“Fourth Great-Uncle must be a very kind man,” Lian said, “taking the time to do that.”

“He had retired,” Sparrow said, “so I suppose tutoring a servant gave him something to do.”

They worked across from each other in quiet concentration. Over the weeks and miles, students and servants had become more familiar with each other. Professors even chatted with laborers as they walked along the road. But Lian realized she’d never had a conversation with Sparrow, nor had she ever seen Sparrow gossip with any of the other servants. Lian stole a glance at the servant, who had known Shao since he was a boy, and probably knew him better than anyone else.

“Sparrow, do you think Shao would join the Communist Students Club?” she said.

The young woman wet her brush on the inkstone. “His family forbids it,” she said. “But the Young Master is not with his family right now. I suppose he might attend a meeting or two out of curiosity.”

If only out of curiosity, then there was no need to report to Mr. Lee. But what if the director of student services thought she was holding back? What if he punished her by telling Shao about her father? Shao would despise her.

And so would Meirong, she realized with an unexpectedly sharp pang of distress.

THAT EVENING, AS the dining hall filled with hungry students, Lian looked around but couldn’t see Meirong. Food went quickly. If anyone was even a few minutes late, they’d be lucky to scrape a spoonful of rice from the bottom of the pot. She had last seen Meirong back at the newspaper office. That’s probably where she was, Lian thought, too absorbed in her work to realize how much time had passed. Lian hurried across the yard, cursing Jenmei under her breath. If Meirong was overworked, it was from trying to please the senior student. But when Lian got to the newspaper office, the bunkhouse windows were dark. The next place to look was the courtyard house where all the women lived.

Then she paused at the sound of voices from inside the bunkhouse. Soft laughter. One of the windows now betrayed a small gleam of light. Silently, Lian moved closer and stood on tiptoe to look in. A candle on a saucer flickered. There was a dish of dried apricots on the table beside the saucer. A hand reached in from the darkness and took an apricot. Then another candle flared, brightening the space. Jenmei leaned down and fed a dried apricot to someone sitting on the floor. Shao.