The morning air was slightly cool, with a blue-winged magpie with a white belly perched on a branch, emitting cheerful calls.
Lin Zhixia looked up at the magpie and introduced: “Passeriformes order, Corvidae family, Pica genus magpie, with the Latin scientific name Pica pica.”
Jiang Yubai imitated her pronunciation: “Pica pica.”
Lin Zhixia laughed: “Welcome to Teacher Lin’s Latin mini-class.”
Jiang Yubai paused his steps: “You’ve studied Latin?”
“I could find very few Latin textbooks,” Lin Zhixia claimed. “I only know a little bit.”
A few minutes earlier, Lin Zhixia had finished breakfast and felt slightly full. She and Jiang Yubai were strolling around the campus.
They started chatting about Latin, discussing “Ecclesiastical Latin” used exclusively by the Catholic Church, as well as medieval scientific and theological studies. During the European Middle Ages, scholars had to master Latin proficiently because the science, theology, and philosophy of that era were closely connected to Latin.
Lin Zhixia said: “Medieval Europe also had many principalities, duchies, electorates… these countries all issued their currencies, resulting in a very chaotic monetary system. I remember that in medieval Italy, at least four hundred different currencies were circulating in the market.”
Lin Zhixia deliberately steered the topic toward economics. This way, she could discuss currency issues and financial markets with Jiang Yubai. She knew that when Jiang Yubai studied in Beijing, he spent every day immersed in various economic theories.
However, Jiang Yubai asked her: “Would you like to see ancient European coins?”
Lin Zhixia was very surprised: “Do you have them at home?”
Jiang Yubai answered modestly: “We have several collections.”
Lin Zhixia said softly: “I read in a book that the Rothschild family… they are a world-famous financial dynasty that has continued for hundreds of years. More than two hundred years ago, European nobles liked to collect ancient coins. A merchant from the Rothschild family often presented ancient coins to a prince of a state, which made the prince very happy and valued him highly, and he became a top official in the court.”
At this point, Lin Zhixia looked up and stared at him: “Ancient coin collections are too precious, you shouldn’t show them to me.”
Jiang Yubai was about to say “I’ll give you a set,” but after hearing Lin Zhixia’s words, he changed his response: “The ones my family has aren’t that valuable.”
Lin Zhixia was skeptical: “Really?”
Jiang Yubai sophistically replied: “Once you see them for yourself, you can make your judgment.”
Lin Zhixia happily proposed: “Alright, when you have time, could you bring those collections for me to see?”
“I can,” Jiang Yubai generously agreed.
Without realizing it, Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia had arrived at the entrance of the doctoral students’ dormitory building.
Several male doctoral students from the Physics Department had just bought breakfast from the cafeteria. They had fluffy hair, wore loose pajamas covered by long down jackets, and sported athletic shoes as they walked toward the dormitory building, gradually picking up pace. They looked carefree and unrestrained, simple and plain, exuding the dignified quality and supreme charm of doctoral students.
Lin Zhixia called out to them: “Senior Niu Siyuan?”
Niu Siyuan’s breathing stopped instantly.
Currently, Niu Siyuan is a doctoral student under Professor Shen Zhaohua.
Niu Siyuan loved academics and research. This year was his first year as a doctoral student; he had set his research topic, but hadn’t completed his thesis yet… while Lin Zhixia had published a paper in the “Journal of Physical Oceanography” that Niu Siyuan had long dreamed of, just last year.
Whenever Lin Zhixia appeared near Niu Siyuan, he would feel cold from head to toe.
Niu Siyuan stood at the entrance of the male dormitory, wrapped his down jacket tightly around himself, and felt a bone-chilling sensation surge through his back.
Although he didn’t turn around, he could be certain that Lin Zhixia was behind him.
The beautiful morning dissolved into a bubble, and the crisp bird calls became a dirge. Niu Siyuan’s limbs stiffened, unable to take another step forward. His friends, unaware of the situation, were still asking him: “That’s Lin Zhixia from your group, right? She has a seminar today, do you want to chat with her for a bit?”
Niu Siyuan had no desire to speak with Lin Zhixia.
But he decided to protect his classmates.
