Chapter Two: The Other Cheng Du

When the police arrived, Cheng's fingerprints failed to open his own identity record. The system said new prints had been registered three years earlier. They matched the other man. Only the stranger's messages remained unchanged. Cheng escaped into the stairwell. The girl sent a second “Wait for me,” followed by an address: Changning Hospital rooftop, 1:00 a.m. Red text appeared beneath it: THE SECOND APPOINTMENT IS ACTIVE. DO NOT ACCURATELY REPEAT THE TIME AND PLACE. EACH REPETITION LETS HIM TAKE ONE MEMORY YOU SHARE. Cheng reached the emergency department with twelve minutes left. Xu Man, his former girlfriend and the person who knew him best outside his family, was stitching a drunk patient's wound.