Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

As the National Day holiday came to an end, Song Xingye finally managed to catch his breath.

His 15-word dissertation may not be a monumental work, but it embodies all the effort he put into his entire doctoral career.

He incorporated his research from the past four years, from specific points to lines, and from lines to surfaces, into a logically complete academic network, which he then integrated into his paper, forming the flesh and blood of the first draft.

The toughest part is done; all that's left is some finishing touches.

Song Xingye reviewed his first draft and found that Chapter 4 was marked with a small red box by the "Fault Prediction Eye," indicating that there was a logical flaw.

However, it's not a big problem. I can go to the lab before the New Year to get some data and ask a junior colleague to help me run the code. That should fix the vulnerability.

Then you can sit back and relax while waiting for the blind trial.

Just as I was making plans, the dormitory door was suddenly kicked open.

Qin Rui, carrying a basketball, barged in with a few buddies, laughing and joking. When he saw Song Xingye still working on his long thesis, he immediately turned around and shushed him. The voices of the group all lowered in unison.

Song Xingye took his hands off the keyboard, turned his head, glanced at the keyboard, and greeted, "You're back?"

Qin Rui nodded. "I bought a new ball and invited a few classmates to play on the court."

Before he could finish speaking, a familiar-looking classmate next to him got itchy and slapped the ball, but he lost control of his strength and the basketball flew out of his hand, bouncing "thump thump" to Song Xingye's feet and leaving a gray stain on his pants.

The student hurriedly came over to pick up the ball, saying somewhat embarrassedly, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I got your pants dirty."

"It's okay."

Song Xingye waved his hand and lightly dusted off the ash.

At this moment, Qin Rui changed into his sneakers, stomped them on the ground, and peered at the screen. "Still grinding? That's enough!"

"It's basically finished. Just two more experiments and it'll be completely done."

"Wow... your efficiency is unparalleled! You've written so much in less than a month!"

Qin Rui joked, patting him on the shoulder, "Alright, stop brooding, want to come to the court for some fresh air?"

"I?"

Song Xingye instinctively wanted to refuse, his tone revealing the weariness of an old cadre, "Forget it, I'm too old and frail."

"Stop pretending to be profound. How old are you? Don't act like you're old and frail. Come on, let's go have some fun. Our ball skills are terrible, so let's just play for fun."

Qin Rui persisted, "Didn't you used to brag that you were a key player on the school team? Come on, show me!"

"Exactly, staying cooped up in the dorm all day will make you moldy, let's go!"

Others joined in the commotion.

Song Xingye hesitated for a moment, then, remembering what he looked like in middle school, he got up as if possessed and took out a pair of Nike athletic shorts from the closet.

……

Soon, a friendly 4v4 halftime basketball game began on the court.

Song Xingye, Qin Rui, and six other male students living in the same doctoral dormitory ran, jumped, and bumped into each other on the court, dribbling the ball with laughter.

At first, Song Xingye was a little uncomfortable.

It was as if his body was still the same broken body from his previous life, hollowed out by chronic and occupational diseases.

He couldn't even remember the last time he participated in such a collective sport.

He stood there helplessly for a while, watching others grab rebounds, neither making any movement nor reaching out for the ball, looking like a wooden stake.

Qin Rui struggled to break through to the basket and saw a tall guy jump up, raising his hand to block his shot.

In a moment of desperation, he caught a glimpse of Song Xingye near the free-throw line, so he yelled and threw the ball over.

Song Xingye was taken aback, but almost instinctively caught the ball with both hands.

At that moment, another teammate had already crawled under the basket, and without thinking, he quickly passed the ball to the other player.

His teammate caught the ball without any resistance, jumped, and backboarded it, the basketball swishing through the net.

"Beautiful!"

The three teammates cheered loudly.

"Not bad, buddy. Looks like you weren't bragging, you really have some skills!"

Qin Rui ran over and raised his hand high in front of Song Xingye. The latter smiled and raised his hand as well. With a loud "slap," the two palms slapped together.

This high-five reignited a long-dormant passion in Xiao Song.

A familiar yet strange feeling seemed to have quietly returned to him.

Only at this moment did he truly feel the joy of rebirth.

This body has no herniated discs, no gout, and no high blood pressure.

It is young, strong, and full of explosive power!

Those sweltering afternoons in middle school, those bare backs sweating profusely, those loud laughs, curses, and cheers of scrambling and fighting.

Those years of youth that quietly slipped away amidst the daily grind of overtime and busyness.

They've all come back now.

