Progress

Molly changed her coat in the entryway, then turned and went into the walk-in closet. Hesta changed her shoes and sat down in the living room, when she heard Molly tell her that there was food in the kitchen and refrigerator and she could help herself if she needed anything.

"What are you doing in there?" Hesta asked.

"Wait a moment," Molly replied. "I have a half-hour meeting."

Sure enough, before long, Molly's serious voice carried out from the study inside. Hesta listened at the door for a while. She could not understand much, but judging from a few keywords, Molly seemed to be looking for someone.

Hesta returned to the living room sofa and leaned back listlessly.

She did not like Molly's living room. It was too dull. The items on the floor and tables had been reduced to the bare minimum. The only object that was not an everyday necessity was a black iron music stand by the window, nearly blending into the darkness outside.

Everything had been placed with neat precision, as if someone had used a ruler and protractor to calculate every position and angle. After sitting for a while, Hesta got up and looked out at the night view. By comparison, the straight highway below and the scattered lights of distant buildings seemed far livelier.

As she passed the coffee table, Hesta's gaze casually swept over a stack of documents. Suddenly, she saw her own name among them. She stopped and bent down to look. The document's large heading was written in Southern District 14 language: "Housing Arrangements for New Students from Other Districts Exempted from Entrance Examinations after Military Retirement." Hesta recognized the two characters for "housing" and put it back down.

At 9:25, the study door opened. Molly took off her glasses and