The new semester began, and Liang Xinyue and Bi Jiaxi wasted no time pressing Yu Qin about the experience of being in a relationship, nudging each other with significant looks.

Bi Jiaxi: “You’ve been together for over a month now. How does it feel?”

Liang Xinyue: “Don’t you think Qin Bao’s complexion has been especially radiant lately? Looks like the great Qu is pretty good at taking care of people~”

Bi Jiaxi: “Oh yes, definitely! Being in love is wonderful!”

The two of them played off each other, their meaningful glances sweeping up and down without saying what they were implying.

Yu Qin had thin skin — she was the type who turned red the moment anyone teased her. She genuinely couldn’t weather this kind of ribbing.

How to put it — over the past month, she and her boyfriend had eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. Whenever they had free time, they were stuck to each other: browsing shops, eating dessert, and yet somehow never seemed to tire of it. A few days ago, Yu Qin had stepped on the scale and been shocked to discover she had gained two to three pounds.

Watching those two still standing in front of her, stubbornly waiting for an answer, her eartips grew warm: “Mm. It’s just… pretty good.”

She had assumed her boyfriend was the quintessential oblivious type, but once they actually started dating, she discovered he was the kind of person who noticed every little thing — responsible, attentive — completely unlike that terrible ex of hers, who was neglectful and impatient at the first hint of trouble.

Once, while she and Qu Handong were out shopping, Ning Sui had been wearing a pair of low heels that didn’t fit properly, rubbing the back of her heel raw with pain. She hadn’t even said a word, and he had silently gone out and bought her a comfortable pair of slip-on shoes.

Another time, she had gotten her period and spent an entire afternoon lying in the dormitory with a stomachache. Qu Handong had fretted and come over with brown sugar water and medicine, personally looking after her until curfew forced him to leave.

That night, he had even called on voice chat and stayed with her the entire time.

In short, this relationship was making her feel truly, deeply happy. Yu Qin had been a little afraid of entering into another close relationship before — but now she was slowly beginning to relax.

He was extremely respectful of her, attentive to her every feeling no matter how small. And she just… liked him more and more.

Liked him a lot.

An enormous amount.

“Oh ho ho!”

Liang Xinyue and Bi Jiaxi read her expression immediately, enthusiastically egging her on from the side.

“What was your first kiss like?” Liang Xinyue was, as always, the type to cut straight to the heart of the matter.

Yu Qin’s face went red in an instant.

Speaking of that — the first kiss had truly left an impression.

They had been watching a movie again in a private screening room, and somehow they’d picked a romance again. It got to a particularly intimate scene, and her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest. She hadn’t dared to breathe — and then his lips came down.

While kissing her, he had even rasped out a question, asking if he could. She inwardly screamed for help.

The warmth was everywhere. By the time the two of them had finished their terribly innocent, fumbling kiss, the movie was almost over.

Looking at Yu Qin’s hopelessly flustered face — unable to answer even a single question — everyone understood everything without needing to say more. They shook their heads and sighed with the fond exasperation of fond older sisters, smiling helplessly.

Bi Jiaxi howled from beside them: “Wahhh being in love is so beautiful! I want to fall in love too!”

She was the only one left in the dorm who hadn’t found someone. Liang Xinyue eagerly offered suggestions: “Next semester hardly has any classes — babe, you need to get yourself out there. Go to more club events!”

Bi Jiaxi: “Okayyyy!”

Spring returned with swallows and green grass.

Everyone’s class schedules were indeed nearly empty of specialized courses, and campus activities were plentiful: lectures, large-scale performances, film production teams coming to campus for premiere screenings — all exceptionally varied and lively.

During this time, Ning Sui enjoyed campus life while eagerly awaiting the results of her graduate school application.

Word spread that some students were receiving acceptance emails one after another. Xie Yichen was among the first batch — as expected, he soon received offers from both MIT and Stanford.

Now it was just a matter of which school Ning Sui would get into. The days spent waiting for her result had been tense — she was afraid of hope being dashed, and afraid of not being in the same city as him.

