I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 181

Chapter 181: I Will Learn, I Will Grow, I Will Become—

 

At four o’clock in the afternoon, the author meeting of “Honeydew” and “Yae-Do” was held as scheduled in a large private room on the sixth floor of a hotel near the Cultural Arts Exhibition. According to previous statistics from Catnip, nearly three hundred authors who received invitations attended the meeting today, with over eighty from Yae-Do and over two hundred from Honeydew. However, only fifty to sixty people were actually present.

 

It is said that after the merger, Honeydew has been busy with author allocation and recruitment for editing work since May. Due to the acceptance of a website whose scale differs by about 50%, Honeydew’s expansion can be considered as having increased by 50%. Both business and volume have increased significantly, leading to a sudden increase in workload for editors and operations. Additionally, the departure of Ai Luodi and Lan Jiajia has created a shortage of editing resources, necessitating the public recruitment of new editors.

 

Newly recruited editors for external recruitment need to start directly with author guidance upon joining the company, while there are still a lot of merger affairs between Honeydew and Yae-do to handle. In May, submissions were also called for, and the annual literary and art exhibition was held at this time, adding to the workload.

 

It can be said that during this period, “Yae-Honeydew” has completely fallen into chaos. Authors who receive invitations generally have two characteristics: they are relatively “friendly” to Honeydew or Yae-do and have developmental value. They listen to the editors and have a strong willingness to continue writing here. These authors are called “lucky authors” and are selected by editors from among the authors they bring.

 

I belong to this category of “lucky authors.” In fact, this is somewhat similar to those… just graduated from college, don’t know anything “fresh graduates.” The company’s requirements for them can be summed up as “not too naive.” They need to be quick-witted, good at using their brains, and not too foolish. The company can train these fresh graduates as long as they study earnestly and don’t switch to rival companies after learning.

 

As for the situation with authors… website editors are willing to train “lucky authors” and guide them in writing books. Individuals who can become “lucky authors” cannot be too foolish or too fixated, for example, some people may have poor language skills, unable to construct coherent sentences, lacking in fundamentals, which makes it impossible for them to become lucky authors.

 

Furthermore, these authors cannot have too much of a stubborn attitude. For instance, if a website specializes in light novels targeting the “two-dimensional” and male audience, and has recently cracked down on BL (boys’ love) genre, insisting on writing BL despite the editor’s advice would render such authors as having “no developmental value” on the website’s side.

 

Eventually, if such an author fulfills their wish to write BL, but it severely deviates from the audience of the website, attracting very few readers and dismal data. After a week, there are no active participants in the comments section, and editors do not recommend the work, gradually leading to oblivion.

 

In fact, many people start writing with this mentality, believing they can make a splash, wanting to tell a different story in a different style, thinking they can become a great author after writing, impressing everyone. This is normal. However, editors are most troubled by authors who refuse to listen to advice no matter what is said, these kinds of authors who are uncooperative are generally not the focus of editors’ work.

 

Apart from the “lucky authors” who can be trained, many “great authors” have also come today, who were previously on the bestseller lists of Honeydew or Yae-do. The reason why there are more such authors from Honeydew than Yae-do is because… after Yae-do went bankrupt, most of the bestselling authors had already “left,” and many had signed contracts with websites, directly signing away the authors themselves, making it impossible for them to return, hence they couldn’t send invitations.

 

Moreover, most authors are relatively “introverted” and have a “troublesome” character, so after some back and forth, out of several hundred authors, only fifty to sixty are willing to attend.

 

To be honest, if the venue for this “author conference” were not in Shenzhen City, if it required me to travel for more than an hour by car, I wouldn’t attend.

 

Due to my current financial situation, I cannot afford the cost of a ticket, which is only a few tens of yuan, and I have become a “loli” now, which makes me dislike traveling far from home. I always feel that it’s inconvenient to be in unfamiliar places.

