Xue Jiao grinned, forcing out a smile: "Zhihua..."
Her voice carried guilt and nervousness.
When she first met Lin Zhihua, she had been quite thin. Those eight pounds had been carefully nurtured over two years of university life with his attentive care and good food.
But... they'd all disappeared in just half a month...
Lin Zhihua gazed at her gloomily, his voice light as a feather: "It took me a year and a half to put that weight on you... and just half a month without supervision, you've lost it all?"
Xue Jiao: "......"
Lin Zhihua stared at her sternly while Xue Jiao guiltily shrunk her neck.
After a moment, she stepped forward and gently tugged at Lin Zhihua's sleeve.
When he looked at her, Xue Jiao flashed a toothy grin, her eyes narrowing into slits: "Zhihua... I'm hungry..."
Look, who could stay angry at her when she looked like this?
This girl had found his weak spot.
Lin Zhihua helplessly sighed, reaching out to ruffle Xue Jiao's slightly messy hair: "You're officially on winter break now. I can forgive you, but we must establish three rules."
Xue Jiao widened her eyes, blinking innocently.
Lin Zhihua's frown eased as he took her hand and kissed it: "First, you must eat three meals a day on time. Agreed?"
"Okay!" Xue Jiao nodded obediently, still feeling guilty.
Lin Zhihua continued: "Second, have lunch with me at Wuliu Alley."
With the New Year approaching, he wouldn't have time to come home every day to cook for Xue Jiao, so he'd arranged for meals at Wuliu Alley.
"What else?" Xue Jiao blinked.
"Third, no more running to school for projects during this break!" Lin Zhihua's voice turned stern.
Xue Jiao looked at him and nodded.
She needed to focus on writing her thesis this break anyway, so school projects weren't necessary.
Seeing Xue Jiao agree so readily, Lin Zhihua finally smiled, allowing the suppressed longing to surface.
Restraining himself, he gently pulled her into a brief hug before quickly releasing her: "My dear, I've missed you."
His voice was full of restraint, as if instantly transported back to those fifteen suffocating days of longing, his heart burning with ache.
Xue Jiao returned the quick hug: "I like you too."
The gloom in Lin Zhihua's eyes vanished instantly. Having such a treasure meant enduring a little hardship.
Wanting to make amends, Xue Jiao had lunch with Lin Zhihua at Wuliu Alley that afternoon, though she declined to stay longer, wanting to return home to bathe and rest.
When she arrived, both Li Sitong and Cheng Mingze were home, wearing the same concerned expression as Lin Zhihua.
"Jiao Jiao?! Why have you lost so much weight?!" Li Sitong exclaimed in shock.
Already slender, losing eight pounds made her appear dramatically thinner.
Xue Jiao smiled: "Isn't losing weight good? My current weight matches my height better. Any heavier wouldn't look as nice."
"Nonsense! You were already thin before, now you're even thinner!" Li Sitong said sternly.
Xue Jiao shook her head helplessly: "Alright, alright, I'll put the weight back soon. No projects this break, just rest and recovery."
Only then did Li Sitong look satisfied, adding with slight reproach: "That's more like it. You've been pushing yourself too hard. You're only an undergraduate—there's no need to work so intensely. There'll be plenty of projects during graduate school. You should take this time to rest properly."Cheng Mingze closed his laptop and smiled. "Jiao Jiao shouldn't overwork herself, but this age is indeed the time when she should be putting in the most effort. How can one say they'll do this or that in the future but not work hard now? Jiao Jiao is already ahead of her peers, and in the future, she'll find it easier to achieve success compared to them. But it's like sailing against the current—if you don't advance, you'll fall behind."
Li Sitong looked helpless and waved her hand. "Forget it, I can't argue with you. All three of you in this family are hard workers."
Xue Jiao smiled and exchanged a glance with Cheng Mingze.
The next day, Xue Jiao went to school again to pick up Mai Jiajia and see her off as she left the capital.
