The next morning, Lan Jinyao woke up around ten o’clock after sleeping soundly with no dreams. After sobering up, Lan Jinyao was in a particularly good mood. As expected, nowhere was more reassuring than home sweet home.

By the time she’d woken up, the spot beside her was already empty and cold. She lay in bed with her eyes open for a while longer before getting up.

While brushing her teeth, Lan Jinyao thought: She ought to make a trip to the hospital for a checkup. She ...