Lin Zhixia's cousin is named Ke Zhuangzhi.
Ke Zhuangzhi is one year older than Lin Zhixia and is a junior at a key university in the provincial capital. He is over 1.8 meters tall, well-proportioned, with regular features, and is considered a spirited young man.
Although Ke Zhuangzhi and Lin Zhixia are relatives, they have not seen each other for many years.
One day in October last year, Ke Zhuangzhi refreshed his circle of friends and saw a piece of news shared by his college classmate - "The ceiling of a talented beauty, she solved the world's difficult problem at the age of only 19."
Ke Zhuangzhi clicked on it and took a look, and saw Lin Zhixia's brilliant resume.
A classmate of Ke Zhuangzhi's class commented: "Lin Zhixia is really pretty and really amazing."
That night, Ke Zhuangzhi told his parents about this.
After some discussion, the three of them reached a consensus and decided to restore their relationship with Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu.
In another year, Ke Zhuangzhi will go abroad to study. He plans to apply to several prestigious universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada—all of which require him to provide academic reference letters and personal statements.
Ke Zhuangzhi's undergraduate grades were not outstanding, and his internship and research experience were average. If Lin Zhixia was willing to help him connect with professors at Peking University, Tsinghua University, Cambridge, and MIT, his master's application results would definitely be much better.
He hoped that the professors Lin Zhixia knew could help him write a few "academic recommendation letters."
Lin Zhixia has already made a name for herself in the international academic circle, and the outside world is generally optimistic about her future development. When she enters a university in the future, she will definitely start as an associate professor, and her resources and connections will be incomparable. There are only benefits and no harm in making friends with her.
Considering this, Ke Zhuangzhi called out to Lin Zhixia: "Xia Xia?"
Lin Zhixia didn't react at all.
Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.
According to tradition, Lin Zhixia's parents would close their shop from the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month until the third day of the Lunar New Year.
My uncle came to visit today, and Lin Zhixia had a very subtle feeling about it.
Her aunt gently reminded her: "Xia Xia, your cousin is talking to you."
Uncle locked his Lexus and kept glancing at Jiang Yubai. He had been a professional for many years and was keenly aware that Jiang Yubai was the owner of the luxury car. He also saw that Jiang Yubai was wearing an expensive watch on his left hand. He asked hurriedly, "Xia Xia, who is that boy to you?"
Jiang Yubai revealed his identity: "Hello, I am Lin Zhixia's boyfriend, today is the day I officially meet her parents..."
Before Jiang Yubai finished speaking, his uncle interrupted him and said, "I'm a practicing lawyer at Yunshen Law Firm. I think you look familiar. Is your father one of our clients? His surname is Zhou?"
Jiang Yubai understood that this was a relatively simple way of speaking.
When you meet a stranger for the first time and want to get information from him, if you ask him directly, he may not answer. At this time, you can deliberately make a wrong assumption and wait for him to correct it.
Jiang Yubai replied calmly: "I don't know much about what's going on at home. I'll go home and ask about it some other day."
Lin Zhixia held Jiang Yubai's hand, and her uncle followed them into the house. Her uncle asked again, "Is your hometown in the provincial capital? Or did you come from Beijing?"
Jiang Yubai played Tai Chi with him like a veteran: "Listen to my accent, where do I sound like I'm from?"
"You don't have an accent," my uncle said truthfully, "and you speak standard Mandarin."
In the dimly lit corridor, the cement walls are painted white, and all kinds of small advertisements are spread on the walls like psoriasis, filled with eye-catching words such as "professional pipe unclogging" and "professional lock opening".
My uncle seemed to kindly remind me, "House prices have been rising across the country in recent years. Xia Xia, if your family can buy a house, you should buy it early and choose a good location. Your investment will be worthwhile."
After saying that, my uncle put his arm around Ke Zhuangzhi's shoulders.
