In late June, the sophomore final exams ended and the students welcomed a happy summer vacation.
Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu took the train home together. Both siblings could only stay at home for a week - Lin Zhixia had to go to the lab to finish up her work, she was planning a new paper, and Lin Zeqiu was preparing to participate in the "International College Student Programming Contest", so he had to join the school's summer training camp.
Lin Zeqiu didn't expect to win a prize in the competition. He heard that the teachers in the summer training camp were very responsible and would cultivate students' algorithm programming skills, which was equivalent to free training. Lin Zeqiu certainly wouldn't miss such a good opportunity.
On the way home, Lin Zeqiu said to his sister: "How much money did you make from selling software? Don't buy a house for your family, keep the money for yourself. You want to study abroad, you can't be without money in your pocket. I have learned a lot in school, and I will be able to go to the company for internship in two years."
"Brother," Lin Zhixia suddenly asked him, "Did you choose computer science just to make a lot of money?"
Lin Zeqiu said frankly: "If you can't make money by studying computer science, what's the point of this major?"
Lin Zhixia sat on the lower bunk of the train, holding an orange in her hand. While squeezing the orange peel, she asked him, "If our family was rich, what major would you choose?"
Lin Zeqiu thought for a moment and replied, "Do some archaeology, dig something out from the ground."
After he finished speaking, he took out a Swiss Army knife, which was also a gift from Lin Zhixia. Lin Zeqiu wiped the blade with disinfectant wipes and rinsed it with mineral water before using the knife to help Lin Zhixia cut the orange.
Lin Zhixia happily ate oranges, her voice unclear: "Brother, programming is also fun, you can dig things out of the Internet world..."
Lin Zeqiu lay down lazily and opened a book called "Programming Pearls". It was 9:30 at night, and it was already dark. It was pitch black outside the car window. There was a slight snoring sound in the car, and Lin Zhixia yawned. She cleaned up and washed up, then fell on the bed and fell asleep with the plush penguin in her arms.
Half asleep and half awake, the train stopped at the platform of the station.
The sleeper car was still dark, except for the yellow light on the side of the seat next to it. The light was dim and weak, and with the sound of rustling, a strong man in his thirties came over with a suitcase. He lifted a corner of Lin Zhixia's quilt and touched her socks. The cold wind suddenly invaded her whole body, and Lin Zhixia woke up instantly. She sat up suddenly and shouted fiercely: "What are you doing!"
Lin Zeqiu also woke up. He turned over and got out of bed, asking in a bad tone, "Who are you?"
The strange man reeked of alcohol. He glanced at the ticket and rubbed his chin: "Oops... I got the wrong seat."
Lin Zeqiu was full of rage. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, with strong muscles, standing in the aisle of the carriage like a solid mountain. He didn't say a word, but he looked brave and aggressive. The stranger apologized repeatedly, picked up his luggage and walked away quickly.
"Brother." Lin Zhixia called him.
He sat down beside her bed: "Go to sleep, it's okay. If that man comes again, I will break his legs."
Lin Zhixia lay down again.
Lin Zeqiu tucked her in. She was lying quietly on her side, holding the penguin. Lin Zeqiu gently patted her back. In the dark environment, he whispered: "You went abroad to study alone, you are unfamiliar with the place..."
"I'll get used to it," Lin Zhixia replied, "Don't worry about me."
His palm rested on the quilt: "You are braver than before. When you were a child, you were scared to tears by strangers."
Lin Zhixia remained silent and fell into a dream. At 4:30 in the morning, she woke up and found Lin Zeqiu still sitting on the edge of her bed. He was holding a book in his hand, reading it over and over again. She asked, "Did you not sleep all night?"
He said, "I lay down for a while, but couldn't fall asleep."
Lin Zhixia hugged the penguin tightly in her arms: "Brother..."
"Um?"
"Thanks."
He responded, "I'm your brother, there's nothing to thank me for."
Lin Zhixia feels that since her brother went to college, the relationship between them has made great progress, from "a small quarrel every three days and a big quarrel every five days" when they were young to the current "harmonious coexistence and mutual trust". Mom and Dad must be very pleased.
After returning home, Lin Zhixia grabbed her mother's wrist and said to her, "Mom, my brother and I have grown up. We won't quarrel anymore."
As expected, my mother praised me: "I know you are all good children."
They stood in the clean and tidy living room, with a refreshing breeze blowing from the balcony, the sound of summer cicadas chirping, and the familiar smell of food filling the kitchen. Lin Zhixia felt relaxed and in a better mood. She dragged her suitcase into her bedroom and started packing her clothes.
Mom came over to help her.
Dad was still talking to my brother in the living room.
Lin Zhixia remembered something important. She revealed, "Mom, mom, I made money from selling software. I made a total of 370,000 yuan. I spent 4,000 yuan on buying my brother a mobile phone. I have 366,000 yuan left. Let's buy a house and pay the down payment."
