Wen Qi got straight to the point and asked, "Where did you buy your lunch? From a Chinese restaurant?"
Lin Zhixia's lunch box contained white rice, Crispy Duck, Green Snail Shrimp, and Wensi Tofu. The duck skin was crispy and the meat tender, sliced into thin pieces, its aroma wafting out, appetizing and delightful.
In comparison, the Claypot Rice Wen Qi held in his hands seemed far less appealing.
That morning, Wen Qi had visited St. John's College and bought a portion of Claypot Rice from a restaurant called "Hong Kong Style Kitchen" nearby, bringing it back to the office to eat. Clutching the slightly warm plastic container, he glanced at Lin Zhixia's meal, prompting her to explain, "This wasn't bought from a restaurant; it was made at home."
Lin Zhixia didn't mention Jiang Yubai's name at all, offering only a vague explanation.
After hearing her words, Wen Qi assumed she had prepared all those dishes herself. He sat down in another chair, buried in his meal, no longer chatting with his classmates. There was an innate pride in his demeanor that reminded Lin Zhixia of Jin Baihui, though he was more outgoing than her. At the very least, he was willing to respond when the Korean senior spoke to him.
The Korean senior, named Yin Xiu'en, had slightly long hair dyed chestnut brown, with delicate and pretty features, and a very pleasant voice.
Yin Xiu'en had thoroughly read every student's paper present and broadly familiarized herself with all the research directions within the group—truly an impressive talent.
After taking a couple of bites of her meal, Lin Zhixia tried speaking to her in Korean. After just two sentences, Yin Xiu'en looked surprised.
She completely forgot about Wen Qi, turned to face Lin Zhixia, and rapidly spoke a long string of Korean.
Lin Zhixia understood every word. She continued responding in Korean, fluently and cheerfully, leaving several classmates momentarily stunned.
The Indian senior remembered that Lin Zhixia had mentioned she was from a mathematics background.
The Indian senior had also graduated with a mathematics degree from an American university. She double-checked, "Did you graduate with a double major in math and Korean?"
Lin Zhixia thought for a moment and replied in Hindi. Her knowledge of Hindi was minimal, only a little bit, but it was enough to astonish her Indian senior. Several doctoral students in the group gathered around, and Lin Zhixia conversed with them in German, French, and Russian. Her German and French were noticeably smoother, on par with her English.
Yin Xiu'en quietly asked her in Korean if her talents lay in mathematics, physics, and linguistics.
Lin Zhixia pondered thoughtfully.
When she was just over two years old, she had realized she was different. Her talent relied on her memory, comprehension, and observation—beyond that, there didn't seem to be anything particularly special.
Lin Zhixia deliberately avoided Yin Xiu'en's question. She picked up a few pieces of duck meat and generously shared them with Yin Xiu'en.Yin Xiu'en brought a container of soy sauce chili fried rice. She scooped several spoonfuls into Lin Zhixia's bowl. As they sampled each other's food, their relationship instantly grew closer. Yin Xiu'en directly invited Lin Zhixia to attend a dinner party next Friday, but Lin Zhixia politely declined—because, as was her custom, she dedicated Friday evenings to Meditation, organizing her research insights accumulated from Monday through Friday.
Yin Xiu'en hadn't expected Lin Zhixia to refuse.
In the spacious, bright break room where conversations ebbed and flowed intermittently, Yin Xiu'en pursed her lips, turned sideways, and instead invited Wen Qi to the dinner party.
Wen Qi was pondering his experimental data results. Not clearly hearing Yin Xiu'en's question, he casually responded, "Okay."
Yin Xiu'en then provided the party's time and location.
Only then did Wen Qi fully grasp the situation. But he didn't retract his agreement. Setting down his lunchbox, he temporarily left the laboratory building to smoke a cigarette at the entrance.
It was just past 1 PM, and Jiang Yubai had just finished his classes for the day. Walking through a broad corridor with several classmates, they discussed the homework assigned by their professor and talked about their new supervisor for the semester.
The autumn term at Cambridge University is generally called "Michaelmas," running from October to December. During this period, students face a relatively heavy academic workload. They are divided into different small groups, meeting weekly with their respective supervisors who write evaluations based on the students' performance after each session.
For undergraduate students, supervisors also serve as witnesses to their academic journey.
Jiang Yubai found himself once again thinking about Lin Zhixia's supervisor application.
As far as he knew, Lin Zhixia specialized in Quantum Physics. She had contacted the director of the Quantum Physics course.
Jiang Yubai briefly lost focus.
His classmate asked again, "Hey, Jiang Yubai, is your girlfriend a PhD student in a large research group?"
The speaker was Sun Dawei, a northerner with a straightforward personality, exceptionally loyal to friends, who rarely beat around the bush.
