At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai walked out of the Forbidden City.
Jiang Yubai said that he knew a pretty good restaurant nearby and he had already booked a private room.
Lin Zhixia was so hungry that she felt dizzy and asked weakly, "Where is the restaurant? Let's go eat."
Jiang Yubai took Lin Zhixia to find the driver, got in the car, and quickly arrived at the destination.
Jiang Yubai was afraid that Lin Zhixia would faint from hunger, so he opened a bag of strawberry candy for her. She held the strawberry candy in her mouth and said incoherently, "I will come back to life as long as I eat the strawberries."
Jiang Yubai almost said: Whenever I see strawberries, I will think of you.
When visiting the Forbidden City today, Jiang Yubai had already stumbled once on the issue of "Emperor and Empress", so he decided to say less ambiguous words.
He silently poured a glass of water for Lin Zhixia. The two sat in the restaurant's private room, waiting for the waiter to serve the food.
Lin Zhixia raised her hand from time to time and carefully looked at the expensive Cartier watch. She had a thoughtful expression, and Jiang Yubai couldn't guess what she was thinking.
Jiang Yubai asked her: "Are you worried about something?"
Lin Zhixia stretched and said, "No."
Jiang Yubai felt relieved.
After a while, Jiang Yubai asked about "Lin Jiang" again, and Lin Zhixia said excitedly: "I've been too busy recently, and I won't have time to make a robot until next month. It just so happens that you are going to take the IELTS, right? Let's finish our own things first, and then divide the work and cooperate. The robot should be ready in the first half of next year."
Jiang Yubai reminded her: "If there are any parts missing, just tell me directly."
"Okay!" Lin Zhixia agreed.
The waiter prepared the food and Lin Zhixia began to eat with gratitude.
She and Jiang Yubai chatted as they ate. The meal lasted more than two hours, from afternoon to evening. The sky gradually darkened, dusk fell, and the lights became bright. Lin Zhixia felt that it was about time for her to go back to school.
Jiang Yubai adhered to the hospitality principle of "pick up and drop off" and insisted on sending Lin Zhixia back to the gate of the university campus.
Before Lin Zhixia got off the car, she thanked the driver and asked, "Jiang Yubai, are you free tonight? Do you want to take a walk with me near the school?"
Jiang Yubai readily agreed. He slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and followed Lin Zhixia down another street.
It was just past seven o'clock in the evening. The sky was pitch black and figures were lurking in the night. There were a few ground lamps hidden in the grass. When the wind blew, the lights flickered like wandering fireflies.
Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai walked side by side, still keeping a distance. In the cool night breeze, Lin Zhixia felt relaxed, and she took Jiang Yubai into a jewelry store on the street. Inside the store, there were many female college students... and their boyfriends.
As soon as Jiang Yubai stepped over the threshold, he felt that he was out of place. But he did not back down. He followed Lin Zhixia's footsteps, watching her choose a headband and bow, and said to her: "Red suits you best."
She asked, "What about blue?"
"Blue is good," Jiang Yubai said in a deeper voice, "You can use any color."
Lin Zhixia chose a deep red bow, the fabric was smooth and neat, the satin was long and flowing. She also picked up a 40-yuan electronic watch—Jiang Yubai didn't notice this.
Next to Jiang Yubai stood a pair of 10-year-old campus lovers. The couple was so overwhelmed by the sweetness of love that they were flirting in the corner as if no one was around. Jiang Yubai had to turn around and face away from them.
He pretended to look at a row of hair ties until Lin Zhixia pulled his sleeve and said, "Let's go check out."
Jiang Yubai happened to have a hundred-yuan bill in his coat pocket. He paid for Lin Zhixia and walked back to the street with her. She tightly grasped the 40-yuan electronic watch and took off her expensive Cartier watch, returning it to Jiang Yubai along with the packaging box.
Jiang Yubai was startled: "You..."
"I can't accept it," Lin Zhixia explained, "I will feel psychological pressure if I wear this watch."
There was a bench on the side of the road. Lin Zhixia sat on the bench, and Jiang Yubai sat on her left, listening to her say, "I will definitely wear the watch you gave me every day and look at it every day... But I'm not used to luxury goods, sorry."
"I am the one who should apologize," Jiang Yubai said, holding the watch box, reflecting deeply, "I should have considered your habits. I will give you a gift in two days."
Lin Zhixia immediately opened the electronic watch: "Don't bother with it, this is the gift you just gave me!"
She stretched out her left hand: "Can you help me put on the watch again, please?"
Jiang Yubai held the watch chain and gently placed his fingertips on her wrist. He leaned closer to her and put it on for her. When he looked into her eyes, he felt that this moment was far more precious than any luxury in the world.
Lin Zhixia said happily: "Thank you, Jiang Yubai, I have a new watch!"
Jiang Yubai adjusted the time on her electronic watch before asking, "Will you accept my gift when I graduate from college and start working?"
"Yes," Lin Zhixia said firmly, "By the time you graduate from college, I will have graduated long ago, and I can afford the things you like."
Jiang Yubai automatically ignored the words "By the time you graduate from college, I must have graduated long ago."
He looked up at the night sky and said contentedly, "Okay, it's settled."
Lin Zhixia hooked his little finger: "Hook?"
