This director is vindictive.

The reunion was supposed to be a romantic and tear-jerking drama, but who would have thought it would veer off course like "The Ex-Files 3: The Civil Affairs Bureau"? Netizens were happily munching on watermelons, because compared to the heartwarming "long time no see" scene, everyone clearly preferred the dramatic "Why are you wearing Pinru's clothes?" scene.

However, it's good that netizens are enjoying the gossip.

After all, stories like "long-lost love is a thing of the past, and reunited lovers are having an affair in the present" are definitely more appealing, aren't they?
Otherwise, so many celebrities wouldn't have their peak moments in life coincided with these kinds of scandals and news of their downfall.

It even surpassed the Olympics and the Spring Festival Gala in popularity, which shows where the public's interest in gossip lies.

While it's certainly big news if some celebrities get together, it can't compare to the buzz surrounding things like "script reading in the dark," "one-finger Zen," or "getting your hair done."

Why are these trivial matters more popular than the Olympics? Because losing a game might elicit a few criticisms, but the collapse of a celebrity's image is a continuously fermenting drama: the wife confronts the mistress, the studio issues a statement, the brand terminates the contract, and netizens dig up past scandals. Every step is like a melon field party, enough to make people gnaw sparks from their keyboards.

After all, what's the thrill of catching someone cheating when you're in a serious relationship? Just like those live streams on welfare festivals now where "reunion turns into catching someone cheating," the barrage of comments is denser than the Spring Festival Gala—everyone's waiting for the moment when the original spouse slaps the other, and the background music just happens to be the chorus of "Decent"!
Getting back to the point, although the event was turned into something quite bizarre, Chen Mo was helpless about it.

After all, he was just the organizer; the process was entirely up to the netizens themselves. It just goes to show that this generation of netizens' tastes are as consistent as ever!

Of course, the event's style was unique, but its popularity was actually the highest among the previous three days.

However, Chen Mo didn't believe it; the next topic was serious.

He didn't believe that the art style could be skewed.

The theme of the event on July 10th: The Best of Life - Those Moments That Shake Your Soul!

When time is compressed into a fast-forwarded film, there are always a few shots that will sear your memories—

Perhaps it was the breath I caught on the mountaintop after staying up all night waiting for the sunrise when I was eighteen.

Perhaps it was the lip you bit when you heard your first cry in the delivery room.

Or perhaps it was a tear in the paper caused by a pen when signing a critical condition notice outside the ICU.
On this day, we ask you to pull out the most cherished fragment of your memory:

Share your "bravest moment"—that resignation letter/divorce certificate/breakup letter/love letter/
Revealing your "most regrettable moments"—missing the last train/missing a phone call/not saying sorry.
Analyze your "most absurd experience"—meeting your soulmate after missing your flight/mistaking your parents' wedding while drunk.
Showcase your "most radiant moment"—the moment of passing the imperial examination/the wedding night/
As the clock strikes midnight, the entire platform will launch a live stream of "Life's Revolving Light"—

Your moments of brilliance and darkness will appear as bullet comments on the Times Square screen.

After all, we're not selling nostalgia.

Instead, it empowers every ordinary person to become a hero in their own epic.

Although the tone of the first three days of the welfare festival was skewed, the popularity was unprecedented.

Therefore, participants were very enthusiastic about the new theme, "The Greatest Achievement in Life".

Just after midnight, some netizens who were eager to share their personal bests began to show off.

@WanderingPhotographerKEN #MostUnforgettableMomentInLife#
A person posted a picture of a yellowed train ticket with the caption: "When I was 21, I only had 200 yuan left in my pocket. On a whim, I boarded a train to XZ without a ticket. The conductor caught me halfway through the journey. He sternly demanded I pay the fare, but in a moment of inspiration, I held up my camera and said, 'I don't have any money, but can I pay the fare with a photo?'"

Unexpectedly, the train attendant paused for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, pulled me into the attendant's carriage, and called over each of his colleagues to take a group photo.

Finally, he shoved a packet of braised beef noodles into my hand and said, "Kid, don't starve on the road."

"Ten years later, I became a contracted photographer for National Geographic, capturing snow-capped mountains and aurora borealis across five continents. But the most valuable photo will always be that candid shot—the profile of a train conductor squatting in the connecting area between carriages, smoking, the smoke mixed with the setting sun obscuring half of his face."

Last week, this photo sold for 12 at auction. I anonymously transferred the money to the Railway Workers' Foundation, with the note: 'Debt Repayment + Interest'.

The post quickly attracted many netizens to come and watch the drama unfold.

"Train conductor: The kid who ripped me off back then, now he dares to rip off the whole world?"

"This isn't just paying for the ride; it's like exchanging a pack of instant noodles for a first-class ticket to life!"

"Can I say the original poster is incredibly lucky? I also wanted to ride a taxi for free, but obviously all I'll get is the railway police!"

The witty reply came from the railway bureau's official Weibo account: "Upon investigation, the train attendant has now been promoted to train conductor, and said, 'Next time, photographers who try to evade fares will be sent directly to work in the dining car.'"

