Chapter 41: Time Flows Like Water

"The purpose of a student is to study, to study hard, and to give it everything you have." This plain yet profound statement was deeply engraved in Li Yifei's heart, becoming the truest reflection of his four years at the Yanyuan campus.

Li Yifei realized earlier and more lucidly than his peers that university is a rare stage in life for systematically absorbing knowledge. Once he stepped into society and became entangled in the trivialities of work and daily life, trying to calm down and study would become infinitely more difficult.

Time flew by. It felt as if he had just stepped into Yanyuan yesterday, yet in the blink of an eye, the calendar for the year 2011 had already opened. Standing on the threshold of graduation and looking back, these four years were, for Li Yifei, a tempering process of constantly challenging himself and unlocking his potential.

That profound conversation with the university's Party Secretary and President made him cherish every single moment on campus. Li Yifei was like a sponge, thirstily and hungrily absorbing knowledge.

Majoring in economics, Li Yifei sought to deeply understand the internal logic of economic operation. Even more remarkable was his boundless thirst for knowledge and formidable planning capability—he simultaneously pursued double degrees in medicine and law.

With a solid foundation and clear reasoning, he achieved outstanding course grades, successfully passed both his undergraduate and master's thesis defenses, and won the recognition of the evaluation committee.

Today, he welcomed the most challenging moment of his academic career: his doctoral thesis defense. What was even more astonishing was that he was to undergo doctoral defense in three completely distinct fields—economics, medicine, and law—all on the same day!

Four years ago, he entered Yanda University as the top scorer of the Jiang Province college entrance examination. In a mere four years, he completed an academic journey that might take others a decade or even longer. This was by no means achieved through talent alone; behind it lay sheer, unrelenting hard work.

Those thick doctoral dissertations were the crystallization of his focused studies over the past two years. What drove him were practical considerations and long-term planning.

He was not satisfied with merely acquiring degrees; whenever he believed knowledge might be useful in the future, no matter how difficult, he would delve into it deeply.

Among these, he conducted exceptionally thorough research into important policy documents, viewing them as the ideological foundation for his future development.

The top-tier platform of Yanjing University, combined with his personal talent and resilience, yielded remarkable results.

Li Yifei knew profoundly that if he were to make significant achievements in related fields in the future, a solid writing foundation was fundamental. Therefore, he invested massive effort into official document drafting and commentary writing.

Through extensive reading, imitation, repeated practice, and submission of articles, his writing gradually developed characteristics of sharp perspectives, rigorous logic, and a steady style, accumulating a strong reputation within specific academic and policy research circles.

In personal investments, Li Yifei also demonstrated vision far beyond his years. In 2009, when Bitcoin was still largely unknown, he began paying attention to it and accumulating holdings.

Through early transactions and a period of "mining," he accumulated a considerable quantity. Considering his future plans and personal circumstances, he decisively halted all related activities. Those mining rigs were not discarded; instead, he disassembled and modified them into a small laboratory, serving as a vehicle for "personal technological exploration."

This approach not only utilized resources rationally but also cleverly avoided potential controversy.

In stock investments, he had long abandoned the "frenzied" strategies of his early years, shifting toward stability. He carefully selected a portfolio of blue-chip stocks with solid fundamentals, stable dividends, and promising prospects for long-term allocation.

This detached, Zen-like investment approach allowed his stock account to accumulate considerable wealth. Remembering the source of his success, he generously donated a massive sum to his alma mater.

Over the past two years, his mentor Professor Lu and Dean Yi of the School of Economics poured a tremendous amount of effort into him. Acting like discerning judges of talent, they spared no effort in introducing him to key figures.

Under their guidance, Li Yifei was able to meet prominent entrepreneurs and industry leaders in the financial world, initially constructing a high-end networking circle.

Especially rare was that, thanks to his mentors' introductions and his own gradually surfacing insights, he gained access to officials and experts from relevant departments of the Ministry of Finance for communication and study, laying a solid foundation for his future path.

Similarly, with the help of Teacher Zong and Dean Chen, he also made contact with key figures within the legal system.

Li Yifei kept a clear head, knowing that this system was vast and complex; his goal at the current stage was to establish basic connections and communication channels, laying the groundwork for potential intersections in the future.

Li Yifei constantly remembered his parents back in his hometown of Anyin. He repeatedly invited the elderly couple to live with him in the capital, but accustomed to the leisure of their hometown and their neighborhood ties, they politely declined.

He understood his parents' choice and did not force them, yet he made meticulous arrangements for his family's long-term livelihood. He purchased prime properties in the capital of Jiang Province and in the metropolis of the magic city where he might frequently visit in the future, including suburban villas and urban luxury flats.

Meanwhile, to ensure his younger sister could receive a quality education in the downtown area in the future, he obtained his parents' consent and bought two school district apartments in urban Anyin.

Taking the central government's selected-student civil service examination was a decision Li Yifei made after careful deliberation. He solemnly reported this choice to Dean Yi, who had always cared for him.

Dean Yi's eyes were filled with gratification and expectations as he heavily patted his shoulder: "Take the exam well and show your true capabilities. The school's recommendation, the department, and the university will give you their full support!" This weighty trust was both a motivation and a source of heightened responsibility.

Having settled everything, Li Yifei devoted himself entirely to the final sprint of revision for the selected-student examination. His photographic memory, honed through years of high-intensity, systematic study, had become even more formidable.

His thinking became sharper, his comprehension deeper, his logic clearer, and his ability to synthesize knowledge improved significantly. He threw himself completely into the final battle without ever slackening.

The graduation season arrived. Li Yifei welcomed the most challenging day of his academic career—his doctoral thesis defenses in economics, medicine, and law were scheduled consecutively on the very same day!

The defense venue was solemn and dignified. The defense committee, composed of top scholars from the three fields, scrutinized the young man before them. The top scorer of the college entrance examination four years ago was now about to cross three academic peaks.

During the economics defense, his analysis of macroeconomic models was clear and orderly, his microeconomic data analysis precise, and his unique, profound insights into global economics and China's development revealed the potential to govern the nation and bring peace to the people.

During the medical defense, he fully displayed the rigorous qualities of a scientist, combining theory with practice, with clear logic and solid evidence; his interdisciplinary background gave him an exceptionally broad perspective on issues such as health economics and medical policy.

In the law defense, his mastery of jurisprudence and his understanding of China's path of rule of law were fully demonstrated, with arguments possessing both high theoretical elevation and practical relevance.

At the conclusion of each defense, following committee deliberations, the results were consistently high praise and unanimous approval. When the results of the final law defense were announced, prolonged and enthusiastic applause erupted in the conference hall.

This applause was recognition of three weighty academic achievements, and even more, a tribute to his astonishing perseverance in simultaneously climbing three peaks of knowledge over the span of four years.

He richly deserved the praise of being a "genius," but those who knew him well understood that behind this halo lay countless sleepless nights and exhausted pen refills.

The tassel on his doctoral cap was solemnly moved to the left, symbolizing the completion of an extraordinary academic journey.

However, for Li Yifei, this was not an endpoint, but the starting point of a new expedition. The door to the stage of serving the country, opened by the central selected-student examination, stood wide open.

He packed up the books and notes that had accompanied him for four years, and also organized the most precious wealth bestowed upon him by Yanyuan: profound knowledge, accumulated connections, and an increasingly clear sense of responsibility for his family and country in his heart.

Li Yifei knew deeply that what Yanyuan gave him was not merely an academic halo, but the summon of a mission "to establish life for the people." The road ahead might be long, but he walked toward the vast field awaiting his cultivation with unwavering gaze, armed with a will tempered over four years and a full armor of learning.