Lin Zhixia clutched the remote control Jiang Yubai had given her, her heart flying toward the little kitten at Jiang Yubai’s home. She asked him directly: “Can I go to your house to play?”
Jiang Yubai had been waiting for this question from Lin Zhixia. He gladly agreed, taking her into a car, and they quickly arrived at his home.
Lin Zhixia followed him through the door. Her steps were light and full of anticipation as she confided in Jiang Yubai: “When I was little, I wanted to keep a pet, but my parents wouldn’t agree, and my brother didn’t like cats or dogs either. The day we went to the aquarium for our autumn excursion, I won a little penguin plush toy. I treated that little penguin as my pet. Without realizing it, it has accompanied me for over six years.”
“Almost seven years now,” Jiang Yubai added.
Lin Zhixia rejoiced: “You and I have known each other for seven years too.”
These seven years had passed so quickly, no wonder there’s an old saying that “ten years pass in the snap of a finger.”
In another five months, Jiang Yubai would turn sixteen. He couldn’t help wondering, ten years later, when he was twenty-six, what kind of life he would be living? What kind of relationship would he and Lin Zhixia maintain?
Jiang Yubai slowed his pace, and Lin Zhixia asked him: “What are you thinking about?”
Jiang Yubai blurted out: “You and me, ten years from now.”
Lin Zhixia followed his train of thought: “Ten years later… that would be 2020.”
Jiang Yubai probed: “By that year, you’ll be twenty-six. Do you have any… life plans?”
“Of course!” Lin Zhixia analyzed methodically, “I want to achieve groundbreaking research results before I turn twenty-six. Since I was nine years old, Professor Shen has been nurturing me, and until I entered university at fourteen, I’ve met many good teachers and senior sisters who have helped me…”
Lin Zhixia talked on and on about a great many things.
All about her academic journey and experiences.
Jiang Yubai listened from beginning to end without finding a single topic related to “feelings.” He wasn’t frustrated; this was all within his expectations.
Since determining his feelings, he had found time to read many biographies of geniuses. He discovered that so-called “love” was just an insignificant part of those people’s lives—Newton never married, Da Vinci remained single his entire life, Einstein almost always had mistresses, and Tesla might have loved a pigeon.
Jiang Yubai felt increasingly that his path forward was uncertain.
In Lin Zhixia’s plans, there seemed to be no place for him.
*
Passing through a set of double wooden doors, Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia entered the pet activity room. This room was three times larger than Lin Zhixia’s dormitory. She looked up at the relief sculptures on the ceiling, while Jiang Yubai crouched down, opened a cat bed, and revealed a snow-white Ragdoll cat.
The cat’s fur was fluffy, its two eyes were azure blue, as blue as the ocean on a clear day, like sparkling, brilliant gems.
Lin Zhixia could hardly contain her excitement.
“Little kitty,” she asked softly, “may I pet you?”
Jiang Yubai said: “Go ahead, this cat is very well-behaved.”
Lin Zhixia crouched beside Jiang Yubai. She reached out and gently stroked the cat’s fur. The cat meowed once, flopped over on the spot, and exposed its fluffy, soft belly.
Lin Zhixia’s heart was melting.
“What’s its name?” Lin Zhixia asked.
Jiang Yubai said matter-of-factly: “Strawberry.”
Lin Zhixia laughed: “I like that name.”
Lin Zhixia found an electronic mouse on the carpet—a special cat toy. When she pressed the remote control, the mouse ran in circles around the room. The cat jumped out of its bed and began pouncing on the mouse. Lin Zhixia took a few steps following the cat. Jiang Yubai still sat on the floor with his back to her, casually watching the cat chase the mouse. He was like a detached observer.
From childhood to adulthood, he always liked to maintain a calm, composed appearance.
Would he ever get flustered?
A playful impulse arose in Lin Zhixia.
She knelt behind Jiang Yubai, moved close to his ear, and the air from her breath gently brushed his earlobe. Visibly, his spine stiffened, and the roots of his ears reddened slightly, but he still maintained his usual demeanor and didn’t speak.
Lin Zhixia grew even bolder.
She placed her hands on his shoulders, moved half an inch closer, and asked softly: “Why don’t you dare turn around to look at me?”
Jiang Yubai asked in return: “Why are you so close to me?”
“Is that not allowed?” Lin Zhixia challenged.
“Of course it is,” Jiang Yubai said sincerely. He invited her candidly: “Come a little closer.” He raised his right hand and patted his left shoulder: “You can… lean on my shoulder.”
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai had known each other for over six years, and Jiang Yubai had never shown her even a hint of aggression. He was gentle, kind, upright, and patient, respecting her greatly. He provided an endless sense of security. Or, more accurately, in Lin Zhixia’s world, the three words “Jiang Yubai” were synonymous with security.
Following her heart’s desire, Lin Zhixia gently leaned against his shoulder and honestly described her feelings: “How strange, I only recently realized that the closer I am to you, the happier I feel.”
Happiness?
Jiang Yubai savored this word repeatedly.
Something in his heart was about to break through the soil, sprout, and grow into a towering tree.
Lin Zhixia had a faint strawberry scent, that fragrance both crisp and sweet, penetrating to the deepest part of his thoughts. Yet she was completely unaware of this. She continued to whisper in his ear: “I answered your question, but you’re not talking to me again.”
