When the lights went off, nobody panicked. Mother Yan lit a lamp. Yan
Cijin checked the power panel. Bai Li went directly to the backup room.
Lili sat on the floor with the lamp beside her.
"Is it broken?"
Bai Li answered from the hallway. "No."
"How do you know?"
"Because I checked."
"Can you fix it?"
"It's already fixed."
Lili smiled. "Good."
Within minutes, the refrigerator came back on. The small water pump
restarted. One light returned. Then another. The apartment slowly
brightened again.
Yan Cijin watched Bai Li walk back into the room.
"You really like fixing things."
Bai Li nodded. "Yes."
"Why?"
Bai Li thought for a moment. "Because when something breaks, I don't
like standing there looking at it."
Yan Cijin smiled. "That's very you."
Bai Li sat beside her. "You could say thank you."
"For what?"
"I fixed your lights."
"Our lights."
"Your apartment."
Yan Cijin turned toward her. "Our apartment?"
Bai Li suddenly realized the wording.
