As the teaching assistant for the "Quantum Computing" course, Lin Zhixia was mentoring four undergraduate students this semester, with Wu PinYan being one of them.
Wu PinYan had a clear goal: she wanted to pursue a Ph.D. under Lin Zhixia's advisor.
Lin Zhixia's advisor enjoyed a prestigious reputation in academia, with high personal achievements and equally high expectations for students. The doctoral candidates in his research group were exceptionally capable—for instance, aishwarya functioned like a paper-producing machine, publishing at least two papers annually in top-tier international academic journals.
Speaking with the tone of an experienced mentor, aishwarya told Wu PinYan that the first step toward publishing an outstanding paper was identifying an innovative point—and to find that point, Wu PinYan needed to extensively review literature.
Wu PinYan nodded.
Lin Zhixia warmly encouraged her: "Actually, you've already identified an innovative point, which is why I invited you to join our research group. Come with me, I'll show you the experimental equipment."
Wu PinYan smiled: "Thank you."
Walking ahead, Lin Zhixia pushed open the Laboratory door: "I sent your resume and paper to my advisor and discussed it with him. I'll teach you the experimental procedures. Once you're familiar with the process, you can implement the model and collect data yourself."
"Thank you, senior!" Wu PinYan exclaimed gratefully.
In their small classroom, Wu PinYan often addressed Lin Zhixia as "Professor Lin," but now she switched to calling her "senior," reminding Lin Zhixia of gentle and kind seniors like Zhu Chan, Luo Ying, and Wei Ruoxing...
Lin Zhixia said sincerely: "If you encounter any problems in the Laboratory, contact me anytime. I'll do my best to help you resolve them."
The spacious "Quantum Circuit" Laboratory was filled with various large machines. Wu PinYan glanced around and quietly asked: "Will you still be a teaching assistant next semester?"
Lin Zhixia understood her underlying meaning. She replied: "Whether I'm a teaching assistant or not, I'll still help you. When you finish your paper, I can review it before you send it to our advisor. Your research direction is very novel, and our entire group welcomes you."
Wu PinYan and Lin Zhixia had almost no personal relationship.
Their communication was limited to their weekly class sessions.
Clasping her hands and squeezing her knuckles, Wu PinYan thanked Lin Zhixia again: "Alright, thank you."
"Don't be so formal," Lin Zhixia said generously. "Keep working hard—you're very talented."
While Lin Zhixia and Wu PinYan were talking, Wen Qi happened to pass behind them. His footsteps were silent, almost ghostlike, until Wu PinYan called out: "Senior Wen Qi!"
The voice felt like a hidden arrow striking Wen Qi's forehead. He froze in place and responded awkwardly: "Huh?"
Wen Qi had a premonition—Wu PinYan's personality was very outgoing, even more enthusiastic and extroverted than Lin Zhixia. The type of girl he met last year, Miao Danyi, was also like this. Such girls were practically his kryptonite, making it difficult for him to maintain basic social etiquette.
Sure enough, Wu PinYan pulled out her phone: "Your phone number?"
Wen Qi actually said: "I don't have a phone."
Wu PinYan's expression froze slightly. She looked toward Lin Zhixia.Lin Zhixia could probably guess why Wen Qi had lied. Even though she had a very good impression of Wu PinYan, she couldn't force Wen Qi to give his phone number to her. As she was deep in thought, Wu PinYan asked again, "Do you have a QQ account or WeChat ID?"
Wen Qi shook his head.
Wu PinYan pressed further, "What about Facebook and P?"
Both Facebook and P were social media platforms commonly used by international students.
However, Wen Qi denied having any social media accounts. He coldly said, "I'm going to do an experiment," and then walked into a small room not far away—though that wasn't actually a place for conducting experiments.
Wu PinYan leaned closer to Lin Zhixia and cautiously said, "Senior Wen Qi..."
"He's not good at socializing," Lin Zhixia quickly explained on Wen Qi's behalf. "He doesn't mean any harm, don't be nervous. He's like this with everyone. I've known him for over seven months, and he speaks to me at most ten sentences a day—that's his limit."
"Really?" Wu PinYan was astonished. "How does that work? Has he seen a psychologist?"
A psychologist?
Lin Zhixia thought for a moment. "It seems not."
Wu PinYan also seemed to realize something. She stopped commenting on Wen Qi. She followed Lin Zhixia around the entire Laboratory, and Lin Zhixia handed her a printed document, asking her to do some simple exercises based on the instructions in the file. Wu PinYan couldn't help but ask, "Did you prepare these in advance?"
"Yes," Lin Zhixia replied frankly. "When I was revising your paper, I designed some simple experiments based on the computational model you proposed and wrote an experimental guide along the way."
Lin Zhixia's selfless kindness exceeded Wu PinYan's previous expectations.
Holding the thick stack of documents, Wu PinYan felt a continuous warmth flowing through her heart. She couldn't help but consider Lin Zhixia's situation in return. After hesitating for a while, she asked, "If you're mentoring students like this, do you still have time for your own research?"
