Tan Qianche extended an arm, hooked it around Yang Shuwen’s shoulder, and smoothed things over: “Lin Zhixia is just explaining basic concepts, very simple stuff. What are you afraid of?”

Yang Shuwen looked embarrassed: “Hey, you take her around.”

Tan Qianche called Lin Zhixia’s name, and she followed behind him like a little tail. He introduced all the large equipment in the laboratory, described the quantum chip manufacturing process, and answered all of Lin Zhixia’s questions in detail. Finally, he asked with interest: “What do you think of me now?”

Lin Zhixia pointed at herself: “You’re asking me?”

Tan Qianche replied with a smile in his voice: “Yes.”

After thinking for two seconds, Lin Zhixia said: “From an academic perspective, you’re intelligent, study well, have a solid foundation, and rich experience.”

Tan Qianche sat in a chair and questioned: “That’s it?”

“Also,” Lin Zhixia said softly, “from an emotional perspective, you’re not very upright.”

Upon hearing this, Tan Qianche burst into laughter: “What would make me upright?”

Tan Qianche had a flippant, cynical appearance. His shirt collar still bore a vague, blurry lipstick mark—is this what the adult world is like? Lin Zhixia was suddenly at a loss for words.

Luo Ying stepped in to defend: “Senior Tan, you’re ten years older than Lin Zhixia. When chatting with her, shouldn’t you be a bit more mindful?”

Tan Qianche leaned against the chair back, sitting at an angle. He interlaced his fingers, his posture relaxed, looking at Luo Ying with a scrutinizing gaze. After a moment, he stood up and said: “Lin Zhixia, come here, I’ve prepared something interesting for you.”

He walked toward an operation room, turned on the machine, assembled the components, and went through the experimental precautions again, guiding Lin Zhixia step by step as she began.

Lin Zhixia memorized his every word and eagerly began a series of operations.

Tan Qianche called Yang Shuwen over as well, asking Yang Shuwen and Lin Zhixia to supervise each other. Yang Shuwen was extremely reluctant, but Lin Zhixia was quite happy. She said: “If I make a mistake, don’t hesitate to correct me.”

Yang Shuwen covered his forehead with one hand, his fingers resting on his hairline. He brushed his hair back, trying to ease his tension, and then said: “Alright, I’ll correct you.”

The conversations nearby gradually ceased. Luo Ying stood at the door of the operation room, faintly hearing the low hum of the machines. She said goodbye to Lin Zhixia, preparing to leave first, but Tan Qianche stopped her.

In a quiet corner, two large machines blocked Luo Ying and Tan Qianche from view. Tan Qianche slowly approached Luo Ying and asked: “Lin Zhixia is fourteen, how old are you? Are you an adult?”

Luo Ying said: “I’m nineteen.”

Tan Qianche leaned against the wall and laughed without reason: “Nineteen-year-old Junior Luo Ying. How did you get your name? It reminds me of that middle school text ‘The Peach Blossom Spring’… petals falling in profusion, fresh and beautiful grass, very pretty indeed.”

The bright light illuminated his profile. He was handsome, with a prominent nose bridge, and the silver-framed glasses created a false image of scholarly restraint.

He had consistently maintained his fitness regimen for years, keeping himself in excellent shape. He wore a fitted shirt that showcased his broad shoulders and narrow waist, appearing particularly slim, with muscle contours visible on his abdomen and back. All the male students in the laboratory paled in comparison.

However, Luo Ying’s attitude toward him was neither warm nor cold: “I’m sorry, but I want to leave now.”

He made a “please” gesture: “I’ll see you out.”

He showed no intention of trying to keep Luo Ying from leaving.

Luo Ying thought to herself that he was truly an experienced player.

Tan Qianche casually mentioned, “I expect Lin Zhixia won’t be back until the afternoon. That experiment takes time, just waiting for the results alone takes half an hour, and our group is having lunch together…”

Luo Ying paused and glanced at Lin Zhixia.

