Lin Zhixia took a stroll along the street and soon found a shopping mall.
She led Jiang Yubai through the main entrance, where daylight streamed down from above. She looked up at the roof, where intersecting metal strips formed a tight web supporting the arched glass ceiling.
Not far from the entrance was a jewelry store called "Pandora." Lin Zhixia was drawn to a pair of star-shaped earrings in the shop. She really wanted to buy them, but she had never gotten her ears pierced.
Lin Zhixia glanced at Jiang Yubai and was surprised by what he was doing. He was actually picking out a bracelet. He took a silver chain embedded with stars from the glass display case and fastened it around Lin Zhixia’s left wrist.
Lin Zhixia had fair skin and slender fingers, and the silver chain suited her exceptionally well. When Jiang Yubai asked if she liked it, she said she did, and he immediately went to pay. Lin Zhixia quickly stopped him, saying, "You don’t have to buy things for me."
He pulled out a bank card: "The bracelet is only 70 pounds—it’s not expensive."
Seventy pounds was equivalent to seven hundred yuan.
In Lin Zhixia’s view, seven hundred yuan was a lot of money.
So she explained, "To me, 70 pounds for a bracelet is a bit expensive."
Lin Zhixia spoke very sincerely and openly. She didn’t want Jiang Yubai to disrupt her spending habits. She just wanted to shop freely and without pressure, not have Jiang Yubai buy her whatever caught her eye. She also felt that Jiang Yubai was particularly reasonable—as long as she discussed it with him, he would surely respect her wishes.
The shop assistant waited patiently nearby, but Jiang Yubai put his bank card back in his pocket. He apologized to the assistant and left the store with Lin Zhixia.
Outside the shop, Jiang Yubai happened to run into his classmates.
Jiang Yubai had a wide circle of friends. He knew people from different majors and departments, and the classmates approaching him were undergraduates from the computer science department. After exchanging a few pleasantries, someone asked if Lin Zhixia was his friend.
Jiang Yubai formally introduced her: "She’s my girlfriend."
As soon as the words "girlfriend" left his mouth, Jiang Yubai felt a subtle emotion. He held Lin Zhixia’s wrist gently, careful not to squeeze too hard. He remembered when they were children playing together, occasionally grabbing each other’s backpack straps… Those happy, amusing childhood memories made him let out a soft laugh, and he added, "She’s also my best friend."
Hearing this, Jiang Yubai’s classmates weren’t particularly surprised—college students dating was perfectly normal. They struck up a conversation with Lin Zhixia, asking what she studied. Without hiding anything, she replied, "I’ve already finished my undergraduate degree. I’m a first-year Ph.D. student now, in the same school as Jiang Yubai."
She added, "Jiang Yubai and I are the same age."
A student standing across from her exclaimed, "Oh my."
Another classmate stammered slightly, "We’re… going shopping now. Let’s catch up another time."
Lin Zhixia smiled at them warmly.After they had walked away, Lin Zhixia asked Jiang Yubai quietly, "Is your teaching assistant a doctoral student? I heard that undergraduates all have supervisors. The word 'supervisor' can be translated as 'mentor' in your context, but I think the job responsibilities are similar to those of a teaching assistant—teaching undergraduate groups every week and helping them with questions..."
She paused for a moment and mused, "Maybe I could be a teaching assistant for undergraduates majoring in computer science, mathematics, physics, or chemistry."
Fortunately, she didn’t mention economics.
Jiang Yubai felt as if he had narrowly escaped a predicament.
Lin Zhixia’s published papers involved marine physics, high-performance computing, and quantum physics, clearly unrelated to economics. With a clear mind, Jiang Yubai encouraged her, "When you meet the research group members tomorrow, you can ask them—they’re all graduate students. Some students mentioned to me before that if you want to be an undergraduate mentor, you first need to submit an application with your resume. If selected by the department, you’ll attend training... something along those lines."
"Okay," Lin Zhixia said with high spirits.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai spent most of the day wandering around the streets and bought quite a few daily necessities.
