He Yuan drank half a bottle of mineral water and sat down at the computer desk.
Even though it was a Saturday morning, the number of viewers in his live stream approached four digits within the first ten minutes, and the barrage of comments was already buzzing.
【Look what I found! Thanks to my mom for tricking me into getting up at 8, telling me it was already 12.】
【Shoutout to my neighbor’s construction team for waking me up with their power drill】
【The streamer’s start times are so inconsistent. I’m really curious what you do for a living qwq.】
He Yuan wiped the water stains on his lips with the back of his hand, and after making sure the special effects were on, he turned on the camera.
Today’s random effect was a pair of giant sunglasses, covering most of his face and leaving only his prominent nose and lips visible.
The chat exploded even faster, filled with comments from both old fans and newcomers.
The live stream title was nothing more than the blunt “Lipstick Color Test” and the streamer’s ID was equally simple—just “Wall.”
“Good morning,” He Yuan said.
【Wall, good morning, my legs are numb from squatting, you finally started the broadcast!!!】
【Our Wall is glowing white! Are you sure there’s no filter on?】
【I feel like the streamer is really good-looking. Why always cover your face with effects?】
【Blind guess: above that handsome nose and lips are a pair of tiny bean eyes →v→】
Most of the time, He Yuan didn’t bother responding to the comments. His live streams were known for getting to the point quickly, and he also ended them swiftly. He never chatted idly with his fans like other streamers.
But his audience loved this about him.
“Today I’m trying a—” He Yuan picked up a lipstick gift box that had been sent to him by a brand a few days ago and glanced at it. “Goeo’s face-and-melon collaborative lip glaze.”
【#Goeo, incoming danger#】
【Their packaging is always so delicate and girly. Every new product steals my money QAQ】
【Wall is about to launch into a cold and ruthless roast session.】
【Wall hasn’t streamed in so long. I thought no brands dared to send him new products anymore, hahahaha】
【Go, Goeo! Make him praise how divine and beautiful you are!】
“The lid is the color of the postbox on Mount Emei¹.” He Yuan said, unboxing the first flat tube of lip tint.
【Aww, Wall, that’s Christmas green QAQ】
The lip tint’s plastic tube felt cheap in his hand. The cap, a garish green, was adorned with a grinning melon, making He Yuan frown.
Through the transparent tube, you can see the earthy orange with golden glitter inside. He Yuan focused the camera on the shade name, his expression indifferent. “It’s called ‘Koi Color,’ but it looks nothing like a koi fish. This is the color of an orange rotting on the ground.”
【Here we go, he’s starting! Wuwuwu】
【Hugging my own version of the same lip tint and trembling.】
He Yuan twisted off the green cap. As the brush separated from the tube, it made a crisp “pop.”
The stiff applicator was coated with a thick liquid, and He Yuan immediately applied it to his lips using the live stream as a mirror. After one swipe, he was silent for a while and said, “My lips look yellow.”
The comments immediately burst into laughter. He Yuan held the brush very steadily and applied it carefully and persistently all over his lips.
He had naturally light-colored lips, so he didn’t need a base. The lip tint’s pigment was especially vivid on him, and when applied thickly, it shimmered with gold.
【It’s so pretty and shiny! Kids love things that sparkle! (dog head)】
【The way the streamer applies it is so straight guy coded, but I always feel that it is different from the average straight men…】
【Exactly! Wall outlines the edges before filling it in like a pro (Akimbo).】
【Ahhh, I’m so jealous of his lip shape! TvT His upper lip line looks like a big goose flying in a landscape painting.】
“It’s incredibly ugly.” He Yuan pursed his gold-tinted lips slightly, deadpan. “You’ve seen the old version of Journey to the West, right? This is like taking Sun Wukong’s fur color² and putting it on your lips. Walk under the sun, and you’ll be the most dazzling baby on the street.”
He Yuan glanced at the box again. “Why they named this ‘Koi Color,’ I’ll never understand. This should be called ‘Buddha’s Light Shines Everywhere.’”
