I sob as I slowly climb onto the railing of the bridge, my hands gripping the cold metal tightly. The river below looks so far... yet so close.
I look up at the stars, blinking through my tears.
Maybe... the world is better without me.
Ahh... all I ever wanted was for someone to love me.
Just once.
And then, I see it.
A silver light—no, not a star. No, it's not a plane.
Something is falling. Something glowing.
Huh? Huh? What is...
Whoa! I lose my balance—but somehow, I'm safe. I land back on the bridge, heart racing in my chest.
I wipe my tears and squint my eyes. What... what is that?
It looks like an aircraft, but its shape is all odd, not like anything I've ever seen.
Eh? Where is it landing?
Eh? Eh?
What—the glowing object disappears behind the mountain valley!
What kind of aircraft lands there? There's no runway, just forest and hills.
Wait, is it a mayday-mayday emergency? No way. That thing wasn't on fire.
Should I call the police—
Eh, no way. Is it... what I think it is?
Is it finally happening? I can finally scream Eureka, Eureka!
I quickly check my phone—ugh, his missed calls flash on the screen. I ignore them and check the time instead.
Ahh, it's already about to be 12. No way I can call anyone to come with me.
Should I call Zhang Yuyu?
Nah, till she catches a train and gets here, it'll be past 1 a.m.
I have to go by myself.
I hurry, running toward the mountain trail.
Damn, it's so scary here at night. I shouldn't have come alone. I turn on the flashlight on my phone, trying not to trip over stones and tree roots.
After all, where did that thing land? I'm damn sure it landed somewhere nearby!
I walk deeper into the valley... and then I see it—
a soft white-blue light glowing faintly from down the hill.
I suck in a breath and move closer, my footsteps quiet.
And then—I see him.
A man standing there, surrounded by that faint, dreamy glow.
He is wearing something like a space suit, but it's nothing like the bulky, ugly white ones from Earth.
His suit is thin, almost like a second skin, colorful like flowing lights trapped in fabric.
I hide behind a tree, peeking carefully.
The man presses something on his chest—a small button—and then the whole suit slowly gets sucked into that button, disappearing like magic.
Eh what is he Ir*n men?
I freeze.
And then, there he is... completely naked.
I freeze, my mouth parting slightly in pure shock, forgetting even how to breathe.
He's tall. Way too tall.
Easily over six feet, if not more.
His body—
Oh God, where do I even look?
Broad shoulders, like some kind of warrior. A chest so ridiculously defined that it looks sculpted out of marble.
His skin has this weird, faint glow under the dim light—like he's made of something not quite human.
His waist tapers into powerful hips and thick, solid thighs that look like they could crack rocks.
Every inch of him seems... perfectly designed. Almost too perfect. Uncomfortably perfect.
Even his abs—seriously?! Why does he have abs that sharp?! It's like someone Photoshopped a Greek statue into real life.
His arms are huge—thick, veined, the kind of strong that screams 'could crush you in one hand'—and those hands, God, they look too big, too... precise.
And when he moves, the muscles along his back ripple naturally under his glowing skin, shifting like liquid steel.
My heart slams against my ribs, so loud I'm afraid he might hear it.
I clutch my chest, my mouth dry, my brain short-circuiting.
This—
This is not normal.
This is not human.
I'm not impressed—hell, I'm terrified.
This thing could snap me in half without blinking!
He taps something near his helmet's ear—
and in the next second, even his helmet disappears.
Now he's standing there... completely exposed under the stars. Only a small device stuck to his wrist is left.
I blink hard.
Now he is .. sta* l*rd?
The glow around him fades a little, and I finally see his face properly.
And... it's weird. He looks almost human, but not quite.
His jawline is sharp and strong, like it's been carved with a knife.
High cheekbones throw little shadows under the dim starlight.
His nose is straight, almost too perfect.
His lips are shaped neatly, not too full, not too thin.
His skin has this strange shimmer under the night sky, almost like marble, but alive.
And then—his eyes.
They're not normal.
They're pure white-silver, almost glowing softly.
No pupils. No normal colors. Just endless silver light trapped in them.
And right above his forehead—two thin antennae grow, rising lightly upward.
Their tips glow with a soft white light, like little stars sitting on his head.
Eh?
Eh?
Now he's not just Sta* lo*d—he's basically an Ōts*tsuki from Nar*to Shipp*din??!
My brain freezes. I keep staring, not even breathing properly.
Who—or what—is he?
Because he is definitely not human.
My eyes go wide as my heart almost stops.
