Jiang Yubai applied to add Lin Zeqiu as a WeChat friend.
After adding successfully, Jiang Yubai sat on the sofa, slightly covering the screen with his left hand, clicking the keyboard with his right hand, and noting Lin Zeqiu as "Brother-in-law".
Lin Zhixia came over and peeked at him.
Jiang Yubai's eyes inevitably fell on Lin Zhixia's face. He saw her thick eyelashes blinking, and her fair cheeks turned a little pink. She whispered, "Don't let my brother find out." Then she asked, "What's the note you gave me?"
Jiang Yubai's voice was even softer than hers: "Xia Xia."
Lin Zhixia was a little shy: "I thought you would call me Xia Xia wife."
Jiang Yubai smiled and said, "I'll change it right away."
Lin Zhixia grabbed his phone and said, "No, that's not what I meant."
Jiang Yubai said, "That's what I meant."
When Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia were whispering, Lin Zeqiu stood aside and observed them. For some reason, the words "green tea" that Ke Zhuangzhi cursed with hatred before leaving suddenly flashed through Lin Zeqiu's mind.
If "brother-in-law" is an evaluation system with a full score of 100, Lin Zeqiu can temporarily give Jiang Yubai 60 points - just a passing score, not a single point more.
However, Lin Zeqiu's parents seemed to have a better and better impression of Jiang Yubai.
At the lunch table, Dad picked up food for Jiang Yubai twice, and Mom asked Jiang Yubai a lot of questions. Jiang Yubai always maintained great patience. His tone was gentle and his conversation was humorous. Even when it came to dangerous topics such as "What do you think of Lin Zhixia's uncle and aunt?", he could cleverly resolve the embarrassment, saving face for his uncle's family and being very supportive of Lin Zhixia.
That afternoon, the snow stopped, the sky cleared up, the sun was shining brightly, Lin Zhixia's father was turning over the dried radishes on the balcony, and Lin Zeqiu helped him with quick movements. In order to show off himself, Jiang Yubai took the initiative to go to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Jiang Yubai almost never does housework. He accidentally dropped a bowl, and the broken pieces of porcelain were scattered all over the floor.
Lin Zhixia was the first to hear the noise in the kitchen. She ran over to help Jiang Yubai, but he immediately stopped her: "Don't come over, I'll clean up."
After Jiang Yubai picked up the large pieces of debris, he swept the floor with a broom and dustpan.
Lin Zhixia kept staring at him. He said self-deprecatingly, "I'm clumsy, please don't despise me."
Lin Zhixia stepped into the kitchen and said, "You are not stupid. You are very good, kind and smart."
Jiang Yubai leaned over to her. She hooked her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
Jiang Yubai continued to wash the dishes with full energy. He stood in front of the sink, scrubbing the pot carefully while scanning the kitchen environment. He saw cracks on the tiles, water pipes wrapped with tape, rusty stoves, peeling window frames... He also remembered that Lin Zhixia had written in her diary that her mother had rheumatoid arthritis. During the rainy season every year, the floor and walls of their house would be damp, and her mother would feel uncomfortable. Therefore, Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu were eager to move.
Jiang Yubai planned to buy a large flat near the university town. The area did not need to be too large, more than 700 square meters would be enough. It would take about a year to renovate a rough house. When Lin Zhixia finished her postdoctoral studies and returned to the provincial capital to take up a teaching position, she could move in directly.
The university town is located in the main urban area of the city, with a very advantageous geographical location. There is a high-end residential area here, with extremely high property prices. The residents are either rich or noble, and a parking space alone is very expensive.
Jiang Yubai had his eyes on a "privately customized" penthouse with a "sky garden" attached. His secretaries helped him sort out several design plans, printed them on coated paper, and bound them into four volumes.
After the Spring Festival holiday, Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia went to the UK again.
After a short one-day rest, Lin Zhixia could not wait to devote most of her energy to her scientific research. As Lin Zhixia expected, her supervisor set a precedent for her and allowed her to graduate with a doctorate in October this year.
When the classmates in the group heard the news, they all congratulated her.
Lin Zhixia was increasingly looking forward to her life after she turned 20. She would occasionally browse housing information in the provincial capital, calculate the amount of savings in her piggy bank, and search online for prices of sofas, tables, lamps and other household items.
There were a few times when Jiang Yubai came to see Lin Zhixia and happened to see her choosing a sofa.
One night, Jiang Yubai knocked on Lin Zhixia's bedroom door, holding four books describing decoration plans.
Lin Zhixia had just finished taking a shower. Her eyes were watery and her face was flushed. She looked at him in confusion. He said inexplicably, "I want to buy you a house."
"Buy me a house?" Lin Zhixia said, "I plan to buy one myself."
Jiang Yubai tried to test her in a roundabout way: "You haven't officially started working yet..."
Lin Zhixia laughed: "I have a lot of bonuses. I just received an email a few days ago. The college is going to give me money again."
Jiang Yubai didn't say anything. He placed four thick books on her desk.
Lin Zhixia opened one of the books and saw the spacious living room, the high ceiling, and the city view outside the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows. She exclaimed, "It's so beautiful."
Jiang Yubai asked cautiously: "Do you like it?"
Lin Zhixia sat at the desk, and Jiang Yubai sat next to her. They were planning their future residence like an engaged couple. Lin Zhixia read every page curiously, but she couldn't get to the end. She couldn't help but ask, "How big is this house?"
