I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 222

Chapter 222: Golden Misfortune Grim Reaper Second Generation Teacher Yin Xiamo

 

On June 5, 2022, it had been 29 days since the arrival of “that” for the first time. My second menstrual cycle… has arrived again.

 

Compared to the first time, perhaps I was more prepared this time. I rested on time, ate on time, exercised on time, and wasn’t as busy as I was back in May, exhausting myself all day. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been drinking dragon milk to replenish my energy these past few days. This time, my period is relatively much easier.

 

Other than feeling some discomfort in my lower abdomen and a slight fatigue, my body didn’t react too strongly, and the flow is particularly light.

 

However, considering that it’s the first day of my period, I still applied for leave early in the morning and put on a sanitary pad inside my panties.

 

There are no statutory holidays in June, so all the maids and staff working at the café, including Yin Xiamo and Lan Jiajia, have an 8-day vacation, which we can allocate freely.

 

Considering my last experience with my period, I directly applied for three days off this time. I plan to use these three days to rest at home, do some writing, and relax. After all… I have to take responsibility for the customers who dine at the store.

 

Girls are very cute, and their bodies are delicate. From my current experience, even if one used to be a tough guy, becoming a girl makes one’s thoughts more delicate. Many times, the way of thinking also becomes “more feminine,” becoming more sensitive and childish.

 

Boys are rational, generally stronger, and more convenient for physical work, but they eat more and don’t have the same sensitivity to the “world” as girls do. In today’s society, they also don’t receive as much recognition as girls do.

 

I’m not an expert on gender issues, but at least from my own experience so far, I think both have their pros and cons.

 

For instance, living as a man almost doesn’t require much consideration. Most things can be handled alone. For example, buying groceries or furniture, one can just bring them home and install them alone. After returning from work, it’s fine to take a casual shower, put on some big underwear, smoke a cigarette if you like, have a drink, play some games, and then sleep. The next day, just casually jump out of bed, throw the blanket aside, and it’s a new day.

 

The main thing about men is “practicality.” To describe it concretely, it’s a bit like the difference between a desktop computer and a laptop. A desktop is large, versatile, good at everything, has good CPU cooling, can be overclocked casually, powerful graphics card, maintaining high power all the way. On the other hand, girls are a bit like laptops. If you have very professional needs, such as playing large games or doing complex rendering, laptops are prone to overheating and throttling. Whether they’re really useful depends on the desktop.

 

However… laptops are small and flexible, can be carried around, and can work anywhere, which is their advantage.

 

Just like how my strength is not enough to move the 12900k+3090ti computer that Jiang Wei gave me in the room. Although its body is already made of very lightweight materials, the overall weight still reaches forty catties, almost as heavy as me. I can’t lift it alone at all. If I were living alone, it would be a headache. When Sister Ye Zi brought those components over, she carried a large bag with the parts inside, and two bags in her hands. She finally assembled them.

 

In this situation, if I were to buy a computer by myself, after paying for it, I would definitely have to spend more money to have someone deliver it. If there’s a desk, I would need help moving it onto the desk. This is a disadvantage of being a bit girly.

 

Similar situations can be analogized to various aspects of life. For example, if the light on the top of the bathroom goes out, even if I bring a stool over, I can’t reach it due to my height. I have to call and pay someone to come and change the light bulb or fix the wiring.

 

But men don’t have this trouble. If the bathroom light bulb goes out, they can buy one from the hardware store downstairs, cut off the power, and install it themselves. When a computer is delivered, they can just carry it into the house and put it on the computer desk. They don’t need to select installation services for furniture or appliances, they can handle it alone.

 

The advantage of girls is… they can wear all kinds of beautiful clothes, they have sensitive senses, delicate thoughts, and a richer “feel” for the world compared to men. It’s like choosing between low or high graphics quality in a game. Girls are in high-quality mode. The comfort of water splashing on the skin during a shower, the refreshing feeling after a shower, the joy of wearing beautiful clothes when going out, the slight coolness when the breeze blows… These “psychological” sensations are clearer for girls than for men. Men are in “low-quality” and “high refresh rate” mode. When faced with tasks that require a lot of graphics processing, men can exert more powerful force.

 

At least for me personally, I quite like seeing the world through the eyes of a girl and feeling the outside world with a girl’s body.

 

After all, there is no war in our country at the moment, and social contradictions are not so intense.

 

Some people like to enjoy the scenery in games, enjoy the virtual world’s grass and trees, enjoy the gorgeous scenery in the game, and whether they pass or fail doesn’t matter. Equipment is also a matter of fate. But some people don’t care about the scenery or various special effects in the game at all. They only care about being better, faster, and stronger.

