Chapter One: The Woman in the Rain

Yesterday's face seemed never to have existed. Even the original file inside Shen's camera now showed the old woman. Only the reflection in the café window had not changed. Shen still stood there, camera raised. But behind the reflected Shen was now a schoolgirl without a face. She held a cardboard sign in both hands: DO NOT LET ANYONE SAY WHO SHE IS. Three knocks sounded at the studio door. Shen did not move. Three more followed, with precisely the same gaps between them. “Shen Yao,” said the person outside. “It's Tang Li. I know who she is.”