Married to the Grim Reaper Against My Will

Damn old man

Ji Mian's life remained largely unchanged, except for her weekly visits to the Heavenly Palace.

The three patriarchs were all very easygoing. Aside from the required morning and evening greetings, there were no other tedious rules, and they generally wouldn't bother her at Zhengyang Palace unless absolutely necessary.

Ji Mian enjoyed a peaceful and carefree life, spending weekends in the quiet palace, free from distractions, frantically working on her practice problems.

When she got tired of studying, she would take a study guide to the lawn behind Zhengyang Palace. She had visited Yunxiu Heavenly Palace several times before discovering the paradise-like meadow outside Zhengyang Palace.

The meadow stretched as far as the eye could see, reaching to the horizon, merging with the blue sky and white clouds. The entire scene was vast and ethereal, the colors clean and pure, like a scene from a Miyazaki Hayao animation. Ancient-style corridors lined the meadow, with white gauze curtains draped on both sides, swaying gently in the breeze.

Perhaps it was the clean, pure color of the room that made her feel so close to the sky, as if she could reach out and pluck the clouds from the sky, and then she couldn't help but think of her parents.

They must be in heaven now, right?

Ji Mian took out the kitten her mother had knitted and stroked it gently, her expression somewhat melancholy.

"Madam?"

Xiang Shu's voice rang out from not far away.

Ji Mian looked up and almost burst out laughing. Xiang Shu was still wearing his blue robe with its dark patterns, looking every bit the elegant young nobleman, but he had a notebook tucked under his arm, a rather incongruous sight.

Ji Mian, being reserved, found it comical and only smiled faintly.

Xiang Shu noticed her gaze, smiled helplessly, and pulled the notebook from under his arm. "No choice, working stiff."

Ji Mian finally laughed.

"Madam, would you like to go over there?"

Xiang Shu gestured, pointing to a circular wooden platform at the end of the corridor. The platform was located in the center of the meadow, surrounded by green grass on all sides, accessible only by a covered walkway. Sitting on it felt like being completely immersed in a sea of ​​grass.

Ji Mian responded and got up to follow him there.

Upon reaching the platform, Xiang Shu waved his hand, and an old-fashioned carved low table and a futon appeared.

“Does Madam need anything?”

Ji Mian looked on curiously and nodded.

Xiang Shu waved his hand again, and an identical low table appeared in front of Ji Mian, with a futon at her feet. The two sat facing each other on the futons. Xiang Shu placed his computer on his low table, while Ji Mian placed her book on hers.

One worked, the other studied; a gentle breeze caressed their faces, creating a tranquil and harmonious atmosphere.

Ji Mian was memorizing English grammar when she suddenly heard a message notification from QQ across from her!

She put down her book in utter shock and stared at Xiang Shu in astonishment. Perhaps sensing her gaze, Xiang Shu, who was buried in his computer, looked up. Still somewhat dazed, he squinted at her for a moment before smiling.

He always seemed to know what she was thinking.

“Surprised that Yunxiu Heavenly Palace has a signal?”

Of course I'm surprised!!! It's too extraordinary, how could I not be surprised?

Ji Mian didn't speak, but her expression said it all.

Xiang Shu laughed even harder, “I thought that since you married the God-King, you would be able to accept all extraordinary things. It seems you're not immune yet. Compared to having a signal, isn't the existence of Xuanyang-Jun even more amazing?”

Ji Mian was dumbfounded, unable to compare which was more amazing. "This grassland is the only place with a signal in the entire Yunxiu Heavenly Palace. Want to try it?"

"Huh?" Ji Mian belatedly realized, "I didn't bring my phone."

"I'll have Xiao Zhi bring it over." Xiang Shu said, making a hand gesture, "Bring Madam's phone to the grassy platform."

Less than two minutes later, a bird's cry rang out in the air. In the blink of an eye, Xiao Zhi landed and transformed into human form. "Madam, your phone."

