When Jin Xueli straightened up, her head covered in glittering shards of glass, her mind felt disconnected from the world, like a sweater unraveling at a broken seam.
When the car had slammed into the side of the road moments ago, she and Mai Mingle had been like two stones in a metal box, tumbling and crashing. It seemed she'd hit her head.
Jin Xueli dazedly lifted her head. Ahead, a slice of the night sky hung over the car's hood, framed by a semicircle of silvery, shimmering light from the shattered glass.
Beyond the broken windshield, the road stretched out, empty and straight. The night wind was free and gentle.
For a moment, Jin Xueli even forgot her predicament.
'Right, just up ahead.'
'Just up ahead...'
'It's like... if I just keep going, I'll know... I'll find the place I've been looking for...'
'Strange... Why do I feel this way? What's up ahead? ... Am I even looking for a place?'
'I don't think so, right?'
"What are you spacing out for?" a voice asked.
