Jin Xueli stood before her own funeral portrait, a ringing in her ears.
A funeral wreath was blocking her doorway. The moment she opened the door, she saw her own smiling, blurry face. The black-and-white portrait was crookedly nailed to the center of the wreath, and a line of vivid, vicious red letters—"BITCH"—tore across her smile.
This was the first time she had ever seen an Asian funeral wreath in real life. Amid the surging shock and anger, a small part of Xueli was actually marveling at how authentic the wreath was, just like the ones on TV. She even wondered where they had it made.
As for who had put the wreath at her door, she wasn't curious. She already knew.
Jin Xueli kicked the wreath over, slammed the door shut, and pulled out her phone as she walked toward the elevator.
"Get up here right now and see what someone left at my door."
She had lived in this building for three years, and this was the first time she had ever raised her voice to the building manager. Before, she had never dared to be impolite.
"What gives you the right to charge such high rent and management fees? Is this what I get for living in the most expensive part of Blackmoor City? Are your security guards a bunch of mummies you stole from the national museum next door? Are they all dead? I told you, a creep has been stalking me recently! Why didn't you increase security? How did you let him get to my front door?"
When Jin Xueli first moved into the building, she had felt like an imposter.
By all normal accounts, someone like her—from a humble background, with no distinguished degree and a perfectly ordinary job—could never have passed the application review, even if she spent a lifetime saving up for the rent. It was impossible to move into a century-old landmark that had been designated a historic site.
The layered barriers of social class and connections made it difficult for even newly-minted tech moguls to rent an apartment here, let alone buy one.
Not long after Jin Xueli moved in, she met a woman in the elevator who struck up a friendly conversation, which secretly pleased her. But just before the elevator reached the lobby, the woman smiled and asked, "Who do you work for? We're actually interviewing right now."
It took her several seconds to realize the woman had mistaken her for a maid.
Even though their clothes and style weren't that different, people could somehow still tell at a glance that she didn't belong to this class. The building manager on the phone was one of them.
"Miss Jin,"
the manager explained in a tone of almost well-intentioned sympathy, "I'm very sorry about this. But you may not be aware that it's our policy to interfere as little as possible with our residents' social affairs. It's always been our rule.
"The people our residents typically associate with are all respectable individuals of good standing. This is the first time something like this has happened. According to security, he said he was giving you a surprise and was carrying flowers, so we had no idea you were having a lover's quarrel with your boyfriend..."
"It's not a lover's quarrel, it's stalking and harassment!" Jin Xueli retorted, too angry to even process the implication behind the term "respectable people." "And he's not my boyfriend! He was carrying a funeral wreath!"
She had gone on a few dates with the man, and he had indeed visited before with her permission. It was only after seeing her apartment and her lifestyle that he started constantly hitting her up for money and gifts. When she couldn't take it anymore, she decided to cut off all contact.
She just hadn't expected that her 'rejection' could provoke such intense, uncontrolled hatred.
"Alright, alright, I'll have someone clear the wreath away immediately. Our security guards aren't like you, they don't recognize that kind of wreath. It's an understandable mistake, I hope you understand," the building manager said. "However, Miss Jin, I'd also like to ask you to communicate with him and resolve this peacefully. After all, our residents here are very low-key and quiet. They don't like this kind of disturbance..."
"So I'm the one who should be apologizing to you?"
Jin Xueli was so furious she didn't even hear the rest of what the manager said. She hung up and kicked the elevator door hard.
She didn't let the doorman call her a cab as she left the building, walking distractedly out into the bright morning sun of the Blackmoor City streets.
Jin Xueli could call the police or apply for a restraining order, but neither was a sure thing.
Chances were, the police wouldn't act until after she became a victim. A restraining order might deter a normal person, but how effective would it be against a madman?
A typical woman would be left with little choice but to call the police, stay on guard, run away and hide, or just pray. But Anthony probably didn't know that the things Xueli could truly do went far beyond that.
She walked aimlessly for a while, then, having made up her mind, hailed a taxi.
Her timing was perfect. When she arrived in the Brooklyn District, "Between the Backlight" had just opened.
The bar's entrance was hidden behind a short flight of stairs leading down from the sidewalk. People walking by would almost never see its sign. Not that it mattered, Jin Xueli recalled; the sign had never been lit, as far as she could remember.
She pushed open the faded wooden door. With a SQUEAK from the dry hinges, she stepped into a cramped, dim basement.
In the gloom, chairs were propped upside down on tables, and cardboard boxes were piled in the booths. The air was stale and cool, thick with the smell of dust, old liquor, and the faint scent of vomit.
"You're here early?"
The back door opened. A man poked his head out, looked around, and then walked behind the bar. He looked like a Shar-Pei, with drooping eyebrows and eyes, but he also had a dog's friendly air about him.
He turned on the TV for Xueli and gestured toward the bar. "Have a seat. I'm still cleaning up."
The television, hanging from the ceiling in a corner of the bar, lit up with the midday news. A baby elephant had been born at the Blackmoor City Central Island Zoo, bringing a wide smile to the face of the female news anchor.