Chapter Five: Who Breaks First

Lin Mo laughed once. That small laugh reduced the classroom mockery to background noise. Qiao Qi photographed Xu Zhao with the film camera. The flash fired. The developing picture showed dozens of versions of the young man, each holding a sign. The signs did not say DEFENSE BROKEN. They said: PLEASE LOOK AT ME. Xu Zhao lunged for the photograph. Lin Mo finally spoke. “You live off other people’s defenses because when nobody looks at you, you don’t exist.” The sentence was not posted. It became no meme. But countless forgotten people in the cache heard it. The figures trapped in their final moments stopped and turned toward Xu Zhao. His smile shattered.