Xue Jiao froze, her entire body feeling as if electrified, tingling all over, her mind blank with shock.

“Jiao Jiao, Happy New Year.” Lin Zhihua’s familiar voice sounded above her head.

Thump thump thump!

Her world contained only the breathing of the man before her and the sound of her heartbeat, simultaneously quiet and deafening.

Thump thump thump!

One beat after another, clear and distinct.

After a moment, she took a deep breath, steadying her breathing.

It was only then that Xue Jiao noticed the man in front of her had his feet balanced on the narrow edge outside the small balcony, one hand pressed against the railing as he looked at her with a smile.

His gaze was smiling, calm, and untroubled as if he weren’t standing in an extremely dangerous position.

Xue Jiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively reached out to grab him. “Why are you here?! Do you have a death wish?!”

Her tone was fierce, with the air of a kitten baring its teeth pretending to be a tiger, adorably sweet.

Lin Zhihua found it amusing yet heartwarming. He raised his hand and lightly tapped her head before leaping over the railing.

“Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe.”

Xue Jiao still stared at him with wide eyes, continuing to admonish him: “Don’t do such things again.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you. Next time I’ll use the front door.”

Xue Jiao: “…”

She paused briefly, then asked: “How did you climb up here?”

The villa wasn’t very tall, but the surrounding railings weren’t easy to climb over, and the building’s security was comprehensive. How had Lin Zhihua managed to climb up here without alerting anyone?

Hearing this question, Lin Zhihua suddenly smiled and said with amusement: “Silly girl, I came from next door.”

He pointed to the balcony beside them.

Xue Jiao was stunned.

That was Cheng Mingze’s room…

So her family members… had already been won over by him?

As soon as this thought arose, Xue Jiao felt somewhat awkward.

“I’ve known you for two years, spent two New Years with you, and this is the third. I wanted to spend this one with you too. And the fourth, the fifth, and all the remaining ones in our lives—I hope I can spend them all with you.”

Lin Zhihua looked at her, his voice sincere.

Since revealing his feelings, he had changed, becoming… straightforward and domineering.

But…

Xue Jiao’s face turned bright red.

The words he’d just spoken, along with the earlier kiss, made Xue Jiao feel as if her cheeks were on fire.

In the room next door, Li Sitong was holding back Cheng Shuo and Cheng Mingze, preventing them from rushing out.

Cheng Shuo was furious: “I’m going to kill him!”

Cheng Mingze added: “Throw him out!”

Cheng Shuo cursed: “He dares to take advantage of my daughter!”

Cheng Mingze continued: “Shameless scoundrel!”

Li Sitong: “…She’s growing up, it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Cheng Shuo: “But not like this, he kissed her!!”

Cheng Mingze: “Outrageous! Completely outrageous!”

Li Sitong held them both, looking helpless: “But weren’t you the ones who let him in this morning?”

Cheng Shuo: “…”

Cheng Mingze: “…”

The two men stared, at a loss for words.

Xue Jiao had been in low spirits last night—no, she had been feeling down recently. They had all sensed it and were secretly worried.

They could certainly guess the reason for her unhappiness, but when it came to matters of the heart, they didn’t know how to handle it.

So, this morning when they found Lin Zhihua and heard him say he wanted to give Jiao Jiao a surprise…

They had let him in.

If only they had known!

If they had known earlier!

Cheng Shuo thought… he probably would still have let Lin Zhihua in.

Today was the first day of the lunar new year, the first day of a new year. If it would make Jiao Jiao happy, even if it was this annoying fellow, Cheng Shuo, and Cheng Mingze would just have to endure it.

They didn’t know when their idol… had become “that annoying fellow” in their words.

Outside, Xue Jiao looked at Lin Zhihua with flushed cheeks. He lowered his head, feeling his heart melt just from a single glance at the little girl.

He couldn’t help but lean down…

“Ahem, ahem, ahem!” A rough voice came from beside them.

Xue Jiao trembled and hastily stepped back, looking over.

Lin Zhihua was somewhat disappointed, but his overall mood remained good as he too looked over.

Cheng Shuo stood there with a dark expression, saying quietly: “Jiao Jiao, time to eat.”