 

In gacha games, some people focus on the appearance and character design of the characters. If they look pretty and cute, they’ll draw them, regardless of their strength. Others only look at strength. If the skills are strong, they’ll draw, regardless of whether the character is an old granny who has lived for thousands of years or a lively little girl jumping around. As long as your damage is high, I’ll draw you.

 

Because of this month’s basic experience and understanding of the differences between men and women, I decided to take three days off with Ouyang Xue at once.

 

Although theoretically girls can work normally during their menstrual periods, if they have to wear “that” under their maid outfit, they need to wear safety pants as well, which greatly affects their work. After all, I need to run around, and during busy times, I might not be able to rest for three or four hours in a row, sweating all over, and I wouldn’t even have time to go to the bathroom to change my pants.

 

Most importantly, during my period, my mood swings can be particularly significant, and I can easily be influenced emotionally. Even though I know this is a normal psychological phenomenon, sometimes a small grievance can be infinitely magnified, and then my mood becomes particularly bad. I don’t want to have such emotions while serving customers, nor do I want customers to spend money and not receive the service they deserve. So I directly took leave and stayed at home during this time.

 

Coincidentally, these days I also need to complete the contract signing with Honeydew and coordinate with Editor Catnip on the new book. Handling them together is the best option.

 

?Please face the camera?

?Please blink?

?Please look left… look right?

?Facial recognition passed, identity confirmed?

 

Following the editor’s requirements, I signed my name and pen name in three different areas of the contract sent to me. After passing facial recognition, I screenshot the “contract signed” page and sent it to Editor Catnip.

 

?Alright, the contract has been approved. Your author account will be tagged with a contract certification label in about three working days.?

?Make sure to keep updating. My suggestion here is to update at least twice a day. Since you’re a new author account without the support of existing readers, if you’re not diligent in updating, you won’t have an advantage compared to others.?

 

That morning, I woke up early as usual, finished my morning routine, had breakfast, placed a sanitary pad in my underwear, and then began my routine of saving drafts and writing.

 

My previous book, with over two million words, had already concluded. I estimate I’ll receive around 500 yuan as a completion reward. The new book has just a few tens of thousands of words written, and most readers just read it for fun. Also, the editor mentioned that the follow-up readership was poor, so I had to cut it off. I started my new book in the Yuri category, “After Turning Into a Girl, I Stick With a World Full of Girls.”

 

In the documents previously sent by Editor Tuzi (Lan Jiajia), there was mention of the naming conventions for novel authors in this era: If you’re not the kind of super author who can attract hundreds of thousands of readers regardless of content, you must write according to the current mainstream and tropes. If you can’t accept that, at the very least, your book title must be “eye-catching.”

 

Rabbit specifically pointed out what constitutes an “eye-catching” book title in the guidance document.

 

Either you follow the current mainstream book titles, like “Is There a Possibility That I’m the Most Invincible?” or “My Girlfriend Wants to Break Up, So I Cultivated the Heavenly Seal Technique,” and then start with explosive conflicts, getting into the fun in the second chapter. Alternatively, you choose a title that makes people ponder, provoking the thought, “What kind of weird title is this? I need to click and see.”

 

In simple terms, it’s about deceiving readers at all costs, even if it means being clickbait.

 

I’m not very keen on being clickbait, so I chose a relatively “moderate” name.

 

Over the past few days, this book has probably gained clicks and favorites relatively quickly because of its name—at least much faster than those mainstream blood and guts male protagonist novels I used to write.

 

And Editor Catnip also mentioned that the book has a high follow-up reading rate, indicating some promise.

 

?Also, how’s the consideration going regarding the voice acting we discussed before? Do you want to give it a try??

 

Sitting in the room with only a small fan running due to menstruation, I looked at the editor’s words on the computer screen, pondered for a moment, and replied: ?I’ll give it a try. I’ll send over the recorded audio files later.?

 

The “voice acting” mentioned by Editor Catnip refers to a voice test for the virtual character “Honey Sister” on the newly merged website “Honey-Yae Novel.” They asked me to read some lines they sent over to see if I fit the role.

 

Actually, even if I didn’t take the test, I pretty much know the outcome…

 

Sitting in front of the computer, I opened the browser on the desktop, accessed the Tongmeng website, logged into my account, and found the official account of “Shangjing Cat Maid Cafe” operated by Ouyang Xue.

 

Some of the lines Ouyang Xue asked me to read before have already been incorporated into the new promotional PV.

 

In the new cafe promotion video, you can still see me as the “featured maid” of the cafe, and because I did the voice acting specifically for this, both the editing and the richness of the content in the video have improved significantly.

