Chapter 1 The Lone City (1)

Chapter 1: The Lonely City (Part 1)

"Today, I'm going to teach everyone how to make an easy honey-glazed char siu. It's simple, quick, and delicious, perfect for busy friends who want a home-cooked meal fast!"

"This way of folding clothes saves space and makes them easy to grab. Come on, everyone, give it a try~"

"Transforming cardboard boxes with just two old shoelaces—an incredibly clever hack! Come and try it with me!"

[Thanks for watching today's video. Please subscribe to the "Yali Very Sweet" channel. See you next time~ Bye-bye~]

In the video, a boy with a beaming smile waves goodbye to the audience. His skin is snow-white, his nose bridge high, his hair naturally curly, his pupils clear and dark, his eyelashes long and thick. When he smiles, his eyes crinkle, naturally exuding a sweet aura.

His name is Xia Li, a highly popular lifestyle vlogger online dedicated to promoting a minimalist lifestyle. He excels at organization, DIY hacks, and quick recipes, with over hundreds of thousands of followers on the Little Pumpkin app. With his fresh, adorable image and interesting, practical life skills, he has exploded in popularity over the past two years, attracting countless young fans.

In a bustling coffee shop, He Yunchuan was rewatching last night's video, his heart racing. After a moment, he put down his phone, looked up, and gazed lovingly at the boy, whose expression was cold.

The sweet, lovely smile from the screen contrasted sharply with the sullen face before him.

Xia Li slurped up the last of his drink from the glass and asked impatiently, "Why'd you want to meet? It's so hot out!"

Suppressing the flutter in his heart, He Yunchuan put on a businesslike air, crossing his long legs, adjusting his glasses, and pulling a document from his briefcase. In a professional tone, he said, "Lili, we've known each other for twenty years, I..."

"No way, I'm only nineteen."

He Yunchuan was taken aback and corrected himself, "We've known each other since childhood. I sincerely hope you'll join our team. My talent agency currently has over three hundred signed content creators, including several with follower counts exceeding ten million. If you come to our company, I can offer you a very lucrative contract. You'll definitely be satisfied."

Xia Li's eyes darted. His drink was finished. He bit the straw, seeming distracted, his legs swinging gently under the table. After more than half a minute, he put down the cup and said mildly, "But my management contract is with my brother right now. Why would I break it with him? He's my brother."

"Come on, Lin Yanqing isn't your biological brother. You film the videos yourself, you edit them yourself. He just gives them a final review and takes most of your money. Lili, are you a fool?" He Yunchuan rattled off a list of Lin Yanqing's faults, talking until his mouth was dry. He gulped down half his coffee and concluded, "Our company will cover the penalty fee for you. In the future, you'll only need to be in front of the camera for your videos. Pre-production, post-production, and marketing will all be handled by dedicated teams. And you absolutely won't have to take on those lousy brand deals!"

"Sounds that good, huh? I'll think about it when I get back." Xia Li observed the people in the coffee shop. Several pairs of eyes were sizing him up. He was a minor internet celebrity now, occasionally getting stopped for photos on the street.

He Yunchuan breathed a slight sigh of relief and changed the subject. "Business is done. Want to grab dinner together? I'll treat you to seafood, then we can go shopping. How about I buy you a new watch?"

Xia Li glanced at his wrist. It was almost five. He shook his head. "Next time. I'm meeting my brother; he's getting off work soon."

He Yunchuan was visibly disappointed, trying to tempt Xia Li with promises of fancier dinners and designer bags.

Xia Li insisted on leaving. He picked up his backpack from the chair, slung it over his shoulder, and prepared to pick up Lin Yanqing from work.

He Yunchuan stood up as well. "Did you drive? I can give you a lift."

Xia Li nodded and said, "Okay."

Several people sitting diagonally across from him in the coffee shop noticed he was leaving. They whispered among themselves, and three of them—two girls and a boy, all in their twenties—stood up excitedly and walked towards Xia Li.

Realizing they wanted a photo, Xia Li slowed his pace and gave them a warm smile.

