When Lin Zhixia came out of the hospital, the sun was still shining brightly. She let go of Jiang Yubai's hand and walked alone on the tree-lined path. Noises from near and far came into her ears. She heard the noisy traffic, the crisp chirping of birds, and the hurried footsteps of passers-by, but her heart was silent, as if a heavy snow had just fallen, and the heavy snow piles hindered the transmission of external sound waves.
She looked up and peeked at the sky through the gaps between the leaves.
Shen Zhaohua's words echoed in her mind again. Teacher Shen finally recited a poem by Tang Yin, "Death Poem" - Life in the world will end, and death in the underworld is no big deal. The world and the underworld are similar, just like drifting in a foreign land.
Teacher Shen is very carefree, but Lin Zhixia is very sad.
Life and death are both unresolved problems.
Lin Zhixia tried to convince herself with various theories that perhaps death did not mean the end of self-consciousness, but the beginning of another form of existence.
She continued thinking for a long time. No matter which angle she looked at it from, she couldn't believe that Shen Zhaohua was about to leave.
Lin Zhixia walked and stopped on the street, and Jiang Yubai followed her all the time. His silence at this time was due to the tacit understanding between the two of them that had been cultivated for many years. He waited for about ten minutes, and then Lin Zhixia turned around and said to him, "Let's go home."
Jiang Yubai reached out his hand to her, and she immediately grabbed him, just like a ferryman drifting on the water grabbing a paddle. In short, she used a lot of strength.
Jiang Yubai comforted her and took her home.
Lin Zhixia took a long nap at home. She dreamed that Shen Zhaohua had recovered and that senior Zhu Chan had returned to the provincial capital from Beijing. Shen Zhaohua led her students to eat at a hotel near the school. Everyone talked about everything, laughed, and celebrated the arrival of a medical miracle.
But dreams and reality are probably the opposite.
Shen Zhaohua's condition continued to worsen.
In July of that year, the hospital issued a critical illness notice to Shen Zhaohua's family. Professor He Yuanqian took a two-week vacation, and Lin Zhixia was also a little absent-minded when working at the school.
It was a hot midsummer day and the cicadas' incessant chirping made her feel annoyed and confused.
She no longer reviewed students' papers on the computer, but printed them out, placed them on the desk, read them line by line, and then wrote comments with a red pen. She wrote very quickly, and the ink in the pen was almost out. When she was changing the ink, the screen of her mobile phone suddenly lit up, and Shen Fuxuan sent her a WeChat message.
She opened WeChat and saw Shen Fuxuan saying, "Grandma is gone."
The signature pen fell from Lin Zhixia's hand, and the tip of the pen hit a piece of snow-white paper, leaving a dark red dot.
Shen Zhaohua's funeral was held in early August.
It was another sunny day. The sun was blazing, but the funeral home was filled with a slight chill. White silk flowers formed a circle, with Shen Zhaohua's portrait hanging in the center. The left and right sides of the hall were filled with wreaths and mourning couplets.
This was the first time that Lin Zhixia had attended a funeral. Previously, she had a vague understanding of death, but today everything was so real and vivid. She suppressed her grief, lit a stick of incense for Shen Zhaohua, and told her in her heart: Teacher Gu Likai was elected as an academician this year, Senior Sister Zhu Chan is developing very smoothly in Beijing, and my students are also making progress... I hope you are doing well in heaven.
After she burned the incense, she walked to the side and happened to run into Shen Fuxuan.
"My condolences." Lin Zhixia said softly.
Shen Fuxuan replied: "My condolences."
He stood straight, his left hand hanging at his side, his index finger clasped around the base of his thumb, leaving deep finger marks. Grief and sorrow could only be expressed in subtle movements, as he and his parents tried their best to maintain the dignity of their family. How many moments in a person's life do they need to endure? For Shen Fuxuan, he was facing a difficult test.
He turned his head slightly and made eye contact with Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia didn't say anything, just waiting for him to speak. He loosened his left hand and revealed: "The day before my grandmother passed away, she called Gu Like..."
Lin Zhixia asked hurriedly: "What did she say?"