 

Additionally, something that concerns me is that Yin Xiamo somehow managed to obtain an “invitation letter” from Editor Catnip. After our conversation, she directly took my hand, as if she were a cunning and experienced writer, and followed the crowd to the hotel next to the exhibition.

 

“Nuo’er! Little Nuo’er!”

 

In the large private room specially customized for the author conference, as Yin Xiamo and I walked in, there was a burst of exclamations coming from a table full of girls in the middle.

 

“Over here! Over here!”

 

“Is that really Nuo’er from the café? Do young girls nowadays really want to be maids?”

 

“Shenzhen City is such a strange place.”

 

“Their skin is so flawless that I thought they had applied a special effect, but then I realized it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. It’s so strange…”

 

There were five tables set up in this large private room, and it was evident that male authors outnumbered female authors. Some of the tables for female authors were not even fully occupied, and many of the women appeared to be older, with only one or two looking like college students.

 

Actually, when I think about it, as a male-oriented website, Honeydew definitely has more male readers and authors. As the saying goes, only men understand men. If a female author wants to write on a male-oriented platform, firstly, her mindset needs to be more “masculine”. For example, while an ordinary girl might shyly curse a “pervert” or “freak” upon seeing lewd images, such female authors would instead respond with a more suggestive expression and ask for more pictures, saying, “Are there more? My friend wants to see, send a few more.” Secondly, such female authors need to thoroughly research the mainstream “thrills” and male “thrills” and understand the positioning of their novels and target audience.

 

Unless they started writing online fiction during their primary school years, in most cases, female authors who want to write well for a male-oriented audience generally need several years of writing experience as a foundation.

 

Alternatively, they may have been writing for female-oriented platforms for a few years and then decided to switch, lurking on male-oriented websites for several months to thoroughly study the tricks here, and then bring their experience from writing for female audiences to gradually transition.

 

Both of these scenarios require a significant amount of time and youth, hence the scarcity of female authors in male-oriented platforms. Moreover, the number of female authors willing to travel far to attend author conferences, especially those who have “hit bestseller lists,” is even smaller.

 

“You can sit over there.” When Yin Xiamo and I entered, Lu Xinjian at the door gestured towards the table in the middle of the private room where only girls were seated. “Nuo’er, it’s been a long time. How have you been recently?”

 

“Pretty good.” I was also somewhat surprised to see Lu Xinjian attending this kind of event, and without thinking, I asked, “How about Xinmeng? Is she doing okay?”

 

“She’s doing great, unbelievably well. The doctors say it’s like our ancestors have blessed us, creating a medical miracle.”

 

Clad in work attire, Lu Xinjian lowered his voice as he ladled porridge into a large bowl, and said to me, “Nuo’er, do you know? Because Xinmeng has always been weak, the surgeon originally asked us to stay in the hospital for at least a month. But it’s only been half a month, and Xinmeng’s body has almost fully recovered, with no signs of rejection at all. The doctor said that her heart seems… as if it were custom-made for Xinmeng. After the transplant, all her minor ailments like mild asthma and low blood pressure were completely cured.”

 

As he spoke, Lu Xinjian seemed to realize that it might not be appropriate to discuss this at the moment. He scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Um… sorry, did I say something I shouldn’t have? I… I’m not very good with social cues.”

 

“It’s okay.” I just shook my head. “I’m glad Xinmeng is recovering.”

 

From Lu Xinjian’s perspective, he genuinely rejoiced in his daughter’s recovery, and our relationship, tinged by the “cotton candy” incident at the market before, was more of a “seemingly friendly but not quite” dynamic. For a friend like me, Lu Xinjian naturally wanted to share the news of his daughter’s improving health without hesitation.

 

But from my perspective, “Yin Nuo’er’s” brother, “Yin Shiren,” just passed away less than half a month ago. His heart was transplanted to someone else, and at this moment, that heart is beating in someone else’s chest. If “Yin Nuo’er” had a good relationship with “Yin Shiren,” this situation is actually quite sad. To put it bluntly… the recovery of Lu Xinmeng came at the cost of her “brother’s” death.