They stood beside a desk. Lin Zhixia pulled open a drawer, retrieved two more printed papers, and handed them to Wu PinYan.
Hearing Wu PinYan's question, Lin Zhixia answered honestly, "Yes, I spend most of my time on research. After I graduate, I plan to return to China and become a university professor. Preparing these materials isn't just for you—it's also for myself. In the future, when I mentor graduate students, I want to be a good advisor."
Gripping the several documents in her hands, Wu PinYan felt their weight.
To lighten the mood, Wu PinYan joked, "Haven't you considered going to a research institute? If you train students... they might not be as capable as you."
Lin Zhixia looked at her. "No one is born knowing everything. Often, students aren't unintelligent—they just don't know yet. If we give them a lamp, they can carry it on their own path and illuminate a broader world."
Moved, Wu PinYan remarked, "Is this the 'common good'?"
Lin Zhixia's attitude grew even more serious. "Yes, as written in Meditations —'A person has three relationships: with external things, with other people, and with faith or reason'..."
Before Lin Zhixia could finish, Wu PinYan interjected, "I understand your faith now."
Lin Zhixia beamed with a radiant smile.
Just then, Senior Aishwarya walked into the Laboratory holding a cup of coffee.Lin Zhixia lowered her voice and quietly told Wu PinYan, "Senior aishwarya is currently looking for teaching positions. She contacted the Indian Institute of Technology... I heard her say that once she becomes a professor, she wants to recruit more female students."
"What about you?" Wu PinYan focused more on Lin Zhixia. "In the future, will you recruit more female students?"
Lin Zhixia admitted, "Of course."
She cited statistics: "There are six times more male scholars than female scholars in the fields of mathematics, physics, and computer science[1]. Machine learning is an important branch of artificial intelligence. In the field of machine learning, top female scholars worldwide only account for two percent of the total. I feel this proportion is a bit low..."
Senior aishwarya was approaching them, seemingly to introduce the laboratory equipment to Wu PinYan.
Lin Zhixia suddenly remembered that on her and Wen Qi's first day joining the group, it was also Senior aishwarya who explained the laboratory rules and various operating procedures to them.
Lin Zhixia extended a hand toward Wu PinYan: "Keep it up, we'll both grow and improve."
Wu PinYan high-fived her.
Lin Zhixia vaguely recalled again that back in Teacher Shen Zhaohua's laboratory, she and Shen Zhaohua had made a pinky promise—that was nine years ago. To this day, she had always kept that promise.
Wu PinYan was a very diligent person.
Since that day, she often came to the laboratory to check in.
Gradually, she could also chat with Wen Qi for a bit.
Wen Qi was collaborating with Lin Zhixia on a new paper.
During the month without their advisor's guidance, they still maintained steady progress. On the first day their advisor returned from vacation, Lin Zhixia brought a stack of documents to his office.
The advisor had just brewed a cup of black tea and was leisurely savoring it. Seeing Lin Zhixia suddenly appear, a slightly surprised expression crossed his face.
"Good morning, today is office hours," Lin Zhixia pointed at the schedule on the doorframe.
At their university, professors generally had "office hours." During this time, any student could come directly to their office. He certainly knew this. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Lin Zhixia, he immediately began reviewing her new paper.
The progress in this paper was evident; it could almost be submitted directly to a journal.
Therefore, by the end of that month, Lin Zhixia submitted the article. She waited about two months before receiving the news that the paper had been accepted.
At the same time, Lin Zhixia also passed the first stage of her doctoral defense. Her first year of doctoral life was about to come to a close. In her final teaching assistant session for undergraduate students, she bid farewell to her four students. The students seemed quite moved, and Han Guang even shook hands with her.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
The only issue was that Lin Zhixia wasn't assigned a dormitory for her second year of doctoral studies. Dormitory assignments were random, and she had unfortunately drawn a blank.
Lin Zhixia checked her emails, repeatedly confirming...
Her connection with student housing had, unfortunately, come to an end.
Lin Zhixia thought for a moment, picked up her phone, and sent a message to Jiang Yubai: "I don't have a dormitory next semester. I work as a teaching assistant at the university, so I have money for rent."Jiang Yubai called her. His first words were: "We signed a rental contract, so let's follow the terms. When are you moving? I'll come pick you up."
Lin Zhixia didn't refuse. She said, "I'll move at the end of the month."
"Alright," Jiang Yubai replied with unusual calmness, "I'll have your room ready."
Lin Zhixia even became polite with him: "Mm, thank you."
Jiang Yubai felt like Lin Zhixia was playing a "landlord-tenant" role-playing game with him.
After the call ended, Jiang Yubai immediately left his study and headed toward the room he had prepared for Lin Zhixia. He checked the wardrobe, desk, dressing table, and bathroom once more, confirming that all facilities were clean, tidy, and in perfect condition. He thought to himself that if Lin Zhixia lived with him, she wouldn't need to cook for herself anymore—her breakfast, lunch, and dinner would all be fully provided for.
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