Chapter Three: One Person Missing from the World

A-Li's twelve-hour exemption was only a suspended sentence. Gu Ye brought her home. Tang Ke could not see her, but wrote a note on the refrigerator: THREE PEOPLE LIVE HERE: GU YE, TANG KE, A-LI. Ten minutes later she asked who A-Li was, and Gu Ye made her read it again. On the fifth round, Tang Ke wrote the name on her arm. On the ninth, she added: IF YOU FORGET AGAIN, TRUST GU YE BEFORE CALLING HIM INSANE. "That hurts," Gu Ye said. "It proves I know myself." Lin Xiaoman knocked at six in the morning. She wore a gray coat and an investigative press badge. She spread photographs across the table. Every group photo contained an unnatural gap. A class portrait left room for a car between two students.