Zhen brought the appointment contract and archive-sealing order to the institute study room. Yan invited Qinghe, Bai, and Gu to sit with him while he read each page.
The Registry could retain all original archive pages and restrict copies for a year. The appointment allowed Yan to see selected files after he accepted the seal, but the contract listed penalties for unauthorized disclosure. Gu checked the authority clause twice.
“It doesn’t guarantee an answer about the border pilot,” he said. “They can delay access for operational reasons, and there’s no appeal deadline.”
“Could you ask them to add one?” Yan said.
Zhen read the clause. “I can request it. I can’t promise the Registry will change it.”
Qinghe checked the clinic grant. It was signed separately, with a clear statement that Ning’s funding remained active if Yan refused the appointment.
“That matters,” she said. “But it doesn’t make the seal acceptable by itself.”
Bai asked whether he could pay the copying fee himself and shorten the restriction. He pulled out his purse, then stopped when Zhen said the limit was not a copying fee. “We can pay for paper. We can’t buy the right to read the file?”