It was dusk. The coffee shop had few customers. Xia Li and the three fans stood diagonally across from each other, separated by just over ten meters.

The two girls ran over first, while the tall boy lagged behind.

Sure enough, the girls raised their phones, shyly asking for a photo with Xia Li.

Xia Li was enthusiastic and full of life. He handed his phone to He Yunchuan, asking him to take the picture.

After a few group photos, the girls noticed their friend still hadn't joined them. They turned to urge him to hurry, only to see the boy leaning against the wall, head bowed, one hand clutching his collar, bending over in apparent agony.

"Ah Ming? What's wrong? Come over here!" one girl called.

"Does he feel unwell? Should we see a doctor?" Xia Li said hesitantly.

He Yunchuan narrowed his eyes, about to step forward, when the boy bent over and vomited. Undigested food mixed with green mucus gushed endlessly from his mouth. The vomit gave off a strange odor and had a faint fluorescent glow. Most bizarrely, the volume was like a burst pipe, as if flowing from a bottomless pit—far more than an adult male's stomach could possibly hold.

Xia Li stood frozen, covering his nose and mouth, not daring to approach. The girls looked at each other in confusion. Someone in the coffee shop shrieked, and people scrambled to hide in corners.

"Ah Ming, what's wrong? Are you okay?" a girl panicked. Just then, the boy named Ah Ming stopped vomiting.

He raised a trembling hand to wipe his mouth and slowly lifted his head. His pale face was expressionless. Still leaning on the wall, he remained still for a few seconds, then a sincere smile spread across his lips. But in the current context, that smile seemed eerie and terrifying.

Ah Ming said hoarsely, "I'm fine."

He took a step forward, trying to skirt around the vomit. His ankle twisted awkwardly as he stepped over it. He seemed torn between asking a staff member for a mop and asking Xia Li for a photo, so he stood there hesitantly.

After a long while, he finally moved. His left foot stepped forward, his right foot back, his body seemingly out of control, his feet moving in opposite directions. His head drooped limply, his shoulders uneven.

A few seconds later, his body gradually went limp. It wasn't a loss of strength causing him to fall; it was more like his bones had vanished. His body became soft and floppy, collapsing to the ground with a *thud* in a bizarre, twisted posture. He twitched twice, and green pus oozed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Screams instantly erupted in the coffee shop.

He Yunchuan quickly covered Xia Li's eyes, pulling him into his embrace, murmuring comforting words: "It's okay, don't be scared." Simultaneously, he took out his phone and dialed 120.

Xia Li felt a chill run through his body. Through the gaps in He Yunchuan's fingers, he saw Ah Ming's twitching form.

At the same time, he smelled a foul stench, like rotting fruit.

*

The time reached seven o'clock. It had been an hour since Lin Yanqing got off work. He had read half a book at the convenience store near his company, sent a few texts to Uncle Niangao, and his stomach had growled for the fourth time when Xia Li finally appeared at the convenience store.

Accompanying him was that shameless He Yunchuan.

Lin Yanqing curled the corner of his lip slightly and asked indifferently, "Where have you been?"

Xia Li's stomach still felt queasy. His eyelashes were damp. He said softly, "Brother, I want an ice cream first."

"The ice cream here is expensive, not worth it. We're going to the supermarket soon, you can have some later," Lin Yanqing said.

Xia Li nodded, obedient yet pitiful.

Lin Yanqing's heart, hard as iron, did not soften in the slightest. He remained unmoved, acting as if he hadn't seen it.

He Yunchuan quickly dashed to the freezer, picked out a cone Xia Li liked, paid for it, and shoved it into his hand. Sowing discord, he said, "See? Sticking with your brother, you can't even get an ice cream. Sweet Yali, you should still come to our company."

Xia Li glared at him fiercely. "Go away! It's none of your business!"

He Yunchuan winked at him. It was indeed getting late, and he had plenty of things to handle. Hearing this, he said, "Think about my proposal. I'll be off now."

Xia Li angrily took a bite of the cone. The cold ice cream slid into his stomach, suppressing the nausea. He turned the cone to an unbitten side and offered it to Lin Yanqing.

