Jiang Yubai's words touched Lin Zhixia's heart.
She couldn’t wait to tell him: “Next January, I will give a report at an academic seminar to introduce the content and research direction of my first paper.”
Jiang Yubai concealed his inner surprise and nodded in agreement. He asked, "When will the seminar be held?"
Lin Zhixia said: "January 10, 2009, 10 am."
January 10, 2009, was exactly the day after Jiang Yubai finished his final exam. He could rush back to the provincial capital on January 9, and go to the university town the next day to sit in on Lin Zhixia's first academic report.
Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia agreed that they would meet on January 10, 2009.
Before the QQ video chat ended, Jiang Yubai typed a sentence in the message box: "One day, you will realize your dream."
Lin Zhixia's mood became extremely wonderful. She opened the PowerPoint software on the spot and began to make a PPT for the academic report.
Joy flowed through her heart like a sweet stream, filling her with patience. After she finished the PPT, she also wrote a word version of the speech, revised it several times, and then sent the final version to Professor Shen.
Lin Zhixia attaches great importance to her first report. She wants to communicate with more scholars and listen to more professional opinions.
This Saturday morning, Lin Zhixia excitedly stopped her mother and brother. She asked her mother and brother to sit in the living room and announced proudly: "Next January, I will attend a university seminar and give an academic report. Can you help me rehearse? If my speaking speed and voice are not good, please tell me and I can change it."
Mom was a little hesitant, and Lin Zhixia immediately acted like a spoiled child: "Mom, mom, please?"
Lin Zhixia was an expert at acting like a spoiled brat. Her mother had no choice but to agree.
Lin Zeqiu did not speak. His back was straight, without even a hint of relaxation. He nervously put his legs together and stepped on the horizontal bar under the coffee table in annoyance.
Lin Zhixia spoke to herself, "Hello everyone, I am Lin Zhixia, from Professor Shen Zhaohua's team, and I am very happy to be here to give a paper report. My research direction is the analysis of the mixed vertical parameterization scheme of ocean circulation patterns in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea are all Chinese seas. I believe that everyone here can understand the internal wave mixed parameterization method, the deep-sea hybrid power generated by the breaking of ocean internal waves..."
"Are all the people listening to your report professors? Are there any undergraduates?" my brother suddenly asked.
Lin Zhixia answered honestly: "The seminar is an open exchange meeting. Of course undergraduates can participate."
Lin Zeqiu said impatiently: "You have to explain those professional terms, such as the ripple parameterization method, otherwise no one will understand what you are talking about."
"Really?" Lin Zhixia questioned, "Do I have to explain every professional term?"
Lin Zeqiu stood up from his seat and walked towards his bedroom: "Whatever you want. I'm going to study. I haven't finished my homework yet."
“Brother, brother…” Lin Zhixia grabbed the corner of his clothes.
He didn't look back and said coldly: "Let go."
Lin Zhixia discussed with him: "Listen to me for another ten minutes."
"I don't want to listen." Lin Zeqiu refused stubbornly.
Lin Zhixia was not discouraged: "Brother, if you are willing to help me rehearse, I will help you with your homework."
This transaction method is very fair, and Lin Zeqiu was a little shaken.
Lin Zhixia continued, "Brother, the competition in your class is so fierce. Is it super difficult to do the homework? I saw two math test papers on your desk, and you didn't touch a word... It's okay, Teacher Lin can tutor you."
"Teacher Lin?" My brother sneered sarcastically.
Lin Zhixia made a concession: "Okay, I'm not Teacher Lin, I'm Teacher Xiao Lin."
"Teacher Kobayashi?" The brother ruthlessly left Lin Zhixia and strode into his room.
Lin Zhixia turned around and looked at her mother - she was busy in the kitchen. The aroma of braised crucian carp wafted into the living room, and she could faintly smell the scent of sweet and sour spare ribs.
Lin Zhixia took a deep breath, looking forward to today's lunch, and walked into her brother's room. She stepped forward lightly and stood secretly behind her brother.
My brother pondered for several minutes but still couldn't answer a multiple-choice question. Lin Zhixia enlightened him with one sentence: "Connect points a and c and substitute them into the relationship in the question. Choose c for this question."
Lin Zeqiu was startled by her.
"What are you doing?" Lin Zeqiu felt as if he was facing a great enemy.
