When Lin Zhixia stepped out of the hospital, the sunlight remained brilliant. She released Jiang Yubai's hand and walked alone along the tree-lined path. Nearby and distant noises drifted into her ears—the clamor of traffic, clear birdsong, hurried footsteps of passersby—yet her heart was enveloped in silence, as if a heavy snowfall had just blanketed everything, muffling the transmission of external sound waves.
She lifted her head, peering at the sky through the gaps between leaves.
Shen Zhaohua's words echoed in her mind once more. In the end, Teacher Shen had recited Tang Yin's "Final Poem"— Living in this world, we all must part; returning to the underwold holds no fear. Both realms are much the same in the end, merely drifting in a foreign land.
Teacher Shen had been free-spirited, but Lin Zhixia was deeply sorrowful.
Life and death were both unsolved mysteries.
Lin Zhixia tried to persuade herself with various theories—perhaps death did not signify the end of self-awareness but rather the beginning of another form of existence.
Her contemplation lasted a long time. No matter which perspective she approached it from, she couldn't believe that Shen Zhaohua was about to depart.
Lin Zhixia wandered the streets, pausing intermittently, while Jiang Yubai followed closely behind her. His silence at this moment stemmed from the tacit understanding cultivated between them over many years. After waiting about ten minutes, Lin Zhixia turned around and said to him, "Let's go home."
Jiang Yubai reached out his hand, and she immediately grasped it, clinging to him as tightly as a drifting ferryman clutching an oar—she used considerable strength.
While comforting her, Jiang Yubai guided her back home.
Lin Zhixia took a long nap at home. She dreamed that Shen Zhaohua had recovered, and Senior Zhu Chan had returned from Beijing to their provincial city. Shen Zhaohua led her students to a restaurant near the school. Everyone chatted and laughed, celebrating the medical miracle.
But dreams and reality are often opposites.
Shen Zhaohua's condition continued to deteriorate.
That July, the hospital issued a critical condition notice to Shen Zhaohua's family. Professor He Yuanqian took two weeks of leave, and Lin Zhixia found herself distracted while working at the university.
The midsummer weather was sweltering, and the incessant cicada chirps agitated her.
She stopped reviewing students' theses on the computer, instead printing them out and spreading them across her desk. She read line by line, annotating with a red pen. Her writing was extremely fast, and just as the pen refill was running out of ink, her phone screen lit up—Shen Fuxuan had sent her a WeChat message.
She opened the app to see Shen Fuxuan's words: "Grandma is gone."
The pen dropped from Lin Zhixia's hand, its tip striking a pristine white sheet of paper and leaving a dark red blot.
Shen Zhaohua's funeral was held in early August.
It was another sunny day, with scorching sunlight overhead, yet a chill permeated the funeral hall. White silk flowers formed a circle, with Shen Zhaohua's portrait hung at the center. Wreaths with elegiac couplets lined both sides of the hall.
This was Lin Zhixia's first time attending a funeral. Previously, her understanding of death had been vague, but today's scenes were starkly real and vivid. Suppressing her grief, she lit a stick of incense for Shen Zhaohua and silently told her: Teacher Gu Likai was elected academician this year, Senior Zhu Chan is thriving in Beijing, my students are all making progress... I hope you are well in heaven.After paying her respects with incense, she moved aside and happened to meet Shen Fuxuan.
"My condolences," Lin Zhixia said softly.
Shen Fuxuan replied, "My condolences."
He stood straight, his left hand hanging at his side, his index finger pressing deeply into the base of his thumb, leaving deep marks. Grief and sorrow could only manifest in subtle gestures—he and his parents were doing their best to maintain the family's composure. How many moments in life require endurance? For Shen Fuxuan, he was facing a formidable test.
He slightly turned his face, meeting Lin Zhixia's gaze.
Lin Zhixia remained silent, waiting for him to speak. He relaxed his left hand and revealed, "The day before Grandma passed away, she called Gu Likai..."
Lin Zhixia quickly asked, "What did she say?"