"It's OK, not too big," Jiang Yubai commented, "The living area is 794 square meters, nearly 800."
Lin Zhixia was stunned for a moment and thought: 800 square meters, isn’t that a big house
But then she remembered that Jiang Yubai grew up in a manor. In comparison, the 800-square-meter mansion was not very big.
This mansion also has its own "hanging garden". Lin Zhixia said to herself: "I have heard of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is said that the king of Babylon built a hanging garden for his princess according to her wishes in order to please her."
Jiang Yubai flipped open another atlas: "Not only this garden, but all supporting facilities can be designed according to your wishes."
Lin Zhixia thought for a while, holding her chin with both hands: "Well... forget it, this is your house, you decide the decoration style, I will stay at your house for a few days when I am free."
Jiang Yubai paused with his fingers resting on the paper: "You said that when you get a job, we will live together."
"Yes." Lin Zhixia admitted without hesitation.
Jiang Yubai's tone was even deeper: "During the Spring Festival, I didn't sleep well at night without you in my arms."
Lin Zhixia was thinking about another question: "I'm going to the United States to do a postdoctoral fellow soon, and you have to go back to China to work. What are you going to do at night?"
Jiang Yubai patted his legs, and Lin Zhixia sat on his legs with ease. He put one hand around her waist, kissed her and said, "I'll wait for you at home." The kiss lasted for a long time, and the temperature in the room seemed to rise. The hot air made Lin Zhixia's mind less clear. At this time, Jiang Yubai asked her if she wanted to live with him. She agreed in a daze, but the idea in her heart did not change - she must still buy a house by herself.
In the blink of an eye, February passed and March came. Unknown wild flowers bloomed on the grass, and the peaceful life in school remained the same as usual.
The work in the laboratory was proceeding in an orderly manner. While Lin Zhixia was happy, she was also worried about Wen Qi's condition.
At a morning meeting in March, Wen Qi was subtly criticized by his tutor. The tutor believed that since September last year, Wen Qi not only had no experimental output, but also had not read any new papers seriously, and had not completed the reading tasks assigned to him by the tutor.
Lin Zhixia was a little worried. If things continued like this, Wen Qi might not be able to pass the doctoral dissertation defense.
Lin Zhixia found several classmates in the group, and after discussing for a while, they decided to visit Wen Qi. Even the Indian senior Aishwarya joined them. This caught Lin Zhixia off guard, as she thought the Indian senior had a very bad impression of Wen Qi.
On a Saturday morning in early February, Lin Zhixia and her classmates knocked on Wen Qi's door. They waited for more than ten seconds, and Wen Qi slowly appeared - he had just woken up, had a scruffy beard, and was wearing pajamas, but he looked neat and clean.
"Good morning!" Lin Zhixia said with energy.
Wen Qi said in an old-fashioned way: "Good morning..."
Lin Zhixia picked up the plastic bag in her hand: "We all brought some gifts. I went back to China for the Spring Festival last week, and my mother prepared a lot of delicious food for me. I have a few bags of tea tree mushrooms, small whitebait, walnut kernels and raisins... All for you."
Wen Qi was stunned when he heard this.
Wu Pinyan poked her head out from behind Lin Zhixia: "Senior!"
Wu Pinyan is an undergraduate student taught by Lin Zhixia. She has excellent grades, quick thinking, and a very novel research direction. In January this year, she received a doctoral admission letter and will become a female doctoral student in the same group as Wen Qi in October.
Wu Pinyan is from Taipei. This year, she also went home for the Spring Festival. She gave Wen Qi several boxes of Fenghuangsu, Jinyue Niang, and peanut egg rolls, which are specialties from her hometown. She said, "Senior! Try it! It's super delicious!"
Wen Qi took a step back.
He was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of his compatriots.
The guests walked into his room one after another, stood in the middle of the room, and looked at his furnishings. He brought a chair to Lin Zhixia and Wu Pinyan respectively, and invited them to sit down.
Wu Pinyan asked, "Can you chat with people?"
Wen Qi said, “Yes.”
Lin Zhixia got straight to the point: "Has your doctor talked to you about how you are doing recently?"
Wen Qi glanced to the back. Among the guests present today, except for Lin Zhixia and Wu Pinyan, the rest of them could not speak Chinese, but Lin Zhixia chatted with him in Chinese. It was obvious that they had discussed it in advance. He thought he was not close to these classmates - except for Lin Zhixia. He did talk a lot with Lin Zhixia, but he was the only one who listened to Lin Zhixia's endless chatter.
The kindness shown by his classmates made him feel a little uncomfortable.
“I’m getting better,” he said.
Lin Zhixia asked again: "What is the specific situation now?"
Wu Pinyan echoed: "Yes, what's the situation?"
Wen Qi knew that Lin Zhixia was implicitly asking him why he had not made any progress in scientific research. He and Lin Zhixia entered school at the same time, and after just a year and a half, Lin Zhixia was about to graduate, while he fell into a long period of confusion.
Lin Zhixia waited for a long time, so long that other students started playing with their phones. Wu Pinyan was staring out the window in a daze. Pigeons were perched on the windowsill and cooing. The cup of hot tea on the table was gradually cooling down. Then Wen Qi said, "I want to drop out of school."
He said calmly: "It has nothing to do with others. It's my decision."