“Coming-of-Age” is a recent buzzword, and indeed, a real-life version of “Coming-of-Age” recently unfolded in Nanning. A 24-year-old man from Nanning and his two friends set out from Nanning, cycled 450 kilometers in four days, and finally arrived in Mengshan County, Wuzhou City, where he proposed to his beloved in a romantic gesture. Their “proposal journey” was uploaded online and quickly reposted by netizens, garnering over 20,000 clicks. One commenter joked, “Brother, you’ve gone viral — you’re the real Nanning version of ‘Coming-of-Age’!” What’s the story behind this “proposal journey”? What happened along the cycling route? Under the shade of trees on the campus of Guangxi International Business Vocational College, protagonist Xia Yankang and his cycling companions shared their journey with reporters.
　　The Love Plan: Proposing by Bicycle, Just Like the Older Generation
　　With a sun-tanned face and a pair of glasses perched on his nose, somewhat shy, his name is Xia Yankang, the protagonist of Nanning’s “Coming-of-Age.” Sitting beside him are his close friends Qin Qiu and Yu Yifan. The three graduated two years ago from the Accounting and Auditing programs at Guangxi International Business Vocational College and are entrepreneurship stars in the college’s Student Entrepreneurship Park. Except for Xia Yankang, who was born in 1989, the other two are from the post-90s generation.
　　“On July 6 of last year, the day after my girlfriend Huang Xianan received her university diploma, we went to register our marriage,” said Xia Yankang. He and Huang Xianan met, fell in love, and grew their relationship during their university years. Although they had registered their marriage, he had always regretted not proposing to her in a formal and romantic way.
　　Xia Yankang discussed multiple times with his close friends about how to propose to Huang Xianan in a romantic manner. They came up with several proposal plans: one was to use a car, which is quite common; another was to propose using a tractor — the idea was good, but they didn’t know where to get a tractor; the third was to ride in a bridal sedan chair, but they also didn’t know where to find one. Finally, they asked their parents’ generation how they used to propose. The elders said that when they got married, they rode bicycles. “Bicycles? The groom sits in front, and the bride hugs the groom’s waist from behind — how romantic!” In the end, Xia Yankang decided on the fourth plan.
　　“The reason we chose to cycle wasn’t just to let everyone witness the four years of love between Huang Xianan and me, but also to thank the brotherhood that has weathered storms with me. Also, many young people these days choose low-carbon and environmentally friendly ways to get married, and we wanted to respond to that call,” Xia Yankang said with a smile.
　　The Journey of Love: Thought About Giving Up But Persisted Through the Pain
　　“These few days of cycling can be described as sore backs, aching legs, and cramped muscles. We experienced all kinds of challenges along the way,” the three said while pointing to their sunburned and peeling arms for the reporter to see. The reporter noticed that even though several days had passed since the cycling trip, their arms still bore patches of white and red.
　　“At the beginning, the three of us were chatting and laughing, but our mood dropped like a bear market — excited in the morning, barely smiling at noon, and expressionless by the afternoon,” Xia Yankang said. They tied promotional flags to the back of their bikes, drawing curious glances from passersby along the way. One elderly woman even said something that deeply moved them: “Young people, I believe you can make it to Mengshan. Keep it up!”
　　Xia Yankang said that since it was their first time cycling, and the challenge of covering 450 kilometers was extremely tough. Each of them drank at least eight bottles of mineral water and two bottles of energy drinks every day, but they rarely needed to use the restroom — the water they drank was mostly sweated out. On the first day, all three experienced varying degrees of dehydration. It wasn’t until the second day that they realized they needed to replenish salt. Because they had to arrive in Mengshan within a set timeframe, each day’s cycling schedule was very tight.
　　“To be honest, there were times when I was extremely tired and thought about giving up, but then I thought of the promise I had made and couldn’t help but grit my teeth and keep cycling,” Xia Yankang said.
　　The Witness of Love: Sweet Romance and Genuine Friendship
　　Xia Yankang said that this cycling journey, called a commemoration of youth, was meant to honor his love with Huang Xianan and the brotherhood he shared with his entrepreneurial partners.
　　In 2009, freshman Huang Xianan joined the school’s basketball association. “I first met Huang Xianan at the first meeting of the college basketball association. She was wearing a pair of jeans and an orange jacket that day…” Recalling the first time he saw Huang Xianan, Xia Yankang felt as if it had just happened yesterday. By the end of that year, due to shared interests, the two gradually came together. Once they held hands, it would be for life.
　　April 29, 2013, was the most beautiful memory of Xia Yankang and Huang Xianan’s lives. When Xia Yankang appeared after cycling for four days and said, “Will you marry me?” Huang Xianan nodded with tears of happiness. After embracing, Xia Yankang rode around Mengshan County with Huang Xianan, singing and cheering along the streets, letting everyone share in their happiness.
　　The 450-kilometer, four-day cycling journey witnessed both sweet and happy love and sincere, hard-fought friendship. Xia Yankang said that after graduating from university, he began the tough journey of entrepreneurship. Along the way, he endured hardships with classmates like Qin Qiu and Yu Yifan. “Cycling is actually the same principle as entrepreneurship — the closer you get to your goal, the more setbacks and problems you encounter,” Xia Yankang said. So along the way, he is also very grateful for the friends who struggled and moved forward hand in hand.