The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

"Therefore, the responsibility today lies not with others, but entirely with us, the youth!"

boom--!

A single sentence shattered the silence like a thunderous drumbeat, causing the crystal chandelier in the banquet hall to hum, its echo rolling through every corner of the sound system.

The previously turbulent meeting room fell into a deathly silence in an instant.

In the dark conference room, the clattering of keyboards abruptly stopped.

The chat in the live stream went silent for a brief moment once again.

The arguments between the old and the young that came before were hardly just emotional shouting matches or impulsive verbal disputes.

Not at all.

From beginning to end, Ji Bai had no intention of arguing with anyone about seniority or time.

He laid out an entire foundation, concealing his sharpness along the way, all to reveal this one sentence:

The responsibility of youth!

In the live stream, netizens went completely crazy.

"Holy crap! What is Ji Bai going to do?!"

"He's not just spouting nonsense!"

"I got goosebumps all over my body! I practically jumped out of my chair!"

"Mom's nose suddenly stung with tears. He was only eighteen years old, and he stood on the world stage saying that the responsibility lay with his youth..."

"Oh no, I have a feeling this part will be in the textbooks!"

……

The scene at high schools and colleges across the country was absolutely chaotic.

The students, who had just been cheering and slamming their fists on the table for their satisfying rebuttal, now felt their blood boil and their bodies go numb.

In the lecture hall of Fucheng No. 99 Middle School, a boy slammed his fist on the table, his voice hoarse from shouting.

"Wow! That's incredibly generous! That one sentence is worth a whole bottle of AD calcium milk!"

"Therefore, the responsibility of today rests entirely on us, the youth!"

Someone followed along quietly, and their fingertips were trembling when they finished.

In the back row of Shencheng No. 2 High School, several boys who had been secretly slacking off suddenly sat up straight, their eyes gleaming with an alarming light:

"That's what you call speaking! It's a million times better than those clichéd platitudes!"

No one felt bored anymore, and no one thought about leaving.

All the teenagers' eyes were glued to the figure on the screen, their chests burning like wildfire, their cheeks flushed, and their hearts pounding like drums.

As the entire audience held their breath, the young man on stage stood tall and straight like a pine tree, his voice suddenly rising in pitch.

Finally, he uttered that famous line that would suppress all ages:

"When the youth are wise, the nation is wise; when the youth are wealthy, the nation is wealthy; when the youth are strong, the nation is strong!"

"When the youth are independent, the nation is independent; when the youth are free, the nation is free; when the youth progress, the nation progresses; when the youth surpass Europe, the nation surpasses Europe; when the youth are the most powerful on Earth, the nation is the most powerful on Earth!"

boom--!

This time, it was truly earth-shattering! Everyone in the banquet hall felt their scalp tingle and their minds went blank.

Academician Wang's hand holding the teacup suddenly paused, and the scalding tea splashed onto the back of his hand, but he didn't even notice. He just stared blankly at the young man on the stage, his lips trembling slightly.

The last trace of color drained from Academician Zhou's face, and he froze on the spot, as if nailed to the stage.

The elaborate trap he painstakingly set, the seniority-based suppression he was so proud of—all paled in comparison to these few words.

The dean of Tsinghua University, the director of Peking University, and a group of academic luminaries all sat up abruptly, their initial astonishment turning into indescribable shock and fervor in their eyes.

They had initially thought he was just a gifted academic genius, but now they realized that deep down, this young man possessed the confidence of an entire nation.

……

The live stream went completely crazy; the barrage of comments was so dense that the screen was practically invisible, and countless viewers were moved to tears.

"Aaaaaah, I'm dead! 'When the youth are strong, the nation is strong!' These six words made me burst into tears!"

"Who understands! To shout that in front of scholars worldwide—what kind of confidence and vision does that take!"

"This is true youthful spirit! It's not arrogance, but a deep love for one's country!"

"Those who called Ji Shen arrogant, come out and take your punishment! You'll never even get a glimpse of his level of magnanimity!"

"The words of the sage are imbued with divine power! I seem to see a golden dragon of China's destiny roaring behind him!"

"With the Emperor's decree issued, the youth's fortunes soar! These few words will ensure the flourishing of China's cultural heritage for the next century!"

"Ji Bai... has ripped the sky apart!"

……

The excitement also reached its peak in middle schools across the country.

I don't know who spoke first, but they read out the first sentence following the voice on the screen.

Then came the second sentence, the third sentence...

What started as scattered echoes turned into a unified recitation.

In the auditorium of Fucheng No. 99 Middle School, over a thousand students stood up in unison, clenching their fists, their voices rising in waves:

"When the youth are free, the nation is free!"

In the lecture hall of the Provincial Experimental High School, the desks and chairs were being banged against each other, everyone's faces were flushed, and they were shouting at the top of their lungs:

"When the youth progress, the nation progresses!"

At the viewing event held by the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, the students' voices were clear and firm, resonating so loudly that the ceiling seemed to echo.

"If the youth are strong on Earth, then the nation will be strong on Earth!"

The same sentence echoes in every school and every classroom.

Shenyang No. 2 High School, Jilin University Affiliated High School, Shanghai High School...

Hundreds and thousands of middle schools, and millions of teenagers wearing the same blue and white school uniforms, spoke the same voice as their peers on stage, separated by screens and thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.

They had assumed it would just be a boring, school-organized group viewing.

They thought that no matter how talented the boy on the screen was, he was just a distant "other people's child".

But at this moment, when those passionate words came out of the mouths of their peers, when the word "youth" was tightly bound together with "nation," everyone felt that something had awakened in their chests.

That is a resonance that spans a century, an echo etched into our very bones.

This profound and moving experience is no less powerful than the ancient Chinese saying, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

It ignited the passion in every young person's blood!

……

Inside the banquet hall, everyone was already lost in thought.

Ji Bai's voice continued, unhurried yet carrying immense weight, each word like the unfolding of a magnificent scroll:

"The rising sun shines brightly. The river emerges from its hidden source and flows into a vast ocean. The hidden dragon soars from the abyss, its scales and claws flashing. The young tiger roars in the valley, and all beasts tremble in fear."

The eagle tests its wings, stirring up dust and wind. A rare flower begins to bloom, resplendent and magnificent. The sword is sharpened, its edge gleaming.

The sky is blue above, the earth is yellow below. Spanning a thousand ages, encompassing the eight directions. The future is like the sea, the days to come are long.

With each line read, the hearts of the audience trembled a little more.

It was as if I could really see a red sun rising from the east, its golden light spreading for thousands of miles.

I saw a dragon emerging from the abyss, its scales and claws swirling in the wind; I saw a young tiger roaring in the forest, causing all beasts to bow their heads.

I witnessed the youthful spirit of a nation soaring through the clouds, paving the way for a bright future.

No one spoke, no one moved.

The whole world seemed to be filled only with the clear voice of the young man on stage, echoing in the hall for a long time.

Finally, Ji Bai took a deep breath, his gaze sharp and intense, sweeping across the entire room. His last two sentences were deafening and soared to the heavens:

"How beautiful is my young China, as timeless as the heavens!"

How magnificent are the youth of China, their spirit boundless with the nation!