As 2025 draws to a close and 2026 approaches, I want to write down a few memories. I wondered: if I were to share nine photographs from this year, which nine would I choose? I scrolled through my album, from January to December. Every photograph felt precious. One story after another began to play.
In January, I heard a talk by fellow alumnus Duan Yongping. His words stayed with me all year: do the right things, and do things right. Finding those right things became the thread running through my year. I went to Oxford to study artificial intelligence and machine learning with friends. Watching brilliant students from Tsinghua, Zhejiang University, and other universities excel in class made me more aware of how small I was, and how much I could not yet do. Even so, I became friends with many of them. Becoming friends with AI engineers—that was a right thing to do.
February belonged to DeepSeek in the news. AI took a great stride into everyday life in China. Even the older men in my village were talking about fellow alumnus Liang Wenfeng and DeepSeek, although saying “DeepSeek” and spelling it were their first and second challenges.
On the last day of February, I met a Nobel laureate for the first time: Arieh Warshel. Wang Jinqiang asked whether forty was too late to learn AI. Warshel joked that forty-five might be too late, but forty was just right. Learning AI in my twenties was a right thing to do, too.
So in March, I began exploring AI in earnest. Starting with Cursor, I built my first little game, 1024, and deployed it on GitHub. My friends' encouragement helped me take that first step. I then built a scheduling system of my own and began picking up pace along the path of vibe coding.
Of course, I was still running in the physical world. Looking after my body was a right thing to do.
In April, I finished the last course of my undergraduate degree. The presentation I had put so much care into was praised by the teacher and added to the course materials. Happy ending.
In May, I submitted my graduation project and finished visiting every campus of Zhejiang University. In the acknowledgments, I wrote about the trees and grass of Qiushi Garden, and found myself overcome with emotion. They held the sum of four verdant years. Earning my place at Zhejiang University through my own efforts was one of the best things I did in my youth.
Goodbyes always seem to come in June. My dear friends set off towards bright futures, some as far away as Pennsylvania, others as close as the foot of Cuibai Building. Yes, I graduated. I did not want to say goodbye to my intensive programme, but time cannot be held back. I remembered the motto: “Break through on separate paths; meet again beyond the circle.” We part so that we can meet again, further along.
In July, I worked hard at research. Looking back, though, I realised that hands-on experiments were not my strength. This was not the right path for me: I neither enjoyed them nor had a knack for the practical work. It felt like scratching a lottery ticket and finding the first character of “Thank you for playing.”
Even so, my supervisors, senior labmates, friends in my cohort, and even younger students were remarkably good at it. Asking them for advice was unquestionably the right thing to do. With their patient guidance, I made technical breakthroughs in simulation and device design, putting me on a clear path to graduation early on.
In August, I travelled with close friends. At Tencent, Huawei, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, I could hear my own inner calling clearly. Everyone has a life they want to lead. I want to work for myself.
That summer, I began exploring an experiment management system of my own and built a working version. It may have been the largest personal project I had ever undertaken. I learned a great deal from it, paying in advance for lessons that would help with the projects that followed.
In September, I officially became a graduate student. I continued studying devices while deepening my understanding of value investing. I watched Buffett's talk at the University of Florida several times, strengthening my commitment to integrity and my respect for time. Put simply: do good, and do not fret over what lies ahead. The future is there, in the compounding of time.
In October, courses taught by Professors Gu Zhen and Zhang Yuqi helped refine my judgment of research ideas. I learned to evaluate them using the 3P principles, formed my own understanding of where disciplines might be heading—biological intelligence and logical intelligence—and began producing new research ideas consistently, with my supervisor's support.
But I know what my dreams are, and what I am planning towards. Perhaps sharing my ideas with others in the lab is a right thing to do. They are devoted to expanding the boundaries of human knowledge, and I can offer them a broader view across disciplines.
I am especially grateful to my supervisors. They have a good eye for people. They found an appropriate place for me, offered me the option of a shorter degree programme, and gave me a good platform and room to grow.
Over the past two months, I have moved another step closer to my dream. There is only so much room in a WeChat Moments post, so I will leave that story for another time.
There are too many stories, too much to tell. And I am not someone who lives in the past. I added photographs, removed them, then added them again. In the end, let me leave just one: a view from behind, moving forward. Do the right thing.
