Chapter Three: Half a Key to Tidelistening House

The other half is carried by the real Shen Yanci. The room went still. Yanci pulled a fine chain from beneath his shirt. Its pendant was the perfectly matching half. “Do you believe me now?” Jibai fitted his piece against it, then stopped just before the key became whole. Headlights ignited beyond the windows. Vehicles sealed both gates. A mild voice came through a loudspeaker: “Mr. Yan, the chairman asks you to come home.” Yanci closed his hand around Jibai's, the key halves caught between their palms. “If we open this, neither of us returns to an ordinary life.” “What about my life was worth returning to?” Jibai turned the key.