The day of the special scholarship defense arrived under a bright, clear sky.

Trees cast their green shadows, birds sang in crisp and cheerful voices, and the area in front of Qing University’s main building was filled with people coming and going — parents who had come to watch, younger students drawn by its reputation. The scene was more magnificent than anything that had come before.

Ning Sui, carrying her backpack, followed the flowing crowd inside the auditorium alongside Hu Ke’er, Zhang Yuge, Lin Shuyu, and the others.

Rows of seats curved in a neat arc. Though it was still early, many people were already seated. Up at the front stood a large stage, and the hall hummed with a collective anticipation for what was about to unfold.

Qu Handong and Liu Chang had come even earlier and had claimed a row of seats off to the front-side for the group, beaming with satisfaction. “I compared angles from every direction for a long time — this spot is the best. Had to fight for it.”

Zhang Yuge gave a thumbs up. “Impressive.”

Hu Ke’er asked: “Hey — who brought a camera again?”

Liu Chang raised his hand. “Me, me, me! I brought a mirrorless.”

Lin Shuyu raised his hand too. “I brought a DSLR!”

“— Perfect!” The group quickly reached consensus, buzzing with excitement. “Then Kuge Lin takes the lead and Liu Chang provides backup — and the rest of us with phones handle the video recording!”

Amid the eager chatter and cheerful noise, at two o’clock in the afternoon, the defense ceremony officially began.

The emcee took the stage to speak, introducing the panel of judges and university leadership, followed by the president’s address — a resonant, powerful voice carried through the microphone to every corner of the hall.

“For this round of scholarship nominations, we received applications from over eighty students. After rigorous review at the departmental and university level, fifteen candidates have qualified for the final defense. In their academics, campus involvement, and research, each has demonstrated exceptional distinction — they are, without question, the finest among Qing University’s students…”

The applause that swept through the hall was like a tide breaking.

Each special scholarship candidate was introduced by a presenter — typically an assistant professor from their own department. Only after the introduction of the candidate’s record did the candidate themselves take the stage to speak.

Ning Sui’s attention was completely absorbed by each speech, and the time seemed to fly.

One candidate after another stepped forward, presenting their achievements and their histories —

Research in alloy micro-nano mechanical properties in materials science, the “Spark Initiative”;

Chip development for integrated circuit communication architecture, pioneering the mobile Internet of Things industry;

Journeying to rural areas to teach and build, dedicating themselves to their country’s diplomatic work;

Global environmental governance, the world’s “Future Scholar” program, and more and more and more…

Qing University was exactly this kind of place — a place of boundless possibility. Here, everyone talked about dreams, and yet everyone was also ignited by the dreams of others. “Strive ceaselessly, embrace virtue broadly” — these few words of the school motto had always carried forward the voices of countless people pressing ahead with purpose.

Ning Sui listened with her heart trembling. Throughout, the hall never stopped thundering with applause — how fortunate they were, to have studied at two of China’s most distinguished universities, to have met such extraordinary people, to have had four beautiful years of youth.

The waiting was always the hardest part. Zhang Yuge craned his neck and whispered to Lin Shuyu: “Hey, which one are we on now? Why isn’t it his turn yet — check the list, quick.”

Ning Sui’s eyes drifted, almost involuntarily, to the photo they had taken of the screen earlier. The defense order was listed there.

The next one was Xie Yichen.

In that moment, it felt as though she could already see him through the crowd — and her heartbeat quickened all at once, thudding loud against her ears.

First, Xie Yichen’s presenter — an assistant professor from the computer science department — stepped forward to introduce his record: “He won a gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics in his first year of high school. In his third year, he was selected for the national mathematics competition training squad and admitted to Qing University through that distinction. In his first year of university, he won a gold medal at the ACM/ICPC World Finals.

In his second year, he completed advanced graduate-level computer science courses ahead of schedule and achieved a perfect score. In his third year, he participated in exchange programs at MIT and Carnegie Mellon University. He has three first-authored papers on artificial intelligence and AIGC published at major international conferences, with six more currently under review — one of which has already won the Best Student Paper Award at the ISAAC conference…”

While the presenter was still speaking, the young man appeared in formal dress — tall, poised, holding himself straight — and climbed the steps to the stage under the eyes of the entire hall.

