Yike's Old Ring

The adaptation room was at the northern end of the main building. Getting there from the third-grade classrooms meant passing the equipment-class storeroom, the old laboratory, and a corridor kept dim year-round. Yike said little along the way. Only when they were nearly at the door did he draw the clear bag a little tighter against his chest. Xu Linchuan noticed and pretended not to. Nothing annoyed twelve- or thirteen-year-olds more than an adult seeing that they were nervous, especially when the thing making them nervous had to do with how much their family had paid.

A new safety notice had been posted on the door, half a page of printed text with a line added at the bottom in thick black pen: Anything broken must be paid for at full price. Xu Linchuan laughed as soon as he saw the handwriting and asked whether Han Yu had done something. Yike said that last time Han Yu had dismantled half a temperature-difference sensor plate, and Teacher Lin still had the other half.

The door opened, releasing a gust of cold air. Lin Qi was crouched on the floor repairing a wheeled-leg support, all four arms occupied: two held the base steady, one replaced an axle, and the last reached inside with a tool. Hearing their footsteps, he merely raised his eyes. “Put it on the table.” Yike did not move. Lin Qi waited two seconds before finally turning around. “What, do I have to come over and invite you?” Xu Linchuan explained for him that Yike was afraid Lin Qi would confiscate it. Yike immediately glared at him. Xu Linchuan showed no remorse. “You carried it like that the whole way here.”