A new journey begins, a beacon of sustainability
The rehearsal for the foundation's tenth anniversary celebration was ablaze with color. A giant LED screen displayed the past decade: from the small office where three people huddled together to the nation-wide project network it now encompasses; from Mo Xiaoyu's youthful figure as he first stood at the UN podium to Li Xiaoyu's determined expression during the Qingjiang River flood.
Zhang Wei, the ceremony's chief director, was anxiously shouting into the intercom, "Soften the lights! We want warmth, not ostentation!"
Backstage, Li Xiaoyu stood alone in front of a full-length mirror in the lounge, gazing at herself in a tailored suit and meticulously applied makeup. Her outfit made her look impeccable, yet strangely unfamiliar. She gently removed her earrings and replaced them with a pair of simple pearl studs—a gift from Mo Xiaoyu when she officially took over as Secretary-General.
When a person begins to examine his or her own reflection, it often means that an important turning point is about to come.
Squid appeared at the doorway, two cups of tea in hand. "Nervous?" she handed over a cup.
"It's more like... a sense of unreality." Li Xiaoyu took the teacup. "Remember when we first went to seek government cooperation and you taught me how to remain calm in important situations?"
"Remember. I told you to focus on the people you're trying to help, not yourself." Cuttlefish smiled. "That advice still applies tonight."
The celebration officially began. When Li Xiaoyu took the stage, the audience was filled with distinguished guests from government, business, and academia, as well as the foundation's most important supporters—those who had received help and whose lives were now different.
Instead of starting with her prepared speech, she walked to the edge of the stage and squatted down.
"Before I begin my formal report, I would like to ask everyone to watch a video."
A shaky cellphone camera appeared on the big screen—the last footage Zhang Wei had sent back before she lost contact during the Qingjiang River flood. In the video, the team members were struggling through the mud when the camera suddenly shifted to focus on a young volunteer helping an elderly person evacuate from the roadside.
"Wait!" Li Xiaoyu stopped the video at the scene, "Please pay attention to this volunteer in a blue raincoat."
The picture zoomed in, and the young face wet by the rain was clearly visible.
"His name is Liu Xing. Three years ago, he quit our volunteer team due to online bullying. But when Qingjiang was at its most dangerous, he returned and became one of the first volunteers to enter the disaster area."
There were gasps from the audience. The spotlight shone on Liu Xing in the audience. This young man, who once withdrew under pressure, now had a determined gaze.
"This is the theme I want to talk about today," Li Xiaoyu stood up. "The foundation's ten years aren't about how many people we've helped, but about how many people, under the light of this beacon, have found the courage to illuminate others."
The following report completely broke with tradition. Instead of listing brilliant statistics, Li Xiaoyu told five "lighthouse stories":
Lin Yue, once addicted to the internet, has now founded a "Digital Mental Health Club" at university;
Stone from Yunling Village led students to use traditional handicrafts to help left-behind elderly people;
The villagers who received help during the Qingjiang flood spontaneously formed a community psychological mutual aid team;
Even his former rival Wang Ming has transformed himself into a popular science writer, dedicated to combating pseudo-psychological information.
True success is to make every beam of light that is lit become a new light source.
At the end of the report, Li Xiaoyu announced the "Next Generation Lighthouse" plan. This is no longer a simple project expansion, but a complete ecological reconstruction:
They will open up the knowledge base and toolkits that the foundation has accumulated over the past decade;
Establish a "social entrepreneurship incubator" to support more people in starting social enterprises in the field of mental health;
They even try to use blockchain technology to establish a public welfare credit system so that every act of kindness can be tracked and witnessed.
The most surprising thing was that Li Xiaoyu announced the establishment of the "Mo Xiaoyu Scholars Program" to cultivate future leaders in the public welfare sector. Among the first batch of students was Shitou.
"How is that possible..." Zhang Wei in the background was stunned, "That kid is only in high school!"
Moyu smiled silently in the audience. This was a decision she and Li Xiaoyu had made together—they weren't looking for ready-made talent, but rather seeds of talent who truly understood the grassroots and possessed a deep empathy for life.
The celebration ended with warm applause, but the real highlight had just begun. At the small symposium after the meeting, Li Xiaoyu encountered sharp questioning.
One senior trustee bluntly stated, "Xiaoyu, don't you think 'next-generation lighthouse' is too idealistic? Opening up core resources and incubating competitors could shake the foundation's very foundation."
Another funder representative expressed concerns: "Using blockchain for philanthropy? It's too risky. Our donors want stability, not innovation."
Faced with these questions, Li Xiaoyu did not defend herself. She asked the staff to bring a whiteboard and drew a simple diagram on it:
"Everyone, please take a look. This is the traditional philanthropic model—we serve as the core, resources converge toward the center, and then radiate outward. The 'Next Generation Lighthouse' will do this—"
She drew countless interconnected light spots on the whiteboard.
"We no longer want to be the brightest lighthouse, but to help every ship light its own lamp. When there are millions of lights on the sea, shining on each other, there will no longer be a need for a single lighthouse."
This metaphor made everyone present fall into deep thought.
Late at night, the celebration venue was already empty. Li Xiaoyu and Moyu were the last to leave, and they both walked to the rooftop of the foundation's headquarters building.
The city's nightscape from this spot is breathtakingly beautiful, with countless lights forming bands of light that resemble a galaxy on earth.
"Do you remember our first office?" Squid asked softly. "In the summer, even the air conditioning didn't work, and the three of us huddled together to eat instant noodles."
"Remember. You said that one day, we'd make mental health services available on every street corner, like convenience stores."
"What now?"
"Now," Li Xiaoyu said, gazing at the lights of the countless homes below, "I want everyone to be someone else's convenience store."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The next day, Li Xiaoyu received a handwritten letter. The letter, written in crooked handwriting by a stone from Yunling Village, read:
"Teacher Li, my classmates and I have built a wooden box called 'Soul Tree Hole' and placed it on the school playground. We can write notes about any troubles and put them in it. Every day, a classmate will take turns replying. Although we don't understand professional psychology, we understand each other's troubles."
Attached to the letter was a photo of a handmade wooden box with a message engraved on it: "There are no answers here, but there are ears willing to listen."
Looking at this photo, Li Xiaoyu knew that she had seen the future.
Lighthouses may change, their brightness may wax and wane, but as long as ships need to navigate the dark night, someone will hold up a light. Her mission isn't to protect a particular lighthouse, but to make the act of holding a light an instinct, a legacy, an everlasting part of human nature.
Because the true mission of a lighthouse is never to shine forever, but to make the light a fire that can be passed on.
The significance of a lighthouse does not lie in how bright it is, but in how many ships it can guide through the fog and safely reach the port.
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