I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 97
Let a grim reaper work as a maid? Ouyang Xue’s words inadvertently led me to imagine what it would be like with Yin Xiamo dressed as a maid.
To be honest, girls like Ai Luodi make decent maids, at least in terms of appearance. Ai Luodi is quite sharp-tongued online, and though not as extreme in real life, she occasionally exhibits a bit of a straightforward personality. In any case, her appearance and voice are entirely opposite, falling into the category of ‘gap moe.’ Such girls, dressed in maid outfits as waitresses, have a certain appeal.
But when it comes to Yin Xiamo…
She has a very attractive face, but I genuinely can’t picture what she would look like in a maid outfit. Yin Xiamo’s appearance is not completely oriental Asian, but she gives people a slightly mixed-race feeling. Her face is slightly more European-style. If I had to describe it, it would be similar to the various little demons drawn by Mao Yu Niu when they grow into a girl’s form.
Or perhaps… like Veneto, the battlecruiser in Azur Lane? Anyway, that kind of charm, with a youthful figure and a face carrying a hint of mature elegance. Her personality tends to be assertive, and I can’t imagine what it would be like for such a girl to serve customers in a maid outfit.
?Miss Maid, can we take a picture together??
?Sure (pulls out a scythe), after the photo, let’s hit the road together after you pay?
—Something along those lines?
On another note, I still don’t know who received the organs from my body that day.
According to Yin Xiamo, at least three organs were donated on the spot: corneas, kidneys, and the heart. Among them, the heart was donated to the daughter of the former boss of Yae-Do, and Lu Xinjian, due to his connections and contacts, actively sought out me, the “sister” of the “donor.”
As for others… the hospital’s confidentiality measures should have been effective. At least, no one has approached me so far. Yin Xiamo also mentioned that she took my body to the “Shenzhen City First People’s Hospital” at that time. The hospital is located near the Lion Mountain Park in the central area of Shenzhen City, very close to the cramped apartment where I used to live.
I suspect that the beheading by the grim reaper at that time probably involved some kind of secret technique. When my head was cut off, the body did not experience a “river of blood,” and there were no gruesome scenes. Later, she likely used some kind of magic, like “corpse control,” on my body, which I cannot comprehend.
In the room, holding the phone, I glanced at Yin Xiamo beside me. The current grim reaper is dressed casually in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, with her long hair simply tied into a single ponytail. She looks harmless, like the girl next door, seemingly unrelated to terms like “supernatural” or “magic” in another world.
However, being aware of everything, I know she is definitely not as simple as she appears. She has limited knowledge of computers but can effortlessly hack into the public security system or sneak into the public security bureau to handle my ID without anyone noticing. Either she used some means of “invisibility” to observe them processing the ID for a long time at the Public Security Bureau, or she relied on her half-baked computer skills and forcefully specialized in the talent of handling IDs, managing to sort out this troublesome matter for me a long time ago.
After all, Miss Grim Reaper has been on Earth for several years since she arrived. It’s impossible for her to come and work honestly, saving money throughout, and behaving like a good baby. This person must have planned something in advance and acted on it.
Consider this… If my uncle’s body hadn’t died but experienced confusion in consciousness due to insufficient sleep recently, leading to deviations in the accuracy of various information, then Miss Grim Reaper could easily deceive me, just like a naive girl.
Thinking about it, you know it’s impossible. The usual cause of sudden death is cardiac arrest. If I died suddenly because of staying up every night, how could my heart still pass the hospital’s qualifying test for donation?
The only reason so many organs could be donated is that my original body was healthy. So at that time, the Miss Grim Reaper casually found an excuse to say I died, then found another excuse to turn me into a girl, and used some kind of “control technique” to bring my original body to the hospital. Then, holding the organ donation form, she collapsed in the hospital.
When the hospital staff saw that someone had died here, what to do? After trying to resuscitate for a while without success, they noticed the organ donation form was filled out, so they decided to remove the organs on the spot.