“Oh, oh, oh, okay!” Xue Jiao’s face reddened as she turned and walked inside, her steps flustered.

Lin Zhihua followed.

This was his first time in Xue Jiao’s bedroom, and it was clear that the room had been carefully decorated by Cheng Shuo and the others.

Every detail showed thoughtfulness but also seemed somewhat… childish.

Lin Zhihua couldn’t help looking around, his gaze lingering on the pink bed. He chuckled, thinking of something.

Xue Jiao followed his gaze, and for some reason, her face turned bright red again.

She quickly grabbed his arm: “Let’s go, let’s go, stop looking!”

She felt embarrassed being watched by him.

The two went downstairs. Li Sitong was just coming out of the kitchen: “Jiao Jiao, go wash up quickly. Lin Zhihua, will you stay for lunch too?”

“Yes, I’d love to.”

“Absolutely not!”

Lin Zhihua and Cheng Shuo spoke almost simultaneously. Obviously, Cheng Shuo was the one who objected, while Lin Zhihua accepted.

Li Sitong rarely glared at Cheng Shuo, but she did now before smiling and saying: “Lin Zhihua will eat here and taste Auntie’s cooking.”

“Sure,” Lin Zhihua smiled, not at all hesitant.

Li Sitong happily went back to the kitchen. Lin Zhihua glanced at Cheng Shuo, who was glaring at him, and at Xue Jiao who was going to wash up…

He smiled, stood up, and walked into the kitchen.

“Auntie, let me help you.”

“No need, no need, you take a rest!”

“My cooking skills are decent, and Jiao Jiao likes my food. Let me help you.”

“Oh my, you can cook too? That’s wonderful, wonderful!”

“I can. I’ll cook for Jiao Jiao in the future.”

“Ah, ah, ah! That’s great!”

“Auntie, please call me Zhihua, you’re my elder.”

“Alright! Zhihua!”

…

Cheng Shuo stood at the doorway with a cup in his hand, watching Li Sitong and Lin Zhihua chatting happily in the kitchen.

He could only fume and glare at Lin Zhihua’s back with obvious displeasure.

Though he’d said he would help Li Sitong cook, her skills and Lin Zhihua’s were completely different levels. Thus, he ended up doing most of the cooking.

Li Sitong became the helper, moving around Lin Zhihua.

After Xue Jiao finished washing up, Cheng Shuo pressed her onto the sofa, indirectly suggesting that she shouldn’t fall for bad guys…

Xue Jiao: “…”

By the time the food was served, Li Sitong was just short of calling Lin Zhihua “son-in-law”!

“Dinner’s ready!” Li Sitong called out.

Xue Jiao stood up from the sofa and walked over. Lin Zhihua had just washed his hands, his sleeves rolled up, his hands exquisitely refined, making it hard to tell he had just been cooking.

“Zhihua is amazing, it smells delicious just from the aroma!” Li Sitong smiled, her eyes narrowing with praise.

Xue Jiao nodded at these words, agreeing with the compliment…

Looking up, she met Lin Zhihua’s unwavering gaze.

Xue Jiao immediately looked away, her heart racing, not daring to look again.

“Hmph, I hope it’s not all show!” Cheng Shuo snorted coldly.

The last four words were emphasized deeply, unclear whether he was referring to the food or the person.

Li Sitong glared at Cheng Shuo, but Lin Zhihua just smiled: “Uncle, you’ll know once you taste it.”

Xue Jiao had eaten Lin Zhihua’s cooking before, but for Cheng Shuo, this was the first time. His shock was beyond description.

He’d planned to start criticizing immediately, but the piece of fish in his mouth made him want to swallow it right away.

Li Sitong looked at the man sitting next to Xue Jiao and found him appealing from any angle.

Now she just wanted the two of them to get married on the spot!

To make Lin Zhihua her legitimate son-in-law!

“Old Cheng, how is it?” Li Sitong raised an eyebrow, looking at Cheng Shuo.

Cheng Shuo stiffened, then slowly swallowed the delicious food in his mouth, only saying: “Barely acceptable.”

Cheng Mingze likewise added: “Nothing special.”

Li Sitong: “…”

They claimed it was nothing special, but the four dishes were finished, not a scrap left.