She didn't have many friends. Jiaxue was too far away, and they could only keep in touch occasionally through phone calls and sending each other small gifts. Ding Qi would be studying abroad next semester, leaving only Mai Jiajia by her side.
After seeing Mai Jiajia off, her winter break life wasn't as busy as before, but she still kept herself occupied.
Zhang Han had already gone abroad, and Chu Sheng had returned home. They could only discuss their thesis in a group chat, each writing their own main sections before compiling and revising the final draft.
Most of the time when Xue Jiao worked on her thesis, she was in Lin Zhihua's office. He would take her to work in the morning and bring her to Wuliu Alley for lunch at noon.
Then he would leave work on time in the afternoon, taking Xue Jiao home to cook dinner, though occasionally they would eat at the Cheng family's place.
Even though it was the New Year season, overtime at Lin Corporation had decreased. After all, if the boss wasn't working late, the employees didn't need to be as strict. However, this meant they had to be more efficient during the day.
With the "boss's wife" in the company, the boss's temper had indeed improved. But it was as if she brought a buff—their efficiency had become terrifyingly high.
——
That day, Xue Jiao sat by her pink desk, staring intently at the screen without moving. Many might think she was spacing out, but Lin Zhihua, who glanced up at her, shook his head with a smile. He knew she was deep in thought.
As noon approached, Xue Jiao's gaze turned toward the window, motionless. But Lin Zhihua could tell—this time, she was actually spacing out. That was rare.
"Jiao Jiao?" Lin Zhihua asked curiously.
Xue Jiao suddenly snapped out of it, looking surprised. "Hmm?"
Lin Zhihua stood up, strode over, and gently patted her head. "What's wrong? You were actually spacing out."
"I'm worried about my final exam results."
"Hmm?" Lin Zhihua was surprised. Xue Jiao would worry about exam results?
With a troubled expression, Xue Jiao explained what had happened earlier and sighed. "I think my written exam scores should be okay, but I'm afraid the teacher..."
University exams were different from high school. Sometimes, the teacher's preferences had a big influence—unlike high school, where there were no usual grades and every point counted.
Lin Zhihua chuckled and lightly tapped her forehead. "Silly."
Xue Jiao widened her eyes, looking at him in confusion.
Lin Zhihua explained, "Your teacher cared so much about whether you attended class properly, which means he values grades and attitude. Your previous efforts would have left an impression on him. As long as your written exam scores are good and your total score meets the requirements, he won't deliberately make things difficult for you. Your school has much higher expectations for you than you realize, so your skipping class must have made him incredibly angry."
Xue Jiao blinked. "Really?"
"Really."
At the same time, in Tsinghua University, Professor Zhen paced back and forth in his office, hands clasped behind his back, his face full of conflict.
How could he not be conflicted?He was most angry at Gu Xue Jiao, whom he had given an average score of 0 in a fit of rage, even though her paper was flawless.
Full marks!!
The last major question was extremely difficult. Only three students achieved full marks, but none of their answers to the final question were as perfect as Xue Jiao's.
Such a perfect answer!
What score should he give her?
Teacher Zhen paced back and forth, occasionally rubbing his balding head.
After a moment, he picked up the paper and looked at it again.
Before the end of this semester, this student had been very diligent, sitting near the front and middle rows, and she was very serious.
Like every teacher in the math department, Teacher Zhen knew Gu Xue Jiao.
He didn’t have the same prestige as Professor Tan, nor had he ever entertained the thought of competing with Professor Tan for students, but he still admired this one.
However, her behavior of skipping classes for a project had infuriated him. No matter how important the project was, couldn’t she spare even a single class?!
And yet, in the end… this student… scored full marks!
Teacher Zhen paced around, finally making up his mind. He strode forward and wrote a number next to Xue Jiao’s name.
——
This was the fourth New Year Xue Jiao had spent in this world. Winter had come early this year, and the winter break was relatively late. Just over ten days into the holiday, New Year’s Eve arrived amidst heavy snowfall.
