Chapter Four: The Second Song

“When you return,” he said, “ask whether I know you.” Xia Mi fell into the university auditorium eight years earlier. Her eighteen-year-old body swayed with fever while a coordinator shouted outside. Originally, she had forced herself onstage, lost her voice in the first line, then locked herself in the equipment room to cry. Tang Li had found her there and driven everyone else away. This time, Xia Mi unlocked the door before Tang Li arrived. Tang Li stood outside holding a first-aid kit. “I’m Xia Mi.” She offered her hand. “Someday I may do something unforgivable to you. Could you come in anyway?” Tang Li touched her burning forehead. “The fever cooked your brain. I came to rescue the show.”