A precision recommendation from big data. Xia Yichu, who shared a name with the woman in question, had just finished showering and was scrolling on her phone, her hair still dripping wet, when she saw her name mentioned again and again.
She froze for two seconds, then the corners of her mouth curled into a delighted smile. She casually wiped her damp fingertips on her bath towel and typed a line:
[I just love this kind of controlling, domineering love]
Send.
Ten seconds later, a System notification appeared: Your comment has been boosted to the top comment. 32,000 likes, 21,000 replies.
She refreshed the page, and a pop-up appeared: You have received 999+ private messages.
She opened the top one
[Girl, are you out of your mind? Want me to call the police at 110 and get you a psychiatric referral while I’m at it?]
The second one:
[Stockholm syndrome in the late stages? We recommend cremation.]
She started firing back.
[What do you know? Jiang Chen’s love is 100% pure possessiveness. The world he made for me has no lies, no betrayal, no secondhand smoke, and no rush-hour subway. The “freedom” you talk about is nothing but the right to tear each other apart in the mud.]
[Thirty-seven locks? I wish he’d add three more. Security has never been the scent of roses. It’s the cold smell of steel and concrete.]
[You say I have Stockholm syndrome? Sorry, I was born to love cages. Tossing the key into the sea is what makes it romantic.]
Every time she posted, the comments section exploded.
Her fingers flew faster and faster over the keys, until the keycaps began to grow hot.
The next second, the keyboard crackled and let out a wisp of white smoke.
The phrase “smoking keyboard” had literally come to life.
Xia Yichu died.
