"How long has he been hiding it?" Hong asked only that single question.
She was a woman who had devoted her life to pursuing romance in all its forms. Yet at this moment, she realized she had finally witnessed romance in its purest form.
Years ago, there had been an ordinary, seemingly uneducated man who stumbled over idioms and misused words. Beneath that clumsy exterior, however, he had buried an anger too deep to reveal, along with the unwavering hope every stubborn father held for his child's future.
He had looked like the most insignificant person in the world. The most ordinary. The most forgettable. A man with nothing but brute determination, capable of only the simplest labor. Yet none of that prevented him from revealing who he truly was today.
"There was once a poet who wrote under the pen name Shadow. It was because of his submissions to Poetry House that I first became fascinated by the romance of the cosmos." Xu Hong softly recited the passage.
It was the very first scientific romantic poem that had ever moved her heart.
"One day, you will discover that the calcium in your teeth may have come from rocks broken down by mushrooms thousands of years ago. The iron flowing through your blood was forged in the heart of a dying star before it ever became capable of killing bacteria. One day you will die, yet death has always been happening among your atoms. You will never truly disappear. Somewhere within the structure of this universe, you will exist forever."
Then... Another poem appeared, one written by Little Shuying. Its wording seemed remarkably simple.
"Your tenderness becomes light, streaming across the endless universe along the strands of my hair."
After reading it, Hong could not stop praising it. The moment poetry embraced the universe, and the universe embraced poetry, she knew the author was destined to become extraordinary.
Yet after that... The mysterious author who signed his works as Shadow vanished without another submission. It was as though his only purpose had been to bring Little Shuying onto the stage.
Soon afterward, Poetry House received Little Shuying's second poem.
"You are the stars. I am the moon. Across the distance stretching back to the Pre-Qin era, you will eventually fall into my embrace."
But... That was never the poem the world saw.
The replay revealed another truth. After Little Shuying mailed the letter, Yu Ye quietly retrieved it before it could be delivered.
Holding the envelope, he murmured to himself, "The first poem only needs to prove that you're talented. But the second... It cannot be ordinary. This isn't enough. You are a genius. A genius may be forgiven for making a mistake once... But never twice. If you wish to become light... You must never doubt yourself."
In the footage, he tucked the envelope away before silently walking off. His back remained calm. Steady and unwavering.
For the very first time, everyone witnessed the true purpose hidden beneath his mediocrity. The old man who had once argued with vegetable vendors... The man everyone mocked for being illiterate... The father who always appeared foolish... None of those images matched the person standing before them now. His eyes were cold, sharp, and calculating.
Every step had already been planned. If his daughter wasn't born a genius... Then he would forge one with his own hands.
The moment Yu Ye's conviction erupted, countless viewers watching the broadcast fell completely silent. They simply couldn't understand. Could a father really exist like this? Was he merely paving the road for her future? No, he wasn't paving the road; he was creating a genius. Because... She was his daughter.
At that moment, several viewers with exceptional memories suddenly recalled something Hong had mentioned earlier. Little Shuying's second published work... Had never been this poem. It had been "Roche Limit."
Inside the studio, Hong slowly opened her eyes after a long silence before calmly voicing her deduction. "This man... He knew everything. He secretly watched Little Shuying write every poem. He first used Shadow's poems to make Poetry House interested in cosmic poetry. Only after creating that demand did he encourage Little Shuying to submit poems centered around the stars."
"Meanwhile, in daily life, he deliberately acted ignorant. He stumbled over words, pretended to be uneducated, and intentionally irritated Little Shuying. His goal wasn't to discourage her, it was to force her to chase perfection. To make her question every sentence. Every word. Every image."
"And those books he casually bought for her... They looked random. But once assembled together, they quietly expanded her understanding of science, literature, history, and philosophy."
"Then... He hid her second submission. He refused to send it. It wasn't until the third envelope... After he was finally satisfied... that he allowed the poem to reach Poetry House."
Hong slowly looked toward the audience. "Have you forgotten... the conversation between Yu Ye and Little Shuying while writing Roche Limit?"
No one had forgotten. Back then, Shuying had been reading an introductory astronomy book explaining the Roche Limit. Beside it lay a passage from classical Pre-Qin literature. The collision of two completely different worlds ignited inspiration inside her mind, and she immediately began writing.
Her first draft read:
"There is a concept in astronomy called the Roche Limit. They are destined to shatter with the moon, only so they may embrace one another."
After finishing, she proudly looked up, only to discover Yu Ye wearing a look of complete disdain.
Little Shuying immediately became annoyed and said. "What are you laughing at? Do you even understand this? This is astronomy!"
