Jin Baihui rested one hand on the window frame and tilted her chin upward. She emphasized again, “You don’t even try.”

Many students in Class Three (17) heard Jin Baihui’s words. The classroom gradually fell silent. Jiang Yubai suddenly stood up and said, “Every weekend, Lin Zhixia goes to the library and studies from morning till night.”

Jiang Yubai originally wanted to mention several intimidating theoretical books, but his knowledge was limited and he didn’t dare speak recklessly. Instead, he stated very precisely, “Lin Zhixia frequently reads mathematics textbooks, working extremely hard. Last winter and summer breaks, she came to school every day for intensive training.”

Class Three (17) fell completely silent.

Lin Zhixia had lost badly in the international programming competition. If her classmates truly believed that Lin Zhixia relied solely on natural talent and was careless during the competition, it would be unfair to her.

Jiang Yubai wanted to tell everyone loudly that Lin Zhixia had loved learning since childhood, that she had a passionate curiosity for all subjects. She had begun contemplating life’s meaning early on, constantly striving to improve herself. She wasn’t born understanding mathematical concepts; she had extensively read introductory books, progressing step by step to reach her current level of understanding.

As Jiang Yubai was mentally praising Lin Zhixia, she suddenly spoke up: “I’ll continue learning programming and developing my thinking abilities. This time I ranked twenty-fourth, and I’ve learned my lesson. My life isn’t defined by just one competition. Jin Baihui, are you even more nervous than I am? Why are you always so concerned about me?”

A cold winter breeze swept through the corridor, turning Jin Baihui’s nose and ear tips bright red. But she remained motionless, standing proudly by the window like a statue. She sternly reproached Lin Zhixia: “You’re the top student in ninth grade. You go to amusement parks, plan school celebrations, spring and autumn outings… wasting time will inevitably lead to failure. Aren’t you worried? How can you expect rewards without effort?”

Though Jin Baihui was only fourteen, she spoke with the authority of a discipline director.

Lin Zhixia gripped the window with both hands: “I feel happy when I play with my classmates. Why can’t I go out and have fun?”

Jin Baihui couldn’t find a reason to refute her. She closed the window and turned to walk back to Class Eighteen’s classroom. This period was a self-study session for both Classes Seventeen and Eighteen, and neither homeroom teacher had appeared yet.

Lin Zhixia, quick and nimble, grabbed Jin Baihui’s sleeve.

Lin Zhixia attempted to influence Jin Baihui’s thinking: “There’s an American scientist named Hilary Putnam who’s an expert in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. You must want to become someone like him, right? His name is written in textbooks.”

Jin Baihui was indeed moved by Lin Zhixia’s words. She turned her head and met Lin Zhixia’s gaze.

Lin Zhixia continued, “Putnam proposed a concept called ‘Brain in a Vat.’ You know, a person’s perceptions come from neural signals in the brain. If someone were to remove your brain, place it in a vat to keep it alive, and then use a computer to transmit neural signals to your brain, how would you know whether you’re living in reality or a vat?”

Lin Zhixia’s attempt at persuasion failed.

Jin Baihui pulled her hand away and walked quickly toward Class Eighteen.

Lin Zhixia called down the corridor: “Jin Baihui, don’t run away! You came to find me, and I’m willing to talk with you. Why are you running away so quickly?”

Lin Zhixia’s voice carried far.

The students in Class Eighteen heard it too.

Jin Baihui stood at the entrance of Class Eighteen, unable to move forward or retreat. She simply walked back to the outside of Class Seventeen’s classroom and faced Lin Zhixia: “Were you insulting me just now?”

“I wasn’t insulting you at all,” Lin Zhixia argued.

Jin Baihui repeated her words: “You said you wanted to remove my brain and keep it in a vat.”

“Wow, you remember so clearly,” Lin Zhixia casually agreed.

Jin Baihui glared at her: “You were insulting me in a roundabout way.”

A few brave students from Class Eighteen had already sneaked out of their classroom. They stood near Class Seventeen, watching Jin Baihui and Lin Zhixia argue.

The students from Class Seventeen weren’t to be outdone. Led by Shen Fuxuan, a group had already left their seats. They gathered behind Lin Zhixia, and the classroom was filled with a festive atmosphere as everyone eagerly watched the two top students.

Duan Qiyan crossed his arms and interjected: “This Jin Baihui, she can insult others, but others can’t insult her? Hilarious, such a big face.”

Jiang Yubai, as Lin Zhixia’s deskmate, occupied the best position to watch the confrontation. Sitting at his desk, he stopped Duan Qiyan: “Be quiet.”

