The provincial information science competition of 2007 was held at nine o’clock in the morning on April 12.

The information science competition had three people per team, with team members required to collaborate and divide the work to complete ten programming problems together. Lin Zhixia’s two teammates were both upperclassmen from the second year of high school—these two upperclassmen originally ranked in the upper-middle of the competition class, but since teaming up with Lin Zhixia, they had become invincible, sweeping all before them.

Barring any unexpected circumstances, today’s provincial first prize should also belong to Lin Zhixia and her teammates.

Lin Zhixia, with her backpack on, followed the teacher into the venue. She yawned, and her teammate asked, “Are you tired, Lin Zhixia?”

“A bit tired,” Lin Zhixia said honestly. “My brother got up at five o’clock this morning and exercised in the living room for a while. He woke me up.”

Her teammate asked in surprise, “Your brother gets up at five every morning to exercise?”

Lin Zhixia defended her brother, “Next week, he’ll be taking the physical education part of the high school entrance exam.”

Yes, her brother was about to take the high school entrance exam.

He was so hardworking, so serious.

Lin Zhixia admired her brother’s perseverance and fully supported his early morning exercises. The only problem was that Lin Zhixia hadn’t gotten enough sleep today. Her reactions were half a beat slower than usual, and her problem-solving speed had decreased considerably.

It took her seven minutes just to complete the second problem.

She was extremely tired and gradually lowered her head, resting on the computer desk. Her right hand held a pencil, scribbling on the draft paper, writing mathematical derivations that no one else could understand.

Her teammates visibly tensed up. One of them spoke, “Lin Zhixia, you’re not in your best state today.”

The other teammate said, “The people from Experimental No. 1 High School posted on Baidu Tieba that they’re going to beat Provincial No. 1 High School. Look at the scrolling information on the front screen… Experimental No. 1 has already reached the fourth problem.”

Lin Zhixia roused herself and looked around.

Only then did Lin Zhixia realize that more than half of the competing teams were solving problems faster than her. Experimental No. 1 High School was progressing the fastest; they really could defeat Provincial No. 1 High School.

The alarm bells in Lin Zhixia’s mind went off, her consciousness became incredibly clear, and her gaze turned determined and resolute. She took a deep breath and told her two teammates, “Read the problems out loud to me. Read them to me.”

In the competition venue, each team had three contestants. Teammates shared one table. On the table was one computer and one printed test file.

Lin Zhixia’s teammate picked up the test paper and read it to her, one sentence at a time.

As soon as her teammate finished reading, Lin Zhixia had a solution. She quickly typed on the keyboard, writing line after line of code. She didn’t even need to compile to accurately predict the results, because each line of code had already been run in her brain beforehand. Although her approach might not be the most perfect, her efficiency was astonishingly high.

Lin Zhixia and her teammates won the provincial competition gold medal and a reward of three thousand yuan.

By rights, the three thousand yuan team prize should have been divided equally among the three teammates. However, Lin Zhixia’s two teammates were too embarrassed to take one thousand each; they insisted that Lin Zhixia take all three thousand yuan. They also said that Lin Zhixia’s excellent performance in the programming competition had benefited the entire team.

Lin Zhixia still gave them two thousand yuan. She explained, “I learned a principle at the Romanian Masters… teammates are very important roles. Because teammates advance toward the same goal with me, helping me share the pressure.”

*

That afternoon, Lin Zhixia returned home happily, carrying the provincial competition trophy.

Recently, because Lin Zhixia had won heavyweight gold medals in mathematics competitions, Provincial No. 1 High School had awarded her over ten thousand yuan in scholarships. Today, she brought back another thousand yuan, and her mother simply didn’t know how to praise her, only asking, “Xia Xia is so amazing, what would you like to eat tonight?”

Lin Zhixia thought for a moment and suggested, “Mom, Mom, tonight can we have beef with green peppers, apple compote, sweet and sour ribs, and cold okra? These are all dishes that my brother likes. Brother is about to take the high school entrance exam and works hard every day.”

Her mother agreed while washing dishes, “Good, Mom will also make you an egg custard. Xia Xia must be tired from the competition today; go rest in your room.”

Lin Zhixia stuck to her mother like glue, “During the competition today, Xia Xia almost fell asleep.”

Almost fell asleep…

And still won first prize?

