Chapter Four: The Second Song

The lighthouse door opened by itself. Wen Yu caught Xia Mi’s wrist. “She used Tang Li because she knew you’d sing again.” “You want me to leave her in there?” “I want you to stop deciding what price other people should pay.” The words pierced cleanly. Two years ago, Xia Mi had decided Wen Yu’s future with one cruel sentence. Two years later, she had decided whether Tang Li belonged in her life with one song. Inside the lighthouse there were no stairs, only rings of seats descending underground. Somehow, the Tidal Stage had moved beneath the tower. The silver-haired woman stood at its center. Tang Li sat in the front row with her eyes closed and seawater trickling from one ear. “Let her go,” Xia Mi said.