Career Path: Setting Sail as a Selected Graduate

In July, the heat is scorching.

Inside the quaint and elegant auditorium of Yanjing University, the air-conditioning is strong, but it does nothing to cool the fiery atmosphere. The send-off ceremony for this year's selected graduates is being held here. Below the stage, more than fifty young people in formal attire sit with blazing eyes and straight backs. They are the cream of the crop from top universities, the elite who made it through round after round of written exams, interviews, and vetting. Now they are about to be planted across the land as the organization’s “seeds,” setting out on their own journeys.

Jiang Chen sits near the middle of the front row, straight as a pine. His handsome, refined face bears a composure beyond his years. He wears a well-fitted white shirt, its cuffs neatly pressed and collar buttoned to the top, every detail reflecting meticulous discipline. Unlike the barely contained excitement of the students around him, his gaze holds not only anticipation, but also a measure of scrutiny and gravity.

It has not been easy for him to get this far…