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Chapter 128: Tick Marks and Margins The fog had not yet fully lifted. When Lin Chen circled from County No. 1 High School’s side gate toward the back street, Old Chen the gatekeeper was sweeping up last night’s fallen l...
Chapter 127: Blueprints and Margins The tip of the pencil scratched across the paper with a fine, even rustle. Lin Chen did not put pen to paper immediately. He stared at the blueprint, his gaze moving slowly along the...
Chapter 123: Scales and Negative Values The rain fell in a dense, fine curtain. There was no wind; the threads of rain struck the bluestone paving straight down, kicking up a layer of white mist. Lin Chen did not run. R...
Chapter 121: The Report and the Gap 2:50 p.m. Lin Chen pushed open the wooden door of the senior year office. The smell of heat, chalk dust, and old newspapers rushed at him. The long table was already crowded with home...
Chapter 118: Gradations and the Snow Line The draft through the corridor was harsher than before. Lin Chen folded the deferred exam application form in half and slipped it into the pocket of his undershirt. The edge of...
Chapter 117: Early Frost and Gradations At five thirty in the morning, the alarm did not ring. Lin Chen woke from the cold. Wind leaked through the gap in the dorm window, scraping along his cheekbones like the dull edg...
Chapter 116: Half a Centimeter of Tolerance At six twenty in the morning, the sky still had not fully brightened. The temperature in the dorm had already dropped below freezing. Lin Chen opened his eyes and watched the...
Chapter 114: Scale and Leeway 5:40 AM. The alarm hadn’t rung, but Lin Chen was already awake. The mercury column on the thermometer rested at 37.8 degrees. The low grade fever hadn’t broken; instead, thickened by the ni...
Chapter 113: Dark Mark and Dawn Line 1:05 a.m. Lin Chen pulled open the dormitory door. The motion sensor light in the corridor did not come on. He brought his right heel down hard against the concrete floor, and the tu...
Chapter 112: The Scale Slips Back “The admissions office said as long as the official seal is clear and the student number matches, it’s fine. The signature got smeared, so sign again here next to it and add a red thumb...
Chapter 111: Compressed Margin The ledger lay open on the upper right corner of the desk. Lin Chen used a pencil to cross out “10:30” and wrote “10:25” in its place. Handing in the paper five minutes early bought him fi...
Chapter 110: Morning Shift and Signing At 5:40 in the morning, the breathing in the dormitory had not yet settled into a uniform rhythm. Lin Chen was already awake. The water stains on the ceiling showed vague outlines...