Mother bent down, wiping the stove clean with a cloth while comforting her daughter, “If Xia Xia feels tired, go take a nap on the bed. When your brother comes home, Mom will wake you up for dinner.”

Lin Zhixia nodded once. She went back to her bedroom, hugged her little penguin, and lay quietly on the bed. During the past month, her brother had often helped wash her little penguin. Her brother also uncomplainingly cleaned her room and wiped her desk spotless.

Lin Zhixia noticed that her brother always kept a Romanian Easter egg in his pocket.

Lin Zhixia really hadn’t expected that a mere Romanian Easter egg could have such a great effect, not only helping her brother overcome his fear of penguins but also making him much gentler in his attitude toward her.

Her mind full of random thoughts, she fell asleep without realizing it.

Around six in the evening, her mother woke Lin Zhixia up.

Lin Zhixia immediately got out of bed, put on her fluffy bunny slippers, and headed straight for the family dining table.

The food emitted a steaming fragrance, and the whole table was filled with dishes that Lin Zeqiu liked. Lin Zeqiu sat at the table, lost in thought, “Is today a holiday?”

Mother told him, “Your sister won the championship in today’s information science competition and got a thousand yuan scholarship.”

After hearing this good news, Lin Zeqiu’s face showed no expression whatsoever. He put a piece of spare rib into Lin Zhixia’s bowl, and Lin Zhixia responded, “Thank you, brother.”

Lin Zhixia took a bite of the spare rib, savored it carefully, and said, “Mom’s braised spare ribs and sweet and sour spare ribs are both so delicious. Mom’s cooking is the best in the world. Xia Xia wants to eat Mom’s cooking every day, and after eating it, I’ll be very happy…”

Lin Zeqiu suddenly interrupted his sister, “Lin Zhixia, you’re twelve years old now. Can you stop referring to yourself as ‘Xia Xia’? Don’t you know how to use first-person pronouns? How childish can you be?”

The effect of the Romanian Easter egg seemed to have expired.

Lin Zhixia put down her chopsticks and confronted her brother, “I’m happy this way, what business is it of yours? You can also refer to yourself as ‘Qiu Qiu.’ Do you dare abandon first-person pronouns and speak in this way? You don’t dare, do you, Lin Zeqiu?”

Lin Zeqiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as a sentence formed in his mind—Qiu Qiu won’t argue with you, Qiu Qiu will continue eating. He shivered, almost dropping his bowl to the floor.

Mother called his full name, “Lin Zeqiu, Tonight’s dishes were requested by your sister for you. Your sister cares a lot about you; don’t always pick fights with her. Harmony in the family brings success in everything.”

Lin Zeqiu held his bowl and lowered his head to take a mouthful of rice.

Mother waited until he finished chewing before saying, “Qiu Qiu, your high school entrance exam is coming soon. You need to listen to Mother’s advice. Don’t get up too early in the morning; don’t mess up your routine. You should eat and sleep as usual. Your head teacher told me that if you perform normally, you can get into the high school section of Provincial No. 1 High School.”

Competition for the high school section of Provincial No. 1 High School was fierce. Lin Zeqiu wanted to enter the elite class of the high school section, which required a good score on the entrance exam. He was in the sprint stage and didn’t dare relax at all, setting very strict requirements for himself.

This morning at five o’clock, he had inexplicably woken up and then couldn’t fall back asleep.

He knew he was carrying a heavy psychological burden. He kept thinking that he was Lin Zhixia’s brother and couldn’t fall too far behind her. If his entrance exam results were terrible, his parents would be disappointed.

Lin Zeqiu’s anticipation of failure made him crave success even more.

He studied diligently, sitting at his desk almost all day on Saturdays and Sundays. In the process of identifying and filling gaps in his knowledge, he occasionally encountered some thorny problem types, but even though Lin Zhixia was right next door, he was unwilling to ask his sister for help.

His sister was a twelve-year-old who still referred to herself as “Xia Xia” when acting cute.

He didn’t need his sister to lend him a hand. He could solve problems completely independently—although Lin Zeqiu’s mind was filled with such thoughts, reality was often crueler than imagination.

Lin Zeqiu held a ballpoint pen, staring at the physics test paper handed out by the teacher, once again stuck on the final challenging problem. He sat motionless for twenty minutes, vaguely feeling someone watching him from behind.

Lin Zeqiu looked back and caught a glimpse of Lin Zhixia’s figure. Lin Zhixia was hiding outside the door and carefully called out, “Brother…”

Lin Zeqiu impatiently responded, “What do you want?”