Lin Zhixia was discussing something with the doctoral students, gesturing at the computer screen. Yang Shuwen involuntarily praised her, and she bent her head to draw sketches, completely immersed in the magical and mysterious quantum world.

Luo Ying changed her mind: “Can you give me an empty table? I’ll study here, is that okay?”

Tan Qianche immediately cleared a space for her.

She slowly sat down and took out a mathematics book from her bag.

Tan Qianche set up a desk lamp beside her, adjusted the brightness, and said gently: “I’m going to be busy now, call me if you need anything.”

Luo Ying remained silent. She looked at the mathematics book absent-mindedly, letting time tick away minute by minute.

Lin Zhixia, however, hadn’t noticed Senior Luo Ying.

Lin Zhixia spent the entire morning finally mastering some basic techniques. She summarized her morning’s gains and reviewed quantum circuit diagrams one after another. She didn’t need anyone’s explanation to understand the construction and function of the circuits.

Yang Shuwen rubbed his face, again recalling Niu Siyuan’s email.

In the email, Niu Siyuan had said: In the experimental group, there might be one or two people who slack off. Those slacking students, when encountering Lin Zhixia, would be like chicks meeting an eagle; their academic level would be completely exposed, making their already impoverished academic career even worse.

Lately, Yang Shuwen had been under immense psychological pressure. When he looked toward the wall, he happened to see Lin Zhixia’s shadow, which seemed to grow darker and taller, like an eagle soaring with outstretched wings.

Yang Shuwen gasped.

Fortunately, at this moment, Tan Qianche called out loudly: “It’s twelve-thirty! Time to eat!”

Yang Shuwen immediately took off his gloves: “Time to eat, time to eat.”

The doctoral students around him all rushed away. Everyone was like a group of electrons carrying negative charges, and Tan Qianche was like an atomic nucleus with a positive charge, attracting a group of electrons. Lin Zhixia was the only one left alone.

Quantum computing was a field Lin Zhixia had always aspired to, and Gu Likai’s laboratory possessed world-class equipment. Lin Zhixia was eager to produce results, showing signs of forgetting to eat and sleep.

Tan Qianche called her again: “Lin Zhixia, take it slowly, you can’t skip meals.”

Lin Zhixia came to him with a diagram. He patiently listened to Lin Zhixia’s questions and smiled: “Not bad, you’ve thought of this aspect. Your Senior Yang Shuwen has been with us for over two months and hasn’t made such progress.”

Lin Zhixia turned around and secretly glanced at Yang Shuwen.

Yang Shuwen turned away, walking backward a couple of steps.

Lin Zhixia was puzzled: “What’s wrong with Senior Yang?”

Tan Qianche said: “Don’t worry about him.”

Their laboratory was on the fourth floor. At the end of the fourth-floor corridor was a dining room with washbasins, microwaves, a dozen tables, and sofa chairs. This place was close to the laboratory, with an excellent environment, clean and tidy. Tan Qianche often dined here with his classmates.

Half an hour earlier, several students from the group had gone to the cafeteria. Now, they had returned with bags of takeout boxes. The atmosphere suddenly became noisy and lively. Tan Qianche helped set out the food boxes and called out: “Take a seat. It’s rare for all of us to have time to gather.”

Lin Zhixia blinked and looked around: “Are we going Dutch? I brought some change today…”

“How could we let you spend money?” Tan Qianche handed her a pair of bamboo chopsticks. “It’s your first day in the lab. As your seniors, we should be treating you.”

Another senior chimed in: “For two or three years, our group hasn’t had a female student join. Not to mention treating you today, even if it were every day…”

Everyone’s gaze fell upon him, and he silently calculated the food cost, changing his words: “Haha, my salary isn’t much. Tan Qianche earns more; he’s the rich man in our group.”

Lin Zhixia asked: “How do you usually earn money, and how much can you make?”

Luo Ying wanted to ask if Lin Zhixia needed money, but since they were surrounded by doctoral and master’s students from Gu Likai’s group, considering Lin Zhixia’s face, Luo Ying didn’t ask.

