Jiang Yubai's driver took the trouble to first send Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai to the hotel. After they finished their meal, he sent Lin Zhixia back to the gate of the university campus.
Before getting off the car, Lin Zhixia thanked the driver and asked, "Jiang Yubai, are you free tonight? Do you want to take a walk with me near the school?"
Jiang Yubai readily agreed. He slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and followed Lin Zhixia down another street.
It was just past seven in the evening. The sky was pitch black and figures were lurking in the darkness. There were a few ground lights hidden in the grass. When the wind blew, the lights flickered like wandering fireflies.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai walked side by side, still keeping a distance from each other. In the cool night breeze, Lin Zhixia felt relaxed, and she took Jiang Yubai into a jewelry store on the street. Inside the store, there were many female college students... and their boyfriends.
As soon as Jiang Yubai stepped over the threshold, he felt that he was out of place in this place. But he did not back down. He followed Lin Zhixia's footsteps, watching her choose a headband and bow, and said to her, "Red suits you best."
She asked, "What about blue?"
"Blue is good," Jiang Yubai's voice was even deeper, "You can use any color."
Lin Zhixia chose a deep red bow, the fabric was smooth and neat, the ribbon was long and flowing. She also picked up a 40-yuan electronic watch - Jiang Yubai didn't notice this.
Next to Jiang Yubai stood a couple of campus lovers in their 18s and 19s. The couple was so overwhelmed by the sweet love that they were flirting in the corner as if no one was around. Jiang Yubai had to turn around and face away from them.
He pretended to look at a row of hair ties until Lin Zhixia pulled his sleeve and said, "Let's go check out."
Jiang Yubai happened to have a hundred-dollar bill in his coat pocket. He paid for Lin Zhixia and walked back to the street with her. She tightly grasped the 40-dollar electronic watch and took off her expensive Cartier watch, returning it to Jiang Yubai along with the packaging box.
Jiang Yubai was startled: "You..."
“I can’t accept it,” Lin Zhixia explained. “I will feel psychological pressure when I wear this watch.”
There was a bench on the side of the road. Lin Zhixia sat on the bench, and Jiang Yubai sat on her left. Hearing her say, "I will definitely wear the watch you gave me every day and look at it every day...but I'm not used to luxury goods, I'm sorry."
"I am the one who should apologize," Jiang Yubai said while holding the watch box, reflecting deeply, "I should have considered your habits. I will give you a gift in two days."
Lin Zhixia immediately unpacked the electronic watch: "Don't bother, this is the gift you just gave me!"
She stretched out her left hand: "Can you help me put on the watch again?"
Jiang Yubai held the watch chain and gently placed his fingertips on her wrist. He leaned closer to her and put it on for her. When he looked into her eyes, he felt that this moment was far more precious than any luxury in the world.
Lin Zhixia said happily: "Thank you, Jiang Yubai, I have a new watch!"
Jiang Yubai adjusted the time on her electronic watch and then asked, "When I graduate from college and start working, can you accept my gift?"
"Yes," Lin Zhixia said firmly, "By the time you graduate from college, I will have already graduated, and I can afford to buy the things you like."
Jiang Yubai automatically ignored the sentence "By the time you graduate from college, I will have graduated long ago."
He looked up at the night sky and said contentedly, "Okay, it's a deal."
Lin Zhixia hooked his little finger: "Hook?"
Jiang Yubai readily agreed: "Sure."
Lin Zhixia lowered her head slightly and said softly, "The hook on the sedan chair must not change for a hundred years."
Their little fingers were intertwined, their fingertips touching, and Jiang Yubai felt her palms were hot. He asked, "Is it a hook to get on the sedan chair, or a hook to hang?"
"I don't know," Lin Zhixia explained, "I prefer the idea of the upper sedan chair."
"Me too." Jiang Yubai gave his support.
Lin Zhixia stood up. She was afraid that Jiang Yubai would get lost, so she personally sent Jiang Yubai back to the driver's seat. Jiang Yubai rolled down the window and waved to her, and she smiled at him again: "Goodbye."
He responded, "Goodbye."
On the way back to the dormitory, Lin Zhixia met senior Luo Ying.
Luo Ying had just come out of the library. She saw Lin Zhixia from a distance, and stood under a street light, calling her name: "Lin Zhixia?"
