Chapter One: Spicy Enough to Hear the World Speak

“Don't look at me,” the voice said. “You stole the noodles. No refunds if the spice kills you.” Su Li spat the mouthful back into the bowl. Wen Jiu covered the camera. Just before the stream went black, viewers saw dark golden sparks race across his sleeve. She woke on the sofa in her apartment. Xu Tang sat beside her amid a fortress of takeout bags and shoved a thermometer at her. “Thirty-seven point two. Your brain isn't cooked. Last night's stream hit the local trending list—twenty-seven thousand at the peak. Shame the replay is all static. The platform blamed equipment failure.” Xu Tang studied her. “The old man said you fainted from the heat. What did you see?” “A talking shadow.” Xu Tang paused. “I can go with you to a psychiatrist.”