Lin Zhixia's words struck Lin Zeqiu like a bolt from the blue.
The phrase "open relationship" felt like a sharp blade brutally stabbing into Lin Zeqiu's eyes.
Open relationship!
How could something so vulgar and promiscuous exist in this world?
Utterly unheard of! Appalling!
Lin Zeqiu had just finished showering. He covered his forehead with a towel, calmed himself for a few seconds, then began furiously typing on his keyboard.
His bunkmate was named Zhan Rui.
Zhan Rui was handsome and clever, but unfortunately, he had a natural stutter. Staring at the computer screen, he stammered, "Y-y-your sister..."
Lin Zeqiu didn't turn around. He sternly warned, "This is a family matter. Don't talk about it outside."
Zhan Rui quickly agreed, "I-I-I won't..."
Another roommate shouted, "What's up with Brother Qiu's sister?"
Water droplets trickled down his hair, falling onto his well-defined collarbones. Lin Zeqiu wiped his neck and sighed, "It's nothing. Go to sleep. I have some family matters to deal with."
All three roommates had met Lin Zhixia. They knew Lin Zeqiu had a beautiful and intelligent sister. They could joke about Lin Zeqiu, but never about his sister—anyone who dared would face dire consequences.
Since this involved Lin Zhixia, the roommates pretended to hear nothing.
The quiet environment helped him think. Lin Zeqiu wrote an eight-hundred-word essay, mercilessly criticizing "open relationships" and sternly warning Lin Zhixia to stay away from her trashy senior. If that senior dared to speak inappropriately or lay a hand on her, Lin Zeqiu would make sure he paid the price.
After typing the last word, Lin Zeqiu's mind gradually cleared. He reread the message his sister had sent him. He noticed she said, "We've discussed love before..."
Had he and Lin Zhixia ever discussed love?
He thought carefully and recalled one time when Lin Zhixia asked him if he believed in love. Honestly, he didn't believe in something as elusive as "love." He only trusted his own hands and feet. He planned to work hard, earn money, remain single for life, and ensure his family lived a good life.
Lin Zeqiu's mind wandered for a long time, but Lin Zhixia still hadn't replied. He called her, but her phone was turned off.
This didn't stump Lin Zeqiu.
When he had visited Lin Zhixia before, he happened to meet her roommate Deng Shasha. Lin Zeqiu had gotten Deng Shasha's phone number in case Lin Zhixia encountered any emergencies at school and couldn't answer his calls.
Now was the time. Lin Zeqiu politely sent a text to Deng Shasha: "Hello, Deng Shasha. This is Lin Zhixia's brother, Lin Zeqiu. May I ask if Lin Zhixia is in the dorm? I'll wait for her at the school gate at 7 a.m. tomorrow."
Deng Shasha was lying in bed eating potato chips.
Her phone vibrated twice. Deng Shasha called out twice, "God of Study! God of Study! Your brother is looking for you!"
Lin Zhixia emerged from under her blanket. "My brother is looking for me?"
Deng Shasha, her mouth full of potato chips, mumbled indistinctly, "Your brother asked if you're in the dorm. He's coming to wait for you at the school gate at 7 a.m. tomorrow."
Lin Zhixia panicked. "I'm doomed.""Are you afraid of your brother?" Deng Shasha asked curiously. "Your brother is quite handsome, doesn't talk much, and isn't annoying."
Lin Zhixia lay flat on her bed, pulling her quilt tight. Her bedsheet and quilt cover were both made of pure cotton, with a light white background printed with several pink strawberries. Nestled in this strawberry-patterned world, she hugged her Little Penguin and said seriously: "You haven't seen my brother when he talks a lot. You can come with me to the school gate tomorrow morning."
Deng Shasha imagined Lin Zeqiu chattering nonstop in her mind. Clutching her chip bag, she yearned: "God of Study, I make a wish to you - please bless me to meet a handsome guy on the same level as your brother."
Lin Zhixia modestly said: "No, my brother isn't the most handsome."
"Your brother's level of handsomeness is just right," Deng Shasha sighed. "Any man more handsome than that, I wouldn't be able to handle. When I'm with someone like that, I easily become a simp and lose myself, which isn't good."
Approaching eleven o'clock, the dormitory lights went out. The dim night infiltrated the narrow space, leaving the room pitch black. Lin Zhixia lay on her side, secretly wondering if she had ever lost herself when spending time with Jiang Yubai? Her consciousness grew muddled in the darkness. She gradually fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Deng Shasha woke Lin Zhixia up.