Around her, camera shutters clicked without pause. In that moment, Ning Sui forgot everything else. She simply watched him, unable to look away.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Xie Yichen, from the experimental computer science class at the School of Information and Interdisciplinary Studies.”

The instant he spoke, the entire audience seemed to hold their breath as one.

Xie Yichen began to speak about his own journey — from the moment he first encountered binary and fell in love with computers, to the countless competitions he had entered, to locking his focus on the field of artificial intelligence creation and machine learning, human-computer interaction, and finally to the small achievements he had made on the relevant research questions up to now.

During a spring research period at MIT, he had solved a problem that had stumped senior professors and leading scholars in artificial intelligence for several years.

“In research, what matters most is not innovation — it is integrity. The boundaries of knowledge are infinite, the universe is vast, and the path of exploration is inevitably full of turbulence and setbacks…”

“The entire process took me roughly a month. There was a period in the middle where I was completely stuck, unable to move forward. Perhaps it was a matter of quantity eventually giving rise to quality — one day, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration, a new idea I hadn’t considered before.”

“This experience taught me something very important: no matter how dark and endless the road ahead may seem, you cannot give up. Even if you’re walking alone, you have to believe — there will always be a beam of light that finds you.”

Xie Yichen paused. His gaze shifted, and suddenly settled somewhere in the audience toward the front.

Everyone held their breath, a quiet tension running through the hall.

Xie Yichen curved the corner of his mouth and said: “In the summer after my third year of high school, I watched a film that left a very deep impression on me. It was called A Beautiful Mind.”

“It wasn’t only about curiosity toward the universe, passion for scholarship, or the nobility of ideals — it was also about the brilliance of love. Every question I had been struggling and confused about, I found answered in that film.”

“Like John Nash, I am grateful that I, too, met such a person — someone who gave me the boldness and courage to keep pushing the boundaries of computer science.”

He said only a few brief words about the film, but down in the audience a wave of noise and excitement broke out, voices buzzing with realization. Many people hadn’t quite caught it at first — and then, half a beat later, it suddenly clicked —

Wait — is he using this moment to confess to his girlfriend?!

It was common knowledge around campus that Xie Yichen was in a relationship — keeping it private was no longer an option. Even the new first-years just starting school knew that he had a girlfriend he had been with for three or four years, and that the two of them were extraordinarily close.

— You give me the courage to keep pushing the boundaries of computer science.

What a romantic confession — quiet and yet enormous.

Tucked away like a secret, and impossibly sweet.

Down in the auditorium, it wasn’t only the underclassmen who had completely lost their composure. Somewhere in the audience toward the front, in a particular corner, one person had gone completely still — breathing nearly forgotten.

Ning Sui’s fingertips pressed hard into her palm. Her gaze had never left the figure on stage, that figure who seemed to be glowing. Her heartbeat rang loud and unceasing.

“…My name, in fact, is made of three words combined — gratitude, steadfast, devotion. I am truly grateful to my parents for giving me this name. Together, these words form the code of my life, reminding me that in whatever circumstances I find myself, I must hold sincerity in my heart and grow toward the light.”

“How vast the universe is, how many places the future will take us — perhaps none of us know yet in this moment. But we know clearly what we are working toward: the future of our nation.”

“And I will spend my life continuing to practice, to create, to realize, and to surpass — in this luminous era of computer science, opening new frontiers for our country, never ceasing to move forward, pressing on with purpose, striving always toward what is finest.”

“My remarks are complete. Thank you all.”

The spotlight blazed down on the stage, illuminating the brilliant expression of a young man in the fullness of his youth.

A shutter clicked. The photograph was taken.

Below, a sea of faces — some wet with tears, all radiant with joy — and the applause that rose did not stop, the cheers ringing on and on without end.

Ning Sui knew: this was a moment worth remembering forever.

Right now, there was nothing that needed to be asked. Nothing that needed to be said.

A toast to ideals. A toast to youth. A toast to a brilliant future. A toast to a brand new, blazing tomorrow.

— Before the summer night’s noise and warmth.

—

The final list of special scholarship recipients was reviewed and publicly announced by the university. That day, Qu Handong and the others went in a great, boisterous wave with a whole crowd from the honors class to check the results the moment they were posted.

