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Back at the hotel, Lin Changren took off his floral shirt and jacket and casually lay down on the bed.
"You don't mind the dirt?" Pan Yue glanced at him with disdain.
“It’s okay, I’ve already brushed the sand off,” Lin Changren said, kicking off his shoes. “Besides, I’m lying on the outside of the blanket, so it definitely won’t get dirty.”
Since he wasn't sleeping in the same bed with him anyway, Pan Yue didn't bother with him. He charged his phone, grabbed his clothes, and went to take a shower.
Wash away all your fatigue.
Pan Yue, shirtless, dried his hair with a towel before lying down on the bed and turning on his phone.
The new WeChat contact hasn't been updated at all.
He glanced at the time; only twenty-odd minutes had passed.
Girls are clean and take their time with washing up.
Unlike Lin Changren.
Pan Yue glanced to the side.
Lin Changren was lying on his side, looking at his screen, probably picking out photos to post on his WeChat Moments.
Pan Yue snapped out of his reverie and looked back at his phone.
The marketing department sent over a new survey questionnaire.
He clicked on it and glanced at it.
"Old Pan!" Lin Changren exclaimed in surprise, "I've got something good to show you!"
Pan Yue turned his head away and couldn't see it clearly.
"It looks good," he replied casually.
“That’s not fair of you,” Lin Changren accused. “Get here right now.”
Pan Yue spread his hands: "Give it to me."
Lin Changren jumped off the bed barefoot: "Look at this photo!"
Pan Yue glanced at it casually.
His pupils contracted slightly.
The night was pitch black.
Under the lamplight, the figure appears like splashed ink, blending into the landscape.
It further accentuates the contours of light and shadow between the strands of hair.
That was him and Zhu Shiyi.
She was on the left, and he was right next to her.
"Well, shouldn't I praise the photography master?" Lin Changren smiled ambiguously. "What's going on with you?"
"What's wrong with you?" Pan Yue snapped out of his daze. "Just taking random pictures."
Lin Changren: ?
baffling.
“Why am I the only one taking random pictures?” Lin Changren firmly refused to let anyone interrupt. “Don’t play dumb.”
Pan Yue looked back at the screen: "No."
"No?" Lin Changren moved slightly closer. "Then there is."
Pan Yue looked up: "What is it?"
“Tell me what it is,” Lin Changren said confidently. “No need for riddles. Do you think your son doesn’t know what he’s thinking?”
"Do you know about Jinrong's campsite activity plan?" Pan Yue remained silent. "You don't know, but your father does."
Lin Changren: "...So you're interested in her, aren't you?"
“What do you find interesting?” Pan Yue lowered his eyes and tilted his head to look at the documents. “Nothing.”
"Then why are you so talkative today?" Lin Changren clearly didn't believe it. "You even brought someone back. You don't usually do that."
He suddenly raised his voice: "Get to the point, how did you know she lives here? Did you know each other before? Is there a story behind it?"
“I happened to see him yesterday,” Pan Yue said without looking up. “Am I not usually enthusiastic?”
“It’s hot, it’s hot,” Lin Changren waved his hand and turned back to the bed. “In the past two years, I haven’t seen you say those things to anyone except me. When did you change your nature and become so outgoing?”
“She’s just a young girl,” Pan Yue replied to the work message. “We won’t see her again, so it doesn’t matter what I say.”
“And another thing,” he lifted his eyes, “is called taking photos without permission.”
“You did the same, even shooting promotional videos,” Lin Changren said bluntly. “When did this happen? How come I didn’t know? You, the boss, have to come and shoot the footage.”
“The boss doesn’t need to do the research,” Pan Yue retorted, “unless he’s accompanying his eldest son home.”
After saying that, he frowned, sensing that something was amiss.
“It’s not good no matter who takes the picture,” Pan Yue added. “You still need to tell someone about your photo.”
“I’ll tell you,” Lin Changren readily agreed. “I’ll send you the photos, and you can ask her if she minds, or I can just delete them.”
"Send it to me," Pan Yue said calmly.
"Okay." Lin Changren selected the photo and sent it.
--
In the hazy distance, there is a high mountain. In the distance, clouds and mist surge, obscuring the shore.
Suddenly, the body began to fall.
The descending wind whipped against my face through the clouds.
"Whoosh—"
Amazingly, she never fell to the bottom or experienced any weightlessness.