“I think you’ve encountered a problem you can’t solve again and don’t want to come find me,” Lin Zhixia frankly expressed her view.

Lin Zeqiu’s first reaction was to hide his physics test paper. He laid out a Chinese textbook and covered up, “I’m memorizing texts.”

Lin Zhixia walked to his side. She sought out clues and effortlessly solved the case, successfully finding the physics test paper. She glanced at the last problem, but just as she was about to speak, Lin Zeqiu said, “Go back to your room, don’t bother me.”

Lin Zhixia reached into her brother’s jacket pocket and found a Romanian Easter egg. She said seriously, “I hear the Easter egg talking to me. The egg tells me that with only a short time left before the entrance exam, I can progress together with my brother.”

Her brother gently pulled away her wrist, “Go mind your own business.”

“I don’t have anything to do right now,” Lin Zhixia brought over a chair and sat down beside Lin Zeqiu.

Lin Zhixia had to hug her little penguin to sleep every day. Her little penguin was always fragrant and clean, yet she had never washed it herself. She suddenly realized the level of attention her family paid to her.

And now, she was trying to pay attention to her brother, helping him unload his psychological burden.

She wrote down the solution method for the final challenging problem on the physics test with a pencil. She opened Lin Zeqiu’s notebook and directly summarized on the last page. She didn’t need any guidance from books; there was a clear framework in her mind.

Lin Zeqiu silently accepted her kindness.

“Where’s your math notebook?” Lin Zhixia asked again. “Brother, give me your math notebook.”

Lin Zeqiu refused, “Forget it, there’s too much math content.”

Lin Zhixia originally wanted to say that middle school math was very simple, but then she thought of Duan Qiyan’s constant talk about “competition etiquette,” so she swallowed her words. She imitated Jiang Yubai’s speaking style, lowering her voice to say, “The content of middle school mathematics is suitable for systematic summarization.”

Lin Zeqiu felt his sister had suddenly become much more mature and steady. He stared at her suspiciously, and she immediately reverted to her usual state, “Hurry up and give me your notebook, will you give it to me or not?”

Lin Zeqiu gave her a blank notebook.

Lin Zhixia’s thoughts poured onto the pages like a flood released from a dam. She recorded problem types with appropriate detail. She seemed able to guess Lin Zeqiu’s mathematical foundation, so all the problems she recorded were of greater difficulty, maintaining the standard of challenging final problems.

From that day on, Lin Zhixia often accompanied Lin Zeqiu in his review.

Lin Zeqiu placed two desk lamps on the table and prepared a soft cushion for Lin Zhixia’s seat. By the end of May, as the weather gradually warmed, Lin Zeqiu found the best electric fan in the house, removed its cover, wiped the blades spotlessly clean with a towel, and put the fan in Lin Zhixia’s bedroom.

Although Lin Zeqiu didn’t want to admit it, the facts were before his eyes—after Lin Zhixia’s tutoring, his academic performance steadily improved, and he reclaimed his position as first in the class.

Even more shamefully, whenever Lin Zhixia was by his side, he had an indescribable sense of security. No matter how complex the difficult problems he encountered, Lin Zhixia would write out the most concise and easy-to-understand solution methods.

One night in early June, Lin Zhixia accompanied him for a final round of review. He studied until nine at night, and Lin Zhixia started to feel sleepy. She rested her head on her arm, drowsily unable to distinguish between reality and dreams, mumbling, “Brother did so well, brother is the top scholar in the entrance exam…”

Lin Zeqiu thought she was talking to him. After a few seconds, he realized Lin Zhixia was sleep-talking—this was very rare. Lin Zhixia always slept quietly; she had rarely talked in her sleep.

But tonight, Lin Zeqiu heard his sister say, “Mmm… you can interview me…”

Lin Zeqiu guessed her dream. She probably dreamed that Lin Zeqiu had become the top scholar in the entrance exam, and reporters had come to interview her.

In reality, Lin Zhixia always avoided reporters, refusing all contact with newspapers and media. However, in this dream, she generously said, “My brother has always… always been hardworking, excellent, shining brightly… My brother is a very good boy…”

Lin Zeqiu raised his palm to support his forehead. A sour feeling welled up in his throat, and his voice became softer and gentler, “Lin Zhixia, wake up.”

Lin Zhixia didn’t wake up.

