ambiguous
"Artificial sun?"
Xu Honghan hadn't expected Jiang Zhizhi to be interested in this project. He pondered for a moment and said, "If gravitational wave detectors are the ears of human civilization, then I think artificial suns are the heart of human civilization. It's far more than just creating a sun on Earth; it represents a dramatic change in the level of civilization..."
Compared with Qiu Han, Xu Honghan has a more professional and profound understanding of the artificial sun project. He explained to Jiang Zhizhi from the principles to the model, as well as the difficulties that will be faced in the next few decades.
"If the artificial sun succeeds, then space elevators, spaceships, interstellar travel, and so on will no longer be distant dreams. Zhizhi, I'm really happy that you're interested in this project. The progress of human civilization depends on the continuous efforts of young generations, and only then will there be hope."
Because of the artificial sun, Jiang Zhizhi and Qiu Han became good friends. They attended lectures and conducted research together, and finally decided to sign up for the school's Spark Program with transient heat load problems as their experimental project.
Qiu Han certainly didn't think that the two of them alone could solve the problem that had plagued the fusion community for years. However, even if they could make a small progress, they would cause a sensation in the academic community, and they might even have a chance to join the project in the future.
As freshmen, they lacked sufficient experience. Jiang Zhizhi's record of placing first in the International Mathematical Olympiad was impressive, but she still needed some experimental experience. With Yang Fuyuan's help, Jiang Zhizhi and Qiu Han borrowed a low-dimensional physics laboratory to expand their experience.
"I almost forgot that you are Mr. Zong's student." Qiu Han was envious and jealous.
Not only in Shuimu University, but in the entire academic circles of China, Zong Qinghai's authority is unshakable. Almost half of the academic talents are Zong's students or his disciples, commonly known as the sect.
Qiu Han didn't even have to think about how bright and smooth Jiang Zhizhi's future would be just based on her status as a disciple of Zong Qinghai.
She suddenly felt extremely fortunate that Jiang Zhizhi was interested in the artificial sun project just like her, allowing her to rely on this strong partner.
*
Jiang Zhizhi began her busy academic schedule. Besides attending classes, she spent every day with Qiu Han, either conducting experiments or researching in the library. However, some of the foreign experimental data needed to be downloaded from the internet, and Jiang Zhizhi wasn't very computer-savvy. Fortunately, Qiu Han was quite adept at this, and the two of them complemented each other.
Busy days passed one by one, and suddenly one day, Jiang Zhizhi received a call.
"Zhizhi, how have you been lately? Are you doing well in school?" It was Li Rongrong.
"It's fine. How about you and Lin Qingyu?"
"We're both fine. We just haven't seen each other for a long time since we came to Jinghai. Are you free this Saturday? Do you want to meet up?"
Jiang Zhizhi thought about it. She had no lectures to attend and no experiments scheduled this Saturday...
"Okay, where shall we meet?"
"Guyun Street, it's very lively there. There's a new music restaurant and bar that just opened there. Qingyu said the food there is also very delicious." Li Rongrong said excitedly.
"OK."
After the last class on Friday, a drizzle began to fall.
Jiang Zhizhi didn't bring an umbrella and waited for a while downstairs of the teaching building. Seeing that the rain showed no sign of stopping, she decided to rush back in the rain.
Just as I was about to leave, the phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.
Someone called her.
Jiang Zhizhi glanced at the incoming call and a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes, but she still answered the call.
"Xu Qingbo?"
She never thought that Xu Qingbo would call her. Wasn't he an exchange student abroad?
Is there anything wrong?
"It's me, what are you doing?" Xu Qingbo's voice seemed to be filled with laughter, and he seemed to be in a good mood.
But Jiang Zhizhi was feeling a bit bad at the moment. Rain splashed on her forehead. She wiped her forehead and said, "Nothing. I just got out of class. What's the matter with you calling?"
"Is it raining where you are?"
"Um."
"Did you bring an umbrella?"
"Uh...no, but that's okay. I can go back to the dorm later."
"Shall I ask someone to bring you an umbrella?"
