23 years on, China student finds secret ‘work harder’ note in university dormitory penned by now technology company CEO

The student who wrote the note went on to become a very successful businesswoman. Photo: Weibo

• Computer science student needed motivating while studying in 2001, pens note to self, sticks on bed
• PhD student finds handwritten message, is curious, finds writer

A 25-year-old PhD student in China who found an inspirational note from 23 years ago in a girls' dormitory has trended on mainland social media.

Xue Qingqing, who studies at Zhejiang University in eastern China, found the handwritten message at the beginning of April and was surprised to see it was so well preserved, Chao News reported.

"Good good study, day day up," were the words written on the note.

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Xue found the piece of paper attached underneath the upper bunk. The signature and date revealed that a student called Fang Qin had written it on January 21, 2001.

Xue guessed that Fang was trying to motivate herself to study, and wondered if the former student had realised her ambitions.

"It's been 23 years, and this alumna must have achieved her goals, right?" She wrote on the school's forum.

Her post was circulated among the students and soon Xue discovered Fang's whereabouts.

"It's magic to me that it remains intact after 23 years," Fang told Xue.

Fang, who is the founder and CEO of Ybren, a technology platform for ordering customised clothes, recalled the moment she wrote the note.

At the time, she was 18 years old and studying computer science at Zhejiang University.

When the first semester ended, Fang felt she had not been fully devoted to her studies. To motivate herself in the new semester, she wrote a note of encouragement.

"Everyday I saw it as soon as I woke up, and it helped me push myself," Fang said.

She said her roommates did not discover the note and it became her little secret. She did not recall leaving it behind.

"It's still there after all these years?" she asked.

"Have you got what you want? Are you thankful you once studied so hard?" Xue asked Fang.

"I'm pleased I worked hard. I still have dreams," Fang said.

The dormitory was about to be renovated and the note would have to be removed, so Fang kept it "for the memories".

The story has warmed hearts on mainland social media.

"It's really magic," one online observer said.

"The inspirational spirit is passed down throughout two decades, how wonderful," said another.

Stories involving heartwarming notes are popular in China.

In February, a young woman in eastern China was comforted when a mother and her little boy handed her a note after they saw her crying in a corner on her own.

In January, a little boy, also in eastern China, stuck a message in his mother's ride-hail car in which he appealed for passengers to leave positive reviews.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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