She had originally assumed that whether or not she was accepted, there would be an email either way. But two full weeks passed with no word at all. One night, unable to sleep properly, Ning Sui tossed and turned, then quietly slipped out of bed and called Fang Fang.

“Mom — what if I don’t get in?”

Most mothers would respond with something like “the results aren’t out yet, just keep waiting” or “if it doesn’t work out this round, try again next year.” But Xia Fanghui was one of a kind: “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I recently bought a very powerful pink crystal with a strong energy field. I’ll get up right now and perform a ritual for you!”

As if the Lake Tai Stone teapot wasn’t enough — goodness knows what unscrupulous merchant had taken advantage of her this time.

Ning Sui had been sinking into a low mood, but the words shattered it in an instant. She burst out laughing.

Since stabilizing emotionally, Fang Fang had been radiating the warmth of maternal love: “My little Ye is so outstanding — even an American prestigious school would have to look twice, wouldn’t they? Don’t worry. Everything you want will come to you. You absolutely must keep affirming this to yourself persistently and positively. My therapist says the same thing.”

It was only after Fang Fang had been ill that Ning Sui learned her mother had been attending psychological counseling for the past two years.

During the follow-up appointment, the doctor had emphasized repeatedly that her body had been in a state of emotional high-risk for a long time — meaning that all her explosive, bottled-up emotions, with no timely release, were sending extremely unhealthy signals to her body.

Many physical illnesses are rooted in emotional ones.

In other words, Xia Fanghui’s condition had been caused entirely by her own volatile temperament.

In the past, if anyone had suggested Xia Fanghui attend counseling, she would have been furious — insisting she had no such problem, that her mental health was perfectly fine. But this time, the doctor’s words had been grave: “Your emotions have already had an enormous impact on your life. You have already paid such a heavy price. If your mindset doesn’t change, you may become ill again — and next time, it won’t be as simple as cutting out a small piece. You must change. Not only for yourself, but for your family.”

It was as though the doctor’s words had jolted her awake with tremendous force. Xia Fanghui also thought back to the severe argument she’d had with Ning Sui that winter of freshman year, and finally resolved to step outside her comfort zone and try counseling.

It was difficult at first. She was so accustomed to suppressing everything, bearing it all alone, that it felt awkward to open up to a therapist. But whenever she thought of her daughter’s tear-streaked face from that time, Xia Fanghui felt a heaviness settle in her chest.

The desire to change outweighed everything.

Fang Fang was a person of tremendous persistence. Once she set a goal, she pursued it without faltering — just like when she had sent Ning Sui to all those interest classes during childhood, showing up without fail even through wind and rain. So once she found her footing, the improvement was visible to the naked eye.

As time slowly passed, Xia Fanghui found that she was not only better at managing her emotions, but that her outlook had grown more optimistic than before. Her therapist had taught her the practice of positive self-suggestion, and she had mastered it with obvious delight, employing it with enthusiasm.

Now, Xia Fanghui said with great solemnity: “Sweetheart. Hold the thought long enough, and the answer will come. You have given two hundred percent of yourself to this. There is no reason fate should not reward you. “

She encouraged Ning Sui: “Good things take time. Maybe if you sleep on it tonight, you’ll wake up tomorrow to your results. Listen to your mother — don’t think about anything else. Go get a good rest.”

The evening breeze drifted in gently from the balcony. Ning Sui leaned against the railing, and somehow felt her heart settle into complete certainty. “Okay,” she said obediently.

She actually slept quite soundly that night. In the morning, still groggy, she reached blearily for her phone, barely half-awake. She nuzzled into the warm chest of the person beside her. “Xie Yichen.”

“Mm.”

She turned and pressed her phone into his hands. Naturally: “Check if there are any messages for me.”

His arm was slung across her waist, holding her from behind. He gave a low laugh. “Alright.”

Ning Sui lay there with her eyes closed, and when he still hadn’t said anything after a long moment, a faint flutter began to rise in her chest.

Could there really be nothing yet?

Unable to help herself, she discreetly peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, catching a glimpse of him carefully reading something. “What are you looking at?”