 

As “Yin Shiren’s” sister, my brother just passed away, so my mood probably hasn’t been too good for this past half month. And now, the person who received the organ transplant from my “brother” is here, “showing off” how healthy and strong Yin Shiren’s heart is in front of me. This situation… logically speaking, it would be quite delicate.

 

So it’s understandable why Lu Xinjian realized halfway through the conversation that it wasn’t appropriate to talk about this in front of me.

 

However, I am not exactly a “normal person,” and at this moment, I didn’t feel particularly unhappy. Instead, I felt a bit happy that my bodily organs could help others.

 

“That’s good. I was worried…”

 

Hearing me say this, Lu Xinjian breathed a sigh of relief. “Now, Xinmeng’s wound has basically healed, and she can walk around. The doctor said that in a few days, she can try walking without a wheelchair, go for a walk near the hospital alone, and then check if her heart has any abnormalities. She should be able to be discharged from the hospital in about a week.”

 

So soon?

 

In my mind, I recalled the scene from when the café was opening, with Lu Xinmeng playing with the cats while sitting in a wheelchair.

 

Transplant surgery is a major operation, and patients generally cannot be discharged from the hospital within one or two months. If it’s a significant organ transplant, careful observation for rejection reactions is necessary after the wound heals. The heart, undoubtedly, is one such vital organ.

 

Now, for Lu Xinmeng to be discharged from the hospital so quickly can only mean…

 

I glanced at Yin Xiamo beside me with a questioning look.

 

It must have been her doing.

 

I know the condition of Yin Shiren’s body. “He” was just an ordinary uncle. From childhood to adulthood, he was no different from most of the people his age at school. Eating the wrong food would upset his stomach, not paying attention to warmth would cause him to catch a cold and fever, and occasionally he would experience various symptoms of infection and inflammation. At least at that time, my body was definitely not any sort of “miracle cure.”

 

After Yin Shiren’s heart was transplanted into Lu Xinmeng without any rejection reactions and even helped the child recover her health, there is only one possibility for such a thing: my body has been “modified” or “switched.”

 

At the very least, the nature of the heart has been altered.

 

The only ones capable of such a feat are those who can perform magic or come from another world, like Yin Xiamo.

 

“Why are you looking at me?”

 

Feeling my gaze, Yin Xiamo just smiled faintly. “I just don’t want Nuo’er to be sad.”

 

Does this mean you acknowledge that Yin Shiren’s heart carries some kind of “magic”?

 

I pondered.

 

Hmm… if, according to my previous speculation, Yin Xiamo possesses the ability to travel back in time, and if this version of Yin Xiamo has truly experienced countless iterations, then she wouldn’t do anything unnecessary.

 

In other words… if we want to achieve a happy ending in this timeline, Lu Xinmeng must survive?

 

Perhaps I’m overthinking it.

 

“Nuo’er! Little Nuo’er!”

 

As I chatted with Lu Xinjian, the female authors in the “girls’ zone” in the middle of the private room seemed a bit impatient. “Stop chatting with the senior deputy editor! Come over here!”

 

“Yeah, come over here, let big sister give you a hug!”

 

“Nuo’er, come over quickly!”

 

“You’re really popular.”

 

Editor Catnip gave a yawn as she entered with us. “How about later I talk to Big G? Right now, the Yae-Honeydew has just been created as a virtual character, without a voice actor. How about you do the voice for the Honey Girl?”

 

“I…”

 

I felt embarrassed. “I don’t know how to do voice acting.”

 

“It’s okay, your voice right now is pretty good.”

 

Catnip continued, “The character of the Honey Girl is silly-looking, not very smart-looking, with a voice that’s somewhat nerdy, a bit weak-sounding but very cute.”

