Jiang Yubai took a book "Selected Song Poems" from the bookshelf.
He opened the book and asked casually, "Is your work going well, President?"
"Fortunately, it went smoothly," Lin Zhixia lowered her head and looked at the book in his hand, "Did you receive the letter I sent you last month?"
"Got it." Jiang Yubai replied honestly.
In the middle of last month, Jiang Yubai received Lin Zhixia's first letter.
She expressed her sincere friendship in the letter. Her handwriting was neat and beautiful. She also put two photos of osmanthus trees in the envelope, and on the back of the photos it was written "Lin Zhixia presented to Jiang Yubai".
Jiang Yubai treasured the letter. He put the photo in a frame and placed the frame on the bedside table.
Now, Lin Zhixia raised her head and looked at him intently: "Why didn't you write back to me?"
Jiang Yubai whispered: "I..."
Can't write.
He often chatted with Lin Zhixia via QQ video, but he never mentioned writing a letter. He had tried to write many times, but was always dissatisfied and threw away a basket of waste paper.
Lin Zhixia moved closer to him: "Isn't it a bit boring to exchange letters?"
"It's not boring," Jiang Yubai insisted, "it's very interesting."
Lin Zhixia was a little confused. She blinked her thick eyelashes and asked tentatively, "In the second and third years of junior high school, when you wrote me a report on your daily life, it was obviously going smoothly."
Jiang Yubai explained: "Letters are different from reports. The words in the letter must have emotion."
Seeing how serious he was, Lin Zhixia couldn't help but tease him, "You didn't reply to my letter, is it because you have no feelings for me?"
The book in Jiang Yubai's hand fell to the ground. He bent down to pick up the book and spoke in a lower voice: "How could it be?"
He stood up straight and added, "You are my only best friend."
He kept his eyes straight and calmly stated the facts: "I wrote more than a dozen drafts."
Lin Zhixia vaguely felt that her heartbeat quickened. She had to step back and stand farther away. She grabbed a copy of "Selected Tang Poems", held the book in both hands, and turned to face the door... Only then did the blush on her face finally show signs of fading.
Jiang Yubai never drags his feet when writing work reports, and always makes quick decisions. He is also very fast at writing essays. When he was nine years old, he once spent half an hour thinking hard about an 800-word self-criticism. However, since then, he has never encountered a similar dilemma again.
He actually wrote more than ten drafts of the letter he was writing to Lin Zhixia
Lin Zhixia calmed herself down and said, "I want your reply, no matter what it looks like."
Jiang Yubai asked back: "Are you sure?"
Lin Zhixia nodded: "Of course."
Jiang Yubai unzipped his schoolbag, took out an unsent letter, and handed it to Lin Zhixia personally.
Jiang Yubai never expected that Lin Zhixia would open the letter in front of him. She read it out loud without hesitation: "Lin Lin Lin Lin Zhixia, I am Jiang Yubai. It's been a month since we last met. How have you been recently..."
There were footsteps in the corridor outside the classroom. Jiang Yubai immediately stopped Lin Zhixia: "Stop reading. Don't let others hear it."
Lin Zhixia quietly read out the last sentence of the letter: "I wish Lin Zhixia to be healthy and happy forever, and go further and further on the path of pursuing truth..."
She bounced towards him and said, "I love this letter! Don't write drafts anymore. Just write whatever comes to your mind and send it to me. I want to see your handwriting."
Jiang Yubai had just said "OK" when two people walked into the small classroom - one of them was Duan Qiyan and the other was Shen Fuxuan.
Many students in the first grade (27) class joined the Classical Literature Club. According to the rules of the Classical Literature Club, the club president must be the person who is best at "flying flowers" in the club. Any member can challenge the club president, and whoever succeeds in the challenge will be the next president.
Today, Duan Qiyan came to school just to defeat Lin Zhixia.
The club activity will last from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Duan Qiyan came in ten minutes early and bumped into Jiang Yubai.