Xie Yichen dropped his gaze and said, unhurriedly: “Seeing how Harvard’s acceptance letter differs from MIT’s.”

Ning Sui’s mind went blank for a few seconds. She assumed he was joking, and snatched the phone from him — but then, looking properly, she found that her inbox had indeed received a new email.

Seeing the familiar, prominent name of that university in the subject line, her heart lurched and seemed to hang suspended in the air — as though drifting on a cloud. Then, after a moment, it began to pound frantically, beating and beating without pause.

Ning Sui stared at it, utterly disbelieving. “—Is this really from Harvard?”

“What else would it be?” Xie Yichen raised an eyebrow, pinching her cheek and watching her with bright eyes. “Did you think it was some online course spam?”

Ning Sui read through the email several more times, scarcely taking in any of it — all she could see was that single large word at the beginning: “Congratulations.”

Harvard University’s Master of Science in Data Science program — her first choice — and she had been accepted outright.

The long-awaited joy of having her wish finally come true arrived then, belatedly, with full force.

Ning Sui turned to face him, unable to hide her delight: “This is wonderful — we get to do our graduate studies in the same city!”

Not only the same city — they’d be remarkably close. MIT and Harvard were essentially like Qingda and Jingda, separated by only a few streets. This was already the best possible outcome she could have hoped for.

Xie Yichen’s eyes were full of warmth he couldn’t disguise. He leaned over and pressed a firm kiss to her lips. “Congratulations, sweetheart.”

With this great matter resolved, Ning Sui’s mood stayed bright. Standing at an important threshold of her life, with every step landing precisely where she had hoped — step after confident step — the feeling was genuinely exhilarating.

Hold the thought long enough, and the answer will come.

Those words, too, stirred something resolute and soaring in her chest.

Xia Fanghui and Ning Deyan were naturally overjoyed when they heard the good news. All their friends who learned of it were happy for them too — but then couldn’t help tilting their heads back in exasperation: “Come on! Does this mean we won’t see you or Yichen for ages?!”

They hadn’t even graduated yet and were already grieving. Hu Ke’er put on a dramatically mournful face every time she saw Ning Sui, squeezing out a few crocodile tears: “Wahh, my Sui Bao. Daddy will miss you so, so much!”

Zhang Yuge and Lin Shuyu were even more clingy on their end — showing up at Qingda to play ball with Xie Yichen at every opportunity, refusing to leave afterward, dangling from him like they were attached by a waistband: “Boss! Don’t go, don’t go — we want you to block a few more of our shots!”

Xie Yichen laughed and cursed at them: “Are you two out of your minds?”

The two answered in unison: “We are. We’ve come down with a case of lovesickness.”

This group of friends had been bickering and goofing around since high school, and now the moment of temporary parting had truly arrived.

That evening, everyone went out to a skewer barbecue place near campus. Over drinks, they unanimously decided that before graduation, they absolutely had to go on one grand, unforgettable graduation trip.

As for the destination — Zhang Yuge had already been mentally compiling a long list of places in the lab while being driven half-insane by his infuriating junior, but had never been able to make up his mind.

Xie Yichen was busy and also had Flashying matters to attend to, but he could carve out some time in early May. That season seemed like a good time to go anywhere.

The group fell into enthusiastic discussion.

Besides the Huai’an crew, Cui Xian and her boyfriend were there too, actively contributing suggestions: “How about the Maldives? I’ve heard it’s sinking — if we don’t go now, we might never be able to!”

“Good idea,” Lin Shuyu said. “But I think it’s actually entering rainy season around that time, so the experience might not be great.”

“What about Japan?”

“That has more cultural scenery?”

“Sichuan? Ningxia? Those have a lot of natural landscapes!”

“Won’t May Day be absolutely packed with tourists?”

“Probably, yeah.”

They discussed endlessly without arriving at a conclusion.

“Is there somewhere that’s good to visit in May, with both natural scenery and cultural attractions, where you could spend more than ten days on a self-drive trip?”

