Crossing Beams

Just when everyone thought Yuan Su would spit out a "Get lost."

The boy merely clicked his tongue, sat up, raked a hand through his hair in irritation, and took her test paper and pen.

"Which step don't you get?"

"Here. I don't understand how to derive it..."

Yuan Su leaned slightly toward her.

A faint scent of machine oil mingled with the crisp freshness of soap drifted toward her.

He drew two diagrams on the scratch paper and circled the key conditions, his voice low and clear. "Resolve the velocity into components. The horizontal component stays constant..."

Xu Suiran's jaw nearly hit the floor.

Was this really Yuan Su?

Where had this helpful, kind, gentle, gorgeous guy come from?

Unlike their teacher, Yuan Su didn't lay out a whole slew of formulas before explaining. He went straight to the heart of the problem.

Every so often, he paused to ask, "Got it?" When Pu Yu shook her head, he explained it again another way.

Five minutes later.

"Got it?" He stopped writing and turned to look at her.

Understanding dawned on Pu Yu. Her eyes shone as she nodded. "Use the work-energy theorem, then solve the equations together?"

"Yeah."

Yuan Su answered without pausing his pen, moving straight to the second part. "This one's a trap. Don't let the wire's length throw you off. Just calculate the effective length."

The two major problems that had stumped Pu Yu for so long had been broken down with perfect clarity.

"Anything else?"

"N-no, nothing."

Yuan Su tossed the pen aside and slumped back onto his desk. "Don't bother me again."

Watching him close his eyes again, Pu Yu whispered, "Thank you."

There was no response.

But she noticed something about the boy's face, resting sideways on his arm.

His eyelashes gave a faint flutter.

After evening study ended, Pu Yu waited for Xu Suiran so they could walk home together, as usual.

The dim yellow streetlights in the alley stretched the two girls' shadows long.

"Oh my god, Yu, you're seriously fearless!"

Xu Suiran linked arms with Pu Yu, her face full of disbelief. "You actually dared to wake Yuan Su up! You know, I was all ready to help collect your... no, I mean, shield you a little!"

Pu Yu looked a little embarrassed. "I just didn't understand those two problems."

After finishing her rant, Xu Suiran added with a sigh of admiration, "But honestly, he really is good at physics. How else could he keep that repair shop going?"

"Repair shop?" Pu Yu picked up on the words.

"Yeah." Xu Suiran nodded, her tone turning wistful. "His dad sold off everything they owned, or the creditors took it. Only that repair shop was left. Apparently, it was registered under his mom's name. His mom ended up in the hospital from the shock, and the creditors were afraid someone might die, so they didn't force her to hand it over."

"After that, Yuan Su kept the shop running, working day and night to pay back the money."

"If he isn't in class, he's definitely at the repair shop."

Pu Yu remembered the faint smell of machine oil she had noticed that afternoon.

And Yuan Su's hands, with their prominent knuckles, tiny cuts, and traces of grease.

"Does his dad owe a lot?" Pu Yu asked softly.

"A ton." Xu Suiran sighed. "His dad borrowed money from loads of families in town. My parents lent him eight thousand, and he still hasn't paid them back."

"He put on such a good act back then. Everyone thought he was an honest man..."

As they talked, they reached Xu Suiran's family's grain and cooking oil shop.

The shop was already closed, its rolling shutter halfway down, warm yellow light spilling out from inside.

"I'm home, Yu! Remember to call for me on your way to school tomorrow!"

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

Pu Yu walked the rest of the way alone.

The alley was quiet, with only her footsteps and the occasional bark of a dog in the distance.

She looked up at the sky. There was no moon tonight, but the stars were bright.

When she got home, her grandmother was busy at the sewing machine.

Seeing Pu Yu return, Li Suhua glanced up. "There are warm flatbreads and noodle soup on the table. Eat, then get to bed early."

"Okay. Thanks, Grandma."

Pu Yu put down her schoolbag, ate, and hurried back to her room to study.

The two problems Yuan Su had explained that afternoon had given her a lot of insight. She wanted to build on it while it was fresh and go over all the similar types of problems.

Time slipped by, until the clock reached ten thirty.

The desk lamp suddenly flickered violently twice.

Then came a soft pop.

Everything around her went dark.

"Huh?"

Startled, Pu Yu quickly pressed the switch a few times, but nothing happened.

She checked the plug too. There was nothing wrong with it.

"Grandma, I think the desk lamp's broken."

Without stopping her needlework, Li Suhua replied absently, "Try biting the battery."

Pu Yu held the lamp and turned it over and over, examining it for ages.

Wasn't this a plug-in lamp?

Where was the battery?

When Pu Yu still hadn't managed to fix it after all that fiddling, Li Suhua muttered about how silly she was, came over, and smacked the lamp's base three times.

The light came on for a second, then went out for good.

"Well, now it's really broken."

"Then... is there another light?"

The west bedroom had been unoccupied for years, and its light had burned out several years ago.

Li Suhua had gotten this little desk lamp from a scrap dealer in exchange for old cardboard boxes and empty cans. She hadn't spent a penny; the lamp had cost her nothing.

Li Suhua thought for a moment, then fished a flashlight out of a drawer and handed it to her. "If you're still going to do homework tonight, go find Yuan Su over on Old Street and have him fix it. It's not far."

Pu Yu froze for a moment, then nodded, clutching the lamp. "Okay."

Old Street was very close to Wind Chime Alley, just two alleys away.

This street was much quieter than the main street, and most of the shops were closed.

From a distance, Pu Yu spotted a shop with its lights still on. A crude wooden sign hung above it, reading "Electrical Appliance Repairs."

The shop was tiny, only about a dozen square meters.

It was crammed with all kinds of old appliances, television casings, fan blades, tangled wires, and plenty of parts Pu Yu couldn't name.

Yuan Su was sitting at a rather cluttered workbench.

Holding a soldering iron, he was fully absorbed in working on a circuit board.

He had changed into black work clothes, his sleeves rolled to his elbows. The lean muscles of his forearms were taut, streaked with black grease.

Cool white light fell across his profile, making his features look even more sharply defined.

"Um... Yuan Su..." Pu Yu called softly from the doorway.

Yuan Su's hands paused, and he looked up.

Just then, the flashlight in her hand wobbled out of her control.

Its beam swept squarely across the boy's upturned face.

Pu Yu clearly saw a flash of startled disbelief in his dark eyes.

But the light vanished too quickly.

A second later, a deeper gloom rose to cover that fleeting trace.

"What do you want?" His voice was hoarse, edged with the irritation and wariness of being interrupted.

Pu Yu quickly switched off the flashlight and explained softly, "My desk lamp broke. Grandma told me to bring it to you to fix."

Yuan Su set down the soldering iron and held out his hand. "Give it here."

Pu Yu hurried inside with the lamp in her arms.

The shop was even more crowded than she had imagined.

She turned sideways, carefully avoiding the parts scattered across the floor.

Yuan Su took the lamp, gave it a single glance, and deftly unscrewed the base to inspect it.

His fingers were long and slender, their joints clearly defined.

The black grease on them stood in stark contrast to his naturally pale skin.

Yuan Su picked up a multimeter from the shelf and tested it, then said tersely, "Aging wiring. Bad contact at the lamp holder."

"Can you fix it?" Pu Yu asked anxiously.