Chapter Five: The Shortest Route, the Loudest Slap

The next morning, the entire city searched for Bai Yan. Every search stalled at *loading*. Uploaded clips replaced his name with a tone. Handwritten posters faded within ten minutes. Human memory was the one place they could not erase quickly enough. Su Tang now carried two lives. By day she remained a polished entertainment host. At midnight, the woman from the portrait remembered every buried investigation. They shared senses, but could not control the same public identity at once. “Do not call me a copy,” the painted Su warned Zhou Yuan. “She is me after revision. I am her before it.” Zhou nodded solemnly. “Which one pays for dinner?” She threw her empty coffee cup at him.