Yang Sisi smiled contentedly, then closed her eyes, opened her arms, and said with deep feeling, "Here, there are different things to do every day, and I meet different people. It may seem like I'm not doing anything productive, but I won't starve! This feeling of living in one city and seeing the whole world is really great!"

I flicked my cigarette ash, avoiding her gaze, even more unwilling to face her as she was about to open her eyes. I knew what would happen tomorrow, but she knew nothing. I imagined what would become of her after I, as an accomplice, shattered her dream with my own hands. And after she was forced to leave Dali, would I feel the pang of sorrow, like a fox mourning the death of a rabbit?

After sitting for a while, Yang Sisi suggested going back because she needed to get up early the next day and be well-rested for work. I don't know how she managed in Shanghai, but at that moment I truly saw in her a seriousness towards life that girls her age don't usually have. Perhaps it was the unique environment of Dali that stimulated her. But the more I saw this, the heavier my guilt became.

...

Back at the hostel, Instructor Ma was sitting in the courtyard wiping his camera with a towel, while Tie Nan lay on a recliner staring blankly at the sky. The ashtray beside him was overflowing with cigarette butts, which seemed to be crying out that a decadent man had killed them in a particularly undignified way.

I moved a chair and sat down next to Tie Nan, then said, "If these cigarettes could fight, they'd definitely slap you. Look, not a single one of them survived from this whole pack. Are you trying to wipe out your entire family?"

Tie Nan took a puff of his cigarette with relish and replied nonchalantly, "We're just hurting each other, enjoying the pleasure of being tortured. When I smoke them, they kill my offspring, which number in the hundreds of millions."

I was stunned for a moment before I realized what he meant. This guy was really reckless. Feeling ashamed of myself, all I could say was, "Smoking is harmful to your health," almost forgetting that I'm also a long-time smoker.

Tie Nan opened another pack of cigarettes, took one out and handed it to me. I lit it and said to him, "I thought about opening the inn again today, and I think it's actually a good time. Because the policy is unclear, many inn owners are eager to sell, and the transfer price will definitely be lower than the original market price. Taking over now is like buying at the bottom. When the policy is clear and the inns gradually resume business, won't I make a profit?"

Tie Nan sat up from the recliner, staring at me with an extremely sharp gaze. After a while, he said, "What if the policies become stricter? What if, after this crackdown, the 'government' starts controlling the number of inns? What will you do then?"

"There's no way this can be done without taking some risks. I came to Dali to open a guesthouse."

"Dude, I still advise you to be more careful. If you really have to do it, you can consider finding a company in the old town to take over. Don't touch anything on the shore of Erhai Lake."

I responded with a sound of agreement, then took a deep drag on my cigarette. A sense of unease welled up inside me; it seemed that as long as money was involved, living in any city wouldn't be particularly easy.

At this point, I actually envied Yang Sisi's mindset in coming to Dali. It seemed that her mindset allowed her to easily immerse herself in the most interesting aspects of life. However, thinking about it more deeply, she had the means to do so. Even if she stayed away for two or three years, she would still be a pampered young lady when she returned to Shanghai.

And me? I can't escape it at all. I came to Dali just to live a better life than before. With this purpose in mind, I can't completely get rid of the word "struggle" from my life.

Perhaps I can never truly become a pure Dali person; the genes from my time living in Shanghai still remain in my bones!