Shit, shit, shit! What is that thing?! I mean, I was expecting to finally meet an alien, but I wasn't expecting to actually meet an alien! I mean—gruhh, what am I even saying?! Get away from here, Yunhua, before this thing eats you!
I step back slowly, slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible.
But then my feet land on something—
a dry stick.
Crack!
Shit, shit, no, no, no!
The moment I hear that sound, I freeze.
That thing—the alien—looks straight at me. Its antennae suddenly glow bright white, almost blinding, and its gaze seems to lock onto me. It starts moving in my direction, steps slow but deliberate.
"No, no, no, no! Go away, hushhh!"
I start running—like crazy, no thought, just pure instinct to get the hell out of there.
I don't even care if I'm tripping on rocks and roots in the dark. I just need to get away.
But then I trip on something again.
I stumble and crash onto the ground with a loud thud.
Why the hell am I suddenly the typical heroine in a horror movie?
He holds my wrist, moving my hands aside.
No, no, no—
My whole body trembles like a leaf.
Then he leans his forehead against mine.
His tiny antennae blink even brighter, almost blinding up close, and then—
then he steps back, leaving me trembling on the ground.
"I'm Vaelor Krynn. I'm from Zhal'Thera Expanse."
Huh? Did he just speak Mandarin?
What did he even say? Something like "I'm blah blah from far away blah blah?"
"What are you? No wait—do you eat humans or not?" I blurt out, my brain still trying to catch up.
"I'm Velqouri. And I do not eat humans. It is my very first time meeting one. Do humans taste good?"
"GRUHHHHH!!!" I scream, crawling backward with a horrified expression.
"No, no, no! Humans taste like trash! Nobody eats humans—we taste like literal shit!"
"Okay! Information noted," he replies seriously.
"Well then, why are you here? Are you planning to invade us?" I narrow my eyes.
"I'm warning you—we humans have nukes. We'll destroy the Earth before we let anyone steal it!"
"I'm not here for land," he says, his silver-white eyes blinking in confusion.
"Good for you! If you were after land, you'd better know how dangerous I am!" I puff out my chest, trying to look braver than I feel.
"...Now tell me, how the hell did you learn Mandarin?" I ask, still stuttering.
"I didn't learn it. I just copied everything from your brain," he says, tilting his head slightly.
Wait… he copied from my brain?
WOW. Wait—no, that's terrifying!
"W-what do you mean copied? How much did you see in my brain?" I ask, slowly standing up, heart racing.
"I only copied the language information your brain had." He steps closer, his eyes scanning me in that unnerving way.
"Wait there! Do NOT move!" I yell, backing away.
He freezes.
Wait… did I really just find life from another world? For real?
Damn lucky me. Good thing he didn't see what I work on... Now all I need to do is gain his trust, take him with me, and extract every single bit of info he has!
"Uhm... how many of your... kind... are here?" I ask, glancing around nervously.
He looks back toward the glowing valley behind him. "It's just me. And as I said, I'm Velqouri, and I have a name. I'm Vaelor Krynn."
What was that pronunciation? Ugh, whatever. He's alone. Perfect!
"Then why did you land here?" I ask, peering toward the faint glow behind him.
"I didn't choose to land here. My spaceship had a malfunction, so I picked the nearest habitable planet."
He taps a small device on his wrist, and a holographic projection blinks to life—a blueprint of his ship, with a red section flashing urgently.
Damn. That's some next-level tech… I don't get it at all, but wow!
"Why are you naked?" I ask, my eyes unintentionally dropping to his... area.
He tilts his head, confused.
"I'm not. I'm wearing this," he says, pinching something invisible between his fingers.
"You see this?"
What the—he's wearing invisible clothes?! Whoa. They've evolved beyond fabric! Jackpot! I have to take this guy with me. But… I need to do something about how he looks…
"So… what are you going to do now? Repair your ship?" I ask.
He turns, looking toward the valley.
"No. I can't. The material I need isn't available on this planet. My system already checked."
System?
He scanned the whole Earth already? In an instant?!
And he's talking about a totally different element?!
I step closer, intrigued.
"Then… how are you gonna go back?"
He taps his wrist device again.
"I sent a signal to my people before the portal opened. They might come for me."
Oh snap. So more might come?! Even better!
If I get him to a lab, I'll be rich. Nobel Prize level rich!!
"Uhm... so how long will that take?" I ask, barely hiding my smile.
"I don't know. It's hard to say. I was far away from this planet when I sent it… and now, I can't send them anything anymore."
Woooaaah. So cool.
Let me just—take—this—THING!
I step in closer.
"Oh, I don't mind if… you come with me to my home," I say with a warm, definitely-not-manipulative smile.