Jiang Yubai readily agreed: "Okay."
Lin Zhixia half lowered her head and said softly, "We'll make a promise and stay together for a hundred years."
Their little fingers were intertwined, their fingertips touching, and Jiang Yubai felt her palms were very hot. He asked, "Do you want to make a pinky promise to get into the sedan chair, or do you want to make a pinky promise to hang yourself?"
"I don't know," Lin Zhixia explained, "I prefer the term 'getting on a sedan chair'."
"Me too." Jiang Yubai gave his support.
Lin Zhixia stood up. She was afraid that Jiang Yubai would get lost, so she personally sent Jiang Yubai back to the driver's seat. Jiang Yubai rolled down the window and waved to her, and she smiled at him again: "Goodbye."
He responded: "Goodbye."
On the way back to the dormitory, Lin Zhixia met senior Luo Ying.
Luo Ying had just come out of the library. She saw Lin Zhixia from afar, standing under a street lamp, and called her name: "Lin Zhixia?"
Lin Zhixia jumped and ran towards Luo Ying: "Senior sister!"
Luo Ying was wearing a long dress and carrying a laptop bag. She stretched the strap of the bag and slung it over her shoulder, then asked gently, "Where did you go today?"
"The Forbidden City." Lin Zhixia answered proudly.
Luo Ying looked around: "Did you go there alone?"
"No," Lin Zhixia said, "I went there with my best friend."
Luo Ying raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She glanced at Lin Zhixia and praised, "You look very beautiful today."
Lin Zhixia said casually: "Senior sister is the real beauty."
The night wind was mixed with Luo Ying's fragrance. Her long hair was messed up by the wind. She said self-deprecatingly: "My hair is messed up. Do I look like a crazy woman?"
"No," Lin Zhixia's praise was sweeter than honey, "Senior is always a goddess."
Luo Ying accompanied Lin Zhixia to the 4th floor of the girls' dormitory. Lin Zhixia was about to go back to the dormitory, but the senior was still looking at her. She felt very strange and asked, "Senior, are you okay?"
Luo Ying thought about it and found a topic: "Did you go to Professor Gu Likai's laboratory?"
"That's right," Lin Zhixia said with anticipation, "Starting next week, I will be working in Professor Gu Likai's laboratory."
Luo Ying was a little worried about her: "Can you handle it? The students I know from the School of Physics say that Gu Likai has high academic requirements, low marks for papers, and is strict with people."
Gu Likai's laboratory is mainly responsible for manufacturing quantum computers, which is an emerging field that has attracted much attention from academia and industry, and has a very promising future. As a freshman undergraduate, Lin Zhixia had the opportunity to enter Gu Likai's laboratory, and she felt the trust from her teacher.
Lin Zhixia didn't care about Gu Likai's strictness, let alone the teacher's grading standards. But she said politely: "It's okay, I will try my best to complete the experiment requirements."
"That's true," Luo Ying said, "You are so smart, you can accomplish anything you want to do."
Lin Zhixia was a little shy: "Yeah."
Luo Ying held onto the stair railing and took a step up. She was wearing black leather shoes, and her ankles were slender and white, which was a striking contrast. She stepped on a step and asked again, "Do you miss home recently?"
"I miss home a little bit," Lin Zhixia admitted. "I often dream about my mother, and sometimes I dream about my brother."
"It's a pity that you can't go home on the 11th. You have to work in the laboratory." Luo Ying said.
Lin Zhixia is still full of energy. She said that after Teacher Gu's advice, she suddenly realized that books are a tool to assist thinking, and experiments are a way to exercise hands. Cultivating scientific literacy and scientific intuition is a necessary path for her growth. She cherishes this opportunity to work in the laboratory.
Luo Ying asked her: "Can you show people around your lab?"
Lin Zhixia asked back: "Senior sister, do you want to come?"
Luo Ying said: "I'll just stand at the door and take a look."
"Okay, okay," Lin Zhixia slapped her thigh and made a prompt decision, "Next Wednesday morning at 6:30, I'll go find you at the door of your dormitory."
Luo Ying said goodbye to her after making an appointment with her. They said goodnight to each other in the stairwell of the girls' dormitory. Lin Zhixia turned around and walked back to her dormitory happily.
At six o'clock on Wednesday morning, Lin Zhixia got up on time. She quickly washed up, put on her clothes and pants, and looked in the mirror before going out. Her roommate Feng Yuan, who was lying on the upper bunk, said, "Don't look in the mirror, you are so beautiful."
Lin Zhixia opened the door of the dormitory, full of fighting spirit: "A new day has begun, I'm going out, let's work hard together and study hard!"
Behind her, her three roommates said in unison: "Do it!"
Lin Zhixia jogged along the corridor. She rushed to the stairs with ease. After a few minutes, she found Senior Sister Luo Ying's room. She stood outside the door, knocked on it, and whispered, "Senior Sister?"
She just shouted and the door opened.
Luo Ying was dressed neatly and put on light makeup. She was 1.72 meters tall and thin, like a clothes hanger, and looked good in anything she wore.
Lin Zhixia imitated her roommate Feng Yuan and praised, "Senior sister is so pretty."
Luo Ying asked her: "Is it beautiful?"
"Of course." Lin Zhixia said with certainty.