After the meal, everyone sprawled on the sofa, feeling stuffed.

No matter how reluctant Lin Zhihua was to leave, he knew there should be limits, and there would be plenty of time in the future.

So, he stood up to say goodbye.

“Jiao Jiao, see Zhihua out.” Li Sitong didn’t try to keep him, just smiled and said.

Xue Jiao’s face reddened, and she stammered as she stood up: “I’ll… I’ll see you out…”

Lin Zhihua smiled, following behind her.

Behind them, Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong conversed in lowered voices—

“Old Cheng, what are you doing? Why that expression?”

“What?! Can’t I show my feelings?!”

“What will Lin Zhihua think?”

“I don’t care what he thinks!”

“You’re so…”

Xue Jiao felt embarrassed and hurried out with Lin Zhihua.

“Um… Happy New Year… you should go back now…”

She stood at the main door, head lowered, saying these words.

Lin Zhihua gazed at her with a smile until she shifted uncomfortably, and then he leaned down, his breath brushing against her ear.

Sure enough, Xue Jiao’s face and ears instantly turned red before his eyes, and she lowered her head even more.

The corners of his mouth lifted high, incredibly pleased.

His ambiguous breath caressed her ear, his voice soft yet full of love—

“Little darling, what should I do? I thought I already liked you enough, but every day I seem to like you even more. This love seems to have no boundaries…”

“Boom—” Xue Jiao’s already red face completely exploded like a bomb.

How… how how how could he say such sweet things?!

Xue Jiao’s heart thundered, unable to utter a word.

“I like you so much, can you like me a little too, hmm?”

With the last three words, the distance between Lin Zhihua and Xue Jiao was nearly nonexistent, as if he were pressed against her ear.

His voice was vague and ambiguous, carrying an indescribable… allure.

Xue Jiao opened her mouth, her lips trembling slightly.

Lin Zhihua’s lips curled upward again: “I don’t need you to respond to me now. I’ll wait for you, no matter how long it takes.”

Having said that, he turned and strode away.

Xue Jiao stared blankly at his retreating figure until he completely disappeared. Only then did she stiffly crouch down, clutching her heart—

It was over.

She seemed to have…

Fallen completely.

——

Lin Zhihua was right; Xue Jiao was like a turtle by nature. Even after realizing she had truly fallen for him, she still withdrew, afraid to express herself.

Fortunately, after the New Year, Professor Tan returned the revised thesis to Xue Jiao and hoped to finalize it when school resumed.

Xue Jiao’s life suddenly became busy, rushing to complete everything, and finally finished it all on the night before school started.

This achievement included both Professor Tan’s contribution and Lin Zhihua’s.

When signing the thesis authors, Xue Jiao had included everyone, but at Lin Zhihua’s request, his name was removed.

“Why can’t you be listed as an author?”

The man in the video chuckled: “Silly girl, it would be more troublesome if I were listed. I’m a businessman, not an academic. Listen to me.”

“But…” Xue Jiao felt sad, “But you helped me so much. If it weren’t for you, I would have spent more time.”

Lin Zhihua had truly helped her a lot with translating some specialized terms and expressions.

“I’m willing to be the man behind you,” the person on the phone said softly, looking at her with smiling eyes.

Xue Jiao’s face exploded red again.

“Hanging up, hanging up!!” Xue Jiao pressed to end the call.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow, smiling: “When will Jiao Jiao stop running away whenever she gets embarrassed? She’s such a… little turtle.”

As for the authorship issue, Lin Zhihua would never agree.

Xue Jiao wouldn’t understand that some people in this world harbor inexplicable malice. She was young and about to become famous, with achievements earned through her hard work.

But if Lin Zhihua’s name were added—Lin Zhihua, the owner of the Lin Corporation…

Once tied to capital, there would inevitably be sour remarks and groundless speculation.

He truly didn’t care about being credited and was unwilling to bring her any unpleasantness because of it.

Lin Zhihua had always allowed Xue Jiao to fly and chase her dreams, but while accompanying her, he couldn’t help but shield her from the fierce winds coming from all directions, giving her a clear blue sky.

——

Late February was the time for Tsinghua University to start the new semester.

