Chapter Four: The Testimony of Silence

Lin Wan stared at the waveform. “I wrote it so Chenzhou wouldn't have to die going back for him.” In the reality that remained, Gu Chenzhou had never entered the building. His name appeared on no rescue list. The book had fulfilled her sentence by deleting its motive. Back at the studio, Tang Li transcribed the recording and made seven copies, sealing each in a separate envelope. “Why seven?” Lin Wan asked. “Your book likes seven-year cycles. I'm being superstitious.” The third page turned by itself. Its question remained: Decide what the groom should remember about why he loves you. Lin Wan did not touch the pen. Still, a dot of ink began bleeding upward, as though words on the other side were trying to return. Xubai called.