Lin Zhixia held the remote control Jiang Yubai gave her, and her heart flew to the cat in Jiang Yubai's house. She asked him directly: "Can I go to your house to play?"
Jiang Yubai had been waiting for Lin Zhixia to say this. He readily agreed, took her into a car, and soon arrived at his home.
Lin Zhixia followed him into the house. She walked briskly, full of anticipation, and confided to Jiang Yubai: "I wanted to have a pet when I was a child, but my parents didn't agree, and my brother didn't like cats and dogs. On the day we went to the aquarium for an autumn outing, I won a plush penguin toy, and I treated the penguin as my pet. Before I knew it, it has been with me for more than six years."
"Almost seven years." Jiang Yubai echoed.
Lin Zhixia was overjoyed: "I have known you for seven years."
These seven years have passed so quickly. No wonder there is an old saying that goes “Ten years pass in the blink of an eye”.
In five months, Jiang Yubai will be sixteen years old. He couldn't help but wonder, ten years later, when he is twenty-six, what kind of life will he live? What kind of relationship will Lin Zhixia maintain with him?
Jiang Yubai slowed down his pace, and Lin Zhixia asked him, "What are you thinking about?"
Jiang Yubai blurted out: "You and me ten years later."
Lin Zhixia followed his meaning and said, "Ten years later... that will be 2020."
Jiang Yubai tested her: "When you are 26 years old by that year, do you have any...life plans?"
"Of course!" Lin Zhixia analyzed in an orderly manner, "I must produce sensational research results before the age of 26. Teacher Shen has been training me since I was nine years old, until I went to college at the age of fourteen. I met many good teachers and good senior students, and received their help..."
Lin Zhixia talked a lot without stopping.
It's all her academic experience and insights.
Jiang Yubai listened from beginning to end, and did not find any topic related to "emotions". He did not feel frustrated, as this was all within his expectations.
Since he made up his mind, he has read many biographies of geniuses. He found that the so-called "love" is only a tiny part of those people's lives - Newton never married, Leonardo da Vinci never married, Einstein had mistresses almost all the time, and Tesla may have loved a pigeon.
Jiang Yubai felt that his future was increasingly bleak.
It seems that there is no place for him in Lin Zhixia's future plans.
Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia walked through a double wooden door and arrived at the pet activity room. This room was three times larger than Lin Zhixia's dormitory. She looked up at the relief on the ceiling, while Jiang Yubai squatted down, opened the cat's nest, and showed a snow-white ragdoll cat.
The cat has fluffy fur and two blue eyes, as blue as the ocean on a sunny day, and like sparkling gems.
Lin Zhixia was so excited that she couldn't control herself.
"Kitty," she asked softly, "can I touch you?"
Jiang Yubai said: "Touch it, this cat is very well behaved."
Lin Zhixia squatted beside Jiang Yubai. She reached out her hand and gently touched the cat's fur. The cat meowed and lay down on the spot, revealing its fluffy, soft belly.
Lin Zhixia's heart was about to melt.
"What's its name?" Lin Zhixia asked.
Jiang Yubai said as a matter of course: "Strawberry."
Lin Zhixia laughed: "I like this name."
Lin Zhixia found an electronic mouse on the carpet - a special cat toy. She pressed the remote control and the mouse ran around the room in circles. The cat jumped out of the nest and started chasing the mouse. Lin Zhixia followed the cat for two steps. Jiang Yubai still sat on the ground with his back to her, watching the cat chasing the mouse nonchalantly. He was like a bystander who was not involved.
From childhood to adulthood, he always liked to act calm and self-possessed.
Will he get mad?
Lin Zhixia suddenly felt playful.
She knelt behind Jiang Yubai and leaned close to his ear, the air from her breath brushing the tip of his ear. His spine was stiffly straight and his ears were slightly red, but he still adhered to his usual demeanor and did not speak.
Lin Zhixia became bolder.
She put her hands on his shoulders, moved forward half an inch, and asked him softly, "Why don't you dare look back at me?"
Jiang Yubai asked her back: "Why are you so close to me?"
"Isn't it possible?" Lin Zhixia questioned him.
"Of course you can." Jiang Yubai said sincerely. He invited her generously: "Come closer." He raised his right hand and patted his left shoulder: "You can... lean on my shoulder."
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai have known each other for more than six years, and Jiang Yubai has never shown any aggression towards her. He is gentle, kind, honest, patient, and respects her very much. He provides a constant sense of security. Or, to be more precise, in Lin Zhixia's world, the three words "Jiang Yubai" equal a sense of security.
Lin Zhixia followed her heart, gently leaning on his shoulder, and honestly described her feelings: "It's strange, I just discovered recently that the closer I am to you, the happier I feel."
Happy?
Jiang Yubai pondered over this phrase.
There is something in his heart that is about to break through the soil, sprout, and grow into a towering tree.
Lin Zhixia had a light strawberry scent on her body, which was crisp and sweet, eroding the deepest part of his mind. But she knew nothing about it. She even whispered in his ear: "I answered your question, but you didn't talk to me anymore."