Shen Fuxuan truthfully relayed the message: “Please ask Gu Likai to accept you as her student.” He explained: “She doesn’t remember how old you are, nor does she remember what year it is.”
Lin Zhixia could imagine the scene at that time. That scene made her feel uncomfortable.
After the funeral, she walked out of the funeral home. As the sky darkened and the sun set, she and Jiang Yubai sat side by side in the back seat of the car. No one except Jiang Yubai could see her expression. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she leaned on Jiang Yubai's shoulder and began to sob softly.
Today's funeral marks a formal farewell.
During Lin Zhixia's growth period, she received almost no love from her grandmother or grandmother, and Shen Zhaohua just filled the gap. She is gentle, kind, knowledgeable, and a good teacher. She is also Lin Zhixia's light bearer.
"People only live for a few decades," Lin Zhixia said in tears, "time passes too fast."
Jiang Yubai spoke slowly: "Teacher Shen said that if you remember her, it means she is still here. On the day we went on an autumn outing to the aquarium..."
Lin Zhixia responded: "The teacher gave me the contact information."
Jiang Yubai only had a vague impression of the past. He guided Lin Zhixia based on his vague memory: "You visited the laboratory, and she made a pinky promise with you."
"They also gave me a research assistant campus card," Lin Zhixia closed her eyes, "so I can go to the university library to look for books, and use the school's computers to surf the Internet for free. I was so happy that day."
Without Jiang Yubai’s reminder, Lin Zhixia continued: “She guided me to publish my first paper and gave me a bonus… Later, I wanted to do quantum computing, and she continued to encourage me and helped me contact Gu Likai…”
The scene of the past clearly emerged in my mind. More than ten years ago, Shen Zhaohua sat in her office and handed Lin Zhixia a document that recorded the research prospects of quantum computing. In the center of the document was a piece of strawberry candy, which was given by Teacher Shen. It was very sweet and delicious.
"You are her student," Jiang Yubai's voice became deeper and deeper, "She will be watching you from heaven."
The wind stopped, the light shone sideways, he covered her eyes, and tears fell into his palms.
Lin Zhixia took Jiang Yubai's words of comfort to heart.
Because of her special memory, everyone can live forever in her heart. As a student of Shen Zhaohua, she will also inherit similar ideas - thinking from this perspective, she does feel much better.
The next morning, Lin Zhixia went to work as usual.
Life is gradually becoming peaceful, but work is still busy.
There are more than 80 scholars in the four-school joint research group organized by Lin Zhixia. Lin Zhixia is not only the deputy group leader, but also the youngest member of the group. She also has to take care of her own research group and the research and development projects of the quantum technology company, so the burden on her shoulders is relatively heavy. Since the start of school in September, she has been going out early and coming back late every day, full of enthusiasm and energy.
Even though Lin Zhixia is very efficient at work, she is sometimes too busy. In order to assist Lin Zhixia in her work, the college hired two assistants for her. Both of them are physics graduate students who have just graduated from the school. They are smart and hardworking, and often attend group meetings with Lin Zhixia.
Because Tan Qianche joined the four-school joint research group, his academic relationship with Lin Zhixia became closer. Tan Qianche suggested that he and Lin Zhixia's students hold a group meeting every Thursday afternoon. Everyone can learn from each other and help each other. Isn't it a good thing?
Lin Zhixia thought about it carefully and it seemed to make sense. She asked every student for their opinions. Except for Xu Lingbo, all the other students raised their hands in agreement, so Xu Lingbo's objection was ineffective.
Therefore, the group meeting on Thursday afternoon was unprecedentedly grand.
Lin Zhixia and Tan Qianche's students gathered in a very spacious conference room. Each student had a ten-minute speaking opportunity. Lin Zhixia's favorite student Fang Yiwen was the first to speak. When she came on stage, her eyes were sharp and she exuded a dangerous aura.
As expected, Fang Yiwen then used a very fast speed to summarize her research results of the past two months in just ten minutes. She held a marker and vigorously scribbled on the whiteboard: "My report today is nine minutes and thirty seconds. Thank you, teacher."
Lin Zhixia praised her and made some suggestions, all of which she took note of.
