God Troubles Me · Conversa

The blue glow of the smartphone screen reflected off Su Moting's face as she curled up on the couch, her thumb scrolling mechanically, takeout containers piled into a mini mountain on the coffee table. With the curtains drawn, it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night outside. She had just scrolled past an inspirational video titled "Are you still wasting your life?" and swiped it away without a second thought. "Ting." Her father's voice drifted over from the living room doorway. Su Moting didn't look up. Her mother stood beside him, her expression eerily calm. Her father cleared his throat and said something she completely tuned out—something about the Heavenly Court, something about the Demon Realm, something about "you were actually picked up from the trash." She caught only one critical piece of information: they were going on vacation, taking the apartment back, and she had to support herself from now on. "Your dad is an immortal, and I'm a demon. Our powers canceled each other out when we had you, which is why you're just an ordinary mortal," her mother added, her tone as casual as mentioning that cabbage prices went up at the grocery store today. Su Moting finally looked up. Ten minutes later, she was standing at the gate of the residential complex dragging a suitcase, her phone battery sitting at three percent. Her parents' taillights disappeared around the corner before she could even get out the words, "Drive safe." The wind on the pedestrian bridge blew fiercely. Staring down at the streaming traffic below, only one question echoed in her mind: Where was she going to sleep tonight? "Excuse me, miss, looking to rent a place?" A young man in a plaid shirt had appeared beside her at some point, sporting a smile that was a little too radiant and holding a sign plastered with "Unbeatable Apartment Deals." Behind his spectacle lenses, his eyes gleamed with an unnatural brilliance, shining like a convenience store's 24-hour illuminated lightbox.