 

“Why am I considered silly-looking?” I protested.

 

“I’m very smart, you know? Smarter than the uncle you mentioned earlier!”

 

“Oh?” Catnip looked at me skeptically. “Then tell me, when it rains outside, do you run home to avoid getting wet? When you’re hungry, do you find food for yourself? Do you turn on the lights at home when it gets dark?”

 

What strange questions! Doesn’t everyone do these things?

 

Just as I was thinking about how to refute Catnip, a slender figure suddenly dashed over and squatted down—

 

In that moment, I felt like I was being lifted up like a little kitten.

 

Huh?!

 

“Alright, Nuo’er, stop chatting over there. Come and eat something, everyone’s been waiting for you for a long time!”

 

The one who suddenly lifted me up was Editor October, the editor of the guy I had just met at the Wujia Apartment. With short hair and dressed in attire resembling male suits, she gave off a quite handsome vibe. There was a hint of tomboyishness or “T” in a yuri relationship about her, and she had quite a lot of strength, able to lift me up and hold me over her head.

 

“I understand the logic, but…”

 

Being lifted up so high all of a sudden, my face felt warmer, “Put me down quickly!”

 

Why do I feel like you’re all… a group of people calling out to a kitten on the roadside, meowing incessantly, and then the kitten ignores you, so you get annoyed and just rush over to pick up the cat and carry it home? Editor October, you’re still an editor here to some extent! Show some reason!

 

“Alright, Nuo’er, sit here.”

 

Despite my protests, October set me down on a small chair beside the table and brought over the sanitized utensils from the table. “What would you like to drink? Juice? Iced tea? Cola or Sprite?”

 

I glanced at Catnip and Yin Xiamo behind me. “Um… juice, please.”

 

“October, be more reserved.”

 

Catnip walked over under my gaze and casually took a seat. “After all, she’s my author.”

 

“What’s the big deal? Today, we’re all friends here, no distinction between authors and editors.”

 

October gave me a meaningful look. “Right, little kitten?”

 

“……”

 

Why do I feel like there aren’t many normal people in your editorial department?

 

“Nuo’er is really cute. Before, on TV news, I always thought it was edited with a smoothing filter. I even joked with my friends that TV stations nowadays are getting more and more fake, but I didn’t expect…”

 

At this moment, a girl sitting across the table wearing glasses cast a curious glance at me. “How do you usually take care of your skin? And… Yin Xiamo? I saw in the video that you seem to work in the same place as Nuo’er. Are you two sisters?”

 

“Not at all,” Yin Xiamo calmly picked up her utensils. “Nuo’er is my lover.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“Wow!”

 

As Yin Xiamo spoke, the whole room erupted into murmurs.

 

“Really? Are you serious? You two are lesbians?”

 

“Doesn’t it seem like it?”

 

“No, it’s more or less what we thought.”

 

One female author exclaimed joyfully, “I write yuri novels. Do you know how many times you two were discussed in the yuri authors group I used to be in? Seriously, you give off the vibe of being… a perfect match made in heaven.”

 

“You write yuri?”

 

Another female author seemed surprised. “Switched to yuri?”

 

“Pure yuri.”

 

“I remember there’s only one pure yuri novel from Honeydew that made it to the bestseller list. Could it be…”

 

“Shh… don’t talk about me. Let’s talk about Nuo’er. I really want to have a daughter like Nuo’er.”

 

“I do too. Hey, hey, what about considering it? Or even Yin Xiamo, I wouldn’t mind having two daughters.”

 

Amidst the lively chatter from the girls’ side, the atmosphere on the boys’ side seemed “calmer” in comparison, but there were still many discussions about me and Yin Xiamo.

 

“Aren’t they the ones from that café maid place the local TV station kept promoting?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. The local station promoted the café, they were just maids. It’s just that they became popular online because they’re too beautiful.”

