I'm Chen Xiao, an overworked office drone with 300,000 yuan in debt. My greatest ambition in life is to pay off my loans and then lie flat. To make that dream come true sooner, I decided to start a side hustle as a cute-pet video blogger.
That night, with the camera I'd just bought on installment slung over my shoulder, I crouched furtively outside an abandoned factory, aiming the lens at a stray orange kitten elegantly tucking its paws beneath itself.
Everything was perfect until a pair of gleaming leather shoes stepped on a twig behind the kitten.
My hand shook, and the camera tilted up.
A well-dressed man was smiling as he carefully wiped a bloodstained knife on the body of someone lying on the ground.
He looked up and made a “shh” gesture at my camera.
Me: “...”
I ran. I grabbed my camera and ran into the night, but before I left, I didn't forget to scoop the terrified orange kitten into my arms.
I thought it was over. I had no idea it was only the beginning.
The next day, news of a prominent local businessman vanishing under mysterious circumstances went viral.
On the third day, several men in black suits showed up outside my rental, saying they “really wanted to see my camera.”
I called the police. The officer asked me kindly, “You saw it with your own eyes? Where's the video? Oh, it's too dark to make anything out? Then how are we supposed to file a case?”
Me: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Now I'm hiding in an internet cafe bathroom with the cat in my arms, pondering a serious question: Should I anonymously post the video and gamble that public opinion can bring down a big shot, or buy a ticket on an old-fashioned green train and flee the city tonight?
The orange kitten in my arms meowed and patted my keyboard with its paw.
I looked down and saw,