Qin Rui shouted again, and the ball was passed over once more.

He instinctively caught the ball, dribbled it three times, then dribbled it between his legs, followed by a feint with his right arm and a crossover dribble in front of his body...

Yes, that's what I used to do too.

Song Xingye abruptly stopped his dribbling motion, causing his opponent to lose his balance, and then jumped and shot.

The familiar feel.

With a "swish," the basketball hit the net precisely.

"nice shot!"

Qin Rui jumped up and cheered loudly, then stood with his hands on his hips and laughed triumphantly: "I told you, he used to be a key player on the school team!"

The atmosphere on the court grew increasingly heated, with intense physical confrontations between opponents, accelerated runs, receiving the ball, dribbling, and rebounding, while teammates encouraged each other with pats on the back...

"Damn, so he was just pretending to be weak at the beginning?"

"That kid's pretty accurate."

"No, no, we need to split up again! We want Hoshino!"

Sweat dripped down his forehead, and Song Xingye squinted his eyes.

Cool.

This is what it feels like to be young, this is what it's like to be alive.

As dusk settled and the stadium lights came on, the group reluctantly dispersed.

On his way back from the second meal, Qin Rui casually picked up a chilled watermelon from the supermarket.

Back in the doctoral building, everyone hurriedly cut open the watermelon, which was still covered in ice crystals, and eagerly stuffed it into their mouths.

The intense exertion of the afternoon left everyone hot and thirsty. Some people coughed from being choked by watermelon seeds, which drew a barrage of merciless mockery.

"I'm talking about Hoshino..."

Qin Rui wiped the watermelon juice from his mouth. "You're really hiding your talent! Since your skills are so good, let's sign up for the 'Doctor's Cup' next spring. With you on the team, we'll definitely sweep it!"

"No, I don't have that kind of time."

Song Xingye tossed a melon rind aside and joked with a smile, "My appearance fee is very high, unless... you wash my underwear for three months straight."

"screw you!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Qin Rui picked up a piece of melon rind and pretended to throw it at them. Song Xingye smiled and raised his hand, pretending to be hit.

Having had their fun, the students from the other dorm rooms exchanged glances, grinned mischievously, and stood up. "You guys clean up yourselves, you idiots! See ya!"

After saying that, they opened the door and dispersed in a chaotic manner.

Qin Rui grabbed a slipper and threw it, but it hit the door with a "thud." He had no choice but to stand up and grumble as he cleaned up the mess.

Before going to bed, Song Xingye took a cold shower at the public water room.

The cool water poured down from above, flowing over my whole body, bringing an indescribable feeling of comfort.

He looked up and heard two math majors in the hallway chuckling and discussing a "super hot" female student he had met in the library that day.

Through the frosted sticker on the window, I could vaguely see the lights of the master's building across the street, blurry yet warm.

This vibrant, passionate youthful life...it's wonderful...

Back in the dormitory, exhaustion washed over me like a tidal wave.

Song Xingye hadn't done such strenuous exercise in a long time, and his shoulders and thighs were incredibly sore.

Qin Rui, who was in the opposite bunk, was already snoring loudly.

A beautiful day has come to an end.

Before his hair was completely dry, Song Xingye collapsed onto his pillow to rest, and soon sleepiness washed over him like a heavy curtain of darkness.

……

Two days later, Li Difeng called Song Xingye and asked him to go to Factory 307 in Songjiang to pick up an important document and deliver it to the Aerospace Building in Xuhui.

Song Xingye was bored out of his mind, so he readily accepted the task, went out, hailed a car, and headed straight for Songjiang.

This place wasn't hard to find, nor was it unfamiliar; it was at least a factory that Song Xingye knew very well in his memory.

Factory 307 was the place where he was "exiled" in his previous life!

It was a Waterloo in his career, and a watershed moment in his life.

Since Factory 307 went bankrupt during his tenure, he has been burdened with negative evaluations such as "mediocre and incompetent", "unfit for important tasks", and "ambitious but incompetent".

Almost all leaders share the same opinion about him.

Therefore, his name would never appear on the list of cadres promoted each year.

A cadre who ruined Factory 307 and caused the loss of important state-owned assets should be sidelined!

Now, Song Xingye has returned to the old place.

Factory 307, still under the management of its current director Cheng Long, is like a candle flickering in the wind, barely managing to survive.

Song Xingye took a deep breath, walked to the window of the security room, handed over his identification, and explained his purpose.

The guard nodded: "Wait a moment, I'll go inform Director Cheng!"