Jiang Yubai did not allow Lin Zhixia to address him as "Little Jiang."
He stated that Lin Zhixia's behavior violated the "Rules for Harmonious Desk-mate Relations."
He repeatedly emphasized that mutual respect was the foundation of harmonious desk-mate relations.
Lin Zhixia wore a bewildered expression: "Is calling you Little Jiang disrespectful? Why?"
Jiang Yubai liked hearing Lin Zhixia say "why"—clearly, this meant Lin Zhixia was also seeking his advice. He explained calmly and confidently: "You and I are classmates. If you call me Little Jiang, are you my employee? Have I ever paid you a salary? My name is Jiang Yubai. You should call me Jiang Yubai."
Lin Zhixia nodded: "Jiang Yubai."
Jiang Yubai straightened his posture, appearing even more composed and dignified: "Lin Zhixia."
Lin Zhixia called out again: "Jiang Yubai!"
Jiang Yubai responded once more: "Lin Zhixia."
Lin Zhixia used a breathy voice, squeezing out a sound from her throat: "Jiang Yubai..."
Jiang Yubai lowered his voice: "Lin Zhixia..."
Lin Zhixia rocked back and forth with laughter, utterly delighted: "Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Yubai!"
Jiang Yubai said: "You're insane."
"You're disrespecting me!" Lin Zhixia turned the tables, "You've violated the Rules for Harmonious Desk-mate Relations!"
Jiang Yubai couldn't win the argument against Lin Zhixia. His ears turned red. He pulled out his math notebook again and browsed through complex number operations. Staring at row after row of example problems, he pretended to be immersed in mathematics, unable to hear Lin Zhixia's voice.
Strangely enough, Lin Zhixia actually fell silent and became quiet.
She was also reading a book.
Jiang Yubai secretly glanced sideways. He discovered that the book in Lin Zhixia's hands was titled "Quantum Mechanics in Atomic and Molecular Research." She happened to turn to a page filled with dense formulas—the derivation of a single formula alone covered half the page.
Lin Zhixia was taking notes in the book with a pencil. Her notes were also peculiar—messy, disorganized, and possibly not even in Chinese.
Jiang Yubai asked her: "Are you writing in Chinese?"
"This is a language I created myself," Lin Zhixia answered honestly. "Do you want to learn it? Should I teach you? This language is a basic physics-based language. It can't be used for communication yet—it's just to simplify my learning process."
A self-created language?
What was that?
Jiang Yubai felt defeated once again.
Previously, Jiang Yubai firmly believed he was a clever child. Now, his conviction wavered slightly.
Jiang Yubai gripped a stack of scratch paper, his knuckles turning white. He calmly refused: "No need. I won't learn it. I don't like simplifying the learning process. I prefer complex things. You wouldn't understand."
Lin Zhixia was utterly perplexed: "Why?"
Finally, Jiang Yubai heard Lin Zhixia ask "why" again.
Jiang Yubai's response was profound and enigmatic: "If I could solve all your problems, I should be a grown-up adult."
"Many adults are strange," Lin Zhixia asserted confidently. "Adults can't accept us discovering their mistakes—it makes them lose face. Face is more important than the truth. I dislike such adults."
Jiang Yubai agreed: "There are also many children who deliberately act foolish in front of adults."
Lin Zhixia expressed approval: "Exactly! Pretending not to know when they clearly do know. Pretending to know when they clearly don't."After speaking, she moved closer to Jiang Yubai: "What about you? Jiang Yubai, do you actually know anything about the subject of physics? Have you studied molecules, atoms, protons, neutrons, and electrons?"
Outside the window, the sky was clear, with clouds drifting like cotton fluff.
The summer heat had just begun to fade, and autumn was gradually making its presence known. On such a beautiful sunny day, Jiang Yubai felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss. He didn’t want to admit that he knew nothing about physics. He had no idea where Lin Zhixia had learned so many strange terms… Could it all have been taught by the teachers at school? Had domestic education already advanced to such a level?
Jiang Yubai deeply regretted wasting three precious years in Singapore.
He lowered his head slightly and remained silent for a long time.
This period was an English class.
The English teacher was a young woman who had just graduated from university. Her surname was Zheng, and the students in the class all called her "sszheng." Today, Ms. Zheng was going to teach a situational dialogue set in a park—each large group would draw lots to select one pair of desk mates to demonstrate in front of the class.
Ms. Zheng said: "Dear students, today to give directions."
Then, she explained on her own: "Dear students, today, the teacher will guide everyone in learning how to ask for directions and how to give directions to others. Our story is set in a park. First, I’ll teach you a few sentence patterns. Let’s follow the tape recorder and read through the text. I will select one pair of desk mates from each large group… to demonstrate for the whole class. Don’t doze off in class, everyone. Pay close attention."
Ms. Zheng picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the sentence patterns on the blackboard.
The entire text contained eight frequently tested words and four essential sentence patterns.
Most of the students in the class were listening intently. Jiang Yubai was distracted, while Lin Zhixia gazed out the window. She noticed a sparrow hopping along a branch. The locust tree was in bloom, its flowers not yet withered, and the sparrow darted among the gaps between petals and leaves. She couldn’t help but wonder: What exactly is the difference between the sparrow, the locust tree, and the world as I see it?