Netizen @Anti-cancer Sunflower
She posted two shocking comparison photos: the first one is from ten years ago, showing her bald head and pale face on her hospital bed, making a peace sign at the camera, with chemotherapy tubes inserted into her arm;
The second picture shows her now wearing a sports vest and a shiny marathon finisher's medal, sweating profusely but smiling brightly at the finish line.

The caption directly refuted the claim: "Back then, my attending physician said with absolute certainty that I would live for at most three more years. Look closely—today, this custom-made medal has '42.195KM' engraved on the front and 'Professional Face-Slapping Certification' engraved on the back, which I sent back to the hospital!"

(The attached image is a close-up of the express delivery slip: the recipient field clearly states "Dr. Li XX, Department of Oncology, XX Hospital")

The comment section exploded instantly:
[Top Comment] "Doctor: This year's patients are too difficult to manage. They're not only lively and energetic, but they also bring up post-match analysis!"

[Hilarious Reply] "I suggest plating the medals with gold; after all, it'll blind the titanium alloy eyes of the person who issued the death notice back then!"

[The Truth Revealed] "Ten years later, the same doctor is holding up his medal, giving a pep talk to a new patient: 'Look! This is a classic example of disobedience!'"

Netizen @EmergencyDeer #MostRegretfulMomentInLife#
She posted a photo of a yellowed wedding invitation—the invitation was torn to shreds and carefully pieced back together with transparent tape, and the gold lettering "Groom Chen XX & Bride Lin Lu" was still clearly visible.

The accompanying text is heartbreaking:

“Five years ago, half an hour before his car accident, he called me 17 times, but I stubbornly refused to answer. Later, the police found his phone at the end of the skid marks. The last unsent text message read, ‘Don’t be angry, I brought you your favorite mango pomelo sago.’”

Scroll down to see a photo of her in a white coat, crouching at an intersection providing first aid:
"Now I'm an 'unofficial first-aider' at this intersection, and I come here every year on my wedding anniversary to provide free medical services. People always ask me if I'm atoning for something."

The most heartbreaking picture is the last one—she's holding an alcohol swab to clean a drunk man's wound, while he's cursing and pointing his finger at her.

With text:

"Actually, I'm waiting for some drunkard to yell at me for 'meddling.' Five years ago, he did the same thing. I was bandaging his scraped knee, and he yelled at me, 'So what if you're a nurse?' But the next day, he came back with a cup of milk tea to apologize."

Someone quickly replied: "This isn't a knife, it's like using a power drill to carve an epitaph on someone's heart!"

"Others bring medical kits to free clinics, but you're bringing a replica of your ex-boyfriend's behavior, aren't you?"

"I wanted to comfort the girl and tell her not to cry, but I cried because of it!"

Posts with various suffixes like "the best of my life" are springing up all over the internet like mushrooms after rain.

Everyone has become a night owl, and even at three or four in the morning, the number of people is still growing at an exaggerated rate. At three in the morning, the glass door of a café called "Touch Light Cafe" is still glowing with warm light.

Blind barista Kobayashi stands behind the bar, her fingertips gently tracing the surface of the milk foam—this is her 3,462nd attempt at latte art since she lost her sight.

The surveillance video captured this moment: she suddenly froze, her trembling fingers touching the textured surface of the milk foam, and the next second she jumped up and knocked over the sugar jar: "It's a heart! I made a heart!"

The camera pans to a corner: a girl in a school uniform secretly raises her phone, and in the picture, Kobayashi is bringing her face close to a coffee cup, with milk foam on the tip of her nose, smiling like a child who has just received candy.

The live chat suddenly exploded with comments: "Holy crap, this customer is amazing!" "She was pretending to be on her phone but was actually recording a video!"

Today, the coffee shop's sign features a Braille introduction below the words "Touch the Light".

On their first day on the job, every new employee receives an apron embroidered with "Please wear blindfolds for 8 hours"—but the kitchen security cameras captured an even more heartbreaking scene: when Xiaolin messed up the latte art for the nth time, her blindfolded colleagues collectively "tactically went blind," with one redhead even deliberately scattering sugar cubes all over the floor: "Oh dear, I can't see either!"

In the latest short video, regular customers are playing a "blind ordering" game: blindfolded, they try to read the Braille menu and order "mocha" instead of "latte," then stubbornly insist, "I did it on purpose!"

Kobayashi stood by the coffee machine, listening to the constant chatter, his hands trembling like someone with Parkinson's disease—yet not a single cup of coffee was spilled.

When the hashtag #Life'sBest# surged to the top of the trending topics list at midnight, the most poignant comment was pushed to the top of the trending list:

"At 18, I thought getting into a top university would be the peak of my career, but I never expected it to be the only highlight of my life."

The accompanying image is a yellowed college admission notice and a screenshot of a WeChat Moments post from someone working overtime in the early hours of the morning, with the location showing "Building 3, XX Science and Technology Park".

