Chapter Two: The Exit Leads to the Stands

Lin Xi froze. East Three groaned, then chanted “Next time” in eerie unison. Beneath the scoreboard, one of twelve inconspicuous white dots lit up. In the seventeenth minute, a Northern defender handled the ball. Haichuan converted the penalty. A carton in East Three boomed. The cap rearranged itself in her mind: 03, 17, 42. East Three. Minute Seventeen. Seat Forty-Two. She ran to Row Seventeen. The same boy sat in Seat Forty-Two, but his cap read 031217. His father's read 031742. “Let me see that.” She took the bottle. The father surged to his feet. A dozen people around him rose too, wearing identical smiles. Then she understood: the number did not predict the goal. It assigned a place and a moment to someone.