Qu Yanning rented an apartment on the sixteenth floor.
He had a roommate, Chu Zhou, and the two of them had been sharing the place for almost half a year now.
The red numbers on the elevator display climbed steadily.
With a ding, it finally stopped at the sixteenth floor.
The hallway was pitch dark.
Qu Yanning stomped his foot hard, and the dim motion-sensor lights flickered on reluctantly.
He walked down the corridor.
A faint light shone through the crack of door 1602.
Before he could even insert his key into the lock, the door opened from the inside.
Chu Zhou poked half his body out and unlocked the security gate. “Why are you back so late? How’d business go?”
Qu Yanning changed into slippers at the entrance, his round eyes sparkling with joy. “Business was amazing! I sold out everything!”
“I knew it. The stuff you make is too good not to sell.”
Chu Zhou locked the door again and returned to his desk.
In the short time he’d stepped away, the “ding dong” alerts from their messaging app had already gone off several times on his computer.
Qu Yanning unbuckled the small pouch tied around his waist, stuffed to the brim with cash from the day’s sales.
He emptied the contents onto the coffee table and counted the money. Tonight alone, he had made 1,030 yuan.
The squid skewers were pre-prepped, which cost a bit more than making them himself.
After deducting the other miscellaneous costs, he’d still netted around 400 to 500 yuan.
If things continued at this rate, he could easily earn over ten thousand a month.
And if he bought more squid, started earlier, and came home later, he could make even more!
“Zhou Zhou, we’re gonna be rich~” Qu Yanning squealed, rolling around on the sofa with a pillow, giggling like a fool.
Chu Zhou leaned back in his chair, fingers flying across the keyboard to reply to customers.
He reached out and ruffled Qu Yanning’s hair. “You did great.”
Qu Yanning had been picked up off the street by Chu Zhou.
No one knew what he’d gone through before that.
He remembered nothing except his name—not even his ID.
If Chu Zhou hadn’t taken him in and had him work as a part-time customer service rep for the past six months, Qu Yanning might still be wandering the streets.
Even now, he was essentially living without legal status.
To celebrate Qu Undocumented Yanning finally finding a job he could do, Chu Zhou suggested they treat themselves to a late-night snack.
Qu Yanning eyed the bright red pimple on Chu Zhou’s nose and hesitated, but eventually agreed. “Let’s eat something light.”
Chu Zhou reluctantly agreed.
Qu Yanning headed into the kitchen.
There was some leftover chicken soup from earlier in the day.
After rummaging through the fridge, he decided to cook two bowls of chicken noodle soup.
With the broth already made, the meal came together quickly.
He brought the soup to a boil and dropped in some dried noodles.
No extra seasoning was needed—the chicken broth was flavorful enough on its own.
He chopped a small handful of scallions, and once the noodles were done, he sprinkled them on top.
Just like that, two bowls of steaming, fragrant chicken noodle soup were ready.
Chu Zhou slurped up his noodles with gusto, the faint look of disappointment on his face from the lack of spicy food finally fading.
By the time they finished their midnight snack, it was past midnight.
After washing up, Qu Yanning headed to bed.
…
In his dream, there were a pair of golden eyes and a tail that swayed endlessly.
Qu Yanning spent the entire night chasing that tail.
Just when he finally started to fall asleep properly, the alarm on his phone went off, blaring beside his pillow.
He fumbled to shut off the annoying sound.
Silence returned.
Qu Yanning yawned groggily and got out of bed, his curly hair sticking up in every direction.
It wasn’t even eight yet, but the sun was already high in the sky, its blinding light casting a pale golden glow over the morning clouds.
On a weekday morning, the streets of Shen City bustled with office workers.
From the window of the sixteenth floor, Qu Yanning could see the steady stream of traffic and pedestrians below.
He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face, then glared at his messy curls in the mirror.
With a few rough swipes, he tried to tame them.
Finally, he grabbed a hair tie from the sink and tied up the stray bangs on his forehead.
With his clean forehead and bright black eyes now visible, he looked much more spirited.
Satisfied, he decided to leave the housework look as is—after all, he wasn’t going out today and headed off to make breakfast, his little topknot bobbing as he walked.
Breakfast was tofu and crucian carp soup with white porridge.
He pan-fried the fish until golden on both sides, then carefully poured cooled boiled water into the pot until the fish was fully submerged.
The clear liquid bubbled rapidly under high heat.
He covered the pot and wiped his hands with a paper towel, then went to wake Chu Zhou.
