On New Year's Eve, the flower market was a sea of light and movement. Fireworks lit up the night sky in blooming bursts, igniting the most dazzling moments of the year. The streets pulsed with joy—cars flowing like rivers, lights reflecting off windshields, and lanterns swaying in the breeze. The entire city glowed like a living painting.
But while the world outside reveled in celebration…
Chen Mo was indoors, eyes fixed on his screen, fingers flying over the keyboard at blistering speed. Unlike the fireworks in the sky, the ones in his room sparked from the logic of his thoughts. The compiler in front of him didn't flash English code like most would expect—it was entirely in Chinese characters.
After two days of wandering around the city with Xiaoyu, reconnecting with friends and attending the wedding, she'd finally returned home for New Year's. And yet… every time he thought of her smile, it left a ripple in his heart.
Since she left, he hadn't gone out once.
Instead, he plunged deep into development—specifically, the architecture of his artificial intelligence project.
It had been over two weeks now.
Finally, with a final click of his mouse, the compiler displayed a satisfying message.
[Build Successful]
Chen Mo leaned back in his chair with a long exhale, the corners of his mouth curling into a quiet smile.
He'd done it.
From the day he picked up Low-Level Artificial Intelligence Development to now, everything had led to this moment. After fully mastering the Chinese character programming language he designed, he dove straight into building the AI framework.
And now, on New Year's Eve, the prototype's core architecture was finally complete.
The house was built—now it needed to be furnished.
After saving the source code, he laid back and let his consciousness enter the [Technology Library].
Tonight's visit wasn't for a blueprint or research request—it was for optimization.
If he could let the system polish what he'd built, he'd save time and maybe push it to the next stage faster.
As he stepped into the glowing archive space, the familiar figure of Shu Lao appeared.
"Shu Lao, Happy New Year." Chen Mo greeted with a rare relaxed tone.
"New Year?" Shu Lao chuckled. "This is the first time I've celebrated your kind of new year. But since you're here, I assume it's time to choose your monthly system function. You've got five days to use it. Want to chat or share technology?"
"Share technology," Chen Mo said.
Shu Lao tapped a finger in the air—and the familiar wall of glowing code appeared. Line after line of dense Chinese character code materialized before them.
Chen Mo felt a warm sense of satisfaction. This wasn't just code—it was his creation.
"Well done," Shu Lao nodded appreciatively. "This AI structure has great potential. And your programming language? Subtle, elegant, very well-crafted."
"Does that mean it's mature? Ready to share?" Chen Mo asked.
For the first time, Shu Lao hesitated.
"It's shareable, but I don't recommend sharing it just yet."
"Huh? Why not?"
"You've built the framework," Shu Lao explained patiently. "But it's just that—a framework. This AI is like a newborn child. It has no personality, no defined character."
Chen Mo's brow furrowed. "But won't the system optimize it for me?"
"It will," Shu Lao nodded, "but you might not like the result. Imagine you built a house. But without deciding its interior—will it be modern, traditional, minimalistic? If you let the system decide everything, it might not match your vision."
Chen Mo slowly nodded, realization sinking in.
He had rushed a bit. The excitement of progress blinded him to the importance of design.
"It's better to finish shaping it yourself," Shu Lao added. "Once it has its own character, then share it. That way, the system can help refine your vision, not overwrite it."
"Got it," Chen Mo said. "Thanks."
"Take your time," Shu Lao said with a smile. "You're not in a race."
The glowing portal opened, and Chen Mo stepped back into reality.
Back in front of the screen, Chen Mo stared at the code. It was working, but far from finished.
No shortcuts.
He got back to work.
The rest of the night passed in quiet focus as he began outlining the personality modules—decision matrices, ethical frameworks, emotional nuance simulations.
By the time he finally crawled into bed, it was well past 3 a.m.
The next morning, his mother barged in and yanked the blanket off him.
"Get up! It's New Year's! Xinxin and the others will be here soon!"
Groggily, Chen Mo stumbled to the bathroom, washed up, and came out just in time to receive a red envelope from his mom.
"Your lucky money," she said with a smile.
"Hehe," Chen Mo grinned. Childhood memories flashed back—when a red envelope felt like a treasure chest.
These days, the money inside wasn't the point. The gesture still made him feel warm.
"Happy New Year." His dad gave him a red envelope too.
"Thanks, Dad."
Not long after, Aunt Xiao and her family arrived. Uncle, Aunt Zhen, and a slender, energetic girl—Zhang Xinxin.
"Brother!" Xinxin squealed the moment she saw him. "You've gotten even more handsome!"
"I've always been handsome," Chen Mo said, smirking. "You, on the other hand, used to be a little shadow following me around. Now look at you—full-grown beauty."
"Pssh." Xinxin giggled. "I heard Aunt tried to set you up with someone."
The moment the words left her mouth, Chen Mo nearly choked.
Zhen Zhen's ears perked up like radar.
"Xiao Mo! I've been trying to get you to meet this girl forever! She finally came home for New Year's. You still haven't seen her. She's great!"
"Zhen Zhen, c'mon… you're trying to force it."
"Then you bring someone home! If not, I'll keep introducing you. She's too good to stay single forever."
Chen Mo sighed in surrender. "Alright, alright."
Xinxin leaned close, mischief sparkling in her eyes. "You have a girlfriend, don't you?"
Chen Mo gave her a silent shush gesture.
Her grin widened. "Oooh, secret girlfriend?"
"When she's ready to meet my mom, I'll bring her home and give everyone a big surprise. Until then, don't say a word."
"…Sealing fee," she said, holding out her hand.
"You little gremlin. You're shaking me down?" Chen Mo reached into his pocket and handed her one of the red envelopes he'd just gotten.
Before he could blink, she snatched it.
"These are mine now."
"What grade are you in again?" Chen Mo asked, amused.
"Just graduated high school," she replied. "I'm applying to Binhai University. Like you."
"Oh? Ambitious. I like that. Here—take another one for good luck."
"Two red envelopes? I knew you were my favorite cousin." Xinxin winked. "When I show up at your university, you'd better introduce me to my future nephew-in-law."
Chen Mo laughed. The banter was light, and for a moment, the pressure of AI, code, and future tech vanished.
Soon, the table was set.
Everyone gathered around for the first meal of the new year—family, laughter, food, and warmth.
And upstairs, in Chen Mo's room, a blinking cursor waited silently on the screen—marking the beginning of something far more profound than anyone at that table could yet imagine.