The mother was so surprised that she didn't say anything for a long time. With tears in her eyes, she praised her daughter several times and called her husband and son over. The family of four gathered in the bedroom to discuss how to deal with the huge sum of money.
To Lin Zhixia's surprise, her parents and brother did not agree to buy a house. They all agreed that since Lin Zhixia was going to study for a doctorate abroad, the 360,000 yuan was her backup fund.
Dad said earnestly: "Xia Xia, your mother and I have lived here for nearly 20 years, and we are used to it. If you want to study abroad, you have to spend money everywhere..."
"I have a scholarship." Lin Zhixia stated.
But my mother said, "Your father just read a book a few days ago. It tells the story of a group of people who went to study in the United States in the last century. Those students came from poor families, suffered a lot, were bullied by foreign landlords, and had to work as dishwashers in Chinese restaurants. Your father is afraid that you will also go abroad to wash dishes."
Dad sighed.
Lin Zhixia was stunned.
She emphasized again and again: "I can't wash dishes. I want to go to Cambridge because they have a quantum research group that is more chemical-oriented. There is still controversy about the current quantum chip materials, and I want to change my way of thinking to solve the problem. Also, when key universities recruit teachers, the recruitment notice will say 'preference will be given to those with overseas study or work experience'..."
"Where are you going to be a professor after you graduate?" Lin Zeqiu asked.
Lin Zhixia planned: "I want to be a teacher at the best university in our province."
The best university in their province is ranked in the top five in the country.
Lin Zhixia is full of anticipation: "I can be colleagues with Teacher Shen Zhaohua and Sister Zhu Chan."
Lin Zeqiu had a premonition that his sister would become a young professor. If he studied for a master's degree at the best university in the province, he might even have the opportunity to audit Lin Zhixia's class. He shuddered and stopped talking.
The supermarket at home was temporarily closed for an hour, and mom and dad were not in the mood to work. Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu had not been home for a long time, and this time they were like a pair of birds returning to their nest, making their parents do everything they can to protect them under their wings.
During the days when Lin Zhixia and her brother were at home, their parents took great care of them. Because Lin Zhixia made a lot of money, her mother was so happy that the whole family ate shrimp dumplings for three consecutive days. Her mother made a lot of dumplings, and Lin Zhixia ate them to her heart's content.
On the day she left home, Lin Zhixia was particularly reluctant to leave her parents. But she had to run for her future. She held her brother's hand and said goodbye to her parents at the train station. The brother and sister walked a long distance away. Lin Zhixia looked back and saw her parents were still outside the station, staring at them from afar under the scorching sun.
The summer continues.
The heat in July and August is unbearable, but fortunately the school laboratories are air-conditioned.
Lin Zhixia is rooted in the laboratory, focusing on the study of "state maintenance strategy of superconducting quantum circuits". She has been working in this field for several months, and it is harvest time. After repeatedly checking the experimental data, she began to draft a paper - this paper was affirmed by Professor Gu, who said that after she finished writing, she could submit it to "Physical Review Letters".
Physical Review Letters is the top journal in the field of physics.
Lin Zhixia is full of energy. She writes her thesis energetically every day.
The topic of this paper originally belonged to Tan Qianche, but Tan Qianche's research method was different from Lin Zhixia's, and his experimental results were much worse than Lin Zhixia's. For this reason, Tan Qianche specially came to Lin Zhixia for advice, and their discussion lasted for a whole week.
Lin Zhixia followed some of Tan Qianche's advice and slightly improved her experiment. She said politely, "Thank you, I will add your name to the list of authors of the paper."
Tan Qianche said calmly: "That's not necessary. I have more than a dozen first-author papers."
Lin Zhixia replied calmly: "Teacher Gu said that my article's analysis of superconducting quantum circuits is very comprehensive and far-reaching, and it can be published in Physical Review Letters."
Tan Qianche's mouth twitched, but he still maintained his composure: "Physical Review Letters is a good journal..."
He couldn't say anything after that. He felt that Lin Zhixia's current academic level was not far behind his, and might even be on par with him - her progress was amazingly fast. She would never forget any knowledge point she had seen or heard.
He changed the topic and said, “You should work harder and write the paper as soon as possible. If it is accepted, this article will be your greatest achievement so far and a small step forward. You can create even better content in the future.”
"I know," Lin Zhixia said, facing the screen and typing on the keyboard, "I'm sixteen years old, and I have a long way to go in the future."
She is only sixteen years old, Tan Qianche thought.
What was he doing when he was sixteen? He inevitably thought of Wei Ruoxing again. He walked out of the laboratory building and went downstairs to smoke a cigarette.
During the summer vacation, their campus was open to the public, and you could enter for free by making an appointment in advance. Tan Qianche saw many tourists, and some bold girls approached him, asked for his cell phone number, and asked if he was a college student.