Compared to Luo Ying’s caution, Tan Qianche seemed quite open: “My fixed monthly salary is 1,500 yuan, which the school deposits into my card. I’m a teaching assistant for the ‘Quantum Computing’ course, with an annual salary of 50,000. I have the President’s Scholarship, which is 5,000 a month, and there’s also funding from a project, 30,000 a year. That’s about it. There are others in our group who earn more than me. He’s gone traveling for the October holiday; when he returns, I’ll ask him for you.”

Lin Zhixia calculated the total in an instant: “So, even before finishing your doctorate, you’re earning a pre-tax annual income of 158,000 yuan.”

“You can earn this too in the future,” Tan Qianche smiled at her.

Lin Zhixia held a box of fried rice, deep in thought.

So, being a doctoral student under Gu Likai was quite lucrative.

Lin Zhixia remembered that the seniors in Shen Zhaohua’s group weren’t so affluent. For instance, Senior Niu Siyuan was a very frugal person who often sorted through supermarket discount cards on his desk and was a regular at second-hand markets. If he had been as wealthy as Tan Qianche, he wouldn’t have needed to complain about being poor in the office.

After thinking it through, Lin Zhixia couldn’t help but ask: “Can I be a teaching assistant?”

Luo Ying was shocked: “You want to be a teaching assistant for undergraduates?”

Lin Zhixia muttered to herself: “Most undergraduate courses are relatively simple. If you give me some time to prepare, I’m sure I can meet the teacher’s requirements.”

But Luo Ying said: “Science and engineering professors are very strict, with heavy teaching loads. Teaching assistants are so busy they have to stay up late.”

“I won’t stay up late,” Lin Zhixia explained. “I have a detailed schedule. I can finish everything I want to do during the day. After 7 PM every evening is my leisure and entertainment time.”

After hearing Lin Zhixia’s words, Yang Shuwen picked up an extremely spicy sour noodle dish. Tan Qianche was still trying to dissuade him: “Yang Shuwen, you have a very mild palate, you can’t eat spicy food, can you?”

“It’s fine,” Yang Shuwen sniffled and took a big gulp of the spicy sour soup.

Lin Zhixia turned her head and stared at Tan Qianche: “Do you need more teaching assistants?”

Another senior replied: “Teaching assistants are a scarce resource, all positions are filled. You should ask about other specialized courses.”

“That’s not the issue with specialized courses,” Tan Qianche opened a can of beer. He took a small sip and said: “You’re younger than most undergraduates. If you stand there, I’m afraid no one would see you as a teaching assistant, Lin Zhixia.”

Lin Zhixia was somewhat frustrated: “I will grow up, don’t think I’m too small.”

Tan Qianche looked at her quietly. He swirled his beer, his smile deepening: “Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you to grow up.”

He lowered his head, holding the beer can, and muttered: “Just four years, I can wait. In four years, you’ll be eighteen.”

Luo Ying suddenly punched Tan Qianche’s shoulder with all her might.

Luo Ying used her full strength, making Tan Qianche’s face turn ashen with pain. His classmates were almost all busy eating, and Luo Ying moved so quickly and urgently that no one noticed how powerful her blow was.

Tan Qianche truly hadn’t expected that Luo Ying, who looked so frail and thin with barely any flesh on her bones, could hit so painfully! That punch almost emptied Tan Qianche’s health bar. It took several minutes before Tan Qianche barely recovered.

Luo Ying did not apologize to him.

Luo Ying was quite angry.

The atmosphere in the dining room was harmonious and cheerful. Several doctoral students were discussing circuit design, and someone mentioned chip production in the neighboring laboratory. Only four people were in abnormal states—Yang Shuwen holding a bowl of spicy sour noodles, looking dispirited with his soul flying away; Lin Zhixia considering part-time work, wanting to earn money while studying; Luo Ying coldly watching Tan Qianche, while Tan Qianche sat upright as if nothing had happened.

Tan Qianche said softly: “I didn’t mean it that way. The people I date are all girls over 18.”

