Prologue

Year 2005, Shenzhen

The street in the early evening when the lanterns are first lit, seemed somewhat more lovely and tender than it would look during the day. Zhang Xiaowen wore a light blue outfit and seemed somewhat exhausted under the yellow glow of twilight. Just as she entered the door to the tall building, she recalled that the light bulb in the bathroom was broken, and she hurriedly turned around to walk over to the convenience store next to the building.

She opened the door, hit the light, kicked off her shoes, and threw away her bag in one smooth motion. Zhang Xiaowen slowly brought a heavy ladder to the bathroom from the balcony, tested the balance, and climbed onto the ladder very carefully. Suddenly, with a slip of her foot, she fearfully cried out, “Ah,” and her body fell backwards. Heavily striking the ground, she laid face up on the ceramic tiled floor, motionless.

Qing Dynasty, 43th Year of the Kangxi Emperor, Beijing

At the aisle of the scenic lakeside pavilion, two thirteen to fourteen year old girls stood face to face. The one wearing a goose yellow garment had already finished appreciating the lake scenery and just wanted to go downstairs, while the one wearing the light blue garment was trying to advance, two steps short of stepping up inside the pavilion to appreciate the beautiful scenery. However, the stairs were rather narrow. One person could walk on it with room to spare, but there was no way that two people could walk on it side by side, and neither of them wanted to make way for the other. The two of them simultaneously lifted their feet, took a step, and squeezed together. Because the little girl wearing the light blue garment couldn’t properly use her strength underneath the other girl, with a slip of her foot, she cried, “Ah,” and rolled down the stairs, falling to the ground, motionless.