The name of this song is “Leaves.”
Mu Li hadn’t prepared any accompaniment beforehand, so he could only simply strum the melody on his guitar.
As the melody began, the audience gradually quieted down.
“Leaves are wings that cannot fly; wings are leaves that fall from the sky…”
This song was originally a love song sung by a singer named Asang, describing a girl’s loneliness and sorrow after losing her lover. However, Mu Li felt that this song was quite fitting to describe his current state.
Just as the lyrics sang: “Solitude is one person’s revelry; revelry is a group of people’s solitude…”
Sometimes, Mu Li felt his life was exactly like that.
When he was alone, he enjoyed the purity of his soul, and in revelry, he saw a group of lonely souls accompanying each other.
Ever since graduation, Mu Li found that he was often alone.
“I eat alone, travel alone, wander around, stopping and going; I also read alone, write letters alone, and talk to myself…”
This state of life was practically an enactment of the theme of “I Live Alone.”
Some say loneliness has levels, from shopping alone at the supermarket, eating alone, to watching movies alone, singing KTV alone, to moving alone, being hospitalized alone, having surgery alone…
Mu Li suddenly realized that, apart from having surgery alone, he seemed to have done everything else by himself.
But upon closer thought, it wasn’t entirely true; he always had his Pokémon by his side.
He suddenly thought of the world before Pokémon. Perhaps in that world, when he did something alone, or even just lay alone in bed late at night, he would break down and cry.
After the song ended, Mu Li wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and chuckled, “Sorry, I sang such a sad song.”
Mu Li wondered if it was his imagination, but as he walked off the stage, he seemed to see tears in Jin Zhong’s eyes.
When he saw Mu Li, he just patted Mu Li’s shoulder firmly, nodded at Mu Li, and said, “Good song, I like it very much.”
Looking at Jin Zhong’s back, Mu Li had some guesses in his heart: a man with a story.
Although Mu Li had emotionally impacted everyone, Jigglypuff ultimately got her doll.
“I told you! Don’t take it, don’t take it, but you insisted on taking it! Now you can’t even carry it yourself, and I have to carry it for you.”
On the way home, Mu Li carried a Jigglypuff doll that was even bigger than himself, complaining incessantly.
“Alright, alright! A Li is so naggy. Bo Li!” Jigglypuff perfunctorily comforted Mu Li, her eyes full of joy.
Sylveon, who could only stay on Mu Li’s shoulder because Mu Li was carrying the Jigglypuff doll, grumbled, “Bu Yi! You say you dislike it, but you’re the one who spoils her! Hmph!”
Jigglypuff seized the opportunity to make a face at Sylveon: “How about it? What can you do? Bo Li!”
What awaited Jigglypuff was Mu Li’s powerful head flick.
It wasn’t until they got into the car, and there was no more space, that Jigglypuff reluctantly put the Jigglypuff doll into Mu Li’s shadow.
On the way back, the two girls seemed quite excited, while the three boys appeared to still be immersed in the song from earlier, their emotional state not very high.
By dinner time, everyone seemed quite disciplined, so they skipped the main course and ordered some crawfish.
“Sigh! Sigh!” Mu Li gulped down milk in continuous sips, snot and tears almost falling out. “No one told me Star City’s crawfish were so spicy!”
The other four blinked, looking curiously at the bowl of mildly spicy braised crawfish in front of them, and asked in confusion, “Is it spicy?”
Jigglypuff on the side also tried one, her face full of confusion: “It’s not spicy! Bo Li!”
Mu Li could only tightly hug his fragile self.
“It seems there’s no other way!” A sinister expression appeared on Mu Li’s face. “I can only bring out my trump card.”
Mu Li suddenly pulled out a bottle of dark, unknown liquid from his shadow, a ferocious look on his face: “This is a ten-times diluted ultimate herbal tea.”
“Ten times diluted? Does it still have any taste?” Jin Zhong couldn’t help but be suspicious.
Mu Li sneered, “Brother Jin Zhong, you underestimate it too much. Last time, I brought out the undiluted original product, and Chichi took a small sip and passed out for half an hour.”
Ming Yu’s eyes widened instantly, exclaiming, “I saw that episode!!! Is this the legendary herbal tea made from many special berries? It looks very powerful!”
Mu Li couldn’t help but give a thumbs up: “You know your stuff. Since then, I’ve re-formulated it. Even though it’s ten times diluted, it’s not something ordinary people can tolerate. Today, it’s either you guys die, or I die!”
Mu Si said helplessly, “So what do you want to do? It’s just drinking herbal tea, why do you always make it so dramatic?”
“No!” Mu Li said seriously, “Please call it ‘Ten Times Diluted Mu Li Brand Special Berry Herbal Tea.’”
“Alright, alright, what do you want?” Jin Zhong said perfunctorily.
Mu Li pointed at the TV and said, “Tonight, a new episode of ‘I Live Alone’ is coming out. Let’s bet on whose segment plays first! Among the five of us, only one can win. If you lose, drink a cup of herbal tea. If I lose, I’ll eat a crawfish!”