At this moment, Duan Qiyan lost his will to fight. He rushed over in two steps and shouted, "Jiang Yubai?"
Jiang Yubai picked a seat and sat down calmly. He looked at Duan Qiyan and called out his name: "Duan Qiyan."
Shen Fuxuan, who was standing at the side, smiled in an ambiguous way. Duan Qiyan was still questioning Jiang Yubai: "Hey, how are you doing in Beijing?"
Jiang Yubai said nothing. He took out a few boxes of Beijing specialty cakes from his schoolbag and distributed them to Shen Fuxuan, Duan Qiyan, and Lin Zhixia. The cake with strawberry filling belonged to Lin Zhixia alone.
Duan Qiyan was feeling very hungry. He opened the wrapper of his box of snacks and swallowed a piece without hesitation, but the food choked him. He coughed several times, and Shen Fuxuan quickly took out a water cup.
Duan Qiyan lowered his head and took a big sip of water. After a while, he calmed down and suddenly realized, "Hey, Shen Fuxuan, how can I drink the water in your cup?"
Shen Fuxuan leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "You've already drunk it, what else can you do? If it weren't for my glass of water, you would have choked on the snacks. I'm not saying anything bad about you, but have you never seen good things? Jiang Yubai gave you a box of snacks, and you ate them like a starving ghost."
Duan Qiyan's face flushed: "Go to hell, you starving ghost."
As more and more people gathered in the classroom, Duan Qiyan did not dare to quarrel with Shen Fuxuan. He was Lin Zhixia's classmate, and he could not ignore the friendship between classmates and ruin Lin Zhixia's place during the club activities.
Today is October 7th, the last day of the National Day holiday. Almost all the members of the Classical Literature Club are here. Lin Zhixia is very pleased. She stands in front of the classroom, and the two vice presidents stand straight behind her, like her left and right protectors.
Lin Zhixia said, "Thank you all for coming to this club activity. Last Wednesday, we recruited two new members, Shen Fuxuan and Duan Qiyan from Class 1 (27) of Senior High School! Please welcome them with applause!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the members applauded.
Duan Qiyan stood up and responded to the applause of the crowd: "I am Duan Qiyan, your next president."
Most of the members of the Classical Literature Society were speechless, and a few began to whisper. Duan Qiyan did not show any fear.
Before this, Duan Qiyan and Shen Fuxuan had played Feihua Ling for more than a dozen times, and Shen Fuxuan always lost miserably. Shen Fuxuan also said that Lin Zhixia was about the same level as him, and he suggested that Duan Qiyan challenge Lin Zhixia to occupy the territory of the Classical Literature Society.
Duan Qiyan agreed.
The vice president of the Classical Literature Club was a senior in the second year of high school. The senior sighed and said loudly: "The first rule of the Classical Literature Club is to challenge the president, and it will take effect immediately."
Lin Zhixia clapped and cheered: "It takes effect immediately!"
Jiang Yubai raised his hand and asked, "Do you want to play Feihualing?"
"Yes." Lin Zhixia nodded.
Jiang Yubai asked again: "Do we need a referee?"
Lin Zhixia made a "please" gesture: "Student Jiang Yubai, please help us keep time."
Jiang Yubai was wearing an expensive watch. The brand of the watch was Piaget SA, made in Switzerland, but Duan Qiyan didn't know the quality of the watch. There was no wall clock in the classroom, so Jiang Yubai took off his watch and used it as a timer. Duan Qiyan questioned him, "Your watch doesn't look like an electronic watch. Is it accurate?"
Shen Fuxuan sat in the first row. Shen Fuxuan glanced at the watch and sneered, "Duan Qiyan, you really have never seen a good thing."
Duan Qiyan was very confused. Why did Shen Fuxuan keep picking on him today? Did he think he was easy to bully? He was about to get angry, but Lin Zhixia stopped him: "The competition has begun. You choose the words for Feihualing."
Duan Qiyan was shocked: "I'm the one who chooses the words? Aren't you afraid of losing?"