Jiang Yubai told him the truth: "Yes, her professor is quite famous."
Sun Dawei had already heard of Lin Zhixia's reputation. He had even briefly browsed all the papers she had published to date online. He raised a concern: "Will she be a supervisor, your girlfriend?"
Jiang Yubai implied more than he said: "She probably won't be teaching economics."
Sun Dawei hypothesized: "My girlfriend is taking Quantum Physics next semester. Would your girlfriend be my girlfriend's supervisor?"
Jiang Yubai felt like laughing but restrained himself. He deliberately changed the subject, asking Sun Dawei if he had any knowledge of Quantum Physics. Then he brought up a business dinner party next Friday. That dinner was organized with Jiang Yubai's involvement. As a member of the Cambridge Finance and Business Association who also knew managers from major European investment banks, Jiang Yubai had successfully invited many important guests and hoped more classmates would attend the event.
Sun Dawei checked his phone's email: "I saw your email the day before yesterday. The dinner's next Friday, right? I'll bring my girlfriend and introduce her to you."Sun Dawei's girlfriend was someone he had just met this summer vacation. In his eyes, she was an angel. Although his family was wealthy with a listed company, his height barely exceeded 1.6 meters even with shoes on—and this was the good result he had achieved only after taking growth hormones since childhood.
Others only saw Sun Dawei's extravagant spending and glamorous appearance, unaware of how difficult and bitter life could be for a man under 1.65 meters tall in the northern regions.
During middle school, standing among the boys, Sun Dawei was like a lost lamb straying into a herd of adult alpacas.
The girl he had a crush on in middle school once told him outright that she would only ever fall for men over 1.67 meters tall. In their northern hometown, such men were a dime a dozen.
He had felt lost, melancholy, and even made a wish to the heavens, willing to give up ten billion yuan in assets just to grow to 1.67 meters tall.
Yet, the merciful and generous heavens preserved Sun Dawei's destiny of wealth. His family's assets remained untouched, and his height didn't increase an inch.
His brief adolescence passed in the blink of an eye. Deep down, he yearned for a genuine and sincere love, to see fiery and intense passion in a girl's eyes, just like the famous poem "Love" by Roy Croft: "I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you..."
Most of the girls he had liked saw him only as an ordinary friend.
Just when he was about to give up, he finally met his current girlfriend.
His girlfriend was about the same height as him, and they had a great relationship. They were already living together off-campus.
This, indeed, was what they called "heaven never seals off all exits."
As Sun Dawei quietly reflected on his life journey, Jiang Yubai lowered his head to speak to him: "Have you checked the assignment requirements for the 'Mathematics and Statistics for Economists' course?"
Sun Dawei replied, "We need to learn new software."
Jiang Yubai asked him, "Do you think the math content is difficult?"
"Difficult," Sun Dawei admitted frankly.
Nearby, the grass was lush green, and a sparkling stream meandered by. They passed over a bridge and by a stone engraved with famous lines from Xu Zhimo's poem "Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again."
At a fork in the road, Jiang Yubai parted ways with Sun Dawei and the others. He headed straight for the laboratory building where Lin Zhixia was. Lin Zhixia ran downstairs to meet him and brought him back to her office.
In that office, Jiang Yubai worked on his business assignments while Lin Zhixia derived her physics formulas. They spent a quiet afternoon together until the shadows lengthened with the setting sun. Only then did Lin Zhixia ask him, "Have you encountered any difficulties in your studies lately? You said sophomore year courses aren't easy."
Jiang Yubai pulled out a stack of materials for the "Mathematics and Statistics for Economists" course from his backpack.
"The math is hard," Jiang Yubai declared.
Lin Zhixia glanced at it, half-convinced and half-skeptical.
Jiang Yubai asked further, "If you want to be an undergraduate mentor, shouldn't you practice with someone first?"
"That seems reasonable," Lin Zhixia acknowledged his logic.
Jiang Yubai recommended himself: "I'm an undergraduate. And I know you very well."Lin Zhixia rested her chin in her hand, thought for a few seconds, and said, "Alright, I'll teach you the mathematical theories from these papers. When are you free?"
From Monday to Friday, Jiang Yubai was very busy. He arranged to meet Lin Zhixia over the weekend.
On the weekend morning, the sun was bright and the weather was clear. Jiang Yubai sent Lin Zhixia a text message, addressing her as "Teacher Lin," and asked what she would like for lunch. He mentioned he would wait for her downstairs at her dormitory at 8 a.m. that morning.
Upon receiving his message, Lin Zhixia wrote in her "Human Observation Diary": "Today is the second weekend after my 18th birthday. Jiang Yubai asked me to go to his home to tutor him. He proactively called me Teacher Lin, and I suspect he has an ulterior motive. But as he's grown older, I've found his thoughts harder to decipher."
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