The voice was dense, seductive and innocent, like a soft yarn, entwining his heartbeat, making his chest rise and fall, and a little breathless. He was a young man who had just come to understand the world, and he had never experienced such a situation before. He did not expect Lin Zhixia to express closeness in such a direct way. Just now, he jokingly asked her to rest her head on his shoulder, and she actually did it.
He wanted to ask her in person: "Do you like me?" But he was afraid that if he said this, his friendship with Lin Zhixia would come to an end.
From May to August last year, Lin Zhixia's cold treatment of him has always been fresh in his memory and he has learned a lesson from it.
Jiang Yubai firmly believes that the thinking process of a genius is different from that of a normal person.
He has to think from Lin Zhixia's perspective and explore the world from her perspective. Then, Lin Zhixia defines him as a good friend who has been with her for many years, understands her, supports her, and occasionally shares the same thoughts with her.
He cleared his mind and whispered, "What do you want to say? I'm listening to you."
Lin Zhixia asked back: "Can you say anything?"
"Of course," Jiang Yubai said calmly, "We have been friends for seven years and have exchanged seven diaries. I am your object of observation. Don't restrain yourself in front of me."
Jiang Yubai guessed that Lin Zhixia would talk to him about the concept of "teamwork". Today in the cafe, He Shangqing's words and deeds are worth pondering and savoring. Jiang Yubai has learned a lot of team management strategies, and he is ready to pass on all that knowledge to Lin Zhixia.
He was silently reciting his speech. Lin Zhixia took a deep breath and whispered, "I like the smell of you." After she finished speaking, she imitated the ragdoll cat and rubbed against his shoulder coquettishly.
Jiang Yubai stopped breathing. He felt like she was about to kill him.
"You have to be friends with me forever." Lin Zhixia concluded.
These words brought Jiang Yubai back to reality.
Jiang Yubai sat upright and never turned his head. Lin Zhixia sat behind him and could not see his expression.
Lin Zhixia noticed that Jiang Yubai's ears were no longer red, and his back was still straight. His posture was relaxed, so calm and peaceful, without any other reaction. Lin Zhixia let go of him and turned to touch the kitten again.
Jiang Yubai fell to the ground silently.
Lin Zhixia was startled by him: "Jiang Yubai, what's wrong with you?"
Jiang Yubai turned his head, looked at her for a moment, and replied, "It's okay."
This was the first time that Jiang Yubai provided a shoulder for the girl he liked to lean on. He was not used to it yet and needed to slow down. He lay flat on the soft carpet, and after a few seconds, he stood up and invited Lin Zhixia to go for a walk in the garden with him.
Some time ago, Jiang Yubai bought two black horses and kept them in the stable in the backyard. Lin Zhixia had never ridden a horse before, and Jiang Yubai was afraid that she would not be able to adapt, so he did not dare to take her on the horse, and only walked with her holding the reins. In the garden where the green shadows intertwined, they talked and laughed as usual, had lunch together in the restaurant at noon, and went to another room to play with the "Lin Jiang" robot in the afternoon. It was not until the evening of this day that Jiang Yubai sent Lin Zhixia back to the university campus, and the two waved goodbye at the school gate.
For Jiang Yubai, this day was almost a perfect day.
Lin Zhixia was also in a good mood.
That night, she wrote in her Human Observation Diary: "Today is March 13, 2010. I went to Jiang Yubai's home again. He now has two pets, a kitten and a pony, both very cute. I think Jiang Yubai is cuter than the animals..."
Every December, Lin Zhixia would give the Human Observation Diary of the year to Jiang Yubai. She gradually gave up the original intention of Human Observation Diary and treated it as an ordinary diary, simply recording what she saw and heard today - she knew that Jiang Yubai would be her only reader. She felt very satisfied because she had such a reader, as if all her trivial feelings were listened to and understood by someone.
Lin Zhixia's last line was: "I will be able to meet Senior Sister Wei Ruoxing at tomorrow's North American Academic Exchange Conference..."
This senior named "Wei Ruoxing" graduated from the Provincial No. 1 High School and went abroad in her senior year. She is currently studying for a doctorate at a university in California, and the papers she published during her undergraduate studies have attracted the attention of industry insiders.
Lin Zhixia remembered that the newspaper in the provincial capital, Morning Post, had interviewed Wei Ruoxing. The title proposed by the newspaper reporter was: "There is always someone better than the best! The beautiful and smart girl from the Provincial No. 1 High School!"
In the newspaper, Wei Ruoxing introduced herself, saying that her name came from a line of poetry: "The lotus blossoms, shining like stars."
Lin Zhixia thought that Wei Ruoxing was a good name.
Lin Zhixia never associated Wei Ruoxing with senior Tan Qianche.
There was no rumor about their love story on the campus of Provincial No. 1 Middle School. If Yang Shuwen hadn't accidentally revealed Tan Qianche's past, Lin Zhixia would never have believed that Tan Qianche and his first love had been dating for several years without breaking up.
The "North American Academic Exchange Conference" will be officially held on Monday. However, Wei Ruoxing and her group arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning. That afternoon, Wei Ruoxing followed her teacher into the campus and was received by relevant staff.
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