Tan Qianche's comments were also very pertinent. His comments focused on different perspectives. In other words, he was also able to inspire Fang Yiwen.
Lin Zhixia had to admit that Tan Qianche's academic level was indeed very high. Back then, Tan Qianche was a doctoral student under Professor Gu Likai and had taught many junior students. He knew better than Lin Zhixia how to encourage students to work hard, similar to the Indian senior sister Lin Zhixia met in Cambridge.
While Lin Zhixia was taking notes at the group meeting, she heard Tan Qianche say, "Fang Yiwen will graduate next year, right?"
"Yes," Lin Zhixia made clear arrangements for Fang Yiwen's future. "Now many 985 universities require overseas experience when recruiting teachers. I have put Fang Yiwen in touch with the research group at MIT. When she graduates with her doctorate next year, she will go to MIT as a postdoctoral fellow."
Xu Lingbo was speaking on the stage. Tan Qianche was too lazy to listen to him and only whispered to Lin Zhixia: "The boss of MIT trusts her because of you. If she doesn't perform well, it will affect your reputation."
Lin Zhixia fastened the pen cap: "You..."
"Hmm?" Tan Qianche was extremely patient with her.
Lin Zhixia said, "Let's talk after the group meeting is over. I want to hear the students' reports first."
The conference room was very quiet at this time, and Xu Lingbo was just stuck. He thought Tan Qianche was chatting with Lin Zhixia, but he heard Lin Zhixia say that she wanted to listen to the students' reports first.
Lin Zhixia is used to a fast-paced life and is very busy with her daily work. Her time is extremely precious - Xu Lingbo certainly knows this. But as Lin Zhixia's student, he is always the one at the bottom. The new school girl who joined the group is hundreds of times better than him, and Zhan Rui has left him far behind, but Lin Zhixia never criticizes him, and even respects him and is willing to listen to his nonsense in the group meeting.
He stopped suddenly and looked at Lin Zhixia: "Teacher Lin."
"What's wrong?" Lin Zhixia reminded him, "You just mentioned that you used TensorFlow to make solubility predictions."
Xu Lingbo took a deep breath of cool air.
He took a step forward and said bravely: "Teacher Lin! I am not fully prepared. I will not attend this month's group meeting! Please give me another month..."
Before Lin Zhixia could say anything, Cui Yiming, a student of Tan Qianche, interrupted: "If you were in our group, you would definitely be postponed."
This was not the first time Xu Lingbo was humiliated by Cui Yiming. He had long been accustomed to this kind of humiliation. In the past, he always endured it silently, but today, he wanted to fight for his dignity.
He puffed out his chest proudly and won back a point for Lin Zhixia: "How do you know that Teacher Lin won't extend my application? Maybe I will be extended tomorrow."
Lin Zhixia interrupted their argument: "Okay, don't discuss irrelevant things in the team meeting."
Tan Qianche called out the student who criticized him by name: "Cui Yiming, apologize to classmate Xu."
Lin Zhixia originally thought that a student as arrogant as Cui Yiming would never apologize in public. However, Cui Yiming hesitated for a moment and squeezed out a sentence: "I'm sorry, classmate Xu."
Lin Zhixia glanced at her watch and said, "Xu Lingbo, you asked me to give you a month, but that time is not given by me, it is yours. In another eight months, your third year of graduate school will be over. The choice of deferring graduation, dropping out, graduating on time, or graduating with honors is all in your hands."
Xu Lingbo did not reply.
He bowed deeply to Lin Zhixia, then picked up his schoolbag, walked slowly out of the conference room, and ran towards the library like crazy.
The group meeting is still ongoing.
Lin Zhixia's new student Chen Shihan performed well. She seemed to be Fang Yiwen's successor, with sharp thinking and quick reactions.
The communication between Lin Zhixia and Chen Shihan was very smooth - this is also the reason why Lin Zhixia likes being a teacher. One of her life goals is to cultivate generations of young people and grow together with each generation of students.
After the group meeting ended, it was almost six o'clock in the evening. The students all went to the cafeteria to eat, and Lin Zhixia and Tan Qianche stayed in the conference room.
