Time flies; the years pass like arrows.
As the deepening chill of winter envelops the land of Sinovera, the winter break at Jiangnan University is already half over. Across the nation, families joyfully welcome the New Year, each household awaiting the arrival of New Year's Eve.
The daunting tide of Spring Festival travel sweeps the country—crowds surge, bustling and packed.
The lively scenes of Spring Festival take countless forms, clamorous and exuberant.
This is Sinovera’s most important holiday, rich with meaning—a symbol of the old year’s end and the beginning of a brand new one.
Some return home for reunions; others travel abroad.
Some continue working overtime; some remain in distant cities.
Countless different postures and situations merge into the New Year’s tapestry across Sinovera, but the prevailing atmosphere is one of happiness and reunion, hope and anticipation—a vessel for all things cherished.
......
At the main gate of Greenfield Estates.
Zoe Li stood beneath the metal sculpture of a great bird spreading its wings, lifting her delicate chin. Her beautiful eyes shimmered with indescribable emotion—part moved, part longing, part joy, part sorrow.
Hoo, hoo.
The north wind swept across the hood of her down jacket.
Zoe Li adjusted the fluffy red hood trimmed with fur and sighed softly: “Martial arts can let you master your own fate.”
"But..."
“Can studying really change your life?”
Standing beneath the sculpture, she asked herself in her heart, unsure where the answer lay. The values she had always believed in now trembled slightly.
Immediately after—
Zoe Li took out her phone and checked WeChat.
On the screen was a previous WeChat message from Andrew Han: Every person has their own path; I am proving that martial arts can master fate.
"That's right."
"Then I'll prove it too: studying can change a life."
Zoe Li blinked her beautiful eyes twice, a look of sudden understanding dawning on her face. The gloom in her heart dispersed, leaving only anticipation and hope for the New Year.
At that moment.
A few children passed by, noisy and excited, holding firecrackers in their hands.
She stepped back two paces, her slender hands cupping her phone. After hesitating for a moment, she seemed to want to send Andrew Han a WeChat message, but ultimately put her phone away.
"Forget it."
"I won't send it. I won't disturb his life anymore."
Linhaven City, an older residential district.
Back in her senior year, she hadn't believed in the martial arts path, and had tried to persuade Andrew Han otherwise, feeling regret many times in her heart. But now, Andrew had shown her that martial arts truly could support hope in life.
Martial arts truly can master destiny—it is not an empty claim.
On the sofa sat Roy Zhang and Monica Zhang's mother, Emily Yan.
"This is really nice. Did your daughter's classmate buy it for you?" Emily Yan placed her right hand on the sturdy heater and smiled. "That Andrew Han?"
"Mm."
"It's hard to imagine."
"If I'm not mistaken, the Nine-Tier Martial Arts Ranking is just the introductory stage. Only those who reach the Martial Artist Realm can be considered true martial practitioners." Zoe Li pondered, her beautiful eyes full of awe. "But why is it all so secretive, hidden from the public?"
Anything that's hidden must have a secret.
Especially martial arts, as one of Sinovera's ancient cultural traditions—everyone knows it, and if anything is kept secret, it can only be the realm above Martial Artist.
"Huh?"
"I remember a few years ago, I saw a news story online about someone walking in midair." Zoe Li froze in place, as if struck by lightning, afraid to think further.
Just then.
Iris Shen, wrapped in a thick cotton coat and carrying groceries from the supermarket, walked over to her daughter Zoe Li, who was standing beneath the sculpture. "Let's visit your grandmother this morning."
"Okay."
Zoe Li smiled with pursed lips and got into the front passenger seat.
Her mother Iris Shen still didn't know why the government notice that nearly destroyed their company two weeks ago was suddenly withdrawn... Not knowing was actually a blessing.
"Let's go!"
With Zoe Li's voice, the car started up and merged onto the sparsely trafficked street.
...
Linhaven City, an older residential district.
Buzz, buzz.
At the center of the living room, a table-shaped heater radiated gentle, even warmth, turning the biting cold into a comfortable coziness.
On the sofa sat Roy Zhang and Monica Zhang's mother, Emily Yan.
"This is really nice. Did your daughter's classmate buy it for you?" Emily Yan placed her right hand on the sturdy heater and smiled. "That Andrew Han?"
"Mm."
Roy Zhang leaned back on the sofa, arms crossed.
The two of them watched the electric heater rise and fall, chatting idly as they sorted through the things they needed to prepare for the New Year... Today was already New Year's Eve.
In the bedroom on the other side.
The pink bedroom was covered in delicately crafted wallpaper, with light-colored patterns of bears and flowers. The curtains were tightly drawn, and two pots of lush green plants could be seen on the windowsill.
"Hmph."
Monica Zhang let out a soft hum, her beautiful eyes opening in a daze.