Genius Girlfriend

It was the height of summer in August, and the weather was exceptionally sweltering.

On the morning of the meeting, the temperature soared to thirty-seven degrees Celsius. Heat waves rippled through the air, and the clamor of cicadas grated on the ears. Yet, inside a conference room in the college's administrative building, an extreme silence prevailed.

At the center of the conference room stood a solid wood long table, around which various college leaders and teachers were seated.

The vice dean lifted a glass of water, where the dried sterculia seeds bobbed up and down. After taking several sips, he finally spoke: "As everyone knows, our Teacher Qian has moved to another university. Teacher Qian was the leading figure in 'Molecular Dynamics.' His departure has far-reaching implications in every aspect. Issues with students, projects, funding... all these matters need to be addressed as soon as possible."

A leader from the academic affairs office interjected, "The current situation is as it stands. With Teacher Qian gone, the role of leading figure in 'Molecular Dynamics' will be taken over by our college's Teacher Qu. This is a provisional decision, and the specific procedures still need to be submitted to higher authorities for approval."

"Teacher Qu," whose real name was Qu Zongyi, was around forty years old, in the prime of his life, with strong academic capabilities, making him well-suited to be the new leading figure in "Molecular Dynamics."

Thus, no one in the entire college objected.

The leader continued, "Teacher Qian, who left, left behind two doctoral students and four master's students. Teacher Qian has moved to a university in the northwest, far from us. If he were to continue supervising these six students, it would only be through remote guidance online... the Laboratory would be left unattended. According to feedback from our students, Teacher Qian hasn't responded to their emails for over half a month. What am I supposed to do about that?"

The vice dean frowned and chimed in, "What should we do?"

The leader bent his left elbow, resting it on the table, picked up a pen with his right hand, and raised his voice: "I called Teacher Qian. He said he's just started at the new university and is too busy with work. He’ll only be able to supervise the students after he’s settled in. His students have all requested to change supervisors, and the college takes this matter very seriously..."

As the leader continued recounting the details, the cicadas outside the window grew even louder.

Lin Zhixia sat upright in her chair. Tan Qianche happened to be seated beside her. Although he and Lin Zhixia were not in the same college, his research direction overlapped with that of the departed Teacher Qian, so he had accompanied the department head to the meeting.

He hadn’t expected the meeting to be so dull and tedious.

He was growing drowsy.

Lin Zhixia whispered to him, "Are you very tired?"

A vibrant smile curled at the corner of his lips. "Me? I'm wide awake."

Lin Zhixia fell silent.

Tan Qianche turned the question back to her: "Do you have any plans to take on a new student?"

"I haven't decided yet," Lin Zhixia replied cautiously. "I don't know what projects they're working on."

Tan Qianche pulled a stack of documents from his backpack and handed them to Lin Zhixia. "These are the students' project reports. The department head gave them to me and asked me to select a student to join my research group. The students have solid foundations; they're all promising. Why don't you pick a few as well? Your group is understaffed."

Lin Zhixia opened the file, not forgetting to thank him: "Thank you."

Tan Qianche said lightly, "You're my junior. No need to be so polite."Lin Zhixia quickly skimmed through every page of the research project report. She took a particular interest in a doctoral student named Fang Yiwen. Fang Yiwen’s reasoning was exceptionally clear, her research direction innovative, and her future potential seemed limitless—especially impressive given that she had only just entered her second year as a Ph.D. student.

"This student is outstanding," Lin Zhixia murmured to herself.

Tan Qianche glanced down at the report. "Fang Yiwen? She’s quite sharp. I attended one of her presentations."

Lin Zhixia nodded. "Teacher Qu could probably mentor her."

"Why can’t you mentor her yourself?" Tan Qianche reminded her. "You’re a specially appointed associate professor—you’re qualified to supervise doctoral students."

Lin Zhixia fell silent. She closed the report and sank into thought.

In the days that followed, Lin Zhixia still hadn’t made a decision.

She believed that for someone like Fang Yiwen, the best new mentor should be a leading expert in the field. In comparison, Lin Zhixia felt her own qualifications were too shallow, her experience insufficient, and having never supervised a doctoral student before, she worried she might hold Fang Yiwen back.

However, reality unfolded in a way Lin Zhixia hadn’t anticipated.

Fang Yiwen actually couldn’t find a professor willing to take her on.

She reached out to four professors and was rejected by all four.

Why was that?!

Her senior doctoral peers had quickly found new advisors.

Fang Yiwen’s academic abilities were solid, and she was still young—what was she lacking?

She couldn’t figure it out.

At her wit’s end, she stood in a daze in the academic building and happened to run into Tan Qianche. Tan Qianche straightforwardly told Fang Yiwen that Lin Zhixia from the interdisciplinary college particularly admired her. Without wasting a day, Fang Yiwen immediately sought out Lin Zhixia and explained her situation.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Zhixia agreed on the spot.

Fang Yiwen breathed a sigh of relief.

She even brought another master’s student into Lin Zhixia’s research group.

That master’s student was named Xu Lingbo, also just twenty-three years old. He had a crew cut, a lean build, and tanned skin, giving off the vibe of an energetic young man. On his first day meeting Lin Zhixia, he brought her a pile of local specialties from his hometown—wild walnuts, free-range eggs, sweet potato starch, and dried mushrooms, all packed into two large bags he had carried back from his rural home before the summer break ended.

Stunned, Lin Zhixia said very seriously, "You don’t need to give me gifts. I won’t accept anything."

