Chapter Four: The Second Song

“Turn off the machine, Mr. Wen,” he said. “Some answers can break the present before the past.” Wen Yu did not move. He Chen pressed a remote. Feedback screamed from every speaker. Tang Li opened her eyes in pain and slipped from her seat. In the wall behind her, the younger Tang Li was already pushing open the backstage door. The silver-haired woman began to sing. Xia Mi lunged for the microphone. The trap had been measured precisely: Tang Li’s failing breath, the closing window into the past, enough time to save only one person. She knew Wen Yu was right. She sang anyway. Before the world reversed, Wen Yu looked at her through the clear wall. He did not try to stop her. He only tied his red waterproof cord around her wrist.