On September 24, 2005, the weather was fine and the weather was sunny and windy.
It was a peaceful and quiet Saturday.
Lin Zhixia grabbed her mother's wrist and asked for her opinion tactfully: "Mom, Mom, my classmates want me to go out and play, so I may not be able to go home for lunch. Can I go out now?"
"Who wants to go out and play with you?" Mom asked.
Lin Zhixia described in detail: "My best friend. He was my classmate in elementary school and also my classmate in junior high school."
While wiping the shelves, my mother asked kindly, "Where do you want to go?"
"Provincial No. 1 Middle School!" Lin Zhixia's tone was very cheerful, "Mom, today is the senior high school club welcome party! The seniors have prepared a lot of programs! My friend and I have an appointment to meet at the school gate, and I plan to treat him to lunch in the school cafeteria at noon today!"
The students in the Provincial No. 1 Middle School competition class are basically the best among the top students. Lin Zhixia has unique characteristics and needs the company of her peers. She should really make friends with outstanding children.
Moreover, Lin Zhixia and her friends were playing in a familiar campus, so the safety factor was naturally higher. The community where Lin Zhixia lived was very close to the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, and it only took three bus stops.
The mother did not hesitate and readily agreed to her request: "Okay, go ahead, Xia Xia, bring your phone card with you, and call us if you have any questions."
"Okay!" Lin Zhixia disappeared in a flash.
She returned to her room and put on her favorite light pink cotton T-shirt and dark grey jeans. She also deliberately started braiding her hair from the top of her head, first dividing her hair into two parts, braiding them to the level of the ear tips, and then tying them into two ponytails with strawberry hair ties.
Her hair-braiding skills are extremely superb, reflecting her ingenuity and dexterity. When her mother sees her, she will compliment her: "Xia Xia is so cute and beautiful today."
Lin Zhixia became happier. She had loved hearing her mother praise her since she was a child.
The mother also said: "When Xia Xia grows up, she will definitely become more beautiful and perfect, with both wisdom and beauty. Mom can't find any flaws in Xia Xia."
"Yeah!" Lin Zhixia nodded slightly shyly.
The elder brother happened to pass by. He heard the conversation between his mother and sister and sneered: "Lin Zhixia, don't be so proud. Don't you know that the child may grow up crooked?"
Lin Zhixia was in a hurry to get out, and had no time to argue with her brother. She rushed out quickly, and before leaving, she said, "Brother, if you grow crooked, you will definitely be worse off than me, because you will not only lose your beauty, but also your wisdom."
Her brother was so angry that he was speechless.
She ran half a step, then suddenly stepped back: "Today is the high school club welcome party, I want to go to school to watch the show, brother, are you not going?"
"I'm not going," my brother answered firmly, "I'm studying for the exam at home. The midterm exam is on the 11th of next month. Lin Zhixia, you're not studying? You have tests every week in the competition class."
"I am always the first in the class! Full marks is my score." Lin Zhixia revealed.
She actually dared to say something so arrogant as "full marks is my score".
My brother was speechless again.
Lin Zhixia could not understand the strong shock in her brother's heart. Her mind was full of high school club reunions, and today happened to be her birthday. Jiang Yubai must have prepared a gift for her!
What would he give her? Exercises, notebooks, or candy cookies?
No matter which one, Lin Zhixia would gladly accept it.
But reality was beyond her imagination.
When she ran into Jiang Yubai at the gate of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, Jiang Yubai handed her a finely crafted key. The key was as long as her finger and engraved with the Dirac symbol of quantum mechanics. Jiang Yubai said to her, "This key can open the lock."
"What lock?" Lin Zhixia asked in surprise.
Jiang Yubai avoided answering. He sincerely wished her: "Happy birthday, Lin Zhixia."
Lin Zhixia circled around him: "Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Yubai! Is your lock hidden in the school? Do you want to give me a clue? Let's look for the treasure based on the clues, just like the protagonist of "Raiders of the Lost Ark"!"
Jiang Yubai raised his hand and pointed forward: "Lin Lin Lin Lin Zhixia, the club activity is about to begin. Hide your key and follow me."
"I'm here!" Lin Zhixia grabbed his schoolbag strap.
The campus path was paved with uneven cobblestones, and lush tree shadows hung on both sides of the road. The cool autumn breeze blew on Lin Zhixia's cheeks. She felt relaxed, leisurely and comfortable, as if she was on an autumn outing with Jiang Yubai.
The club welcome activities for the senior high school were in full swing. There was a long empty street on campus, and members of various clubs set up stalls on the street to hand out brochures.