He lied that he wasn't.
He said that he dropped out of junior high school, his family had no money, he had been married for many years, had a son and a daughter, his father was loving and his children were filial, and he lived a happy life.
A few days ago, Tan Qianche worked for three nights to finish a paper. Now he has a scruffy beard and messy hair. The breeze blows his cotton T-shirt. He has a cigarette in his mouth and a plastic lighter in his hand. He looks ruffian, simple and sloppy.
Just at this time, a boy of about 16 or 17 years old came over. The boy was dressed neatly and looked extremely handsome, so handsome that people were dizzy. Tan Qianche raised his eyebrows slightly and shouted at him: "Jiang Yubai, are you here to see Lin Zhixia?"
Jiang Yubai had never set foot in Lin Zhixia's university. He was about to go abroad, so he wanted to come and see her. He didn't inform Lin Zhixia because he knew she was very busy and might not have time to receive him.
Jiang Yubai briefly explained the whole story. Tan Qianche originally thought that it would be best for Lin Zhixia to focus on academics and not get involved with anyone - but he saw the innocence unique to young people in Jiang Yubai.
The word "innocence" is far away from Tan Qianche.
Tan Qianche finished smoking a cigarette, turned around and walked into the laboratory building, leaving a message for Lin Zhixia. Jiang Yubai stood outside the laboratory building and waited for a few minutes, and then Lin Zhixia appeared. She ran out of the elevator and ran towards him: "Why didn't you call me?"
He had a good reason: "Can't bother you."
Under the dense shade of the trees, he smiled and said self-deprecatingly: "I still can't help wanting to see you."
Lin Zhixia raised her hand and hooked her little finger around his: "Wait another year, and we'll be in the same school again."
She took the initiative to shake hands with him, and he said, "School is about to start, and I plan to go abroad next week."
"Can you come back during this year's Christmas holiday?" Lin Zhixia asked cautiously.
Jiang Yubai didn't agree to her request as readily as before. He pretended to be hesitant and said, "If I can't come back..."
Lin Zhixia patted his shoulder and said, "Then you stay there and study hard."
Jiang Yubai thought he could hear Lin Zhixia say "I will miss you so much", it seems he used the wrong strategy. However, Lin Zhixia did take time out of her busy schedule to take Jiang Yubai to visit her university campus.
They walked around every corner of the school, and she even went to the supermarket to buy him ice cream. They sat on a bench by the lake, the August heat waves were coming and going, and Lin Zhixia pointed to a road in front of them and said, "Every morning and evening, I pass by here. This is the way from my dormitory to the laboratory building."
Jiang Yubai pointed to a tree nearby and said, "If I were this tree, I would greet you in the morning and evening."
Lin Zhixia grabbed a strawberry cone, the melted milk almost dripping onto her skirt: "You, are you writing poetry, or are you talking to me?"
Maybe it’s a love poem, Jiang Yubai thought.
So he answered, "It means both."
Lin Zhixia immediately declared: "I have something to tell you."
She smelled the aroma of strawberries and was about to bravely confess her love when a group of tourists suddenly came by the roadside - a group of parents with children. They kept talking, taking pictures and laughing loudly. The area by the lake was no longer quiet and secluded, so Lin Zhixia gave up the idea of confessing her love.
Jiang Yubai waited for a while, but Lin Zhixia didn't speak for a long time. He always felt that he had missed something very important.
At noon that day, Lin Zhixia invited Jiang Yubai to have a meal at the school. After the meal, Lin Zhixia personally sent him out of the school gate and watched him get into the car. Lin Zhixia's paper submission deadline was approaching, and Jiang Yubai was about to go abroad again. They would probably have to wait until December this year to meet again.
The car started, the wheels sped, and they were getting farther and farther away.
Lin Zhixia stood on the street for a few minutes, threw away all her sad emotions, and ran back to the laboratory building as fast as possible.
The day when Lin Zhixia completed the first draft of her thesis happened to be September 1st - the university's "Freshman Welcome Day".
Deng Shasha and Feng Yuan both volunteered for the "Freshman Welcome Day". Near noon, Deng Shasha called Lin Zhixia and asked her to bring her a pancake from the cafeteria. She wanted to fight on the front line, care about every junior student, and by the way, see if the School of Mathematics has recruited any handsome guys this year.
After Lin Zhixia bought the pancakes, Deng Shasha called again. Deng Shasha laughed and said, "God will not let down those who work hard! I've been waiting for a handsome guy! He's really handsome, but a little thin. This 18-year-old junior is so outstanding..."
Later, Deng Shasha said in the live broadcast: "I saw his name, Shen Fuxuan... Oh, his friends are not bad either, they made me laugh to death, his friends were wearing a short-sleeved shirt with our school emblem printed on it, they are all your fellow villagers... How come your hometown has produced so many beauties, I want to settle down there after I graduate."