“They’re so pretty, yet they write books? In my hometown, the pretty girls basically marry into wealthy families right after college graduation.”

“Do you think everyone’s university is as trashy as yours? At least I think Nuo’er and Xiamo are pretty good. I wish them all the best.”

“Sob sob sob, I envy Pipi so much for having such a good relationship with Nuo’er.”

 

……

 

Amidst the noise, Yin Xiamo, who was sitting beside me, helped take the sterilized utensils wrapped in plastic film and pierced them with chopsticks. She leaned in, her face coming close to mine. “What are you thinking about?”

 

“I’m thinking…”

 

I lifted my head, silently taking the utensils Yin Xiamo handed over. “What kind of pen name and title to prepare for a new book.”

 

“Have you decided?”

 

Yin Xiamo had a triumphant look on her face. “Isn’t there already a ready-made pen name? The one from Tongmeng Net.”

 

“Tongmeng Net? Little Xia Nuo Does Not Hide in the Cardboard Box?”

 

“That one always feels too feminine.”

 

I noticed the smile at the corner of Yin Xiamo’s mouth. “Why do I feel like Catnip was implying that I should change my pen name? What did you discuss with her earlier?”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing. I haven’t written much fiction, so why would it be my idea? I just had a little discussion with your editors about your writing style and future development.”

 

Yin Xiamo had a “you have no evidence” expression. “So what pen name do you plan to use?”

 

“Our pen name on Tongmeng Network has the word ‘hide in a cardboard box.’ It feels like hiding, and we both don’t like being too conspicuous, right? I just looked up similar things online earlier.”

 

I took out my phone, typed “chameleon” into the search bar, and showed the picture to Yin Xiamo.

 

“See, there were a lot of these around the orphanage when we were kids. They’re usually green, and if you don’t look closely, you can’t see them hiding in the trees.”

 

I explained to the girl next to me, “They like to camouflage themselves and quietly observe the world from inconspicuous places. I think this name is pretty good.”

 

As I spoke, I pointed to the scientific name of the chameleon — ?Chameleonidae?

 

Chameleonidae, a general term for reptiles of the chameleon family, scientific name: Chameleonidae, commonly known as chameleons.

 

“This name is a bit masculine, so I want to use the ABB format, which will make it cute. It’ll be ‘ Chameleon,’ neutral enough, right?”

 

I typed out “Chameleon” on the phone screen. “Didn’t Catnip suggest that I pretend to be a male author later? This way, the pen name also has the meaning of ‘disguise,’ and then using the ABB format will make it cute, but not overly cute. It will be a neutral author name, publicly claiming to be a new male author.”

 

Yin Xiamo seemed somewhat surprised by my suggestion. “How did your little brain suddenly become so knowledgeable?”

 

“Hehe, it was just a sudden inspiration.”

 

I sheepishly explained, “It was when we were chatting earlier, I thought of the medicinal botanical garden near the orphanage when I was a kid, remembered playing by the river and in the woods, and suddenly remembered the time when we were playing hide and seek in the forest and a chameleon suddenly appeared in front of us. Because that guy’s camouflage ability was so high, we often crouched there for a long time before noticing it.”

 

“Alright, alright.”

 

Yin Xiamo planted a kiss on my cheek. “Nuo’er, I support whatever name you choose!”

 

“I think it’s almost time, right? It’s 4:25 now, we’ve been waiting for almost half an hour. Those who aren’t coming probably won’t come.”

 

At this moment, the chief editor of Honeydew Big G, along with Lu Xinjian and another middle-aged man I didn’t know, walked up to a small podium in front of the private room. Big G took hold of a small microphone.

 

“Ahem, everyone, um, feel free to look elsewhere, no need to stare at me. Let me introduce myself first, I’m Big G, the chief editor of Honeydew. The reason we invited you all here, your responsible editors should have already mentioned, so I won’t repeat it here.”

