Lin Zhixia's favorite entertainment venue in her life is the library.
She was full of interest in every subject. She once imagined that she could live in the library, where she would be accompanied by countless books from morning till dusk.
Jiang Yubai has lived in the provincial capital for many years and has never been to the provincial library.
On the first weekend of summer vacation, Jiang Yubai headed for this unknown area. He stood in front of the Provincial Library Building, looked down at his watch, and when he looked up again, he heard Lin Zhixia's voice: "Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Yubai, here I come!"
He responded, "Good morning, Linlinlinlinzhixia."
The Provincial Library building is six stories high, and the collection of books inside is as vast as the sea of smoke. Lin Zhixia clearly remembers which floor and which place each type of book is placed. She led Jiang Yubai up the stairs, shuttled between rows of bookshelves, and found the "Chinese and Foreign History Area" with ease.
Jiang Yubai picked up a book at random, with "Finance in the Tang Dynasty" written on the title page. He didn't know much about the financial system of the Tang Dynasty, and this book just touched on his blind spot in knowledge.
He said to Lin Zhixia, "I plan to study "Finance in the Tang Dynasty" today."
Lin Zhixia's eyes swept over the neatly arranged books: "Okay, I also want to take a look at the cultural traditions and folk customs of the Sui and Tang dynasties."
All the bookshelves are made of cold-rolled steel plates, which feel cold to the touch. Lin Zhixia placed her left hand on a layer of steel plates, stood on tiptoe, and reached for a book on the top shelf, "Chinese Political History from the 6th to the 9th Century". Her fingertips touched the spine of the book, and she was just a little bit away from pulling the whole book out.
Seeing how hard she was working, Jiang Yubai naturally came to help her. He took advantage of his height, passed his fingers over the back of her hand, and easily took the book "Chinese Political History from the 6th to the 9th Century" and handed it to her.
Lin Zhixia said, "Thank you." Then, she instructed him to take a book called "Daily Food, Clothing, Housing and Transportation in the Tang Dynasty" from a high place, and took him to a nearby study room - it was a small room with bright light, with only a table and two chairs in the room, just enough for the two of them to study together.
Lin Zhixia walked into the room cheerfully, closed the door, and placed two books on the table. She and Jiang Yubai sat down face to face, and quietly opened the books they had chosen.
The early morning sunlight turned into a light golden color, and fell slowly on the pages. Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai were studying seriously, and neither of them spoke.
Jiang Yubai learned about the Tang Dynasty's corvée system from the book. The so-called "corvée" refers to taxes and corvée. He unconsciously put himself in the role of a poor commoner. Seeing the tax amount described in the book, Jiang Yubai frowned slightly - according to the previous article, if he was a poor man, he could still live a peaceful life in the early and middle Tang Dynasty, but in the late Tang Dynasty, he was destined to be stripped of everything in the turbulent world. If he wanted to eat, he couldn't buy salt; if he wanted to cook, he couldn't buy an iron knife.
Seeing his serious expression, Lin Zhixia couldn't help but ask him, "Jiang Yubai, do you like eating cookies?"
Lin Zhixia took out a lunch box from her schoolbag, which was filled with honey and milk biscuits. She opened the lid of the lunch box and generously shared the snacks with Jiang Yubai.
She said, "Dad bought a new oven, and Mom made me some honey and milk cookies... These were freshly baked this morning, and they are so delicious. Jiang Yubai, do you want to try them?"
Lin Zhixia was so kind that Jiang Yubai didn't refuse. He grabbed a biscuit, took a bite, and chewed slowly and silently. During the whole process, Lin Zhixia stared at him intently, and he was a little embarrassed to swallow the food in his mouth.
"How does it taste?" Lin Zhixia asked directly.
Jiang Yubai drank some water to moisten his throat, and replied modestly, "Not bad."
Lin Zhixia held her cheek with one hand and said, "Jiang Yubai, the way you eat is very unusual."
Jiang Yubai leaned back in his chair: "What you mean by unusual is..."
"You are different from all the classmates I know." Lin Zhixia told the truth.
Jiang Yubai remembered Lin Zhixia's evaluation of him. She had said more than once that he was the one and only Jiang Yubai.
Lin Zhixia was very grateful to Jiang Yubai, who gave her endless courage and encouragement when she hesitated or retreated. In turn, Jiang Yubai also received various praises from Lin Zhixia. As long as Lin Zhixia sat at the same table with him in Class 17, he would basically maintain a relatively good mood.
When Jiang Yubai was in primary school, he was thinking about how to beat Lin Zhixia every day. Later, Jiang Yubai saw the reality clearly. He deeply realized that he could never surpass Lin Zhixia academically, even if he hired a hundred tutors. As a friend of Lin Zhixia, he recognized her every achievement from the bottom of his heart.