Lin Zhixia lowered her head, her hair covering her face: "Brother, why don't you want to listen to me describe the content of my thesis? I will go to Beijing to attend university next September... We don't have much time to spend together."
After hearing this, Lin Zeqiu turned pale: "You are going to Beijing to attend university next year? Why didn't you tell me at home?"
"I was afraid that my parents would worry about me," Lin Zhixia explained. "My mom always said that I was too young and she was afraid that I would be bullied outside."
Lin Zeqiu's mood was very complicated. He didn't believe that Lin Zhixia could take care of herself. He held her wrist tightly: "Go to college next year... You will only be fourteen years old next year."
Lin Zhixia's wrists were slender and her skin was as white as jade. Lin Zeqiu didn't pay attention for a moment and used a little more force, which made her skin red. He was so scared that he quickly let go. The girl was really too weak, and couldn't compare to his thick skin.
Lin Zhixia said, "I'm grown up. I can go to Beijing to study by myself."
Lin Zeqiu fell silent. After a while, he whispered, "Let me help you rehearse."
"Okay, okay!" Lin Zhixia became happy instantly.
Lin Zhixia rehearsed twice, and she became more and more excited. When she talked about the Mellor-Yamda second-order turbulent mixing scheme, her eyes glowed brightly, and her speech became very fast, but she didn't notice it at all. Lin Zeqiu reminded her: "Lin Zhixia, don't get excited, don't get excited on the stage, follow the rhythm you started with."
Lin Zhixia remembered Lin Zeqiu's advice.
On January 10, 2009, Lin Zhixia got up very early.
She tied her hair into a ponytail, changed into a dark-colored outfit, and found a pair of black leather shoes.
Lin Zhixia was surprised to find that the shoes had been polished by a kind person. She immediately ran to her mother and said, "Mom, mom, thank you for polishing my shoes."
But my mother said, "This is what your brother made last night."
"Brother?" Lin Zhixia murmured to herself.
While cooking porridge, my mother said, "Yes, Xia Xia, your brother knew that you were going to the university for a meeting today, so he cleaned those shoes last night... around ten o'clock."
Lin Zhixia rushed into Lin Zeqiu's room in a hurry.
At this time, it was exactly 6:20 in the morning, the sun was rising, the sky was slightly bright, and Lin Zeqiu was still lying in bed.
Winter vacation had just begun, and Lin Zeqiu wanted to sleep in. Unexpectedly, his door was suddenly knocked open, and Lin Zhixia squatted in front of his bed and said in surprise: "Brother, you haven't gotten up yet? You usually wake up at six o'clock."
Lin Zeqiu slapped his own face: "Lin Zhixia, are you crazy? You come to see me without knocking so early in the morning?"
"Thank you, brother!" Lin Zhixia stated her purpose, "My pair of leather shoes..."
Lin Zeqiu rolled over and rolled to the other side of the bed: "Why are you thanking me? It's not the first time I've helped you wash clothes and brush shoes. If you have a conscience, let me sleep a little longer."
"Yeah!" Lin Zhixia agreed. She ran out of his bedroom and closed his door.
After Lin Zhixia had breakfast and packed up, she said goodbye to her parents and set out on the road to the university town.
She and Jiang Yubai agreed to meet at 7:30.
At 7:20 in the morning, Lin Zhixia walked out of the subway station and saw Jiang Yubai from afar—Jiang Yubai actually arrived earlier than her.
After not seeing him for three months, he seemed to have grown taller, and his figure became straighter and taller, like a thriving poplar tree, standing quietly in her sight.
Lin Zhixia walked briskly, running in a straight line to Jiang Yubai's side.
"Jiang Yubai." She called softly.
Jiang Yubai responded: "Lin Zhixia."
Lin Zhixia circled around him twice.
Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia did not enter the campus. They walked out of the south gate of the school and wandered around.
Outside the South Gate is a snack street where many students are queuing up to buy breakfast. The steam from fried rice noodles, steamed dumplings, pan-fried pot stickers, and beef vermicelli soup turns into white mist, blending in with the cold wind of January in the dead of winter. The aroma of the food is strong and intense, and spreads far away.
Before leaving home, Lin Zhixia was so excited that she only drank a bowl of porridge. Now, she looked at the pot stickers in a student's hand with envy.
