At seven o’clock in the morning on July 30, 2013, Lin Zhixia posted an update on her WeChat Moments: “I’m moving today!”
In less than an hour, more than forty people had liked her post, and many classmates left comments.
Duan Qiyan asked with full of doubts: “Were you kicked out of the student dormitory by the administrator?”
Tang Tingting directly tagged him and insulted: “Shut your mouth. If you don’t know how to talk, then don’t speak.”
Duan Qiyan was unwilling to back down. He and Tang Tingting started arguing in the comments section of this post. Shen Fuxuan commented: “Lin Zhixia, you should block both of them.”
Lin Zhixia replied: “Hahahahahaha.”
After a while, Lin Zeqiu sent Lin Zhixia a WeChat message: “Why are you suddenly moving?”
Lin Zhixia suddenly realized that she hadn’t hidden her WeChat Moments from Lin Zeqiu!
Although Lin Zeqiu had become more gentle and considerate recently, Lin Zhixia still remembered how frightening he could be when angry, and how he would nag endlessly.
Lin Zhixia panicked for a brief few seconds before regaining her usual composure. She explained cleverly and indirectly: “In British universities, dormitories change every year.”
Lin Zeqiu half-believed: “You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Perhaps due to the telepathy between siblings, Lin Zeqiu intuitively sensed that he had caught something. He criticized his sister severely: “Lin Zhixia, I’m warning you, if I find out you’re lying to the family…”
Lin Zhixia replied with a sticker of a little cat tapping its paws, then said: “Look it up online and see if what I said is true.”
Lin Zeqiu hesitated for a moment, then sent her a picture of a dog with a sidelong glance—Lin Zeqiu had a complete set of native dog stickers. Lin Zhixia immediately engaged in a sticker battle with him. After several rounds, Lin Zeqiu forgot his original intention and gradually believed Lin Zhixia’s explanation.
Lin Zhixia’s WeChat notification sound kept ringing as middle school and undergraduate classmates sent numerous messages. However, the most surprising was a brief message from Wen Qi: “Are you okay?”
Wen Qi had initiated a conversation with her.
It was simply unbelievable!
Lin Zhixia replied instantly: “I’m fine, I’ve found a new place to live. What about you? Did you get a school dormitory?”
Wen Qi said, “Yes.”
Afterward, Wen Qi seemed to vanish into thin air and didn’t type another word.
In his one year of doctoral studies, Wen Qi had published a total of three papers, two of which were completed in collaboration with Lin Zhixia. His cooperation with Lin Zhixia was very smooth; they worked well together and neither tried to steal credit. Wen Qi believed that finding a classmate like Lin Zhixia was as rare as finding a needle in a haystack. His concern for Lin Zhixia represented the limit of his social wisdom.
Shortly after, Wen Qi received another WeChat message from Lin Zhixia: “You can try to communicate more with classmates. Everyone quite wants to talk with you.”
Wen Qi was so frightened that he threw his phone aside.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhixia’s phone rang, displaying the name “Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Yubai” on the screen.
Jiang Yubai had already arrived downstairs at Lin Zhixia’s dormitory. He intended to show off in front of Lin Zhixia. He hadn’t contacted the moving company staff. He was helping her carry luggage all by himself. He had deliberately worn a short-sleeved shirt to make it easier to do heavy work.
Lin Zhixia was quite frugal; her total possessions added up to just two suitcases and a large cloth bundle—she had wrapped various odds and ends together in a bedsheet.
So, Jiang Yubai carried a heavy suitcase in each hand, with a huge cloth bundle on his shoulder, looking as simple and hardworking as a migrant worker returning home to visit family. Lin Zhixia wanted to help him carry luggage, but he firmly refused. He said, “These things aren’t heavy.”
Lin Zhixia questioned suspiciously: “Your arm muscles are all tensed up.”
Jiang Yubai casually said, “If you touch my arm, my muscles will also tense up.”
Lin Zhixia thought to herself: When they got home, she would try it out.
*
That morning, Lin Zhixia officially moved into Jiang Yubai’s home.
Lin Zhixia’s new bedroom was spacious, with all kinds of furnishings complete, and connected to a study. The entire bedroom environment was very neat and comfortable. The bedding was of extremely high quality; the velvet quilt was fluffy and soft. Lin Zhixia sat on the bed for a minute and already wanted to lie down for a nap.
Jiang Yubai placed her luggage in the center of the room: “My bedroom is across from yours. Come find me if you need anything.”
“Are you home every day?” Lin Zhixia looked up at him.
He smiled: “If I’m not at home, where else would I be?”
Lin Zhixia asked again: “Can I find you for anything?”
Jiang Yubai asked in return: “Are you playing a landlord-tenant role-playing game with me?”
Lin Zhixia’s cheeks became slightly warm, with a hint of pink. She suddenly felt a bit embarrassed but eventually admitted: “Yes, I want to play with you a little. Because I’m in a pretty good mood… What about you? Are you happy today?”
