Genius Girlfriend

Lin Zhixia's family background was completely different from what Jiang Yubai had imagined.

Jiang Yubai had once believed that Lin Zhixia also lived in a manor, with numerous tutors guiding her every day. However, based on what Jiang Yubai witnessed firsthand, Lin Zhixia was born into an ordinary household. Her parents did not indulge her—even when she wanted a strawberry-flavored lollipop, her mom mercilessly refused.

Jiang Yubai's parents also restricted his snacks. Thinking of this, Jiang Yubai felt a sense of shared sympathy for Lin Zhixia.

The chef at Jiang Yubai's home was skilled at making Chinese pastries. Recently, the osmanthus trees in the garden had bloomed, and the chefs picked fresh flowers to prepare a steamer of "crystal osmanthus cakes," using premium ingredients such as top-grade rice from Northeast China, coconut oil from Hainan, and honey from Tianshui, Gansu. These cakes were fragrant, soft, and chewy—sticky yet not greasy—truly worth savoring.

That morning, before heading to school, Jiang Yubai found a clean lunchbox, secretly packed over a dozen osmanthus cakes, and brought them to school for Lin Zhixia.

Just after morning reading ended, Jiang Yubai placed the lunchbox in front of Lin Zhixia.

Lin Zhixia was puzzled: "What is this?"

"Osmanthus cakes," Jiang Yubai said, feigning nonchalance. "They're sweet."

Lin Zhixia opened the lunchbox, and an aroma instantly filled the air. She had never seen such beautiful pastries before and couldn't help asking, "Where did you buy these?"

"You can't buy them on the market," Jiang Yubai explained honestly. "My family's chef made them by hand…"

Before he could finish, Zhou Bufeng, sitting in front of him, suddenly turned around, grabbed two cakes, and stuffed them into his mouth. While taking advantage of the situation, Zhou Bufeng exclaimed loudly, "Wow! These are so delicious… I'm gonna choke from how good they are! Everyone, come try some… Brothers of Class 1, Grade 4!"

Zhou Bufeng's deskmate was a girl named Gan Shuli. Gan Shuli had always been a quiet, introverted girl who rarely spoke. She had even drawn a "demarcation line" on their desk with correction fluid to prevent Zhou Bufeng from getting too close. Usually, when Zhou Bufeng talked to her, she never responded.

But now, several classmates gathered around, all wanting to taste the osmanthus cakes Jiang Yubai had brought.

Gan Shuli hadn't eaten breakfast that day. Unable to resist, she reached out, grabbed a piece from the lunchbox, and joined Zhou Bufeng's call.

Seventeen osmanthus cakes were quickly divided among everyone.

Lin Zhixia didn't get to taste even a single bite.

Jiang Yubai was confused. He asked Lin Zhixia, "Why did you just watch them take them?"

Lin Zhixia replied, "Since Zhou Bufeng touched them, I don't want to eat them anymore."

Jiang Yubai asked again, "If I fight Zhou Bufeng, will the classmates tell the teacher?"

"It wouldn't matter even if they did," Lin Zhixia stated calmly. "Because the teacher would definitely take your side. But I still think you shouldn't fight him… Fighting doesn't solve problems. If you hit him today, he'll always remember it."

Jiang Yubai struggled to suppress his anger. He threw the lunchbox into the trash, sat back in his seat, and used a tissue to wipe Lin Zhixia's desk. At that moment, Zhou Bufeng turned his head and teased him, "Jiang Yubai, you're Lin Zhixia's little follower, hehe."

Jiang Yubai remained silent.

Zhou Bufeng pushed Jiang Yubai's pencil case: "Jiang Follower, Jiang Follower, heehee."

Jiang Yubai adjusted his breathing. His cheeks flushed slightly, and his gaze turned cold and stern.Zhou Bufeng sensed the unusual tension but couldn't resist provoking: "You're the weirdo's deskmate, you weirdo-lover! Haha."

Jiang Yubai deeply resented anyone using "weirdo" to describe Lin Zhixia. He grabbed Zhou Bufeng by the collar and yanked him up from his seat. Pencils, erasers, pencil cases, and correction tape scattered across the floor, while nearby desks and chairs were knocked askew. Zhou Bufeng's expression hardened as he twisted Jiang Yubai's wrist backward forcefully. A furious grunt escaped through Zhou Bufeng's nostrils: "What the hell are you doing!"

Jiang Yubai twisted his arm forward and successfully broke free. In the aisle between desks, Jiang Yubai stepped back and suddenly raised his leg, his knee nearly connecting with Zhou Bufeng's abdomen.

Zhou Bufeng immediately collapsed to avoid the blow, but his left leg got stomped on by Jiang Yubai.

