Lin Zhixia walked along the street and soon found a shopping mall.
She led Jiang Yubai into the main entrance, and the sunlight poured down from above their heads. She looked up at the roof, where the intersecting metal strips formed a net that tightly supported the arched glass ceiling.
Not far from the entrance, there is a jewelry store called "Pandora". Lin Zhixia took a fancy to a pair of star earrings in the store. She wanted to buy them, but she had never pierced her ears.
Lin Zhixia glanced at Jiang Yubai. Jiang Yubai's action surprised her. He was actually choosing a bracelet. He took out a silver chain inlaid with stars from the glass cabinet and put it on Lin Zhixia's left wrist.
Lin Zhixia has a fair complexion and slender fingers, and the silver chain matches her very well. Jiang Yubai asked her if she liked it, and she said she liked it very much. Jiang Yubai went to pay directly, but Lin Zhixia quickly stopped him: "You don't have to buy anything for me."
He took out a bank card and said, "The bracelet is only 70 pounds, not expensive."
70 pounds is equivalent to 700 yuan.
In Lin Zhixia's opinion, seven hundred yuan is a lot of money.
So, she explained, "70 pounds for a bracelet is a bit expensive for me."
Lin Zhixia spoke very sincerely and frankly. She did not want Jiang Yubai to break her spending habits. She just wanted to go shopping easily and without any burden, instead of asking Jiang Yubai to buy her whatever she liked. She also felt that Jiang Yubai was very reasonable and that as long as she discussed it with him, he would definitely respect her.
The salesperson in the store waited patiently by the side, but Jiang Yubai put the bank card back into his pocket. He apologized to the salesperson and left the store with Lin Zhixia.
Outside the store, Jiang Yubai happened to meet his classmate.
Jiang Yubai has a wide range of friends. He knows people from different majors and colleges. Several classmates who came towards him were undergraduates from the computer department. After a few pleasantries, someone asked him, is Lin Zhixia his friend
Jiang Yubai formally introduced: "She is my girlfriend."
As soon as he said the word "girlfriend", Jiang Yubai felt a subtle feeling in his heart. He held Lin Zhixia's wrist, but the force was very light, not daring to use force. He remembered that when he went out to play with her when he was a child, they would occasionally grab each other's schoolbag straps... Those happy and interesting childhood memories made him smile very lightly and added: "She is also my best friend."
Jiang Yubai's classmates were not surprised after hearing what he said. It was normal for college students to fall in love. They talked to Lin Zhixia and asked her what her major was. She didn't hide it and said, "I graduated from college and am now a first-year doctoral student. I am in the same college as Jiang Yubai."
She also said: "I am the same age as Jiang Yubai."
The student standing opposite her exclaimed, “Oh my God.”
Another classmate stuttered a little: "Let's... go shopping. Let's talk later when we have time."
Lin Zhixia smiled at them friendly.
After they walked away, Lin Zhixia whispered to Jiang Yubai: "Is your teaching assistant a doctoral student? I heard that you undergraduates all have supervisors. The word supervisor can be translated as mentor in your context, but I think the job content is like that of a teaching assistant, giving classes to your undergraduate group every week and helping you answer questions..."
She paused for a moment and fantasized, "Maybe I can be a teaching assistant for undergraduate students majoring in computer science, mathematics, physics, and chemistry."
Fortunately, she didn't mention the economy.
Jiang Yubai felt that he had escaped a disaster.
Lin Zhixia's published papers involved ocean physics, high-performance computing, and quantum physics, which obviously had nothing to do with economics. Jiang Yubai encouraged her without any distractions: "Tomorrow when you meet your classmates in the research group, you can ask them, they are all graduate students. A classmate once told me that if you want to be an undergraduate tutor, you should first write an application and attach a resume. If you are selected by the department, you can then attend training... This is roughly the process."
"Okay." Lin Zhixia was in high spirits.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai walked around the street for most of the day and bought a lot of daily necessities.
Around five or six in the afternoon, the number of pedestrians gradually decreased, most shops closed, and Lin Zhixia also wanted to go home.
As usual, Jiang Yubai sent her back to the dormitory and sat in her room for a while.
Lin Zhixia entertained Jiang Yubai very warmly and made him a cup of milk tea. The two sat on the edge of the bed, each holding a cup. The smell of milk mixed with the aroma of black tea drifted around them like smoke and mist. Such a simple interaction made Lin Zhixia feel very satisfied.
She lowered her head and said, "I really like you."
He responded: “That’s what I wanted to say to you, too.”
Her eyes lit up: "I know."
He laughed softly.
Lin Zhixia picked up the glass and clinked it with him.
He said, “You are eighteen.”
"Yes." Lin Zhixia wasn't quite sure why he suddenly mentioned her age.