Shen Fuxuan relayed truthfully, "She asked Gu Likai to take you on as his student." He explained, "She couldn't remember how old you were, or what year it was."
Lin Zhixia could imagine the scene. The thought made her heart ache.
After the funeral, she walked out of the funeral home. Dusk had fallen, the sun setting in the west. She sat side by side with Jiang Yubai in the back seat of the car. No one but Jiang Yubai could see her expression. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she leaned against his shoulder and began to sob quietly.
Today's funeral marked a formal farewell.
During Lin Zhixia's formative years, she had received little affection from either her grandmother or maternal grandmother, and Shen Zhaohua had filled that void. She was gentle, kind, knowledgeable, an excellent mentor, and also Lin Zhixia's guiding light.
"Human life spans only a few decades," Lin Zhixia said tearfully. "Time passes too quickly."
Jiang Yubai spoke slowly, "Teacher Shen once said, as long as you remember her, she hasn't truly left. That day we went to the aquarium for our autumn outing..."
Lin Zhixia responded, "The teacher gave me her contact information."
Jiang Yubai only had vague impressions of those past events. Guiding her based on hazy memories, he said, "You visited the laboratory, and she made a pinky promise with you."
"And she got me a campus card as a research assistant," Lin Zhixia closed her eyes. "Then I could borrow books from the university library and use the school's computers for free internet access. I was so happy that day."
Without Jiang Yubai prompting her, Lin Zhixia continued, "She guided me in publishing my first paper, gave me a scholarship... Later, when I wanted to pursue Quantum Computing, she continued to encourage me and helped me contact Gu Likai..."
Scenes from the past vividly surfaced in her mind. Over a decade ago, Shen Zhaohua sat in her office and handed Lin Zhixia a document outlining the research prospects of Quantum Computing. In the center of the document lay a strawberry candy—a sweet treat from Teacher Shen, delicious and comforting.
"You were her student," Jiang Yubai's voice grew deeper. "She will be watching over you from heaven."
The wind stilled, light slanted across them. He covered her eyes, and her tears fell onto his palm.
Lin Zhixia took Jiang Yubai's comfort to heart.
Because of her exceptional memory, everyone could live on eternally in her heart. As Shen Zhaohua's student, she would also carry forward similar ideals—considering it from this perspective, she indeed felt somewhat better.
The next morning, Lin Zhixia went to work as usual.
Life gradually returned to calm, though work remained busy.The Four-University Joint Research Group established by Lin Zhixia consisted of over eighty scholars. Not only was Lin Zhixia the deputy leader, but she was also the youngest member of the entire group. She also had to balance her own research team and the R&D projects at Quantum Technology Company, which placed a heavy burden on her shoulders. Since the semester began in September, she had been leaving early and returning late every day, full of passion and drive.
Even though Lin Zhixia was extremely efficient at work, there were occasional moments when she couldn't handle everything. To support her workload, the school hired two assistants for her—both were recent physics graduates from the university, intelligent and hardworking, who often attended group meetings with Lin Zhixia.
Moreover, because Tan Qianche had joined the Four-University Joint Research Group, his academic ties with Lin Zhixia grew closer. Tan Qianche suggested that every Thursday afternoon, his and Lin Zhixia's students could hold a joint group meeting to learn from and help each other—wouldn't that be a wonderful idea?
After careful consideration, Lin Zhixia thought it made some sense. She consulted each of her students. Except for Xu Lingbo, all the others raised their hands in agreement, so Xu Lingbo's opposition didn't prevail.
Thus, on Thursday afternoon, the group meeting was unprecedentedly grand.
Lin Zhixia and Tan Qianche's students gathered in a very spacious conference room, with each student given up to ten minutes to speak. Lin Zhixia's star student, Fang Yiwen, took the lead. Once she stepped up, her gaze was sharp, and she exuded an aura of intensity.
Sure enough, Fang Yiwen proceeded to summarize her research findings from the past two months in just under ten minutes, speaking at an extremely rapid pace. Holding a marker, she tapped it firmly on the whiteboard: "My presentation today lasted nine minutes and thirty seconds. Thank you, Professor."