【Hahahaha, feels like this color can ward off evil spirits.】
【Haha, damn it, why do I want it even more now?】
【This year’s hosts are really hardcore, they have a sharp tongue and a comedian too (thumbs up).】
“Next one.” He Yuan picked up a makeup remover wipe and began wiping away the glittering lip tint.
___
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the lecture hall of the second teaching building of the School of Architecture of the University of Science and Technology.
The “Precision Cup” architectural design competition, organized by the school, was holding its finals today. As a mandatory event for all third-year architecture students, the “Precision Cup” had been the center of attention for the past month.
The lecture hall was packed. School leaders and professors occupied the front row, while students filled the back, coming from various grades.
Though everyone was required to participate, the majority of them are undoubtedly runners-up. Now everyone is here to admire the masterpieces of the great god.
“The facade design was inspired by architect Sou Fujimoto’s work. It uses multi-module stacking and greenery to connect seemingly separate spaces…”
He Yuan stood alone on stage, explaining the design inspirations behind his project.
Under the bright stage lights, He Yuan wore a white shirt, buttoned all the way up, paired with black trousers that made his legs look long and straight. His posture was straight.
As he occasionally turned to the side during his presentation, his sharp profile appeared in the corner of the large projection screen, alongside his meticulously drawn interior renderings.
Both the man and the work were eye-catching, there wasn’t a single person in the audience playing on their phone.
His advisor sat in the second row, smiling proudly at his favorite student.
At that moment, the back door of the lecture hall swung open, nearly knocking over the people standing in the last row.
A rush of heat from outside swept into the room, and the students in the back rows turned to look.
Xiao An, holding a basketball, entered and greeted a few familiar faces. He draped an arm over Wu Xing’s shoulder and whispered, “You said you were going to play basketball, what are you doing here?”
His friend was easy to spot, dressed in typical techie style, wearing a dark plaid shirt.
“Watching the competition… What’s with the hair dye?” Wu Xing whispered back.
“I’ve wanted to dye it for a while. So, what do you think? Isn’t it cool?” Xiao An asked casually.
Xiao An had just dyed his hair a cool brown. Today he came to play basketball, so he was dressed in a sporty style. He had a very refreshing feeling. He attracted many girls when he came in.
“Cool.” Wu Xing responded just as casually.
“How do I compare to him?” Xiao An glanced at the stage and chuckled.
“Do you have to embarrass me like this, brother?” Wu Xing couldn’t help but laugh.
In fact, it was difficult to see clearly from such a distance, but he could see the double-story building model projected on the big screen.
Xiao An was from the clinical department of the medical university next door and didn’t understand much about architecture. After listening for a bit, he lost interest and dragged his friend out of the hall.
Lately, he’d taken a liking to the University of Technology’s basketball court, which had just been renovated, making it spacious and ideal for playing a whole afternoon.
“Man,” Wu Xing sighed as they left the hall. “Seeing people like him, so smart and hard-working, it just takes the fun out of everything.”
Dribbling his ball, Xiao An gave him a sidelong glance and said nonchalantly, “What’s the big deal? Geniuses rebuild the world, ordinary people enjoy life. We just need to try hard enough to get by.”
Wu Xing let out another long sigh and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Being a genius must be exhausting.”
___
Compared to some of the off-campus competitions he had participated in before, He Yuan won especially easily this afternoon. Even the dean stood up to applaud him when his work presentation ended.
A group photo and a private conversation with a professor took up a lot of time, and by the time He Yuan came out with his trophy case in hand, it was already dark outside.
After the National Day holiday, even though the daytime still felt as hot as summer, the scent of autumn started to rise once night fell.
He Yuan slowed his pace as he crossed the courtyard of the teaching building. At moments like these, he felt relaxed. His stomach was empty, his mind was relatively clear, and his whole being was mentally unguarded yet comfortable.
Since there were no classes on Saturday night, the teaching area was naturally deserted at this hour. The courtyard was surrounded on all sides, so even a few people speaking could create an echoing effect.