In the spacious office, the air conditioner hummed relentlessly. Xu Lingbo stood straight-faced and explained, "My dad told me to bring something for Teacher Lin. If I didn’t, he’d keep nagging me. These are homemade goods from my family. If you don’t want them, I have no space in my dorm, and I’m afraid they’ll go bad."

Lin Zhixia came up with a solution: "How about this—I’ll transfer you two thousand yuan, as if I’m buying these from you. Please don’t give me gifts in the future. I have everything I need."

With that, Lin Zhixia opened Alipay on her phone to transfer the money to Xu Lingbo.

How could Xu Lingbo dare accept Lin Zhixia’s money?

Besides, those local products weren’t worth two thousand yuan!

Xu Lingbo hoisted the burlap sacks and swiftly dashed out of Lin Zhixia’s office.

On his way back to the dorm, Xu Lingbo ran into some classmates from the men’s dormitory. They asked him what Professor Lin was like. All Xu Lingbo could say was, "Professor Lin is incorruptible, beautiful, and kind-hearted. As for whether she’s easy to get along with—we’ll have to wait and see."

*The summer heat in the provincial capital finally subsided by the end of August. An early September autumn rain brought long-awaited coolness to the city. For several consecutive days, misty clouds hung like smoke while drizzling rain fell continuously, yet Lin Zhixia's mood remained exceptionally bright. Her research group consisted of three students—two master's candidates and one doctoral candidate. The laboratory was nearly ready, sufficiently equipped to begin some preliminary work.

Lin Zhixia and her three students agreed to hold weekly group meetings every Thursday morning. All students were required to report their work progress from the current week and plans for the following week, while Lin Zhixia would assign them learning tasks.

Before Lin Zhixia could finish speaking, Fang Yiwen interrupted her: "Professor Lin, I want to publish a paper this semester."

Fang Yiwen wore a long-sleeved T-shirt and loose wide-leg pants. Her black-framed glasses sat between strands of loose, messy hair that fell on either side of the frames. Her junior Xu Lingbo whispered: "Senior, maybe you should... wash your hair before the next meeting."

Fang Yiwen whispered back: "I just washed it with soap this morning."

"Senior," Xu Lingbo said helplessly, "even the elderly folks back in my hometown don't use soap to wash their hair anymore."

Fang Yiwen took things seriously. She immediately argued: "I use hair soap, whose main component is sodium fatty acid salt with an alkaline pH no higher than 9. Hair is keratin, and the chemical reaction between keratin and sodium fatty acid salt in 37°C warm water..."

"Se—se—senior!" Zhan Rui called out loudly to stop her.

She turned her head: "What?"

Zhan Rui pointed at Lin Zhixia.

Only then did Fang Yiwen suddenly realize they were still in the middle of a group meeting! How could she have started arguing with her junior? This was truly inappropriate. She hurriedly apologized to Lin Zhixia: "Professor Lin, I'm sorry, Professor Lin, I..."

"It's fine," Lin Zhixia didn't seem bothered at all. "We've just met recently and need some time to adjust to each other. I'll gradually get to know you better."

After speaking, Lin Zhixia handed her a document: "You didn't publish any papers during your first year of doctoral studies. I reviewed the training plan left by your previous supervisor—it was quite brief, so I went through it quickly... These are materials I prepared for you."

Fang Yiwen directly snatched the documents without saying thank you, immediately lowering her head.

Xu Lingbo offered an awkward yet polite smile.

Zhan Rui's gaze drifted aimlessly, his face slightly flushed.

Today's group meeting concluded in a strange and indescribable atmosphere.

A few days later, undergraduate students who had just entered their third year received a school notification to begin online course selection. The rather novel course "Quantum Bit and Computer" entered public view for the first time.

Students also discovered that Professor Lin Zhixia, who was offering "Quantum Bit and Computer," had just turned twenty-two this year and possessed an impressive academic record. Many students immediately signed up for her course because of her reputation. Some male students, after seeing Lin Zhixia's photo, eagerly joined the "course selection battle."

Eventually, all 110 spots for the course were completely filled within just two days, with not a single seat remaining.

Lin Zhixia felt quite happy.

She couldn't wait to share this news with Jiang Yubai.That morning, Jiang Yubai happened to bring his secretary, assistant, lawyer, executives from an internet company, and equipment suppliers for the "Quantum Technology Laboratory" to the university town.

Jiang Yubai had already discussed with the college leadership, securing permission for Lin Zhixia to serve as the head and senior consultant of the "Quantum Technology Laboratory." This arrangement would also help promote the development of the university's emerging disciplines. Today, Jiang Yubai personally came to the college to sign the contract, aiming to prevent potential labor disputes within the company in the future.

At 10 a.m., two Mercedes-Benz vans parked in the university's parking lot.

The sky was overcast, with a light drizzle falling. Jiang Yubai's secretary was the first to step out, opening a black umbrella to shield Jiang Yubai from the rain.

Dressed in a suit, Jiang Yubai walked slowly through the dense curtain of rain. Droplets splashed onto his leather shoes, dampening the tips of the pure black leather. The rest of the group followed behind him as they entered the college's office building.

Though their group was low-key and quiet, they still drew frequent glances from passersby.

Someone captured a short video and uploaded it to their social media feed, succinctly captioning it: "Look! A super handsome guy!"

They had only filmed Jiang Yubai from behind.

However, even from the back, one could see his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs—his physique resembled that of a world-class male model, with almost no flaws to be found.