"No, no need. It's raining. No need to trouble others..." Jiang Zhizhi quickly refused. It was just a little rain. There was really no need to ask others to come from the dormitory.
"He doesn't find it troublesome at all."
The voice on the phone suddenly came again from behind. Jiang Zhizhi was stunned for a moment, and a transparent umbrella opened and covered her head.
"Because he's already here." Xu Qingbo stood behind her, waiting for Jiang Zhizhi to turn around. "Jiang Zhizhi, long time no see."
They were under the same umbrella, but the distance between them was too close. Jiang Zhizhi looked at the elegant and handsome boy in front of her. He was wearing a long coat in warm maple color, and he looked so handsome that he seemed to have walked out of a painting.
She hasn't seen him for a long time.
In her previous life, she had never seen what Xu Qingbo looked like when he grew up.
Now he was standing in front of her, and Jiang Zhizhi was a little afraid to recognize him.
"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me?" Xu Qingbo smiled broadly.
"A little bit." Jiang Zhizhi came back to her senses and smiled awkwardly, "Aren't you an exchange student in Country M? Why are you back?"
"I came back from leave."
"Okay, are you going back to South City?"
"No."
"If you didn't ask for leave to come back to see your family, then there must be something more important, right?"
“It is indeed very important.”
"Okay. Actually, Rongrong and Qingyu asked me to go to Guyun Street tomorrow. I was thinking that if you have time, we could go together. We haven't been together for a long time."
"I have time."
Maybe because they were too close, Jiang Zhizhi always felt that Xu Qingbo's gaze on her was a little hot, making her embarrassed to look back.
She coughed lightly, "Are you going back to the dormitory too?"
"Well, I'll take you back."
The drizzle was still falling. Jiang Zhizhi was wearing thin clothes and could not withstand the bone-chilling rain in this autumn and winter time. She could not help but shiver.
"Are you cold? You're wearing too little." The two people were very close to each other. Xu Qingbo held Jiang Zhizhi's hand and felt it was icy cold.
Jiang Zhizhi was stunned for a moment, looking at the hand that Xu Qingbo was holding hers, and did not pull it away immediately.
His hands are very warm.
He held her hand and put it in his pocket, then said with a smile, "It won't be so cold this way. Let's go."
Jiang Zhizhi suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a little ambiguous and something was strange.
When they arrived in front of the girls' dormitory, he folded his umbrella and put it aside. "What time will we meet tomorrow?"
"Rongrong said we'll meet at the southeast entrance of Guyun Street at 5 p.m. It's about an hour from here. Let's meet at 3 p.m."
"good."
"Then...goodbye." Jiang Zhizhi waved to him and prepared to enter the dormitory.
"Wait." Xu Qingbo suddenly called her. He took off his green cashmere scarf and simply wrapped it around Jiang Zhizhi's neck. "It's going to get colder tomorrow, so remember to wear more clothes."
Before Jiang Zhizhi returned to the dormitory, the news that she was sent to the downstairs by a boy spread to their dormitory.
As soon as she entered, she was pulled to the center of the dormitory, and Qiu Han and others surrounded her like judges.
"Okay, Jiang Zhizhi, you hid it well enough. Tell me the truth. When did you get a boyfriend? Who is that boy?" Qiu Han interrogated her.
Jiang Zhizhi explained: "He's not my boyfriend, he's a junior in college. We used to go to the same school."
"A school? A high school?"
“Elementary school, middle school, and high school are all one school.”
Qiu Han took a deep breath, "Childhood sweetheart?"
"No, it's really not..."
How could she and Xu Qingbo be considered childhood sweethearts?
Uh... does it count?
"It smells so good." Lin Xin came over, picked up Jiang Zhizhi's Go and sniffed it. "Is it the scarf worn by that boy? He must have prepared well before coming to see you, otherwise how could it smell so good? Strange, it smells quite good. What kind of perfume is it? Can you ask him for me..."
Jiang Zhizhi also noticed that when Xu Qingbo approached her, she smelled a cool fragrance, like a faint jasmine, which became even more refreshing and charming in the drizzle.
