Chapter One: Every Lie Has a Root

The first time Lin Yan saw a lie, all forty-seven students in his class were staring at him. Their homeroom teacher, Luo Cheng, placed a transparent evidence bag on the lectern. It had held the registration fees for the mathematics team. The seal had been torn open, and 3,200 yuan was missing. Beyond the windows, rain painted the Old Harbor district of Linchuan the color of rust. No one spoke, but the silence was louder than laughter. “We found it in Lin Yan’s desk,” said the class monitor, Chen Hao. “I don’t want to believe it was him either.” As the words left his mouth, a line of pale symbols appeared above his brow. Lin Yan assumed it was a hallucination brought on by three sleepless nights. He closed his eyes.