Youth never ends
Autumn arrived as expected, rustling with falling leaves. The sycamore trees on campus began to shed their summer lushness, becoming stained with varying shades of golden yellow. At the start of a new semester, the air was filled with a special atmosphere belonging to the graduating class, a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
Lin Xiaoning sat at her desk in her dormitory, the setting sun outside the window stretching her figure into a slender figure. With a gentle click of the mouse, she sent the document she had painstakingly compiled over the past holiday. Inside was a copy, word for word, of Zhao Xianqi's words from class. It condensed all the brilliant insights from his criminal law class and carried the memory of her own journey immersed in the world of law.
"Teacher Zhao:"—the first two words she typed and deleted, deleted and typed again, leaving only the simple "Zhao." It was as if any more name would disturb the carefully hidden feelings in her heart.
"I've finally finished organizing what you said in class. I guess you definitely didn't follow the courseware and handouts. This should be the most complete version.
I suggest you review it. If there is nothing wrong with it, you can contact the publishing house for publication.
rather"
The notification sound of the email being sent successfully rang out, and her heart trembled slightly. She had been revising the wording of this short email over and over again throughout the afternoon.
The reply came faster than she expected. Zhao Xianqi's email was as concise as ever, but it stirred a huge wave in her heart.
"Xiao Ning
The manuscript has been received and approved for publication.
The future will belong to two kinds of people: those who think and those who work. In fact, these two kinds of people are the same kind of people, because thinking is also labor. - Hugo
First
Hugo's words were like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of her memory. She recalled late nights spent in the library, heated classroom discussions over legal concepts, and Teacher Zhao's gaze, always looking off into the distance. At that moment, she felt her labor had been imbued with special meaning—not just organizing lecture notes, but also a legacy of thought.
Publishing went surprisingly smoothly. "Criminal Law Teaching Plan" was soon published, and the words "Written by Zhao Xianqi" on the cover filled Lin Xiaoning with inexplicable pride. When the first payment of royalties arrived, Teacher Zhao asked for her opinion. Without hesitation, she decided to donate the entire amount to the remote mountain primary school that Teacher Zhao had mentioned. This decision brought her a pure joy, as if, through this act, she had forged a deeper connection with Teacher Zhao.
However, in the last year of college, the fog of reality began to gradually obscure the light of ideals. As graduation approached, the choice of the future became imminent.
Lin Xiaoning emailed Zhao Xianqi more than once, asking him about career planning. She cautiously hinted at her interest in pursuing a graduate degree in law. But Zhao Xianqi's responses were always rational and restrained: "The legal path is long and arduous, and requires bearing the weight of humanity. You have a solid foundation in chemistry, and promoting industry and national development is a way to serve the country, and it's less prone to the vicious struggles of human nature."
These words poured like cold water on her burning heart. She didn't understand why Teacher Zhao didn't want her to pursue a career in law. Was he truly concerned for her, or was he just... unwilling to have any more contact with her?
This feeling of being so close yet so distant tormented her. Sometimes she even wondered if the teacher Zhao who had discussed law and human nature with her in emails, and who had lost his composure on forums to worry about her burns, was the same teacher Zhao who calmly pushed her away.
This confusion prompted her to do something bold - she began to secretly investigate the case that Zhao Xianqi had failed in ten years ago. When she sent an email to inquire about it, it fell on deaf ears and she received no response.
This silence only fueled her resolve. Through Ye Yidong's internship at the procuratorate, she actually had access to the original case file. When she saw that the lead prosecutor was Ye Zhengdong, a flicker of unease crossed her heart, but her desire to uncover the truth overwhelmed everything.
The most crucial piece of evidence was a paper dating report. Lin Xiaoning, drawing on her chemistry expertise, keenly spotted a suspicious point. She secretly took a small sample of the scrap and ran repeated tests in the laboratory. The results confirmed her suspicions—the dating of the crucial piece of evidence clearly contradicted the time of the crime.
When she delivered this discovery, along with a copy of the case file, to Zhao Xianqi's office, her hands trembled slightly with excitement. On the inside page, she wrote a sentence she had been thinking about for a long time: "You have shown me the light of law, and I wish to be your light."
At that moment, she felt as if she was not giving away a piece of evidence, but a warm heart.
However, what awaited her was even deeper disappointment. A few days later, Zhao Xianqi returned all the materials to her with a note that read: "You deserve a brighter future, not dwelling on the past, or the past of others."
