for a few seconds, “That depends on what you like. We have lazy-person pots, and there’s also… cactu, easy to care for.”
“Well…”
For some reason, I blurted out, “Do you have lilies?”
“Um… for lilies, we only have one pot.”
The uncle walked to the back of the cart and pulled up the cover, “Oriental Lilies, just right for May and June, the flowering season. This pot is 35 yuan.”
Observing the vigorous pure white lilies in front of me for a moment, I hesitated, “Can you do 30 yuan?”
“32, no less!”
The uncle directly bagged the flowers for me, “As the saying goes, ‘a girl’s best at twenty-six,’ and these lilies represent two girls. Twenty-six plus six is thirty-two, two girls for thirty-two!”
Uncle, your eloquence is a bit wasted on selling flowers.
“Okay.”
Under the moonlight, I took out my phone, scanned the QR code, and then received the lilies the uncle handed over.
“Anything else you need?”
“No, thank you.”
“Then I’ll be going.”
The uncle hopped on his cart, “I sell flowers around here every evening. If you need anything, feel free to ask!”
“Okay.”
Watching the uncle drive away, I held the pot of lilies to my chest and delicately smelled the faint floral fragrance.
“Let’s go home.”
“……”
……