Tianyi stood on the podium, with the vivid red Hongqi behind him and countless young faces below shining in the sunlight.
He fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the entire crowd—from left to right, from the front rows to the back. Those eyes held curiosity, anticipation, and innocence.
He pulled out the stack of notes from his pocket, glanced at it, then folded it up and tucked it back inside.
"Students, my name is Fang Tianyi, and I am the honorary principal of this school." His voice came through the speakers, steady and powerful.
"But before I start lecturing you, I want to tell you my own story."
"I was born into an ordinary family. When I was little, we weren't well-off. We couldn't eat meat every day, and getting new clothes once or twice a year was already good.
"I was raised by my grandparents. They often told me that when they were young, they didn't have enough to eat. Tree bark, wild vegetables—anything they could swallow, they ate.
"My parents left home as well, catching the good times of reform and opening up. They went from the countryside to the city, worked, and settled down.
"When I was in elementary school, my family bought our first black-and-white television. When I was in high school, we got internet access.
"When I was in college, the nation hosted the Olympic Games—I sat before the television and watched fireworks bloom above the Bird's Nest. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.
"Not because I was sad, but because I was proud. Proud to have been born in this country, to have grown up in this era."
His voice was not loud, yet it drove into every student's ears like nails.
"Students, you never lived through