Chapter Two: The Other Cheng Du

She gave him an old metro ticket dated the day Cheng Yao vanished. On its back, his sister had written: 12:17, Baiyu Station. Neither of us leaves. He remembered the promise. She had discovered a ghost train at the sealed platform and asked him to come. He agreed, then chose overtime instead. The door burst open. The double approached, holding a phone full of calls with Mother, colleagues, and police. “Go back,” he said. “I'll take care of your life. You're only good at missing things. I'm better suited to being Cheng Du.” At one, rainwater became an upright doorway. The girl held out her hand. “Come with me now.” Cheng took it. The double caught his wrist, and the door swallowed all three.