The passing of a 24-year-old cosplay influencer has brought about a great deal of grief among mainland Chinese netizens. They empathized with her difficult financial condition and her struggles with mental illness.
According to the news outlet QQ, the family of the blogger Maoyouyou, whose real name was Shi Ye, announced on social media that Shi passed away at 5:20 p.m. on February 25.
The family’s statement read, “We are aware that many people still love her. Therefore, we will not cancel her mobile phone number or her social media accounts. Instead, we will keep them as a way for us to show how much we miss her.”
The family did not disclose the cause of Shi’s death, nor did they offer details about the circumstances surrounding her passing. Nevertheless, many of her fans suspected that she might have committed suicide due to depression.
Shi, widely known as Maoyouyou, was well – known in China’s cosplay community. She frequently participated in anime conventions held throughout the country and shared her cosplay pictures on the internet.
On a major social media platform, Maoyouyou had 51,000 followers.
On February 24, the day before her death, Maoyouyou conducted a live – streaming session, during which she dressed up as an animation character she liked.
Some of her viewers reported that Maoyouyou seemed down that day, stating that she was in a poor mental state, as the report mentioned.
She also disclosed that she had been living in a rented apartment in Beijing for three years, but for several months, she didn’t have the money to pay the rent.
Maoyouyou further said that she was in a “lying flat” situation, an expression in China meaning doing the minimum necessary to survive and having no desire to do anything.
“I only feel at ease when I lie in bed and do nothing,” she said during the live – streaming.
Describing herself as being “on the verge of death,” she said she hadn’t eaten for two days and had no appetite.
She had attempted to seek medical treatment but unfortunately couldn’t make appointments at the hospital.
Hours before her death, Maoyouyou wrote on social media, “We will never see each other again,” suggesting that she was planning to take her own life.
Moreover, her fans noticed that she died at 5:20 p.m., and the digits matched her birth date, May 20.
Numerous internet users are mourning her death.
“I wish this were false news. I remember that I got the courage to attend an anime convention for the first time because I watched your live – streams. You used to be such an optimistic person. Hope you’re happy in another world,” one of her followers commented.
“What a pity! We should pay more attention to people with mental problems,” another online commentator said.