Jiang Yubai saw her expression and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"Pot stickers." Lin Zhixia said honestly.
Jiang Yubai found the potsticker shop and stood in a long line. He stood in line quietly, and Lin Zhixia stood with him. She measured his height and thought: "Are you 1.8 meters tall?"
"Yes," he said.
She then asked, "What is your ideal height?"
He confessed: "I am 1.88 meters tall, but I am still 8 centimeters short."
Lin Zhixia revealed: "I want to grow to 1.7 meters tall."
An undergraduate student behind Jiang Yubai suddenly said, "You won't grow any more after you turn 18, so just give up."
Lin Zhixia turned her head and stared at him, and the undergraduate student noticed that the girl in front of him looked very young, as if she was not yet eighteen years old. She declared: "I am thirteen and a half years old now, and I will definitely continue to grow taller."
Jiang Yubai snapped his fingers to attract Lin Zhixia's attention. As expected, Lin Zhixia no longer paid attention to the undergraduate. She was like a kitten, chasing the source of the sound and staring at Jiang Yubai's left hand curiously.
Jiang Yubai has long fingers, tight wrists, and veins on the back of his hands, giving him a perfect combination of strength and form. His uncle Jiang Shaoqi was ranked first in the "World's Most Beautiful Male Hands" by the media a few years ago. Jiang Yubai obviously inherited the same genes. But he himself had no idea about it and never thought there was anything unusual about his hands.
Lin Zhixia was distracted for a moment and asked casually, "How is your preparation for the North American High School Economics Competition going?"
The team is moving forward quickly.
Jiang Yubai looked at the window of the store and answered Lin Zhixia's question: "I will pass three written tests first, and then take my teammates to participate in the team competition."
Lin Zhixia asked again: "Do you get along well with your teammates?"
"It's okay." Jiang Yubai said simply.
Lin Zhixia confided in him, "In December of the year before last, I competed in Moscow... You know, I didn't even get the bronze medal that time. I had a quarrel with my teammates on the field. I usually get along well with them."
Jiang Yubai analyzed: "You are nervous, highly alert and under great psychological pressure in the competition. Programming competition is a collaborative project. Once one person makes a mistake, misunderstandings are likely to arise within the team and teammates will blame each other."
"Yes!" Lin Zhixia nodded repeatedly, "One person made a mistake, and then the rhythm was messed up."
A few days ago, there was a heavy snowfall and a branch of a roadside tree was broken. The branch was lying on the ground and placed in front of the door of the Shengjian Guotie shop.
Lin Zhixia accidentally stepped on a branch, making a "crunching" sound. She took a step back and asked, "Jiang Yubai, if you were in our team, what would you do?"
Jiang Yubai brought fifty yuan in change, the smallest note he had on him. He specifically asked for meat-filled potstickers and red bean milk.
The freshly baked delicious pot stickers were packed in a special food paper bag. Lin Zhixia held the paper bag and felt warm in her heart.
Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia walked back to the university campus. They sat on a bench, some distance away from each other. Lin Zhixia ate pot stickers happily, and Jiang Yubai helped her to carry the soy milk. When Lin Zhixia wanted to drink soy milk, she would come over and taste a small sip quietly.
Jiang Yubai is like her drink holder.
At this time, Jiang Yubai began to teach his team-building skills.
He said to Lin Zhixia: "If I were in your team, I would discuss with my teammates in advance and pre-set various situations, mainly including three aspects. First, if we have a disagreement, should the minority obey the majority or obey the captain's opinion. Second, everyone should have a specific division of labor, and two people should not do the same thing at the same time. Third, if a team member makes a mistake, what is the remedial plan..."
Lin Zhixia was inspired by him and exclaimed: "I understand."
She held the paper bag in her left hand, opened the seal with her right hand, and squeezed out a potsticker. In the aroma of the food, Lin Zhixia thought carefully: "In fact, I always thought that I could take the lead alone, and I didn't fully consider it before working in a team."
Jiang Yubai said: "You can really take on the responsibility alone."
He held up the cup of soy milk, with the lid level with his chest.
Lin Zhixia moved closer to him and drank some soy milk from the cup. He handed her a napkin, and she wiped her mouth with it, saying positively, "It's okay, I'll have experience next time I form a team."
Jiang Yubai echoed: "That's right."
Lin Zhixia smiled and said, "Thank you, Teacher Jiang."