Xiao Zhi turned to Xiang Shu and bowed, "Lord Xiang."

Xiang Shu smiled at her, and Xiao Zhi instantly blushed.

Xiang Shu didn't look at her much, turning instead to Ji Mian, "Try it."

After he finished speaking, he looked down and operated the computer for a few moments.

Ji Mian didn't understand what he meant when her phone beeped, receiving a transfer notification.

She counted the zeros: 100,000! Startled, she nearly dropped her phone. "I...I...I can't use that much money..."

"If you can't use it, save it."

"No, I can't accept it. It puts too much pressure on me."

Xiang Shu then adopted a pretentious tone, "Madam, you should get used to it. The God's things are your things, and your subordinates' things, including their lives, belong to the God."

Ji Mian: ...

Little Pheasant watched silently, then retreated to the corridor, transformed into a large bird, and flew back to Zhengyang Palace.

While the two were talking, Xiang Shu's computer kept buzzing—a QQ message, an MSN message, an email...

He was indeed extremely busy.

He stopped chatting and focused on his work, his brow furrowing deeper with each task. Suddenly, he closed his laptop and said to Ji Mian across from him, "I have urgent business to attend to. I'm leaving now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished along with his low table and futon. Ji Mian: !!!

Because of her human identity, everyone in the Heavenly Palace had been instructed by Xiang Shu not to cause any shocking disturbances in front of her. Therefore, although she had adapted to life in the Heavenly Palace, she was still incredibly amazed by this miracle.

While she was still in shock, Xiang Shu sent another voice message.

Xiang Shu: "I'm already in the city. If you're interested in this, I'll teach you when you return to the Heavenly Palace during the May Day holiday. It's easy, not that mysterious."

Listening to his voice, Ji Mian sighed again. Xiang Shu was very capable, extremely good at understanding people's hearts.

* y.z.y

The May Day holiday was fast approaching. A week before the holiday, No. 2 Middle School made a big fuss again.

Because of the May Day holiday, there would be a make-up day of classes this Saturday. The school decided to only have half a day of classes on Saturday, and organize a field trip for the first and second year high school students for the second half of the day and Sunday. The Second High School is currently caught between exams and holistic education, emphasizing stress reduction and workload reduction. Perhaps some higher-ups are planning an inspection, hence this bizarre outing.

As soon as the news broke, the second-year students practically cheered.

In a few months, their second year will end, and they'll be entering the hellish third year. Forget about outings and fun; even physical education, art, and music classes will be gone, leaving them only with an endless sea of ​​practice problems. Therefore, this is likely their last celebration of high school, and naturally, everyone is incredibly excited, starting to discuss and plan a week in advance.

The news only came down on Tuesday, so Ji Mian couldn't tell the older students beforehand; she could only tell Xiang Shu first.

During the long break, Ji Mian sent a message to Xiang Shu explaining the situation. After sending the message, she bought a bottle of milk from the convenience store and drank it as she went upstairs to her classroom.

Class 14's classroom was at the very end of the corridor, close to the stairwell. A group of boys from Class 14 often crowded there, chatting and fooling around, occasionally teasing the pretty girls passing by.

During the long break, Xu Ting and his group were huddled there, laughing and talking about a girl who had just walked by. The girl blushed and hurried away.

A group of boys laughed, while Jiang Wang leaned lazily against the wall, fiddling with a pen, seemingly absent-minded, not even listening to the conversation.

Suddenly, Xu Ting nudged him in the waist with his elbow.

Jiang Wang looked up, his face darkening, about to explode, "You fucking..."

"Ji Mian."

Jiang Wang fell silent, looking up to see Ji Mian walking up, a milk straw in her mouth. She was still wearing her school uniform properly, obediently biting the straw, her eyes not daring to wander, her steps small but quick, clearly somewhat afraid of the group of big boys.

Just moments before, Jiang Wang, who had been wearing a sour expression, curled his lips into a smile and stepped forward to stop her.

