In early July, with Lin Zeqiu's help, Lin Zhixia packed up her belongings and left her undergraduate alma mater.
Lin Zeqiu snatched all the heavy items from Lin Zhixia's hands. He was dragging two suitcases, carrying a massive backpack, and had a heavy travel bag slung over his right shoulder.
July was the height of the scorching summer heat, with the blazing sun and waves of sweltering air making the streets unbearably hot. Sweat beaded on Lin Zeqiu's forehead, trickling down the contours of his face and soaking into his clothes, leaving faint damp traces.
The suitcase handles were a bit stiff, and the wheels didn't roll smoothly, yet the cases were packed full of clothes, shoes, skincare products, and various small items. Without complaint, Lin Zeqiu dutifully escorted his sister's luggage the entire way, never once grumbling about how much she had or how heavy the suitcases were.
Lin Zhixia felt quite guilty. "Brother, are you tired? Let me take the backpack and travel bag."
"Not a chance," Lin Zeqiu refused outright. "Don't argue with me. If you tug at my bag, you're just wasting my energy."
Lin Zhixia had been gripping the strap of his backpack, but upon hearing his words, she immediately let go.
Throughout the return journey, Lin Zeqiu took care of her. He bought her a train meal and even washed a bowl of fresh strawberries—ones he had bought that morning, carefully wrapped in foam paper, and tucked into his backpack specifically for the trip. He asked her, "Can you get strawberries in Cambridge?"
"You can," Lin Zhixia confirmed.
Still, he sighed. "Foreign countries have guns and drugs. Just stay on campus, and don’t go alone to remote areas."
Lin Zhixia nibbled on a strawberry and didn’t respond.
That night, Lin Zeqiu slept restlessly, waking up several times.
The train wheels rumbled loudly. Propping himself up on his right elbow, he turned his head to look at the other side. He saw Lin Zhixia sleeping peacefully on the opposite bunk. He remembered how she looked as a child—so small, so thin, with only her eyes big and bright. She would always look up at him and ask him particularly annoying questions, making him doubt his own intelligence and wonder if she was the normal one. But suddenly, she had grown up, learned to understand others, stopped hurting him, and now she was leaving just like that.
He had once been intensely frustrated because of her—why hadn’t heaven granted him the same intellect? Eventually, he came to accept reality, and now she was almost seventeen.
She was no longer afraid of ghost stories, strangers, the dark, or the unknown.
She could stand on her own and take on major responsibilities. Mom and Dad were proud of her. In truth, he was proud of her too.
Lin Zeqiu's eyes grew slightly damp.
Outside the window, the sky gradually brightened. The dawn light pierced through the night, illuminating the drifting clouds like dyed silk. He changed his clothes and sat by the window to admire the view, slowly calming his mind.
Though he had just turned twenty, he had to admit his mindset was like that of an old bird watching its fledgling fly away—filled with both eager hope and lingering worries.
This summer vacation, both Lin Zeqiu and Lin Zhixia stayed at home, with no travel plans.The siblings' lives followed a regular routine. They went to bed early and rose early, maintaining a consistent exercise regimen. However, Lin Zhixia occasionally slept in, during which Lin Zeqiu would go for his morning run alone. He often detoured to a breakfast shop near the east gate of their residential complex, bringing back several portions of baked flatbread, soup dumplings, and tofu pudding. After arranging them on the dining table, he would wake Lin Zhixia.
After meals, Lin Zeqiu wrote code while Lin Zhixia read.
Her doctoral supervisor had provided her with a reading list, which she quickly finished. She was greatly looking forward to her upcoming life as a PhD student.
So far, her study abroad materials were fully prepared, her visa was nearly processed, and the university had assigned her a dorm room. She had seen photos of the dorm online—a single room equipped with a desk and chair, a single bed, a red armchair, and a private bathroom.
The dorm was expensive, with weekly rates exceeding one hundred pounds, totaling over six thousand yuan per month. Even with her scholarship, Lin Zhixia felt the pinch, especially since her undergraduate dormitory had cost only one thousand yuan per year.
When Lin Zeqiu asked if her scholarship was sufficient, she said yes but complained about the high cost of living abroad. Lin Zeqiu sternly advised her, "When you're talking with classmates overseas, don't go around saying this is expensive or that is expensive..."
"Why can't I say that?" Lin Zhixia retorted.
Lin Zeqiu spoke with earnest concern: "It comes off as a bit poor and tacky, understand?"
Lin Zhixia laughed dismissively, "I don't care what others think of me."
This response took Lin Zeqiu by surprise.
He sat on the living room sofa, watching Lin Zhixia organize her manuscripts.
The television was playing a series titled Iron Teeth Bronze Teeth Ji Xiaolan . Both he and Lin Zhixia had grown up watching this show. The soundtrack was as familiar as ever, but his mind wandered, quietly reflecting on how life had undergone dramatic changes in just over a decade.
