Jiang Shaoqi’s heart contained a screaming groundhog.

His wife was still gazing at him with eyes full of love.

He turned slightly, glanced at Jiang Yubai, then looked toward the violin case, hoping Jiang Yubai would understand his deeper meaning.

Jiang Yubai was his nephew who had inherited their family genes and was presumably a smart child attentive to subtle cues. If only Jiang Yubai would pick up the violin case and hand it to him, his wedding ceremony might still have room for maneuver.

However, Jiang Yubai sat properly in his seat, unaware of Jiang Shaoqi’s inner anxiety.

Light enveloped Jiang Shaoqi from above, and a thin layer of sweat formed on his palms. He forced himself to maintain a composed appearance as he delivered his wedding speech. The bride, Jessica, had been looking at him tenderly from beginning to end. He knew that next, the officiant would ask them to exchange rings and then kiss publicly.

Jiang Shaoqi wanted to skip the “exchange rings” step and proceed directly to kissing his wife in front of everyone.

But no matter how many meaningful glances he gave the officiant, the man continued with the ceremony undeterred: “Mr. Jiang Shaoqi, Miss Jessica Yeung, today marks your blessed marriage. Your predestined relationship began much earlier, twelve years ago at a concert where Jessica first saw Jiang Shaoqi…”

Jiang Shaoqi’s arm was held by his wife.

If he wanted to retrieve the ring himself, he would first need to pull away from his wife’s hand.

To pull away from his wife’s hand during a solemn wedding ceremony in front of a large audience—this was not something Jiang Shaoqi could bring himself to do.

Jiang Shaoqi’s lips maintained a stiff smile. His mind went completely blank, not knowing how to handle the upcoming situation. He didn’t mind embarrassing himself, but he feared embarrassing Jessica along with him.

Jiang Shaoqi’s expression became somewhat dazed.

Jiang Yubai noticed his uncle’s unusual behavior. Just as he was finding it strange, he heard Lin Zhixia ask: “Does your family hide rings in hard-to-find places during weddings?”

“What?” Jiang Yubai didn’t understand.

Lin Zhixia told him: “Three minutes ago, I saw your uncle put a diamond ring inside the violin case.”

Jiang Yubai was too shocked to speak.

Lin Zhixia was certain: “Really, I remember every scene clearly.”

Yesterday morning, when Jiang Shaoqi was rehearsing in the hall, he hadn’t misplaced the ring. Jiang Yubai guessed that his uncle had dropped the ball. He finally understood why his uncle had been staring at him—because his uncle hoped he would bring the ring over.

Jiang Yubai asked quietly: “How should uncle smooth things over?”

Lin Zhixia rested her chin on her hands and responded: “Your uncle should take the wedding ring from the violin case, put it on Jessica’s finger, and say she is the soulmate he’s sought for years, his eternally beloved wife, and his inseparable other half in life. Oh, and add this: without music, there would be no him of the past; without Jessica, there would be no him of the future.”

Time was of the essence. Jiang Yubai immediately stood up from his seat. He walked to where the violin case was, picked it up, and slowly proceeded up the glass steps. The surrounding light was dim, and he didn’t attract the attention of the crowd, as most guests were watching the bride and groom.

Jessica was a Singaporean Chinese. She spoke fluent Chinese, but some of her relatives grew up in America and only understood English. Therefore, the officiant would first speak in Chinese and then translate into English—this gave Jiang Yubai plenty of time.

When the officiant said, “Please exchange rings…” Jiang Yubai pretended to be a groomsman, walking slowly to Jiang Shaoqi’s side. He lowered his head slightly and presented the violin case with both hands.

Jiang Shaoqi was deeply moved.

His nephew truly deserved all the love he had given him!

Jiang Shaoqi stepped slightly to the side, and Jiang Yubai quietly repeated Lin Zhixia’s words.

Jiang Shaoqi listened in momentary surprise. He found a diamond ring in the violin case—an exquisitely cut pink diamond that sparkled brilliantly.

The officiant, with his rich experience, improvised by asking on behalf of the audience: “Why is the groom taking the ring from a violin case?”

After Jiang Yubai stepped back, Jiang Shaoqi raised the microphone and began to improvise: “I am a violinist. The violin was once my only pursuit in life, until I met you.”

Jessica gazed at him.

He paused before saying: “You are my… long-sought soulmate, my eternally beloved wife, my inseparable other half in life.”

Her eyes were filled with a watery gleam, reflecting the hazy lights.

He continued emotionally: “Twelve years ago, we met at a concert. Music brought us together. I’m thankful for the violin. Without music, there would be no me of the past; without you, there would be no me of the future. Jessica, thank you for agreeing to marry me.”

