Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

Fireworks erupted over Shenzhen Bay—red, yellow, blue, and purple—turning the night sky into a brilliant garden. In the square outside the Spring Cocoon, tens of thousands of spectators who hadn’t managed to get tickets were also cheering. In the distance, the lights of the Shenzhen Bay Bridge were like a golden dragon stretching across the sea.

Su Chen walked off the stage, passed through the cheering crowd, and came to the square outside the Spring Cocoon. Lin Wan followed behind him, holding a coat and draping it over his shoulders.

“Are you cold?” she asked.

“No,” he said, but his voice was a bit raspy—after a two-hour speech, his throat was nearly at its limit.

Lin Wan stood beside him, watching the fireworks fill the sky. On the surface of Shenzhen Bay, the fireworks were reflected in the water like a flowing oil painting. In the distance, the Hong Kong skyline flickered in the night sky, with the lights of Victoria Peak faintly visible.

“A-Chen,” Lin Wan said softly, her gaze never leaving the fireworks, “It’s 2021. I’ve been with you for six years now.”

Su Chen turned to look at her.

She also turned her head, her gaze gentle yet firm: “When are you going to marry me?”

Su Chen was stunned for a moment, then he smiled. He was silent for a few seconds, looking at the distant fireworks and then at Lin Wan beside him. At twenty-six, standing under the fireworks, her long hair was blown by the sea breeze, and there were stars in her eyes.

“Wait for me a little longer,” he said softly. “On October 1st, 2021, we’ll get married. We’ll celebrate with the nation.”

Lin Wan’s eyes lit up, brighter than the fireworks in the sky. She smiled, a smile that contained six years of waiting, six years of companionship, and six years of trust.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll wait for you to marry me.”

The two stood side by side outside the Spring Cocoon, watching the fireworks dissipate into the night sky. On the surface of Shenzhen Bay, the last firework fell, and the water returned to tranquility.

The new year had begun.

Su Chen’s phone vibrated. He glanced down; it was a message from Chu Tianming: “Mars orbit data is normal. Zhurong is waiting for the landing window.”

He smiled and looked up at the night sky. The moon was hanging over Shenzhen Bay, large and round. He didn’t know exactly which side the Oceanus Procellarum was on, but he knew that in 2021, Xingchen would drive its first stake there.

Lin Wan leaned on his shoulder and said softly, “What do you think people a hundred years from now will think of tonight?”

Su Chen thought for a moment: “They will say that on the last day of 2020, humanity decided to stop just staring at their feet and instead looked up toward the stars.”

The sea breeze blew past, carrying the scent of the New Year. In the distance, the myriad lights of Shenzhen flickered in the night, like a starry sky on the ground.

And the starry sky above was waiting for them.