Ning Sui suddenly remembered — Flashying had recently been expanding into Australia, and she had caught snippets of Xie Yichen’s calls with Brother Du: “What about Australia? It’s big enough for a self-drive trip. It’s also autumn there, so the temperature would be comfortable.”

Everyone’s attention was immediately captured. “Oh?”

It did sound genuinely appealing.

You could drive a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

You could snorkel. You could skydive.

You could admire waterfalls. You could watch whales.

There were plenty of city landscapes and modern art galleries too.

Hu Ke’er was excited: “Oh wow, and can you cuddle with little animals there? Like koalas? I’ve seen videos on Flashying — they’re so cute!”

Cui Xian’s interest was immediately ignited: “Yes, yes! I’ve heard there’s also a Warner Bros. Movie World over there, with live character experiences from all kinds of major franchises — it sounds like so much fun!”

It genuinely sounded appealing, and no one had any objections. So it was happily settled.

The group was true to the “just go” spirit — they started preparing for visas while simultaneously drafting their itinerary, booking flights and hotels.

Cui Xian and Hu Ke’er were both severe procrastinators who hated planning anything and preferred to have the itinerary served to them on a platter. Fortunately, everyone else in the group was fairly proactive. Zhang Yuge especially loved organizing, Xie Yichen went without saying — well-traveled and experienced, Lin Shuyu focused on food and had researched many restaurants, and Cui Xian’s boyfriend Liang Zheng was particularly interested in museums and architecture.

So the three girls conferred and happily resolved to be passengers in every sense of the word.

Australia is in the southern hemisphere — the opposite of China’s seasons — and May there is autumn, a wonderful time to see the autumn foliage.

The itinerary Xie Yichen and the others put together was rich and varied: from Melbourne to Sydney, then on to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef. From bustling international cities to beautiful forests and lakes, from culture to nature — truly everything you could ask for.

Over the course of about ten-plus days, they went sandboarding, rode four-wheel quad bikes and hot air balloons, kayaked and tried all kinds of water activities, admired the coastlines, fed wild dolphins, snorkeled among coral reefs to see vivid orange tropical fish, held koalas, encountered the famously muscular internet-famous kangaroos, sheared sheep, and watched flying bird performances.

Every single day of the entire trip was exciting and joyful.

Beyond the pleasure of sightseeing, for certain members of the group, some unexpected events unfolded along the way as well — though those were stories for another time.

Zhang Yuge was still savoring the memories long after returning: “That off-road driving was absolutely incredible. And swimming every day — it was seriously so fun!”

Lin Shuyu thought of it and had to laugh: “Why aren’t you mentioning what happened at the wildlife park?”

Zhang Yuge’s face darkened at the memory: “What the hell — who knew kangaroos could be such judgmental creatures?!”

The story was actually quite funny. The whole group had gone to a wildlife sanctuary to pet kangaroos — young ones, small and adorable. They were especially docile when Ning Sui and Xie Yichen fed them, but when it came to Zhang Yuge, no one knew if his expression just looked menacing, but the mother kangaroo nearby decided he was threatening her joey and immediately launched herself at him, sending him flying with a powerful kick in the blink of an eye.

Having already once been defeated by a kangaroo, Zhang Yuge had apparently now fully entered his era of inexplicable injuries. It was truly beyond comprehension.

Although the wildlife park provided compensation — which offered some meager consolation — Zhang Yuge felt the psychological scarring was far heavier, and he hobbled around for the better part of a month, not fully recovering until graduation.

Since he wasn’t seriously hurt, it had served as pure entertainment for Lin Shuyu and the others. Friends who heard about the incident found themselves laughing every time it came up for quite a while afterward, and Zhang Yuge nearly retreated into himself.

But Ning Sui hadn’t expected that the second semester of her senior year would truly fly by in the blink of an eye. Between all the antics and laughter, it was almost like one moment they were starting and the next it was already summer. Time rushed onward; the seasons turned. In late June, everyone arrived at the most important moment of all.

Graduation.

Four years of student life were about to draw to a close. Ning Sui’s heart was full of sentiment, and more than a little reluctance to let go.