“You’ve dated girls?” Luo Ying mocked, “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Tan Qianche picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth: “I’m currently single.”

Luo Ying smiled: “The lipstick mark on your neck is still visible.”

Tan Qianche clutched the tissue, covering his chin: “Does it bother you?”

Luo Ying picked up her boxed meal, causing soup oil to splash onto her fingers. With double meaning, she said: “How dirty.”

Tan Qianche seemed to never get angry. He leaned close to her ear and said in an almost whispering voice: “I haven’t been dirty this month yet. Take my first time this month.”

Luo Ying slammed the table and stood up.

Lin Zhixia came to her senses and hurriedly asked: “Senior, what’s wrong?”

Luo Ying said: “I can’t eat anymore.”

Lin Zhixia asked in surprise: “Senior, what happened?”

The surrounding classmates asked about Luo Ying’s condition one after another. The boys responsible for buying food even felt guilty, thinking they hadn’t chosen good food that suited Luo Ying’s taste, making her unhappy.

Luo Ying stood still for a moment, wanting to confront Tan Qianche openly but fearing it would affect Lin Zhixia’s work in the laboratory. She could only suppress her immense anger. But having been pampered since childhood, how could she endure such treatment?

She sat back down. This time, she actively moved closer to Tan Qianche.

Tan Qianche listened attentively.

But Luo Ying said to him: “If you dare say another word like that to me, or have any thoughts beyond classmate relationships with Lin Zhixia…”

“Then what?” Tan Qianche asked her.

She scanned his entire body: “I won’t just hit your shoulder.”

Tan Qianche took another sip of beer and calmly asked: “Fighting on campus, aren’t you afraid of being expelled by the school?”

“My family is in real estate; I can still have something to do if I drop out,” Luo Ying said softly. “The Peach Blossom Spring Villa area next to Provincial No. 1 High School was designed by my mother. You guessed right, my name is related to ‘The Peach Blossom Spring’.”

Tan Qianche remained silent.

Luo Ying asked him again: “You earn 158,000 a year, right?”

She tilted her fingertips, looked down at the floor, and placed her Hermès Platinum bag on her lap: “Not even as expensive as this bag.”

Luo Ying’s tone raised slightly, and this time, quite a few people, including Lin Zhixia, heard her words. The group of doctoral students looked at each other, not quite understanding why Luo Ying suddenly started boasting about her family wealth to Tan Qianche.

Yang Shuwen held his spicy sour noodles, standing next to another table, secretly telling a doctoral student: “This is what’s called PUA.”

Lin Zhixia held her food box with both hands, walking behind it.

She heard Yang Shuwen say: “During summer vacation at home, I browsed the Tianya Forum. There was a post introducing PUA. PUA involves undermining a person’s confidence, controlling their mind, to achieve malicious goals.”

Lin Zhixia involuntarily repeated: “PUA?”

Yang Shuwen heard Lin Zhixia’s voice, but he didn’t turn around. He suddenly realized that Lin Zhixia’s impact on him might also be a form of PUA; the more he cared about Lin Zhixia, the easier it would be for her to defeat him.

*

After the lunch gathering ended, everyone returned to their posts.

Lin Zhixia recalled the morning’s operation procedures and immersed herself fully in the research work. She was not afraid to make mistakes and often encountered thorny problems. Sometimes, even Tan Qianche couldn’t provide accurate explanations.

Lin Zhixia wrote an email listing some difficult points and sent it to Gu Likai’s mailbox, copying the entire research group.

Lin Zhixia believed that the problems she discovered would be helpful to all her colleagues in the group.

However, after reading her description, Yang Shuwen’s eyelids trembled, his head felt drowsy, and he just wanted to lay his head on the table for a nap.

Tan Qianche suggested he go to the restroom for a while, but he declined. He put on his gloves and uniform, continuing his unfinished work.

While setting the experimental parameters, Yang Shuwen was still thinking about Lin Zhixia’s email. He unconsciously adjusted the instruments, vaguely feeling that his digestive system was very uncomfortable. He was not accustomed to eating spicy food, and that spicy sour soup at lunch… it was killing him.

