Lin Zhixia agreed without hesitation: "No problem."
Just like that, she brought Jiang Yubai back home.
Mom and Dad are out, and Lin Zeqiu also has to go to work.
Lin Zeqiu put on his backpack and glanced at Jiang Yubai. He heard that Jiang Yubai was very busy at work and missed two meals in a row. He came to pick up his sister early in the morning on an empty stomach. He suddenly felt that this boy could be regarded as "a hateful person must have a pitiful side", so he reluctantly said a few nice words: "There is hot porridge and hot buns in the kitchen, and there are dried radishes and pickled beans on the table. You can fill your stomach."
Jiang Yubai stood behind him and responded without hesitation, "Thank you, brother-in-law."
Lin Zhixia laughed out loud.
Lin Zeqiu's whole body stiffened.
He hadn't officially acknowledged Jiang Yubai's identity as his "brother-in-law", but this guy actually called him "brother-in-law". He was so shameless! He pushed open the main door and left without looking back.
"My brother doesn't seem to quarrel with you now." Lin Zhixia concluded.
Jiang Yubai echoed: "Arguing won't solve the problem."
Lin Zhixia once again sighed: "Your emotions are really stable and mature. Unlike when you were a child, your ears would turn red if I teased you a little."
As she was talking, she walked forward. When she passed a pillar, Jiang Yubai raised his hand and placed it on the pillar, blocking her way. She leaned against the cold pillar with her head down at first, but then her eyes moved up along his collar and stopped at his neck. He bent down, breathing with her, and whispered to her, "Xia Xia..."
Whenever he murmured "Xia Xia" to himself, his subtext was: I want to kiss you, I want to be close to you.
He always remembered Lin Zhixia's extraordinary memory level. Every prelude to intimacy was filled with a tone of irrepressible emotions. And because he always displayed an ascetic and conservative style, the contrast between what he showed before and after made Lin Zhixia's blood boil.
The white gauze curtains fluttered in the wind, the huge living room seemed a little empty, and the room was plunged into silence.
Lin Zhixia leaned close to his ear, her lips touching his earlobe, and replied in French: "tu peux m'embrasser maintenant (You can kiss me)." She emphasized: "tout moment (at any time)."
They kissed in the morning sun. All the words melted away at this moment. The city outside the French window had just woken up from the morning mist, and the marble tiles on the terrace reflected the sunset.
At nine o'clock this morning, Lin Zhixia will teach undergraduate students.
She must be out before half past eight.
Around eight in the morning, Lin Zhixia was still sitting at the table, feeding Jiang Yubai a spoonful of porridge - Jiang Yubai was very embarrassed. He just took a bite, and his movements were a little hesitant. Although he enjoyed Lin Zhixia's care, in his memory, he had never troubled others like this.
Lin Zhixia was excited as if she had discovered a new world: "Eat some more."
After that, she handed over the spoon and brought it to his lips.
Jiang Yubai actually picked up a bowl of porridge and drank half of it like a butcher drinking wine. He also held the chopsticks and put a few pieces of "fried radish" into the bowl. There was no sign of being picky at all. He seemed to be a very easy-to-feed person.
He ate all the buns that Lin Zhixia picked up for him without making a sound. Lin Zhixia had eaten with him many times before, and she felt that just watching him drink water and eat was filled with some joy in life.
She rested her chin on one hand and looked at him intently.
He put down his chopsticks and looked at her.
Lin Zhixia's eyes were still as clear and bright as ever, and the stars in the sky seemed to sparkle in her eyes. Jiang Yubai was fascinated by them unconsciously, and even wanted to propose to her today... The ring had been bought, and the velvet box was placed on the bedside of his bedroom.
Lin Zhixia couldn't guess what Jiang Yubai was thinking. She just said, "It's almost time. I have to go to work."
Jiang Yubai looked at his watch and picked up his suit jacket: "I'll take you to school."
Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia set out from home and walked along the road.
Lin Zhixia lived in a residential area very close to the university town. On the way, she ran into a few students—she had seen those boys at the opening ceremony of the college, and those boys had seen Lin Zhixia's photo more than once. They carried soy milk and fried dough sticks bought from an off-campus breakfast shop, occasionally glanced back at Lin Zhixia, and whispered a few words, and were full of expectations for today's "Quantum Bits and Computers" course.
Every student had a smile on his or her face.
Lin Zhixia introduced Jiang Yubai: "They are all my students."
"Undergraduate student?" Jiang Yubai asked again.
"Yes." Lin Zhixia responded.
As the master's master, Jiang Yubai said politely: "They all look quite smart."
"I thought so too," Lin Zhixia said confidently, "so I carefully designed the midterm exam questions and course assignments."
Jiang Yubai remembered that the exercise notebook that Lin Zhixia gave him was full of competition questions that Lin Zhixia "carefully designed". All the questions she marked as "the most difficult" were more terrifying than the other. Before Jiang Yubai looked through the answers, he racked his brains but couldn't figure out how to solve them.
Jiang Yubai was a little concerned about the looks those boys gave Lin Zhixia. But then, he felt a hint of sympathy for those young boys.
He reminded casually, "In your school, the average scores of courses in previous years probably have a floating range."
Lin Zhixia understood: "Yes, I must control the overall average score. I will calculate the students' test scores and regular scores, and then take a weighted average so that all their scores conform to the normal distribution."
Before she finished speaking, Lin Zhixia arrived at the university gate.
She waved to Jiang Yubai: "Go and get busy. We'll meet again when we have time."
Jiang Yubai held her fingertips, and heard the student's cry: "Master!" - That was Xu Lingbo's voice. Jiang Yubai let go of her hand and said goodbye to Lin Zhixia: "See you tomorrow."
See you tomorrow.
This is some kind of code between them.
Lin Zhixia smiled and said, "See you tomorrow."
Jiang Yubai's driver had already parked the car outside the school gate. Lin Zhixia watched Jiang Yubai get into the car, and her student Xu Lingbo happened to run over: "Hey, Teacher Lin? Is the master leaving now?"
Lin Zhixia explained for Jiang Yubai: "He has been very busy with work these past two days."
Xu Lingbo spread his hands and said, "My master's family is busy with business, and I am also busy selling things at school..."
After Xu Lingbo said this, he realized what a huge mistake he had made!
It's too late to remedy the situation.
Lin Zhixia asked him directly: "What do you sell at school?"