From about dozens of meters away, He Yuan saw three boys walking toward him. They were carrying a basketball and were enthusiastically discussing shooting techniques.
“Tsk, no, you definitely didn’t see clearly. Brother An just…” said the short guy with a buzz cut as he snatched the ball and prepared to shoot.
“Why are you putting on a show now?” The guy in the middle, who had dyed brown hair, laughed.
The buzz-cut guy was determined to complete his performance. He raised the basketball high over his head, his feet seeming to be equipped with springs, and jumped as high as he could—
The brown-haired guy quickly extended his arm, but it was too late to stop him. The basketball slipped from the buzz-cut guy’s hand, flying in a parabolic arc like a comet crashing to Earth.
He Yuan’s steps faltered. The ball landed with a sharp, loud crack, and something shattered.
“Damn!” The buzz-cut guy clutched his head and shouted, “What did I just break?”
A row of architectural models was set up on the edge of the courtyard for display. Although they were protected by glass around the sides, the tops were open. The basketball had landed squarely on one of them.
It was the one He Yuan had painstakingly worked on for nearly a month, staying up late because he couldn’t afford a 3D printer.
The three boys ran nervously toward the models. The buzz-cut guy let out a wail so loud it gave He Yuan a headache, and he knew his hard work had been shattered.
“You’re done, you’re in big trouble!” The tall man in a plaid shirt next to him said, “This is the work of God He from our college, and the big guy won an award.”
The buzz-cut guy groaned, “What do I do now? I didn’t mean to! Can’t your academy put valuable stuff in a more hidden spot?”
“Who’s this He Yuan?” The brown-haired guy carefully retrieved the offending basketball from the wreckage.
The guy in the checkered shirt pointed to a group photo on the honor board next to them. “That’s He Yuan, the top genius in our academy. When Brother An came to the lecture hall to find me today, he was the one standing on stage.”
“How is he? Easy to talk to?” The buzz-cut guy stared nervously at the photo.
“Pretty aloof, doesn’t talk much.” The checkered shirt guy thought for a moment and comforted the buzz-cut guy, “I haven’t interacted with him much, maybe he’s just socially anxious. Geniuses are all introverts. We’ll apologize seriously, and maybe he’ll just nod and let it go.”
“He’s pretty handsome.” The brown-haired guy shined his phone’s flashlight on the photo, using his other hand to measure He Yuan’s head, then lowered it several times, saying, “This guy’s got an eight-head proportion³.”
He Yuan: “…”
“It doesn’t matter how many heads he’s got. Even if he had only two, he’d still have that cold expression… Should we call one of the academy’s teachers first?” suggested the checkered shirt guy.
The brown-haired guy and the checkered shirt guy began discussing solutions as they walked along the honor board. Meanwhile, the buzz-cut guy, still panicking, glanced around—
And suddenly spotted He Yuan, a short distance away.
Because it was dark, and the surrounding lights were dim, he couldn’t see clearly.
He Yuan was looking down at his shattered model, his face expressionless.
“Hey, Wu Xing, Brother An,” the buzz-cut guy called nervously, his hand trembling as he pulled his companions back. “That guy behind us looks a bit like the one in the photo.”
“Are you scared silly? What do you mean, ‘looks like’ the photo…” The brown-haired guy’s sentence trailed off mid-sentence.
The three standing in front of the honor board simultaneously fell into silence, frozen in place.
After several seconds, they turned their heads stiffly and slowly at the same time.
He Yuan raised his head at this time and met their eyes with a cold expression.
Notes:
¹postbox on Mount Emei: I’m sorry to everyone but I don’t know if there’s really a postbox on Mount Emei QAQ I’m pretty sure none, below is an image of a postbox with the color that He Yuan is probably talking about
²Sun Wukong’s fur color: The popular movie “Journey to the West” 1986 version, below is an image of the character Sun Wukong;
³eight-head proportion: this is like the chinese term similar to “feet”
