Genius Girlfriend

Permanent Pass!

These five words lifted Lin Zhixia's spirits even higher.

Lin Zhixia ascended the steps and entered a long corridor adorned with exquisite reliefs on the ceiling, flanked by tall sculptures, and glass cabinets displaying various artifacts. She paused to quietly admire them.

Jiang Yubai stood beside her, like a museum docent.

Pointing at a crudely crafted wooden bowl, Lin Zhixia whispered to him, "Is this an antique?"

Just as Jiang Yubai was about to speak, Lin Zhixia earnestly suggested, "Jiang Yubai, don't tell me yet. Let me guess. I've read many antique appraisal books—maybe I can figure out the age and origin of these items."

Jiang Yubai watched her quietly as she grew more enthusiastic. "I'm sure I can guess it!"

Jiang Yubai suddenly smiled. "Are you certain?"

"You don't believe me?" Lin Zhixia said with competitive fervor.

Jiang Yubai stepped aside. "Observe carefully. If you guess correctly..."

Lin Zhixia initiated her favorite betting game with him: "If I'm right, you'll call me Teacher Lin. If I'm wrong, I'll call you Teacher Jiang and ask you to tell me the correct answer."

Jiang Yubai was almost entirely confident. He tilted his head slightly and agreed readily, "No problem."

Lin Zhixia mustered all her focus, examining the worn artifact from every angle.

She searched her memory, scrutinizing every detail, before concluding, "This wooden bowl likely comes from a traditional tribe in Africa. I've seen similar things on the Discovery Channel—two explorers visited an African tribe to experience their life, and the locals made bowls from wood in this shape... Yes, Jiang Yubai, this must be an African artifact from your family collection. You've even preserved it with anti-corrosion treatment. It's probably a modern-era wooden bowl with tribal cultural value."

"It's a bowl my grandfather made with his own hands," Jiang Yubai corrected.

Lin Zhixia was astonished. "Really?"

Jiang Yubai elaborated, "Last century, when Grandpa was doing business in Southeast Asia, he offended a local gang. All his pots and pans were smashed. So he made this wooden bowl himself. Later, when he resold small appliances, his enemies came for him. He threw the bowl on the ground to create a distraction, and escaped in the dark while they were disoriented."

This story of Jiang Yubai's grandfather surpassed anything Lin Zhixia could have imagined.

Lin Zhixia held her breath. "Your grandfather's life is like a movie."

"Hard to tell what's true," Jiang Yubai said. "Adults' words aren't always reliable."

Lin Zhixia praised him, "Jiang Yubai, your critical thinking is something I should learn from."

Then she asked, "What about your grandfather's enemies? Where are they now?"

"They've all passed away," Jiang Yubai honestly relayed his grandfather's words.

Lin Zhixia solemnly concluded, "I see. This object symbolizes your family's spirit."

Jiang Yubai nodded. "The family spirit of escaping in the dark when encountering bad people."

Lin Zhixia burst into laughter. "Hahaha, you're so funny."

She started running across the smooth marble floor, calling out as she went, "Teacher Jiang, Teacher Jiang, Teacher Jiang!" Then she added, "Teacher Jiang, look, do I resemble Duan Qiyan now?""Why are you imitating Duan Qiyan?" Jiang Yubai questioned her.

Lin Zhixia tilted her head: "Because it's fun."

Jiang Yubai asked again: "Can you imitate a person?"

"I'll try!" Lin Zhixia declared. "Now I'm going to imitate Jiang Yubai."

Jiang Yubai didn't know why he suddenly felt a bit nervous. He stood still beneath a crystal chandelier, the bright light falling on him, making him look like an otherworldly being untouched by mortal affairs.

Lin Zhixia straightened her back and slowly walked toward him: "Jiang Yubai."

Jiang Yubai turned sideways, ignoring her.

Lin Zhixia ran to stand directly in front of him and called again: "Jiang Yubai."

Jiang Yubai turned to face another direction again.

Lin Zhixia persistently insisted on speaking to him face-to-face, but he told her: "You're imitating me? I would never be like you..."

"Like me how?" Lin Zhixia asked him confidently.

Jiang Yubai couldn't find the right adjective.

Lin Zhixia hopped and skipped, circling around him: "No matter which direction you face, I can always turn to be in front of you. If you're the sun, I'm Mercury. If you're the Earth, I'm the moon. Can you calculate my orbital period, Jiang Yubai?"

Jiang Yubai countered: "Why do you like circling around me?"

"I don't know," Lin Zhixia replied, "just like I don't know why you like going to the playground to hang on the horizontal bar."