 

At the beginning of the video, there are a few lines of sounds similar to a little rabbit eating that I imitated in front of Ouyang Xue, with a strong ASMR flavor. Then the scene shifts to the cat living area, where I appear holding several plush cats.

 

Next, the cat jumps out of my arms, and the scene switches to me chasing after it to feed it.

 

The overall style of the new promotional PV is light, concise, and clear. Originally, both me and Yin Xiamo looked cute in maid outfits, but Ouyang Xue specifically added a layer of cute filters and dynamic effects. For example, adding cat ears to my head and some shiny effects around Yin Xiamo’s body when the camera focuses on her, making the video, which already had a citrus scent of girls, more fragrant with yuri.

 

In the new video, Ouyang Xue also introduces the new maid, Fei Luo.

 

?A giant dragon from another world, the new employee of the café, Miss Black Dragon, Fei Luo.?

 

In the video, there’s a frame drawn around Fei Luo as she jumps down from the second floor, followed by a black background and text introduction, giving an overall style reminiscent of character illustrations in gacha games. Moreover, Fei Luo’s illustration is in a black and gold SSR style.

 

?Fei Luo can use her nimble hands to make the most exquisite milk tea in the world. Her movements are like a dance, and anyone who sees it will endure tremendous magical damage.?

 

?As a giant dragon, Fei Luo naturally has her own specialties…?

 

From the barrage on Tongmeng website, it’s easy to see that everyone is very excited about Fei Luo’s arrival. Whenever there’s a scene with me and Fei Luo, the barrage is thick, almost entirely “going crazy”—

 

?I’m Miss Fei Luo’s dog!?

?Is she a new maid? Hers is so big! I’m dead!?

?Roar, crawling in the dark, indiscriminate attacks, convulsions…?

?Isn’t your café too cheating? If it’s not because of beauty filters or effects, I’d really be curious if there’s a portal to another world around you?

 

Like the barrage, most of the comments at this time are also discussing Fei Luo, the “baby-faced busty” maid, and it even made it to the hot search on Tongmeng website—

 

?New member Fei Luo of Shangjing Cat Maid Café?

 

After scrolling through the comments, I found that the highest-rated comment under this new promotional video is surprisingly:

 

?I’ve always been a virtual customer of this store, usually just watching the live webcam when I’m bored, watching the cats. But I can’t resist this maid Fei Luo. I’m buying a train ticket to Shenzhen tomorrow.?

 

And the second highest-rated comment is:

 

?First of all, I’m not into big boobs, secondly, I’m not into lolis. Lastly, this is my favorite episode.?

 

It’s evident that everyone is very curious about Fei Luo’s figure and appearance. After all, not only does she have excellent looks and a distinctive voice, but her figure is also explosively good. Typically, such figures are only seen in anime, like Tooru from “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid,” and Tongmeng website is a highly concentrated site for anime and manga fans…

 

“Nuo’er!”

 

I had just opened the details page of the comments section, intending to see how the public was reviewing us, when I heard the sound of the room door being pushed open behind me. Following that, Yin Xiamo, dressed casually, walked in, “Want to go out and play?”

 

“I’m not feeling well today…”

 

I turned around, forcing a smile. “You already know.”

 

Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow—I specifically took three days off, or rather, I used up three days of leave out of the eight days this month, preparing to go through the exclusively female menstrual cycle.

 

Fei Luo, addicted to the praise she received for making milk tea at the café, received unprecedented praise in Ouyang Xue’s new promotional video, so she’ll be working at the café these days, just like us, under the “dual-time” system, needing to work from eight in the morning until eight in the evening.

 

Excluding the mysterious “cyberpunk” experimental underground base in the café’s basement, the current allocation of maids at the café is actually very well organized.

 

If Yin Xiamo and I need to take leave, as long as the eight days of rest don’t coincide with Lan Jiajia’s schedule, maintaining the arrangement of “I rest while Lan Jiajia works, and when Lan Jiajia rests, there should be me and Xiao Mo at the café,” it’s fine. This way, customers at the café can choose whether they want to be served by the “loli girl” or the “mature big sister” according to our schedule.

 

However, because Lan Jiajia’s job is on an “eight-hour shift,” only from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, if Xiao Mo and I are off, Lan Jiajia leaves at four. During the four-hour dinner rush from four to eight, Ouyang Xue becomes particularly busy. Previously, she almost always had to call Li Chen over to help.

 

But Li Chen is, after all, a big man, and he doesn’t fit well with the café’s anime style and maid elements. If this continues, not only will Li Chen be unhappy about working overtime every day, but customers who come to the café and don’t see any maids will also have complaints, which will be a big test for the café’s reputation.