— Xie Yichen’s name was there, clear and unmistakable.

Everyone let out a breath at once. They looked at one another, and then, in silent understanding, broke into open laughter.

Of course. If he couldn’t earn it, no one could.

To celebrate this extraordinary honor, that evening they bought a great deal of alcohol and sat in a circle on the lawn of Zijing Field, drinking and talking freely.

About themselves. About their dreams. About life.

Zhang Yuge and Lin Shuyu, in a fit of madness, decided to race each other. They ran lap after lap around the field. Before long, Qu Handong, Liu Chang, and the others were caught up in the chaos too, and they sprinted to the patch of open ground by the northeast gate, scaled the wall one after another, sat on top swinging their legs, and shouted at the moon: “I need to pee!”

Predictably, they were apprehended by the security guard on duty.

Ning Sui and Hu Ke’er stayed on Zijing Field the entire time. When they heard about it, they laughed until they nearly collapsed. The moon that night was pure and bright, the clouds soft and unhurried, and the gentle haze of alcohol drifted slowly through everything. Ning Sui propped herself up on one hand on the wide, soft grass, and couldn’t help looking sideways.

Xie Yichen had drunk quite a bit. Empty glass bottles lay scattered around him, tilted this way and that. He had stretched out with his hands folded lazily behind his head, looking up at the sky, one leg bent casually.

At the moment Ning Sui looked at him, as though sensing it, he turned his gaze toward her too.

The two of them looked at each other for a long time without meaning to, their eyes tangled together, both pairs bright with open, fiery warmth.

He gestured to her — come here.

Ning Sui’s lashes flickered. Almost without thinking, she leaned closer, expecting him to whisper something.

“What is it?”

Xie Yichen was being very mysterious. His breath tickled her ear — and then he simply pulled her into his arms and pressed a firm kiss to her cheek.

His breath was full of the rush of wine. She couldn’t help herself: “Xie Yichen —”

“Haven’t kissed you here yet today.” He shrugged, his expression carrying a meaning she couldn’t quite decipher.

“…”

They were in public, surrounded by friends scattered here and there — all of whom were pretending not to notice — but the tips of Ning Sui’s ears still went red.

She was about to say something when she saw him raise his eyebrows again and beckon to her, his voice lazy, unhurried: “Ning Ye.”

Was this person trying to pull the same trick again?

She was absolutely not falling for it.

Ning Sui’s inner alarm went off. She was already planning an orderly retreat — when Xie Yichen suddenly rolled toward her.

A rush of warmth swept past her ear in an instant. Ning Sui watched his lips curve, dark hair and sharp eyes, his bold, expressive features carrying a clear and unmistakable youthfulness.

He laughed softly, dropping his voice to a whisper: “Do you want to go explore the mysteries of the universe with me?”

Ning Sui’s heart skipped a beat. She thought: that’s it — he’s actually drunk.

How were his eyes that bright? They were almost dizzying.

She blinked, slightly bewildered, and nodded without any hesitation: “Okay.”

Xie Yichen’s chest vibrated with a quiet laugh. He took her hand. “When do we leave?”

Ning Sui thought for a moment. “Tomorrow.”

“Alright — we leave tomorrow, then.”

Ning Sui made a small sound of agreement, thought again, and said: “But — the universe is so vast. Where do we even begin?”

Her expression was adorably lost. Xie Yichen laughed under his breath, reached over with his other hand, and tousled her hair. “Silly.”

“— That question. Haven’t I already given you the answer?”

Ning Sui looked at him. Her fingertips were wrapped inside his warm palm. The rhythm in her chest leapt and then stopped completely for a single beat — and even breathing felt like something she might forget.

She drifted back, as though returning to a distant, sweltering summer night from long ago.

She had been curled in her blanket, dark eyes bright in the glow of her screen.

And on the screen, a long message from him.

— Where you end up, who you become — these have always been long questions. You don’t need to rush to decide. Even if you change along the way, that’s alright.

— Ye, you can always be yourself first.

The same as the her of right now.

Outside the window that night, the moonlight had been soft and diffuse. That seventeen-year-old girl had heard the very same thing — an unstoppable, leaping heartbeat inside her chest.

(Main story complete)