She suddenly stopped, thoughtful: "I often observe your every move."

In the corner of the corridor stood an antique-style bronze mirror inlaid with shells.

Jiang Yubai glanced at the mirror and slightly adjusted his collar. Lin Zhixia's voice sounded again: "Sometimes, I can guess what you're thinking inside. For example right now, you're paying attention to your appearance because you want to maintain a good state for me to observe."

Jiang Yubai paused in smoothing his sleeve cuff.

He changed the subject: "I have some private collections."

"Your private collections?" Lin Zhixia approached with great interest.

Jiang Yubai led her across the corridor. He entered a code and opened a security door. They entered an inconspicuous small room where the relief patterns on the ceiling allowed light and air to pass through, cutting the light into a painting that illuminated one wall.

Lin Zhixia looked around, somewhat dazed.

"This definitely wasn't made by your grandfather himself," Lin Zhixia pointed at a glass cabinet.

"These are carvings I collected," Jiang Yubai introduced.

Lin Zhixia crouched in front of the glass cabinet: "Traditional Chinese handicrafts?"

Jiang Yubai crouched beside her: "Traditional craftsmanship, contemporary works."

The first layer of the cabinet displayed a landscape stone carving with exquisite craftsmanship and ingenious design. The mountains were majestic and magnificent, looking completely natural, with the blue lake shimmering as if just brushed by a gentle breeze.

"You can touch it with your hands," Jiang Yubai suggested.

Lin Zhixia shook her head like a rattle-drum: "No, they look too precious. I can't touch them."

But Jiang Yubai said: "Objects are dead, people are alive. You're more precious than them."

Jiang Yubai was absolutely right, and Lin Zhixia felt greatly encouraged. She carefully opened the cabinet door and touched the jade-carved landscape. She said: "I guess the mountain peaks are jasper, the big trees are moonstone, and the lake water is amazonite."

"Yes," Jiang Yubai confirmed.

Lin Zhixia asked him: "Why do you collect carvings?"Jiang Yubai reminisced: "I visited my grandfather's house, and he told me to pick a few things to take away..."

"No wonder!" Lin Zhixia suddenly understood. "I was just wondering why these treasures all looked like collections from grandparents' generation. So they really came from your grandfather's house."

Then she said somewhat shyly: "Jiang Yubai, the eleventh birthday gift I gave you, just like this stone carving, also has a big tree, a pond, and a small house."

Jiang Yubai casually revealed: "I placed it in my study."

"Your study?" Lin Zhixia was overjoyed. "That's wonderful! It can accompany you while you study every day."

The genuine happiness radiating from Lin Zhixia's heart was contagious to Jiang Yubai.

In this bright and airy room, where the atmosphere felt exceptionally fresh and sweet, Jiang Yubai reached out to open another cabinet door, revealing several clockwork crafts to Lin Zhixia.

Jiang Yubai invited her to appreciate them: "Eighteenth-century European antique clocks."

Lin Zhixia nodded repeatedly: "Mmhmm! They're all table clocks. I've seen them in European history books at the library."

She examined them up close, wanting to memorize every detail.

Jiang Yubai handed her a pair of gloves. She immediately put them on and gently touched the eighteenth-century clocks and seventeenth-century tableware. They even started playing a historical time-travel game together.

Jiang Yubai played the king, while Lin Zhixia played the queen.

With perfect composure, Lin Zhixia grasped a scepter. Imitating lines from Shakespeare's "Richard III," she declared war on Jiang Yubai: "The swelling seas foretell the coming storm. Your Majesty Jiang Yubai, your era faces transformation..."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yubai defeated her with words: "You were the one who gave me the crown. You were the one who crowned me. Have you forgotten?"

Lin Zhixia was instantly stunned.

With just one light remark, Jiang Yubai had completely routed Lin Zhixia's forces. She immediately changed her tune: "Well, let's reconcile."

Jiang Yubai lowered his head and smiled. Perhaps because they were alone in the room, he spoke without hesitation quite naturally: "How will you reconcile with me?"

Lin Zhixia said: "By signing a contract."

Jiang Yubai's current role was "King Jiang Yubai," and a wise king should remain unflappable. Lifting his scepter with one hand, he calmly replied: "I cannot sign a contract with you."

"Why?" Lin Zhixia asked.

Jiang Yubai explained: "Signing contracts requires lawyers to be present."

Lin Zhixia laughed: "Truly worthy of being called Little Jiang."

Jiang Yubai stepped back, and Lin Zhixia chased after him calling: "Little Jiang, Little Jiang, Little Jiang." He crossed his scepter in front of her, blocking her path, and reminded: "Boundaries, maintain boundaries."