Just at that moment, the math teacher entered the classroom.

The math teacher was surnamed Qian, around forty years old, a certified "Senior Elementary School Teacher." Teacher Qian always wore gold-rimmed glasses, observing the entire class through their reflective lenses.

Normally soft-spoken, today Teacher Qian entered with a deep voice blazing with anger: "Who's fighting in the corner? You're fourth graders! Not little children anymore! How can you still be fighting? Get out to the homeroom teacher's office! Don't come back until the homeroom teacher says so! None of you enter my classroom—stand in the hallway! Let the whole grade see! Who dares to fight again!"

After her words fell, Zhou Bufeng swiftly dashed out of the classroom.

Jiang Yubai remained standing in place.

He had never been scolded by a teacher before. He couldn't process it immediately.

In the spacious, tidy classroom, Teacher Qian set down her ruler and compass, placed both hands on the podium, and criticized pointedly: "Some students, to save your face, I won't name names. But you know who I'm talking about... Let me tell you, don't think just because your family is well-off, with some money and capital, you can run wild and throw your weight around in our school! Before being students, you need to learn to be decent human beings! I don't care if you returned from Singapore or New Guinea—if you use violence in class, pick fights, you're wrong! I'm telling you, ah, do you understand? How old are you? Solving problems with fists when something happens? Haven't you studied math? Don't you know how to think logically? Don't fight in a place of learning! I'm warning you! I'll criticize you every time I see it! It's useless to complain about me to the principal! I've been teaching for over twenty years—I don't teach students who only know how to fight!"

Teacher Qian's final words landed with forceful impact.

Jiang Yubai's face burned fiercely, as if he'd been slapped. Especially the phrase "Don't fight in a place of learning" filled him with extreme shame.

Without a word, he walked out of the classroom and headed toward the homeroom teacher's office.

Lin Zhixia stared blankly at his retreating figure.

This class period felt incredibly long.

When the bell finally rang, Lin Zhixia was the first to rush out of the classroom. She saw both Jiang Yubai and Zhou Bufeng standing in punishment in the hallway, with about four meters of distance between them.

"Jiang Yubai?" Lin Zhixia called to him.

But he ignored her.

Lin Zhixia whispered: "Little Jiang."

Jiang Yubai gripped the stainless steel railing: "Don't call me Little Jiang.""What are you thinking about?" Lin Zhixia asked, standing beside him.

"I know Zhou Bufeng is no match for me," Jiang Yubai admitted frankly. "I want to beat him until he cries."

Hearing Jiang Yubai's words, Zhou Bufeng leaped forward and ran even farther away. More classmates gradually filled the corridor, their shoe soles scraping against the plastic floor, creating continuous "squeak—slide" sounds.

Jiang Yubai turned around, looked at the numerous classmates, and changed his tone: "But, I learned martial arts... not to beat up classmates."

"It's great that you think that way," Lin Zhixia responded. "When you lifted your leg to strike Zhou Bufeng, I estimated your impulse would be very strong—that's no joke. I was scared too."

Jiang Yubai humbly asked: "What is impulse?"

"A vector describing the cumulative effect of force over time," Lin Zhixia explained concisely.

Jiang Yubai stood straight, nodding repeatedly.

"Did you understand?" Lin Zhixia asked knowingly.

"No," Jiang Yubai answered honestly.

Lin Zhixia, undiscouraged, patiently told him: "Life is like a k-means clustering algorithm. We all randomly choose reference points at first, not knowing where we stand. Later, as the collected data changes, our reference points begin to update. When we observe the same things from different reference points, we reach different conclusions. People continuously grow and adjust their reference points... Just like before this class, you thought boys fighting was no big deal, but after this class, you might think twice before taking action."

Jiang Yubai met her gaze: "k-means clustering algorithm. Thank you, I've learned it."

Lin Zhixia smiled sweetly: "Mathematics can bring happiness and make us reflect on life."

As the Chinese class representative, Lin Zhixia needed to collect a stack of homework notebooks from the teacher's office during this break. She happily walked to the office door, which was slightly ajar, and heard the homeroom teacher's voice from inside.

The homeroom teacher said with a laugh: "Teacher Qian, don't be angry. Jiang Yubai's Dad is a major taxpayer in our province—their conglomerate contributes significantly to GDP each year and can attract foreign investment. The principal told me Jiang Yubai's family has connections even in Beijing's upper circles. Don't take it personally with him; he's still a child and usually very polite."

Teacher Qian replied: "It's not that I'm taking it personally with him. When I entered the classroom, I saw him knock Zhou Bufeng down and step on his leg... Isn't that bullying a classmate?"

