Across the courtyard, Zhou Han sat on the insulated mat with the gloves still on his hands. Xu Ren had arranged a small battery, a stripped piece of wire, and an old radio set in front of him.
The radio had stopped working two days earlier.
Tang Li Yue had been annoyed by this.
She had not realized it might become useful again.
"Zhou Han," she said. "You are next."
He looked deeply unhappy about it.
"I thought I was resting."
"You rested for one hour."
"That was fast."
"Time is cruel."
Zhou Han sighed and moved his gloved hands toward the battery.
Tang Li Yue crouched beside him.
"This is not about making a bigger spark," she said quietly. "You are not competing with lightning."
"That is reassuring."
"You are learning how to feel the current before it runs away from you. The more you chase it, the more it will scatter."
Zhou Han nodded.
The faint humor left his face.