"You sound just like my brother," Lin Zhixia said offhandedly.

Jiang Yubai retorted: "How so?"

"Well, my brother often tells me to pay attention to boundaries," Lin Zhixia quoted verbatim. "Brother says girls shouldn't be friends with boys, that a girl's best friend should be another girl. This is quite a serious issue - I've argued with him about it."

Jiang Yubai responded coolly: "Good argument."

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the door. Lin Zhixia even heard her dad's voice - she almost thought she was hallucinating.Lin Zhixia ran to the doorway and peered outside. She really saw her dad, along with Jiang Yubai’s uncle, Jiang Shaoqi.

In the broad, straight corridor, the two grown men cut tall figures. Jiang Shaoqi walked side by side with Lin Zhixia’s father for several steps before asking, “Your full name is… Lin Fugui, right?”

Lin Fugui mechanically repeated a single motion—clasping his hands together, pressing his palms tightly, then separating them, over and over. As he observed the private collection hall’s ceiling and numerous artifacts, he replied hoarsely, “Yes, I’m Lin Fugui. I’m Lin Zhixia’s father.”

Jiang Shaoqi offered a gentle smile. “We’ve met before—in Professor Shen’s Laboratory.”

“I remember, I do,” Lin Fugui echoed.

It was early March, and the temperature remained low, not yet warming up. Lin Fugui wore a pilled old-style sweater under a faux leather jacket. His clothes were clean and comfortable, but in such a luxurious collection room, his attire and demeanor seemed somewhat out of place.

The estate left Lin Fugui in awe. The architectural design and interior decor were beyond anything he had ever imagined, even in his dreams. Anxious to take his daughter home, he spotted Lin Zhixia and quickly waved her over. “Come, Xia Xia, come quickly.”

Lin Zhixia pattered over to her father.

Jiang Yubai followed slowly behind her. He hadn’t yet had the chance to invite her for lunch—a meal he had been planning since last month to celebrate her achievements. She had won several gold medals and, by all accounts, deserved a celebration.

But Lin Fugui took his daughter’s wrist and urged, “Xia Xia, say goodbye to your friend.”

Lin Zhixia hesitated. “Dad, I had so much fun with my friend today… Could we have a meal together?”

Her father, however, insisted, “Xia Xia, your mom has already made lunch for you. Let’s go home.”

Jiang Yubai watched the scene unfold, maintaining his politeness. He seemed truly unflappable, even as he grappled with an indescribable sense of disappointment inside. Their historical time-travel game was only halfway through—they hadn’t yet journeyed from Europe back to ancient China. Lin Zhixia had said she wanted Jiang Yubai to be a general while she would become Wu Zetian the Second.

With Lin Zhixia’s father here to take her home, Jiang Yubai had no reason to ask her to stay.

He glanced at his uncle, who immediately explained, “Xiao Jiang, last time I took you to the university district, I exchanged contact information with Lin Zhixia’s father. Lin Zhixia has an IQ of 174—exchanging numbers with her dad was a parental consideration, you know? Your uncle is a careful person. Today, when you invited Lin Zhixia over to play, no matter what, she’s only eleven and a half. You have to inform her parents, so I made the call for you…”

Jiang Yubai understood his uncle’s thoughtful intentions.

Lin Zhixia was still young, and her parents needed to know her whereabouts.

Although he and Lin Zhixia were good friends, her parents didn’t really know him. With that one call from his uncle, Lin Zhixia’s father had probably grown concerned—young girls require extra care and protection.Jiang Yubai took the initiative to lead Lin Zhixia and her father to the parking lot. His family's driver would take them home. He watched as Lin Zhixia got into the car, and she even rolled down the window to wave at him: "See you on Monday, Jiang Yubai!"

Jiang Yubai stood in place, watching the car drive away: "See you on Monday, Lin Zhixia."

On the way home, Lin Zhixia's father didn't say a word.

When they arrived at the entrance of Ancheng Community, after Lin Zhixia and her father got out of the car together, her father suddenly let out a sigh. The community streets on Saturday morning were bustling with people, filled with conversations, dog barks, and scattered footsteps.

Dad took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Just as he was about to pull out a cigarette, Lin Zhixia grabbed his sleeve: "Dad, Dad, don't smoke."

Dad called her: "Xia Xia."

Lin Zhixia put her hands behind her back: "Xia Xia is here."

Dad didn't take Lin Zhixia home immediately. He found a bench in the community. He had Lin Zhixia sit beside him before saying: "Xia Xia, this friend of yours, Jiang Yubai, he's different from you. Dad isn't telling you not to play with him, Dad just wants to tell you that you've already won world-level competition awards, and you have other friends at school too..."