Lin Zhixia praised her and offered a few suggestions, all of which Fang Yiwen noted down.
Tan Qianche's comments were also insightful. His feedback focused on different perspectives; in other words, he could also inspire Fang Yiwen.
Lin Zhixia had to admit that Tan Qianche's academic level was indeed high. Back when Tan Qianche was a Ph.D. student under Professor Gu Likai, he had mentored many junior students. He understood better than Lin Zhixia how to motivate students to strive, similar to that Indian senior she had met at Cambridge.
While taking meeting notes, Lin Zhixia heard Tan Qianche say, "Fang Yiwen is graduating next year, right?"
"Yes," Lin Zhixia had Fang Yiwen's future all planned out. "Many top-tier universities now require overseas experience for faculty positions. I've connected Fang Yiwen with a research group at MIT. After she completes her Ph.D. next year, she'll do a postdoc there."
Xu Lingbo was speaking on stage, but Tan Qianche couldn't be bothered to listen. He quietly told Lin Zhixia, "The MIT supervisor trusts her because of your reputation. If she doesn't perform well, it could affect your standing."
Lin Zhixia capped her pen: "You..."
"Hmm?" Tan Qianche was extremely patient with her.
But Lin Zhixia said, "Let's talk after the meeting. I want to focus on the students' presentations first."
The conference room was very quiet at that moment, and Xu Lingbo happened to stumble in his speech. He thought Tan Qianche was chatting idly with Lin Zhixia, only to hear Lin Zhixia say she wanted to listen to the students' reports first.Lin Zhixia was accustomed to a fast-paced life with an extremely busy daily schedule. Her time was immensely precious—something Xu Lingbo understood perfectly well. Yet as her student, he consistently ranked at the bottom. The new junior lab member was hundreds of times more capable than him, Zhan Rui had left him far behind, yet Lin Zhixia never criticized him. Instead, she even respected him and was willing to listen to his ramblings during lab meetings.
He abruptly stopped and looked at Lin Zhixia: "Professor Lin."
"What is it?" Lin Zhixia reminded him, "You were just explaining how you used TensorFlow for solubility prediction."
Xu Lingbo took a sharp breath.
He stepped forward and said bravely: "Professor Lin! I'm not fully prepared. This month's lab meeting... I won't participate! Please give me one more month..."
Before Lin Zhixia could respond, Cui Yiming—Tan Qianche's student—interjected: "If you were in our research group, you'd definitely get your graduation delayed."
This wasn't the first time Xu Lingbo had been humiliated by Cui Yiming. He had long grown accustomed to such treatment. In the past, he always endured silently, but today he decided to stand up for himself.
Puffing out his chest proudly to defend Lin Zhixia's honor, he retorted: "How do you know Professor Lin won't delay my graduation? Maybe I'll get delayed tomorrow!"
Lin Zhixia cut short their argument: "Enough, let's not discuss irrelevant matters during the lab meeting."
Tan Qianche called out his student: "Cui Yiming, apologize to Xu."
Lin Zhixia had assumed that a proud student like Cui Yiming would never apologize publicly. However, after hesitating briefly, Cui Yiming squeezed out: "Sorry, Xu."
Lin Zhixia glanced at her watch before saying: "Xu Lingbo, you're asking me for one more month, but time isn't something I give you—it's something you already have. In eight months, your third year of graduate school will end. The choice between delayed graduation, dropping out, graduating on time, or graduating with honors lies entirely in your own hands."
Xu Lingbo didn't respond.
He bowed deeply to Lin Zhixia, then picked up his backpack, walked slowly out of the conference room, and dashed madly toward the library.
The lab meeting continued.
Lin Zhixia's new student Chen Shihan performed exceptionally well. She seemed to be Fang Yiwen's successor—sharp-minded and quick to react.
The communication between Lin Zhixia and Chen Shihan proceeded very smoothly—this was precisely why Lin Zhixia enjoyed being a teacher. One of her life goals was to nurture generations of young people, growing together with each cohort of students.
