Chapter Two: The City's Other Voices

Su Li hid beneath three quilts for twelve minutes. Quilts could block sunlight, alarms, and responsibility, but not the sound of the “human auntie” next door playing four simultaneous mahjong games with eight tentacles. “Pung!” Su Li threw off the covers. “You only have two hands! How are you playing four tables?” Silence fell next door. A moment later, the auntie posted in the building chat: Is young Su in 602 having relationship trouble? By the time Xu Tang returned with soy milk, Su Li had drawn three columns: HUMAN, NOT HUMAN, and UNCERTAIN, BUT SOUNDS HUMAN WHEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE BOSS. Behind closed curtains, they looked like two beginner spies investigating an underground syndicate.