Lin Zhixia stretched her legs straight: "I understand."

"You understand? I haven't even gotten to the main point yet." Dad exclaimed in surprise.

Lin Zhixia looked up at the sky: "Well, I can guess what you mean. You want to tell me that there are significant risks in being friends with Jiang Yubai."

Dad took out the cigarette pack again: "Xia Xia is too smart."

He gave an example: "Dad came from a village. In our village, when the village chief's son bullied others, people had nowhere to seek justice. What could they do? They had to endure it."

"Jiang Yubai is really good," Lin Zhixia argued, "Dad, if you could spend some time with him, you'd know."

Dad lit a cigarette. White smoke dispersed, misty like dust, permeating the nearby air.

Lin Zhixia sneezed.

Dad had only taken one puff before immediately extinguishing the cigarette. He threw the butt into the trash can next to the bench and said in a low voice: "Dad doesn't really know Jiang Yubai. You need to be careful in your daily life. I'm telling you this, but you'll have to make your own decisions. Ah, you've been abroad already, you've seen more of the world than I have."

Lin Zhixia patted her father's shoulder: "No matter how many places I visit in the future, I will always be your daughter, and you will always be my dad."

This short sentence seemed to move Dad somewhat. Lin Zhixia seized the opportunity to say: "Dad, you absolutely must keep this secret for me. Don't let Brother know I went to Jiang Yubai's house to play, otherwise Brother would definitely explode."

Dad hadn't expected his son to be even more serious about this than he was. A look of surprise appeared on his face: "Has Qiūqiu had any dealings with Jiang Yubai?"

"No, never." Lin Zhixia said with particular regret.

Dad thought carefully for a few seconds before agreeing: "Okay, Dad will keep your secret, but there won't be a next time. Xia Xia, before you turn eighteen, you still can't go to male classmates' houses."

"After I turn eighteen, can I go whenever I want?" Lin Zhixia questioned.

Dad stood up and led her home: "By then, you'll be an adult, and Mom and Dad won't be able to control you anymore."Lin Zhixia remained silent. She was afraid her father might slip up in front of her brother. She and her father entered the house one after the other, just as her brother was peeling an apple in the living room. Seeing her return, her brother asked, "Which classmate's house did you go to, Lin Zhixia?"

Her brother sat on a chair, holding the apple in his left hand and a peeler in his right. He resembled a feudal patriarch from the old society, interrogating every trivial matter within the family. Lin Zhixia avoided his gaze and hid behind her father.

Her father took over the conversation: "I just came back from outside and happened to run into Xia Xia." He then asked, "Qiu Qiu, how are your studies going lately? Is your health holding up?"

In three months, Lin Zeqiu would be taking the high school entrance exam.

Since the start of the semester, Lin Zeqiu had only ranked first in his class once, and his grade ranking had significantly declined. His classmates said that some smart students only started studying seriously in their third year of junior high, making rapid progress and outperforming diligent students like Lin Zeqiu—but Lin Zeqiu didn’t believe that.

In Lin Zeqiu’s eyes, only someone of his sister’s caliber could be considered "smart." Whether she studied or not, his sister always ranked first in her grade—even achieving first place internationally at the 2007 Romanian Master of Mathematics.

The moment their father brought up grades, Lin Zeqiu’s mind swirled with thoughts, completely forgetting to interrogate Lin Zhixia.

Lin Zhixia cheered her brother on: "Brother, do your best! If you come across any problems you can’t solve, be sure to ask me."

Her brother, however, replied, "Forget it."

Lin Zhixia insisted repeatedly: "I can help you save time!"

Her brother glanced sideways at her: "You still have the math competition to focus on."

Lin Zhixia explained in detail: "I’m not planning to participate in this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad. The top dozen or so strongest and most experienced contestants from the winter camp are already in their second round of training. I believe they can win gold medals."

Her brother took a bite of his apple: "Lin Zhixia, what else do you have to keep you busy at school?"

"The informatics competition!" Lin Zhixia poured herself a glass of water. "The team-based informatics competition is really fun, and the prize money is substantial. Since there’s an opportunity, I want to give it a try."

After making her plan, Lin Zhixia quickly put it into action. She joined the informatics team for the second year of high school and stood out in the provincial No. 1 High School’s selection trials.

By April, while Lin Zeqiu was still working hard to review for the high school entrance exam, Lin Zhixia had already advanced to the provincial finals of the high school informatics competition, representing Provincial No. 1 High School.