After the lab meeting ended around six in the evening, the students all went to the cafeteria for dinner, while Lin Zhixia and Tan Qianche remained in the conference room.
While packing her bag, Lin Zhixia told Tan Qianche: "Fang Yiwen is highly capable and genuinely enjoys research. I recommended her to MIT because I believe in her."
Tan Qianche stood up from his seat. He rolled up a teaching plan and tucked it under his arm: "Some doctoral students write decent papers and have good academic records, but they can't conduct independent research..."
Without hesitation, Lin Zhixia responded: "I know my students well. There's no need to say more.""Fang Yiwen is doing alright under your guidance," Tan Qianche walked side by side with Lin Zhixia. "What I mean is, you shouldn't overfocus on students, planning career paths for each of them. You're still young—your time should be spent on yourself. You're born for academia, and with that tech company of yours, you could accomplish extraordinary things, little junior."
The daylight faded as dusk settled, casting Tan Qianche's shadow before Lin Zhixia. Though past thirty, he remained youthful, his features appearing even more handsome under the campus lights, just as they had years ago.
Lin Zhixia carefully responded, "You've... changed somewhat. When I was an undergraduate, you often helped Yang Shuwen."
"I was young then," Tan Qianche replied. He wore an expensive Swiss watch and glanced down at its face.
Lin Zhixia pressed further, "Back when the Laboratory exploded, you took me to the hospital and helped Teacher Gu clean up the mess—was that a waste of time?"
Tan Qianche chuckled softly and ceased arguing. As they exited the university's north gate, they coincidentally encountered Jiang Yubai—who seemed to carry an aura that made him impossible to ignore. Tan Qianche stopped to greet him, and Jiang Yubai politely responded, "I'm here to pick up Professor Lin after work."
Lin Zhixia directly linked arms with Jiang Yubai. "How long have you been waiting?"
Jiang Yubai said, "I just got out of the car."
Lin Zhixia's tone turned particularly cheerful. "Perfect timing—I just left campus too."
Jiang Yubai smiled at her, their mutual affection unmistakably clear.
Tan Qianche stood there, watching them get into the car and drive away. The cold late autumn wind swept through his hair as he gazed at the vast night sky, spotting Vega in the Lyra constellation.
Vega shone brightest in autumn, positioned in the southeastern sky. And Shanghai—that city also lay to the southeast of this provincial capital. This absurd thought lingered only briefly before Tan Qianche dismissed it. She's been married for a long time, he reminded himself.
Wind whipped fallen leaves as the car sped along the road.
Lin Zhixia sat properly in the back seat, yet her left hand rested on Jiang Yubai's leg. Through his finely tailored trousers, she secretly traced a circle with her finger.
Jiang Yubai captured her finger. She turned her head, and he kissed her cheek, making her laugh. After a moment, she asked, "Have you met your cousin yet?"
Last month, Jiang Yubai's family welcomed a new member—Jessica had successfully given birth to a daughter, making Jiang Shaoqi a father. Jiang Shaoqi was overwhelmingly excited, staying up all night frantically searching through dictionaries for a name. Unfortunately, having studied abroad since junior high, his Chinese proficiency was quite limited. He nearly wore out a dictionary without finding a suitable name.
Jessica wasn't much better. Though ethnically Chinese from Singapore, she primarily used her English name and had only average Chinese skills. Ultimately, Jessica's father stepped in and selected an appropriate name based on his granddaughter's birth details.
After Jiang Yubai explained his cousin's naming story, Lin Zhixia said, "I want a daughter too."
Jiang Yubai's heart stirred as he whispered near her ear, "When should we have one?"
"Let's wait a bit longer," Lin Zhixia replied somewhat shyly. "I'm only twenty-three and not ready for pregnancy yet."Jiang Yubai showed great foresight: "Let's give our daughter a name first."
Lin Zhixia recalled the "Lin Jiang Robot" she and Jiang Yubai had created together. After a brief pause, she uttered a syllable: "Lin..."
"Lin Changying," Jiang Yubai asked, "How about this name?"
Lin Zhixia nodded and sincerely approved: "A good name!"
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