To prepare teaching materials for "Quantum Bit and Computer," Lin Zhixia searched online for relevant courses from top global universities.
Prestigious institutions like Stanford, MIT, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and many other world-class universities often publicly share lecture notes, homework assignments, and exam questions on their official websites. These schools offer a variety of courses related to "Quantum Computing," covering various quantum algorithms, simulations, communications, and practical programming.
Lin Zhixia skimmed through the teaching plans of various universities at a glance.
She carefully recalled books and papers she had read before, then spent over a month writing the lesson plans for "Quantum Bit and Computer," meticulously designing weekly assignments, and incidentally preparing classroom PowerPoint slides, marking all reference materials.
By March 2016, Lin Zhixia's name was announced on the national talent list, and the university also published the "proposed recruitment list," formally signing a special appointment contract with her. Lin Zhixia obtained the "associate senior professional title," equivalent to an associate professor. However, this special appointment contract had a time limit—within five years, if her academic performance was unsatisfactory, the university had the right to revoke her special benefits.
On the first day the contract took effect, Lin Zhixia used her "personal teacher account" to log into the university's official website, submitted a "new course application," and uploaded the electronic versions of the lesson plans and PowerPoint files for "Quantum Bit and Computer," awaiting the review results from the academic affairs department.
Meanwhile, the college was actively helping her prepare a research group.
A college leader suggested that Lin Zhixia start recruiting students this year, as she was the first author or sole author of over a dozen SCI Zone 1 papers, had dedicated research funding, and maintained close ties with several top international laboratories. Graduate students studying under her could benefit from various resources.
Lin Zhixia was very willing to recruit master's students.
As for doctoral students...
According to her special appointment contract, she was qualified to recruit doctoral students. However, she felt she lacked sufficient experience and still needed to learn, temporarily lacking the extra energy to mentor doctoral candidates.
In late March 2016, Lin Zhixia's university held the "Master's Program Re-examination."
When the initial exam results were announced in February that year, many students had already contacted potential supervisors in advance.
Although Lin Zhixia had a strong reputation, her faculty homepage was only updated in March, so no students had approached her. In the end, the department head's assistant recommended a student to her—a student named Zhan Rui, twenty-four years old, who had graduated from a 985 engineering university in Beijing.
Zhan Rui was male, standing under 1.8 meters tall, with delicate and fair features, and a relatively introverted personality.
After completing his undergraduate degree, Zhan Rui worked in Beijing for a year, then resigned and returned home to prepare for the graduate entrance exam. His score exceeded the initial exam cutoff, but he had not proactively contacted any potential supervisors.
Why?
Because he had a natural stutter.
Facing the department head's assistant, he stammered, "T-tomorrow's interview, h-hello, teacher..."
Zhan Rui struggled for a long time before finally finishing his sentence.
The previous night, Zhan Rui had just arrived in the provincial capital and today wanted to visit the department head to prepare for the next day's interview. The department head's assistant had previously called him, seeming somewhat interested in his academic background.However, at this very moment, the assistant said: "Hello, you're Student Zhan, right? I remember you. I've seen your resume—excellent academic performance and solid foundational skills. Ah, our admission quota is full. Why don't you go ask Teacher Lin? Professor Lin Zhixia is a specially appointed young professor at the Interdisciplinary College. She's published papers in top-tier 'machine learning' conferences. Since you majored in computer science as an undergraduate, you'll have common ground with Professor Lin."
Zhan Rui memorized the name "Lin Zhixia."
It sounded strangely familiar.
Zhan Rui pulled out his phone and searched for "Lin Zhixia" online. The search results startled him—how could someone so young have such impressive research achievements?
It happened to be a rainy day.
The sky was overcast, with dark clouds churning, and slanting raindrops drifted across the vast campus. Withered yellow and verdant green leaves scattered across the ground in the cold wind. Zhan Rui sneezed, hugged a stack of documents, and searched everywhere for Lin Zhixia's office, finally finding it in the office building of the "Frontier Interdisciplinary College."
Zhan Rui's short black hair was damp from the rain, with a strand stuck to his forehead. He dried the water droplets with a tissue and hurried to the second floor. Wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly, he suddenly heard a man's laughter: "Professor Lin, I came to see you. It's Teacher Tan."
Zhan Rui followed the sound and ran right into Tan Qianche.
Tan Qianche was wearing a suit that day. Tall, straight-backed, exceptionally handsome, and distinguished, he stood out noticeably. He was standing at the entrance of Lin Zhixia's office when Zhan Rui passed by him and stammered politely: "Tea... Tea... Teacher..."
"Teacher what?" Tan Qianche laughed at his stammer. "We're all still quite young."
Zhan Rui hurriedly explained: "I... I-I have a stutter."
Tan Qianche looked him up and down, easily discerning his identity: "Judging by your appearance, you must be this year's master's student looking for Professor Lin? Good choice—you'll be Professor Lin's first graduate student."
The rain outside grew heavier.
The cold, lingering rain seeped past the eaves and drifted indoors.
Lin Zhixia closed the window, picked up a glass of pure water, and greeted them gently: "Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?"
Tan Qianche made himself at home and sat down without hesitation.
Last September, Tan Qianche had secured a teaching position in the Physics College. Now, he was not only Lin Zhixia's senior fellow student but also her colleague at the same university. Hearing that Lin Zhixia had been specially appointed as a professor at the Interdisciplinary College, Tan Qianche had picked a day to personally visit her office and congratulate her.
However, Lin Zhixia said to him: "What did you need to see me about? Next time, please email to schedule an appointment first. If you have urgent matters, I might not be in my office."