Lin Yanqing opened his mouth and took a bite. "Why so late?"

At seven in the summer, orange-red clouds drifted across the horizon. The sun had set, but the sky was still bright. The two brothers walked along the street, chatting as they headed towards the supermarket.

"That's so strange." Lin Yanqing recalled a news report he'd seen recently about a similar incident. However, the news had been quickly suppressed. The images, after multiple shares, had become blurry. Lin Yanqing hadn't saved them, and they were no longer visible online. But the written description matched exactly what Xia Li had described.

Xia Li asked, "Brother, do you think it could be rickets?"

"Rickets isn't like that. What happened afterwards? Is the person still alive?" Lin Yanqing asked.

"I think he's still alive..." Xia Li wasn't entirely sure. "But I smelled a rotting smell, like he'd been dead for a long time."

"Perhaps it was the smell of vomit." Lin Yanqing shook his head. "Never mind, let's not talk about that. What did He Yunchuan want with you?"

"He's trying to poach me from you!" Xia Li scoffed dismissively. "I won't be swayed by money."

They had already reached the supermarket entrance. Lin Yanqing went to get a shopping cart and urged Xia Li to finish his ice cream quickly.

Xia Li stuffed the cone into his mouth in a few bites, signaling to Lin Yanqing that they could go in.

Lin Yanqing pushed the cart inside. Since the fresh produce section wasn't on discount yet, he headed toward the grocery area first, warning Xia Li: "That guy He Yunchuan is clearly up to no good; he has ulterior motives toward you. It's like the weasel paying respects to the chicken! Don't pay him any mind!"

"But I'm not a little chick," Xia Li circled in front of him, grinning cheekily. "I'm a *Yali* (pear). So it's the weasel paying respects to the pear."

Lin Yanqing was amused and pinched his cheek. Comparing prices, he tossed a few packs of toilet paper into the cart, then mused, "Actually, come to think of it, this proposal isn't entirely out of the question. We could sign a contract with a crazy-high penalty fee. If he's willing to pay it, you could go work for him for a year."

"Ah, brother, how could you!" Xia Li wailed in protest, chattering complaints.

Lin Yanqing's father, Lin Moshen, was a geologist and a neighbor of the Xia family. Lin Moshen went missing on an expedition, and Xia Li's parents later adopted him. Both of their parents have since passed away, leaving the two brothers to rely on each other.

They own an apartment in the city center, with the mortgage not yet fully paid off. Additionally, Xia Li is still in school, requiring tuition and living expenses. Although their video channel brings in good money, Lin Yanqing is very frugal and never spends recklessly. Moreover, the theme of their channel is maintaining a high quality of life with relatively low costs. Splurging would contradict their channel's purpose.

"How about featuring a waterless cooking method for this week's food show? What else do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll make it for you." Lin Yanqing picked up a packet of dried shiitake mushrooms and waved it at Xia Li.

"Okay." Xia Li craned his neck to look into the distance. A crowd was bustling around the central shelves, seemingly scrambling for something. He stood on tiptoe and said curiously, "People are still rushing for eggs?"

Lin Yanqing followed his gaze. Almost everyone in the supermarket had gathered in that corner. A salesperson was shouting for them to line up, but the situation was chaotic, with angry shouts filling the large supermarket.

"Doesn't seem like eggs. Come on, let's go see."

Author's Note:

Started writing with passion, haven't finished it all yet. I've got a hefty backlog of drafts, but the writing has slowed down. Trying to see if serializing while writing will make me more proactive.

The full story might be quite long. Since it's not fully drafted, I can't guarantee it will be good when finished. I'm writing entirely according to my own preferences, just for my own enjoyment. So it might be boring when it's boring, and it might hit some pet peeves when it does. I'm not entirely clear on what common deal-breakers are for readers. If there are any content warnings needed, friends, you can tell me in the comments, and I'll add them to the synopsis.

Writing fantasy in autumn, historical BL in winter, romance in spring... As for summer... it's so hot, let's take a break. I've been resting for two months now, time to get back on track!