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Chapter 5: The Observer and the Hunted

  It was a call from Maiduo's store. Peng Ye answered, terse: "Hello?" "Beep...beep..." The line went dead. He tried to call back; the line was busy. He pocketed the phone, his brow furrowed. Cheng Jia, impatient, slammed the receiver down. After a few seconds, she redialed, only to find the line engaged. "How much?" she asked the girl. The salesgirl waved a hand. "The call didn't connect, no charge." Cheng Jia wordlessly leaned against the door, lighting a cigarette. The girl watched her with open curiosity, but when her eyes met Cheng Jia's cool, indifferent gaze, she stuck out her tongue sheepishly and turned away, smiling. "Do you sell cigarettes here?" Cheng Jia asked. Her Marlboros were dwindling, and supplies here were meager. "For sale," the girl replied, pointing to the glass cabinet. Cheng Jia pushed the Marlboro pack forward. "Do you have this kind?" "No, but look at these." The girl...
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Prologue: Touching the Invisible

 


The courtyard was quiet and empty, with a censer of incense sticks scattered like crumbs.
He stood before the carved window pane, his head slightly tilted as the breeze brushed against his cheeks. Half of his face was disfigured, with burns extending from his chin to his left cheek, now scabbed over. He heard soft footsteps behind him, reached out to the window, and turned around unsteadily: "You're here."
His eyes could no longer see.
The breeze blew gently, causing the wind chimes hanging on the window pane to jingle once more.
"I once thought that losing my sight would be unbearable," he said slowly, his voice noble and composed. "But now I understand it differently. I can still touch with my hands, listen with my ears, and see with my heart. The lotus in the courtyard should be in bloom. I catch the faint scent of lotus on the wind, hear the rustling of leaves, and feel the water droplets sliding down."
He raised his hand slowly, his voice soft: "Let me touch your face. I want to know what you look like." His slender fingers moved carefully, and a faint smile curved on his lips: "If one day I regain my sight, I'll be able to recognize you instantly. And then..."
"Then, I will search for someone very important to me."

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