He leaned back against the sofa, his collar loose, his posture relaxed.
Lin Zhixia fastened her folder and told him, "Tomorrow, Tang Tingting and I are going shopping for clothes. I won't be home for lunch."
"What kind of clothes?" Lin Zeqiu asked casually.
Lin Zhixia didn't answer.
A few minutes later, she went to her parents' bedroom and said sweetly to her mom, "Mom, tomorrow Tang Tingting and I are going clothes shopping. I won't be home for lunch. Mom, don't wait for me. You eat first."
"Alright," Mom replied, who was cleaning the bedroom. "What would Xia Xia like for dinner tomorrow night?"
Lin Zhixia began listing dishes: "Braised silver carp, oil-braised prawns, and stir-fried shredded pork with wild rice stem, is that okay?"
Mom agreed readily, making Lin Zhixia even happier.
The next morning, Lin Zhixia put on a moon-white dress and meticulously braided her hair. She accessorized with a dark blue bow and applied a touch of coral-colored lipstick before heading out to meet Tang Tingting.
Tang Tingting was also dressed strikingly today. Arm in arm, they strolled down the commercial street, genuinely believing they were the prettiest girls in the entire neighborhood. Occasionally, boys would ask for their contact information, to which Tang Tingting would chuckle and politely decline, "Sorry, not convenient."
After walking a stretch, they found a well-reviewed lingerie store.Lin Zhixia walked openly into the store, with Tang Tingting following closely behind. She whispered to Lin Zhixia, "What's your size?"
Lin Zhixia replied in an even softer voice, "My bust size has gone up a size. I want to buy a few new sets of underwear before going abroad."
Soon, Tang Tingting discovered something remarkable about Lin Zhixia. Lin Zhixia was unwilling to try on clothes herself. She only needed to glance at the structure of the underwear and stand quietly for a while, as if she had completed the fitting through imagination.
"Do you have... 3D image modeling technology in your brain?" Tang Tingting asked suspiciously.
Lin Zhixia smiled sweetly, "Maybe I do."
Tang Tingting was enchanted by her smile.
After buying clothes, Lin Zhixia walked out of the store arm in arm with Tang Tingting. They sat down to rest in the coffee shop next door. Lin Zhixia bought two strawberry sundaes, giving one to Tang Tingting and keeping the other for herself.
Tang Tingting leaned close to Lin Zhixia's shoulder, took out her phone, first took a selfie of them together, then photographed the strawberry sundaes on the table. Finally, she added the caption "Xia Xia and My Summer Vacation" before posting the photos to her QQ space, intentionally showing off within the Provincial No.1 High School circle.
Tang Tingting patiently waited for ten minutes.
Lin Zhixia had almost finished her strawberry sundae when Tang Tingting reopened her phone. She had received dozens of likes, with Jiang Yubai being the first to comment: "Very beautiful."
Tang Tingting pressed him, "Who's more beautiful?"
Surprisingly, Jiang Yubai said, "The strawberry sundae."
Tang Tingting made an "oh" shape with her mouth. "He's really something, his emotional intelligence is much better than Duan Qiyan's."
"Duan Qiyan?" Lin Zhixia caught the key point.
But Tang Tingting said, "He's a bit foolish."
"He's not foolish," Lin Zhixia defended Duan Qiyan earnestly. "He ranked in the top thirty in science in the provincial college entrance exam."
Tang Tingting couldn't help but laugh, though she didn't refute Lin Zhixia.
Outside, the sun was blazing and the air was dry, but this didn't affect Tang Tingting and Lin Zhixia's determination to continue shopping. They wandered the streets for a while longer, bought some small accessories, and had lunch at a cold noodle shop... It wasn't until after 4 PM that they reluctantly parted ways at the bus stop.
Lin Zhixia carried her purchases from the day and happily returned home.
By this time, it was already early August, and Jiang Yubai was still interning at a company in Beijing. He was busy from morning till night, having to learn many things. In comparison, Lin Zhixia was clearly more leisurely. She was enjoying her rare vacation and also respected Jiang Yubai's work, so she didn't initiate phone calls with him.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai maintained contact through QQ, text messages, WeChat, and other means, chatting intermittently. Days of routine life passed one after another until late August, when Jiang Yubai sent Lin Zhixia a text message. He said he would return to the provincial capital that very night and asked if she was free? He wanted to watch fireworks with her.
Every August, the provincial capital hosted several "Music Fireworks Festivals."It was said that the magnificent fireworks were as gorgeous as flowers and brocade, as brilliant as clouds and rosy clouds, capable of blooming fleeting radiant light in the night sky." As their brilliance shifted and changed, even the bright moon and stars paled in comparison.