Jiang Yubai took a sip of milk tea and said sincerely: "I was thinking about what kind of birthday gift I should give you."
Lin Zhixia put down the cup with her right hand and held a small piece of bed sheet in her left hand. The pure cotton fabric formed a fold in her palm. She whispered in his ear: "Whatever you give me, I like it."
A slight breeze blew past his ears, and he could almost imagine how close she was to him.
There was a faint sense of restlessness in his heart, but he still sat upright, without his eyes wandering even a bit.
He knew exactly what he was expecting. At first he just wanted to hold Lin Zhixia's hand, then he wanted to hug her... That night on the plane, he wanted to kiss her cheek while she was sleeping.
However, Jiang Yubai had already made up his mind to develop a relationship with Lin Zhixia step by step. They had just come of age, and he would respect all her wishes.
In Jiang Yubai's subconscious mind, Lin Zhixia always needs protection. She is smart, kind, soft-hearted, and cautious. He will not break her habits, let alone scare her.
Jiang Yubai prepared himself mentally and continued to maintain his usual self-discipline. He didn't know that this kind of self-discipline was called "steadiness". Lin Zhixia kept approaching him, leaning on him, and playing with his fingers, while he chatted with Lin Zhixia calmly for a while and made an appointment with her for the next meeting.
The day after tomorrow afternoon, Jiang Yubai has no classes. If Lin Zhixia doesn’t go to the laboratory, they can study together in the school library.
Lin Zhixia was full of interest in his life. She had seen all his school photos and wanted to personally participate in his daily activities, so she readily agreed and sent him to the door of the dormitory building.
He walked away in the dark night.
Lin Zhixia looked at his tall and slender back and stood quietly downstairs of the dormitory building for a few minutes.
The next morning, Lin Zhixia went straight to her tutor's office.
The tutor talked with her for half an hour, helped her decide on the topic, took her to today's group meeting, and introduced her to other students and postdoctoral fellows in the group.
In addition to Lin Zhixia, there is another Chinese student in their group who is also a first-year doctoral student this year. His name is Wen Qi.
Wen Qi studied undergraduate at Imperial College London, and chose Cambridge for both his master's and doctoral degrees. He is handsome and well-mannered, and seems to be a very smart person.
After the group meeting this morning, a second-year doctoral student took Lin Zhixia and Wen Qi to visit the laboratory and familiarize themselves with the experimental instruments. The student was Indian, had a dark complexion, and spoke with a slight accent, but it did not affect communication at all.
Lin Zhixia took the opportunity to talk to her in English: "Can I ask a question? I really want to be a teaching assistant for undergraduates. Is the selection process for teaching assistants strict? I don't have any relevant experience, so I don't know if it will have any impact."
The senior student told Lin Zhixia that if she became an undergraduate teaching assistant, it would take up a lot of her time. Strictly speaking, Lin Zhixia has not officially become a doctoral student. She must complete the project report within a year and pass the defense before she can be recognized. As an undergraduate teaching assistant, she has to pay attention to the academic level and development direction of undergraduates. If she does not do well, she will be complained, which is as troublesome as it can be.
After hearing this long string of words, Lin Zhixia couldn't help but be stunned.
Soon after the Indian senior left, Wen Qi chuckled. He said to Lin Zhixia, "Aishwarya was complained by undergraduates."
Aishwarya is the name of an Indian senior.
Lin Zhixia asked him, "How do you know that Aishwarya has been complained about?"
"The person who complained about her is in the same college as me," he replied.
“Why did you complain about her?”
"Poor preparation before class."
Lin Zhixia did not express any opinion.
Wen Qi asked again: "How old were you when you started college? Have you ever taken an IQ test?"
Lin Zhixia was vague: "I started college at the age of fifteen. I took an IQ test when I was a kid, but I don't know how it is now."
Wen Qi's reaction was neither hot nor cold, and he didn't show the slightest bit of surprise, as if he was used to hearing stories about geniuses growing up. His conversation with Lin Zhixia ended here. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, turned around and went downstairs to smoke.
In the next half day, Lin Zhixia went to the college building alone and attended the freshman Q&A session. Under the guidance of the college staff, she found her office. On the door of the office was the pinyin of the three characters "Lin Zhixia", with the first name first and the last name last. Inside the room was a set of desks and chairs, a computer, a bookshelf, and a huge white writing board.
There was a French window on the side of the desk, through which she could clearly see the blue sky and green grass. She suddenly felt that she didn't need to go to the library to study.
She wanted to do theoretical calculations, which she could do in her office.
Lin Zhixia took a selfie here and sent it to Jiang Yubai via QQ message, inviting him to visit her workspace. She asked, "Is my office super nice?"
Jiang Yubai was taking a course in Econometrics. Half an hour later, he replied, "The person in the photo is really good-looking."