"Ah, Zhou Bufeng often causes trouble in our class," the homeroom teacher defended Jiang Yubai. "Zhou Bufeng's parents work in Shanghai. He's raised by his grandparents, and his stealing isn't a new thing."

Teacher Qian sounded surprised: "He steals things?"

The homeroom teacher described: "Last year, your office was across from mine, so you weren't with me. Our classmates came to report to me then, but you didn't hear. Zhou Bufeng stole the class monitor's pocket money, stole Gan Shuli's pen... He can't control himself. I've talked to him and advised him, but it's useless."

Teacher Qian sighed: "Kids these days, really something else."

The homeroom teacher added: "Jiang Yubai is fine. He has good family upbringing."The class teacher's defense of a student was summarized by Lin Zhixia as "Schrödinger's defense."

The so-called "Schrödinger's state" was also quoted from Quantum Mechanics, referring to a state that is both like this and not like this.

Lin Zhixia fell into her own thoughts.

Returning to her seat, Lin Zhixia called out: "Jiang Yubai."

"What is it?" Jiang Yubai responded.

Lin Zhixia cleared the stationery and books from her desk and spoke to Jiang Yubai with great sincerity: "You're the only one in class willing to listen to me talk about math and physics, even though you never seem to understand what I'm saying..."

Jiang Yubai always maintained a serious attitude when listening to Lin Zhixia's various thoughts, but she seemed to have long known that he couldn't understand at all. He stiffened and sat up straight, weakly defending himself: "I'll gradually understand."

But Lin Zhixia said: "By that time, I'll probably have already graduated from elementary school! We might never see each other again."

Jiang Yubai's math notebook was nearly worn out from flipping through it. Holding a Parker pen, he cautiously replied: "Never see each other again?"

"Exactly," Lin Zhixia said earnestly, "While we're still desk mates, I want to formally invite you to be my human observation subject. I've always wanted to understand... how ordinary people think. For example, when you see problems related to Hilbert space, what's your first reaction? Do you get headaches? Do you feel intimidated? Hahahahaha."

Just minutes ago, Jiang Yubai had been deeply moved by Lin Zhixia's comfort. Now, he just wanted to punch himself awake and open his eyes wide to look at Lin Zhixia! She was still the same as always!

Jiang Yubai calmly inquired: "Why choose me as your human observation subject?"

Lin Zhixia was particularly honest: "I heard from our class teacher that your family is a major taxpayer in our province, contributing significantly to GDP each year, and your family also has foreign enterprises. Your perspective must be broader than others. Studying you alone is equivalent to studying many people at once."

Jiang Yubai pondered for a moment before reluctantly agreeing: "Alright."

"Thank you!" Lin Zhixia was overjoyed.

She said softly: "Jiang Yubai, you're truly my good friend."

Jiang Yubai remained silent.

After this class, Ding Yan came to play with Jiang Yubai.

The daylight by the window spilled onto the paper, and Ding Yan clearly saw Lin Zhixia writing on a draft paper the large characters: "Preliminary Research Summary on the Thought Patterns of Ordinary Humans."

Then, Lin Zhixia started a new line, wrote "Abstract," and added two colons.

Lin Zhixia solemnly recorded: This paper, through observing the author's desk mate—classmate Jiang Yubai, further explores the thought patterns and cognitive limitations of ordinary humans...

Ding Yan was shocked.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and called Jiang Yubai out of the classroom.

As soon as they stepped outside, Ding Yan asked: "Jiang Yubai, how can you tolerate this? Why don't you go find Teacher Wu and request a seat change?"

Jiang Yubai shook his head: "I have a battle plan. First, let her taste some sweetness and lower her guard."

Ding Yan didn't quite understand: "You want to be good to her?"

"No!" Jiang Yubai denied, "I consider her my rival."

Ding Yan looked confused: "You think you can compete with her? I heard she only needs to glance at something to memorize it. While I take thirty minutes to memorize a text, she does it in three seconds."

She memorizes texts in three seconds.

Yes, the opponent's strength was formidable.Jiang Yubai clenched his fist slightly. He would not give up. He would prove himself in front of Ding Yan and Lin Zhixia, surpass Lin Zhixia by far, leave her far behind, and reclaim the self-esteem she had trampled underfoot.

He said, "Lin Zhixia's birthday is coming soon."

Ding Yan looked nervous. "What are you going to do?"

Jiang Yubai stood behind a pillar, crisscrossing light casting over him, illuminating half of his face in brightness and half in shadow.

He resembled the most handsome robber from the Hong Kong movie "Young and Dangerous," burdened with a weight that did not belong to his age: "I will give her a gift."

Ding Yan shuddered.