By five or six in the afternoon, most shops had closed for the day, and Lin Zhixia wanted to head home. As usual, Jiang Yubai escorted her back to her dormitory and even spent a little time in her room. She warmly entertained him, personally brewing him a cup of milk tea. They sat side by side on the edge of the bed, each holding a cup. The milky aroma blended with the fragrance of black tea, drifting around them like a faint mist. Such a simple, fleeting moment filled Lin Zhixia with immense satisfaction.
She lowered her head and said, "I really like you so much."
He replied, "That’s what I wanted to say to you, too."
Her eyes lit up. "I know."
He chuckled softly.
Before leaving, Jiang Yubai arranged their next meeting with her. The day after tomorrow, in the afternoon, Jiang Yubai had no classes. If Lin Zhixia didn’t need to go to the laboratory, they could study together at the university library.
Lin Zhixia was deeply interested in his life. Having seen various photos of him on campus, she longed to take part in his daily activities. She readily agreed and even walked him to the entrance of the dormitory building.
The next morning, Lin Zhixia went straight to her mentor’s office.
Her mentor spoke with her for half an hour, helped her finalize her research topic, and then took her to the day’s group meeting, introducing her to the other students and postdoctoral researchers in the team.
Apart from Lin Zhixia, there was another Chinese student in their group, also in his first year of doctoral studies, named Wen Qi.
Wen Qi had completed his undergraduate studies at Imperial College London and chose Cambridge for both his master’s and doctoral degrees. He was handsome, refined in demeanor, and appeared to be quite intelligent.
After the group meeting ended that morning, a second-year doctoral senior showed Lin Zhixia and Wen Qi around the laboratory and familiarized them with the experimental equipment. The senior was of Indian nationality, with darker skin and a slight accent, though it didn’t hinder communication at all.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Zhixia struck up a conversation in English: "May I ask a question? I’m very interested in becoming a teaching assistant for undergraduates. Is the selection process strict? I don’t have any relevant experience—I’m not sure if that would be a problem."The senior student told Lin Zhixia that if she became an undergraduate teaching assistant, it would consume a lot of her time. Strictly speaking, Lin Zhixia hadn't officially become a doctoral student yet. She had to complete her research proposal and pass the defense within a year to gain recognition. As an undergraduate teaching assistant, she would need to focus on the academic level and development direction of undergraduates. If she performed poorly, she would receive complaints - it would be nothing but trouble.
After hearing this long speech, Lin Zhixia couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
Shortly after the Indian senior left, Wen Qi chuckled. He said to Lin Zhixia: "Aishwarya has been complained about by undergraduates."
Aishwarya was the Indian senior's name.
Lin Zhixia asked him: "How do you know Aishwarya was complained about?"
"The person who complained about her is in the same college as me," he replied.
"Why did they complain about her?"
"Poor preparation before class."
Lin Zhixia didn't offer any opinion.
Wen Qi then asked: "How old were you when you started undergraduate studies? Have you taken an IQ test?"
Lin Zhixia answered vaguely: "I started undergraduate studies at fifteen. I took an IQ test when I was little, but I don't know what it's like now."
Wen Qi's reaction was neither cold nor warm, showing no trace of surprise, as if he was accustomed to hearing stories about geniuses' growth. His conversation with Lin Zhixia ended here. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket and went downstairs to smoke.
For the rest of the afternoon, Lin Zhixia went alone to the college building and attended the new student Q&A session. Under the guidance of college staff, she found her office. The office door had the pinyin of "Lin Zhixia" posted on it, with the given name first and surname last. Inside was a set of desk and chair, a computer, a bookshelf, and a large white writing board.
Beside the desk was a floor-to-ceiling window. Through this window, she could clearly see the azure sky and emerald green lawn. She suddenly felt that she didn't need to go to the library to study at all.
She wanted to do theoretical calculations, which could be completed right in the office.
Lin Zhixia took a selfie here and sent it to Jiang Yubai via QQ message, inviting him to admire her workspace together. She asked: "Isn't my office super beautiful?"
Jiang Yubai was attending his specialized class in "Econometrics." It took half an hour before he replied: "The person in the photo is super beautiful."
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