The university assigned Lin Zhixia four undergraduate students. She was responsible for tutoring these four students in their coursework. On the first day of class, to appear mature and composed, Lin Zhixia dressed quite formally.
At exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, the four students arrived punctually in a small classroom.
Coincidentally, all four students were Chinese—two young men from Shanghai, and two young women from Taipei and Macau. They chatted and laughed in Chinese as they settled around a circular table.
Lin Zhixia stood in front of a whiteboard, holding a marker, and explained the framework of the lesson in English. While the students continued whispering in Chinese among themselves, Lin Zhixia asked, "Would you prefer me to speak in English or Chinese?"
A young man named Li Zirui said, "Professor Lin, you can speak Chinese, with some English terms mixed in..."
Before Li Zirui could finish, Lin Zhixia agreed, "Alright, then we'll conduct the class like a casual conversation among classmates. It’s best if you all feel relaxed."
Another student, a young woman named Wu PinYan, raised her hand and asked, "Do we have to submit assignments every week?"
Lin Zhixia handed each of them a printed document.
Wearing a formal suit dress, she calmly and earnestly explained, "You’ll need to write a short academic paper each week, around 2,000 words, and I’ll grade your submissions. Since this is the first class, I’d like to understand your academic interests and reasons for taking this course. If your goal is simply to achieve high grades... that’s straightforward. I can tailor a plan for you and recommend some broad materials. If you’re particularly interested in a specific research area, we can also discuss it more in class. Of course, the main focus should remain on mastering the course content itself."
Hugging her backpack, Wu PinYan asked another question, "I downloaded last year’s assignments and completed them, but I struggled with questions on Quantum Computing Models. Could we cover Quantum Computing Models in more detail?"
"Of course, of course," Lin Zhixia readily agreed.
Seeing how approachable she was, another male student asked, "Did you just publish a Nature paper on Reconstructing Quantum Algorithms? You demonstrated the algorithm’s superiority from both mathematical analysis and experimental results... Oh, right, the news mentioned you’re only eighteen."
He inadvertently brought up Lin Zhixia’s age, and the classroom atmosphere suddenly grew somewhat awkward.
Li Zirui lowered his voice and said, "Hey, she’s our mentor."
The male student rubbed his hands, also feeling a bit embarrassed.
"It’s alright," Lin Zhixia smoothed things over. "If you’re interested in my paper, I can take a few minutes to briefly introduce its content."
"Great," Wu PinYan responded enthusiastically.
Next, Lin Zhixia inquired in detail about each student’s background.
Lin Zhixia was close in age to her students, shared a similar cultural background, and spoke in a gentle tone.
She informed everyone that she would randomly ask questions and conduct spot checks during class, faithfully documenting them in the "Class Feedback Report." If students had any questions or didn’t understand something, they could interrupt her at any time or email her after class. She welcomed all questions related to physics, mathematics, chemistry, and computer science.Li Zirui asked her, "Do you understand every major?"
Lin Zhixia replied with a smile, "If I don't understand something, I'll look up materials to study."
Li Zirui nodded and stopped asking questions.
Since this was the first class, the students didn't have much academic work, and the classroom time passed quickly. In the final few minutes, Lin Zhixia explained her latest Nature paper on the whiteboard. The speed at which she derived physics formulas astonished the four students present. She didn't need any reference materials—she cited classics effortlessly and could mentally calculate complex mathematical expressions.
Based on her paper, she created a problem on the spot.
She asked Wu PinYan, "This is a Quantum Computing Model problem. Do you have any ideas?"
Wu PinYan's breath hitched.
But she didn't give up.
She opened her newly purchased notebook and quickly copied the expressions Lin Zhixia had written on the board. Lin Zhixia thoughtfully used English for the problem—since final exam questions would inevitably be in English. The four students were already accustomed to English exams and weren't very sensitive to Chinese technical terms.
While copying the problem, Wu PinYan said, "I have an idea."
Li Zirui turned to look at her.
Wu PinYan's pen flew across the paper. Lin Zhixia walked over to her side, bringing with her a refreshing, subtle fragrance. Wu PinYan took a deep breath and said cheerfully, "I've written down the method."
Looking at her handwriting, Lin Zhixia said directly, "This won't work."
Wu PinYan asked, "Why not?"
Lin Zhixia took the pen, bent over, and added operations to the paper. Wu PinYan suddenly understood. Lin Zhixia glanced at the wall clock and said, "Alright, time's up. We'll meet again next week."
The students bid her farewell one by one.
The first tutoring session had concluded successfully.
The next day was Saturday. Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai had arranged to go to the sports center together.
During the tutoring session, Lin Zhixia had been gentle, calm, and patient. But in front of Jiang Yubai, she laughed heartily: "It's so fun! You didn't see me teaching the students—it was hilarious! One boy told everyone that I just published a Nature paper at eighteen, and all the students became really shy. I was worried they might think I'm too young to be their tutor, but they accepted reality quickly. I'm very happy."
What else could they do?
Besides accepting reality, what choice did they have? Jiang Yubai thought to himself.
But outwardly he said, "You're really suited to being a teacher."
"I think so too," Lin Zhixia bounced on the spot, "I'm very suited to being a teacher."
Jiang Yubai held her hand and led her through the sports center entrance.
Lin Zhixia was still immersed in the excitement of becoming a tutor.
