Jiang Yubai completely understood Li Zirui.

Many years ago, Jiang Yubai’s mindset was similar to Li Zirui’s, even more severe.

Jiang Yubai remembered that he had given up vacations and gatherings back then. His daily entertainment activities only included drawing the “Exploring the Universe” comics and doing pull-ups on the playground. Even though he and Lin Zhixia had a lot of fun together, he stubbornly believed that he hadn’t fallen for her; he was just flexibly employing tactics to make his competitors let down their guard.

Jiang Yubai’s eyes grew somewhat complex.

Li Zirui waved at him: “I’m overwhelmed, let’s not chat anymore. I’m going back to study.”

“Good luck,” Jiang Yubai sincerely wished him well.

Li Zirui slung his backpack across his shoulder and hurried away.

The other three students from the class walked out of the classroom one after another. The male student named Han Guang was still chatting with Lin Zhixia: “Last semester, I submitted a paper to Physical Review Letters.”

Jiang Yubai had heard of Physical Review Letters. He knew it was a top journal in physics, and it was quite impressive for an undergraduate to publish a paper in such a journal.

When Lin Zhixia was an undergraduate, she published two consecutive papers in Physical Review Letters, once again receiving widespread media attention. But as always, she declined all interviews, afraid of finding herself in a situation where she would be scrutinized by the public.

Han Guang clearly knew about Lin Zhixia’s academic background. He concisely described his current situation: “I submitted three months ago, and the day before yesterday, I received responses from three reviewers. Two reviewers told me to change the model and recalculate…”

Earlier this month, before Lin Zhixia’s advisor went on vacation, he had specially connected her with opportunities, allowing her to become a reviewer for a top journal. She had accepted the editor’s invitation. On her computer, there were still two papers waiting for her review.

Therefore, she paid close attention to Han Guang: “Were all three reviewers’ comments positive?”

“Pretty good, they all wrote positive evaluations,” Han Guang replied.

“Then don’t worry,” Lin Zhixia shared her experience, “Follow the reviewers’ suggestions, carefully check your paper, and add whatever is missing. If the reviewers’ viewpoints are incorrect, contact them promptly. Communication leads to progress.”

Han Guang suddenly smiled: “I’m not quite sure if the reviewers are right or wrong.”

“Are you an independent author?” Lin Zhixia asked further, “Have you consulted with your professor?”

Han Guang unzipped his backpack and took out a printed paper with review comments: “My professor went to the Max Planck Institute.”

The “Max Planck Institute” Han Guang mentioned referred to Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Physics, also known as the Heisenberg Institute. This institution has a high academic level and enjoys a prestigious reputation in the physics community.

Han Guang briefly explained that his professor was very busy at the Max Planck Institute, and emails took a week to receive replies. He felt that Lin Zhixia’s foundation was quite solid, reaching the level of a reviewer. Before he could finish speaking, Lin Zhixia agreed: “Alright, give me your paper and the reviewers’ comments, I’ll take a look for you.”

He was stunned for a second, then immediately handed the manuscript to her.

Lin Zhixia flipped through it casually and said, “I’ll finish reading it tomorrow and email you tomorrow night.”

“So quick? Don’t you have other things to do?” Han Guang asked in surprise.

Lin Zhixia sincerely said, “Because I think your time is a bit tight. You want to apply for a PhD at MIT, and you must have papers in top journals to reach out to professors. If this paper is published sooner, your application will be much easier.”

She gazed at Han Guang, her eyes gleaming with light.

Han Guang’s gaze wavered, drifting around. Comparing Lin Zhixia with several other teaching assistants, he thought to himself that Lin Zhixia’s teaching method suited him better. Li Zirui was under tremendous pressure, while he was like a fish in water.

Lin Zhixia put Han Guang’s paper into her backpack: “If you have any questions, don’t delay, email me directly. I wish you success with your application in advance.”

Han Guang said, “That’s great, thank you.”

Lin Zhixia waved her hand dismissively: “I’m your teaching assistant, doing these things is my duty, the school pays me for it.”

After saying this, Lin Zhixia held Jiang Yubai’s hand: “Sorry for the wait, when did you arrive?”

Jiang Yubai said, “Two fifty.”

“You don’t have any more classes today?” Lin Zhixia asked.

Jiang Yubai’s fingertips rubbed against her palm, making her feel a bit ticklish.

They walked together on a sunlit stone path. Lin Zhixia deliberately stepped on his shadow. Unexpectedly, he released her hand and took out two membership cards from his pocket.

“What are these?” Lin Zhixia asked him.

Jiang Yubai didn’t answer directly: “You’ve been pursuing your PhD for seven months and have never gone out to play. Your advisor is on vacation. This weekend, would you like to go somewhere else? Change the environment, enjoy the scenery.”