The descent slowed down, and before me lay rivers, seas, mountains, and plains.
She heard the cuckoo calling.
It seems like they're singing "Azalea".
She reached out and grasped a ray of warm sunlight.
She was startled, and suddenly, she was enveloped in soft, steady warmth.
Looking around, she lay down on a cloud.
The clouds are like a ball of cotton candy, fragrant and soft, steadily supporting it.
When she was little, she really thought that clouds were cotton candy, that you could sit on them and even lie down and pick out a few bites of candy to eat.
It wasn't until I studied geography and saw an airplane flying through the clouds that I realized how difficult it was.
She understood that clouds were just wisps of water vapor, and it was impossible to lie on them.
Suddenly it plummeted downwards.
......
Zhu Shiyi jolted awake and suddenly opened his eyes.
It was a dream.
......
Zhu Shiyi boarded the Lianshan cable car at 2:30 p.m.
It's good to go out alone; no one cares how late she stays out.
Follow the spiral walkway to the top of Lianshan Mountain.
It was very windy on the mountain, but luckily it was August and afternoon, so it wasn't cold.
Zhu Shiyi leaned against the railing, glancing sideways.
Red bricks and white tiles, like stars scattered among clouds, cover the mountains and fields; red roses and white roses are scattered across the hills.
Mountains are mountains, and water is water.
From bottom to top, the vast ocean stretches endlessly; under the bright sun and blue sky, a thin layer of sea mist floats on the surface, and the tall buildings in the distance are not clearly visible.
In the mist, the cross-sea bridge resembles a coiled dragon ladder, seemingly reaching the sky, where the blue water blends seamlessly with the vast sky.
Zhu Shiyi immediately turned on his phone's camera and started taking pictures.
She can photograph anything except people, and she can capture it from all angles.
After taking enough photos, Zhu Shiyi sat lazily on a rock, his fingertips tracing the pictures. After hesitating for a moment, he selected a few and sent them to Liu Lu on WeChat.
I signaled to my mom that I was still alive.
She took out her earphones from her bag, put them on, gazed at the mountains and sea meeting, tilted her head back slightly, and closed her eyes.
A gentle breeze patted my face.
Music lingered in my ears.
It felt like being trapped in a confined space.
Sensory intensity is amplified infinitely.
Thoughts surged and churned in my mind.
I find the green hills charming, and I suppose the green hills find me just as beautiful—
Mountains are not mountains, and water is not water.
All descriptions of scenery are expressions of emotion.
It means that "everything is colored by my own image".
She recalled the question from last night:
What is "I"?
In the past, it was "me" who studied late into the night, fighting for the college entrance examination;
I was so happy and carefree when I first entered university that I forgot all about home and let myself go.
During the pandemic, lying around playing games, oblivious to day and night, was "me";
Putting down my phone, I feel empty, weary, and lost – that's me too.
Lying down is "me";
The one who can't lie flat is still "me".
Countless days and nights of anxiety, and now I'm lying down again;
Lazy, unwilling to give up.
She numbed herself; she deceived herself.
Why work so hard?
She just wants to be a couch potato.
What kind of pressure does a salted fish (a metaphor for someone who is lazy and unambitious) face?
No action, no failure.
You don't have to compete to the death with your peers, and you don't have to care about the endless, earnest advice from your elders.
There's no need to disappoint your parents or yourself.
Zhu Shiyi closed his eyes.
If you give up your dreams and ignore your desires, you become a lost sheep.
--pain.
"One cannot allow oneself to wallow in pain; that is called escapism."
Pan Yue's words still echo in my ears.
"Know thyself, take action."
Zhu Shiyi sat up straight.
"Do what you pursue."
What is she pursuing?
"happiness."
What is happiness?
Zhu Shiyi raised his knees and unconsciously supported his chin.
"It depends on your values."
What is valuable?
Society's definition, parents' expectations.
The life I want.
Zhu Shiyi narrowed his eyes.
What kind of life do you want?
She couldn't explain it.
But there's one kind of life she definitely wouldn't want—it's very realistic, very mundane—
A life with money.
Zhu Shiyi exhaled.
She certainly won't become the world's richest person, but she still needs to have enough money to support herself.
Making money requires action.
I need to accept the pressure and stop deceiving myself.
She was a worldly person, full of desires.
