24-year-old influencer dies after telling fans she was starving, unable to pay rent
A 24-year-old cosplay influencer died due to her financial struggles and mental health battle.
Shi Ye, a 24-year-old cosplay influencer, Maoyouyou, tragically died in China, shortly after revealing that she had not been eating due to financial struggles. According to the South China Morning Post, Maoyouyou was a well-known figure in the anime community and actively participated in conventions across the country. Maoyouyou died at 5:20 PM on February 25, as announced by her family on social media. While the cause of her death was not disclosed, many suspect she died by suicide due to depression. Her family decided to keep her mobile number and social media accounts active as a tribute, reported the Real News.
“We know that many people still like her. So we will not revoke her mobile phone number or her social media accounts. Instead, we will leave them there for us to express how much she is missed,” the family said in a statement.
Her death has triggered an outpouring of sorrow from the internet, with many expressing sympathy for her financial struggles and battle with mental illness.
A beloved figure in the cosplay community
Maoyouyou was a well-known figure in China’s cosplay scene. She actively participated in anime conventions and regularly shared her cosplay content online. On a leading social media platform, she had a following of 51,000 people.
Just a day before her death, on February 24, she held a livestream where she appeared as one of her favorite anime characters. Viewers noticed she seemed emotionally drained, openly discussing her mental struggles.
According to some who watched the livestream, she admitted to feeling mentally unwell and revealed that she had been struggling to pay rent for her Beijing apartment, where she had lived for three years.
She described her state as “lying flat,” a phrase in China that refers to doing the bare minimum to get by.
“I only feel comfortable by lying in bed and doing nothing,” she said during the livestream.
She also mentioned that she hadn’t eaten for two days and had no appetite. Despite her efforts to seek medical help, she was unable to secure a hospital appointment.
Hours before she passed away, Maoyouyou posted a message on social media that read, “We will never meet again,” which many now believe was a farewell note.
Fans also noticed an eerie coincidence—the time of her death, 5:20 PM, matches her birthdate, May 20.
“I hope this was fake news. I remember I gained courage to join an anime convention for the first time because I had watched your live-streams. You were such an optimistic person in the past. Hope you live happily in another world,” one follower wrote.
Another user commented, “What a pity! We should show more care for people with mental issues.”
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