I step into the shower and peel off the red dress. Just looking at it now makes me sick—it clings to me like a reminder of everything I thought would happen… and didn't.
I strip everything off, toss it aside, and step under the hot stream of water. It rushes over me, stinging my skin a little, but I don't care. I need it to burn everything away.
Ugh… I smell like beer. My head's pounding.
I sit down to the floor, knees pulled to my chest, arms wrap tight around them.
How pathetic can I be? Spending years—years—hung up on one guy like a love-sick idiot. Like a kid. How did I not grow out of this?
But is it even my fault? Even now, after everything, he acts like nothing happened. Like he doesn't know what he's doing to my heart.
His words last night were sharp, clear, final—not his type—but the way he looked at me today, the way he grabbed my shoulders, worried, panicked…
How does he not see what that does to me?
He called everything I planned, everything I felt, a "silly mistake." Is that what I am to him? Just some error in his perfect little world?
God, it hurts.
That's not the Tang I know. What does he take me for? Some easy, naive girl who just throws herself at anyone?
No. I'm not that. I didn't let it happen because I was drunk. I didn't do it because I was lonely or desperate.
I did it because it was him.
Because I loved him. Because I wanted it to be him.
And he knew that. God, he knew. He knew how much he meant to me—how long I've carried this, how hard I tried to hold it in.
He knew I was falling apart inside. He even knew... he knew there was a chance I'd do something reckless after his rejection.
He knew all of that.
And he still left me with nothing but that empty, careless "I'm not your type."
My heart aches so bad it feels like it's splitting down the middle.
How could he just walk away from everything like that?
How could he let me believe, even for a second, that maybe, just maybe… he felt the same?
I cry for a while, letting the hot water—and my tears—flow freely.
Tch… what's the point? I should've known my place. He was just being nice—he's always nice to everyone. I'm the idiot who mistook kindness for love.
And now? Now I've got nothing but some weird alien to deal with. I have to figure him out, learn more about him, and—
Uh huh?? Huhhh??? Wait wait wait alien guy is too quite?? There isn't any voice coming? Wait did he runaway? No no no no no my Nobel Prize!!!
I quickly stand up turning off shower wrapping towel around me and open bathroom door and he standing there with most calm and clueless person or whatever he is infront of bathroom door.
I blink at him. Just standing there, dripping wet, towel barely holding my dignity together, staring at this glowing-headband-wearing alien like he is the dumbest genius in the galaxy.
"You were just… standing here. This whole time. Like a weirdo." I deadpan.
He tilt his head, as if I was the one being weird. "You said, do not leave. Do not remove this. Do not make noise." He touches the headband. "I followed instructions precisely."
I want to scream. Laugh. Cry again. All at once.
"Okay okay fine, you're not totally dumb. But jeez, maybe sit on the couch or something next time. People don't just stand outside bathrooms like they're waiting to abduct someone!"
He blink. "Do you need to be abducted?"
"NO!"
He just nods, like that was a perfectly normal question.
I groan and trudge past him toward the bedroom. "Let me change first and then I'll give you your damn answer, okay? Just—ugh—go sit. Quietly. Far away from bathroom doors."
He obeyed like an overgrown child told to go to time-out.
I get in the bedroom with my clothes and close the door.
Sigh... Really, such a perv species. Now I have to somehow get in touch with Mr. Xian, meet him in person, and tell him everything.
I start drying my hair with the hairdryer. Yuyu said no one has been able to contact Mr. Xian, and given his status, no wonder—he must be part of the investigation into what happened on the mountain.
I let my towel drop on the floor as I grab my T-shirt.
The government is already involved. They're keeping this matter confidential, so I need to be careful. If someone finds out before I inform Mr. Xian, I'm doomed.
I take my shorts and put them on.
I just have to gain the trust of this alien fella and use his knowledge to take humanity to the next level.
Haha, I'll be written into human history—my name will never be forgotten. If humanity becomes like him, no illness, longer lifespans, more space exploration...
I open the bedroom door.
He's sitting in the living room just like I asked him to. As I open the door, he looks at me, his antenna tip glowing faintly under the headband.
Sigh... Well, before helping humanity, I need to feed myself.