Ke Zhuangzhi was more concerned about another question. He turned his head and looked at Jiang Yubai: "Where did you go to college?"
This time, Jiang Yubai did not hide it: "I am Lin Zhixia's classmate."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Zhixia pushed open the security door of her house and brought in four guests including Jiang Yubai and her uncle's family.
The choking smell of oily smoke from the stir-fried beef wafted over from the kitchen, and the living room of more than ten square meters suddenly became crowded and chaotic.
Two brand new electric heaters were moved to the side of the sofa, and one seat was covered with a soft wool blanket - this was the seat Lin Zhixia specially prepared for Jiang Yubai.
The "Princess and the Pea" in Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales can feel a pea under twenty layers of velvet quilts. In Lin Zhixia's eyes, Jiang Yubai is almost the "Prince on the Pea".
Lin Zhixia's family had used the sofa for many years, but her parents had never been willing to buy a new one. The surface of the old sofa had peeled off, revealing a pale yellow sponge surrounded by a circle of rough, worn leather.
This morning, Lin Zhixia took out her most treasured woolen blanket and covered the damaged tear.
Unexpectedly, Ke Zhuangzhi just sat on the wool blanket.
Lin Zhixia was stunned.
Lin Zhixia bought this wool blanket at a Swiss resort hotel. She usually doesn't want to use it, and only occasionally puts it next to her pillow as a quilt for her little penguin.
Lin Zeqiu knew that Lin Zhixia liked this little blanket very much.
His face darkened visibly.
He and Ke Zhuangzhi have never gotten along.
When they were young in their rural hometown, the cousins fought all the time, and a strong sense of tension would erupt whenever they met.
Before Lin Zeqiu could say anything, Lin Zhixia said, "Cousin, can you stand up? Give me back the wool blanket."
My aunt opened her red lips and said with a smile, "Xia Xia is outspoken. Why are you arguing with your family over a blanket? With the blanket as a cushion, Zhuangzhuang can sit comfortably..."
My uncle was also trying to smooth things over. He took the opportunity to say, "Xia Xia, Qiu Qiu, how can we hold grudges against each other as family? Blood is thicker than water. Your uncle and aunt came all the way to see you today, so don't take it too seriously."
Lin Zhixia curled her lips slightly and smiled: "If I really wanted to argue with you, I should have started more than 20 years ago."
More than 20 years ago, Lin Zhixia's mother had excellent academic performance. However, her grandfather's family could only afford to support one college student, so her mother gave the opportunity to go to college to her uncle. She worked in a factory and often sent tuition and living expenses to her uncle.
Later, Lin Zeqiu was born and unfortunately suffered from congenital heart disease and urgently needed surgery. His uncle did not pay a penny - based on this point alone, his uncle should not regard himself as Lin Zeqiu's "relative."
As for my cousin Ke Zhuangzhi...
Lin Zhixia had an even worse impression of him.
When he was a child in his rural hometown, Ke Zhuangzhi often mocked Lin Zeqiu by calling him "heart disease" and called Lin Zhixia "freak". The war between cousins never stopped.
Ke Zhuangzhi can even make Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu give up their internal struggles, and the two siblings will become unprecedentedly united.
Recalling the past events of her childhood, Lin Zhixia's tone became stronger: "Please get up and stop sitting on my things."
Lin Zhixia's father went to the supermarket warehouse to get drinks, while her mother was busy in the kitchen turning on the range hood.
Mom and Dad were not in the living room, so no one could control Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia grabbed a corner of the wool blanket. This made Ke Zhuangzhi extremely embarrassed. As a guest, how could he be treated so roughly by the host? He couldn't even get a better cushion
Ke Zhuangzhi was young and full of vigor. He was holding back his anger and pressed hard on the other side of the blanket.
However, the next second, Jiang Yubai and Lin Zeqiu both helped Lin Zhixia. The three of them worked together to pull away the wool blanket, and Ke Zhuangzhi almost fell off the sofa.