Is this process in line with hospital procedures, or did Yin Xiamo do more work at that time? For example, turning that body into brain death or directly “possessing” that body, telling the hospital through “my” mouth, “I’m not alive anymore, brothers, get ready for surgery while I’m not dead yet…”
“Hmm… I think it’s better if you talk to her in person about this matter.”
Stirred up by Ouyang Xue, my mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts about the past. After hesitating for a while, I spoke into the phone, “Should I give her the phone?”
“That works.”
Ouyang Xue on the other end of the line didn’t refuse, “You can give it to her. I’ll talk to her first, mainly to prevent any issues like breaking the contract if she signs one with the store.”
I handed my phone to Yin Xiamo, saying, “Here, it’s the cafe manager.”
“Hello?”
The girl took the phone, “Is it the esteemed cafe manager? What can I help?”
During their conversation, I silently returned to my room, grabbed Rabbit’s backpack, then headed to the kitchen’s fridge. I took two bottles of water and placed them in the backpack.
“Working at the café? For me, it’s the first time… well, I’ve been helping others with their shops…”
“A very small grocery store, just sitting in a chair, and when a customer comes, you scan the items they need… Basic salary?”
In the living room, Yin Xiamo seemed to be chatting quite comfortably with Ouyang Xue. From the content of their conversation, I could roughly guess what these two were discussing.
“A contract? We didn’t sign a contract…”
“Huh?! Is there an advantage to not signing a contract? Oh no, what I mean is… I don’t know how to handle this.”
“Yeah, it’s been almost two years… Up to 11 months each year? Double pay?”
“Alright, we can discuss it then… but if it’s about being a maid, I have a small request.”
“It’s… about Nuo’er…”
Listening and sensing something amiss, I peeked my head out from the kitchen. I saw Yin Xiamo covering the phone’s microphone, lowering her voice. I couldn’t hear what Ouyang Xue on the other side was saying.
“Is it okay? If it’s fine with you, I don’t have any issues here.”
“Great, I’ll take care of Nuo’er tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, we’ll go together!”
Following that, the girl in the living room waved at me, signaling with her phone, “Little cutie, your esteemed café manager wants to talk to you.”
“Becoming ‘little cutie’ again.”
I walked over in frustration and took the phone.
“I talked with your sister, and she agreed to work at the café. The day after tomorrow, we’ll go find the owner of that grocery store together… Aren’t you two good friends?”
Ouyang Xue’s tone on the phone sounded puzzled, “A monthly salary of 2500 yuan, no social security or provident fund, no contract, only two days off per month. Can anyone endure such a job? And she’s been doing it for nearly two years?”
“Well…”
Glancing at the girl beside me, I am thinking, ‘Actually, we’ve only known each other for less than a week.’
A puzzled expression formed on Yin Xiamo’s forehead.
“I mean…”
I hastily added, “Although we… might have known each other for a long time, I only recently learned about her work situation.”
Yin Xiamo narrowed her eyes and returned to her earlier half-smiling expression.
“You two give me the feeling that there’s some story between you.”
Ouyang Xue sighed, “Let’s leave it at that. The day after tomorrow, I’ll gather some people, bring a few lawyers to talk to the owner of that store. If we can negotiate, great. If not, we’ll resort to labor arbitration. For places like that, without a contract, they need to compensate double wages. Over two years, that’s a considerable sum.”
Is that really possible?
Um… Café manager, could you see if your team of lawyers can also help me with the labor arbitration on my end? My boss has been missing for months, and he owes me three months’ salary.
“What’s going on?”
“Uh… nothing.”
I snapped back, “How about this, café manager, tonight I’ll take Xiao Mo to the store, help out, and let her get used to the environment there?!”
“You’re coming tonight? Is your health okay?”
“No problem! It’s not a serious illness. It’s just a normal physiological phenomenon for girls. I’m not the delicate princess type, right?”