He couldn't help but say, "Compared to me, you are even more different."
He lowered his head to read the book, still describing: "Captain Lin Zhixia's light illuminates many dark planets."
Lin Zhixia's eyes lit up. She said happily, "Jiang Yubai."
Jiang Yubai said calmly, "I'm here."
Lin Zhixia called him again: "Jiang Yubai?"
Jiang Yubai looked at her. She called him three times in a row: "Jiang Yubai, Jiang Yubai, Jiang Yubai." It was as if his name was such a precious gift that her importance had to be emphasized over and over again.
Jiang Yubai stopped him and said, "No need to repeat myself, I heard it."
Lin Zhixia stood up the book in her hand: "Don't think I'm noisy. I'll call you a few more times now and remember your reactions. When you go to Beijing, I will find these memories... Recalling them every day is equivalent to seeing you every day."
Jiang Yubai suddenly felt a little regretful. His behavior just now was too calm and reserved. He should have responded to Lin Zhixia with a bright smile, leaving her with an optimistic and positive impression.
So he said, "Call me again."
Lin Zhixia shook her head: "No."
Jiang Yubai was not discouraged by her rejection. He took the initiative to read out her nickname: "Xia Xia."
Lin Zhixia was stunned for a few seconds.
Jiang Yubai imitated her behavior and continued to say, "Xia Xia, Xia Xia, Xia Xia."
Lin Zhixia didn't know why, but she suddenly felt nervous. Why was she nervous? Her heartbeat was slightly faster than usual. She picked up a honey and milk biscuit and ate it while thinking that it might be because she had just learned about the food culture of the common people in the Tang Dynasty, and she had a yearning in her heart, a yearning for the various delicacies of the Tang Dynasty, which accelerated her heartbeat.
She nodded, agreeing with her own explanation.
Then she said, "You are the first person besides my family who calls me by my nickname continuously."
Jiang Yubai calmly accepted this honor.
At this time, Lin Zhixia stood up and dragged her chair near Jiang Yubai. She sat side by side with him, just like they were deskmates in the third grade (seventeenth grade). Her history book was right next to his, and he could glimpse the contents of the book by turning his head.
Lin Zhixia was immersed in it. Soon, she turned to the hairpins and rings worn by women in the Tang Dynasty, and she was full of praise for the craftsmen's superb craftsmanship. Her eyes were like a scanner, carefully scanning the illustrations in the book, not missing a single detail.
Lin Zhixia sighed: "The golden step-shaking of the Tang Dynasty was very delicate, and the hairstyle of the court ladies was very unique." She also said: "When we performed a play in the second year of junior high school, I also wore a hairpin. However, my dress was not retro enough and did not fully show the characteristics of the Qing Dynasty."
Jiang Yubai remembers that in the first semester of junior high school, his whole class worked together to rehearse a play called "Change".
In the play, Lin Zhixia plays a rich lady in the late Qing Dynasty, and Jiang Yubai is a male student in a new-style school. In the play, he advises Lin Zhixia to go home early to take care of her husband and children, and not to dream of competing with men in the school. Then, according to the setting of the script, Lin Zhixia scattered her manuscripts all over the floor, pulled out her hairpins and threw them on the floor, and finally shouted: My daughter has lofty ambitions, and I will send her on a journey of thousands of miles.
My daughter has lofty ambitions, and I will surely help her travel thousands of miles.
Jiang Yubai was deeply impressed by this line of poetry. The seven words "A girl has the ambition of a swan" were changed by Lin Zhixia on the spot, while "Steady send the phoenix on a journey of thousands of miles" was a line written by Yao Mian, a scholar in the Song Dynasty.
Jiang Yubai believes that Lin Zhixia's words have certain commemorative significance.
Lin Zhixia's birthday is on September 24th. Jiang Yubai will be going to Beijing at the end of August, so he can only prepare a birthday gift for her in advance.
Throughout the summer vacation, Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia met frequently at the provincial library.
At first, they often read books on history, politics, and finance. Later, when the results of the high school entrance examination were announced, Lin Zhixia became the top scorer in the city. Jiang Yubai congratulated her on her high score, but Lin Zhixia said calmly that she was distracted when writing the Chinese composition and did not perform at her best.
From that day on, Jiang Yubai gave up reading any leisure books on history, politics, and finance.
Jiang Yubai started preparing for A-level and IELTS.
"A-level" is the college entrance examination in the UK. Jiang Yubai spent a month preparing for some high school mathematics knowledge in advance. "IELTS" refers to the "International English Proficiency Test", which is divided into four subjects: listening, speaking, and writing.