These words were like a blunt knife, slowly cutting her heart. She didn't understand why he refused her help? Why would he rather bear the injustice than fight for his innocence?
Just as Lin Xiaoning was perplexed by Zhao Xianqi's attitude, Ye Yidong's situation also changed dramatically. In fact, Ye Yidong had already learned the whole truth about Zhao Xianqi's case through his father's connections. Especially when chatting with the retired uncle next door, he said, "That young Zhao! He's very talented! It's a pity that he shouldn't challenge the order... He's still young and impulsive."
When he discovered how deeply Lin Xiaoning cared about the matter, he experienced a fierce inner struggle. Ultimately, his feelings for Lin Xiaoning overcame his family's interests, and he brought Lin Xiaoning to his office, borrowed the files, and helped her obtain key evidence.
However, this choice also made him pay a price. His father was furious at his "betrayal", which triggered a series of immeasurable consequences...his parents divorced.
Even more distressing for Ye Yidong was when he received Zhao Xianqi's newly published "Criminal Law Teaching Plan" and read the preface, "a gift of recognition, a blessing in life," and his sixth sense gave him the distinct impression that Lin Xiaoning and Zhao Xianqi's interactions were solely academic, yet also far more than academic. A sense of loss nearly consumed him.
Confused, Ye Yidong tried to turn to Xu Zilin, who had always secretly liked him. He asked her out to the movies, accompanied her to study, and even tried to hold her hand. But the fat girl looked at him with unusual clarity: "Ye Yidong, I want sincerity, not charity."
This sentence was like a slap in the face, waking Ye Yidong up and also waking up the false tenderness between them.
Graduation season is quietly approaching, and everyone is standing at a crossroads in life.
At a job fair held by the university, the department head specifically recommended Lin Xiaoning to Xu Wu, the chairman of a well-known chemical company. During the interview, Xu Wu was so impressed by Lin Xiaoning's calm thinking and excellent eloquence that he immediately offered her a special position in the president's office.
Meanwhile, Ye Yidong had already received offers from two top law firms, and his family was paving the way for his political career. However, at the last minute, he made a decision that surprised everyone: to follow in Lin Xiaoning's footsteps and join the chemical company, starting as a legal affairs specialist.
When he told Lin Xiaoning about this decision, her expression was complicated and difficult to read: "You don't have to do this for me."
"I'm not doing this for you," Ye Yidong said with a wry smile, "I just finally know what I want."
This statement was half true and half false. He was indeed attracted by the development prospects of this enterprise, but it was undeniable that Lin Xiaoning's presence was an important factor in his decision.
This one-sided pursuit ultimately broke Xu Zilin's heart. At the graduation party, she got drunk, clutched Ye Yidong's hand, and burst into tears: "I didn't lose to Lin Xiaoning, but to the fact that you never saw me."
The next day, Xu Zilin made a decision—accept her family's arrangement and go study abroad. Before leaving, she burned all the diaries she had written for Ye Yidong over the past three years. Watching the ashes drift across the campus lake, she whispered to herself, "Sinking darkly into the water, like my dead heart."
Just like that, the tangled relationship between the three people finally came to an end during this graduation season.
On the eve of leaving school, Lin Xiaoning went alone to the downstairs of Zhao Xianqi's office. As the sun was setting, she saw Teacher Zhao walking out of the building with a briefcase under his arm, his temples graying in the afterglow.
He saw her, paused slightly, and then continued walking forward. As they walked side by side through the tree-lined path in front of the building, he whispered, "Remember, light should illuminate a wider sky."
This sentence became the last words Zhao Xianqi said to her, and also became an eternal mystery in Lin Xiaoning's heart.
At that moment, Lin Xiaoning suddenly understood something. Her disillusionment with academic ideals and her exploration of reality quietly shifted at this moment. Perhaps Teacher Zhao was right: the light of law is too weak, and the real world needs another force to change.
With such mixed feelings, Lin Xiaoning embarked on a journey to a chemical company. She didn't know what was waiting for her, but she knew she would never be able to return to the schoolgirl immersed in the world of criminal law.
As for Ye Yidong, as he confessed to Xu Zilin: "I can't have her, but at least I can protect her ideals." He packed his bags, followed in Lin Xiaoning's footsteps, and began his career in the corporate legal department.
The chapter of youth quietly turns over, the light of ideals flickers in the mist of reality. Everyone rushes towards their own unknown future with unsolved mysteries and unfinished thoughts.
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