On the morning Jiang Yubai was leaving for his business trip, Lin Zhixia gave him a letter as usual, each containing a love poem. A love poem that took Lin Zhixia ten seconds to compose would be read over and over by Jiang Yubai eight times. He tucked the envelope into the inner pocket of his briefcase, turning the bag into a treasured item. When his secretary offered to carry it for him, he firmly declined.
"This bag, I'll carry it myself," he said.
The secretary nodded and handed him a prepared document for him to work on during the flight. Due to the large number of people on this trip, they traveled on a private jet with excellent internet connectivity. Jiang Yubai even held a video conference—the first-generation product of "PTSIC Quantum Technology Laboratory" was about to be launched, and every department head in the company was on high alert.
At nine in the morning, everyone at the meeting appeared energetic and spirited.
PTSIC's first-generation product included a set of quantum-safe encryption and a Quantum Cloud Computing Platform.
Earlier, Lin Zhixia had boldly challenged all netizens to test the quality of their products. That said, most netizens willing to try the services of the "Quantum Computing" company were either university students in related fields or professionals from the industry. According to official statistics, 24,000 netizens had signed up for the "PTSIC Product Testing Event," including some foreign users unfamiliar with the platform.
For this "PTSIC Product Testing Event," Lin Zhixia had worked overnight to draft a marketing plan.
Lin Zhixia was determined to compete with Chai Yang and seize his prestigious title as "Leading Entrepreneur of the Post-90s Generation."
As PTSIC's new product launch approached, Lin Zhixia's students caught wind of it.
During Thursday morning's "Qubits and Computing" class, while Lin Zhixia was explaining the "Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Programming," a student named Cui Yiming suddenly raised his hand and asked, "Professor Lin, which mathematical theories are used in the underlying framework protocol of your company's Quantum Computing Platform? Will this be on the final exam?"
As soon as he spoke, many students showed subtle expressions.
Lin Zhixia set down the chalk and patiently explained the mathematical theories. While most students in the room grew increasingly anxious, Lin Zhixia reassured them, "Don't worry, these concepts are quite complex. They won't be tested in the midterm or final exams."
Cui Yiming sighed.
What was there to sigh about?
Xu Lingbo, who was auditing the class, couldn't fathom it.
Cui Yiming glanced sideways at him and sneered, "Professor Lin has surrendered to you."
At first, Xu Lingbo didn't quite understand, only feeling that Cui Yiming, as a junior, showed no respect or humility toward him, a master's student.
There was nothing to be done about it.
Cui Yiming was exceptionally talented, diligent, and hardworking—a genius among geniuses.
He looked down on Xu Lingbo, and Xu Lingbo could do nothing about it.
Xu Lingbo carefully pondered his words.
After a few seconds, it suddenly dawned on him. Flushing with anger, he retorted, "How Professor Lin designs the exams is entirely up to her. If she wants to test you on addition and subtraction within 100, you can't stop her. Let me be blunt, Cui Yiming—if you're dissatisfied with Professor Lin, go become a professor yourself. Set the hardest exams and make everyone fail. Can you do that?"Cui Yiming’s fingers stiffened.
Xu Lingbo noticed his subtle reaction and couldn’t help sneering, “Heh, you’re twenty already, aren’t you? When Professor Lin was your age, she’d already finished her Ph.D. and secured a postdoc position at MIT. And you? Still sitting in the same classroom as us, listening to Professor Lin’s lecture. What gives you the right to look down on your classmates?”
Cui Yiming remained silent.
Xu Lingbo thought his junior had finally seen the light.
He pressed on, “Listen to me. Stop looking down on others. Drop Tan Qianche’s group and join our research team instead…”
Cui Yiming stared fixedly ahead. Xu Lingbo followed his gaze and spotted one of Lin Zhixia’s slides, which boldly stated: “The midterm and final exams for ‘Qubits and Computing’ will follow the national college entrance exam framework, consisting of 60% basic questions, 10% intermediate questions, and 10% challenging questions. Students who independently complete and understand the weekly assignments will score no lower than 70 points on the final exam, with potential to reach 80 or even 90 points.”
A murmur of conversation rippled through the classroom.
Lin Zhixia stepped down from the podium.
Standing in one of the aisles, she said earnestly, “I’ve adjusted the difficulty of the regular assignments. You can see the changes after logging into the university’s teaching system. As you all know, this course has a high withdrawal rate—it nearly got canceled by the academic affairs office…”
When she mentioned “canceled,” several boys in the front row chuckled.
Lin Zhixia smiled back at them.
Their faces flushed, and they shyly lowered their heads, fidgeting with their textbooks.
Lin Zhixia continued cheerfully, “I have no intention of dampening your enthusiasm or dragging down your GPAs. After graduation, you’ll pursue postgraduate studies, study abroad, or start careers… Undergraduate grades matter. I hope the average score for ‘Qubits and Computing’ can reach at least seventy, or even eighty. Of course, that will require effort from both me and you.”
The classroom gradually quieted down.
Lin Zhixia turned and walked back to the podium.
