Lin Zhixia clutched the remote control Jiang Yubai had given her, her heart already flying toward the little kitten at his home. She asked him directly, "Can I come to your house to play?"
Jiang Yubai had been waiting for Lin Zhixia to say these words. He readily agreed and took her in a car, quickly arriving at his home.
Lin Zhixia followed him through the doorway. Her steps were light and full of anticipation as she confided in him, "I've wanted a pet since I was little, but Mom and Dad never agreed, and my brother doesn't like cats or dogs either. On the day of our autumn outing to the aquarium, I won a Little Penguin plush toy. I treated Little Penguin as my pet. Unknowingly, it's been with me for over six years."
"Almost seven years," Jiang Yubai echoed.
Lin Zhixia exclaimed joyfully, "You and I have known each other for seven years too."
These seven years had passed so quickly—no wonder there's an old saying that "ten years pass in the blink of an eye."
In another five months, Jiang Yubai would turn sixteen. He couldn't help but wonder: ten years from now, when he's twenty-six, what kind of life would he be living? What kind of relationship would Lin Zhixia and he maintain?
As Jiang Yubai slowed his pace, Lin Zhixia asked him, "What are you thinking about?"
Jiang Yubai blurted out, "You and me, ten years from now."
Lin Zhixia followed his train of thought, "Ten years later... that would be 2020."
Jiang Yubai tested the waters, "By that year, when you're twenty-six, do you have any... life plans?"
"Of course!" Lin Zhixia analyzed methodically, "I must produce groundbreaking research results before I turn twenty-six. Since I was nine, Teacher Shen has been mentoring me, all the way until I entered university at fourteen. I've met many excellent teachers and senior students who've helped me along the way..."
Lin Zhixia went on at length, talking extensively about her academic journey and personal insights.
Jiang Yubai listened from beginning to end without finding the slightest mention of anything related to "romance." He wasn't discouraged—this was exactly what he had expected.
Since confirming his own feelings, he had made time to read biographies of many geniuses. He discovered that so-called "love" was merely the most insignificant part of those people's lives—Newton never married, da Vinci remained single his whole life, Einstein almost never lacked mistresses, and Tesla might have loved a pigeon.
Jiang Yubai increasingly felt his path ahead was uncertain.
It seemed there was no place for him in Lin Zhixia's future plans either.
Passing through a double wooden door, Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia arrived at the pet activity room. This room was three times larger than Lin Zhixia's dormitory. She looked up at the relief sculptures on the ceiling while Jiang Yubai crouched down, opened the cat bed, and revealed a snow-white Ragdoll cat.
The cat's fur was fluffy, its two eyes a deep blue—blue like the ocean on a sunny day, like sparkling, brilliant gemstones.
Lin Zhixia was overcome with excitement.
"Little kitten," she asked softly, "may I pet it?"
Jiang Yubai said, "Go ahead, this cat is very well-behaved."
Lin Zhixia crouched beside Jiang Yubai. She reached out and gently stroked the cat's fur. The cat let out a "meow," lay down right where it was, and exposed its fluffy, soft belly.
Lin Zhixia felt her heart melting.
"What's its name?" Lin Zhixia asked."Strawberry," Jiang Yubai said matter-of-factly.
Lin Zhixia laughed heartily. "I like that name."
Lin Zhixia found an electronic mouse on the carpet—a specially designed cat toy. She pressed the remote control, and the mouse began running in circles around the room. The cat leaped out of its bed and started pouncing on the mouse. Lin Zhixia followed the cat for a couple of steps. Jiang Yubai remained seated on the floor with his back to her, casually watching the cat chase the mouse. He seemed like a detached bystander.
Since childhood, he had always maintained an air of calm composure.
Would he ever lose his cool?
A playful impulse stirred in Lin Zhixia.
She knelt behind Jiang Yubai, leaning close to his ear, her breath lightly brushing against the tip of his ear. Visibly, his spine stiffened, and the roots of his ears flushed slightly pink. Yet he still adhered to his usual demeanor and didn't speak.
Lin Zhixia grew bolder.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and shifted half an inch closer, whispering, "Why don't you dare to look back at me?"
Jiang Yubai countered, "Why are you so close to me?"
"Is that not allowed?" Lin Zhixia challenged.
"Of course, it is," Jiang Yubai replied sincerely. He openly invited her, "Come a little closer." He raised his right hand and patted his left shoulder. "You can... lean on my shoulder."
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai had known each other for over six years, and Jiang Yubai had never shown even a hint of aggression toward her. He was gentle, kind, upright, patient, and deeply respectful of her. He provided a constant sense of security. Or, more accurately, in Lin Zhixia's world, the name "Jiang Yubai" was synonymous with security.
Following her heart, Lin Zhixia gently leaned against his shoulder and honestly described her feelings, "It's strange. I only recently realized that the closer I am to you, the happier I feel."
Happy?
Jiang Yubai mulled over the word repeatedly.
Something in his heart was about to break through the soil, sprout, and grow into a towering tree.
Lin Zhixia carried a faint strawberry scent—fresh and sweet, seeping into the deepest corners of his mind. Unaware of this, she whispered in his ear again, "I answered your question, but now you're not talking to me."