He said to those classmates: “Ah, yes, Lin Zhixia is from our group. You guys go ahead, quickly return to the dorm, don’t wait for me. I’ll chat with her for a moment.”
The classmates all left, with Niu Siyuan bringing up the rear. He stood in front of Lin Zhixia and asked her: “Do you need something from me?”
“Nothing really,” Lin Zhixia said. “I was just saying hello. Why are you so nervous?”
Jiang Yubai interjected: “You’ve greeted him, let’s go.”
Lin Zhixia didn’t understand what Niu Siyuan’s behavior and gestures meant, but Jiang Yubai saw it.
Niu Siyuan’s anxiety and unease reminded Jiang Yubai of himself at nine years old. At that time, Jiang Yubai considered Lin Zhixia a competitor, comparing her academic achievements with her everyday life. Over the years, Jiang Yubai had grown a lot.
But Niu Siyuan still hadn’t grasped the essence of genius. Niu Siyuan, carrying his breakfast container, asked gloomily: “Can you publish another physical oceanography paper this year?”
“No,” Lin Zhixia answered honestly.
Niu Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief: “You’ve run out of inspiration?”
Lin Zhixia followed Jiang Yubai down the steps. She inadvertently let slip: “I’m preparing a paper on data security and high-performance computing in computer science. This September, I’ll be going to university in Beijing.”
Niu Siyuan’s breakfast lost its appeal. He stood silently at the entrance of the male dormitory for a few seconds, then realized that Lin Zhixia was going to university in Beijing meant she wouldn’t be in Professor Shen Zhaohua’s group anymore—this was good news! This was wonderful news!
After this realization, Niu Siyuan immediately became ecstatic.
He carried his breakfast to the second floor and shared the good news with his fellow disciples. The brothers were all more or less pleased. After cleaning up and washing, they went together to the reporting hall of the Physics Department in a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.
The reporting hall was filled with people.
Lecturers, professors, and the deputy dean all sat in the front row. Shen Zhaohua’s position was the most prominent, with Lin Zhixia sitting behind her. Shen Zhaohua would occasionally turn back and quietly instruct Lin Zhixia on some matters to pay attention to, which Lin Zhixia listened to very attentively.
Jiang Yubai sat on Lin Zhixia’s right. While Lin Zhixia was talking with Shen Zhaohua, Jiang Yubai took out his digital camera, skillfully adjusted the parameters, and tried to record a video.
Lin Zhixia noticed his actions. She moved slightly closer to him and quietly asked: “Are you going to film me?”
“May I?” Jiang Yubai asked for her opinion.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Lin Zhixia said happily. “Could you package the video and send it to my email?”
Jiang Yubai said: “No problem.”
Jiang Yubai had already planned to send a copy to her. This was Lin Zhixia’s first academic report and should be saved on her computer as a memento.
The host on stage announced Lin Zhixia’s name and paper topic. Accompanied by a round of applause, Lin Zhixia slowly walked toward the podium. She didn’t need speech notes. She faced the audience and fluently narrated the content and research methods of her paper.
When she finished her presentation, the teachers in the front row asked Lin Zhixia several questions, which she actively answered, chatting with them without hesitation. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, although most undergraduate students didn’t dare to speak up.
After thirty minutes of discussion time, the host returned to the stage. Lin Zhixia bowed to everyone and walked back to her seat.
Jiang Yubai pressed the mute button and began playing the video he had recorded from the beginning. Lin Zhixia cupped the digital camera in both hands and whispered: “Did I look like a university student on stage?”
Jiang Yubai evaluated without hesitation: “Like a doctoral student.”
Lin Zhixia smiled sweetly: “When I grow up, I also want to be a teacher, just like Professor Shen Zhaohua.”
Jiang Yubai played along: “Teacher Lin.”
Previously, when he pronounced the three words “Teacher Lin,” he would still be somewhat reserved and shy, but now he was casually calling her “Teacher Lin” in the crowded reporting hall. She couldn’t guess his thoughts, only assuming he had suddenly grown up.
The seminar started at 10 AM and ended at 12:30 PM. Besides Lin Zhixia, four other scholars completed their paper reports, but Lin Zhixia was the most attention-grabbing person, because she was so young. She was only thirteen years old and had already reached this level.
