Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

Three days after the sea trial ended, the atmosphere at the Kunpeng base finally relaxed.

After more than a year of intense pressure, like a string stretched to its limit, it can finally be relaxed a little. On the screen in the command center, the green indicator lights showing that all systems are operating normally continue to flash, like pairs of eyes sleeping peacefully.

"President Lin, the celebration banquet is ready."

Academician Zhou walked into the office with a long-lost, completely relaxed smile on his face. The old expert had specially changed into a brand-new Zhongshan suit today, and even his gray hair was neatly combed.

Lin Feng looked up from the mountain of documents: "Where is it?"

"The canteen," Academician Zhou laughed, "Big pot of food, big bowls of wine, big chunks of meat—that's the taste we aircraft carrier builders need!"

Inside the canteen, there were over twenty large round tables. Instead of the delicacies of a five-star hotel, the canteen served its most prized main dishes: braised pork, steamed fish, spicy chicken, stewed ribs… The liquor wasn't anything fancy either, just the most ordinary local baijiu, but at this moment, it tasted even better than fine wine.

Lin Feng was ushered to the main table. Academician Zhou, Vice President Zheng, heads of various subsystems... everyone sat around, no one talking about work, only about the interesting things that had happened over the past year or so—who slept on the floor in the workshop for three days to meet deadlines, who argued heatedly with someone over a parameter, whose child was born but who couldn't even go home to see them...

As they laughed, someone started to cry.

It's not sadness, but an emotion that can finally be released. This past year has been so tough, but also so worthwhile.

After a few rounds of drinks, Academician Zhou raised his glass and stood up: "Everyone, I, Old Zhou, am seventy-seven years old this year. I have only two wishes in my life: one is to see our own aircraft carrier launched, and the other is to see that our aircraft carrier is better than others'."

His voice choked with emotion: "Today, two wishes have come true. This glass is to General Manager Lin—without him, there would be no Kunpeng!"

Everyone stood up and raised their glasses to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng also stood up, raised his glass, and looked around at everyone: "To everyone present, and to the 3,742 brothers and sisters of the base who are not here—Kunpeng is something that everyone fought for."

The clinking of glasses produced a crisp, melodious sound, like a victory horn.

The base began to be disbanded in an orderly manner the following day.

As the teams gradually withdrew, the engineers packed their belongings, and the workers received a special souvenir—a miniature model of the Kunpeng spacecraft, with each person's name and the date of their participation engraved on the base.

Lin Feng was among the last to leave.

He stood by the window of the command center, watching the base gradually empty. In the dry dock, the Kunpeng-1 had already sailed away and was moored at the deep-water pier in the distance. In the sunlight, it looked like a silent steel mountain.

"Mr. Lin, the car is ready," Zhao Weiguo reminded him softly.

Lin Feng nodded and picked up the simple suitcase—just like when he came a year ago, a few clothes, a computer, and nothing else.

This time, he did not go directly back to Harbin Institute of Technology.

The plane landed in the mountain city at three o'clock in the afternoon. The mountain city in August was sweltering, and the air was filled with the spicy aroma of hot pot and the humidity of the river.

Stepping out of the terminal, Lin Feng stopped and took a deep breath.

Go home.

"Brother Zhao," he turned to Zhao Weiguo, "you should go home and visit this time. You've been with me all these years, your wife and children must miss you."

Zhao Weiguo paused for a moment, then shook his head: "Mr. Lin, my duty is to protect you..."

"This is an order." Lin Feng interrupted him, his tone gentle but leaving no room for argument. "I'm giving you a month's leave to spend time with your family. I'll tell the higher-ups to replace you with someone else during this time."

Zhao Weiguo opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, only nodding vigorously. This tough man had slightly red eyes.

But he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he accompanied Lin Feng back to his building and watched as another group of security personnel took their positions—two young men who looked ordinary but had sharp eyes and acted efficiently. After the handover was completed, Zhao Weiguo saluted and turned to leave.

Lin Feng stood at the entrance of the familiar residential compound.

He didn't call or text; he just wanted to show up so suddenly.

Lin Feng arrived at the front of his villa and rang the doorbell.

"Thump, thump, thump."

Three sounds, neither too loud nor too soft.

Footsteps came from inside, growing louder as they approached. Then came the mother's voice, tinged with doubt: "Who is it?"

"Mom, it's me."

The door opened the moment the words were spoken.

Su Wenqing stood at the doorway, a spatula in her hand and an apron around her neck. The moment she saw Lin Feng, she froze, her eyes widened, her lips trembled, and the spatula clattered to the ground.

"Son...son?" His voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Mom, I'm back," Lin Feng said with a smile, but his eyes welled up with tears.

The next second, Su Wenqing rushed over and hugged him tightly.

