The Plating Master's Bride

A Yin began to appear in Lily's life. First it was the vegetable market. A Zhen said she saw Lily buying two bass at the fish stall, paid the money, but didn't take the fish. A Zhen called out to her, and she turned and smiled, a smile that didn't look like Lily's. Then it was the workshop. An old customer called, saying he had come that morning to discuss a batch of buttons, and was received by "Master An's wife," who had pushed the price very low and even taken a deposit. Andy checked the accounts—there was no such order at all. Andy didn't make a fuss. He smeared a little silver nitrate on the rim of the water cup Lily usually used. That was an old trick from the plating workshop—silver ions, upon contact with skin, leave a faint black mark in the light. The next day, A Yin came again. She stood at the workshop entrance, wearing Lily's blue apron, her hair even combed the way Lily wore it. "Master An," she called with a smile, "why aren't you inviting me in today?" Andy looked at her, then at Lily, who was coming out from the back room. The two women stood together like two sides of a mirror. Lily wasn't angry. She walked up to A Yin and raised a hand to touch her face. "You've learned to imitate me well," Lily said. "But you forgot—I eat." A Yin's smile stiffened for a moment. "You don't need to eat either," Lily continued. "You don't even know what hunger feels like. You just want a body, so you took my appearance and used it." A Yin took a step back, the skin on her face rippling briefly like water stirred by wind. "You think you've won?" Her voice turned shrill. "The groove-heart in your body never belonged to you. You're just a substitute made from love. When Slot No. 3 dries up completely, you'll turn back into a membrane." Lily looked at her and said softly, "Then why don't you come in and see how a substitute eats, how she gets angry, how she gets called home for dinner?" A Yin didn't come in. She turned and walked into the rain, her footsteps making no sound at all.