Her voice was soft and intimate, both enchanting and innocent, like a soft gauze tightly binding his heartbeat, making his chest rise and fall, leaving him slightly breathless. As a young man who had only recently become aware of such feelings, how could he have experienced such a situation before? He hadn’t expected Lin Zhixia’s way of expressing closeness to be so direct. Just now, he had jokingly suggested she rest her head on his shoulder, and she had done exactly that.
How he wanted to ask her directly—do you like me? Yet he feared that if he said those words, his friendship with Lin Zhixia would come to an end.
Lin Zhixia’s cold treatment of him from May to August last year remained fresh in his memory, serving as a constant warning.
Jiang Yubai firmly believed that the mental pathways of geniuses differed from those of normal people.
He needed to think from Lin Zhixia’s perspective, to explore the world through her vision. Then, Lin Zhixia’s positioning of him would be as a good friend who had accompanied her for many years, understood her, supported her, and occasionally shared intellectual resonance with her.
Having clarified his thoughts, he asked softly: “What do you want to say? I’m listening to you.”
Lin Zhixia asked in return: “Can I say anything?”
“Of course,” Jiang Yubai said calmly. “We’ve been friends for seven years and exchanged seven diaries. I am your observation subject. Don’t restrain yourself in front of me.”
Jiang Yubai guessed that Lin Zhixia would discuss with him the concept of “group collaboration.” Today at the café, He Shangqing’s words and actions were worth pondering and savoring. Jiang Yubai had learned many team management strategies, and he was prepared to pass all that knowledge on to Lin Zhixia.
While he was mentally drafting his thoughts, Lin Zhixia took a deep breath and whispered: “I like your scent.” After saying this, she imitated the Ragdoll cat, leaning on his shoulder and nuzzling him playfully.
Jiang Yubai stopped breathing. He felt like she was about to kill him.
“You should always be my friend,” Lin Zhixia concluded.
These words brought Jiang Yubai back to reality.
Jiang Yubai sat properly, never turning his head. Lin Zhixia sat behind him and couldn’t see his expression.
Lin Zhixia noticed that Jiang Yubai’s ears were no longer red, but his back remained straight. His posture was relaxed, so calm and peaceful, with no other reaction. Lin Zhixia released him and turned to pet the cat again.
Jiang Yubai silently collapsed onto the floor.
Lin Zhixia was startled: “Jiang Yubai, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Yubai turned his face, met her gaze briefly, and replied: “It’s nothing.”
This was the first time Jiang Yubai had offered his shoulder for the girl he liked to lean on. He wasn’t used to it and needed a moment. He lay flat on the soft carpet, and after a few more seconds, he stood up and invited Lin Zhixia to walk with him in the garden.
Recently, Jiang Yubai had bought two black horses, keeping them in the stable in the backyard. Lin Zhixia had never ridden a horse before. Afraid she wouldn’t adapt, Jiang Yubai didn’t dare let her ride; they just walked together holding the reins. In the garden with its intertwining green shadows, they chatted as usual, laughed and joked, had lunch together in the dining room at noon, and played with the “Lin-Jiang” robot in another room in the afternoon. It wasn’t until evening that Jiang Yubai escorted Lin Zhixia back to the university campus, and they waved goodbye at the school entrance.
For Jiang Yubai, this day was almost perfect.
*
Lin Zhixia was also in a good mood.
That night, she wrote in her “Human Observation Diary”: “Today is March 13, 2010. I went to Jiang Yubai’s home again. He now has two kinds of pets, a kitten and ponies, which are very cute. I think Jiang Yubai is even cuter than the animals…”
Every December, Lin Zhixia would give her “Human Observation Diary” for that year to Jiang Yubai. She had gradually abandoned the original purpose of the “Human Observation Diary,” treating it as an ordinary diary, simply recording what she saw and heard that day—she knew that Jiang Yubai would be her only reader. She felt deeply satisfied having such a reader, as if all her trivial feelings had someone to listen to, someone to understand.
Lin Zhixia’s last line was: “At tomorrow’s North American academic exchange meeting, I’ll be able to meet Senior Wei Ruoxing…”
This senior named “Wei Ruoxing” had graduated from Provincial No. 1 High School and gone abroad in her senior year. Currently, she is pursuing a doctoral degree at a university in California, USA. The papers she published during her undergraduate years had already attracted attention from professionals in the field.
Lin Zhixia remembered that a newspaper in the provincial capital called “Morning Report” had once interviewed Wei Ruoxing. The title crafted by the newspaper reporter was—”Strength Beyond Strength! Provincial No. 1 High School’s Beautiful Academic Star!”
In that newspaper, Wei Ruoxing introduced herself, saying her name came from a line of poetry: “Lotus blossoms spread, shining like scattered stars.”
Lin Zhixia thought Wei Ruoxing’s name was very well-chosen.
Lin Zhixia had never connected Wei Ruoxing with Senior Tan Qianche.
Within the campus of Provincial No. 1 High School, there had been no circulation of their love story. If Yang Shuwen hadn’t inadvertently revealed Tan Qianche’s past, Lin Zhixia would never have believed that Tan Qianche and his first girlfriend had been together for several years without breaking up.
The “North American Academic Exchange Meeting” would officially begin on Monday. However, Wei Ruoxing and her group had arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning. That afternoon, Wei Ruoxing followed her professor onto the campus and was received by the relevant staff.