“Zhou Zhou, breakfast is ready,” he called, knocking on the bedroom door.
He heard the sound of rustling inside, and then the slow, dragging steps of someone approaching.
“Morning.” Chu Zhou opened the door and saw Qu Yanning standing there in a little chick-themed apron, his topknot bouncing on his head.
He couldn’t resist flicking it with his finger.
The little tuft wobbled but stubbornly stood tall.
“Breakfast’s ready,” Qu Yanning said, shielding his topknot and stepping back.
Chu Zhou yawned and ran a hand over his short hair. “You go ahead and eat first, I need to freshen up and do my makeup.”
Qu Yanning agreed and returned to the kitchen to check on the soup.
The fish soup was turning milky white, and its savory aroma filled the air.
Qu Yanning tasted it and then added soft tofu cut into small cubes.
After ten more minutes, the soup had become a rich, creamy white.
He added chopped green onions and a pinch of salt before ladling the soup into a delicate blue-and-white porcelain bowl.
The rich scent of the fish soup drifted into the living room.
Their apartment was a small two-bedroom unit with a simple but clean layout.
Qu Yanning was good at homemaking; he’d decorated their little home bit by bit, making it feel warm and cozy.
The dining table was by the window.
Soft-colored curtains brushed the floor, gently swaying in the morning breeze.
Qu Yanning placed the soup on the table, added a small dish of pickled radish and two bowls of porridge, then waited for Chu Zhou to finish getting ready.
It didn’t take long.
Chu Zhou was tall, with fair skin and sharp features—peach blossom eyes and a pointed chin.
With makeup on, his already striking face became almost unreal, a beauty that transcended gender.
Even though Qu Yanning lived with him day in and day out, he still felt a little shy seeing him like this. “Going out for a photoshoot today?”
Chu Zhou took a big sip of porridge, then stuffed a chopstick full of pickled radish into his mouth before answering, “Yeah, shooting all day today. Once I’m done, I’ll take you out for hotpot.”
Chu Zhou ran a Taobao store selling cosmetics and occasionally did modeling on the side.
Today, he had a shoot scheduled with one of the brand clients.
“There’s more porridge in the pot. Take a thermos with you when you leave, so you can have some during your break.”
Chu Zhou, still eating, nodded with his mouth full. “Got it.”
After breakfast, he headed out.
Qu Yanning brewed a cup of fruit tea and sat down at the computer to browse the news, replying to customer inquiries as they came in.
One of the top headlines today was a chilling one: two women had been murdered in a nearby urban village in Qinghu District.
The victims were both female.
The killer had used extremely brutal methods dismembering the bodies and scattering the remains at various locations.
To date, the police hadn’t even recovered the corpses in full.
It was a heinous crime, but the urban village’s poor security meant the surveillance cameras hadn’t even captured the suspect’s face.
As Qu Yanning stared at the familiar buildings in the crime scene photos, he realized the village was right next to their own residential complex…
His heart sank a little.
Just then, a new message alert popped up.
He shook himself out of it, closed the news tab, rubbed his face, and focused on work.
Chu Zhou’s store had a solid reputation on Weibo, and with a store owner as charismatic as him, business was booming.
Customer questions came in from all angles.
One buyer asked, “Is there a discount if I buy ten bottles of foundation?”
They sold major name-brand products, and it was rare for someone to buy so many at once.
Qu Yanning typed quickly: “Hi dear, are you buying them for yourself or as gifts?”
The buyer replied almost immediately: “For myself.”
Qu Yanning responded, “Dear, foundations do have a shelf life. Are you sure you need that many?”
The buyer replied with a sad emoji: “I have a lot of area to cover. If you can give me a discount, I’ll buy all ten from you.”
“It’s not like you’re painting a wall…” Qu Yanning muttered to himself, but still replied politely: “Sure, we can give you a discount. You’d like ten bottles, correct?”
The rest of the conversation went smoothly.
The customer placed the order promptly, and Qu Yanning included a coupon and a generous handful of samples.
When verifying the shipping address, he realized it was an old customer and coincidentally, the delivery address was in the same urban village where the murders had occurred.
He hesitated, then sent a message: “Dear, we’re very close to your address. If it’s convenient for you, I can deliver it in person.”
There was a long pause before the customer replied: “No need. My place… is a bit messy. Don’t want to scare you.”
Since the customer declined, Qu Yanning didn’t insist.
He carefully packaged the products and arranged for them to be shipped out.
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