Chapter Three: The New Manager's First Midnight Meal

A yellowed photograph lay inside the final page. A young Wen Jiu stood by the stove beside a woman in an apron. She had Su Li's smile and held the same bronze badge. On the back were the words: SU WANQING, TWENTY-SEVENTH SPIRIT LISTENER. It was Su Li's mother, missing since Su Li was five. She looked up sharply. Wen Jiu was already entering the kitchen. “We're closed,” he said. “If you want answers, survive the other twenty-nine nights first.” Outside, the city's lights came on. Far above them, Su Li heard paper rustling, as if an enormous white umbrella were slowly opening across the night sky.