It was a nice day, even with snow still on the roadside, the sky had cleared.

Xue Jiao pushed open their dormitory door at noon, and before she could see inside, someone hugged her.

“Genius!! I missed you so much!” Mai Jiajia first planted a smacking kiss on her face, then hugged her tightly.

Xue Jiao couldn’t suppress her smile: “I missed you too.”

Of the four of them, only Xue Jiao and Mai Jiajia were from the south. Now that Xue Jiao had moved to Beijing, Mai Jiajia had been the farthest away during this holiday.

“What are you hugging at the door for? Aren’t you embarrassed?” Ding Qi couldn’t help but snark.

Mai Jiajia raised an eyebrow: “Why don’t you find someone to hug too? No boyfriend to hug is one thing, but no girlfriend either.”

“You, you, you—” Ding Qi was again pained in her chest by the retort.

Xue Jiao smiled and shook her head, walking in, but stopped when her gaze fell on Shu Lan.

“Shu Lan? Why have you become so thin?”

Xue Jiao was stunned. Compared to when they had parted before the New Year, Shu Lan had lost a lot of weight. Even wearing a down jacket, she looked utterly empty.

Meeting Xue Jiao’s shocked gaze, Shu Lan forced a smile: “I’m fine…”

“You call this fine?” Xue Jiao couldn’t help raising her voice.

Mai Jiajia sighed, saying softly: “It must be because of Yu Cheng. We’ve been asking her for a long time, but she won’t say a word.”

“She doesn’t treat us as friends!” Ding Qi couldn’t help but mock.

Shu Lan was the one she had the best relationship with, and she cared about Shu Lan the most.

Shu Lan hurriedly shook her head. After a moment, she said softly: “I was afraid you’d be angry…”

Xue Jiao walked over and sat down beside her: “Shu Lan, it’s okay. Those two are temperamental, but I’ll keep them in check. You can tell us, don’t bottle it up alone.”

She had lost a lot of weight, and Xue Jiao felt heartbroken seeing her.

Shu Lan looked up at the calm Xue Jiao, then at the two friends in front of her who cared about her. Her eyes reddened, and something rolled out.

“Yu Cheng is going abroad…”

“What?” Ding Qi raised her voice.

Mai Jiajia also frowned: “What happened?”

“Before, Yu Cheng’s mother found me and told me that even though Yu Cheng had offended them by rejecting the girl they had arranged for him, she would never approve of us being together. They’re sending Yu Cheng abroad and told me to give up, not to be shameless…”

“Damn! What kind of people are they?!!” Ding Qi couldn’t help cursing.

Mai Jiajia gritted her teeth, angry enough to hit someone.

Xue Jiao frowned deeply, calming the two agitated friends, then looked at Shu Lan: “What did Yu Cheng say?”

“I can’t contact him. His parents probably took away his phone.” Shu Lan shook her head.

The girls exchanged glances, all with difficult expressions.

“How could Yu Cheng have such parents?”

Shu Lan couldn’t stop her tears. She liked Yu Cheng very much, and Yu Cheng liked her too, but they weren’t even allowed to be together…

After hearing this, Xue Jiao and the others didn’t know how to comfort her. They couldn’t interfere when someone else’s parents were sending their son abroad.

That night, Xue Jiao couldn’t help asking Lin Zhihua—

“Are there such people? That’s their son, isn’t it?”

Lin Zhihua looked at her and shook his head: “The same rice nurtures a hundred different types of people, each with their thoughts. You think they don’t care about their son, but in their view, they’re doing what’s best for him.”

“How could that be?” Xue Jiao puffed up angrily. “Is Yu Cheng happy? Their son isn’t happy at all, how could that be good for him?”

Lin Zhihua scoffed: “Some people just think that way, imposing their ideas on others. They’ll think it’s just temporary, that after a year or two, or when their son comes to his senses, everything will be fine. But it’s not possible, they just don’t understand.”

He had such a family of relatives, who imposed their thoughts on him.

Xue Jiao seemed to think of something too, sighing with a helpless expression.

“Jiao Jiao, there’s no use in you worrying about this, nor in Shu Lan worrying. Only when Yu Cheng stands firm can he refute his parents.” Lin Zhihua advised.