Jiang Yubai wants to study for his undergraduate degree at Cambridge University and should get excellent grades.
Lin Zhixia practiced oral English seriously with Jiang Yubai in that study room. Lin Zhixia played the role of the oral examiner of the IELTS test, and Jiang Yubai was the student she was going to interview.
Lin Zhixia found out the real questions from previous years of the IELTS test, randomly selected a few, and asked Jiang Yubai to answer them. Soon, Lin Zhixia discovered the beauty of this game.
She asked Jiang Yubai to answer the following questions in English: "1. Describe your best friend. 2. The most touching thing you encountered at school. 3. The best gift you have ever received from a friend. 4. Your experience of having dinner with your best friend..."
Jiang Yubai questioned her in Chinese: "Are you abusing public power for personal gain?"
Lin Zhixia's eyes were clear: "I didn't. I am here to help you review for the IELTS exam. I am your oral examiner, Miss Lin. Please call me Miss Lin."
Jiang Yubai refused to cooperate.
Lin Zhixia said meticulously: "You should always follow the rules of the test."
Lin Zhixia reminded him to follow the rules of the IELTS test. She was still eagerly waiting for his answer. Jiang Yubai had no choice but to describe in detail the questions she had just listed.
He spoke English like a chatterbox for about ten minutes. During this time, Lin Zhixia did not interrupt him at all. She listened to every word he said and kept her eyes fixed on him.
When he stopped, she said with great joy, "Hahahahahahahahaha, Jiang Yubai, I remembered everything you said."
"I know," Jiang Yubai nodded, "You won't forget me."
Lin Zhixia tilted her head: "Of course not."
This day, August 29, 2008, was also the day they temporarily separated. Tomorrow morning, Jiang Yubai would take a plane to Beijing, while Lin Zhixia would stay in the provincial capital.
The wall clock showed that the current time was 3:40 p.m., and they still had 20 minutes to spend together. At 4 p.m., Jiang Yubai's driver would come to pick him up.
Jiang Yubai took out a wooden box and handed it to Lin Zhixia. He said, "Happy thirteenth birthday, Lin Zhixia."
The box is engraved with the Chinese characters "鴻鹄之志". Lin Zhixia opened the lid and saw a hairpin with exquisite workmanship. This hairpin with antique design highlights its dazzling beauty under the light.
Lin Zhixia was immediately as happy as a girl from the Tang Dynasty: "Wow, I never thought you would give me something like this. I like it very much. Thank you, Jiang Yubai."
After that, she took out a glass jar from her schoolbag. She opened her ten fingers, held the jar, and gently pushed the glass jar in front of Jiang Yubai: "There are 365 paper cranes in it, all of which I stacked by hand. There is a poem written on the paper of each paper crane. If you open a paper crane every day, it is equivalent to receiving a poem belonging to you every day. When you have opened all the paper cranes, I will go to Beijing to study at university."
Jiang Yu accepted her gift solemnly: "I will put it in the same place as the bookmark."
"Okay," Lin Zhixia said with a smile, "Happy thirteenth birthday, Jiang Yubai."
Jiang Yubai smiled back at her.
After a while, Jiang Yubai's driver called him and urged him to go downstairs. After he packed his things, he walked out of the provincial library building with Lin Zhixia. The afternoon sun was still bright and golden, giving him a golden edge. He stood sideways in front of a car, hesitated for a minute and didn't get in the car. He couldn't help but look at Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai were about one meter apart. She was facing the sun, with a long slanted shadow behind her. With a smile in her eyes, she said to him with vigor and vitality: "Jiang Yubai, you must move forward bravely. So will I. I will move forward too. Let's work hard together!"
Jiang Yubai didn't see any sadness on her face. He thought to himself that she was indeed an optimistic and cheerful girl. So he felt relieved and said goodbye to her: "I'm leaving for now. Come on, Lin Zhixia."
He stepped into the car and closed the door.
During the four years from elementary school to junior high school, when Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai parted, she liked to say to him the most: See you tomorrow!
He always responds the same way.
But this time, his tomorrow is far away.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but Lin Zhixia still thought she wouldn't cry. Until the tears began to fall, she had to try hard to keep her voice steady: "Okay, bye!"
Jiang Yubai also said, "Goodbye."
The car moved slowly forward, Jiang Yubai turned around and looked for Lin Zhixia. She stood there motionless, and the car was getting faster and faster, and she was gradually blocked by the trees on the roadside.
Jiang Yubai doesn't have Lin Zhixia's memory, but he will always remember the shade of the trees and the street scenes of that summer.
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