Jiang Yubai closed her bedroom door and locked it.
Lin Zhixia heard the sound and watched him vigilantly as he unbuttoned the first button of his collar and sat down beside her. Lin Zhixia moved back about half a meter and asked: “What are you doing?”
Jiang Yubai appeared very businesslike: “In a while, we’ll look at the rental contract again. After confirming it, you’ll sign it.”
Lin Zhixia quietly touched his fingers, and he showed no signs of aggression. Lin Zhixia gently scratched the back of his hand, drew several circles, and then said: “Okay, okay, I’ll go take a shower and organize my things first. Let’s have lunch together. We can discuss the contract details at the dining table.”
Jiang Yubai still maintained his proper “landlord” persona, politely asking her: “Can we eat together every day?”
Lin Zhixia agreed without hesitation.
Jiang Yubai took her left hand and lowered his head to kiss the back of it—this seemed to be an established convention between them. Whenever Jiang Yubai did this, Lin Zhixia’s heart would race. She deliberately shifted her gaze but involuntarily held his fingertips.
*
Throughout the morning, Lin Zhixia was organizing her room. She folded her clothes neatly and opened the curtains; outside, the flowers and trees were dense with shade. The sunlight under the azure sky seemed to shine into her heart.
Lunch that day was also sumptuous, and Lin Zhixia ate with great enjoyment.
After the meal, Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai took a walk in the garden. They walked along a path shaded by trees. As a cool summer breeze blew toward them, Lin Zhixia suddenly stepped in front of Jiang Yubai and gently touched his arm. He did not react, so she directly asked: “This morning, didn’t you say that if I touched you, your muscles would tense up?”
Jiang Yubai sat on a bench by the path. Lush vegetation surrounded the seat, with the fragrance of linden trees drifting in the wind, and verdant leaves rustling.
Nearby shadows intertwined with gentle sunlight. Lin Zhixia sat close to Jiang Yubai. She leaned toward him, smelling the faint yet alluring scent on him, and asked: “Why do you smell so good?”
Jiang Yubai looked around, confirming once more that this place was secluded enough. He reached out to hold Lin Zhixia’s waist, guiding her to sit on his lap. He held her quietly, took a deep breath near her ear, and then said: “You smell good too.”
As Jiang Yubai spoke, Lin Zhixia felt a tickling numbness at the tip of her ear. She turned her face, took Jiang Yubai’s left hand, and while playing with his slender fingers, confided in him: “I suddenly feel like we’ve returned to those days when we were deskmates as children. Every day, whatever happens, we could tell each other immediately…”
Jiang Yubai lowered his head and gently kissed her cheek: “Do you have anything to tell me today?”
Lin Zhixia said: “Yes, yes!”
As the tree shadows swayed, Lin Zhixia candidly said, “The current quantum community development is still imperfect. I want to develop a new type of programming language based on quantum computing for researchers worldwide to use. I had this idea when I was an undergraduate. The Python, R, and C++ you normally use are common programming languages…”
So this was what Lin Zhixia wanted to tell Jiang Yubai.
Jiang Yubai was somewhat distracted.
After Lin Zhixia finished her long speech, she asked him: “Do you think it’s feasible?”
Jiang Yubai held her waist tightly with one hand and analyzed: “After you return to China, you’ll need to apply for ‘Youth Thousand Talents.’ Compared to open-source code projects, papers and academic achievements are more important…”
The so-called “Youth Thousand Talents” referred to the “Youth Thousand Talents Program.”
Young researchers selected for the “Youth Thousand Talents” would receive more resources and attention.
Lin Zhixia pondered: “If I write a quantum programming language, I can also publish papers. This paper’s citation count will be high, at least three hundred.”
Jiang Yubai asked further: “Do you plan to complete it alone? Do you have time?”
Jiang Yubai’s question hit the mark. After brief consideration, Lin Zhixia said, “Wen Qi will agree to join my team. He’s particularly interested in quantum computing; he’s willing to collaborate on whatever I say…”
Little did Lin Zhixia know.
Wen Qi wasn’t “particularly interested in quantum computing”; he simply couldn’t refuse Lin Zhixia. Once Lin Zhixia started talking enthusiastically to him, his head would buzz, and when Lin Zhixia made a request, he couldn’t utter half a “no.”
Lin Zhixia considered candidates one by one: “Feng Yuan is very smart and good at both mathematics and physics. She stayed at the university for her direct doctoral program, so she should agree to help me. Senior Sister Wei Ruoxing also said she was very interested in my project… Senior Sister Luo Ying would probably agree too. There’s also my brother. My brother can work on the basic underlying framework; I’ll discuss it with him. My brother isn’t developing in academia, so even if this paper gets a high citation count, it might not necessarily help him.”
Jiang Yubai listened from beginning to end but didn’t hear his name. He subtly asked: “The friend closest to you…”
Lin Zhixia reacted extremely quickly: “Are you talking about yourself?”