Chapter Two: The Person Who Was Replaced

At that exact moment, porcelain shattered in storage. Zhou Heng lay convulsing on the floor. Gu rolled him onto his side. As Yanqiu reached the doorway, the ceiling light blinked out. Darkness lasted less than half a second. When the light returned, Zhou was still. He sat up and touched his left ear. “What happened?” “You fainted,” Tang Qi said. “What did you have for breakfast?” “Soy milk.” “Sweet?” “No sugar.” Every answer was right. Yanqiu removed her glasses. Zhou Heng's face was gone. Tiny lines of text seemed to swim beneath the skin of his blank head. He rose with the same gestures as before, even touching his left ear first. But a human-shaped patch of water remained on the floor.