Yang Shuwen endured the discomfort, placed a quantum chip, when suddenly a red box appeared on the instrument screen, requiring a password. He had never seen this red box before and shouted: “Tan Qianche, what’s the highest authority password?”

Tan Qianche was writing a report. He absently replied: “What do you need the password for?”

“I’m the only one in the entire lab who doesn’t know the highest authority!” Yang Shuwen exclaimed, “What’s the password?”

Tan Qianche directly announced: “351426!”

Yang Shuwen entered “351426” on the touch screen. He clicked the “Confirm” button but heard another doctoral student say: “Eh? Don’t touch it yet, that’s an old machine bought several years ago, used for super-strong magnetic fields. The system was modified by a senior. It usually doesn’t ask for authority passwords unless the parameters you set exceed the safety range…”

Yang Shuwen froze.

He desperately clicked “Pause,” but it didn’t work. The system prompt showed “Experiment in progress.” He quickly said: “Where’s the main switch? Shut it down! Shut it down!”

Another doctoral student said: “Press the emergency button!”

The emergency button was only three meters away from Yang Shuwen.

At this critical moment, Lin Zhixia happened to walk out from another room. She was carrying a stack of diagrams and was about to pass by Yang Shuwen. Yang Shuwen abandoned the emergency button, grabbed Lin Zhixia’s sleeve, dragging her toward the safety exit, shouting as they ran: “It’s going to explode! It’s going to explode!”

Before he finished speaking, a loud “bang” erupted from a distance.

The extreme current caused the coil to explode instantly.

Windows shattered, glass splattered everywhere.

Pale smoke filled the air, and several male students screamed.

Lin Zhixia was startled.

Her feet slipped, and she fell to the ground. Her ankle was in severe pain, and the experimental diagrams were scattered all over the floor.

The laboratory alarm wailed. Tan Qianche rushed out of the operation room, his face changing dramatically. He quickly regained his composure, cut off the related machine’s power supply, and even as Yang Shuwen kept calling him, he calmly dealt with the aftermath.

He organized all the students to leave in an orderly manner and made a phone call to Professor Gu. Hearing that the coil had exploded, Professor Gu immediately asked: “Is anyone injured?”

Tan Qianche crouched in the stairwell of the safety passage. Looking down at Lin Zhixia’s swollen ankle, he sighed repeatedly: “Lin Zhixia took a fall and sprained her ankle. The other students are fine.”

Professor Gu said he would come immediately and told Tan Qianche to evacuate the students from the laboratory building first. Professor Gu also mentioned that on the 27th of last month, September 27th, three doctoral students at the neighboring university had also blown up their laboratory.

Tan Qianche hurriedly said: “Professor, our damage isn’t serious, just that one machine. The coil exploded, the circuit burned, and the window broke. Below is a green area, and no one was hit. I’ve called the fire department, and they’re coming right away.”

Professor Gu instructed: “Good, carry your junior sister downstairs and take her to the university hospital for an X-ray, to see if the bone is injured…”

Tan Qianche hung up the phone and knelt on one knee in front of Lin Zhixia: “Come on, I’ll carry you downstairs.”

Lin Zhixia was still in shock.

She couldn’t describe her memory to others.

When she recalled the accident, that deafening sound, the tremendous noise of glass breaking, the strange acrid smell, the sudden feeling of fear, all flooded her consciousness like a tide. In this instant, she understood why she had always hated injections since childhood, because her most feared memories would uncontrollably resurface, making her relive the situation at that time, like a real-life horror cruise playing on loop, without end.

Her face was pale: “Mom…”

Tan Qianche looked down and asked her: “What are you saying?”

She repeated: “Mom, I want my mom.”

Tan Qianche thought: A fourteen-year-old girl, is she really this dependent on her mother? She’s quite intelligent, but how is she still such a mama’s boy?

But she was indeed very young, ten years younger than Tan Qianche, and still his direct junior. Tan Qianche patiently comforted her: “Don’t be afraid, it’s alright now. Senior will carry you downstairs.”

