Lin Jianzhi's parents were already used to her breaking down in tears at the drop of a hat. When she walked out of her room with red-rimmed eyes, her father Lin just glanced at her twice before losing interest.
Her mother, Mrs. Lin, even lightly patted her with chopsticks: "Go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon."
At the dinner table, Lin Jianzhi was in low spirits. She slowly shoveled mouthfuls of rice into her mouth.
Seated at the head of the table, her father spoke up: "The gaokao (college entrance exam) is coming up soon. Do you have any ideas for your future university and major?"
Lin Jianzhi didn't respond, only shaking her head.
Mrs. Lin set her bowl down: "Jianzhi is good at foreign languages. Becoming a diplomat in the future would be quite good."
Mr. Lin's eyes lit up and he nodded: "Diplomats need to master dozens of foreign languages. Our daughter has a gift for languages and has gotten full marks on her English proficiency tests. I think it'll be no problem."
But then Mrs. Lin suddenly frowned, saying: "However, diplomats need to have strong psychological resilience. As for Jianzhi..."
Mr. Lin's smile froze and he didn't finish his sentence.
In an instant, both of them gave up on the idea of Lin Jianzhi pursuing diplomacy. They shook their heads in regret.
Lin Jianzhi looked up and asked: "Can I get surgery? I read that overly sensitive tear ducts can be treated surgically."
Mr. Lin objected: "What if there are side effects?"
Mrs. Lin also disagreed: "It doesn't impact you too negatively. The only problem would be soaking your exam papers with tears."
Lin Jianzhi lowered her head: "It won't get that bad. When I'm focused on the exam, I won't have time to cry."
And so the conversation about her excessive crying ended. The family of three continued their pleasant dinner, except for Jianzhi who was preoccupied with her own thoughts. After a few bites, she returned to her room to do research.
In the span of two years, feelings that had once faded were revived in an instant this afternoon.
That whiff of fragrance left an indelible olfactory memory, assaulting her heart and filling it with intense emotions.
She was like a moth drawn to flame, impulsively wanting to chase after it.
A University, Physics Department...
Late at night.
Zhu Liheng had just finished his research project. He casually browsed questions that fans had asked on Weibo. Some were quite technical and would make good topics for an explainer video series.
He searched for the term "physics" to see if there was any new noteworthy content.
Unexpectedly, the top search result was a Weibo post from a user.
The content was very simple, even a bit laughable.
[@Love-crying-quail: Does anyone know what the admission score cutoff is for A University's Physics Department?]
Zhu Liheng had scrolled past it, but noticed the user's location was the same as his - Jingyi City.
He scrolled back and left a comment under the post.
[@ZhuLiheng: For our city, you need at least 670 to get in.]
...
The next morning at 8 am.
Lin Jianzhi burst out the door like a madwoman, tidying her hair and collar while jabbing at the elevator button.
After crying half the night and fretting the other half, she had woken up late!
Morning reading started at 8:20 am. There was no way she could make it in time if she waited for the bus now.
She was going crazy! Crazy! Crazy!
By the time she neatened her hair and buttoned her collar, she realized the elevator hadn't budged at all. A red light blinked on the display.
Ahhh!!!
The elevator was broken!
Lin Jianzhi hurried down the stairs. She lived on the 11th floor!
Tap tap tap! Tap tap tap!
In her panic she had put her shoes on the wrong feet. There was no way she could run like this.
The more flustered she got, the more mistakes she made. Lin Jianzhi wept buckets as she raced around the corner on the 10th floor.
Bang!
She slammed right into someone.
The impact made her see stars. She was about to fall backwards but a large hand grabbed her, propping her up.
"I'm so sorry!" Lin Jianzhi looked up.
The next second, her mind went blank.
A wisp of the disruptive clean fragrance greeted her senses.
Zhu Liheng?!
They were this close?!
Her head was pressed right against Zhu Liheng's chin. For a brief moment she could even feel his breath against her.
Zhu Liheng let go at the right time, glancing at the red light on the elevator display.
