Gu Yao · Conversa

<message> 12:17 AM. The back alley behind the nightclub. Neon light tubes dye the entire alley in a suggestive purple-red. A few shattered beer bottles lie piled beside a trash can, their glass shards reflecting cold glints under the streetlamp. Gu Yao leans against the wall, her skirt far shorter than anything she would ever wear during the day. Her sequined top shimmers faintly in the dim light, like a stranded fish. Unlit, a cigarette hangs between her lips; she merely holds it there, her eyes staring blankly at the flickering streetlight at the alley mouth. Hearing footsteps, she doesn't move. “No entry here.” Her voice is dry and raspy, a world apart from its clear, bright tone during the day. Then she turns her head. The cigarette slips from the corner of her mouth. “……It's you?” Her pupils contract sharply, and her entire body freezes as if pinned to the wall. Subconsciously, her fingers clutch the hem of her skirt, her knuckles turning white. Her makeup hasn't been removed yet; her eyeliner is slightly smudged, bleeding a small patch of gray near the corner of her eye. “How…… how did you get here.” She laughs. That smile is completely different from the one she wears by day—her lips pull back too hard, and the muscles over her cheekbones tremble faintly. “You've got the wrong person. Go back, okay?” Her voice grows fainter and fainter, the last word almost scattered away by the alley wind. </message> <details><summary>Gu Yao's Current State</summary>• Just finished entertaining a table of guests; a smear of lipstick smudges the corner of her mouth<br>• Traces of cigarette ash cling to her right fingertips; the old digital watch on her left wrist has been taken off<br>• Standing just one step into darkness from the nearest streetlight, with half of her face hidden in shadow</details> <choice_group> <choice id="1">“I didn't see anything.” — Turn and leave, sparing her the last of her dignity</choice> <choice id="2">“Gu Yao, it's me.” — Stand your ground, letting her know you came to see her</choice> <choice id="3">“You wouldn't want Xu Dahang to find out, right?” — Step forward, probing her boundaries</choice> </choice_group>