Lin Zhixia thought to herself: Yes, I know that the world as I see it is not the world’s true form—my eyes can only perceive a limited range of colors, my olfactory cells are even inferior to those of a mouse, and my ears cannot hear infrasound or ultrasound. But all those things exist objectively. In this vast and boundless Universe, my consciousness…
She tilted her head and began to ponder "consciousness."
"You’re spacing out," Jiang Yubai reminded her.
Lin Zhixia nodded: "Yes, I am spacing out."
Jiang Yubai immediately asked her: "What are you thinking about now?"
Lin Zhixia leaned on the desk and suggested: "Close your eyes, and I’ll tell you."
She was very young, her voice childish, her eyes glistening like a little rabbit’s, her thick eyelashes already casting shadows in her eyes. Her suggestion held no intimidation, yet Jiang Yubai surprisingly chose to comply.
He closed his eyes during this English class and heard Lin Zhixia say slowly and leisurely: "Have you ever thought about where you come from? When you close your eyes, can you feel your true self? I often wonder, I am me, but then who exactly am I? This question has troubled me for a long time. I don’t understand."Jiang Yubai was completely baffled by her. He could only stammer, "You... it's you, the unique you."
His lengthy conversation with Lin Zhixia had indeed caught Teacher Zheng's attention.
Teacher Zheng was wiping her hands with a towel. All ten of her fingernails were painted a vibrant pink. She pointed a finger at Jiang Yubai: "Oh? This student, you're the new transfer student in our class, right? Perfect timing—you and your deskmate come up front and demonstrate how to ask for directions in a park. I noticed you seemed a bit drowsy earlier, didn't you?"
No.
Jiang Yubai wasn't drowsy.
At this moment, he was more alert than ever.
Because his moment had arrived.
He stood up steadily, walking ahead to receive the entire class's gaze.
Lin Zhixia, following behind Jiang Yubai, keenly sensed that he had ill intentions. He glanced back at her twice, more tense than a soldier on watch in a battlefield, as if afraid she might flee at the last moment.
Lin Zhixia couldn't figure out the situation and thought Jiang Yubai might not be good at speaking English, hoping she could bail him out.
Oh, so that's it! Lin Zhixia believed she had identified the root of the problem.
Without waiting for Jiang Yubai to speak, Lin Zhixia stepped forward and asked: "?"
Teacher Zheng translated for everyone: "Huh? Not bad—our Lin Zhixia used a phrase: 'I'm a little turned around' means 'I'm lost.' Lin Zhixia said she's lost and asked Jiang Yubai if there's a subway station nearby."
Jiang Yubai replied: "Sure. You're here. Your destination is."
Lin Zhixia laughed and said: "Many thanks. A few minutes ago, I walked across the..."
"Alright, alright," Teacher Zheng interrupted, "Why are you two acting like you're putting on a play? But, everyone, note that Lin Zhixia used a phrase: 'walk across the park' and 'walk through the park' both mean someone walking through a park. So, what's the difference between the prepositions 'across' and 'through' in the context of a park? Does anyone know?"
Jiang Yubai raised his hand on the spot.
Teacher Zheng agreed: "Jiang Yubai, go ahead."
Jiang Yubai answered seriously: "We use 'across' as a preposition to indicate Lin Zhixia crossed the park directly without looking at the scenery. Generally, 'through' is more commonly used."
"Correct," Teacher Zheng nodded repeatedly, "Alright, you may return to your seats."
Since he was four years old, Jiang Yubai had one-on-one English tutors. His first teacher was British. Later, his Mom hired three Americans. The four tutors formed an English teaching group specifically for Jiang Yubai.
So, how was Jiang Yubai's English? He thought it was average, just so-so. The combined education from American and British teachers occasionally made him mix up American and British English expressions.
He thought Lin Zhixia's accent was decent. Not perfect, but acceptable.
He asked Lin Zhixia for advice: "How did you learn your pronunciation?"
Lin Zhixia replied matter-of-factly: "Me? I learned by following along with a tape recorder.""Tape recorder?" Jiang Yubai was astonished.
He restrained himself, but couldn't hold back any longer: "Impossible. Don't lie to me."
Lin Zhixia scratched her head: "Really, why would I lie? When I study foreign languages, I just buy books from the bookstore, listen to tapes at home, and watch videos online. Everything I've seen, as long as I want to remember it, I never forget, never ever forget."
Never forget, never ever forget.
Jiang Yubai exclaimed: "Are you a genius?"
Lin Zhixia propped her chin with one hand and quietly revealed to him: "When I was seven, Mom took me to get my IQ tested at the downtown hospital for free. They were running a promotion that year, so it was free. My IQ was 174 that year... The doctor said this number would continue to rise. What's your IQ? Am I smarter than you?"
Jiang Yubai grabbed a stack of draft paper and abruptly covered his face with it.
All the classmates around them turned to stare blankly at Jiang Yubai's actions.
Jiang Yubai responded calmly: "I'm fine."
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