Tan Qianche had been planning to discuss her Quantum Platform development with Lin Zhixia, but her tone suggested she wasn't very welcoming. Not wanting to impose, he made up an excuse and prepared to leave.
Before leaving, his phone rang several times. He answered and called out, "Sweetheart," then added, "I'm busy today, let's reschedule."
Lin Zhixia reminded him: "Senior, do you remember what you said that year when you were lying in the hospital?"
He left a straight-backed silhouette and replied lightly, "That's all in the past."Zhan Rui stared at him blankly for a moment before hearing Lin Zhixia say, "Hello classmate, may I take a look at your resume?"
Snapping back to reality, Zhan Rui handed over his resume with both hands. Though he was three years older than Lin Zhixia, he inexplicably assumed the role of a junior. Nervously rubbing his fingers, his palms slightly damp with sweat, he silently cursed himself for daring to approach the associate professor of the interdisciplinary college without any preparation.
He felt as if he were awaiting fate's judgment.
The entire process actually lasted only a few seconds.
After putting down the resume, Lin Zhixia carefully considered his words before saying, "I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that alright? I have paper and pens here—you can write or draft formulas on them."
Zhan Rui nodded repeatedly. "Yes, of course."
Thus began Zhan Rui's interview. Lin Zhixia presented him with seven questions of increasing difficulty.
Initially, Zhan Rui handled them with ease, but soon he fell into deep concentration. As he scribbled notes on paper, the cup of steaming tea before him gradually cooled. Daylight faded as dark clouds blotted out the sky, making the office's pendant light shine brighter. Unhurried and focused, he continued working through the problems until a flash of insight finally led him to an answer.
Delighted, Lin Zhixia encouraged him more earnestly: "Your logical reasoning is quite strong, and you have a solid grasp of the subject matter."
Zhan Rui shyly rubbed his hands together, a slight smile curling his lips.
Lin Zhixia then asked, "How is your English? During your master's program, you'll need to read many English papers..."
Zhan Rui replied honestly, "I scored 640 on both CET-6 exams."
Lin Zhixia opened his desk drawer and pulled out an English research paper on artificial intelligence. The paper described the algorithmic framework of "Go Robot AlphaGo." Though Zhan Rui had never read this particular article, he understood the fundamental principles of "Monte Carlo Tree Search" and "Deep Reinforcement Learning"—the two core algorithms supporting AlphaGo.
After spending half an hour reading the paper, Zhan Rui felt uncertain but proceeded to sketch an algorithm flowchart on scratch paper.
After reviewing his flowchart, Lin Zhixia commented, "This is acceptable—quite good actually."
Zhan Rui stood up, wanting to say something to Lin Zhixia, but his mind went blank. Finding no suitable topic, he awkwardly bowed to her instead. She chuckled softly, causing Zhan Rui to blush instantly.
Maintaining a neutral expression, Lin Zhixia said, "There's no need for such formality. I hope we can communicate as equals. Your academic foundation is quite solid—you should have no problem with the college interview. Don't be nervous; just perform normally tomorrow."
Hoisting his black backpack, Zhan Rui took a step backward.
Intending to bid Lin Zhixia farewell and return early to his accommodation to prepare for the next day's graduate school re-examination, he stammered, "T-t-t-today..."
He wanted to say: Thank you, Professor Lin, for today.
However, Lin Zhixia misunderstood Zhan Rui's meaning.
Lin Zhixia assumed Zhan Rui wanted to discuss funding but felt too embarrassed to bring it up.Lin Zhixia confidently summarized: "Our university provides scholarships to all master's students, eight thousand yuan per person annually, covering book fees, transportation costs, and medical expenses. The state also grants a monthly subsidy of six hundred yuan to graduate students. I'll also pay you a stipend, so don't worry... As for papers, I have plenty of projects and research topics. Advisors and students choose each other mutually. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime—I check my email daily."
When Zhan Rui left the office, his steps still felt light and floating.
The rain outside had stopped. Water droplets slid from the eaves and landed with a "plop" on his head. Wiping his face, he pulled out his phone and called his undergraduate classmate Lin Zeqiu.
Lin Zeqiu was Zhan Rui's college roommate and one of his few friends.
Lin Zeqiu asked him, "Did you find the chair of the Computer Engineering Department?"
Zhan Rui's mood was as clear and bright as the sky after rain. He told Lin Zeqiu that he had switched advisors to someone very young, with high academic achievements, who was easy to get along with, didn't mind his occasional speech hesitations, and was particularly cultivated and respectful toward students.
After hearing this, Lin Zeqiu felt an ominous premonition rise within him.
A terrifying thought flashed through his mind: Could my college roommate end up becoming my younger sister's student?
Thinking of this sister always gave Lin Zeqiu mixed feelings.
His sister Lin Zhixia hadn't returned home for several days again.
Over the past month, Lin Zhixia had received relocation allowances and various subsidies. She finally saved enough for a down payment and often took time to look at properties near the university town—which gave Jiang Yubai an opportunity.
Every evening, Jiang Yubai would pick up Lin Zhixia and bring her to his home. He always prepared lavish dinners and would tell her, "It's not too late to leave after dinner."
Lin Zhixia found his reasoning quite sound.
However, after dinner, Jiang Yubai would often plan enjoyable activities. They would play in the outdoor swimming pool, gaze at the city nightscape and stars, or sit together in the study—chairs side by side—working quietly without disturbing each other... Lin Zhixia had to admit she greatly enjoyed spending time with Jiang Yubai, even to the point of forgetting to return home.
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