Jessica blinked, and tears welled from her eyes. She revealed a surprising secret: “I’ve loved you for twelve years…”

Jiang Shaoqi placed the ring on her ring finger. She grasped his fingers and lifted her head to kiss him. The venue erupted in prolonged, enthusiastic applause. Jessica’s parents were very pleased with their son-in-law.

Lin Zhixia applauded vigorously from below: “Wonderful!”

Jiang Yubai sighed: “Thanks to you.”

Lin Zhixia replied while continuing to applaud: “It’s nothing. I’m just glad your uncle’s wedding wasn’t affected.”

Jiang Yubai turned to his parents and said: “It’s all thanks to Lin Zhixia.”

Several silver lamps stood on the table, emitting a soft glow that covered his mother’s profile. Her tone remained gentle: “Thank you very much. Please thank your friend for us.”

Jiang Yubai frowned slightly. Lin Zhixia directly responded: “You’re welcome. Thank you for your hospitality. Today’s food was super delicious.”

Lin Zeqiu covered his forehead. He didn’t want Lin Zhixia to continue speaking, but Lin Zhixia sincerely said: “The weddings I’ve attended before were all outdoors. The groom’s parents would slaughter pigs and sheep in the yard, giving guests red eggs and brown sugar steamed buns… Have you ever eaten brown sugar steamed buns?”

Sure enough, Jiang Yubai had never tried them. He asked: “What are those?”

Lin Zhixia explained: “Literally, steamed buns made with brown sugar.”

“Can you make them?” Jiang Yubai asked again.

“I can learn,” Lin Zhixia replied confidently.

Jiang Yubai praised her: “You learn everything quickly.”

Lin Zhixia suddenly became modest: “Not really.”

Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai continued chatting. Neither of their families interrupted or intervened.

The waiters began serving more dishes in batches, and Lin Zhixia finally received the strawberry cake she had been longing for. After one bite, she said: “The strawberry cake is so delicious.”

Jiang Yubai revealed: “I’ve prepared a box of strawberry fresh cream cake for you to take home… for the evening.”

Even with his parents sitting beside him, Jiang Yubai didn’t conceal his relationship with Lin Zhixia. He believed that he and Lin Zhixia maintained a proper friendship boundary.

*

At around four o’clock that afternoon, the lengthy wedding banquet ended.

Lin Zhixia received a wedding favor, said goodbye to Jiang Yubai, then held her brother’s hand as they left the hall.

Jiang Yubai entered the side door of the hall with his parents and grandparents.

The side door led to a spacious rest area where Jiang Shaoqi and his wife Jessica had settled in. Jiang Shaoqi was holding a plate of cake, feeding Jessica a bite. When he saw his relatives, he quickly put the cake on the table and called out: “Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Sister-in-law…”

Jiang Yubai stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Jiang Shaoqi walked behind him and asked: “Little Jiang, how did you know I left the ring in the violin case? Was it my telling glance that made you guess?”

Jessica was talking to her parents and didn’t pay attention to Jiang Yubai and Jiang Shaoqi’s conversation.

Jiang Yubai looked around before saying, “Lin Zhixia has a strong memory. She saw your action and reminded me that you’d left your ring behind.”

Jiang Shaoqi praised repeatedly: “Little Lin is such a young genius. Being smart is one thing, but she’s also so helpful, just like your uncle’s personality. Come to think of it, if it weren’t for her today, I would have been embarrassed.”

Jiang Yubai agreed: “That’s right.”

Jiang Shaoqi smiled and said: “Little Jiang, your uncle is a broad-minded person. I sent a wedding invitation to my rival, though I didn’t expect he would come…”

Any circle related to interests would generate disputes, and Jiang Shaoqi’s music circle was no exception. Jiang Shaoqi had a long-time archenemy who often criticized Jiang Shaoqi’s violin skills in public, saying that Jiang Shaoqi only knew trivial techniques and couldn’t meet high standards.

Jiang Shaoqi crossed his arms, expressing his lingering fear: “If I had made a fool of myself, he would laugh at me for years and write columns in newspapers to mock me.”

“You didn’t make a fool of yourself,” Jiang Yubai analyzed objectively. “Most guests were quite touched, including Jessica’s parents.”

Jiang Shaoqi corrected him: “Don’t call her Jessica. She’s your aunt.”

Jiang Yubai then asked: “Doesn’t she have a Chinese name?”

“Yes,” Jiang Shaoqi finally introduced, “her Chinese name is Yang Huan. Sometimes I forget how to write the character ‘Huan’.”

Jiang Yubai kindly reminded him: “Don’t let her know about your cultural literacy.”

Jiang Shaoqi looked reproachfully at his nephew: “My cultural literacy isn’t different from your father’s or your grandfather’s.”

Jiang Yubai remained silent.