She chattered incessantly about the classroom scene. She also said she would assign diverse learning tasks to those four students to ensure their research work progressed smoothly with successful outputs.
Jiang Yubai silently pondered what "diverse learning tasks" meant.
He said meaningfully, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself.""I'm not stressed," Lin Zhixia linked her arm with his, "I'm just a bit afraid I might pressure them, like our senior did. Actually, our senior didn't mean to. She's quite nice—her paper got rejected by the editor, but she didn't blame anyone. After just a week of feeling down, she threw herself back into work. I really admire her; she's truly resilient, worthy of being a top student from the Indian Institute of Technology!"
Listening to her talk so much, Jiang Yubai found her incredibly lively, optimistic, and adorable. In a secluded, deserted corner, he stopped walking, leaned down close to her, and she grew somewhat nervous: "Didn't you say your classmates might come here?"
"Yes," Jiang Yubai admitted.
"Then don't kiss me," Lin Zhixia whispered, "don't let anyone see."
Jiang Yubai stepped back, putting more distance between them. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets; though he had no intention of doing anything improper, he murmured temptingly, "While there's no one around now..."
Lin Zhixia's cheeks flushed red: "While there's no one around, hurry up and tell me where the squash court is."
The reason Lin Zhixia had come to the gym with Jiang Yubai today was that she hadn't exercised in a long time.
Since starting her Ph.D., she no longer maintained the daily workout routine she had as an undergraduate. A few days ago, when she called her mom, her mom asked how her health was and if she had been running or jumping rope. Her mom also mentioned that Lin Zeqiu exercised regularly and had even participated in the "Capital University Basketball League" last semester. Although Lin Zeqiu's team was eliminated in the first round, his sportsmanship was commendable.
Lin Zhixia felt greatly inspired.
She decided to develop a sports skill.
She made a list that included: rock climbing, swimming, playing squash... Each required skill and provided good physical exercise.
Moreover, every one of these sports was Jiang Yubai's forte.
Lin Zhixia tactfully asked Jiang Yubai to be her sports coach, and he agreed without hesitation.
Lin Zhixia was overjoyed: "I'll teach you academics, and you teach me fitness."
In front of Lin Zhixia, Jiang Yubai felt like a male college student from a sports institute.
Jiang Yubai booked a squash room. The room had three solid walls and a glass wall by the door. After entering, Jiang Yubai took off his jacket and handed Lin Zhixia a racket. He said, "I'll demonstrate first, then you follow along."
"Okay, okay!" Lin Zhixia cheered excitedly.
It was time for her favorite role-playing again.
She called out to him in a sweet voice, "Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Yubai paused as he picked up the ball.
"What's wrong, Teacher Jiang?" Lin Zhixia moved closer to him.
Lin Zhixia was wearing a tracksuit. The skirt of the outfit was quite short, not covering her knees. When she bent over, the neckline dipped lower, something she hadn't noticed at all. But Jiang Yubai said, "Stand up straight."
Lin Zhixia stood up straight.
Jiang Yubai hooked his fingers on the zipper of her top and slowly pulled it all the way up, still not letting go.
Lin Zhixia's breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling slightly, the soft, full curves becoming more pronounced.
She called out again, "Teacher Jiang."Jiang Yubai truly seemed to transform into a serious and proper young teacher. He no longer gazed at Lin Zhixia. He had her sit on an armchair while he personally demonstrated how to play squash.
His movements were fluid, his reactions swift—the small ball flew back and forth between the wall and his racket without a single miss. Lin Zhixia watched him unblinkingly... utterly captivated, her heart racing with fascination.
Outside the glass door, passersby occasionally walked by.
Several teenagers stood at the entrance, observing Jiang Yubai play squash.
Jiang Yubai had strong arm strength, hitting with fierce intensity and remarkable speed that drew attention. Yet, he stopped just before onlookers could cheer for him. He called out to Lin Zhixia, "Let me teach you."
Lin Zhixia extended a hand toward him.
Jiang Yubai noticed she was wearing the ring he had given her.
The memories from last New Year's Eve, associated with that ring, were almost etched deeply into his mind. He grasped Lin Zhixia's wrist, first teaching her how to hold the racket.
Jiang Yubai said softly, "Spread your fingers."
Lin Zhixia then asked, "Teacher Jiang, have you taught other students before?"
Jiang Yubai answered truthfully, "No, you're the first."
Lin Zhixia broke free from him. "With so little experience, can you really teach me properly?"
Jiang Yubai hadn't expected Lin Zhixia to pull such a move.
This squash room was essentially a public area. Whatever Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia did inside was clearly visible to passersby outside—their university classmates often came here to work out, and since entering the gym, Jiang Yubai had run into many acquaintances. Considering this, he remained quite restrained.
Jiang Yubai said, "Trust me, I can teach you well. Come here, we'll start by learning how to swing."
Before he finished speaking, someone outside called Jiang Yubai's name.
Jiang Yubai turned his head and saw several close friends. They were all from the same college—uniformly handsome, with broad shoulders, long legs, and athletic builds.
Jiang Yubai stepped out to greet them, and the group formed what looked like a male model squad with an average height over 185 cm.
Lin Zhixia was still inside practicing her swing when suddenly someone shouted, "Teacher Lin! Teacher Lin! Teacher Lin, you're here to play too?"
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