Today, the weather was clear, with a gentle breeze. Lin Zhixia basked in the warm sunshine, her heart stirring, but her expression was hesitant: “No… I need to revise papers. I’m a reviewer; I don’t have time to rest.”

Jiang Yubai believed that Lin Zhixia was too tired and hardworking. Since she started her PhD, she has had less and less time to relax.

Jiang Yubai painted a beautiful picture for her: “Let’s go on vacation to Switzerland, two days and two nights. We’ll leave today and return next Monday. I’ve booked a room at a hotel. The hotel is near the Alps, with beautiful scenery, mountains, and water… Haven’t you always wanted to see the Alps?”

Yes.

Lin Zhixia loved eating Alps candy when she was little, so she had always been curious about the Alps mountains. She had heard Jiang Yubai describe scenes of “heavy snow at the mountaintop, lush green grass in the middle,” as well as the clear, rushing streams surging at the foot of the mountains.

Moreover, Lin Zhixia already had a Swiss visa. Their research group had close ties with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. This summer, Lin Zhixia was scheduled to give an academic presentation at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, so she had obtained a visa in advance.

Could she go to Switzerland for tourism first?

Lin Zhixia was subtly wavering.

She had never gone on a trip with family or friends before.

In her memory, her parents were very busy—they had to take care of the family’s supermarket. The times when all four family members sat at the same dining table could be counted on fingers, let alone family vacations.

Every Spring Festival, her parents would take Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu back to their rural hometown. Her parents came from the same village, and her grandparents still lived there.

Her maternal grandparents’ home was a self-built two-story building with a pig and a flock of chickens raised in the yard, always emanating the smell of leftover food. Every winter, a stove would be set up in the main hall, burning a roaring fire, with an inch of ash floating up. Her uncle, aunt, and cousin always occupied the best positions by the fire. They often talked about their family’s vacation experiences in Japan, Korea, and the Maldives. Back then, Lin Zhixia was a bit envious. She knew her brother was envious, too. But neither of them showed it. The siblings both pretended to prefer staying in the village, feeding pigs, and playing in the mud.

But how could children’s thoughts escape the eyes of adults?

She suddenly understood the embarrassment and awkwardness of her parents sitting around the stove years ago. As parents, being unable to provide better material conditions for their children was also something they couldn’t help.

Lin Zhixia fell into memories, gradually lowering her head.

Jiang Yubai’s voice interrupted her thoughts: “Bring your laptop, you can review papers in the hotel room. Consider this a reconnaissance; if you like it, we can go out more in the future.”

The phrase “reconnaissance” moved Lin Zhixia.

She asked: “How much is one night’s accommodation?”

More than ten thousand yuan, Jiang Yubai thought. Considering Lin Zhixia’s economic situation, he concealed the price from her.

Jiang Yubai indirectly said, “My father has a partnership with this hotel.” This was a true statement. Jiang Yubai’s father held controlling shares in a European food transportation company. The resort hotel happened to be one of the transportation company’s clients.

Jiang Yubai’s description cut off the head and tail, making the luxury suite sound like a gift. In the end, he successfully persuaded Lin Zhixia. If he had told her the travel plan a few days in advance, she would have had the opportunity to search for the hotel room prices online, but he waited until Friday afternoon to tell her. Lin Zhixia didn’t have time to think carefully and accepted his arrangement.

Lin Zhixia returned to her dormitory, quickly packed her luggage, and got into Jiang Yubai’s family car as soon as she left. They boarded a private plane, and after a short flight of an hour and a half, landed at the Swiss airport.

*

It was already dark.

The bright moon rose high in the sky, casting a pale and gentle glow.

Lin Zhixia sat in a business sedan. The car drove smoothly on the highway, heading straight to their resort hotel. Lin Zhixia pressed her hands against the car window, gazing at the scenery of mountains and waters outside. She couldn’t see the majestic snow-covered mountain peaks but could only glimpse the lush grasslands under the intertwining moonlight and artificial lights.

Lin Zhixia felt full of excitement.

Then, she suddenly thought of a question: “Jiang Yubai.”

Jiang Yubai moved closer to her: “What is it?”

“How many rooms did you book?” she asked seriously.

Jiang Yubai said, “One suite.”

Lin Zhixia turned to look at him, her voice very soft: “So, this weekend, will I be sleeping in the same bed with you? To be honest, I’m not mentally prepared enough.”

Jiang Yubai made a neither light nor heavy “Mmm” sound. He said: “Last New Year’s Eve, we stayed in the same bed for a night.”

“No, no, no,” Lin Zhixia corrected, “not just simply sleeping, I mean that meaning.”

Jiang Yubai’s breathing paused.

A sweet fragrance spread, and a slight breeze brushed past his earlobe. Lin Zhixia pressed against his ear and whispered: “That’s how it is in movies. When the male and female protagonists travel together, they would…”