 

Now that we have Fei Luo helping out, the situation in the café has improved a lot—actually, even if Fei Luo stays in the café for 24 hours, it’s fine. She’s a dragon and can work and rest like a cat. Moreover, with the mental and spiritual power of a dragon, she can handle this intensity of work with ease. When there are no customers, if Fei Luo simply cleans the rooms, it’s almost equivalent to resting.

 

“So, that’s why we should go out and play.”

 

After hearing my words, Yin Xiamo smiled faintly, came up behind me, and began massaging my shoulders with both hands.

 

“After spending so many days together, what do you think of Fei Luo?”

 

“Fei Luo?” I turned my head. “Xiao Mo is indeed older than her.”

 

“But my actual age is over six thousand years.”

 

The girl behind me shrugged. “Fei Luo is over seven thousand years old.”

 

“Fei Luo says you’ve learned a magic that can increase time, so while others experience one day, you’ve lived through two or even three days.”

 

I put on a “don’t try to fool me” expression. “Even if it’s just a difference of two times the time, Xiao Mo should be over ten thousand years old at least!”

 

“It’s impolite to inquire about a girl’s age, especially considering that’s the age of my original form,” Yin Xiamo continued in a relaxed tone.

 

“Even if I were really tens of thousands of years old, it has nothing to do with me now. Currently, I’m just a recently adulted beautiful young girl.”

 

“A seventeen-year-old plus a few hundred thousand months of a beautiful young girl, right?” I chuckled at her serious demeanor. “Okay, I won’t ask anymore. Where do you plan to go today?”

 

Yin Xiamo didn’t directly answer my question but pointed to my computer screen. “How’s your yuri fiction going, Nuo’er?”

 

“It’s going well,” I switched to the novel interface. “Catnip said the readership is high, but I need to maintain at least 4,000 words per double update to keep it stable.”

 

“Are you…?” Yin Xiamo seemed concerned. “Won’t that be tiring?”

 

“It’s about time, isn’t it?”

I stood up from the computer chair and stretched lazily.

 

“Writing 4,000 words every night and occasionally stocking up on drafts on weekends to handle the burst updates shouldn’t be a problem.”

 

Nowadays, I’ve basically adapted to the body and hands of a girl, and the feeling of typing isn’t as unfamiliar as before. I can basically achieve around two thousand words in an hour, and if the inspiration is good, I can even reach two thousand five hundred words in an hour. This means writing four thousand words only takes about an hour and forty minutes.

 

Usually, Xiao Mo and I can finish work by eight thirty. After a simple tidy-up, we can chat and relax on the South Nantai Tower by eight forty-five, and be back by nine. With Xiao Mo’s efficient transportation, we can be home by nine ten, and after taking a shower and coding four thousand words, it’s around eleven thirty, so sleeping by twelve thirty is completely doable.

 

Of course, this means I won’t have time to do other miscellaneous tasks like laundry or tidying up the house, which I’ll have to leave to Xiao Mo.

 

On weekends, I’ll write a bit more and stock up on drafts, so updating with four thousand words daily shouldn’t be a problem.”

 

“Do you plan to write this novel entirely about daily life?” Yin Xiamo pondered.

 

“Yeah.”

 

For some reason, hearing Xiao Mo say that made me recall the words of the Grim Reaper when we first met after he read my novel:

 

?The beginning is verbose, lacking anticipation, and the outline is inexplicable. Are you writing a novel? Even a chicken writes better than you do.?

 

Back then, the Grim Reaper… should have been Xiao Mo’s original form, right? Especially fierce.

 

“Just love between two people?”

Seeing me in a daze, Yin Xiamo asked again, “Aren’t you planning to go for a harem?”

 

“Of course not, it’s a pure love story!”

 

I snapped back, “This novel… most of the plot is based on our experiences during this time. How could I write a harem?”

 

“Beep beep beep…”

 

As I was speaking, a message popped up from Catnip in the lower right corner of the computer:

 

?Nuo’er, are you planning to go for a pure love route or a harem??

 

Why is even the editor asking this…

 

Without hesitation, I replied: ?Pure love?

 

?If it’s pure love, you need to be prepared for the possibility of a significant drop in subscriptions and even a decrease in collections in the later stages. Pure love plus daily life can be said to be the most difficult genre to retain readers and stabilize subscriptions?

 

?Why??

 

?Because pure love in the later stages is very prone to facing the problem of hollow content. The same goes for daily life. Combining these two makes it very difficult to grasp. I suggest you go for the harem route or plot flow?