"Zhizhi, he must be interested in you!"
Qiu Han sat on the chair with his legs crossed and made the final judgment.
*
At three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, Xu Qingbo met Jiang Zhizhi downstairs of the dormitory building on time, and the two went to Guyun Street together.
Last night Jiang Zhizhi sent a message to Li Rongrong, telling her that Xu Qingbo would also be coming today. When Jiang Zhizhi and Xu Qingbo arrived, Li Rongrong and Lin Qingyu were already waiting there.
Like Jiang Zhizhi, they hadn't seen Xu Qingbo for many years. If Xu Qingbo hadn't come with Jiang Zhizhi, they wouldn't have dared to recognize him.
Li Rongrong stared at Xu Qingbo in a daze for a long while. Lin Qingyu, who was standing beside her, greeted him politely and gently, "Xu Qingbo, long time no see."
"haven't seen you for a long time."
It had been too long since they last met, and they were no longer the same as they were in elementary school. There was a sense of distance in Xu Qingbo's words.
"Zhizhi, have you gotten tanned?" Li Rongrong shifted her gaze to Jiang Zhizhi. Compared to the last time they met at the beginning of the school year, Jiang Zhizhi had visibly become several shades darker.
"Yeah, it's military training." Jiang Zhizhi said with a smile.
"You're too honest. Just take a sick leave."
Lin Qingyu said jokingly, "Zhizhi is a serious person, how could she be as sneaky and cunning as you?"
"How could I be cheating? People with low blood sugar can't participate in military training. I'm just cherishing my life, okay?" Li Rongrong said unconvincedly, "Lu Xiye is the real cheater. He skipped military training to play racing with a bunch of buddies he met for no apparent reason..."
"I was just joking. Now that everyone is here, let's go." Lin Qingyu said.
"Wait a minute, I also made an appointment with Lu Xiye, he hasn't arrived yet... Seriously, what time is it? I should give him a call..."
Li Rongrong said this, took out her cell phone and called Lu Xiye.
After a while, Lu Xiye's irritable voice came from the other end of the phone, "I'm looking for a parking space! I haven't found even one for half an hour. What kind of crappy place are you looking for?"
"Who told you to drive here?" Li Rongrong was speechless and attacked bluntly, "Guyun Street is very busy here. Even a fool knows that parking is difficult."
“…”
"Forget it, then we won't wait for you to go in first. Just park the car and come over yourself."
After hanging up the phone, Li Rongrong couldn't help but mock Lu Xiye for a while, and took everyone to the music restaurant they had agreed on.
This music restaurant bar has become very popular online recently. It was packed with customers. Even though Li Rongrong had reserved a table in advance, she still had to wait outside for half an hour before she could get in.
As soon as he sat down, Lu Xiye came in hurriedly. He saw Jiang Zhizhi and Xu Qingbo next to her at a glance.
Li Rongrong didn't tell him that Xu Qingbo would come to the party, but he had a premonition on the way there.
"Why are you so close? Are you dating?"
He taunted Xu Qingbo and Jiang Zhizhi, then pulled a chair over and squeezed in between them.
Xu Qingbo's face showed some displeasure, but he was good-tempered and didn't say anything.
Li Rongrong rolled her eyes speechlessly, "Lu Xiye, are you sick?"
"Yeah, that's the first day you knew?" he replied cheekily.
“…”
"Okay, we're all old classmates now, so don't argue every time you meet." Lin Qingyu acted as a peacemaker as always, handing the menu on the table to Jiang Zhizhi, "Zhizhi, you order. You're the boss today."
"I'm the oldest?"
"After twelve o'clock it will be your birthday, your eighteenth birthday. We want to be the first to celebrate your birthday, so we decided to get together today. Have you forgotten it?" Lin Qingyu looked at her dazed look and couldn't help but reminded her with a smile.
Jiang Zhizhi checked her cell phone. Today was November 28th. Indeed, after midnight it would be her eighteenth birthday.
She was not one of those people who cared much about birthdays, and she had been busy doing experiments with Qiu Han recently, so she had completely forgotten about this matter.
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