Lin Zhixia said calmly: "It's okay, just choose."
Duan Qiyan had studied poems related to the word "moon" last night. He had a very rich cultural reserve. So, he proposed: "Let's talk about poems related to the word 'moon'. You and I will take turns to say a poem with the word 'moon'. You only have 30 seconds to think about it. If you exceed the time limit by one second, you lose."
"Okay." Lin Zhixia responded calmly.
Duan Qiyan didn't know that many members of the Classical Literature Society liked to watch Lin Zhixia compete with others. This was because Lin Zhixia would never lose, and watching the competition from her perspective would always give them the joy of victory.
The classroom fell into a brief silence—this was the prelude to a big battle. Duan Qiyan crossed his arms and took the lead: "Look up at the bright moon, look down and think of my hometown."
Lin Zhixia turned to Jiang Yubai and continued, "The bright moon rises over the sea, and we can share this moment even across the world."
She looked at Jiang Yubai, and that line of ancient poetry seemed to be directed at him.
Duan Qiyan didn't realize that Lin Zhixia was still pursuing the artistic conception. Duan Qiyan confidently shouted: "The sky is low over the open fields, and the moon is close to people over the clear river."
Lin Zhixia said: "The parting person is speechless and the moon is silent, but the bright moon has light and the person has feelings... Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty, the poem is called "Farewell on a Moonlit Night."
At this time, Duan Qiyan was a little nervous. Shen Fuxuan once told Duan Qiyan that Lin Zhixia didn't know how to play Feihualing. Duan Qiyan felt that Shen Fuxuan wouldn't cheat him. He had no grudge against Shen Fuxuan, he only had a grudge against Jin Baihui. Unless Shen Fuxuan... had a crush on Jin Baihui, there was no reason for Shen Fuxuan to embarrass Duan Qiyan in public.
Thinking of this, Duan Qiyan felt relieved.
Jiang Yubai reminded: "Duan Qiyan, you still have five seconds to think."
Duan Qiyan said quickly: "It's a pity that on the third night of September, the dew looks like pearls and the moon looks like a bow."
Lin Zhixia still looked at Jiang Yubai: "Boats on the east and west are silent, only the autumn moon in the middle of the river is white."
Jiang Yubai knew that this line of poetry came from Bai Juyi's "Pipa Xing", but Lin Zhixia's eyes never left him. She also emphasized the words "Jiang" and "Bai".
Jiang Yubai suspected that all the poems she had said before were for him. He held the watch and continued to count the time, and Duan Qiyan finally managed to utter a sentence: "The moon is above the treetops, and people can see it after dusk."
The vice president immediately stepped forward and said, "No, Duan Qiyan, you are wrong. It should be 'The moon is on the treetops, and we meet after dusk'."
Duan Qiyan was quick to speak and mispronounced a word. But he had no chance to regret, because in the "Flying Flower Order" game, once one party makes a mistake, the game ends. Duan Qiyan failed the challenge and ran back to Shen Fuxuan in shame.
Lin Zhixia once again retained her position as president.
She followed the plan and actively carried out the club activities.
She divided the members into several groups according to their seats, and then played word games in the group, such as "poetry chain", "guess the poem from the picture", and "quick answer of historical allusions". The atmosphere in the class quickly became lively, and two hours passed in a flash.
Jiang Yubai and Shen Fuxuan were in the same group, and they both had a great time. When they were parting, Shen Fuxuan asked Jiang Yubai: "Is your new high school classmate more interesting than us?"
"It's hard to say," Jiang Yubai described, "half of my new high school classmates can't speak Chinese."
Shen Fuxuan shrugged: "Then you can't play word games with them."
Jiang Yubai said honestly: "The students sitting in the row in front of me often play with letters to spell words."
Shen Fuxuan laughed and said, "That's something nerds like."
Jiang Yubai asked back: "Are you a nerd?"
"How could I be a nerd?" Shen Fuxuan answered very confidently.