As the long-standing acting class monitor, Jiang Yubai commanded great respect within the class. Duan Qiyan unconsciously submitted. He didn’t say another word.

Outside, Jin Baihui raised her hand, pointed her index finger at Lin Zhixia, and said: “I never insulted you.”

“You didn’t understand my meaning,” Lin Zhixia said, sitting sideways in her chair, her hands resting on the windowsill. “The ‘Brain in a Vat’ concept I just mentioned isn’t about removing your brain, but proposing a hypothetical scenario. If all your life experiences were determined by computer-simulated signals, what kind of signals would you want to receive?”

“I want to be first in the grade, first in the entire grade,” Jin Baihui answered without hesitation.

Lin Zhixia grabbed her finger and pointed it back at herself: “You are first in the grade. Then what?”

Jin Baihui and Lin Zhixia locked eyes. Lin Zhixia’s gaze seemed to possess a certain penetrating power, and Jin Baihui, as if possessed, answered: “Then, I want to attend the best university.”

Jin Baihui had fallen into an imaginary life. However, that fantasy lasted only a few seconds before Jin Baihui broke free from the vague hypothesis.

She stared directly at Lin Zhixia and raised her voice: “Do you know what I dislike most about you? Learning comes too easily to you; you don’t understand how precious your ability is. If I had your ability, I would already be in university. I would work with professors on unsolved mathematical problems of the millennium, research the Hodge conjecture and Riemann hypothesis, prove the existence of Yang-Mills and the mass gap, I would put the name Jin Baihui into mathematics textbooks…”

To achieve her dream, Jin Baihui was willing to endure hardship.

In the entire ninth grade, no one could understand Jin Baihui, not even Lin Zhixia. Jin Baihui had once believed that Lin Zhixia would become her kindred spirit. The evidence proved that Lin Zhixia and she had nothing in common.

Lin Zhixia pondered thoughtfully: “There was an Indian mathematician named Ramanujan. Have you heard of him?”

Jin Baihui said: “I’ve studied the Ramanujan identity.”

Lin Zhixia nodded: “They say Ramanujan was the greatest mathematician of the twentieth century. I think he was much smarter than me. In the early twentieth century, he proposed mathematical formulas that could be associated with black holes, at a time when the concept of cosmic black holes didn’t exist. Ramanujan was an Indian who dropped out of university and never received systematic mathematical training. He claimed that the mathematical formulas he created were told to him by an Indian goddess in his dreams. Many of the formulas in his manuscripts and notes haven’t been decoded even today.”

“What are you trying to say?” Jin Baihui questioned.

Lin Zhixia said quietly: “There are always greater heights beyond the sky, always someone better beyond oneself. If you only focus on me, you’ll certainly become exhausted. If I focused on Ramanujan every day, could I reach his achievements? No.”

Influenced by Lin Zhixia, Jin Baihui replied: “Ramanujan, Einstein, Tesla were all geniuses. Are you a genius? You’re just a somewhat clever ordinary person who doesn’t try hard.”

“Really?” Lin Zhixia calmly retorted, “My test scores are always higher than yours, so what does that make you?”

The students from Class Seventeen burst into laughter, and even the onlookers from Class Eighteen sighed in amazement. Jin Baihui’s facial features tensed, her chest heaving slightly. She said: “I…”

Before Jin Baihui could finish her sentence, Lin Zhixia offered her a way out: “Competitions will always rank participants, and a lower ranking isn’t shameful. Every contestant deserves respect. You work especially hard; I not only respect you but also quite admire you.”

The last sentence, Lin Zhixia said with particular sincerity.

Jin Baihui, however, appeared unable to accept it. She lowered her head slightly, her fingers stiff. After a long while, she turned and said: “Self-study period, everyone back to class to study, or I’ll report to the teacher.”

Jin Baihui was the study representative for Class Eighteen. At her command, those few students from Class Eighteen fled faster than rabbits.

Lin Zhixia watched as Jin Baihui returned to her classroom.

The cool breeze swirled, leaving the corridor empty.

Lin Zhixia closed the glass window tightly and sat back down at her desk.

Tang Tingting, sitting in front of her, remarked: “Class Monitor Lin, you’re so gentle.”

“No, I’m not gentle,” Lin Zhixia explained, “Those things I said to Jin Baihui, I was also saying to myself.”

The classmates who had gathered to watch hadn’t dispersed yet. Duan Qiyan chuckled: “Class Monitor Lin, next time you argue with Jin Baihui, boldly insult her.”

Surrounding classmates agreed: “Jin Baihui is always coming to Class Seventeen to pick fights.”