Lin Zhixia rubbed her eyes and got up groggily to wash up. As she put on her sweater and coat, she suddenly noticed Deng Shasha was doing her makeup in front of the mirror, while Feng Yuan was styling Deng Shasha's hair.
"Higher, comb it higher to look more spirited," Deng Shasha directed.
Feng Yuan, holding her hair with one hand and showing some morning irritability, asked impatiently: "Do you want me to make you a sky-reaching bun?"
"God of Study, what type of girls does your brother like?" Deng Shasha called out loudly.
How would Lin Zhixia know her brother's preferences regarding the opposite sex? From what she had observed, her brother maintained at least a three-meter distance from girls. Beyond three meters, he didn't distinguish between genders. She could only say: "No need for special preparations, just be yourself."
"Understood!" Deng Shasha snapped her fingers. "Your brother likes pure and natural types. I'll do a no-makeup makeup look."
The March cold snap brought chilly morning winds.
When Deng Shasha and Lin Zhixia arrived at the school gate around seven o'clock, Lin Zeqiu was already there. He had even brought breakfast for Lin Zhixia - a cup of warm soy milk and an egg pancake wrapped around a grilled sausage.
Lin Zeqiu unwrapped the pancake from the paper bag, and Lin Zhixia leaned against him as she took a bite. He was practically feeding her, asking: "Is it good?"
"Delicious, thank you Brother," Lin Zhixia mumbled with her mouth full.
Deng Shasha was moved by this scene of sibling harmony and whispered: "Your brother is too good, you couldn't find someone like him even with a lantern. I can imagine him taking care of children at home in the future."
"Brother is quite domestic," Lin Zhixia quietly replied.They whispered a couple of words before Lin Zeqiu stuffed the rolled pancake and soy milk into Lin Zhixia's hands, his expression grave and serious as he said, "Did you see the QQ message I sent you last night? How many times have I told you, you're not an adult yet, and everyone around you is an adult. You need to be wary of men with ill intentions. Where did that senior of yours come from? Did he bully you? Why haven't I heard you mention him before? I have lunch with you every Sunday precisely because I'm afraid you might encounter that kind of man at school. You're timid, young, easy to bully, and afraid to fight back... I won't date anyone, I don't talk to girls... You can't date until you're eighteen..."
Lin Zeqiu rambled on for over ten minutes.
He was rigid, conservative, feudalistic, and long-winded.
His image in Deng Shasha's mind gradually crumbled.
Twenty minutes later, Lin Zeqiu finally finished. He let out a long sigh and even greeted Deng Shasha. Deng Shasha smiled and nodded at him, then the three of them went their separate ways outside the school gate.
The wind was strong, the sky cold, the temperature low, and the clouds pale white.
Deng Shasha walked against the wind, her carefully styled hair now a tangled mess like a bird's nest. Clutching the collar of her coat tightly, she walked slowly forward. Lin Zhixia asked her, "Do you want to be my sister-in-law?"
"No, no," Deng Shasha declined, "your brother..."
"Is he not good?" Lin Zhixia pressed.
"No, no, no," Deng Shasha said humbly, "It's not that he's not good, it's that I'm not worthy."
Lin Zhixia hesitated to say more.
Deng Shasha changed the subject: "How has Senior Tan Qianche been lately?"
"Absolutely not," Lin Zhixia insisted firmly, "He's absolutely not suitable."
"Why?" Deng Shasha asked, puzzled, "Is Tan Qianche like you, having skipped grades too quickly and not yet an adult?"
Lin Zhixia's originally clear eyes grew somewhat shadowy: "No. Tan Qianche is very flirtatious, far beyond your imagination. Stay away from him."
Lin Zhixia's warning frightened Deng Shasha.
Deng Shasha wasn't the type to grow more determined with setbacks. Since starting university, she had become someone who would simply lie down and give up when faced with difficulties. Unable to enjoy the company of the two handsome guys she had her eyes on, she abandoned her simple wish of "I want to date in university" and dutifully carried her backpack to the library to study. Looking on the bright side, although she couldn't get the handsome guys, she spent her time on studying. Studying wouldn't let her down; studying was the best life partner.
Sitting in the library, tears of emotion welled up in the corners of Deng Shasha's eyes.
After finishing the loving breakfast her brother had brought her, Lin Zhixia headed straight to the venue of the "North American Academic Exchange Conference."