Yu Ye snorted. "What did you even write? Who knows what the Roche Limit is? It's confusing. It isn't sad. It isn't touching. It's not even as emotional as a television drama."
Every sentence landed like a hammer, and Little Shuying gritted her teeth. Unwilling to admit defeat, she returned to her books.
She researched.
She studied the true astronomical meaning of the Roche Limit.
She examined its physical principles.
Its symbolism.
Its inevitability.
Only then did she combine it with the ancient words: "Hold the hand of your beloved and grow old together."
And only then... Did the masterpiece finally emerge.
"Broken into countless pieces... only to embrace you."
That... Was the real second poem of Little Shuying.
From that day onward, Yu Ye continued pretending to be Shadow, secretly sending letters to Poetry House. Until Little Shuying naturally began treating the universe as her subject, the Milky Way as her canvas, and science as the language through which romance could be expressed.
Back then, poetry was filled with clichés. Sentimentality or empty emotions. When this entirely new style of scientific romanticism suddenly appeared... It shook the literary world to its core. One could hardly imagine the sensation Little Shuying caused.
Hong slowly closed her eyes. Memories flooded back. Years ago, the traffic of the Poetry House website had climbed to the second-highest ranking in the nation. Every discussion forum overflowed with a single question. What kind of scientists were Little Shuying's parents?
Others wondered how a little girl could produce such a breathtaking fusion of science and classical Chinese literature?
Film studios lined up to purchase adaptation rights.
Television producers competed for authorization.
Poets argued endlessly over her verses.
There were simply too many discussions to count.
Little Shuying had risen like a blazing comet, and she was unstoppable. Then... her resume was released, and the entire nation fell silent.
Insect Flying.
Under the Sea.
General Huo Qubing offering candy before a grave.
The young actor portraying Ying Zheng in The Great Qin Empire.
The creator of scientific cosmic poetry.
Achievement after achievement.
Honor after honor.
Every accomplishment belonged to a little girl who was only seven years old. An ordinary second-grade student from Yecheng Primary School yet she made the entire artistic community erupt in celebration. That era belonged to prodigies.
Music.
Acting.
Poetry.
Romance.
Talents of every kind emerged one after another.
People celebrated because they believed they were witnessing the birth of a new light. And among all those rising stars... Little Shuying shone the brightest.
Suddenly, Hong could no longer suppress herself. She instructed the staff to replay Yu Ye's footage once more. After Little Shuying entered school, his illness had finally reached the point where he could no longer endure it. The moment he collapsed, what had he been thinking?
"Your child has become light... But this is only the beginning. History has produced many child prodigies... Yet what the world truly lacks... is an eternal genius. So... Are you unwilling to stop here?"
Hong repeated those words silently inside her mind, but she didn't know whether that had truly been Yu Ye's thoughts. No one knew, as this man remained shrouded in mystery.
Had it not been for today's replay, she would never have imagined that the greatest driving force behind the poetry world's revolution had been an ordinary father whom everyone had looked down upon.
He sought no fame.
No recognition.
No applause.
He wanted none of it.
Everything... He had given to his daughter.
Every move he made had been astonishing.
Every step had been calculated.
Every sacrifice had been silent.
At the far end of the audience seating... The young man sitting beside Yu Ye remembered something. Earlier, Yu Ye had quietly murmured, "God is dead."
Now, curiosity finally overcame him, so he looked at the old man and asked, "Old sir... How did you know they were going to play this? You even knew the poems hidden inside Yu Ye's notebook?"
The old man remained silent, and he said nothing. He was simply... Too exhausted.
As the old memories replayed across the giant screen, he watched scenes from his own life pass before him one after another. With each passing image... His strength diminished a little more. He truly couldn't endure much longer.
No matter how strong a person was... Mental strength had its limits. Everyone eventually reached a breaking point.
He wanted to stand.
He wanted to walk toward the stage.
But he feared that once he stood... He would collapse before arriving. His entire body ached. Every muscle screamed in exhaustion.
Finally, he slowly turned toward the young man. "Would you like... to witness a miracle?"
The young man instinctively nodded.
Yu Ye smiled faintly. "If I faint in a little while... Help me onto the stage. You'll witness... the most handsome moment of my life."
After speaking, the old man revealed a sly, almost mischievous smile while the young man remained frozen in place. He wondered whether the old man had truly gone mad.
But Yu Ye said nothing more. He merely lifted his head and quietly gazed at the endless sky. As though... Throughout his entire life... He had been nothing more than a bird trapped inside a cage. A bird... That had never once flown across the heavens.
But now... The time had finally come. Not to soar with wings but to ignite them and burn brilliantly across the sky with fire.