After military training ended, Dongzhou University held its opening ceremony.
The ceremony was deliberately held in an open-air stadium large enough to seat ten thousand people. The venue was packed, the air alive with early autumn heat and the exuberance of youth.
Whispers rippled through the surrounding stands.
"Did you hear? This year's top science-track scorer really came to our university?"
"That's not even the half of it. Those old professors in the physics department nearly got into an argument in the office over who would get him. I caught a glimpse of him down the corridor on registration day, and oh my god... seriously, he's so handsome it ought to be lethal!"
"I saw him too! His girlfriend is Pu Yu, that incredibly talented, gorgeous senior from the literature department! When they stand together, those looks! They're a match made in heaven, I could cry!"
Meanwhile, in the backstage lounge.
Yuan Su stood before a mirror, fastening the last button of his suit jacket.
Although he was a few years older than his fellow freshmen, his blend of composure and cool reserve made him look less like a junior arriving to register and more like a tech mogul worth hundreds of millions, fresh from ringing the bell at Nasdaq.
He wore a fine white shirt beneath a well-tailored black suit, with a tie at his neck and a silver ring gleaming on his ring finger.
His face was almost impossibly handsome. Simply standing there, he commanded the room more readily than many of the younger faculty members.
"Next, please welcome our freshman representative, Yuan Su, to the stage."
At the host's announcement, the enormous screens on either side of the stadium instantly switched to a close-up of Yuan Su.
When that tall, straight figure emerged from the shadows in