I quickly added, “You’re busy even at noon, and there will probably be more people at night. Won’t it be tough for you without me, café manager?”
There’s a saying… Love is mutual.
Because I wasn’t feeling well, the manager gave me a two-day break. So, I should reciprocate. Once my health improves, I should go back and help as much as I can. I shouldn’t take advantage of the manager’s kindness and enjoy other people’s “grace.”
It’s like the relationship between couples. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I have the right to enjoy everything. Asking for gifts on various holidays like 520 day, Qixi Festival, Women’s Day, and birthdays, and being tightfisted otherwise, is not fair. Love is mutual. When I have cramps during my period and feel emotionally restless, you need to be understanding and take care of me. In return, when the person I love is upset because their favorite team lost a match or made a mistake in a game, and they’re feeling down because of teammates’ criticism, it’s my turn to comfort and take care of them.
On my birthday, you give me a gift, and on your birthday, I reciprocate.
On May 20th (520), you send me a 520 yuan red envelope, saying “I love you,” and I respond with a 521 red envelope, saying “I love you too.”
When we go to the movies, you cover the cost of the tickets, and I buy popcorn and drinks. Afterward, I treat you to a meal.
Similarly, when encountering a “leader” worth striving for, I would also engage in such “mutual understanding.”
Just like Ouyang Xue, when I requested a two-day leave due to my menstrual period, many bosses find it unimaginable. Not to mention a menstrual period, even if you have a cold or a fever and request leave with a body temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, some bosses may not approve it. At most, they might give you half a day to go to the hospital for intravenous drips and antipyretics. Even if the fever drops to 38 degrees, you must return to work immediately, and they might deduct a few tens of dollars from your salary for those hours of leave.
The café was in urgent need of manpower just after opening. If I’m not there, Ouyang Xue would undoubtedly be extremely busy. Moreover, based on the information I gathered during my contact with her these days, this “café manager’s” childhood was not much more complete than mine.
“Let me come over around five or six in the evening.”
I glanced at the small clock next to the living room TV. “I will bring Xiao Mo with you.”
“You call her Xiao Mo? Isn’t she your sister?”
Ouyang Xue seemed to find it amusing. “Your relationship seems a bit confusing.”
“Confusing?”
I turned to look at Yin Xiamo with a disdainful tone. “Over here in the rented house, she’s just a maid who serves me tea…”
Yin Xiamo instantly leaned in, facing the phone’s microphone, “Nuo’er is my wife.”
I bristled immediately, “Who’s your wife!”
“Oh~~”
Ouyang Xue on the other end of the phone drew out her tone, “I think I get it now.”
“What do you understand!”
“Oh, nothing, nothing. Haha, young people, I can understand~”
Ouyang Xue seemed very amused, “No wonder she made such a request.”
Now it was my turn to be puzzled, “What request?”
“Nothing, she didn’t let me say. When you both start working together, you’ll know then.”
During the conversation, I could hear the constant “ding-dong!” of customer orders on Ouyang Xue’s end.
“Well, let’s leave it at that. The self-ordering system in the store was just debugged this morning. When you come in the evening, there’s no need to manually write down orders for customers anymore… If you’re really not feeling well, don’t force yourself. I can ask the head office to send over a few strong guys temporarily.”
My mind went in a naughty direction, “Strong guys as waiters?”
“What are you thinking, you little brain! Just get a few guys over to handle the customers.”
Amidst the “ding-dong” sounds, Ouyang Xue’s tone became increasingly urgent, “Okay then, hanging up, right?”
“Sure.”
After ending the call, I glanced at the call duration on top and almost instinctively asked Yin Xiamo beside me, “What conditions did you mention to her?”
The girl turned her face away, saying, “It’s a secret.”
“Whatever, stingy.”
I slung my rabbit backpack over one shoulder and walked around this person, saying, “Fine, if you won’t tell.”