Lin Zhixia climbed onto his back. As he stood up, he exclaimed in surprise: “You’re so light, do you eat properly?”

Lin Zhixia remained silent.

Tan Qianche carried her, quickly crossing the steps.

All the students and teachers in the entire laboratory building had been evacuated. Students descended via the stairwell of the safety passage. Along the way, Tan Qianche heard someone ask: “Which laboratory exploded?”

Another person answered: “Seems like the quantum computing group…”

“Why would quantum explode?”

“Quantum computers are based on spin, requiring strong magnetic fields. If the current overloads, wouldn’t it explode?”

“Don’t they have experimental operation standards?”

“They just don’t follow the regulations.”

These idle remarks grew increasingly wild, floating in the air, continuing to spread.

Tan Qianche could do nothing but quicken his pace. He carried Lin Zhixia out of the laboratory building. Outside stood a group of security guards, the atmosphere solemn. The guards had set up a police line, not allowing any student to step into the laboratory building again.

Beyond the police line, Luo Ying had been waiting for a long time.

After finishing lunch today, Luo Ying had left the laboratory building. She wanted to buy some strawberries for Lin Zhixia at the fruit store but heard classmates say that something major had happened in the quantum computing group’s laboratory.

She immediately rushed to the entrance of the laboratory building.

Students were continuously fleeing the building, and Luo Ying’s gaze followed the crowd. She spotted Tan Qianche and Lin Zhixia, felt relieved, but seeing Lin Zhixia’s pale face, she hurriedly asked: “Are you injured?”

“Sprained my foot,” Lin Zhixia answered. “My ankle is swollen.”

Luo Ying said: “I’ll accompany you to the hospital.”

Lin Zhixia said: “Thank you, Senior.”

Tan Qianche was still carrying Lin Zhixia. He challenged her: “I carried you down four floors, how come I didn’t hear you thank me?”

Lin Zhixia squeezed out a dry: “Thank you, Senior.”

*

Tan Qianche and Luo Ying escorted Lin Zhixia to the hospital.

From the moment they entered the hospital, Tan Qianche’s role became less prominent—Lin Zhixia no longer needed him to carry her.

Luo Ying rented a wheelchair, letting Lin Zhixia sit in it. Luo Ying pushed Lin Zhixia around, helping her register, accompanying her to see the doctor, taking her for examinations, and waiting for results together.

She sighed: “Senior is so nice.”

Luo Ying said in a gentle, melodious voice: “You’re my junior, we come from the same city, of course, we should take care of each other.”

Tan Qianche interrupted: “I’m your fellow townsman too.”

Luo Ying gave a forced smile. She found a spot at the edge of the corridor, with Lin Zhixia’s wheelchair beside her.

The bright lights reflected on the clean tiled floor, casting white shadows. Occasionally, nurses, doctors, patients, or family members would step over these white shadows. Lin Zhixia watched others’ shoes and couldn’t help but swing her own feet.

“Does your foot hurt?” Luo Ying asked her.

She tilted her body, resting her head on Luo Ying’s shoulder: “Not much anymore.”

“Are you still scared? Do you want your mom?” Tan Qianche folded his arms and asked Lin Zhixia softly.

Lin Zhixia took out her phone from her pocket and called her mother on the spot. Her mother comforted her for half an hour, and her mood gradually improved. Her mother also said that Lin Zeqiu, upon hearing about Lin Zhixia’s ordeal, was terrified. Especially the word “explosion” had made Lin Zeqiu very anxious. Lin Zeqiu demanded that Lin Zhixia find time to have a QQ video chat with him when she returned to her dormitory tonight.

Lin Zhixia reluctantly agreed to Lin Zeqiu’s request.

After this, Lin Zhixia was also called Jiang Yubai. Jiang Yubai told her that in a few days, he would be taking the IELTS speaking test. Lin Zhixia encouraged him with full energy: “Jiang Yubai, you can do it! I’m sure you’ll do very well!”