Chapter Four: The Reality Where He Died

Han Che slammed an imaginary brake inside his skull. “Look at the shadows.” Every shadow in the street pointed east except the mourning Su Wan's. Hers crossed the screen and ended beneath Shen Mo's feet. This was not an exit. It was a scene written for Lu Xiao. “You can reshoot reality?” he asked. Shen Mo alone could move in the frozen set. Young and old versions of his face overlapped as he approached. “Reality is only the version an audience most wants to believe. You want to live. She wants you alive. The master reel supplies the evidence.” The slate was a foot above the ground. Once it closed, everything before Camera Thirteen would be cut. Lu Xiao pulled the black cover over the lens.