“You’ll know when the time comes! It’s not some strange condition.”
“The more you say that, the more curious I become…”
“……”
Exiting the house, we took the elevator down to the first floor. This time, instead of taking the shortcut through the back door of the neighborhood along the slope, I led Yin Xiamo along the small path to the north towards the large vegetable garden near the front gate of the neighborhood.
“Are all those plants in your house brought from here?”
As I opened the sunshade umbrella at the entrance of the vegetable garden with a “pop” sound, tilting the umbrella slightly toward Yin Xiamo beside me, I surveyed the area, which was almost the size of two football fields. My gaze fell on the small grove behind: “Are they all wild?”
“They are all wild, and many flowers grow… well, like the flowers from my hometown.”
The girl beside me calmly pushed the sunshade umbrella a bit more towards me. “Sometimes, elementary school students from Shenzhen Starlight Elementary School run over there to play and end up damaging a lot of flowers. So, I brought them all home.”
“You do take good care of the flowers at home.”
I looked toward a large exit on the west side of the vegetable garden. From this angle, I could see a large awning in the middle of the open space, with many stone platforms inside. Each platform had either burly men or older ladies sitting beside it, with pork and chicken displayed on the platforms. Vaguely, I could also see some elderly women selling vegetables under the awning.
It had a very retro design.
At the sight of the awning, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of emotion in my heart.
The last time I saw such an old-fashioned market with large awnings in my memory… must have been more than ten years ago, right?
I looked toward several farms next to the awning. Due to the considerable distance, I couldn’t make out whether those buildings were pig farms, chicken farms, or a combination of both.
In addition to that, I noticed a large pond behind the vegetable garden, surrounded by a few fishermen wearing conical hats. Several groups of ducks were playing in the pond, and not far from the shore, someone had fenced off an area full of hens and chicks.
Isn’t this just too “natural”?
The vegetable garden, duck farm, chicken farm, and pig farm were all nearby. Within a few steps, there was a retro-style market where all the vegetables and poultry were freshly slaughtered and sold.
“Is that the main entrance to the community Ai Luodi mentioned over there?”
After spending quite some time looking down at the vegetable garden from a high point, I roughly grasped the overall situation in the vicinity. The community Ai Luodi is in, “Starry Garden Community,” became semi-abandoned because “Starry Garden” closed down, and the owner ran away. It even has an amateur property management. After going through various changes over the years, the vacant land behind it was utilized. The “main entrance” turned into a desolate “back door,” and the community’s “back door” became the vegetable garden. Standing inside the community, you could overlook the entire vegetable garden – the left side led to the exit, which went out to a natural vegetable market, the right side was the entrance to Shenzhen Starlight Elementary School, and a few more steps led to the Ring Road.
This “vegetable garden” didn’t have many man-made structures. The paths were created by footsteps. In the middle, a main road forked into a Y-shape, dividing the vegetable garden into three areas. The front area connected to the small grove and had a large pond – roughly, that’s the layout.
No wonder Ai Luodi didn’t let Xinjian take the “main entrance” when driving, because there is simply no road here that cars can enter.
“Yeah, sometimes this place gives me the feeling of… well, a magical forest in another world.”
As we walked toward the vegetable garden with Ai Luodi, the girl beside me naturally took my hand.
“What do you want to eat tonight?”
Carefully stepping on the solid ground trodden by countless predecessors, I walked towards the direction of the exit to the vegetable market. “Have you been here before? What do they mainly sell?”
“Everything.”
“What do you mean by ‘everything’? That’s too vague…”
“There really is everything – chickens, ducks, fish, pork, beef, and a lot of seafood.”
“What about vegetables? Are they all taken from these vegetable gardens and sold?”
“More or less, but many people also grow them on their own balconies.”
Yin Xiamo pointed to the buildings behind us, gesturing toward many balconies filled with lush potted plants. “There.”