There was a lush osmanthus tree planted nearby. The buds were in full bloom in the beautiful autumn scenery of September. The fragrance of the flowers drifted in with the wind. The fragrance was very light and pleasant. Lin Zhixia took a deep breath and sighed: "Since ancient times, autumn has been sad and lonely. I say that autumn is better than spring. This is the "Autumn Poem" by the Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi. Have you heard of it?"
Before Jiang Yubai could reply, a senior from high school who was standing next to him suddenly rushed over and said, "This junior? Are you a junior? You look so young! You just recited a poem! Are you interested in learning about traditional Chinese poetry culture?"
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai both stood there.
The senior patiently explained: "We are the Classical Literature Society of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School! Our society has a good atmosphere, many activities, and fair rules. We use the 'Flying Flowers' to select each president and vice president..."
Before he finished speaking, Lin Zhixia said in surprise: "Flying Flower Order!"
"Yes!" The senior raised his hands, stretched them to the side, and introduced solemnly, "I am a sophomore this year, and our new president is only a freshman. She is a girl in the first-year gifted class, and also the most beautiful girl in the first-year class, Luo Ying, the most beautiful girl in the class... President Luo Ying!"
Luo Ying?
This name is very special.
Lin Zhixia looked up and saw a girl who was about fifteen or sixteen years old - obviously the president of the "Classical Literature Society", the legendary senior Luo Ying.
Luo Ying sat on the left side of the "Classical Literature Society" sign, wearing a dark green long-sleeved dress. Her elbows were resting on the table, a mechanical watch was on her wrist, her chin was supported by the back of her thin white hand, and all her eyes were on Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia called out in a sweet voice, "Hello, Senior Luo Ying."
Luo Ying smiled at her and said, "Hello, are you a junior high school girl?"
"Yes. I'm in the math competition class in the first grade of junior high school." Lin Zhixia admitted.
Luo Ying handed her a brochure: "When you are in the second grade of junior high school, you can also join our club. Little girl, what's your name?"
"My name is Lin Zhixia," Lin Zhixia said honestly, "Lin for forest, Zhi for know, and Xia for summer."
"It sounds very nice, the name suits the person." Luo Ying commented.
There were also many high school boys flocking to the Classical Literature Club, like waves on the beach. Luo Ying played "Flying Flowers" with them, just like Zhuge Liang's debate with a group of scholars. Luo Ying fought one against a hundred and defeated countless of her subordinates.
Luo Ying also asked Lin Zhixia: "Have you ever played Feihualing?"
Lin Zhixia was about to answer when Jiang Yubai interrupted her and said, "The Astrophysics Club is recruiting new members. They listed the Ye-Yo cosmic explosion model."
The "Ye-Yo Space Explosion Model" made Lin Zhixia yearn for it.
She immediately abandoned the Classical Literature Club and ran to the Astrophysics Club across the street.
The president of the Astrophysics Club held a big sign and introduced the "Hypothesis of the Formation of the Universe" to many students passing by. Wearing a pair of heavy black-framed glasses and with a messy short hair, the president patiently said: "Alumni passing by, please come and take a look! This is the Astrophysics Club! The universe has developed from the quantum gravity era to the stellar era, and space and time may have originated from quantum information!"
Lin Zhixia raised her hand and asked, "The quantum information you are talking about, is it related to quantum error correction code? The English academic name is quantum error correction code."
"Yes!" The president of the Astrophysics Club showed a subtle expression. After going through thousands of mountains and rivers and experiencing all kinds of life, I finally found a soulmate!
The president looked at Jiang Yubai again: "Are you all going to join the Astrophysics Club? Junior, do you understand quantum information?"
Jiang Yubai expressed his opinion in a low-key manner: "What you wrote on the promotional board reminded me of topological quantum field theory in fixed space-time and N-dimensional space-time."
Since Jiang Yubai admitted his friendship with Lin Zhixia, his bedtime reading changed from Junior High School Mathematics to Quantum Computing. His tutoring team also included a physics teacher, who often answered his questions.
So, he had a general understanding of some terms.
He continued to move forward with Lin Zhixia.
The president of the Astrophysics Club was forgotten by Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia.
Poor president whose club was deserted could only look at the backs of his juniors from afar.
Lin Zhixia was still questioning Jiang Yubai: "Jiang Yubai, have you studied topological quantum field theory?"
"No," Jiang Yubai stood beside her, "I just read a basic introductory book."
"Do you understand?" Lin Zhixia asked again.
Jiang Yubai paused for a second and said truthfully: "No."