"I'm back...it's good that you're back...it's good that you're back..." She repeated these words over and over, as if to confirm that this was not a dream.

"Wenqing, who is it?" Lin Guodong's voice came from the study.

The sound of hurried footsteps rang out. Lin Guodong appeared in the living room, and was stunned when he saw the mother and son at the door.

This man, who never showed weakness, now had tears welling up in his eyes at a visible speed. He strode over, said nothing, and simply opened his arms to embrace his wife and son.

A family of three huddled together at the door.

A slight noise came from the direction of the study.

Lin Feng looked up, past his father's shoulder, and saw that person.

Shen Moran stood there, dressed in simple home clothes, her hair loosely tied up, holding a financial statement in her hand. When she saw Lin Feng, the statement slipped from her hand and scattered on the ground.

Eyes facing each other.

Time seemed to stand still.

Lin Feng saw the emotions in her eyes—first shock, then disbelief, then ecstasy, and then… a surge of longing that had been suppressed for a whole year. Her beautiful eyes quickly welled up with tears, which silently streamed down her face.

She didn't move; she just stood there, looking at him with tears streaming down her face.

"Mo Mo..." Su Wenqing released Lin Feng, wiping away her tears, "Look who's back..."

Shen Moran suddenly realized what was happening. She walked over quickly, but stopped two steps away from Lin Feng. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Lin Guodong patted Lin Feng on the shoulder and then winked at Su Wenqing: "Wenqing, let's... go to the kitchen and check on the soup."

The elderly couple tacitly stepped aside, leaving space for the two young people.

In the lobby, only Lin Feng and Shen Moran remained.

"I'm back," Lin Feng said first, his voice very soft.

These four words were like a key, unlocking all the gates in Shen Moran's heart.

She suddenly threw herself into his arms.

It wasn't an elegant, reserved embrace, but a full-force embrace that almost knocked him over. She buried her face in his chest, her shoulders trembling violently, and tears that had been suppressed for a year finally burst forth.

"It's good that you're back..." she said, her voice muffled against his chest, "I missed you... Lin Feng, I missed you so much..."

again and again.

Lin Feng held her tightly, feeling her body trembling from crying. He didn't say anything, just gently patted her back, like comforting a child who had suffered a great injustice.

More than a year, over four hundred days and nights.

He works alongside steel on the East China Sea, while she guards this small harbor in the mountain city. There are no complaints, no urgings, only a monthly text message and the daily wait.

"I'm sorry," Lin Feng whispered in her ear, "I haven't been able to contact you."

Shen Moran shook her head, lifting her tear-streaked face: "No need to apologize. I know you're doing something important... I just... I just miss you so much."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

The two hugged for a long time in the hallway until the sounds of cooking and their parents whispering came from the kitchen.

Shen Moran then awkwardly let go, wiping away her tears: "Your aunt and uncle are still here..."

"What are you afraid of?" Lin Feng took her hand. "Let's go help."

In the kitchen, Su Wenqing was chopping vegetables, and Lin Guodong was peeling garlic. Seeing the two enter hand in hand, the elderly couple exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with contentment.

"Son, you came back so suddenly, we didn't prepare any good dishes at home," Su Wenqing said.

"Mom, anything is fine with you." Lin Feng rolled up his sleeves. "I'll help."

"No need, no need, go and talk to Mo Ran." Lin Guodong pushed him out, "In the past year or so, that girl has worried a lot about you—she comes to our house every few days to chat with your mother, help me organize company documents..."

Lin Feng looked at Shen Moran.

Shen Moran blushed and lowered her head: "I just... had nothing to do, so I came to see Uncle and Aunt."

Dinner was very plentiful.

Spicy chicken, spicy blood curd, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, pork rib soup... these are all dishes that Lin Feng loves to eat. During the meal, Lin Guodong asked about Lin Feng's health, Su Wenqing nagged him to eat more, and Shen Moran kept putting food on his plate.

No one asked about his work, or where he had been or what he had done over the past year. This was an unwritten rule in the Lin family—Lin Feng would say what needed to be said, and he would never ask what shouldn't be asked.

"Mo Ran is now the vice president of our company." Lin Guodong took a sip of his drink, his tone proud. "This girl is smart and learns quickly. In just one year, she has already mastered 80% of the company's business. Some old hands tried to fool her, but she turned the tables on them."

Shen Moran smiled shyly, "It's all thanks to Uncle Lin's excellent teaching."

"It's because you're capable." Su Wenqing put a piece of chicken on her plate. "By the way, Xiaoxiao is managing the coffee shop quite well. They even opened a branch last month."

"Yes, Xiaoxiao is very capable." Shen Moran nodded. "She said she'll treat us to dinner when Lin Feng comes back."

The meal consisted mainly of casual conversation.

But Lin Feng knew that behind this ordinary, warm family talk was the silent support and waiting of his family.