The boys in the front row were still gazing wistfully at her retreating figure—those who sat there were mostly Lin Zhixia’s biggest fans. They had privately formed a “Quantum Study Group,” hoping to bridge the gap between themselves and Lin Zhixia by learning about Quantum Computing.
Lin Zhixia’s eyes met theirs again.
She said, “I know many students in our class are very interested in Quantum Computing and eager to contribute to this field.”
The boys exchanged glances, then hung their heads in shame.
Lin Zhixia concluded, “Your futures hold limitless possibilities. This course merely offers you one perspective. Spending time studying Quantum Computing can be quite joyful… Technological progress benefits all humanity, and our generation are its witnesses.”
She paused, and the classroom erupted into enthusiastic applause.
Xu Lingbo led the chorus, saying, “Good thing you didn’t drop the course! From what Professor Lin said, everyone can score at least seventy!”
Some students in the back rows began chanting “Everyone can score seventy!” while others texted friends who had previously withdrawn from the course, briefly explaining Lin Zhixia’s reforms. Once again, “Qubits and Computing” became a highly popular course among undergraduates."How to Re-elect 'Qubits and Computing'" once became the hottest post on the campus BBS forum.
Unfortunately, the academic affairs office didn't allow students to reselect courses, so Lin Zhixia's class size didn't expand further.
Lin Zhixia browsed the campus BBS forum, took screenshots of the post content, and sent them to Jiang Yubai, waiting for him to praise her successful reform.
She didn't have to wait long before Jiang Yubai replied: "The course, assignments, and exams have become easier. The students are happier - are you happy?"
This question made Lin Zhixia fall into deep thought.
Everyone was discussing how these measures were very undergraduate-friendly, but from Lin Zhixia's perspective, she had indeed lost some of her teaching joy. However, if Jiang Yubai hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have thought in that direction.
After careful consideration for a few seconds, she resolutely said: "Next semester, I won't offer this course anymore."
"Is Professor Lin sure about this?"
"I prefer mentoring graduate students."
Jiang Yubai then said: "A good beginning makes a good ending."
Lin Zhixia instantly replied: "Okay!"
Jiang Yubai added: "I'll be back the day after tomorrow."
"So soon?" Lin Zhixia said in surprise. "I feel like you haven't been away for long."
While Jiang Yubai felt like every day abroad was a year, Lin Zhixia said his business trip had been short. He flipped his phone over and over, its casing warmed by his palm. Finally, he hinted indirectly: "When are you going to pick up?"
Lin Zhixia saw through his thoughts. She skillfully skipped the topic of "going to the airport to pick up Tang Tingting and Luo Ying" and directly said: "Send me your flight number. The day after tomorrow, I'll come to the airport to pick you up. In my heart, you'll always be the most important."
This was exactly what Jiang Yubai wanted to hear.
It was 8 AM London time. Jiang Yubai sat on his bed, opened two letters, and silently read the love letters Lin Zhixia had written to him, feeling secure and reassured. He got up to shower, had breakfast, changed into formal attire, and went out with his employees for meetings.
In the two days before Jiang Yubai returned to China, his work was particularly busy. In contrast, Lin Zhixia seemed much more relaxed. She found time to go to the airport and pick up Tang Tingting and Luo Ying - who happened to be on the same flight.
Seeing them, Lin Zhixia was extremely happy. Standing at the terminal exit, she waved to them from afar. Senior Luo Ying remained relatively reserved, walking unhurriedly, while Tang Tingting rushed over like a rocket: "Xia Xia, oh my god! Xia Xia! You're getting more and more beautiful. It's been so long since we last met!"
Duan Qiyan stood nearby, somewhat speechless.
The harsh reality was thus laid bare before Duan Qiyan.
Tang Tingting's mouth was full of Lin Zhixia, without mentioning Duan Qiyan at all.
In fact, Duan Qiyan was wearing all black today, and combined with his naturally somewhat dark skin, he really wasn't as noticeable as Lin Zhixia in the crowd. Tang Tingting had spotted Lin Zhixia and finished speaking before she noticed Duan Qiyan's presence.
She slapped Duan Qiyan's shoulder like he was a brother: "You've lost weight!"
Duan Qiyan produced a bouquet of roses from behind his back.
Tang Tingting took the bouquet, exclaiming in surprise: "You know how to give flowers now?"
Duan Qiyan put both hands in his pockets: "I'm not stupid."
Lin Zhixia chimed in supportively: "That's right, Duan Qiyan is very smart!"Duan Qiyan's lips tightened slightly. With his elbow bent, he hoped Tang Tingting would take his arm. Unexpectedly, Tang Tingting darted over to Luo Ying and greeted: "Xia Xia, I was chatting with our senior on the flight. She said she often thinks of you while abroad, frequently reading your published papers and technical blog posts..."
Lin Zhixia smiled even more sweetly: "Senior, do you also like my research direction?"
Luo Ying standing beside Lin Zhixia drew numerous second glances. She smoothed her hair back, fingers resting on her star-and-moon shaped silver earrings, and replied softly: "Yes, I just discovered that I do."
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