The night passed unnoticed. When the first gray light touched the window, Desheng picked up his phone. He opened their group chat with Xiangliu and Wenbo — the very one where they used to arrange meetings, laugh at photos, and share trifles. His fingers typed the message on their own: “I read something. About her. About Mei Lin. He writes about the school. Our school. Maybe we try to find out something there?”
