I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 52
My previous name, Yin Shiren, was an entirely ordinary name at the local orphanage in Shenzhen City.
When children arrive at the orphanage, the naming process is typically as follows: if a child arrives with a name tag from their parents, they are registered under that name. For pure orphans without any name or parental information, the orphanage uses the surname of the person who receives the child that day and then uses a random draw to determine the given name.
For example, if the orphanage director, Mr. Yin Guorong, received a baby on a given day, that baby would share the surname Yin. Next, a coin would be flipped to decide whether the name would consist of two or three characters. On the day I arrived at the orphanage when I was still a baby, I flipped the coin and got three characters.
The next step was the naming process. An electronic device generating random numbers was used, and the baby would press the ‘confirm’ button to generate a three-digit number. An assistant nurse would then open a dictionary with just over 900 pages and find the corresponding page, selecting appropriate Chinese characters from that page to form the name. The second character would be determined similarly.
The two characters, “?” (shì) and “?” (rén), that composed my name were generated through this random number process when I was still an infant. The dictionary yielded the pages with “shi” and “ren,” and the orphanage director, based on those pages, chose the two characters, creating my name. It was intended to carry the meaning of “reaching great heights in one’s career” and “having friends all over the world.”
As it turned out, I didn’t achieve much in my career, and I didn’t have many friends, and I lost my life to a grim reaper with whom I had no apparent connection.
As for “Yin Nuo’er,” I created this name for the female protagonist in my first novel, based on my own surname. “Nuo” means “promise,” and “er” doesn’t have a specific meaning but was simply chosen to make the girl’s name sound more pleasant. My idea at the time was that since my book was pure romance with one male and one female lead, the meaning of “promise” in the female protagonist’s name would add depth to the story.
Life and death have profound implications. To live with you, to hold your hand, and to grow old with you.
Yin Nuo’er, with your promise.
Back then, for some reason, I had a vague feeling that the word “promise” was somehow significant to me.
I truly never expected to end up using this name in the end.
What surprised me even more was that after transforming me into this little girl’s appearance, the miss grim reaper actually took my original body to the hospital and donated its organs. Isn’t what she did a violation of the rules in the divine realm? Or, as she said herself… is she the ultimate authority in this world, and no one can question her?
“I…”
Facing the gaze of Uncle Lu Xinjian, the owner of Yae-Do, I turned away and said, “I don’t know.”
If what the uncle said was true, that there was only one person named “Yin ***ren” in the entire Shenzhen City, then there was no doubt that my original body provided the heart for his daughter. However, in the current situation, I genuinely didn’t know how to explain it to him. In my memories, there was no “sister” for the me who had come out of the orphanage, and my current self, or “Yin Nuo’er,” was created out of thin air.
I didn’t know whether the grim reaper had directly used magic to alter the world’s causality or simply gone to the local police station to change the background and identity of the original “me.” In any case, I couldn’t reveal it to the uncle. What astonished me even more was that, under normal circumstances, hospitals strictly protect the privacy of organ donors. So, how was he able to find out my name? Did this uncle have many connections? Did he have significant influence? Or perhaps, because his daughter was frequently admitted to the hospital, he had become familiar with the hospital director?
“Well, okay,” He responded. Perhaps he had already discerned something from my expression. “I understand. I’m sorry for suddenly talking to you about all this… Have you had breakfast yet?”
I nodded and said, “Yes, I’ve already eaten.”
That’s it, let’s wrap up this topic quickly. If we delve any further, I truly wouldn’t know how to navigate it. I have absolutely no idea about the crazy things that miss grim reaper did!
Whenever I discuss these matters, I feel like a grim reaper is crawling on me. That feeling of “it seems like I did it, but also not really” and “who am I, what have I done, who killed me” is truly awful.
When that grim reaper comes tonight, I’m definitely, definitely going to grab her and get all the answers!
“Do you want to eat more?”
At some point, the uncle had already walked to a small cabinet on the side and pulled out a box of Crispy Sharks. “I heard that you’ve already signed a contract with Honeydew’s Tuzi.”