While packing her backpack, Lin Zhixia said to Tan Qianche, "Fang Yiwen is very capable and likes to do research. I recommended Fang Yiwen to MIT because I believe in her."
Tan Qianche stood up from his seat. He rolled up a teaching plan and held it between his arm and body: "Some doctoral students write good papers and have good academic resumes, but they can't do independent scientific research..."
Lin Zhixia said without hesitation: "My students, I understand, you don't need to say more."
"Fang Yiwen is okay under your command," Tan Qianche and Lin Zhixia walked side by side, "What I mean is that you should not pay too much attention to the students and arrange a way out for each of them. You are still young, and you should spend your time on yourself. You are born to be an academic, and you have a technology company, so you should be able to accomplish something earth-shaking, little sister."
The sky was dim and dusk was falling. Tan Qianche's shadow fell in front of Lin Zhixia. He was over thirty years old, but still very young. His face looked even more handsome under the light of the campus, just like a few years ago.
Lin Zhixia said carefully: "You... have changed a bit. When I was an undergraduate, you often helped Yang Shuwen."
"I was young then," Tan Qianche answered. He was wearing an expensive Swiss watch. He looked down at the dial.
Lin Zhixia asked again: "Thinking back then, when the laboratory exploded, you sent me to the hospital and helped Teacher Gu clean up the mess. Was that a waste of time?"
Tan Qianche chuckled and stopped arguing with her. They walked out of the north gate of the school and ran into Jiang Yubai. He seemed to have an aura that made it impossible to ignore him. Tan Qianche stopped and greeted him. He replied politely, "I'm here to pick up Teacher Lin after get off work."
Lin Zhixia directly took Jiang Yubai's arm and asked, "How long have you been waiting?"
Jiang Yubai said: "I just got off the car."
Lin Zhixia's tone was particularly cheerful: "That's great, I just graduated from school too."
Jiang Yubai and she smiled at each other. The depth of affection between the two was self-evident.
Tan Qianche stood there, watching them get in the car and leave. The cold wind of late autumn blew through his hair, and he looked up at the deep and vast night sky and saw the star Vesper in the Lyra constellation.
The Weaving Girl is brightest in the autumn, located in the southeast of the night sky. And the city of Shanghai is also located in the southeast of the provincial capital. This absurd and weird thought only appeared for a few seconds before Tan Qianche threw it out of his mind. She has been married for a long time, he thought to himself.
The wind blew the fallen leaves and cars sped along the road.
Lin Zhixia sat upright in the back seat of the car, her left hand on Jiang Yubai's leg. Through a pair of very fine pants, she quietly drew a circle with her finger.
Jiang Yubai held her fingers. She tilted her head and he kissed her cheek, which made her smile. After a moment, she asked, "Have you met your cousin?"
Last month, Jiang Yubai's family welcomed a new member - Jessica gave birth to a daughter, and Jiang Shaoqi became a father. Jiang Shaoqi was so excited that he didn't sleep all night, flipping through the dictionary to name his daughter. Unfortunately, he went abroad to study after graduating from junior high school, and his Chinese level was really poor. He flipped through a dictionary but couldn't think of a suitable name.
Jessica is not much better than Jiang Shaoqi. Although Jessica is a Chinese Singaporean, she usually uses an English name and her Chinese name is not very good. In the end, it was Jessica's father who stepped forward and picked a good name for his granddaughter based on her birth date.
After Jiang Yubai introduced the origin of his cousin's name, Lin Zhixia said, "I want a daughter, too."
Jiang Yubai suddenly had an idea and asked her in her ear, "When are we going to give birth?"
"Wait a little longer," Lin Zhixia said shyly, "I'm only 23 years old and I don't want to get pregnant for the time being."
Jiang Yubai was very prescient: "Let's give our daughter a name first."
Lin Zhixia remembered the "Lin Jiang Robot" she and Jiang Yubai had created together. She paused and read out a word: "Lin..."
"Lin Changxuan," Jiang Yubai asked, "how about this name?"
Lin Zhixia nodded and said sincerely: "What a good name!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com