Jiang Shaoqi put his arm around his shoulder and sincerely said: “Thank you, Little Jiang, and Little Lin too. You both reacted quickly and helped me tremendously. Although Jessica doesn’t mind such things, I couldn’t let her be embarrassed in public. I was relieved only after that ring was on her finger.”

“Why did you…” Jiang Yubai tactfully inquired, “Used to love practicing violin so much, but suddenly shifted your life’s focus?”

Jiang Shaoqi seriously considered his nephew’s question. After quite a while, he finally said: “It’s not a shift in focus. I still practice violin every day. Little Jiang, you don’t need to beat around the bush with your uncle. You just want to know why I fell in love, right?”

“Yes,” Jiang Yubai replied briefly.

Jiang Shaoqi smiled. He said: “You’ll understand when you grow up.”

The sky outside was endless, with clouds drifting across the vast blue expanse. Jiang Shaoqi gazed into the distance, murmuring to himself: “You won’t have to wait too long… in a few years, you’ll understand.”

But Jiang Yubai said: “In a few years, I should be working at the company.”

Jiang Shaoqi recalled past events: “Your father talked to you about work? During the summer of your father’s eighteenth year, your grandfather threw him into the company for an internship. At that time, our family had opened a new factory in the south. Your father had just come of age and had to learn many things. He was busy from morning till night, and I was grateful he was ten years older than me. Unexpectedly, now it’s your turn, Little Jiang. Uncle has only one piece of advice for you: cherish your carefree days now.”

Jiang Yubai discussed his career plans with his uncle. The uncle and nephew chatted happily. His uncle also asked Jiang Yubai if he had ever made investments. Jiang Yubai suddenly remembered the “Lin-Jiang” robot that he had created with Lin Zhixia.

*

For Jiang Yubai, his college entrance examination would be in mid-May this year.

To apply for undergraduate studies at British universities, one needed IELTS scores and A-level results—the former being an international English proficiency test, and the latter equivalent to the British college entrance examination. The maximum IELTS score was 9, and Jiang Yubai had achieved 8.5, which was quite good; he didn’t aspire for a perfect score.

Starting from January this year, Jiang Yubai had been focused on preparing for his exams, with no time to play with robots. He had sent “Lin-Jiang” to Lin Zhixia’s home, agreeing to continue working on it during the summer vacation. However, before the winter break was even over, Lin Zhixia showed Jiang Yubai the walking Lin-Jiang during a QQ video chat.

Lin Zhixia closed her bedroom door tightly. Her room was messy, with toolboxes scattered across the floor. She had pushed all the furniture to the corners, saving a space for the robot to move forward on the floor, step by halting step.

The robot’s face was equipped with a camera, and the video feed was transmitted to the computer. Lin Zhixia sent a desktop screenshot along with a document titled “Operation Guide for Making Lin-Jiang.” She happily said: “Look, all the basic functions of the robot have been implemented! The code for several modules still needs adjustment, and the data analysis speed is relatively slow. I plan to connect it to a cloud server cluster.”

Jiang Yubai opened the “Operation Guide for Making Lin-Jiang” and patiently read it for a few seconds. He said quietly: “I feel like I’m reading an academic paper.”

“Maybe because…” Lin Zhixia came up with a reason, “I wrote it in LaTeX.”

LaTeX was a document typesetting system beloved by academia. Lin Zhixia always used LaTeX when writing documents.

Jiang Yubai rarely used LaTeX. He avoided this topic and instead said: “You’ve completed the robot’s basic functions. We’ll continue working on it during the summer vacation.”

Lin Zhixia’s tone hesitated: “Jiang Yubai…”

Through the computer screen, Jiang Yubai’s heartstrings tightened: “What’s wrong?”

Lin Zhixia blurted out: “I can’t play with you this summer. I received an email from Professor Gu. I need to go to Los Angeles, USA, for a conference in July, and visit Cambridge in England and Munich in Germany with senior students in August. I have the opportunity to see their laboratories, and I’m so excited. There are many smart students in Professor Gu’s group—one published three papers in half a year, while I still don’t have a single publication…”

Before Jiang Yubai had even stepped through Cambridge’s gates, Lin Zhixia was already preparing for international visits. Jiang Yubai was even a month older than Lin Zhixia… Fortunately, Jiang Yubai was long accustomed to this gap, and he could even comfort Lin Zhixia: “Your seniors have studied a few more years than you. After some time, you’ll catch up.”

Lin Zhixia ignited with fighting spirit: “I will work hard with you.”

Jiang Yubai smiled. He imitated her usual tone and responded: “Okay, okay.”

Lin Zhixia’s cheeks reddened: “Why do you often imitate me?”

Jiang Yubai did not know the exact answer.