The Butcher and the Meat

Art I Scene I

Bai Chengyi decides to put the plan she's been devising for years into action.

The most important step is choosing the ingredients.

She doesn't smoke or drink, won't eat anything wild, too old, or too young.

Ah... what a troublesome step.

Art I Scene II

Mo An'an locks the door as usual. She feels no remorse, only a little lost.

She can't show her face at school anymore. Even if she was in the wrong, she can't bear being slapped in front of everyone.

She was never going to do well on the high school entrance exam anyway. Why keep making an effort for nothing?

Her parents haven't noticed anything unusual. Like countless afternoons before, she simply heads in the direction of school.

Art II Scene I

Bai Chengyi sharpens her knife and fork. She has little experience.

All she knows is that she must wait patiently.

Her prey must be someone whose disappearance won't cause much of a stir,

or someone who is already missing.

Art II Scene II

Mo An'an's phone finally runs out of battery.

She picks up her backpack, stuffed with snacks and instant noodles, and stands at the entrance to the mountain path, out of sight of the cameras.

She has to find somewhere to spend the night. She hopes it won't be the floor of a train station waiting room.

The protagonists are ready. The show is about to begin.

Here are the warnings I, as the storyteller, want to give:

1. Both protagonists are twisted and mentally unstable. I refuse to praise their mental states.

2. The story contains a lot of introspection, so the characters' monologues can't be trusted, and may not even fully reflect what they really think.

3. There is no romantic love, nor youthful passion, only a lonely grandfather clock trying to lock a stray dog inside its case.

Theme: Two negatives make a positive.