The whole universe is built on absurdity. Without absurdity, there would be nothing at all.
[Blurb 1]
Yan Shu is a rocker who has done so many awful things that Death has come calling.
He thought his life was over, but to his shock, the seemingly cold and ruthless Grim Reaper is actually a single-minded, blunt, clueless blockhead. He has no common sense or understanding of social niceties... and he's mute, too.
Most importantly, Lord Death is illiterate. His education level is zero.
How could that be allowed?!
So Yan, the lead singer, buys Death a schoolbag and stationery and sends him off to elementary school to receive nine years of compulsory education.
From then on, Death gets busier and busier.
By day, he studies Chinese pinyin and arithmetic at school. At night, he puts on his robe and goes out to reap lives. Even on the rare weekends when he has free time, he has to attend the drum lessons Yan Shu signed him up for.
Life is hard, Death sighs.
*
Once, Yan Shu takes Death to a band dinner. He goes to the bathroom midway through, and on his way back, hears the band's guitarist ask Death from outside the room:
"You've known our lead singer for so long. Do you know what his name is?"
Yan Shu is about to go in and explain that Death can't speak. He has just turned the doorknob when a clear, level voice comes from inside:
"I don't know." Lord Death, who has never said a word to him, asks softly, "What's his name?"
...The next second, the thoroughly betrayed lead singer Yan kicks the door open with a bang.
"What am I called? Listen up, you bastard." Yan Shu glares, furious:
"I'm called Humanity's Mom-Killer!"
Later...
Lord Death goes out in the middle of the night to take care of some "business," gets lost, and squats seriously by the roadside waiting for Yan Shu to come get him. A passerby assumes this handsome guy isn't right in the head and comes over to ask, "Are you lost?"
Death gives a blank-faced nod.
Passerby: "Do you have an emergency contact? Do you remember their name?"
Death: "I do."
The passerby takes out their phone to call 110 and asks, "What's his name?"
Lord Death looks up and says with utmost seriousness:
"He's called Humanity's Mom-Killer."
[Blurb 2]
Yan Shu, lead singer of the band Tidal, is a sensation in the rock scene.
His musical talent is astonishing. One album shook up the entire rock scene, but he's a dissolute man who compares himself to mud, acts like he owns the place, and can't say a kind word. When he writes songs, he even insults himself.
Even so, hordes of fans still worship him.
When the band competes, the members' profiles are introduced. The other musicians' profiles are packed with awards they've won, their representative works, and more...
Only the lead singer Yan's profile has always had the same concise four words, ever since his debut:
"Likes butterflies."
So the fans spontaneously adopted "butterflies" as their cheering symbol. At every band performance, they release butterflies into the sky as Yan Shu sings in his deep, husky voice.
Later, the band's drummer retires, and a new drummer makes his stage debut. As usual, the musicians' profiles are shown before the performance.
Yan Shu's profile still says "Likes butterflies," just as expected. The new drummer, Lord Death, sits quietly in his place. The moment his profile appears, there's a brief silence, then the entire rock scene erupts.
His profile has only one word:
"Butterflies."
"There are still so many things in this world I can't bear to leave behind: midsummer moonlight, fields of wheat beneath a rainstorm, rose-colored sunsets, and the uneven ridges and grooves on a human palm.
...But none of it compares to walking with you on the road to the execution ground."
Top: A foul-mouthed philosopher, rock lead singer, and old dad
Bottom: An emotionless Lord Death, drummer, and Daddy's good boy
I haven't polished the blurb carefully; it's just a rough outline, but the story is a little romantic.
A Grim Reaper guarding an ancient castle once fell in love with a butterfly specimen that had slept on a mural for billions of years.
Tags: ancient castle, castle keeper, butterfly specimen, dusk, birds in flight, band, roses, Grim Reaper
Theme: Pay attention to children's physical and mental health as they grow