This post instantly triggered a nationwide meltdown—the comment section quickly turned into an exhibition hall of "real-life moments":

Programmer Lao Chen posted a comparison photo: a spirited Tsinghua University freshman at a teacher appreciation banquet in 2016 vs. a medical examination report in 2026 showing "fatty liver + lumbar disc herniation", with the caption: "Back then I could solve Fourier transforms, now I can't solve requirement changes".

Flight attendant Lily uploaded two photos of her plane tickets: the boarding pass for her first flight ten years ago read "A Bright Future," and the baggage tag for her most recent flight read "Handle with care for fragile items."

A food delivery driver posted a photo of himself in his graduation gown when he graduated from university, creating a stark contrast with a photo of himself now wearing a yellow robe and sweating profusely under the scorching sun.

The caption reads: "At the moment of graduation, I felt that the future belonged to me. But ten years have passed, and I, who have been optimized, have realized that only the past truly belongs to me!"
Countless netizens resonated with this sentiment.

"Enjoy life while you can when you're successful. The peak of life is always in the past. Think about the high spirits of yesteryear and the struggles of today for daily necessities. Perhaps this is what life is all about!"

"I long to buy osmanthus blossoms and share wine, but it will never be the same carefree days of my youth! Alas!"

"Back in the day, I was a handsome young man known throughout the surrounding villages, but now..."

“At the teacher appreciation banquet, my dad got drunk and patted me on the shoulder, saying, ‘This is just the beginning.’ Now I understand—he meant the beginning of the mortgage.”

Image caption: A young man raising a glass under a crystal chandelier at a teacher appreciation banquet in 2016 vs. a glaring computer screen reflecting light as someone works overtime and eats instant noodles in the early hours of 2026.

"When I received the admission letter, I thought I had the whole world in my hands. Now, holding the medical report, I realize that the world has already shoved the bill into my hands."

A middle school teacher, Mr. Wang, posted a nine-square grid of photos: clippings of news reports about the top scorer in the 2008 college entrance examination, his 2012 "Youngest Subject Leader" award certificate, and his 2026 class's grade sheet (third from the bottom). In the middle, he added a rage comic emoji: "Back then, I could explain Newton's laws so eloquently, but now my students ask me, 'Teacher, is your salary enough to pay for Alipay?'"

A thread titled "The Peak of Our Misunderstandings in Those Years" quickly appeared on Douban, with the top comment coming from user "Human Awakening": "At the teacher appreciation banquet, my dad said, 'Things will get better in the future.' Now I understand that it was a white lie—like telling a newborn, 'Welcome to the wonderful world.'"

The resonance this topic has generated is incomparable to any previous ones.

Soon after, someone on Zhihu asked, "How do you view the collective nostalgia phenomenon surrounding the 'best of life' welfare day?"

A prominent psychology expert's analysis hit the nail on the head: "This isn't simply a matter of reminiscing about past hardships; it's a complete disenchantment of the linear narrative of growth among millennials after experiencing the harsh realities of society. When the belief that 'hard work pays off' collapses, the college entrance exam becomes the last quantifiable spiritual monument."

For a time, it seemed as if the whole world was pessimistic.

However, people's sorrows are different, and just as there are also clear streams that flow against the current.

A construction site video uploaded by Douyin user @逆光拍拍 has garnered millions of likes: a safety helmet is pressing down on a photocopy of an admission notice, with the roar of concrete mixer trucks in the background. He grins at the camera, showing off his white teeth: "Peak? I'm getting three meters closer to the sun every day now!"

Everyone originally thought this person was some great designer, architect, or engineer.

After all, buildings are only three meters away from the sun every day, which is why they keep getting taller and taller.

However, the result was that he was revealed to be a dropout from the civil engineering department of a 985 university and is now a high-rise glass cleaner.

"Wow, the content creator knows how to comfort himself!"

"No problem, high-rise window cleaners are up high every day!"

"Why did I suddenly start crying while I was watching and laughing?"

"Because you see yourself in him! Waaaaaah!"

As the first rays of sunlight illuminate the earth on the second day, countless office workers set out to begin their journey for a new day.

Suddenly, giant screens in many commercial plazas across China began collectively playing "life reels" submitted by ordinary people.

—The image of a delivery driver protecting food in a downpour, the shattered photo of firefighters in a fire, the frozen moment of a daughter drawing eyebrows for her mother undergoing chemotherapy with crayons…

This scene was captured on video by many people using their mobile phones, and the video went viral online.

The barrage of comments exploded like a galaxy:
"Look! Doesn't that bricklayer look like my dad?"

"The ER lady! She delivered my baby ten years ago!"

The couple who proposed to me at my coffee shop last month are getting divorced today.

However, as the sun shone brightly on the earth, the conversation gradually seemed to be warmed by this ray of summer sunshine.

They gradually began to shift from self-deprecation to reconciliation.

A heartwarming hashtag appeared on Weibo: #AMessageToMy18-Year-OldSelf#, with a top comment saying: "Don't be afraid. Although things will get harder in the future, no one can take that summer away from you."

The accompanying image shows a half-melted "985" ice cream bar on a windowsill, glistening like amber in the morning light. (End of Chapter)