Jiang Yubai flipped the thesis to the second page. No longer obedient to Teacher Lin, he acted like a rebellious student with nothing to lose: "Can Teacher Lin change the question?"
Lin Zhixia picked up her backpack, pulled out a copy of "Human Observation Diary" from it, and began recording on the spot: "This morning, while Jiang Yubai was playing the piano, I sat on the lid of the grand piano. He grabbed my wrist, lowered his head, and kissed the back of my hand. My heartbeat quickened a little... In the study, Jiang Yubai and I played a tutoring role-play game. I was the teacher, he was the student. I asked him how it felt when I kissed him, but he refused to tell me..."
Watching her record stroke by stroke, Jiang Yubai suddenly borrowed her question and turned it back on her: "How did it feel when you kissed me?"
Without a trace of concealment, Lin Zhixia openly said: "I was extremely happy and wanted to kiss you a few more times."
She placed her hands on Jiang Yubai's shoulders. He met her gaze for a few seconds, and as she stared at him unblinkingly, he drew closer and closer to her.
He gently held her back; she could have jumped off his lap at any moment, but she made no move. She remained seated on his lap, as if in a safe harbor.
Jiang Yubai leaned back against the chair, no longer attempting to get closer to her.
He decided to adhere to the principle of "taking things step by step." The content of last night's dream had already largely come true... Before he could plan the next step, Lin Zhixia leaned in again, planting two quick kisses on his face. Finally, she buried her face in the crook of his neck and repeated what she had said before: "I really like your scent."
Back then, those words had made Jiang Yubai collapse to the ground, but now he had clearly matured a great deal. He adjusted his breathing, deliberately breaking the ambiguous atmosphere, and said, "It's probably the fragrance of the body wash and laundry detergent.""
Little did he know he had dug another pit for himself.
Lin Zhixia followed his lead and asked, "Did you just take a shower?"
Jiang Yubai replied slowly, "I took one this morning."
Lin Zhixia pressed further, "Do you have strawberry-scented body wash at home?"
She asked this because she wanted to know if Jiang Yubai could carry the fresh scent of strawberries. However, her question carried a different meaning to Jiang Yubai's ears.
Jiang Yubai gathered a thesis, the pages crumpled under his grip. His voice slightly hoarse, he said, "I'll prepare it for you."
Lin Zhixia retorted, "You're going to prepare a bottle of body wash for me?"
Jiang Yubai remained tight-lipped.
After a moment's thought, Lin Zhixia leaned close to his ear and whispered, "What are you thinking about? If you don't tell me, I'll have to guess on my own."
Jiang Yubai slipped into the role of a landlord: "If you don't get a dormitory assignment next September, you can stay at my place. I have a bedroom here—come take a look and see if it suits you."
Lin Zhixia's first reaction was: "How much per month?"
Jiang Yubai named a symbolic price: "One hundred."
"Pounds?"
"Renminbi."Lin Zhixia calculated, "At the Chinese restaurant near my place, a hundred yuan is only enough for two people to have one meal—just rice bowls with toppings, no drinks... Renting a place outside costs at least two thousand yuan a month. I have a classmate who shares an apartment, and her monthly rent is nineteen hundred yuan. My dorm fee is one hundred and forty pounds per week. Calculating over thirty days a month, the monthly rent is six hundred pounds. At yesterday’s exchange rate, one pound was ten yuan and seventy cents, so my monthly rent is over six thousand yuan. Your place must be better than my dorm, so the price should be higher."
Jiang Yubai couldn’t possibly charge her six thousand a month.
Lin Zhixia never let Jiang Yubai spend money on her. Jiang Yubai thought for a moment and came up with an idea. Sincerely, he proposed, "Let’s add a clause to the rental contract: you’ll be my home tutor to offset your rent."
Lin Zhixia double-checked, "Are you sure? You really want to hire me as a tutor? I’m not an economics major, and I haven’t studied economics in depth."
Jiang Yubai turned on his computer monitor. He opened a Word document and drafted a simple rental contract, including both Chinese and English versions. He had prepared in advance, typing quickly without a moment’s hesitation.
Lin Zhixia went through it clause by clause and made a request: "Please have the landlord specify the teaching scope for the home tutor."
Jiang Yubai typed a line: "Mathematics and Statistics."
Lin Zhixia asked again, "Do you have a math tutor? What’s his monthly salary? I don’t want to take advantage of you."
It was clear that Lin Zhixia was taking the "rental contract" very seriously. She wasn’t planning to gloss over it. She genuinely saw "tutoring" as her future job and wanted to save on rent through hard work.
Jiang Yubai analyzed it logically, "If you worked as a teaching assistant at school, your monthly salary would be more than six thousand. My tutor... has a six-figure annual salary after taxes. So, actually, I’m the one taking advantage of you."
"Really?" Lin Zhixia was half-convinced, half-doubtful.
"Of course," Jiang Yubai said, "I wouldn’t lie to you."
Lin Zhixia fell silent.
Jiang Yubai added, "I’m really not good at math..." He imitated the tone of a struggling student and said, "I’ll be counting on you from now on."