Growing vegetables at home and then selling them… it truly reflects a simple and down-to-earth lifestyle.
“Ai Luodi mentioned that this is a very old community with many elderly residents. Their children work in the city or elsewhere, and when the elderly have nothing to do at home, they used to go outside to rummage through trash bins or collect bottles. Now that the vegetable garden at the back is being utilized, the elderly no longer collect bottles, and they’ve started growing vegetables instead.”
“That’s nice.”
I thought of the elderly people in the orphanage. “When people get old, they just can’t stay idle… By the way, Momo, can I ask you a somewhat private question?”
“Why?”
“How old are you?”
“I…” Yin Xiamo beside me stiffened, “I… am 20 years old?”
“I mean, your *real* age.”
I said in a tone as if enjoying a show, “Since you’ve been living in another world for so long, defeated the Demon King, and came to the real world here, you should be a few hundred years old, right?”
The girl beside me emitted a sharp gleam in her eyes, “Huh? What are you trying to say?”
“I… I mean, do you ever feel lonely like these old men and women do? Wait… wait!”
Before I could finish my sentence, the girl beside me drew a sickle out from the “void.”
“I was just kidding, ah! Please!”
“I’m sorry, Momo. You’re not an old lady, you’re a beautiful young girl… Ah!”
“Yin Nuo’er, you’re so dead!”
“No, don’t!”
“…”
In the midst of the playful banter, the girl and I crossed through the vegetable garden behind the community and arrived at the side of the vegetable market.
“Whose child is this? It’s not good to be out and about at this time. You’ll feel sleepy in the afternoon when you go to class.”
“What a lovely girl! First time seeing her, just moved in?”
As soon as I appeared in the market area, I attracted the attention of numerous elderly men and women. Yin Xiamo behind me also sensibly put away her sickle, pretending to be like a sister accompanying her “silly little sister” and followed behind me.
“I know that girl, top floor of Building 3. She moved in a long time ago.”
“Do you know her?”
“Yes, I’ve seen her coming out of Building 3, but I don’t recognize the little girl.”
Perhaps because there were fewer people buying vegetables here at noon, the stall owners were relatively idle. Our appearance quickly sparked their discussions. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to survey the surrounding stalls.
The layout of this market was very casual, or whether it could be called a “vegetable market” was debatable. There were two super-large awnings, and inside these awnings were many stone platforms displaying meat and vegetables.
The wooden pillars and top frames of the awnings were quite old, and you could see many abandoned swallow nests on top. In the corners beneath the stone platforms, there were many dilapidated mud wasp nests, about the size of a thumb. I remembered that these mud wasps would use mud to build nests in cooler places, and the nest would look somewhat like coral, with only one ventilated hole. They would then catch locusts or large insects, bite them to death, place them in the nest, lay eggs inside, seal the hole, so that the newly born mud wasps would have food.
In addition, there were many worn-out spider webs under these stone platforms, and there was a lot of sandy soil in the gaps of the stone path. Some of the sandy soil piles had traces of being hollowed out in the middle. I felt that not long ago, the “ant lions” that specialize in catching ants should still be living here.
In comparison, the stone platforms with meat and the small chairs for people to sit on were quite polished. They were selling pork, as well as chicken, duck, beef, and fish. Some stalls even brought small generators to specifically power the bathtubs on the stalls for oxygenation, selling fish, shrimp, sand worms, and shells.
Next to these stalls were various elderly ladies and gentlemen selling vegetables and fruits. Their equipment was much simpler – a shoulder pole, a small chair, and a dry cigarette.
The feeling I get here is like a vegetable market in less developed areas from my memories of ten or twenty years ago. Of course, back then, the small vendors at the vegetable market didn’t have QR codes.