When Mu Li said the words “crawfish,” his expression became even more ferocious.
Ming Yu looked at the increasingly deranged Mu Li, then at Jin Zhong with a speechless expression, and asked, “Has he always been this crazy?”
Jin Zhong shrugged and said, “How would I know? I only met him ten minutes before you did.”
Jigglypuff and Sylveon on the side couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
“Mewtwo, Mewtwo, let us turn into dolls. This is too embarrassing for a Pokémon. Bo Li (Bu Yi).”
Only Gengar, controlling Mu Li’s shadow, made a cheering gesture: “Go, A Li! Gengar is with you! Gu Hu!”
Mu Si didn’t know what to say: “Are you sure he was eating crawfish just now? Not some 72-degree white tea?”
“Probably.” Ming Yu seemed a bit uncertain.
“It shouldn’t be white tea, unless this crawfish wasn’t cooked with white tea,” Jin Zhong confirmed.
“How about it?” Mu Li suddenly shouted, his expression growing more ferocious. “Come on! Let’s have a full-blown gamble! Don’t talk to me about eating spicy food, unless you want to risk your lives!”
“Alright, alright!” Jin Zhong couldn’t help but appease him. “Just agree to him. If this continues, I’m afraid the program content won’t even be broadcastable.”
“Mu Si, where are your disposable cups?” Mu Li, holding the bottle of special herbal tea, began searching for cups.
“They’re in the kitchen, you’ll see them as soon as you go in,” Mu Si replied. Just as she was about to get up, Mu Li stopped her: “It’s fine, you sit down, I can find them.”
Upon entering the kitchen, Mu Li found the cups. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed the kitchen’s layout, and a mischievous smile appeared on his lips.
Soon after, Mu Li came out with four cups of herbal tea.
“Next, it’s time to witness a miracle!” Mu Li grinned sinisterly and clicked on the latest episode of “I Live Alone.”
This episode was supposed to feature Mu Li’s encounter with Wailord.
Initially, the program showed the scene of Wailord charging towards the crowd.
“Darn it! I actually lost!” Mu Li sighed, reached for a crawfish, and prepared to eat it.
“Wait, that’s just the preview,” Ming Yu quickly stopped him.
Heaven knows what would happen if Mu Li kept eating chili peppers!
Mu Li regretfully put down the crawfish, sighed, and continued to watch the program intently.
At the beginning of the program, Mu Li saw several parents and hosts chatting.
“Why are they chatting for so long?” Mu Li asked in confusion.
Ming Yu grumbled, “Have you never watched your own show? They always chat for this long!”
“Really? Haha.” When people are embarrassed, they fake a laugh, and that was Mu Li.
Soon, the program began playing the first person’s video.
Ming Yu’s face immediately appeared on the screen.
Mu Li showed a mischievous smile, staring intently at Ming Yu, and said, “Brother Ming Yu, this is all destiny’s arrangement.”
Ming Yu looked at the dark liquid Mu Li handed him, couldn’t help but swallow, and trembled as he replied, “Do I really have to drink it?”
Mu Li’s eyes darted around, and he said, “How about this, the four of us drink it with you? How about that? Isn’t that loyal enough?”
Ming Yu’s eyes lit up, and he agreed, “That works too.”
Jin Zhong didn’t refuse either, and nodded in agreement, “After all, it’s herbal tea, it’s good for the body.”
Mu Li also nodded: “This is a special berry herbal tea, it can really regulate the body very well.”
“Really?” Mu Si was clearly not convinced.
“Really!” Mu Li affirmed. “Last time, Brother Chichi drank it. He used to have insomnia, but after drinking it, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.”
Mu Si and Ai Jing were still a bit skeptical, but seeing that everyone else was about to drink it, they didn’t refuse.
Mu Li poured himself a cup too: “Then I wish our show high ratings!”
The four raised their cups: “High ratings.”
With that, the five of them simultaneously picked up their cups and drank the entire cup of herbal tea in one gulp.
Herbal tea should be chugged in one go, to drink it before the tongue notices.
It must be said, this herbal tea was truly bitter; Mu Li himself could barely stand it.
As for the other four, as soon as they finished drinking, they immediately stood up. Some ran to the toilet, some to the sink, and others to the kitchen.
“Yue…”
After a while, the four stumbled back, their faces all pale.
“What kind of poison is this?” Jin Zhong immediately collapsed to the ground.
“The bitterness is one thing, but why is it so incredibly salty?” Ming Yu also collapsed.
“Yue…” The two girls were still dry heaving.
Mu Li hesitated for a moment, then chuckled, “Um… aren’t we meeting for the first time? I was worried that after this show, everyone would forget me, so I specifically added three large spoonfuls of salt to your herbal tea, so you won’t forget me!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Li felt the temperature of the entire room seemed to be rising.
Four balls of fury visibly ignited.
Mu Li only had time to say: “Feed me peanuts!”
…
That night, Mu Li didn’t know how many crawfish he ate. By the time of the recording the next day, his lips were still swollen like two sausages. (Reference Tony Leung in “Dung Che Sai Duk”)