 

As Big G spoke, the door of the private room was pushed open, and several waiters pushed in a small food cart, starting to place the prepared dishes on the table, one by one.

 

Wow! Deep-fried spare ribs, and this… braised pork with taro, and this… this should be teppanyaki beef, right? My gaze was instantly drawn to the newly served dishes, no longer paying attention to Big G and the others on the small podium, eagerly waiting for the waiters to serve all the dishes.

 

“The main purpose of this author gathering is to hear your suggestions regarding some of the author benefits on the website, as well as reader activities. For example, our attendance system. Nowadays, many websites outside adopt a more flexible attendance policy. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions in this regard…”

 

My teppanyaki beef, my teppanyaki beef…

 

“And also about this writing competition… to be frank, a few years ago, when we held a writing competition, we were hit by a studio. During the review process, due to the editors’ lax review, they didn’t realize that the winning novel was written by an author from the studio. We distributed tens of thousands of yuan as prize money, and then the author of that book disappeared. Money is one thing, but having the winning novel suddenly castrated was a major blow to our website’s reputation…”

 

The sizzling teppanyaki beef… smells so good. Such a large piece must be delicious. Hey, could the waitress over there please help turn the table? I want to have some beef…

 

“After a brief discussion, we have a suggestion regarding the writing competition. That is, the writing prize will be distributed over six months. If during this period, authors are castrated or exhibit long-term hiatus behavior, the subsequent prize distribution will be canceled. What do you all think?”

 

Oh! The beef has finally been rotated to my side, and there are such large shrimp too!

 

“Take your time eating…”

 

Perhaps my “little greedy cat” expression was too obvious, as Editor Catnip next to me said helplessly, “There are still many dishes to come.”

 

I felt quite embarrassed for a moment. “Ahaha…”

 

“It’s okay, if Nuo’er likes it, eat more.”

 

On the other hand, Yin Xiamo, sitting next to me, had a carefree expression and directly helped me pick up several large shrimp, then grabbed one with her fair little hand. “Do you want me to peel it for you?”

 

I instinctively responded, “Yes!”

 

Yin Xiamo raised the large shrimp. “Call me darling.”

 

Hey!

In front of so many people… how should I call her!

While I was hesitating, the female authors sitting with us became more enthusiastic —

 

“Nuo’er, hurry up and call her!”

“Yeah Nuo’er, didn’t you and Xiamo both announce it in someone else’s live broadcast room?”

“Nuo’er, hurry, Xiamo looks very reliable, with her, you’ll never worry about food and clothing for a lifetime!”

 

The chief editor, Big G, on the stage, continued to recount the tragic experiences of Honeydew: “In addition to the writing competition, we are currently facing a new round of media impact in the online literature market. If we want to keep up with the mainstream of the current era, we need to find a new way out, such as new media literature…”

 

“Nuo’er, come on!”

“Nuo’er, are you blushing? So cute.”

“Nuo’er, hurry and call her, I’ll recommend your new book!”

“Editor October, enough, how many times do I have to say it? She’s my author, why are you recommending her?”

“I’ll talk to Big G, ask the boss for a recommendation, is that okay?”

“……”

 

Under the urging of the group of female authors around me, feeling a bit hesitant, I glanced at the large shrimp in Xiamo’s hand and said in the smallest voice possible, “Darling?”

 

“I knew Nuo’er is the most obedient.”

 

Xiao Mo leaned over and planted another kiss on my cheek, then began to help peel the shrimp shell.

 

“The current financial situation of the website is also not very optimistic. We may need to seek new development, a new layout…”

 

As the chief editor, Big G, continued speaking, he seemed to sense something was amiss and cast a strange glance in our direction. “Are you all listening?”

 

“Yes, yes, we are.”

 

Editors October and Catnip quickly turned their heads. “Boss, please continue. We are all listening, new developments and fresh ideas, right?”

 

“Mm-hmm… this beef is really delicious.”

 

“……”

 

……