This was the Cheng family’s second New Year in Beijing, and they still weren’t quite used to such a cold winter. Especially since the house had heating, but stepping outside meant facing freezing conditions. The stark contrast made them reluctant to go out.
But New Year’s shopping still had to be done. On the 29th day of the lunar month, the family of four—Cheng Shuo, Li Sitong, Cheng Mingze, and Xue Jiao—went out together to buy New Year’s goods in the city center.
Just as they stepped out, Cheng Shuo paused.
“What’s wrong?” Li Sitong asked, puzzled.
Cheng Shuo thought for a moment, then looked at Xue Jiao. “Did Lin Corporation officially start their holiday yesterday?”
“Yes,” Xue Jiao nodded. Lin Zhihua had been too busy lately, so she hadn’t visited his company.
But she knew about their company’s annual party last night. Lin Zhihua had invited her, but Xue Jiao had felt too shy to attend.
“Then he should be buying New Year’s goods too…” Cheng Shuo’s expression was awkward as he muttered, “Even though he’s coming over for New Year’s Eve, his house shouldn’t be completely empty. Go call him and invite him to come with us.”
His tone was stiff, and he awkwardly clasped his hands behind his back before quickly walking toward the gate.
Xue Jiao: “…”
Not just Xue Jiao, but even Li Sitong and Cheng Mingze were stunned.
After all, Cheng Shuo was the one who disliked Lin Zhihua the most when it came to Xue Jiao. Yet now he was actively inviting him…
Xue Jiao grinned, her mood lifting instantly. “Wait for me!”
She turned and ran straight toward Lin Zhihua’s house.
Cheng Mingze and Li Sitong caught up to Cheng Shuo. Cheng Mingze couldn’t help but frown in confusion. “Dad, you…”
Cheng Shuo gazed at the snowy landscape before him and said softly, “They’re going to get married eventually. And after all this time, I have to admit—Lin Zhihua is the best match for Jiao Jiao. He’s patient, willing to wait for her. When Jiao Jiao finished her project, she had dark circles under her eyes and was skin and bones. But after just ten days with Lin Zhihua, she looked healthy again. Lin Zhihua… takes good care of her.”
As a father, no matter how reluctant he was to let his daughter go, when faced with a man truly suited for her, he couldn’t keep pushing him away forever.
Cheng Mingze nodded in understanding and said nothing more.He decided to be a little nicer to Lin Zhihua later.
——
At Lin Zhihua's home.
"Son, your father and I truly know we were wrong. Can't we at least spend the New Year together as a family?" Mother Lin's voice came through the phone, but Lin Zhihua remained expressionless.
Mother Lin continued rambling: "Those bodyguards you hired won't let us go anywhere. I know you just want them to keep an eye on us, but isn't this going too far? They take advantage of you ignoring us to bully us in private!"
Lin Zhihua's eyes turned cold as he replied calmly, "They're stopping you because you keep trying to come see me, or Jiao Jiao, or even attempt to visit the old master. I've said it before—places you shouldn't go, you absolutely cannot go!"
"Lin Zhihua! Is this how you treat your parents during the New Year?!"
"I'll come have lunch with you tomorrow. In the evening, I'll send you to the old residence. You can see the old master as much as you want then."
"You're not staying home for New Year's Eve?! I heard you moved into Gu Xue Jiao's neighborhood. Lin Zhihua, your surname is Lin—you're not a live-in son-in-law! That Cheng family of hers..."
Lin Zhihua cut in coldly, "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
As he ended the call, he could still hear Mother Lin's furious shouts—
"Not even coming home for New Year's! Do you think being alone is easy?! Lin Zhihua, you—"
The call disconnected.
Lin Zhihua stared blankly at a fixed spot, lost in thought. New Year's... alone?
The room felt somewhat empty, amplifying the chill and loneliness.
While others celebrated the festive season with their families, to him, this day was no different from any other. Being able to wish Jiao Jiao a happy New Year would be enough.
Yet before knowing Jiao Jiao, he had never realized... just how lonely solitude could be.
As he remained lost in thought, the doorbell rang.
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