A person who cannot escape the influence of their parents' upbringing.
She was like her father, competitive, eager to make a lot of money and stand out from the crowd.
A moment.
The pain remains, but the fog has dissipated.
...
After a short while, my phone lit up; it was my mother calling.
Zhu Shiyi answered the call.
A series of expected, knowing words of concern and care.
"You're taking the flight back to school tomorrow afternoon, right?" Liu Lu finally got to the point.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"It's okay, I'll call a car for you. You won't need to rush to catch the subway after you get off the plane in Jinrong."
Zhu Shiyi paused, his throat tightening: "...Is it expensive?"
This is strange. My mom, who's always been frugal, would give me something like this?
“The main reason is that the airport is far from your school,” Liu Lu said, her words suddenly drawn out, “so you have to study hard at school.”
Zhu Shiyi's heart sank.
If it's meant to happen, you can't escape it.
"Xiao Qi, you two grew up together, and all he does is go to do internships, while you just lie at home."
Zhu Shiyi remained silent.
Liu Lu kept nagging: "You went to university so far away, and we couldn't control you. You only have two more years until graduation, and you don't even know how to find something to do during the holidays. We asked you to do an internship, but you didn't go. When you graduate and come back to Yuecheng, you won't be able to find a job."
Zhu Shiyi's heart was dead.
Okay, stop talking. That's what she's anxious about.
“If you stop studying, I will absolutely not let you lie at home eating and drinking for free.”
"You can throw a tantrum now, argue with me, and then ask your dad for money to go out and have fun. But what about the future? Have you thought about that? If you don't plan ahead, you might not even be able to afford food in the future."
"Your parents can still provide you with such good conditions, letting you travel, calling taxis for you when you fly..."
“I know,” Zhu Shiyi said impatiently, her tone slightly hard. “I’ve thought about it.”
"What have you thought about? You can't just assume things are that simple; society is very complex..."
"Mom—" Zhu Shiyi interrupted, patiently saying, "I understand, I'll think about it. But I'm still in the scenic area, on the mountain, so let's not talk about this for now, okay?"
"...Alright, alright, I won't say anymore," Liu Lu said sheepishly, but couldn't help nagging, "You haven't set a good example for your younger brother at home. If you're the same at school, your life is ruined..."
"No, it won't happen." Zhu Shiyi suppressed her discomfort.
"Alright, you've said too much," Liu Lu stopped talking. "Then have fun first."
After saying goodbye, Zhu Shiyi hung up the phone.
The scene before my eyes has become distorted.
Zhu Shiyi sighed and changed the direction.
......
The sun was setting, and my skin felt slightly cool.
Zhu Shiyi realized with a start that it was too late.
She picked up her phone to check the time; it was 5:30, and the cable car down the mountain was closed.
Before it got dark, Zhu Shiyi hurried down the mountain.
The journey began with steps, followed by a winding mountain slope.
Going up a mountain is easy, but going down is hard. Going down a mountain may not be tiring, but it can cause more damage to your muscles.
Zhu Shiyi's calves, which hadn't moved for a century, were already aching.
Yet, I could clearly feel that "I" was alive.
"Only by taking action can we avoid self-pity and lamenting the passing of spring and autumn."
Zhu Shiyi looked into the distance.
The sea melts into gold, and the mountains and rivers turn towards dusk.
As the sun gradually turns orange-red, it sinks into the ocean.
She took a deep breath.
A girl in the mountains under the glow of the sunset;
I slightly open my arms and embrace the lingering light.
The first path is suitable for all matters.
The power of action.
--
After returning to school, life went on as usual, and Zhu Shiyi did not experience any difficulties adjusting.
I'm a junior now, and I even have fewer classes.
In the dormitory, apart from Zhu Shiyi, no one became idle.
Xu Mengyao was just as busy as before.
The difference is Ni Yuqi.
At this moment, Ni Yuqi sat in front of her seat, scratching her head in frustration: "I miss you so much! I didn't study at all during the summer vacation, and I have to take the teacher qualification exam in less than two weeks!"
"You want to be a teacher in the future?" Zhu Shiyi asked, tidying his desk. "Can our major also take the teacher qualification exam?"
“It’s just a certificate to reassure parents. You can take any major exam,” Ni Yuqi said with a quiet sense of death. “With my patience and temper, I’d be in the hospital after just one week as a teacher.”