“That’s enough,” Lin Zhixia sat up straight, displaying the demeanor of a class monitor, “All of you, quickly return to your self-study.”

Duan Qiyan couldn’t help but ask: “If we don’t go back, will you report us to the teacher like Jin Baihui?”

Lin Zhixia was stunned.

In recent days, Lin Zhixia had been busy with informatics training in the high school division, and then she went to Moscow, Russia, for a competition. She indeed hadn’t been in Class Three (17) for quite a while, no wonder Duan Qiyan had started to challenge her.

Just as Lin Zhixia was about to reclaim her authority as class monitor, Jiang Yubai spoke for her: “Those students from Class Eighteen were willing to listen to Jin Baihui and return to their seats to study. Duan Qiyan, are you inferior to those students, or to Jin Baihui?”

This question struck right at Duan Qiyan’s weak spot.

Duan Qiyan scurried back to his seat and immediately took out his exercise book, earnestly beginning to solve problems. The stark contrast in Duan Qiyan’s behavior made Lin Zhixia couldn’t help but high-five Jiang Yubai in admiration: “Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Yubai, you’re amazing.”

Jiang Yubai modestly replied: “Not as good as Lin Lin Lin Lin Zhixia.”

As usual, he opened his textbook and placed it on the desk, serving as a display. He complimented Lin Zhixia: “What you said to Jin Baihui was quite meaningful. I’ve remembered the concept of ‘Brain in a Vat.'”

“Have you seen the movie ‘The Matrix’?” Lin Zhixia enthusiastically said, “The core idea of ‘The Matrix’ has remarkable similarities to the ‘Brain in a Vat’ concept.”

Jiang Yubai was more concerned with another matter: “When you first entered the classroom…”

Lin Zhixia intuitively continued: “At that time, I was a bit sad. But now, I feel much better.”

Lin Zhixia’s ability to self-regulate seemed much stronger than before. These two years of competition experience had tempered her resolve. She had become bolder and even planned to attend university in the next couple of years.

Since Lin Zhixia had won two heavyweight mathematics competition gold medals, several of the most famous universities in the country had contacted her. She hadn’t given a definite response, but she already had plans and arrangements in mind.

*

Besides Professor Shen Zhaohua, Jiang Yubai was the first person to learn of Lin Zhixia’s plans. Lin Zhixia told Jiang Yubai that she intended to study for another year in the high school division of Provincial No. 1 High School. Once she turned fourteen, she would go to Beijing for university.

Jiang Yubai asked her why she wanted to attend high school for another year.

Lin Zhixia replied that she and two senior female students from Professor Shen’s group were co-writing a paper involving high-performance computing with computer clusters. She needed to stay in the provincial capital for another half year to monitor the computer clusters and the physical oceanography laboratory weekly. Moreover, she was somewhat reluctant to leave her father, mother, and brother, wanting to spend more time with her family. Additionally, there was a minor reason—Lin Zhixia wanted to experience high school life a little before attending university. All university students had attended high school, and Lin Zhixia was curious and wanted to try it too.

“Experience high school life a little before attending university”—this phrase left Jiang Yubai speechless.

Jiang Yubai kindly reminded Lin Zhixia: “You’ve been in the high school competition class for over a year.”

But Lin Zhixia said: “In the high school competition class, I just attended classes incidentally, without enjoying the colorful high school life.”

Jiang Yubai understood Lin Zhixia’s thoughts completely. He asked directly: “Are you going to attend the high school competition class for a year?”

“Yes,” Lin Zhixia admitted frankly.

Jiang Yubai nodded: “I’ve applied to an international high school in Beijing.”

An international high school in Beijing.

It sounded quite extraordinary.

Lin Zhixia suddenly realized: “You’ll attend high school in Beijing, and I’ll study for my bachelor’s in Beijing. We’ll be living in the same city.”

“What about this year?” Jiang Yubai held his thermos, falling into thought, “I thought you would be going to university next year…”

Although Lin Zhixia didn’t want to separate from her good friend, she couldn’t hinder Jiang Yubai’s educational path.

Back when Lin Zhixia was going to the high school division for training, Jiang Yubai had always encouraged her to move forward. She had learned many excellent qualities from him, and now she reciprocated: “It’s alright, it’s just a short year. During this year, I’ll write to you, call you, and share insights from learning and life. Jiang Yubai, you must move forward bravely; you’ll become more and more excellent. Of course, you’re already an excellent person.”

Lin Zhixia’s praise was genuinely sincere, and Jiang Yubai spontaneously proposed a solution: “I’ll study for a year in the high school competition class at Provincial No. 1 High School, then transfer to the international high school in Beijing.”