Chapter Two: The Midnight List

At one in the morning, “Umbrella Man” became the country's top trending topic. In the edited clip, Su Wanqing looked pale and helpless. Lu Chenzhou looked almost inhumanly cold. No one heard his conclusions about hidden cameras and candidates. They only saw him take the umbrella at the end, as though public pressure had finally forced him to do the decent thing. The Gu family announced that the engagement had ended over “a difference in values.” His former fiancée, Gu Yan, texted: If you apologize, I can have the trend removed. Chenzhou replied: Don't. Buy me two more hours. Then he turned his phone facedown. Wanqing sat backstage at the abandoned theater, drying the old umbrella. Tang Li removed her curly wig, revealing short hair.