An old and rich variety vegetable market…
As I passed through the middle of this vegetable market, the phrase “though small, it has everything” kept playing in my mind. There’s a good chance that the ingredients sold here are even more diverse than the small vegetable market near the snail-apartment where I lived before. At least, there weren’t as many fish, shrimp, and marine specialties over there.
Take these… sandworms, for example.
I remember locals in the Nanqi District using these to make porridge, claiming it’s very nutritious with high protein content. However, I can’t accept it. The appearance is too unpleasant. Really, spare me from adding insects or anything like that to porridge. No matter how rich in protein, I won’t be able to eat it.
In contrast, there’s something called “cat-eye snail” being sold here, along with starfish. I have no idea how to cook these ingredients.
“There’s a fast-food restaurant here. How about eating here?”
Together with Yin Xiamo, we walked through the vegetable market, took a brief look at the place not far ahead, unsure if it was a pig farm or a chicken farm, and headed toward the city area. Along the way, we found a seemingly decent fast-food restaurant.
“What’s wrong?”
Then, I noticed Yin Xiamo, who seemed to have been silent since we entered the vegetable market.
“Are you really angry?”
Seeing the girl silent and seemingly upset, I felt a bit flustered and immediately apologized, “Okay… it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked a girl’s age. I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry, alright?”
Based on what I currently understood, the Miss Grim Reaper must have been alive for a very long time—I don’t know how ages are calculated in the other world, but being able to learn so much magic after the Hero died and was reincarnated, mastering “forbidden magic,” becoming a goddess of “death” in this world, and killing the “Demon King” with her own power, the Grim Reaper by my side must have gone through a lot.
And the reason she went through all of this was to seek revenge for the one who used to be the Hero—me.
For someone to endure so much for my sake, and for me to make jokes about her age, it was indeed… a bit too much.
“Hmm?”
After listening to my words, Yin Xiamo, who had been silent all along, seemed to have just snapped back to attention. She glanced around as if recalling something, and a mischievous expression appeared on her small face.
“So, how do you plan to compensate me?” she asked, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“Huh?” I was taken aback by the question, scratching my head. “What do you want as compensation?”
Perhaps because it was lunch break, and the location was a bit remote, there were not many people in the fast-food restaurant. There was only a high school-aged girl, probably helping her parents manage the place, working on homework. When she saw Yin Xiamo and me approaching, she naturally closed her workbook, walked to the counter with a pen in hand, ready to help us pick our dishes.
I gave her a “wait a moment” look.
“You have to kiss me,” Yin Xiamo said.
In the presence of the gaze of a high school girl holding a small shovel behind me, Yin Xiamo said in a playful tone, “Give me a kiss. Let’s just pretend that you didn’t make a joke about my age just now.”
I was stunned for a moment and asked, “Kiss… kiss where?”
“Of course, on the lips!”
“Can’t I kiss your cheek?”
“Then you have to kiss twice! Otherwise, it’s not sincere enough!”
“Alright…”
In order not to keep the high school girl who was cooking waiting for too long, I approached Yin Xiamo. I planted a kiss on her clean and snowy little face on both sides and said, “Okay, I’m sorry.”
“Actually, I wasn’t angry at all,” Yin Xiamo said.
She showed a “you fell for it” expression, “I was just reminded of some past events.”
What?
“Ahem, You lovebirds…”
The high school girl behind, who was serving food, couldn’t hold back, “What do you want to eat?”
“Oh… coming, coming!”
I hurriedly approached and looked at the fast food in the showcase, saying, “I’ll have this one, this one, and… also this one.”
“Do you have soup?”
“Yes, we do. You can choose any soup and rice over there, and there’s also green bean porridge, it’s free.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
After getting my meal, when it was Yin Xiamo’s turn, I heard the curious voice of the high school girl serving the food, “Are you two a couple?”
I silently went to get some soup.
“No, we’re not.”
Then came Yin Xiamo’s voice from behind, as if declaring sovereignty, “She is my wife, the one I hold close every night when we sleep.”
“……”
……