Beijing, the Great Hall of the People, the Ten‑Thousand‑Seat Auditorium. Above the dome, the massive red five‑pointed star lamp shone dazzlingly, casting solemn yet warm light that interwove with the glints of respect and anticipation in the eyes of thousands of elite representatives from all sectors of the nation seated below. The air carried a scent blending high‑grade fabric, fresh floral arrangements, and the distinctive solemnity of formal ceremony—each breath seemed to bear the weight of national will and ethnic glory. Here, the annual most revered, sacred grand event of China's scientific community was underway—the National Science and Technology Awards Ceremony. Today, the brightest spotlight of this event fell without doubt on the figure about to ascend the podium to receive the Republic's highest commendation for individual scientists and engineers—Xiuxiu.
She sat in the first row, wearing a well‑tailored dark suit, a simple Stringlight Research Institute badge pinned on her chest—a stark contrast to her usual casual lab‑coat appearance in the cleanroom. Her posture was upright, hands folded on her knees, knuckles whitened slightly from tension, revealing an inner turmoil far less calm than her surface composure. She could clearly hear her own heart beating steadily, powerfully within her chest—a sound seemingly amplified countless times in the quiet hall, intertwining with the resonant, solemn voice of the leader reading the citation on stage.
"… Under circumstances of extremely complex international technology blockade, with extraordinary strategic vision, unwavering perseverance, and outstanding engineering leadership, led her team through ten years of arduous breakthrough efforts, successfully developed a fully independent, world‑leading High NA extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, achieving a historic leap from following to running alongside and even leading in high‑end lithography equipment, making indelible outstanding contributions to safeguarding national information industry security, enhancing high‑end manufacturing core competitiveness, and defending national sci‑tech development initiative …"
Each word of the citation weighed heavily on Xiuxiu's heart, reverberating through the vast auditorium, stirring thunderous, prolonged applause from below. This applause paid highest tribute not only to her personally but also to the massive team behind her who had silently devoted countless days and nights, and to all those striving for China's sci‑tech self‑reliance and strength.
When her name was finally announced, the follow‑spot instantly locked onto her. Xiuxiu felt a brief dizziness. She took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and under the gaze of countless eyes filled with admiration, respect, and blessings, walked steadily toward the podium symbolizing Chinese scientists' highest honor.
The aisle felt both long and short. Her mind involuntarily flashed countless scenes: that rainy night in Eindhoven, the Netherlands a decade ago when she decided to return, the mix of a simple belief that "lithography machines have national borders" and trepidation toward unknown challenges; the difficult start upon returning, facing technological gaps and talent shortages, working with the team to tackle tough problems, debug equipment, find hope amidst repeated failures; the slight joy of conquering the first‑generation DUV light source; the courageous stand and pressure endured on the immersion technology route; the anxiety during repeated power bottlenecks of the EUV light source, and finally breaking through 250 watts, the team members' uncontrollable tears and embraces; and during High NA prototype testing, facing that fatal thermal deformation of the collector mirror, the suffocating decisive moment before activating the "Nüwa" system, and after success, the exhaustion and release of sliding to the floor, weeping silently, utterly spent…
This decade was not hers alone. It was a long march concentrating national will, converging countless wisdom and sweat, bearing ethnic expectations.
She finally reached the center of the podium. The national leader, with a gentle yet solemn smile, solemnly handed her the weighty certificate and medal of the **National Highest Science and Technology Award**, embedded with the national emblem.
The medal felt cool and solid to the touch, its weight far exceeding the physical. It represented the Republic's **highest recognition** of her and her team's ten‑year technological long march, their ascent to world scientific peaks. In this moment, all hardship, all pressure, all loneliness and perseverance seemed compensated and sublimated in this medal's radiance.
Below, tsunami‑like applause erupted again. Flashlights like dense stars instantly enveloped her and the awarding leader. She bowed slightly, accepted this highest honor with both hands, then turned to face all attendees.
Following procedure, she needed to deliver an acceptance speech. She walked to the lectern, adjusted the microphone height. The hall gradually quieted, everyone wanting to hear this new highest award recipient's thoughts.
Xiuxiu's gaze swept across the audience, spotting many familiar faces—her team's core members, now seated in forward positions, eyes red, clapping vigorously, faces glowing with shared excitement; she saw the institute's leadership and supporters from various sectors; she also saw, sitting in a corner, though not under spotlight, she knew Mozi and Yue'er were surely watching via broadcast.