Her voice was soft and persistent, both enchanting and innocent, like a delicate veil tightening around his heartbeat, making his chest rise and fall as he struggled to catch his breath. As a young man who had only recently awakened to such feelings, he had never experienced anything like this. He hadn't expected Lin Zhixia's way of expressing closeness to be so direct. Earlier, he had jokingly invited her to rest her head on his shoulder, and she had actually done it without hesitation.
How he wanted to ask her outright—do you like me? But he feared that if he spoke those words, their friendship would come to an end.
From May to August last year, Lin Zhixia's cold treatment of him remained fresh in his memory, serving as a constant warning.
Jiang Yubai firmly believed that the thought processes of a genius differed from those of ordinary people.
He needed to think from Lin Zhixia's perspective and explore the world through her eyes. From her point of view, his role was that of a longtime friend who understood her, supported her, and occasionally shared intellectual resonance with her.
Having sorted out his thoughts, he asked softly, "What do you want to say? I'm listening to you."Lin Zhixia asked in return, "Can I say anything?"
"Of course," Jiang Yubai replied calmly. "We've been friends for seven years and exchanged seven diaries. I'm your observation subject. Don't hold back around me."
Jiang Yubai guessed that Lin Zhixia would discuss the concept of "group collaboration" with him. Today at the café, He Shangqing's words and actions were thought-provoking and worth pondering. Jiang Yubai had studied many team management strategies and was prepared to impart all that knowledge to Lin Zhixia.
While he was silently drafting his thoughts, Lin Zhixia took a deep breath and whispered, "I like your scent." After saying this, she imitated the ragdoll cat, leaning against his shoulder and rubbing against him playfully.
Jiang Yubai stopped breathing. He felt as if he were about to be killed by her.
"You have to stay friends with me forever," Lin Zhixia concluded.
This statement pulled Jiang Yubai back to reality.
Jiang Yubai sat upright, never turning his head. Lin Zhixia, sitting behind him, couldn't see his expression.
Lin Zhixia noticed that Jiang Yubai's ears were no longer red, and his back remained straight. His posture was relaxed, so calm and composed, with no further reaction. Lin Zhixia let go of him and turned to pet the kitten again.
Jiang Yubai silently collapsed onto the floor.
Lin Zhixia was startled: "Jiang Yubai, what's wrong?"
Jiang Yubai tilted his head, met her gaze for a moment, and replied, "It's nothing."
This was the first time Jiang Yubai had offered his shoulder for a girl he liked to lean on. He wasn't used to it yet and needed a moment to recover. He lay flat on the soft carpet for a few more seconds before standing up and inviting Lin Zhixia to take a walk with him in the garden.
Some time ago, Jiang Yubai had bought two black horses and kept them in the stable in the backyard. Lin Zhixia had never ridden a horse before, and Jiang Yubai, worried she might not be comfortable, didn't dare to let her ride. Instead, they walked the horses together, holding the reins. In the garden where green shadows intertwined, they chatted and laughed as usual. They had lunch together in the dining room at noon and spent the afternoon playing with the "Lin Jiang" robot in another room. It wasn't until evening that Jiang Yubai escorted Lin Zhixia back to the university campus, where they waved goodbye at the school gate.
For Jiang Yubai, this day was almost perfect.
Lin Zhixia was in a good mood too.
That night, she wrote in her Human Observation Diary : "Today is March 13, 2010. I visited Jiang Yubai's home again. He now has two types of pets—kittens and horses—and they're very cute. I think Jiang Yubai is even cuter than the little animals..."
Every December, Lin Zhixia would give that year's Human Observation Diary to Jiang Yubai. She gradually abandoned the original purpose of the Human Observation Diary , treating it as an ordinary diary to simply record her daily experiences—she knew Jiang Yubai would be her only reader. She felt deeply satisfied to have such a reader, as if all her trivial thoughts were being heard and understood.
Lin Zhixia's final line read: "Tomorrow, at the North American academic exchange conference, I'll get to see Senior Wei Ruoxing..."
This senior named "Wei Ruoxing" graduated from Provincial No. 1 High School and went abroad during her senior year. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. at a university in California, USA. The papers she published during her undergraduate years had already attracted attention from professionals in the field.Lin Zhixia remembered that the provincial newspaper called "Morning Post" had once interviewed Wei Ruoxing, with the reporter drafting the headline—"Among the Strong, There Are Always Stronger Ones! The Beauty and Top Student of Provincial First High School!"
In that newspaper, Wei Ruoxing introduced herself, saying her name originated from a line of poetry: "Lotus blooms flourish, radiant as stars scattered across the sky."
Lin Zhixia thought Wei Ruoxing's name was very well chosen.
Lin Zhixia had never associated Wei Ruoxing with Senior Tan Qianche.
Within the campus of Provincial First High School, there were no rumors of a romantic history between the two of them. If Yang Shuwen hadn't unintentionally exposed Tan Qianche's past, Lin Zhixia would never have believed that Tan Qianche had been in a relationship with his first love for several years without breaking up.
The "North American Academic Exchange Conference" was scheduled to officially commence on Monday. However, Wei Ruoxing and her group arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning. That afternoon, Wei Ruoxing followed her teacher into the campus and was received by the relevant staff.
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