Lin Zhixia laughed out loud. Then, she looked at him with sparkling eyes and encouraged him, "You tried! This is one of Jiang Yubai's many strengths. Jiang Yubai is fearless and always tries! In fact, I couldn't understand the paper the first time I read it. I also had to start from the basics. When I encounter a new subject, I must first browse its basic theories and introductory knowledge."
She stood on tiptoe, flattened her palms, and moved upwards little by little: "The pyramid is built layer by layer. Jiang Yubai and I will build our own pyramid."
Jiang Yubai put his hands in his pockets. With the fabric of his pockets covering his eyes, he clenched his fists slightly. His emotions were surging, and he was full of expectations for adult life. He believed that one day in a few years, he and Lin Zhixia would both reach the peak of their careers.
Jiang Yubai thought further than Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia only noticed the Western music club in front of her.
The Western Music Club had a grand event. They set up a square area, laid out the instruments, and invited students passing by to play. To join the Western Music Club, you had to have a certain level of musical skills.
"Upright piano, they brought an upright piano!" Lin Zhixia pulled Jiang Yubai's schoolbag strap, "Jiang Yubai, I've never heard you play the piano, I really want to hear it."
Lin Zhixia often expressed her inner thoughts in straightforward terms. When she was with Jiang Yubai, she had no idea what "euphemism" meant. Jiang Yubai was a little embarrassed, after all, he had never played the piano in public.
However, when he thought that after he finished playing a song, Lin Zhixia would sincerely praise him for being so amazing... he couldn't help but stand in front of the piano.
Even though he still had some reluctance in his heart, he was still secretly thinking: I should keep a low profile and not show off my skills... His fingers had already touched the black and white keys. He slowly sat down, made some adjustments, and smooth and beautiful piano sounds leaped out from between his fingers.
The notes are continuous and rhythmic, interweaving into a melodious and magnificent piece of music. The melody is ups and downs, and every measure strikes the heartstrings of the audience.
From Lin Zhixia's perspective, Jiang Yubai's fingering skills were very sophisticated and experienced. Even though she was an outsider, she could guess that Jiang Yubai must have received instruction from a top master since he was a child.
The members around him stopped what they were doing. The seniors passing by formed a circle spontaneously. Jiang Yubai naturally became the focus of attention. He seemed to be born to adapt to this difference. In short, he was not affected by the exclamations of passers-by. The piano sound was still vigorous, magnificent, and full of power, just like his original intention that had never changed.
At the end of the performance, the president of the Western Music Club led the applause for him. He said three good words in a row: "Good! Good! Good! Junior, what grade are you in? Come over and sign with me. You don't have to pay the club fee, I'll pay it for you."
However, Jiang Yubai thanked the president and said sorry for disturbing him, then he picked up his schoolbag and followed Lin Zhixia away.
The president of the Western Music Club stood there dumbfounded. How many students from the Provincial No. 1 High School tried every means to join his club? All of them were ruthlessly rejected by him. And the first time he took the initiative to extend an olive branch to his junior, he only received a "sorry for bothering you".
Lin Zhixia wandered aimlessly and reached the end of the long street.
At the end of the street, there is a billboard.
The bulletin board was filled with all kinds of campus notices. She saw a blue piece of paper with a Dirac symbol and a quantum mechanics equation on it. She calculated the answer on the spot, and then used the hint on the back of the paper to solve a given direction and longitude and latitude.
She turned around and made eye contact with Jiang Yubai.
"Is that place the hotel next to the school?" Lin Zhixia asked tentatively.
Jiang Yubai showed her his watch: "It's 11:50 p.m."
"Is it time for lunch?" Lin Zhixia was a little hesitant. She took a step forward and suddenly ran wildly. Jiang Yubai almost didn't react.
Near the south gate of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, there is a high-end hotel that does very prosperous business. Outside the main entrance of the hotel, there are always two receptionists in suits standing. When they stand there, passersby can understand the average consumption level inside the hotel.
Lin Zhixia stood on the steps of the hotel with her schoolbag on her back. She said to Jiang Yubai, "Jiang Yubai, I brought 40 yuan today, which is my pocket money. I want to treat you to a meal in the cafeteria of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School. If you prefer to eat here, I may not be able to afford it... But I can't afford it now, because I'm only ten years old, and it's illegal to employ child labor. When I can make money in the future, or when I start participating in competitions this year and win prizes, let's eat here again."
Lin Zhixia discussed with Jiang Yubai in a gentle and kind voice. Her eyes were as clear as water, without a trace of impurities, and Jiang Yubai couldn't even look her in the eye.