Crispy Sharks! And they’re the vanilla flavor!
Seeing this, I felt like something was suddenly standing on top of my head and pushing against my hat.
Speaking of which, didn’t that Marisa owe me a box of Crispy Sharks? Is this different from our usual “let me treat you to a meal another day”? Was his statement just a formality? Does he actually want to take me to the supermarket to buy me Crispy Sharks?
“Yes, I’ve signed the contract,” I replied, keeping my gaze on the snacks in the uncle’s hand.
“Currently, I’m at home and don’t have a job, so I can only write books to earn some living expenses.”
“I see. I’ll make sure to have Ai Luodi pay special attention to your books in the future,” the uncle responded, placing the Crispy Sharks in front of me. “Your brother should be near that market, right?”
My brother? What kind of strange assumption are you making here? I tilted my head, looking at the uncle with confusion. Now, I don’t even know the details of what happened, and you’re just assuming that my “brother” donated a heart to your daughter?!
Or is it that you’ve already discovered that “I” previously wrote books for Yae-Do through the earlier contract?
“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any harm. What I meant was… never mind, let’s forget I asked. I’m really sorry.” Feeling my gaze, the uncle quickly apologized. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’m doing fine for now,” I declined the uncle’s offer, discreetly grabbing a handful of Crispy Sharks.
“If my new book can be published with the same momentum as this daily collection, and it doesn’t crash, I should be earning over two thousand yuan in royalties every month. If I do some part-time work on the side, my life should be more than manageable.”
“Over two thousand…”
The uncle’s lips twitched, and then, as if he remembered something, he said, “Why don’t you come to my place…”
Knock, knock, knock! Before the uncle could finish his sentence, the room’s door was lightly tapped three times, and then the previous Honeydew’s chief editor entered, pushing the door open from outside. “You haven’t finished talking yet? People are starting to arrive, and we have two booths. We’ll also need to coordinate with Yae-Do’s authors later.”
“Oh, alright, we’re done,” the uncle brushed off the chief editor with a sentence and turned to me.
“Are you busy today?”
“Busy?” I hesitated. “Not really, I might need to save my manuscript for the new book, and in the afternoon, I have to go to the market for groceries…”
“How about helping out today? Just stand here and watch the store, sell some books,” Uncle Lu Xinjian had an inviting look. “Honeydew and Yae-Do’s Booth 67 and 68, Editor G and I have a few meetings to attend, and Honeydew has to manage the authors in the group. Ai Luodi might be too busy on her own.”
Lastly, the uncle added, “There’s a salary.”
Helping out at the store? But I… didn’t plan to stay here today. I hesitated. My new book had just started, and I needed to save manuscripts, take care of readers, manage the comments section and feedback, and plan character plots and outline. If I had to stay at the store all day today, I might not have enough time in the evening.
How about I go back and sign the contract? I still have to face that Miss Grim Reaper tonight.
“No,” I thought about it and offered a smile filled with apology. “There’s just too much going on recently…”
The uncle didn’t seem willing to give up. “20 yuan per hour, payment the same night.”
20 yuan per hour? It’s currently 10 o’clock. Even if I work until 6 in the evening, it would only be… just over a hundred?
“Triple pay on holidays,” he continued to coax me, probably noticing my hesitation. “60 yuan per hour.”
60 yuan an hour?! If I work from now until evening… it’s close to five hundred?
“Um… Uncle, it’s not about the money,” I tried to resist the temptation, thinking about the countless visitors at the comic convention, not knowing how many I’d have to host. “I…”
“You look very cute, double pay, 120 yuan per hour, work until six in the evening, meals are provided, bubble tea and drinks are directly reimbursed, and you can have snacks freely here,” he ignored my rejection, gesturing to the various snacks and beverages on the shelves around the room. He continued to tempt me, “It’s now 10:10, until 6 in the afternoon, eight hours, rounded off, a thousand yuan in wages, how about that?”
A thousand yuan?!
I hesitated, but hearing the words “a thousand yuan in wages,” I felt like even the hairs on top of my head were trembling.
“I’ll do it!”