I walk into the kitchen, open the fridge, and take out some eggs—just as I close it, I feel something. A subtle, silent pressure at my back.
I freeze. "Don't just stand there like that!" I snap, spinning around—and yep, there he is. Standing way too close, eyes wide like a confused puppy.
His head tilts. "You have hidden eyes?" he asks innocently, blinking.
I blink back, dumbfounded. "No, idiot, I don't. But I can feel your presence!" I grab a pan a little too aggressively and slam it on the stove. "Haven't your species heard of personal space?"
He just blinks again, like I just told him I eat sand.
"Should I maintain distance, you mean?" he asks, all serious.
"Yes, please, you idiot!" I snap, cracking an egg into the pan with a bit more force than necessary.
As the egg sizzles in the pan, I feel that familiar pressure again. I glance over my shoulder—yep, he's leaning in again, totally ignoring the "two-meter rule" he just invented.
He peers over, eyes scanning the stove like it's some ancient artifact.
"Can I ask you a question?" he says, head tilting.
"What is it now?" I sigh, flipping the egg.
"What is your name?" he asks, still watching me cook. "Your kind before said... Ling Yunhua. Is that your name?"
I narrow my eyes at him. "Okay, first of all—don't call them 'my kind.' They're not some other species. They're humans. And even more specifically, they were police."
He blinks, absorbing that like it's critical data. "Understood. They were police. Not your kind. Got it."
"Good." I flip the egg, satisfied. "And yeah—my name is Ling Yunhua."
His antennae give a faint twitch. "Ling Yunhua," he repeats slowly. "That... sounds soft."
I pause, caught off guard. "What?"
"Your name. It's soft. Calming. Like a...cloud."
He perks up like he just discovered a new button to press. "Yunhua!"
I nearly drop the spatula. "Geez! Don't call me without a reason!"
He tilts his head, antennae flickering in amusement. "But I like the way it sounds when I say it."
I squint at him. "Yeah? Well, I like silence. Try it sometime."
He raises one hand in a mock-serious gesture. "Okay. I'll call you only when necessary."
"Good," I mutter, turning back to the stove—only to hear him whisper behind me, barely audible—
"...Yunhua."
I sigh through my teeth. "You lil—"
turn off the stove, take the omelet onto a plate and grab the bread pack. As I turn to walk out of the kitchen, I notice him staring at my plate like a lost puppy.
"What? You need something?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
He blinks at me, tilting his head slightly. "Am I not getting food?"
"Eh? Ehh?? EHHHH? You eat food too?? I thought your species left that behind years ago too!" I stare at him, mouth slightly open.
He looks almost... offended? His antenna tips glow in protest as he straightens his back. "We did leave behind many traditional consumption practices. But organic intake is still occasionally required. Especially after interdimensional travel."
"Okay—so basically, you do eat," I say, squinting at him.
He nods. "Exactly."
I roll my eyes, dramatic and loud. "Ugh, fine. Sit down. You're lucky I'm nice. Or hungry enough not to fight about this."
He instantly sits at the table, looking way too excited for someone who just said eating is optional. His antennae even wiggle slightly—like he's wagging a tail he doesn't have.
"You're like a stray cat that followed me home," I mutter, heading back to the stove. "A weird, glowing, slightly stalkerish cat."
I sit beside him, placing the plate on the table. "See, I don't have any more eggs right now, so let's share it."
He nods obediently, his antennae glowing softly under the headband.
I cut the omelet in two, then glance at him. "Look, if it's just you and me alone, you can take off your headband. It must be irritating, I assume?"
"Can I?" he asks, eyes blinking slowly, almost like he's double-checking if I really mean it.
"Yeah," I say, casually sandwiching my half of the omelet between two slices of bread. "Go ahead."
He hesitates for a second, then reaches up and gently pulls the headband off.
The second it's off, his antennae unfurl slightly—longer than I expected—and glow a little brighter, twitching like they're finally stretching after being squished. He looks... more natural like this. Less like a guy wearing cosplay and more like, well, an actual alien.
I blink at him. "Whoa...You actually look like an intelligent lifeform now."