"This, this is..." Jiang Yubai stuttered inexplicably, "My family's restaurant."
The silence stretched on and on, and Jiang Yubai told the truth: "My mother runs a chain of hotels. The head office was opened in the provincial capital in 1999, and there are branches in Beijing and Shanghai."
Lin Zhixia tilted her head.
The hotel lobby manager had already walked out of the glass revolving door. She was wearing a neat suit and a pair of black high heels. She politely greeted Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai: "Please follow me, both of you."
Jiang Yubai was particularly frank: "The box for the birthday party has been booked. My uncle booked it for me. He heard that it was your birthday and helped me come up with a way to celebrate."
"Your uncle?" Lin Zhixia repeated.
"My uncle was very impressed with you," Jiang Yubai recounted word for word, "He asked me to fulfill my duty as a friend and to entertain you to the best of my ability, so as to contribute to the advancement of human science."
Lin Zhixia understood the uncle's logic: "If you entertain me and become my friend, you can contribute to the advancement of human science?"
"That's what my uncle said." Jiang Yubai betrayed his uncle inadvertently.
Under the guidance of the hotel lobby manager, they walked through a long corridor and entered a spacious private room. After opening the door, Lin Zhixia found that several of her elementary school classmates were sitting in the room - including Dong Sunqi, Ding Yan, Wei Rongjie, Gan Shuli, Tang Leqin, and Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai, a total of seven children in the room.
As soon as Dong Sunqi saw Lin Zhixia, he immediately shouted happily: "The birthday star is here! The birthday star is here! Classmates, just follow the one we just rehearsed!"
Dong Sunqi stood in front of a soft sofa with his hands raised high. He looked solemn and serious, as if he had suddenly appeared in the Golden Hall of Vienna and become a professional and knowledgeable orchestra conductor.
An outside observer might have thought that Dong Sunqi was conducting a complex Beethoven symphony. In fact, he was just organizing everyone to sing "Happy Birthday".
After Dong Sunqi's operation, the students present - the six people except Lin Zhixia - all sang loudly: "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you...Lin Zhixia, be happy forever!"
"Okay! Stop it!" Dong Sunqi was very satisfied.
Ding Yan jumped over and hugged Jiang Yubai's shoulders: "Damn, I missed you so much! Jiang Yubai! How are you and Lin Zhixia doing in the new school! Lin Zhixia, are you still the top student in the grade?"
Deputy monitor Tang Leqin replied, "Do you even need to ask? Lin Zhixia must be number one in the grade."
Gan Shuli pulled Lin Zhixia's wrist and said, "Lin Zhixia, how have you been lately?"
"Very good," Lin Zhixia nodded vigorously, "I, I..."
She couldn't finish a sentence. After pausing for two seconds, she asked back, "Are you all right?"
Wei Rongjie put his hands behind his back and walked over like an old cadre: "Lin Zhixia, Jiang Yubai, without you, the study atmosphere in Grade 5 (1) class is not as good as before."
"Wei Rongjie," Dong Sunqi jumped out and retorted, "Many classmates come to me to borrow books every day."
Tang Leqin put her hands in her sleeves and looked at the ceiling: "Lin Zhixia, you and Jiang Yubai have both skipped a grade. In the first week of school, during the fifth grade baseline test, the top student in the grade became the study committee member of Class 2... We were the top student in our class, but we didn't make it into the top three in the grade."
"No, don't say it!" Dong Sunqi shouted softly, "Don't let Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai hear this! We can't let them worry about us!"
Dong Sunqi's tone was so funny that Lin Zhixia wanted to laugh. The corners of her mouth slightly lifted up, and there was a smile in her eyes. At this time, she turned her head and noticed a strawberry cream cake on the table. She had to use "seat" to describe the cake, because it had three layers, and each layer was covered with a circle of plump and red fresh strawberries, which simply attracted Lin Zhixia's attention.
"So many strawberries!" Lin Zhixia sat closest to the strawberry cake.
The lobby manager served them personally, and the waiters brought them various dishes one after another. Lin Zhixia thought that this was a perfect birthday party, and Jiang Yubai also told her: "You can open the gifts before the meal."
"Any other gifts?" Lin Zhixia murmured to herself.
"Of course," Jiang Yu said solemnly, "This is your tenth birthday, and I want to give you a memory."
"I understand," Lin Zhixia said with a smile, "You gave me happiness. Thank you, Jiang Yubai! I am really happy today! I will cherish this memory and keep it in my mind."
The author has something to say: [Preview of the next episode: The competition class is facing many tests! Mr. Xiao Jiang's attack! ]
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