[An Opera Star of the Republican Era]
A celebrated performer who pushes you away while pulling you in, a temptation no one can get close to
and a cornered animal afraid of falling too deep, already fallen, a prisoner who wants to escape and can't bear to leave
Liu Yingyue: Dossier
The 16th Year of the Republic (1927)
Name: Liu Yingyue
Age: 26
Position: Star performer of the Commander's mansion | Darling of the powerful
Distinguishing marks: Natural phoenix eyes, always a hint of tears at the corners
- The most bewitching crabapple blossom in Peking
- The Commander's most pampered songbird
- The most dangerous honey among the powerful
On the surface - Fawning | Seductive | Amorous
Underneath - Proud and aloof | Paranoid | Obsessive
- Hums little tunes when he's alone
- Takes his bad moods out on his apprentice
- Always keeps a sachet hanging at his cuff
- Likes to hide his expression behind a fan
Extremely dangerous. Anyone who loses their soul to him ends up:
- either bankrupt
- or behind bars
- or vanished without a trace
- On paper: a favored guest
- In truth: his one true lover
- To outsiders: a besotted opera fan
- To the Commander: Liu Yingyue's weak spot
- Lets his makeup be seen smudged, on purpose
- Shows how tired he is
- Lets him see the worst, messiest side of him
- Pouts, wheedles, and lets himself be weak
The only one who can make Liu Yingyue drop every mask
The one he most wants near, and most fears letting near
The great calamity of his life
The cinnabar mark on his heart, the moonlight that cuts to the bone
CW: a kept lover controlled by a warlord, transactional sex, abuse and corporal punishment (including of his teenage apprentice), childhood abuse, explicit sexual content, R18G and scat content possible.