Several professors and students from North America had all arrived, and Senior Wei Ruoxing's seat was in the fourth row. She wore a light-colored suit dress, her neck slender, standing tall and graceful like a swan, noble and captivating.
As Lin Zhixia passed by, Wei Ruoxing called out, "Lin Zhixia?"
Lin Zhixia turned her head: "Senior?"
The auditorium was spacious, the lighting dim. Lin Zhixia stood on the red-carpeted steps, casually resting a hand on a chair. Wei Ruoxing said softly, "Sit next to me. Let's talk about the quantum programming language you mentioned last night."
Lin Zhixia glanced around and noticed that the students from their Quantum Computing group were scattered. Only the seniors who needed to speak on stage would sit in the second or third rows."Okay, I'm coming." Lin Zhixia happily moved closer to senior Wei Ruoxing.
The senior praised her: "Are you wearing strawberry top note perfume? It smells better than my tuberose and jasmine."
Lin Zhixia explained: "I don't wear perfume. I use strawberry-scented shampoo, body wash, facial cleanser... I often eat strawberries too."
The senior laughed: "A little genius's little hobby?"
"Not little at all," Lin Zhixia said, "I'll be an adult soon."
The senior folded her hands on her lap: "Yes, you're growing up fast. I'm ten years older than you, so I always think of you as still very young."
Lin Zhixia generously complimented: "Senior will always be eighteen, forever young and beautiful." After a pause, she added: "Actually, I think humanity shares a... one-dimensional time reference frame. Age is just a scalar quantity representing how long someone has been in this world..."
Wei Ruoxing listened to Lin Zhixia's words but was somewhat distracted. She glanced sideways ahead but couldn't find Tan Qianche's figure. She bit her lip, leaving faint white tooth marks, as she heard Lin Zhixia continue: "So, all people are equal. If I have children in the future, I'll communicate with them as equals. When my Mom and Dad grow old, I'll maintain respect and not become impatient with their aging and slowness. Our souls exist in the same dimensional space..."
"Good girl, smart and kind-hearted," Wei Ruoxing commented.
Wei Ruoxing stopped searching for Tan Qianche.
She lifted her chin and focused on the exchange session's content.
About an hour later, after various professors had given their speeches, the exchange session became the students' domain.
The host announced in fluent English, loudly inviting student Tan Qianche to the stage to present his latest research findings in Quantum Bit Circuits. The background PowerPoint was ready, reporters had set up their cameras, when Teacher Gu Likai hurriedly appeared in the first row. Holding his phone with a grim expression, he bent down to say something to another student, who repeatedly shook his head.
Several Chinese students in the front rows began whispering among themselves.
Yang Shuwen walked over from the first row and stood heavily in the third row, just diagonally in front of Lin Zhixia. Lin Zhixia patted Yang Shuwen's shoulder and asked: "Senior, has something happened to Tan Qianche?"
Yang Shuwen sighed mournfully: "Tan Qianche was out in the wind for half the night yesterday. When he returned to the dorm, he started coughing - so loudly it sounded like his lungs were being torn apart. The entire boys' dormitory corridor could hear him. This morning, Tan Qianche took fever reducer and cough medicine, and even told Teacher Gu he could attend the exchange session... Ah, he can't come now. His high fever shot up to 39 degrees, and he was carried to the hospital. This is troublesome, isn't it? Just an hour ago he was pounding his chest promising he'd arrive on time, begging Teacher Gu for this opportunity to present. So Teacher Gu didn't remove his PowerPoint. He's the sole author of this paper - nobody else knows what he's been working on. In this Ph.D. field, everyone's busy with their own research directions. Who has time to sort through others' work?"
Lin Zhixia said something astonishing: "I have time."
Yang Shuwen doubted his hearing: "You?"
Lin Zhixia admitted frankly: "I've read all of Tan Qianche's papers. I spent a month studying him. I'm familiar with all his experimental methods and thought processes."Yang Shuwen was utterly astonished and repeatedly urged, "Hurry up and go on stage, save our group's presentation."
Lin Zhixia immediately stood up from her seat. Wei Ruoxing hastily reminded her, "This is an English presentation conference—all explanations and Q&A are in English. Professors from your college and our university are all here. You haven't prepared a script, don't push yourself too hard, Lin Zhixia."
"Don't worry, senior," Lin Zhixia said with full confidence. "I've been learning English since I was three years old."
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