A few days before the graduation ceremony, Ning Sui returned to the dormitory to pack up her things, and found that Liang Xinyue’s parents had also come upstairs, helping pack up bag after bag of belongings.

She couldn’t help thinking back to the day she had first moved in — pushing open the door and immediately seeing Liang Xinyue and Bi Jiaxi, the two of them smiling with youthful, unguarded brightness.

It was like a mirror image of that scene, except now what was approaching was not a beginning, but a farewell.

Liang Xinyue had found a job in quantitative finance. Yu Qin and Bi Jiaxi were both staying on to pursue graduate studies at the same university, continuing their academic paths. All three of them would remain in Beijing, with opportunities to meet, and the only one they truly couldn’t bear to part with now was Ning Sui.

The atmosphere grew a little low. Looking at one another, each of them felt their eyes growing damp — four years of dormitory life, sharing gossip every day, speaking freely on every topic, staying up without restraint until the small hours of the morning, standing united against the world when it called for it. Looking back, all of it was made of small, treasured moments.

Liang Xinyue packed the last item, and her desk was completely bare. Something about the sight was too much, and almost instinctively, the four of them pulled each other into a hug and burst into tears together.

Liang Xinyue wiped her eyes, still laughing: “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again! Let’s not get this sentimental!”

Bi Jiaxi sobbed: “Sui Bao, you have to think of us! The Beijing group is always ready for you to come back!”

Yu Qin: “You and Yichen are going to make waves at MIT! Whether you’re happy or upset, come share it with us anytime!”

Ning Sui’s nose stung, but she nodded, with complete sincerity. “I will.”

On the day of the graduation ceremony, the campus was teeming with people. Students in academic gowns moved everywhere, the lecture halls and library glowed with light, and large display boards were arranged in front of every faculty and department, printed with inspiring mottos.

— Love your country, pursue your aspirations. Seek truth, put it into practice. Do not let this era down. Do not let your youth go to waste.

Ning Sui stood before the School of Mathematical Sciences building, taking photos with friends, classmates, teachers, and the family who had come to celebrate — Ning Deyan, Fang Fang, and Ning Yue. As if knowing this was a special day, even the weather cooperated: blue skies and white clouds, drifting and curling above.

Brilliant sunshine. Deep green shade. A gentle, warm breeze.

A student journalist from one of the campus societies was making their way through the crowd with a microphone, and spotted Ning Sui immediately: “Senior, graduation is almost here — how are you feeling?”

What she felt in that moment was truly difficult to put into words — she was about to leave the campus she had called home for four years, about to step into the next chapter. She was full of nerves, full of reluctance, and full of boundless anticipation for what lay ahead.

The reporter continued: “I’ve heard some seniors say that after four years of study, some people fall more deeply in love with their major, while others reach graduation only to realize the field might not truly suit them. You study mathematics — have you ever regretted choosing this path?”

Ning Sui answered without hesitation, with a quiet smile: “No regrets.”

The reporter: “Wow, could you tell us more, Senior?”

Ning Sui thought for a moment, then said earnestly: “Mathematics was the subject that first opened my eyes to the world. It taught me how to understand the world, and how to understand myself. It holds a meaning that nothing else can replace.”

“The universe is vast, and each of us occupies a small stretch of plain and hill within it — longing to gaze up at the stars while keeping our feet firmly on the ground. Mathematics gave me the confidence to do both. Its wonder and beauty are concealed, yet endless.”

To live in this world is to have something worth holding onto. What mathematics had taught her was far more than formulas.

It was perseverance. It was never giving up. It was the courage to remain sincere in the face of adversity. As long as you are determined, any obstacle standing before you is only a temporary barrier — one that a powerful belief will, in time, overcome.

The sun blazed overhead, but brighter still were the ideals and passion of youth, pressing forward without hesitation.

In the distance, young faces were bright with smiles. Academic caps soared up into the air, and for a moment, it was as though youth itself had been caught in a single frame —

“We’ve graduated!”

Youth is wonderful. Being young is wonderful.