But Ji Mian's phone rang at that moment. She glanced at the caller ID, quickly quickened her pace towards the classroom, subtly avoiding Jiang Wang.

Actually, aside from finding Jiang Wang a bit frivolous, she had no problem with him. But with so many boys gathered around, she was afraid he would say something inappropriate to tease her, attracting a commotion and a crowd, which made her extremely uncomfortable.

Jiang Wang watched her walk away quickly, his face instantly darkening.

"Damn it!" he cursed, slamming his pen on the ground, then kicked open the back door of the classroom and went inside.

Leaving the others looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What's wrong?"

"Who messed with our Brother Wang again?"

Xu Ting vaguely sensed something, but dared not say anything for the moment.

Ji Mian hadn't expected Xiang Shu to call. Afraid of being overheard, she went to the balcony where the cleaning supplies were kept after entering the classroom to answer the phone.

"We're going on a field trip this week, and we have to stay overnight?" Xiang Shu was practically a parent to her, taking care of every little detail.

Ji Mian honestly answered, "Yes, it's arranged by the school."

"Where are we going?"

"Qiuxi Secondary Primitive Forest."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a serious voice said, "Mianmian, your soul is unstable, you need to be careful. Although you have Shouya Jun's elixir, a place like a primeval forest has too little yang energy, it's not good for you."

Actually, Ji Mian really wanted to go. She had a good relationship with all her classmates, and this was her last trip of high school; she would regret it if she didn't go. But she wasn't being unreasonable, and could only say regretfully, "Then I'll tell the teacher I'm not feeling well and won't go."

Xiang Shu chuckled, "It's not that serious. Do you know He Sihang?"

"Yes, he's our class's sports representative."

"I'll have him look after you, and you should be careful too, okay?"

Ji Mian was a little surprised, "He's also..."

"Not really, his grandfather is. His bloodline is mixed, so he's just an ordinary person now, but his physical fitness is better, and his yang energy is stronger than average."

Ji Mian recalled He Sihang's perpetually healthy, lively, and sunny disposition, and felt that he really did have a lot of yang energy.

"Is that appropriate?"

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. He doesn't need to follow you around all the time, just a little close is fine. There shouldn't be any problems during the day, just be more careful at night. For the night, talk to your classmates, it would be best if you stayed in the room next to his."

"Okay." Ji Mian was still a little hesitant. "It's alright, go have fun. I'll talk to He Sihang's father in a bit, and it'll be resolved quickly. Don't worry, if things get really bad, just call me." Xiang Shu said, laughing. "Have you forgotten? I can teleport; I can be in front of you in the blink of an eye."

Ji Mian remembered Xiang Shu's instant disappearance on the grass field and laughed too.

On the balcony of Class 14, Jiang Wang was leaning against the wall smoking when he turned his head and saw Ji Mian on the balcony of the Sunshine Class in the distance, making a phone call. She was leaning against the railing, talking and laughing happily.

Jiang Wang instantly felt annoyed. What's wrong? She avoids me, but is so happy talking to others?

He frowned in annoyance, then focused on listening. The two classes, one at the beginning and one at the end, were too far apart to hear clearly.

He moved two steps, now to the very edge, but still couldn't hear clearly, though he could vaguely make out a man on the other end of the line. The voice sounded familiar; Ji Mian seemed to have been talking to this man on the phone at the disciplinary office last time.

A damned old man, always preying on young girls!

Jiang Wang thought viciously, a surge of anger coursing through him. He stubbed out his cigarette, bent down to pick up an unwanted, broken softball, and with a flick of his wrist, smashed it onto the balcony of the Sunshine Classroom. Then he turned and went back to the classroom, slamming the door shut.

Ji Mian was startled by the softball falling from the sky. She looked around blankly, wondering where it had come from. The direction it came from seemed to be towards Class 14, but it was so far away; no one could have thrown a softball from there.

Maybe it was thrown from upstairs?

Ji Mian didn't think much of it. The bell rang, she hung up the phone, and hurried into the classroom.