Jiang Yubai asked casually: "How many pull-ups can you do now? Did you get full marks for the 1,000-meter run?"
Shen Fuxuan picked up his schoolbag and walked forward. Lin Zhixia's laughter echoed behind him. Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai walked side by side. She told Jiang Yubai calmly: "I can't even get a perfect score in the 800-meter race."
"It's okay," Jiang Yubai encouraged her, "Just keep exercising and improve your physical fitness. Don't worry about the score of the 800-meter test."
After all, Lin Zhixia was destined to be admitted to a top university. She won the championship medal in the mathematics competition, so whether she scored full marks in the 800-meter race was insignificant.
Lin Zhixia said, "I will still give it a try."
She stood in front of the gate of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, trying to remain calm, and said goodbye to Jiang Yubai: "See you during the winter vacation, Jiang Yubai."
Students were coming and going nearby, and vehicles were constantly flowing on the road. In such a noisy environment, Lin Zhixia's sadness was diluted. She waved at Jiang Yubai, who just looked at her silently.
After a long while, Jiang Yubai opened the door of the car and said slowly, "See you during the winter vacation, Linlinlinlin Zhixia."
"Yes!" Lin Zhixia agreed.
Jiang Yubai closed the car door. There was his luggage in the trunk of the car. He was going to go directly to the airport to catch the flight at 6 pm, arrive in Beijing tonight, and go to school tomorrow morning.
Just like the last time they parted, Jiang Yubai sat by the car window and looked back at Lin Zhixia. She still stood there, watching him leave in the car.
After returning to Beijing, Jiang Yubai signed up for the North American High School Economics Competition. This competition is divided into a "low difficulty group" and a "high difficulty group".
Logically speaking, given Jiang Yubai's course level, he should have chosen the "low difficulty group", but he insisted on signing up for the "high difficulty group". Even though the teacher said that he would face great challenges in the "high difficulty group" and might not even get any ranking, his belief never wavered.
In Jiang Yubai's class, there are only ten students besides him.
Jiang Yubai observed the daily learning status of these ten people. Finally, he invited a Korean classmate named Song Yunxi to form a team with him to participate in the North American High School Economics Competition.
Song Yunxi's mother is Chinese and his father is Korean. He holds a Korean passport and cannot speak Chinese fluently, so Jiang Yubai usually communicates with him in English.
Song Yunxi's mother is a well-known lawyer specializing in international cases, and his father is an entrepreneur in a certain region of South Korea. Both parents have high hopes for him. He is usually very hard on himself and often studies very hard. He and Jiang Yubai hit it off immediately, and both decided to bravely rush to the high-difficulty group of the competition.
The North American High School Economics Competition requires that each participating team include four students. Jiang Yubai and Song Yunxi discussed for a few days and then went to find seniors in higher grades to form a team. They successfully persuaded two seniors with excellent grades—both of whom are Chinese and have experience in last year's international economics competition.
Jiang Yubai completed a series of preparatory work before telling Lin Zhixia about his progress.
It was an early winter evening, the weather was cold but the room was warm. Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai were having a QQ video chat. Jiang Yubai mentioned his plans and study progress, and Lin Zhixia seemed happier than him.
She said, "That's great. The game will be broadcast live. When you make it to the North American finals, I can sit in front of my computer and watch you win."
Jiang Yubai replied calmly: "Participation is the most important thing. I may not be able to enter the North American finals."
Lin Zhixia insisted: "I believe in you. No matter where you go, I think you are the champion."
Then, she added, "Jiang Yubai, I am preparing a new paper on computer science. I have been writing it for a long time and am still waiting for a professor's comments. Winter vacation is coming soon, and I want to publish my second paper."
Jiang Yubai was sincerely happy for her: "Last time it was physics, this time it's computer..."
Lin Zhixia began to learn from him: "Participation is important. I may not be able to pass the manuscript."
Jiang Yubai was full of confidence in her: "You can do it. Even if it doesn't pass, it can be passed after some revisions. I'm sure that article is a new planet you captured."