Li Yusheng had always lived the life of luxury. From fancy cars to designer brands. The beautiful women and the freedom from worry. There wasn't anything he couldn't do, he could work when he wanted, and finish what he wanted. He was able to enjoy his job as a designer for his own brand. People lived for his designs, and he relished in the attention.
And then, he met her.
To him, she was completely average and leagues below him. She was supposed to be blessed in his presence and yet, instead, he was the one to feel blessed instead.
His friend had asked him to meet up with him at a different place from usual. To him, it was a pathetic family-owned diner with a bad taste in decor. But his friend insisted, saying that the food was better than it looked.
It was.
Yang Lan had served it to him. She had her long brown hair up in a bun and wearing the restaurant's uniform. She had caught his eye, and he thought that she would make a good model for common wear. With her nice, homely look and humble demeanor, it would look nice.
Later on, she had stumbled and dropped a drink on his pants. Yet, instead of getting angry, he made a deal that every time he came into their diner she would have to pay for his meal until she paid off his clothes.
That was a very entertaining time for Li Yusheng.
And without him knowing those memories had taken home in a very vulnerable place in his heart.
Was that why those memories were the ones that flashed through his eyes?
A beating heart, just like his own. Tight muscle and flesh walls and the potent smell of blood. It was dark red, the walls painted with a substance Li Yusheng hoped to never find out. The floor was making, as far as he could describe, eerie movements. Like a wild animal meeting a human for the first time. It threateningly eyed the new organism with the intent to hunt.
He felt his breath stall harshly, his spine straighten, and his blood freeze.
'What is that thing?' His mind asked for his voice seemed to be held captive by the grotesque image.
The back of the room held something he recognized. In between layers of moving flesh and jagged sharp ends held the body of a person. The moist flesh moved back and forth as a way to grind at the body, grinding it to an unidentifiable state. Along with the movement, battered legs revealed themselves and Li Yusheng saw the familiar terribly outdated skirt.
"A-aa-a--" He felt his throat move and his mind scream, yet only silence came out.
The floor of the room grew unusual-shaped limbs that closely resembled tentacles. They dripped with red ink and moved closer to Li Yusheng. Close enough to where he could smell the copper-scented fluid.
He felt something grab onto his shoulder and pull him out of the way. He stumbled back towards Yang Lang and Ye Delun and watched as Shen Lin slammed the door shut.
"W-what the." he felt himself mutter. His mind blurred and the images of Yang Lan's face couldn't become clear.
"Li Yusheng! Are you okay? Yusheng!" Yang Lan yelled at the paralyzed man.
At her voice, Li Yusheng felt a jet of air enter his lungs as he started breathing again.
"Li Yusheng, are you okay?" Yang Lan quickly searched his body for injuries.
"I, I-"
"Everyone! Get up, time to go!" Shen Lin propped a stray piece of wood against the door and rushed towards them. Her hand pulled on Li Yusheng's jacket and forced him to stand. "Get going! Get going! Li Yusheng, get Yang Lan out of here!" She quickly adjusted her heavy backpack, "Get to the windows, then scatter!"
Mumbling out "R-right" Li Yusheng rushed to grab onto Yang Lan's hand and run towards one of the broken windows.
Shen Lin grabbed the dazed Ye Delun and ran towards a different window.
With a sudden burst, the wooden door broke. The monster inside moved quickly and chased after both groups with its several limbs. Its tentacles dripped with unknown red liquid that left a trail on the floor.
Li Yusheng kicked out any extra glass shards in the window and took a quick look to check the height.
"Uwah!" Li Yusheng felt a tug on his hand before Yang Lan's fingers slipped through his grasp.
"Yang Lan!" He called out. He turned around to see her being pulled by the ankle by the dripping wet appendages
"It, it won't let go!" She said as she struggled to kick it off.
Li Yusheng felt his mind go blank as he rushed up to help her. He felt the liquid squeeze through his tight fingers as he tried to get the best grip on the appendage. With the work of both of them, it had enough lack that Yang Lan's foot could slip through. Li Yusheng pushed it away in a hurry and helped Yang Lan stand.
"Just jump from here, it's the first floor so it isn't that far. Then as fast as you can, run without looking back." Li Yusheng felt himself struggle to breathe. The air, in and out, his lungs did nothing to help as he still felt as if he was a fish on land.
Suddenly, several of the limbs came out of nowhere and reached for Yang Lan. The moment passed in slow motion and he once again saw those memories pass through his mind. The goofy smile Yang Lan had shown him. The pout she had when he forced her to repay him in an intricate way. The conversation they had when the both of them and Duan Li were left to themselves.
"Why do you look like you're thinking so hard?" She had asked him.
"Because I'm thinking of clothing ideas for you to wear. Of course, I'm going to think hard on it."
She had blushed then, her skin turning into a cute pink. Li Yusheng felt like that was his new favorite color. He didn't know why, but his own face turned red out of embarrassment.
'So cute... so pretty.'
"You don't seem to be all that worried, haha." Her laugh rang through his ears. She sounded so awkward, so out of place, and yet... adorable.
"Of course I'm worried. There are still things I need to do, dresses to design, masterpieces to create. People I want to live my life with." He indiscreetly looked directly at her, straight into her bright brown eyes.
She had run out on him back then, too embarrassed to face him. He thought that maybe he could have done that conversation differently. Maybe he wouldn't have spent his last time alone with her arguing over something so dumb. It was so dumb. Why couldn't he have talked about something else? Out of all the things to speak with her about, it just had to be about that kid.
As if his mind was working on his own, Li Yusheng pushed Yang Lan out of the window and into the shrubs below. "Run!" He yelled. He felt the limbs grab onto his arms and pull him back.
"Li Yusheng!" He heard her say, her voice was loud and desperate. It called out to him, him of all people. He felt so happy, so happy it made him feel like a fool.
'That's right.' He thought. 'I'm the fool.'
From the money to the cars. To the women and freedom. None of it matched up. None of them were on par with Yang Lan. Everything to him in the moment didn't matter. He felt like a clown. How could have he talked about clothing with her in their conversations? Why couldn't he just straight out tell her? Maybe then they wouldn't have argued, then meet Ye Delun, and then join up with the others. Maybe it could have been different.
Perhaps if he said it, things would be different.
"Yang Lan," He said with all his might. "I like you! I really like you! I'm sorry I was never able to say it before, I'm sorry! But I love you!"
And with those as his final words, Li Yusheng's body was dragged back through the doorway and into the masses of muscle and flesh. A fresh new door formed out of the old ones splinters put itself together and slammed closed.