He had seen the little girl rushing over in tears the moment he opened his door. So the elevator was broken.
He checked his watch again - 8:03 am. They would definitely be late.
Zhu Liheng's gaze lingered on Lin Jianzhi as he asked, "Who's your head teacher?"
Lin Jianzhi didn't even dare meet his eyes. Her face was as red as blood as she practically squeaked: "Mr. Hu Tan."
Zhu Liheng raised an eyebrow. "Let me drive you there."
As soon as he spoke, he headed downstairs.
Lin Jianzhi's mind went blank!
Drive her there? How?
Ahhh she was going to lose it!
Zhu Liheng looked back at the dazed girl and said, "Hurry up, do you want to be late?"
Mr. Hu Tan, teacher of Class 2 Senior Year 3 at Jingyi No.1 Middle School, was known for being extremely strict with his math students!
"Ah, okay!" Lin Jianzhi hurriedly followed behind him.
The two of them descended from the 10th floor. Zhu Liheng's long legs carried him quickly down the stairs, forcing the petite Lin Jianzhi into an awkward jog the whole way.
She panted not from exertion, but pure nervousness. Right now Lin Jianzhi had lost all capacity for rational thought. All she could think about was that lingering clean scent.
How could he...
How could he offer to drive her?
She was totally going to misunderstand, oh god!
Upon reaching the 1st floor, Zhu Liheng didn't stop but continued down the basement stairs, leading Lin Jianzhi down to the underground parking garage.
Lin Jianzhi blankly followed along like a mindless puppet.
Beep beep!
Zhu Liheng unlocked a car with his key fob, lighting up an Audi A6.
He opened the passenger door and looked over at the still dazed Lin Jianzhi, saying: "Get in."
Lin Jianzhi quickly clambered inside, sitting ramrod straight in the back row.
After closing the door behind her Zhu Liheng said, "Next time you can sit in the front passenger seat okay?"
Lin Jianzhi: "Huh? Ah???"
Zhu Liheng put the car in gear and reversed out of the spot. His long fingers gripped the steering wheel firmly.
"With you sitting like that I feel like some chauffeur," he said with a smile.
Lin Jianzhi wished a hole would open up for her to fling herself into. She quickly lowered her head and apologized again.
Zhu Liheng looked mildly exasperated. Glancing at the rearview mirror, he reminded her: "Your buttons."
Still reeling from the whiplash, Lin Jianzhi echoed blankly, "Huh???"
Zhu Liheng repeated: "Your buttons are crooked."
Lin Jianzhi: "!!!"
Hurriedly she glanced down, shocked to discover her second button was slipped through the first buttonhole. The whole row was buttoned incorrectly.
Not knowing what to do, she raised her blushing face towards the driver's seat.
Zhu Liheng turned the mirror to a different angle and kept his eyes fixed straight ahead: "I won't look. Go ahead and fix it."
Fresh tears spilled from Lin Jianzhi's eyes, beyond her control. She couldn't stop hiccuping quiet sobs.
She was an idiot!
Why did she have to keep acting like an idiot in front of Zhu Liheng!
She fixed her buttons in the back while Zhu Liheng drove, eyes glued to the road.
But the atmosphere in the car felt incredibly strange and awkward, even Zhu Liheng sensed it.
"Done?" he asked.
Lin Jianzhi squeaked in a tiny voice: "Mm-hmm."
Zhu Liheng repositioned the rearview mirror and rolled down the windows.
Neither spoke another word. Lin Jianzhi breathed a huge sigh of relief as the morning breeze gusted against her flushed face, clearing her muddled head a bit.
At a red light, a policeman suddenly stepped in front of the car, forcing them to stop.
"License and registration!" the officer barked severely at Zhu Liheng: "What's your relationship with that schoolgirl in the back? Are you seducing her for human trafficking?!"
Zhu Liheng: "......"
Lin Jianzhi gaped, stunned that her tear-streaked face had caused such a damning misunderstanding.