He takes his first bite—and suddenly his eyes go wide, almost sparkling like white stars. His antennae shoot up straight and start twitching like they just got zapped.
"What is it?" he says, chewing slowly with this dazed, reverent look on his face. "It tastes… so differently good."
I smirk, leaning back a little. "Hehe. That's omelet bread, my alien friend. Only a very talented individual like me can make something so divine."
He stares at the sandwich in his hand like it's a sacred relic. "The texture… the heat… the layered flavors…" He takes another huge bite, almost forgetting to chew this time.
I shake my head. "You're lucky you didn't show up on Earth earlier, or some food blogger would've abducted you just to record your reaction to street food."
"Friend?" he asks, pausing mid-bite, his eyes blinking curiously. "Are we friends?"
"Umm…" I hesitate for a second, then nod quickly. "Yes, yes, we are friends. You know—good friends!"
He seems to process that for a moment, then gives a tiny satisfied nod. "Good. I like being friends."
Yes! I cheer silently in my head. Step one complete!
Now all I need is to win his trust completely, gather enough knowledge from him, and boom—first human to befriend an alien. I'll establish peaceful relations, revolutionize science, and maybe even get my own statue in front of the Uni*ed Na*ions.
I can already see the headlines: "Ling Yunhua: The Woman Who Took Humanity to the Stars—Armed with an Omelet Sandwich."
Ah—right, the headline… News!
I stuff the last bite of my omelet sandwich into my mouth and grab the remote. With a quick click, the TV flickers on, landing on the news channel.
["The Xumiumugi Mountain incident has been taken under control by the Ministry of Defense. But was it really just an accident? If so, what about civilian safety? And why was a testing fighter jet flying over the city in the middle of the night?"]
I groan. "Ughh, news channels are not gonna let this go, huh?"
I glance at him, and he's already up, walking closer to the TV. He stares at the screen like it's the most fascinating thing he's seen all day.
"You still use this old device?" he murmurs.
Tch. Here he goes again.
"Yeah, yeah, we do," I mutter, rolling my eyes. "Sorry for not leaving it behind a thousand years ago, Your High Ancientness."
He tilts his head, confused. "What's a High Ancientness?"
"Nothing," I sigh. "Just eat your sandwich."
Knock knock.
Huh? Someone's at the door?
I glance at him, whispering quickly, "Hurry up, change your eye colo—"
Before I even finish, he's already shifting. His eye color blue, his facial structure smooths into something more chinese human, and he grabs his headband off the table with swift, practiced ease.
Good. Quick learner. I nod approvingly, then walk to the door. I throw one last glance over my shoulder—everything looks normal.
I lean in and whisper, "No talking. Got it?"
He nods silently, folding his hands in his lap like some obedient schoolboy.
I open the door.
And there they are.
My neighbor aunties. In full gossip-queen formation.
Before I can even blink, Mrs. Wei barges in like she owns the place. The others trail behind her like ducklings, already peering inside.
I close the door behind them with a silent prayer to the gods of patience.
Then I hear it.
"Oh my my! Who is this handsome young man?" Mrs. Liu gasps dramatically, clasping her hands to her chest.
"Yunhua! Who is this charming man?" another one chimes in, eyes practically sparkling.
He looks at them all—utterly bewildered. Like he's just been ambushed by a horde of overly affectionate, perfume-scented aliens.
Oh no no no. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen.
The aunties crowd around him, chattering like caffeinated pigeons. I feel the tension crawl up my neck.
Mrs. Wei leans in a little too close, batting her lashes like she's twenty again. "And what do you do, young man? Such a fine face! Are you an actor? Model? Oh, Yunhua, where did you find this treasure?"
He blinks. Antennae twitch slightly under the headband.
Oh no. Oh no no no. Abort mission. The auntie swarm is too powerful. They're circling. He's going to say something weird. Something alien. They're going to call the police.
Ican practically feel my soul leave my body as I do the only thing I can think of.
I clear my throat. "He's, uh…"
Three auntie heads swivel toward me.
I glance at him. He's just standing there. Smiling. Like a golden retriever who doesn't understand fire.
I sigh.
"He's my boyfriend," I say, as cool as I can manage.