Chapter Four: Two Identical Faces

Whenever listeners poured their pain into those eight bars, the bear consumed it while they slept. That night, they erected a Wall of Names outside Nanchuan Stadium. Every willing participant wrote the name of the person they loved and one detail known only to them. Xinghe refused the organizers' demand for a trending livestream. Only private family recordings were allowed. By midnight, the wall held seventeen thousand names. At twelve, black wisps seeped from between the characters. They wrapped around the names as though trying to erase the ink. The eye on Mianmian's belly opened, but the bear backed away. Xinghe understood. “You're afraid to eat this one.” Mianmian wrote: THIS IS THE DREAM OF BEING CALLED BY THE WRONG NAME.