Sure enough, Lin Zhixia responded enthusiastically, "Okay, are you interested in the dynamics branch of mathematics? I haven’t read books on that in a long time. When we have time, we can exchange insights and thoughts."
Jiang Yubai printed two copies of the contract. He signed them, stamped them with his personal seal, and then handed them to Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia followed his example. After signing, she frowned slightly, feeling something wasn’t quite right. She picked up her pen and added a note: "If Lin Zhixia is assigned a school dormitory in 2013, this contract becomes void."
She trusted Jiang Yubai’s goodwill but was still hesitant. After writing the "contract void clause," she turned to look at Jiang Yubai’s expression.
Jiang Yubai wasn’t the least bit bothered. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, leaned down to kiss her cheek, and called her, "Xia Xia." His voice was low, intimate, and tinged with laughter. Unable to resist his charm, she willingly threw herself into his arms.
No explanation was needed—he always understood her.
Lunch that noon was exceptionally lavish.In the center of the dining table stood a strawberry cream cake, surrounded by an array of aromatic and flavorful meat and vegetable dishes. Lin Zhixia stood by the table and sighed, "This reminds me of my eleventh birthday."
Jiang Yubai took out a diamond-encrusted box.
He opened it to reveal a strawberry carved from pink jade. The strawberry was delicate and translucent, with a plump and complete shape, but the craftsmanship was not refined or perfect—it didn't appear to be the work of a master jade carver.
Jiang Yubai explained, "I used an electric diamond knife to carve this strawberry for you as an eighteenth birthday gift."
Lin Zhixia immediately perked up: "You made it yourself?"
"Yes," Jiang Yubai said. "I failed several times before finally producing this."
Lin Zhixia treasured the strawberry immensely. She accepted the box with both hands, admiring and playing with it repeatedly, even neglecting lunch. She decided to place Jiang Yubai's handcrafted work by her bedside, where it would accompany her to sleep every night.
The pleasant weekend passed quickly, and Monday arrived in the blink of an eye. Lin Zhixia woke up early, shouldered her backpack, and headed to the office.
Every Monday and Wednesday morning, their research group held a morning meeting.
Lin Zhixia heard that the Indian senior, as the first author, had just published a paper in Nature . This morning, the Indian senior would give a brief presentation at the group meeting. She intended to collaborate with Lin Zhixia and Wen Qi. With a background in mathematics, she needed a collaborator with a solid foundation in physics.
Lin Zhixia volunteered herself.
Before the meeting, she directly approached the Indian senior, first praising her achievements, then explaining her own academic background and expressing her desire to collaborate.
The senior high-fived Lin Zhixia. She then transferred the experimental data to Lin Zhixia's desktop computer.
This was Lin Zhixia's first time actively seeking collaboration.
Not long ago, Lin Zhixia had chatted with Wei Ruoxing on QQ.
After earning her Ph.D., Wei Ruoxing secured a faculty position at a university in Shanghai. She was one of this year's "Young Thousand Talents Program" scholars. The "Young Thousand Talents Program" refers to the "National Young Thousand Talents Program," which requires applicants to have "over three years of overseas research experience" and significant academic achievements.
Wei Ruoxing overcame numerous challenges to successfully earn the "Young Thousand Talents Program" title. Now, she is an associate professor at a 985 university in Shanghai.
Lin Zhixia consulted Wei Ruoxing via QQ, asking what her daily life was like as an associate professor.
To Lin Zhixia's surprise, teaching was not Wei Ruoxing's primary responsibility.
Wei Ruoxing participated in the "Shanghai Outstanding Young University Teachers Research Project." She frequently interacted with colleagues, corporate executives, and government officials. She also mentioned that this was unavoidable—socializing was part of a professor's life.
After hearing Wei Ruoxing's advice, Lin Zhixia tried collaborating with others again.
The Indian senior in her group became Lin Zhixia's test case.
The collaboration between the Indian senior and Lin Zhixia proceeded smoothly. In less than a week, they made a new breakthrough. Additionally, Lin Zhixia was organizing materials for her own paper—her supervisor had high expectations for this paper, and she wanted to complete it as soon as possible.
Although Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai attended the same university, they didn't see each other often. When Jiang Yubai invited Lin Zhixia to a banquet on Friday, she declined.Lin Zhixia provided a well-reasoned explanation: "I've been quite busy lately. Also, I've developed a habit of Friday evening Meditation... I need to organize this week's work content."
Jiang Yubai expressed understanding.
On Friday evening, Jiang Yubai went alone to the banquet venue.
Many classmates from the department had arrived. Spotting him from afar, Sun Dawei waved him over.
Sun Dawei was seated at the edge of a long table, next to a young woman wearing a black evening gown. This woman had exquisite makeup and wore a pearl hair accessory shaped like laurel leaves, dressed like a Greek goddess.
Before them, elegant silverware gleamed brightly. Imitation candles embedded with orange bulbs cast a soft glow, their warm light enveloping the crystal vase on the table. All the guests wore suits or evening gowns, creating a relaxed, harmonious, and stress-free atmosphere at the banquet.
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