Lin Zhixia yearned to see them. But she had never witnessed them with her own eyes.
When Jiang Yubai extended the invitation, Lin Zhixia gladly accepted.It happened to be Jiang Yubai's birthday that day, and Lin Zhixia brought along a carefully prepared gift for him—a pair of small, adorable wooden cat figurines. Lin Zhixia had carved the kittens with a set of carving tools, naming one "Lychee" and the other "Strawberry."
Lin Zhixia clearly remembered that lychee was Jiang Yubai's favorite fruit.
This year's "Music Fireworks Festival" was set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Around 7:20, Lin Zhixia arrived at the park.
The park was filled with families and citizens. Lin Zhixia glanced around, spotting elderly people holding palm-leaf fans and children holding their parents' hands... She wanted to call out Jiang Yubai's name when a familiar voice came from behind: "I'm here."
Lin Zhixia turned around and met Jiang Yubai's gaze. They stood by the lake in the park. She quietly moved closer to a willow tree, the night breeze lifting her long skirt, the light fabric fluttering gracefully. Her hair was slightly tousled, yet to him, she looked flawlessly beautiful.
Under the dim park lights, she took out the pair of wooden cats from her bag and handed them to him. "For you. Happy birthday, Jiang Yubai."
He accepted the gift and thanked her.
She then asked, "Why did you want to watch the fireworks tonight?"
Before she could finish her sentence, the first firework burst into the sky, eliciting loud gasps from the crowd.
The brilliant sparks bloomed red like roses, dotting the vast, boundless night sky. The shimmering reflections on the lake were dreamlike, ripples dancing amidst the dazzling mirrored lights. As the concentric waves spread outward, the fireworks gradually faded into the deep waters of the lake.
While Lin Zhixia admired the nightscape, Jiang Yubai only had eyes for her. "Because I wanted to see you," he said.
She froze for a moment.
As if he had been holding back for a long time, his voice dropped even lower, almost as if speaking to himself. "I wanted to see you."
He looked up at the sky, hands tucked into his pockets, his tall figure standing still like another tree rooted by the lakeside. Only when Lin Zhixia called his name did he lower his gaze to meet her eyes.
More fireworks lit up the sky, their reflections flickering in his eyes, while waves of emotion surged in her heart. She felt a long-lost nervousness—the warm night breeze cooled the thin sweat on her palms, yet her mind burned with intensity. Without preamble, she suddenly said, "Jiang Yubai, I like you. In the philosophical and biological sense."
Jiang Yubai was rooted to the spot by her words. At that moment, the fireworks before him were no longer just fireworks—they were a grand, explosive birth of the Universe.
On this night at seventeen, he shut out all external noise and heard only the rapid beating of his own heart. So, using the terms Lin Zhixia would best understand, he asked her directly, "Is this a sustainable, non-accidental, deterministic kind of feeling?"
Lin Zhixia answered without hesitation, "Of course."
A strand of her hair blew across her face, and she raised her hand to smooth it back. But Jiang Yubai gently tucked it behind her ear. Unconsciously, she took a step back, her back now against the willow tree.
She heard his soft breaths, saw his fingertips nearing her cheek—just a centimeter away—before he withdrew his hand, restrained and controlled. Lin Zhixia smiled, took his wrist, and tilted her head slightly, pressing her fair cheek snugly into his palm.Jiang Yubai also smiled: "So you like me this much."
"What about you?" Lin Zhixia asked him, "Do you like me?"
She already knew the answer.
But she still wanted to hear him say it himself.
He seemed to be making an offering in a temple. With extraordinary composure, calmness, certainty and devotion, he said: "I like you very much."
Lin Zhixia felt every word of his was sweet as honey. It was as if she had just eaten a piece of candy, her bones nearly melting. She pressed further: "Do I have many good qualities?"
Jiang Yubai summarized briefly: "Countless good qualities."
"When did you start liking me? Elementary school?"
"No."
"Middle school then?"
"Not exactly."
"High school?"
"I'm not sure."
Lin Zhixia held Jiang Yubai's hand as they walked out of the park together. The fireworks display hadn't ended yet, but they only wanted to find a place to stroll. At the corner of the long street, where no one was around, Jiang Yubai's right hand felt so hot it seemed about to burn up. Holding Lin Zhixia's hand, he traced her knuckles, caressed her fingertips - even the simplest contact made him restless, and he actually wanted to get even closer.
Lin Zhixia remained immersed in the joy of her successful confession.
Jiang Yubai found his driver and sent Lin Zhixia back home.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai said goodbye at the entrance of Ancheng Residential Area. Jiang Yubai got out of the car and stood outside the community gate, watching her figure disappear into the dim lighting.
The new semester was about to begin.
He had never looked forward to school starting as much as he did today.
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