Pei Zhao throws the clapperboard downstairs, smashes it with a hammer, and cuts the wires, but the screen stays lit with “Rainy Night Convenience Store Confession, Lead Actors TBD, Countdown 44:58:20.” The next day, he raises his camera in the Haolai Convenience Store. Through the viewfinder, he sees a stormy late night, blue-lit refrigerators, and two figures on opposite sides of an aisle. Between them is a blank space that looks as if it has been cut out, its edges still closing inward. He lowers the camera, and there are only shelves again. But when he looks at the reflection in the glass door, Lu Wan’s position at the checkout has shifted from the left to the right. Ke Xiaoman brings up his digging into Sheng Fangtu’s business and says that next time he plans to dig into someone, he should give them a heads-up. In the equipment room, Old Jiang tells him to rummage through the drawers for a sync cable himself. Who is that blank cutout swallowing? Before the countdown ends, who will be written into the “TBD” lead role?
