The air conditioner unit outside the window hummed away. Sweat trickled down the back of Qi Xiaobei's neck and slid along his spine into his faded T-shirt. He pressed a piece of hard candy against the tip of his tongue and gently pried at the computer's motherboard with a screwdriver in his left hand.
"If you can't fix it, you'll pay for it!" The tattooed internet cafe owner flicked ash onto the mechanical keyboard. "This secondhand junk cost me three thousand..."
"What's the rush?" Qi Xiaobei suddenly grabbed the motherboard and slammed it against the corner of the desk. Before the owner could fly into a rage, the screen lit up with the Windows startup screen. He spat out the candy stick, landing it precisely in the trash can three meters away. "Loose capacitor solder. Physical therapy. That'll be 280 yuan."