Ni Yuqi put down her pen: "Do you know? I passed the CET-4, just ten points short."
"I was just five points short." Zhu Shiyi's vision went black.
The card reader on the dormitory door sounded.
“The freshman teaching assistant is back,” Ni Yuqi turned around, “Are there any handsome freshmen?”
“There are hardly any men in our major,” Xu Mengyao said in a muffled voice, as if she was exhausted. “I should have known better than to take on this job. I’m supposed to be a class assistant, but I’m the most helpless person in the whole class.”
Zhu Shiyi chuckled, "I don't believe you won't take it."
She had heard these words countless times.
Xu Mengyao is the ultimate master of strategy, following her planned path since her freshman year. She might complain about being tired, but her actions will never stop.
"It's good that you know, but don't say it out loud. Leave some face for him." Ni Yuqi winked.
“That’s right,” Zhu Shiyi winked. “She’d rather clean the toilets than be idle during the few days the dorms were locked down due to the pandemic.”
Recalling the past, Zhu Shiyi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
When I was taking online classes, I didn't listen to any of the lectures. I spent all day in my dorm with the lights off and the curtains drawn, so I couldn't tell the difference between day and night.
During that period, I would go to bed and lie down every day after eating.
I remember one day, she had just finished lunch and gone to bed. She had only been lying down for a short while when the lunch delivery lady came knocking on the door again.
She checked her phone and saw it was 5:30 PM; it was time for dinner.
They have no sense of time at all and rely entirely on their aunt to call them for meals.
"A life of toil," Xu Mengyao said with a smile and a wave of her hand.
“I’ve always been free,” Zhu Shiyi climbed into bed. “I remember when I first got into King of Glory, it was convenient to play in my dorm room, and I never got tired of it.”
She spent two years lying down, achieving nothing in her university life.
As they prepare to enter the workforce, they find themselves lacking any competitive advantages.
The more I see the achievements of my peers, the more anxious I become.
"Time flies," Xu Mengyao exclaimed.
Ni Yuqi nodded vigorously, then looked up to the sky and roared, "How come I'm already a junior? A senior next year? Graduating soon? I don't want to work!"
“Me too,” Xu Mengyao echoed. “By the way, there’s a lecture on Friday, check the class group.”
Zhu Shiyi opened the group chat and glanced at it casually.
The local entrepreneurs' lecture sounded like a cheap, half-hearted affair.
He's probably an old man in his forties.
The college also requires all third-year students to participate.
“Oh my god, the day after tomorrow afternoon, I finally don’t have any classes, and I was even thinking of buying myself a cup of milk tea to coax myself to go to the library to study,” Ni Yuqi said with a troubled expression, “I have my teacher qualification exam the day after tomorrow.”
“It’s mandatory at the college, and you have to sign in, so they probably won’t let you skip it,” Xu Mengyao paused, then turned to look at Ni Yuqi. “But if you really can’t go, I can cover for you. There are so many third-year students in the whole college anyway.”
Xu Mengyao tucked her chin in: "But let me make this clear first, you absolutely mustn't tell anyone else, otherwise it'll put me in a very difficult position."
"Oh, that's great, I love you!" Ni Yuqi pretended to pounce, but Xu Mengyao shrank back, looking disgusted.
"Beautiful Squad Leader Xu," Zhu Shiyi said in a high-pitched, sweet voice, "can I not go?"
"No, don't do something so stupid," Xu Mengyao shuddered and refused without hesitation. "If you don't have anything else to do, you should go. Just consider it as adding points to your extracurricular activities and try to get an award or honor this year."
This statement convinced Zhu Shiyi.
Zhu Shiyi, a freshman and sophomore, didn't care about awards or honors at all.
--
The lecture day is just around the corner.
Xu Mengyao was very busy, so Zhu Shiyi scouted the location and went to the scene alone.
There was a problem with the equipment for the elderly on stage, and their counselor was adjusting the microphone.
Zhu Shiyi peeked out, but didn't see any speaker, so he simply put on his headphones, opened the game, and started a ranked match.
There was some murmuring on stage.
Zhu Shiyi was too lazy to look up; she was on the third floor and needed to see which heroes were being banned.
"...Can you hear me?" The voice was both magnetic and refreshing.
Zhu Shiyi subconsciously raised his head, even forgetting to ban the hero.
"I can hear you, teacher."
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