Lin Zhixia jumped and ran towards Luo Ying: "Senior sister!"
Luo Ying was wearing a long dress and carrying a laptop bag. She stretched the strap of the bag and slung it over her shoulder, then asked softly, "Where did you go today?"
"The Forbidden City." Lin Zhixia answered proudly.
Luo Ying looked around: "Did you go there alone?"
"No," Lin Zhixia said, "I went there with my best friend."
Luo Ying raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She glanced at Lin Zhixia and praised, "You look very beautiful today."
Lin Zhixia casually said: "Senior is the real beauty."
The night breeze was mixed with Luo Ying's fragrance. Her long hair was blown into a mess by the wind. She said to herself in a self-deprecating way: "My hair is messy. Do I look like a crazy woman?"
"No," Lin Zhixia's praise was sweeter than honey, "Senior will always be a goddess."
Luo Ying accompanied Lin Zhixia to the 4th floor of the girls' dormitory. Lin Zhixia was about to go back to the dormitory, but the senior was still looking at her. She felt very strange and asked, "Senior, what's wrong?"
Luo Ying thought for a moment and found a topic: "Did you go to Teacher Gu Likai's laboratory?"
"Yes," Lin Zhixia said with anticipation, "Starting next week, I will be working in Professor Gu Likai's laboratory."
Luo Ying was a little worried about her: "Can you handle it? The students I know from the School of Physics say that Gu Likai has high academic requirements, low marks for grading papers, and is very strict with people."
Gu Like's laboratory is mainly responsible for the manufacture of quantum computers, which is an emerging field that has attracted great attention from academia and industry, and has a very broad development prospect. As a newly enrolled undergraduate, Lin Zhixia had the opportunity to enter Gu Like's laboratory, and she felt the trust from her teacher.
Lin Zhixia didn't care about Gu Likai's strictness, let alone the teacher's grading standards. But she said politely, "It doesn't matter. I will try my best to complete the experiment requirements."
"That's true," Luo Ying said, "You are so smart, you can accomplish anything you want to do."
Lin Zhixia was a little shy: "Yeah."
Luo Ying held onto the railing and took a step up. She was wearing black leather shoes, and her ankles were slender and white, which was a striking contrast. She stepped on the first step and asked again, "Do you still miss home recently?"
"I miss home a little bit," Lin Zhixia admitted. "I often dream about my mother, and sometimes I dream about my brother."
"It's a pity that you can't go home on the 11th. You have to work in the laboratory." Luo Ying said.
Lin Zhixia is still full of energy. She said that after Teacher Gu's advice, she suddenly realized that books are a tool to assist thinking, and experiments are a way to exercise hands. Cultivating scientific literacy and scientific intuition is a necessary path for her growth. She cherishes this opportunity to work in the laboratory.
Luo Ying asked her, "Can you take people to visit your laboratory?"
Lin Zhixia asked back: "Senior sister, do you want to come?"
Luo Ying said, "I'll just stand at the door and take a look."
"Okay, okay," Lin Zhixia slapped her thigh and made a prompt decision, "Next Wednesday morning at 6:30, I'll go find you at the door of your dormitory."
Luo Ying said goodbye to her after making an appointment with her. They said goodnight to each other in the stairwell of the girls' dormitory. Lin Zhixia turned around and walked back to her dormitory happily.
At six o'clock on Wednesday morning, Lin Zhixia got up on time. She quickly washed up, put on her clothes and pants, and looked in the mirror before leaving. Her roommate Feng Yuan lay on the bunk and said, "Don't take pictures, you are so beautiful."
Lin Zhixia opened the door of the dormitory, full of fighting spirit: "A new day has begun, I'm going out, everyone, work hard together and get your studies done!"
Behind her, her three roommates said in unison: "Get started!"
Lin Zhixia jogged along the corridor. She rushed to the stairs with ease. After a few minutes, she found Senior Luo Ying's room. She stood outside the door, knocked on it, and whispered, "Senior?"
She just shouted and the door opened.
Luo Ying dressed neatly and put on light makeup. She was 1.72 meters tall and thin, like a clothes hanger, and she looked good in anything.
Lin Zhixia imitated her roommate Feng Yuan and praised, "Senior sister is so pretty."
Luo Ying asked her, "Is it beautiful?"
"Of course." Lin Zhixia said with certainty.
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