 

“……”

 

In front of the computer, I was stunned for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and typed quickly: ?When I started this book, I didn’t intend to go for the harem route, and besides… Once the tags for this book are set, can’t the author change them??

 

?Can you talk about the general plot and target audience for this book? Have you figured these out??

 

?Yes, I’ve figured it out.?

 

I quickly typed on the keyboard: ?The target audience is readers who enjoy light-hearted daily-life yuri stories. I hope they can treat this book like a bedtime story, reading a bit when they have time and storing a few chapters if they’re busy. I don’t plan to make the story complex or intense. I just want everyone to enjoy it easily, both the readers and the author. After all, everyone is so busy with work or school every day. Finally getting some rest time only to be stressed out… I don’t think it’s appropriate.?

 

?I see.?

 

This time, Catnip took a while to reply: ?Like light-hearted yuri slice-of-life anime??

 

?Yes, exactly like that.?

 

Back when I was still Uncle, I actually enjoyed doing similar things.

 

Representative works of light-hearted yuri slice-of-life anime— “Is the Order a Rabbit?” “Yume-iro Pâtissière” “Hidamari Sketch” “K-On!” “The Demon Girl Next Door“…

 

These anime all have one thing in common: their plots and worldviews are not particularly grand, and they don’t have content that requires serious thought. As a viewer, I can easily grab some snacks, munch on potato chips in front of the computer, and watch the girls’ everyday lives without worrying about getting stuck in crucial plot points. I can pick it up to watch whenever I have time and leave it when I’m busy with other things.

 

My former editor, Tuzi, also known as Lan Jiajia, mentioned in those writing guidance documents that authors must determine their target audience when writing a book and stick to it. Otherwise, it’s easy to produce a failed work.

 

?Alright, since you’ve already decided, I won’t say much more. After you sign the contract, ask me for recommendations for the first 50,000 words. Start with small recommendations, and during the recommendation period, I suggest bursting updates. If the effect is good, move on to a big recommendation at 100,000 words.?

 

?Understood, thank you, Editor.?

 

I closed the chat window and turned to Yin Xiamo.

 

“Didn’t you say you wanted to take me out to play just now?”

 

“Oh…”

 

Yin Xiamo nodded. “Yes, where does Nuo’er want to go?”

 

“Moon Orchid Island.”

 

I grabbed the rabbit backpack from the foot of the bed, put one of the sanitary pads I bought with Xiao Mo when we were shopping into it, checked the daily necessities inside, and glanced at the phone screen to confirm that the battery was full.

 

Then, I rummaged through the bookshelf and took out a notebook.

 

It’s not entirely accurate to call it a draft notebook. This notebook doesn’t have grids, it’s the size of an A4 paper, and can be used for drafting or drawing.

 

“Here, Xiao Mo, you hold onto this.” I handed the sketchbook, a pencil, and an eraser to Yin Xiamo. “Xiao Mo, have you ever tried drawing on the computer?”

 

I’ve seen Xiao Mo’s drawing skills before, whether it’s figure drawing, perspective, or art style, it’s impeccable. I can be sure that when she separated her “divinity” and “personality,” she didn’t differentiate the experience of drawing. In other words, even though Xiao Mo now is just an avatar, her drawing skills are already at the level of a god. Just like Xiao Mo’s level of “protection” for me, belonging to the “divine realm,” she gives me a sense of security.

 

“I haven’t tried it…” Xiao Mo took the sketch paper, looking a bit curious. “What’s up?”

 

“When I get paid next month, I want to set aside some money to buy you a drawing tablet.” I gestured to the custom-built desktop computer in the room that was steadily breathing with its soft light.

 

“Our computer has a good configuration, so you can draw whatever you like on it.”

 

“Huh?!” This time, Xiao Mo seemed a bit embarrassed. “Uh… you don’t have to, I just draw casually…”

 

“It’s okay, actually, I have a selfish motive too. Since you like drawing, and my side job is writing novels, I can ask you to help with illustrations later.”

 

I reached out and took the girl’s hand. “Let’s go, Moon Orchid Island is relatively quiet. We can go there and try it out. I want to see Xiao Mo’s artwork.”

 

“……”

 

For some reason, my words made the current Yin Xiamo fall silent.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s nothing…”

 

With that, the girl who had been silent with her head down lifted her head and planted a kiss on my face.

 

“Then can I choose you as my model for drawing?”

 

“I refuse.”

 

“No! Nuo’er must be the model.”

 

“Then I’ll be wearing clothes.”

 

“Huh? How did you know I was going to make that request…”

 

“Because Xiao Mo, you’ve already written ‘I want to eat someone’ all over your face!”

 

“……”

 

……