After the meeting dispersed, many students came by reputation.
Lin Zhixia even spotted the male university student who had queued with her at the pan-fried dumpling shop that morning. He still couldn’t understand the experimental method in Lin Zhixia’s physical oceanography paper. He hesitated for half a second, then asked loudly: “You didn’t explain your title, what exactly does vertical mixing in that article refer to?”
Lin Zhixia was taken aback.
During her rehearsal at home, her brother had strongly suggested she explain more professional terms. But she hadn’t followed her brother’s advice.
Jiang Yubai led her outside, and she could only toss back a sentence: “Vertical mixing processes have many modes, including bulk mixing and continuous mixing, sea surface boundaries and ocean interior… etc. If you study it more, you’ll probably understand.”
The undergraduate student stood in place and didn’t follow.
Away from the noisy reporting hall, walking on the small paths of the school, Lin Zhixia hopped and skipped.
She asked Jiang Yubai about her performance today. Jiang Yubai first praised her thoroughly, then said she had clear logic, quick thinking, and could communicate with real scholars.
Communicate with real scholars?
Lin Zhixia caught his deeper meaning: “Are you trying to say that quite a few listeners… didn’t understand what I was saying?”
Jiang Yubai shook his head: “Papers and popular science are different. Papers with strong professional content are not meant for the general public. Normally, some people don’t understand; I don’t understand either.”
Lin Zhixia agreed repeatedly: “Mm-hmm.”
She remembered a maxim from the Russian writer Gorky—true friends are happy for your success and provide support and encouragement when you are sad.
Gorky’s definition of “true friends” perfectly matched Lin Zhixia’s perception of Jiang Yubai.
The only imperfection was that Jiang Yubai couldn’t stay in the provincial capital for too long.
Jiang Yubai needed to prepare for the North American Economics Challenge. His teammates were all waiting for him in Beijing.
This winter vacation, Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai spent four days together. They met at the provincial library as usual, and Jiang Yubai brought a set of ancient coins from his home for Lin Zhixia to examine. Lin Zhixia sat in the study room, put on silk gloves, aimed a magnifying glass at the ancient coins, and studied their patterns, designs, and text, experiencing an indescribable, complex feeling as if from a different time.
In her imagination, hundreds of years ago, living men or women had repeatedly touched these metal creations.
The sense of history and culture brought by the ancient coins gave her a new perspective on separation—she and Jiang Yubai would have many more opportunities to meet again; she didn’t need to worry about a brief period of separation.
Lin Zhixia maintained a calm mindset and steadily passed through the last winter vacation of her high school years.
*
Not long after the second semester of her first year of high school began, Lin Zhixia’s recommended admission notice was delivered to Provincial No. 1 High School.
During a class meeting in Class 27 of the first year, head teacher Teacher Deng solemnly announced: “Students, I have two things to tell you. First, Lin Zhixia has been recommended for admission to Peking University, and the approval documents have come down…”
Before Teacher Deng could finish, the whole class immediately erupted.
Amid the incessant noise, Teacher Deng slapped the podium. After the students gradually calmed down, Teacher Deng continued: “Second, the first-year grade will conduct a ‘Spring Study Tour,’ with the entire grade divided into nine groups, three classes per group. Our Class 27 is grouped with Classes 25 and 26, with the destination being Penglai Mountain in Yingzhou, a national 5A-level natural scenic area. The purpose of the trip is to cultivate your qualities of environmental protection and resource conservation… Participation is voluntary; sign up voluntarily.”
The class sports representative, student Cao Wu, suddenly raised his hand: “Teacher Deng!”
Teacher Deng nodded slightly: “You have a question?”
Cao Wu stood up and asked: “Do we need to write an essay after this study tour?”
“Yes,” Teacher Deng admitted without evasion. “Your Chinese teacher said that whether you go or not, you must write an 800-word essay when you return.”
The class emitted a questioning “Ah—” sound.
Teacher Deng slapped the podium again: “Alright, let’s not waste words. Later, Lin Zhixia will compile the list for the study tour. Once it’s done, report it to me.”
Lin Zhixia quickly responded with a “Yes.”