Xue Jiao nodded, saying: “I hope they find a solution soon.”

Lin Zhihua smiled, not wanting Xue Jiao to remain sad, and changed the subject: “Did you submit your thesis?”

Xue Jiao nodded: “Yes, I sent it from Professor Tan’s office today, to Annals of Mathematics. I don’t know if it will be accepted, it’s the Annals of Mathematics after all! The professor said if it doesn’t get accepted, we’ll try another journal…”

“That won’t happen. I’ve read your thesis, and although there are still many immature parts, your calculations on Fermat’s theorem alone are worthy of publication.” Lin Zhihua said with a smile.

Xue Jiao scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly. Professor Tan had said the same thing, but she still felt nervous.

“Hanging up, hanging up, going to sleep!”

She felt a bit embarrassed and hurriedly hung up.

Lin Zhihua could only smile helplessly, then closed his eyes, his mind full of her image and laughter.

Just loving someone was so fulfilling. Thinking of her made life seem colorful and blissful.

That kind of liking, ambiguity, contact… When together, even the air seemed different, and his once cold heart warmed.

If the person he loved felt the same deep love for him, how wonderful would that be?

——

Half a month had passed since school started. On this day, professors sat together for a meeting, all with strange expressions.

“Gao Yuan’s paper has already been published in the Chinese Mathematical Journal. This is an honor for our entire mathematics department, so why can’t we publicize it widely?” Professor Liu huffed angrily.

The dean looked at Professor Liu and nodded: “Actually, we could. Our school’s undergraduate achievements in mathematics aren’t particularly impressive.”

“It’s just a domestic mathematics journal, not Annals of Mathematics. Don’t overpublicize it and make other schools laugh at us.” Another professor frowned slightly, flipping through materials.

Professor Liu immediately retorted: “What about international mathematics journals? How many have we published ourselves? Old Deng, you haven’t published any either, so don’t set such demands for undergraduates. I think Gao Yuan’s achievement is very good among undergraduates. The computer science department shone last year because of Cheng Mingze, and our mathematics department is no worse than them!”

“Don’t compare within our school. Our mathematics isn’t that strong. How about you compare with Peking University or the Chinese Academy of Sciences? Look at their publication numbers, then at ours?” The department head frowned.

Professor Ke nodded: “I agree. Last year, Peking University’s mathematics department broke records again. Yang Zhan from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences published four papers alone, with novel topics and unique perspectives. I heard he’s also collaborating with those two award-winning mathematics students from Peking University last year, along with students from Fudan University and several from our school, researching something that’s still in the confidential stage!”

His voice was serious, his expression earnest, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Professor Liu immediately became anxious: “Why didn’t they find students from our school?”

“Find who? Yang Zhan looked for mathematics-related talents from other schools, but there’s no one in our school worthy of his attention.” Professor Ke was equally unhappy.

But there was nothing to be done; being inferior was being inferior.

The dean had been quiet, but after a while suddenly said: “Regarding undergraduates… I remember Professor Tan previously took on someone called Zheng Jiakun, how is he doing? Has he produced any results?”

Professor Tan took a sip of water and calmly said: “Zheng Jiakun still doesn’t want to publish papers; he wants to get more project experience first.”

Professor Liu disliked Professor Tan the most and thus challenged: “Professor Tan, don’t hold people back. Projects don’t lack people, give him more time to write his own papers. Look at Gao Yuan—when she first came in, she wasn’t as prominent as Zheng Jiakun was the year before, but now her achievements are quite impressive!”

Professor Tan remained composed: “What’s the rush?”

Professor Liu particularly disliked his unhurried attitude that drove people mad and continued to provoke: “I’m not in a rush, but our school is. Look at how other schools view our mathematics department, especially those old fellows from Peking University. Last time at the meeting…”

As if remembering something, he sighed, his beard trembling.

Professor Ke’s eyes also dimmed a little. Though the school’s enrollment had improved somewhat in recent years, it was still far behind Peking University…

Professor Tan put down his cup, calmly and proudly saying: “Our school’s talented new mathematicians aren’t just Zheng Jiakun and Gao Yuan!”