By the time she turned seven, laptops had begun spreading across the country, while dimly lit internet cafés appeared on nearly every street corner.
Her district was also becoming increasingly chaotic. Illegal factories, labor agencies, shady intermediaries, and rows of cheap rental apartments sprang up one after another, transforming the once-ordinary neighborhood into a restless maze of ambition and desperation. Poetry competitions flourished. Non-mainstream culture swept through the younger generation. Variety shows exploded in popularity across television.
In short, a prosperous era had arrived.
It was lunchtime once again. Returning to the apartment, Shuying quietly made her way home. She was now almost eight years old. Thanks to her exceptional academic performance, she had skipped two grades and was already studying in the fourth grade of primary school.
Riding her small scooter through the neighborhood, she silently watched a group of school dropouts sneaking into a narrow alley, shouting and throwing punches as another meaningless fight broke out.
From an upstairs apartment came the familiar sounds of another husband and wife screaming at each other while a child's helpless sobs echoed through the corridor.
Shuying had long since grown accustomed to this environment.
Yu Ye parked the electric scooter before carrying the vegetables and fresh meat he had bought earlier that day. Dinner was unusually lavish, with braised pig's trotters with seaweed, stir-fried pork with peppers, and freshly made pancakes filling the small dining table with warmth.
After finishing her meal, Shuying finally spoke. "I won't be coming home for lunch anymore."
She looked at Yu Ye as she continued. "I won a poetry competition, and the prize is seventy-four free piano lessons at a piano academy in Yecheng. I'll eat lunch at school from now on. I'm going to spend more time practicing the piano."
Yu Ye continued washing the dishes without even turning around, and his voice was filled with doubt. "Can learning the piano really amount to anything? Is that something a family like ours can afford? Even if the lessons are free, those teachers will always find another excuse to charge money later. They'll make you buy this and that."
He sighed before continuing. "I'm telling you right now, don't buy anything. Just make do with whatever they give you. The only thing you should focus on is studying hard. In the future, get into a good university, pass the civil service examination..."
"...Or at least find a stable factory job." His quiet muttering continued without pause.
Shuying had already lost her patience. Without another word, she walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. This small room was the only place where she truly felt happy. Her gaze settled upon the trophies lined neatly across her desk. For just a brief moment, peace filled her heart.
She opened her notebook and carefully wrote: 'I will become the greatest pianist. I will compose the greatest music in the world.
Then, beneath those words, she added another sentence. 'That man burned my piano crash-course materials. I will prove to him that even without them, I will still rise above everyone else.'
At the bottom of the page, she doodled a clumsy little smiling face. It was crude and childish, yet it carried a determination far beyond her years.
This was the moment Shuying officially stepped into an unfamiliar world. Only a few days earlier, that man had burned every one of her piano learning materials, and she had argued with him only briefly. After that... She said nothing more because every decision had already been made inside her heart.
Meanwhile, in the living room.
Yu Ye was still muttering to himself, yet his eyes were strangely vacant. After washing the dishes, he walked to Shuying's bedroom and gently knocked on the door. "What are we eating tonight?"
Little Shuying frowned, and her voice carried both impatience and surprise. "What are you talking about? We already finished dinner."
Yu Ye froze, and his eyes slowly shifted toward the dining table. Then toward the spotless dishes that had already been washed and neatly put away. Only then did he nod blankly. "...Right."
Bang! The bedroom door slammed shut. Little Shuying was furious as she assumed the man was deliberately trying to annoy her again.
Back in the living room.
Yu Ye quietly pulled out a small stack of sticky notes. Taking a pen, he carefully wrote:
Dinner Reminder.
Every day at 6:30 PM.
She likes sweet food.
She dislikes garlic.
She dislikes ginger...
After finishing, he folded the note with great care before slipping it into his pocket, and he slowly turned toward the window.
Outside, the afternoon sunlight illuminated half his face, and the other half remained hidden beneath a shadow. Confusion. Loneliness. Sadness.
His voice was barely audible. "Is the illness getting worse? ...Am I beginning to lose my memories again? ...They're disappearing... little by little..."
At that moment, no one understood the fear buried inside that lonely man.
Inside the studio.
Alejandro let out a quiet sigh before explaining solemnly, "Following the initial surgery, patients can develop permanent memory impairment or fragmented memory loss. You can think of it as a condition somewhat similar to Alzheimer's disease."
The entire venue fell unusually quiet. Inside the massive arena, young men, young women, parents in their thirties, and countless spectators all sighed softly. This man... Was truly beginning to collapse.
And sure enough... Everything Shuying achieved after seemed to have nothing to do with Yu Ye anymore. After all... In his current condition... What could he possibly teach her? What could he still accomplish?
Comments instantly flooded the livestream.
"He's really pitiful. He sacrificed everything for his daughter, but now he's completely powerless."
"Shuying was right all along. Ever since she started learning the piano, everything depended on herself and her mother. That man contributed nothing."
"What a tragic ending..."
"No wonder Shuying once said she had already surpassed him long ago. Look at his condition, he can barely function like a normal person anymore."
Inside the program headquarters.
An increasing number of Shuying's supporters were fiercely criticizing the production team while Professor Haibo forced a bitter smile as he looked toward Cihai.
"You've seen the replay yourself so why are you still insisting? Yu Ye has become incapable. His memory loss is nearly equivalent to Alzheimer's disease so what kind of child could someone like him possibly raise? Shuying is only seven years old."
Cihai sat calmly in his chair and his elegant demeanor remained completely unchanged. "Who told you... that losing one's memories makes a person worthless?"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Several of the other panelists stared at him as though he had lost his mind. Everyone knew how influential Shuying's fanbase had become and the slightest criticism directed toward her could immediately trigger an overwhelming public backlash against the program. Even so... Zhang Cihai remained one of the most respected lecturers. His status alone made the other experts hesitant to openly challenge him.
Haibo frowned. "Then why are you so determined to believe in him?"
Silence filled the room.
Cihai slowly adjusted his sleeves and his expression gradually became serious. Then, in a calm yet unwavering voice, he finally spoke. "You may not have realized it... But Yu Ye... is an idealist. A true idealist. And people like him... never surrender to fate."