He called again, “Xia Xia.”

Lin Zhixia, confused, asked with a dazed expression, “What did you just call me?”

Lin Zeqiu turned off the desk lamp. “It’s 9:10 now. Go back to your room to sleep; I’m going to sleep too.”

Lin Zhixia didn’t pursue the question. She patted her brother’s shoulder, “Brother, keep going. Brother, good luck with the entrance exam.”

After saying this, she wobbled back to her bedroom, fell onto the bed, and immediately fell asleep. Nine o’clock was her limit of consciousness; once past nine, her entire being would be invaded by sleepiness.

Lin Zeqiu stood at her bedroom door for a while, then closed her door tightly.

His memory was far inferior to Lin Zhixia’s. But he always remembered this night, always remembered Lin Zhixia’s evaluation of him: My brother has always been hardworking, excellent, shining brightly. My brother is a very good boy.

By mid-June, the high school entrance examination officially began, and Lin Zeqiu maintained a stable mindset. He walked into the exam room with his backpack, which also contained the Easter egg Lin Zhixia had given him. Perhaps blessed by the Easter egg’s good luck, he performed exceptionally well, almost reaching his highest level. He felt he had one foot in the elite class of Provincial No. 1 High School.

In mid-July, the entrance exam results were released, and Lin Zeqiu did even better than he had imagined. He ranked forty-ninth in the entire city, and his name even appeared in the “Morning Daily.” On a red congratulatory notice that came with the newspaper, the names of the top fifty students in the city’s entrance exam were listed, with Lin Zeqiu ranked second to last, which was already a great honor.

Lin Zeqiu’s parents were overjoyed. They were both proud of their son. His father ate an extra bowl of rice at each meal for two consecutive days, constantly saying at home, “Our Qiu Qiu and Xia Xia both have such good grades. What wonderful son and daughter! Just think, their mother and I have little education, never went to university, yet somehow raised children like you. Ah, our ancestors must be smiling.”

After the entrance exam ended, Lin Zeqiu felt at ease. He opened the “Morning Daily” and casually asked Lin Zhixia, “In early June, one day you fell asleep on the desk and had a dream. You dreamed I became the top scholar in the entrance exam, do you remember?”

Lin Zhixia was eating watermelon. Hearing her brother’s words, she thought for just a second, then admitted, “I remember.”

Lin Zeqiu felt a surge of emotion, “What did you say to the reporter in your dream?”

Lin Zhixia scooped up a piece of watermelon with a small spoon, “In my dream, the reporter interviewed me and asked what impression I had of you. Brother, how could I speak badly of you in front of outsiders? Even if I had to make things up, I would have to praise you a lot.”

Even if I had to make things up, I would have to praise you a lot.

Hearing that sentence, Lin Zeqiu’s limbs stiffened slightly. He slapped the dining table and walked back to his bedroom without a word. Lin Zhixia was still asking him, “Brother, Brother, aren’t you going to eat watermelon anymore?”

Lin Zeqiu answered fiercely, “Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating.”

Lin Zhixia tattled, “Mom, Mom, Brother is being mean to me!”

Mother was rinsing the balcony and stepped out when she heard her daughter, “Lin Zeqiu, be gentle with your sister. Harmony in the family brings success in everything!”

Lin Zeqiu closed his door, still holding the “Morning Daily.” Regardless, with Lin Zhixia’s help, he had achieved unprecedented good results and entered the strongest class in the high school section of Provincial No. 1 High School. Not daring to slack off at all, he previewed high school textbooks during the summer vacation. Believing he had made adequate preparations, he began looking forward to high school campus life.

On the first day of school in September, Lin Zeqiu took the bus to school with Lin Zhixia as usual.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and Lin Zhixia was in a very good mood. She entered the gates of Provincial No. 1 High School with her brother and couldn’t help jumping around on the campus, “I’m in ninth grade now!”

The distant tree shadows swayed in the wind as crowds of people bustled about. Lin Zhixia spotted a familiar figure. She immediately broke away from her brother, running and calling out, “Jiang Yubai! Jiang Yubai!”

Jiang Yubai heard her voice and stood still. After not seeing each other for an entire summer vacation, Lin Zhixia felt he had grown much taller. She eagerly ran to his side and jubilantly asked him, “Jiang Yubai, Jiang Yubai, can you guess what kind of twelfth birthday present I’ve prepared for you?”