She began speaking, her voice initially carrying a barely perceptible tremor, but quickly growing clear and firm:
"Respected leaders, distinguished guests, colleagues:"
"Standing here now, holding this weighty honor, my heart is filled with boundless gratitude and humility."
"First, I offer the highest respect and most sincere thanks to the exceptional, dedicated R&D team behind me." Her eyes met her team members' moved, tear‑filled gazes. "Without your decade‑long diligence, your resilience in face of countless failures, your lofty sentiment of integrating personal ideals with national needs, today's High NA EUV success would be impossible. This honor belongs to every one of you!" She bowed deeply toward her team. Thunderous applause erupted.
"Second, I thank my family." Her voice softened slightly, with a barely detectable choke. "Thank you for your understanding and support when I was often immersed in the lab, unable to attend to family matters; thank you for being my warmest harbor and firmest support."
She paused; the hall grew even quieter, sensing more important content.
Xiuxiu's gaze grew distant, filled with emotion. She continued: "Here, I must especially thank two crucial companions in my decade‑long journey."
"One is Mr. Mozi." She used no title, as if addressing an old friend. "When everyone deemed EUV unattainable, when we most needed resources and strategic patience, it was he, with extraordinary boldness and foresight, provided limitless capital support, building a solid fortress shielding us from external storms, allowing us to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to R&D. He is not merely a capital provider but our technology dream's staunchest guardian and strategic guide."
"The other is Professor Yue'er." Her tone held genuine admiration. "When our technological development entered deep waters, facing bottlenecks from physical limits, it was she, with her profound mathematical thinking and cross‑disciplinary unique perspective, repeatedly brought us key sparks of inspiration, helping usbreak free from entrenched thinking patterns, find new paths throughdifficult situations. Her theoretical wisdom is indispensable 'beacon light' for our engineering practice."
Her voice clear and forceful, reaching every corner of the hall: "They, Mozi and Yue'er, are my scientific research path's **most important companions**. Our collaboration transcended boundaries of capital, technology, and theory, jointly forging this unforgettable journey. Here, I express my deepest gratitude to them!"
She elaborated not on details of their cooperation, but this public, solemn thanks sufficed. This was not merely personal sentiment expression but, at the nation's highest scientific hall, a tacit affirmation and display of that unique "triune" collaborative innovation model.
Warm applause rose again below, containing admiration and curiosity for this legendary partnership.
Xiuxiu's remarks held no flowery rhetoric, no empty slogans, only sincere emotion and simple review of the endeavor journey. Yet this verysimplicity and sincerity, coupled with herglorious achievements, lent each word immense power.
As she finished speaking, bowed again to the audience, applause persisted, seemingly about to lift the hall's dome.
In this moment, Xiuxiu's story, via broadcast signals, spread across the nation, reaching the world. She was no longer merely a top engineer, a technology breakthrough efforts commander; she became a symbol, a **inspiration** for countless young students pursuing studies or embarking on scientific paths—a vivid example.
Countless young engineers burning midnight oil in labs saw in her the meaning of perseverance, saw theimmense energy that emerges when personal ideals align with national needs, saw the confidence and pride that Chinese engineers too can stand atop world scientific peaks. Her image, her belief that "lithography machines have national borders," her ten‑year sharpening‑a‑sword resilience, and her humility and gratitude at the peak moment—remembering team, remembering companions—collectively formed a powerful spiritual force, **inspiration** generations of youth to devote themselves to the great cause ofbuilding a technologically strong nation.
After the awards ceremony, amidst countless congratulations andsurrounded by, Xiuxiu finally found a brief respite. She walked to a relatively quiet rest area, saw Mozi and Yue'er standing side by side waiting for her.
Mozi still wore his tailored dark suit, face bearing a rare, relaxed, gratified smile, giving her a thumbs‑up. Yue'er, in elegant formal attire, eyes shining with clear, warm light, handed her a glass of warm water.
No need for many words; the three exchanged smiles. All understood.
Xiuxiu rubbed the weighty National Highest Science and Technology Award medal in her hand, its cool metal gradually warming in her palm. This medal summarized her past decade,spur her future journey. She knew the road ahead was long—Hyper‑NA dreams, mass‑production challenges still awaited.
But now, she allowed herself to immerse in this highest recognition from the nation and deepest blessings from comrades. This honor, like the brightest star, would forever illuminate her path forward, and surely illuminatemore successors's dreams oflook up at the stars, keep feet on the ground, and courageously scale scientific peaks. Her legend was already cast; new chapters awaited opening.