"You can stay there till your people come for you."
He glances at me, considering, then blinking his anteena tips twice.
"It would be a great help. Since I can't access anything with my system anymore... do you mind giving me the basics of your civilization?"
He walks toward the valley, lifts his hand—and in an instant, his whole spaceship gets suck into his wrist device like it's nothing.
"WOAH! What was that?!" I rush past him, peeking down the valley.
There's... nothing. Like—poof. Gone.
He stands beside me.
"I used all the saved energy to store my spaceship inside this device," he says, showing me the wristband. "It's called ĥûęðŋ."
Wow. He's literally Dor*emon.
Goddamn.
This guy's tech is on another level… scary, but also super exciting! The research center is gonna lose their minds over this.
"Cool, cool! Now, let's start with the basics—which is, wearing clothes," I say, looking him up and down.
He glances down too. "But I told you… I am wearing clothes."
"No, that won't do. Cover your body with something visible!" I insist.
No way I'm dragging a glowing naked alien anywhere, even if it's the middle of the night.
"Okay," he says, and then gives me a quick once-over.
His antennae blink brightly—and suddenly, the invisible whatever he's wearing morphs into... a perfect copy of my red dress.
"PfffHAHAHAHA!" I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach.
"What is that?! You look like some Japanese moon princess—Kaguya-style!"
He blinks innocently. "Is this... not clothes?"
"It is," I manage between laughs, "but you're a guy, right? You should wear guy clothes. Wait, I'll show you."
I grab my phone—only to see a ton of missed calls and texts flashing across the screen. I swipe them away quickly and try to Google something, but—
"Eh? No signal?"
"Oh, sorry," he says. "It's probably my ship. No signals or radar works around it except my own system."
Huh.
So not just advanced—completely protected too. Okay, noted.
I frown. "Huh? Why isn't it working now? Your ship's gone, right?"
"I left a masking beacon buried in the valley," he says casually. "It'll keep disrupting all signals here for several of your planet's days."
"You what?" I blink.
"Standard protocol," he shrugs. "Until recovery or self-destruct is confirmed, the landing site must stay hidden."
Ohhhh.
Smart. Creepy—but smart, pretending not to feel a tiny bit impressed.
"It's fine," I shrug, and pull up a few saved photos of my guy friends. "Look. Copy this style."
He stares at the image for a second. His antennae glow again—and just like that, the red dress morphs into a black hoodie, pants, and sneakers.
"Nice! Much better. You're officially Earth-passable now." I nod approvingly.
"Now... let's deal with those antennae."
I reach out, curious, but he instantly steps back and catches my hand mid-air.
"Please do not touch my üþŋ," he says, voice calm but firm. Then he lets go gently. "Touching another Velqouri's üþŋ is considered... a serious violation."
"Oh… okay," I say, pulling my hand back.
Bingo.
Weakness detected. Guess I have a little leverage after all.
"And those silver-white eyes," I continue. "You literally look like a character straight out of the Otsutsuki clan from Naruto Shippuden."
He tilts his head slightly, his silver eyes sparkling like a confused baby deer.
"Is that an unusual eye color on Earth?"
"YES. Very. Can you change them to, like... blue?"
"I can," he says simply.
His antennae glow again. He closes his eyes—and when he opens them—
Holy.
His new blue eyes are freaking stunning. Like 'Greek god modeling for a Renaissance painting' level pretty.
"Perfect," I say, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Perfect," I say, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Now pull that hoodie cap over your head and hide those antennae, alright?"
He obeys without a word, pulling the hood up, the glowing tips of his antennae now tucked away.
But then I squint at him, rubbing my chin like a picky casting director.
"Wait. One more thing," I say. "You still look like a Greek god. Someone might stop you and ask for your visa."
He tilts his head again, blinking. "What is... visa?"
"Never mind. Just… can you look a bit more, I dunno—Chinese?"
"Define 'Chinese'," he says, dead serious.
I groan. "Right, I can't just give you someone else's face or anything. Uh..."
I point to my own eyes. "Just squint a little. Make your eyes, like, half-closed. Yeah. Like you're always slightly unimpressed."
He narrows his glowing blue eyes slightly.
"Better. Now also maybe make your jaw a bit more... square? Less 'carved-by-angels' and more 'works a 9-to-5'."
He nods, and in a blink, his face subtly reshapes—just a bit. Enough to look... surprisingly average.
I step back, inspecting my creation.
"Now pull that hoodie cap over your head and hide those antennae, alright?"
He obeys without a word, pulling the hood up, the glowing tips of his antennae now tucked away.
There. Mission: Alien Makeover complete.