I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 62

“What does the Abyss in others’ mouths really look like?”

“Come, don’t hesitate if you want to see, I can always find you wandering alone.”

“Come on, quietly tell me, the direction you want to go…”

The melodious music from the monitor, my hands dancing lightly on the keyboard.

In the nearby kitchen, the cooking of winter melon and pork bone soup is nearing completion, and a large amount of steam is hissing from the ventilation holes on top of the rice cooker, filling this empty room with a hint of warmth.

Because I don’t want to turn on the range hood, the fragrant steam can only slowly diffuse throughout the room, seeping through the cracks in the windows and drifting into the dark night outside.

“Don’t leave tonight, grant me a dream to make you unforgettable.”

“Why come to this desolate place, young lady?”

“Pull up a chair and listen to me, there’s a price for everything, we won’t close tonight.”

At the bottom right corner of the computer screen, there’s word processing software, QQ, WeChat, and a music player, lined up in a row, they weep, unwilling to sleep.

On the left, QQ chat keeps flashing with group chat messages—

?I went to the comic expo and saw that legendary loli editor, she’s really cute.?

?Why are the pictures so blurry??

?Haha, I only dared to take pictures from afar, forgive my social anxiety, it’s already a big deal for me to go to a comic expo.?

Under my gradually familiar fingers, the text on the screen begins to rhythmically pulse—

?All those fair and idealistic dreams we once promised, expected, didn’t see, and don’t remember, wither away in pain.?

?Our remaining years will all be spent on the road.?

?Come, let me take you home.?

?Pandora is an evil witch, who knows humanity’s most fragile desires…?

What am I even writing…

Why is my mood so chaotic?

The food is almost ready, but hasn’t that grim reaper arrived yet? Nothing bad happened, did it?

Can grim reapers encounter trouble too?

For incidents of their level… I’m probably just an ordinary person who can’t intervene, right?

“…”

For some reason, tonight, while writing, I can’t seem to calm my mood no matter what.

I’ve forgotten the rule I’ve long been accustomed to, which is “writing severs all connections.” I’ve kept QQ open the entire time, and every time there’s a flashing avatar in the bottom right corner, I click to see, as if hoping to receive some message.

Amidst the enchanting aroma of winter melon and pork bone soup, I hear voices from some neighboring residents below the open window—

“I heard that one of the tenants here died during the day, it’s really scary.”

“No way? he really died? Did the property manager say that?”

“Shh… I inquired with great difficulty. It seems… it was in the late stage, went unnoticed for a long time, and that day, they stayed up all night drinking, and the tumor’s blood vessel ruptured, causing massive bleeding. The doctor came and covered them with a white sheet directly.”

“Didn’t he drink with that property manager every day? Shouldn’t the property manager be responsible?”

“That’s why they dare not mention it in the group chat. I reckon in a few days, the deceased’s relatives will come and make a scene. They were just in their twenties and gone just like that.”

“…”

I don’t know how much time has passed, but the rice cooker in the kitchen made a “ding” sound.

The final winter melon and pork bone soup is ready.

I got up from my computer chair, jumped down to the floor, and went to the kitchen to open the lid of the rice cooker.

Instantly, a rich meaty aroma wafted out.

I’ll leave it to cool a bit before I ladle it into bowls.

Back at the computer, I separately copied the novel I’m updating today and began to check for typos and grammatical errors.

After a thorough check and making corrections, I copied the edited content into the website’s built-in typo-checking system and fixed two more sentences.

Then, I copied the manuscript that had undergone a second check to a website specifically designed for proofreading.

“Your VIP membership expired on May 3, 2022, at 6:00 PM. Would you like to renew it?”

Seeing the pop-up message from the website, I hesitated for a moment, then took out my phone to make the payment.

“Payment of 25 yuan received, you now have access to Honeydew Writing Cat 1-month VIP.”

After refreshing the website, I copied the manuscript again and began to meticulously go through various minor issues in the novel, such as typos, grammatical errors, and sensitive words suggested by the website on the right.

Five minutes later, with the manuscript checked almost thoroughly, I opened the author’s backend on Honeydew, input the chapter number and title, pasted the completed chapter, and clicked “Publish New Chapter.”

On the second day of Honeydew’s new book release, there were 1,129 views and 52 bookmarks, which can be considered a steady development.

After one last glance at QQ in the bottom right corner of the computer, I got up and went to the kitchen. I stepped onto a small chair, picked up the only large bowl in the house used for soup, grabbed some tissue, and used it to pour the winter melon and pork bone soup from the rice cooker into the large bowl. I also took the inner pot of the rice cooker to wash it in the sink.

Holding the bowl of winter melon and pork bone soup, I returned to the cushion on the floor. Placing the soup bowl in the center of the dining table, I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

Now, all the dishes for tonight are ready.

But why hasn’t that grim reaper shown up yet?

I checked the temperature of the two rice bowls and the sour cabbage and mackerel. It’s just right, we can start eating.

The food on my desktop right now is like a “feast” for my usual self.

In the middle is a large steaming bowl of winter melon and pork bone soup. On the left, there’s the special dish I rarely make, sour cabbage and mackerel. On the right is freshly stir-fried garlic pumpkin greens, followed by two bowls of rice, and both cups are filled with chrysanthemum tea.

In addition, not far from here, on a small table, there’s apple cider vinegar just taken out of the fridge, with condensation on its surface. Next to it are disposable cups and strawberries that have been cleaned and placed in small plates.

It’s been almost two years since I entertained “guests” like this.

Mainly, when I used to work, there were hardly any visitors to my rented place, and after switching careers to become a novelist, I lost touch with friends even more.

So, after rarely making a meal to entertain someone, did they stand me up?

I took out my phone and checked the time once again.

It’s already past eight, and we’re way past the agreed-upon time. I rarely have dinner at this time.

So, did she have some last-minute issue? Or is she simply playing a prank on me?

This is so annoying. I really hate this kind of situation. We agreed she would come over, and now her whereabouts are unknown, not even leaving a contact method.

If it were some close friends or something in real life, and they didn’t show up as agreed, and didn’t call or send a text to explain, I could at least call them to check.

But in a situation like this, with someone like a grim reaper… what should I do?

I don’t have her phone number, and I can’t time-travel through space. How am I supposed to find her now?

Feeling somewhat frustrated, I set down the chopsticks I had in my hand.

Let’s wait for her a little longer and start writing and saving my work.

Maybe, in the middle of writing, the space behind me will suddenly tear open, and some flat-chested individual will just “whoosh” out of it.

Speaking of flat-chested…

Thinking of this word, I tried to stand up and shouted into the empty living room, “Hey! I can see you, so come out already. Hiding in those nonexistent cleavage gaps won’t make them grow any bigger!”

“…”

Silence.

No response.

No space rifts, no grim reaper, and definitely no one with those signature black thigh-high stockings and long legs.

I’ve shouted this much, and she still hasn’t come out? It seems like she indeed had some last-minute issue to attend to.

Well, I’ll reluctantly wait a bit longer.

After confirming that someone isn’t nearby, I returned to the computer and opened the word processing software.

Then, my stomach growled, making a “gurgle, gurgle” sound.

“At most, I’ll wait for her for one more hour, just one hour!”

Feeling impatient, I placed my hands on the keyboard.

It’s now 8:35 PM, and if that troublesome person doesn’t show up by 9:30, I’ll just eat all the dishes I prepared today myself!

……