Pretty Words

The entire auditorium was completely silent, with only Lin Qi's voice echoing.

"Before me, our teacher representatives and graduating student representatives had already spoken. They shared their experiences, accumulated knowledge, and observations on their life journeys with us."

"I am grateful for the help from these teachers and senior students, so let me talk about something different, such as youth."

"You all saw it, I didn't have a prepared speech!" He waved his hands again and even scribbled on the podium, but no paper flew out, which proved that he was not lying.

He braced his hands on the edges of the podium, tilting his head slightly. "Actually, a second before I stood here, the moment I stood up from my seat over there, I didn't know what I was going to say..." He didn't look, but pointed to his seat based on his intuition.

"But when I stand here, looking at our hostess..." He smiled and glanced at the host who was standing to the side, almost in tears, "I've said something to her three times in such a short time, am I bullying her?"

A few soft laughs filled the auditorium, and the atmosphere shifted from serious to somewhat cheerful. He waved his hand and said, "Okay, I didn't bully her, but I have to mention her because she reminded me that I need to bring my speech."

"Students, since when did we start to get used to this kind of..." He frowned, raised his hand and tapped his forehead, "...'norms,' and become bound by these 'norms'?"

"The elders always use their rich life experience to tell us 'you should do this, child,' 'you should do that, child,'" He added a retroflex consonant to the end of the word "child," making this otherwise ordinary word seem a little strange, almost comical.

"We are constantly being warned by other people's life experiences, their social experiences, and the passage of time they've wasted, to the point that someone has to remind me that I need a speech..."

"If we keep following these things, what about our own lives?"

"Won't this kind of persuasion and regulation also turn us into someone else's life, a life we don't actually want?"

"Perhaps this kind of life isn't wrong, students, because it's the most correct path that others have painstakingly explored for us over the years. But please think about this question: Is this the kind of life we want?"

His voice became sharp and forceful, as if tearing something apart. "The norms we receive from others constrain our lives, not the lives we want. Maybe we'll think it's actually not bad in the future, but at least not now."

"This is what I want to talk to you about today: youth!"

"Youth is not just a label for our current age, but also an attitude towards life!"

"Try, take risks, get hurt, be exuberant, be unrestrained, and be tenacious in facing the unknown and unfamiliar road of life. Raise your fists and smash all obstacles that block your way to happiness, and forge ahead on the road of life!"

"This is the attitude we young people should have, this is the attitude of youth!"

He swung his fist forcefully, and his words flowed almost in one breath, giving the listener a feeling of suffocation, yet also a sense of exhilaration.

His voice softened slightly, "Perhaps... we will get hurt, perhaps the pain we suffer is the same pain that the older generation went through, the pain they warned us about that we could avoid."

"But that's okay, classmates. Don't be afraid of pain. It is precisely because we have personally tasted the pain of our wounds that we will remember them, and that we will be proud of overcoming the pain and scars!"

"This is the life we want, this is the life we truly want!"

"A free youth should not be controlled by others..."

Compared to the rigid speeches of the previous two speakers, Lin Qi's speech was filled with something very special: rebellious, willful, or even audacious. He directly and indirectly criticized the speeches of the previous two speakers.

All their encouragement, urging, and admonitions have become "norms" that interfere with other people's lives, which has precisely triggered the recognition and resonance of the students.

In fact, most people here have similar lives. Others only see their carefree life since birth, but they cannot see the cold indifference behind it.

From the day they became aware of things, they were more like dogs than people.

Their parents would punish them for "you shouldn't have done this" and reward them for doing what they "should" do, as requested by their parents.

Their lives are like those of a meticulously trained dog, with mechanical reactions. What they can and cannot do is predetermined. They don't need to know why some things are permissible and others are not. This is the first lesson the world teaches them.

They are not entitled to explore the world, even though they are richer than their peers who envy them outside that wall, they are not free.

Each set of rules is like a rope, tightly binding them and making it hard for them to breathe. Even when to go to school and which school to attend are part of their predetermined lives.

The phrase they probably hear most often is "This is all for you," rather than "I respect your choice."

A group of pitiful people, pitiful people without a youth.

Yet it was precisely this group of people who resonated with Lin Qi's impromptu remarks; they too yearned for freedom, for a truly unrestrained youth—the kind of youth that those children outside the walls could indulge in for a quarter of their lives.

They may not be rich, but their spirits are free!

When he returned to his seat, everyone around him praised him. Even the teacher representatives and graduating class representatives, whom he had implied wanted to "regulate" the lives of the new students, gave his speech high praise.

Lin Qi interacted with them warmly and politely, never neglecting anyone; everything was so perfect.

The congressman's speech was brief; after all, such a high-ranking figure couldn't possibly give a lengthy speech. When he finished speaking and put away his prepared remarks, the students applauded enthusiastically.

The welcome party was basically over at this point, and all that was left were some minor tasks.

Surprisingly, the congressman even came over to Lin Qi and shook hands with him. "Mr. Lin Qi, I didn't expect to see you here. What are you doing here...?" He looked at Lin Qi's school uniform with some curiosity.

Lin Qi didn't hide anything, "I just registered, a freshman."

The congressman quickly understood, after all, he was also a member of the Saint and Harmony Society. "Your choice is very wise, this is a good school," he said, taking out his business card and handing it to Lin Qi. "I won't bother you any longer. You can contact me when you have time, we can talk."

After shaking hands, the congressman hurriedly left.

Watching his departing figure, Lin Qi glanced at the business card in his hand. It belonged to a Member of the House of Representatives, but he also held the titles of member of two committees, which should be related to some business matters and might come in handy in the future.

He put the business card away, and only then did Anna come over. She knew she needed to give Lin Qi some space.

"You just told me that the core of your speech was 'ideals,' but now it's become 'youth,'" the girl said coquettishly, sending chills down one's spine.

Lin Qi blinked, "I said, every second you see me is a new me, so what I say doesn't depend on what I wanted to say before, but on what I wanted to say at the moment the event happened."

"It's... complicated," Anna said, rubbing her forehead. "I always feel like you're just giving me the runaround."

"Perfunctory?"

"How is this possible?!"

He smiled, but it was just a perfunctory response. Anna's attitude towards him had changed too quickly, not just ninety degrees, but more like a hundred and eighty degrees. He was a little wary; who knew what this girl was up to?

But whatever she's up to, taking precautions is definitely not a problem.

"What do you think of what I said?" Lin Qi asked a very ordinary question, though he didn't really care.

That's right, what he said before is no longer what he wanted to say at this moment, but in that situation, it seemed more appropriate to talk about those topics.

These words, while initially exciting and uplifting, don't last long. If anyone here had actually tried to rebel and succeeded, they wouldn't be here.

Freedom, or rather, unbridled freedom, is an unattainable dream for most people here. Once the dream ends, reality will return.

They dare not truly face an uncertain future because everything they have now is built on wealth.

If they lose these things, they will become nothing. At that time, they will not only lack happiness "because of freedom," but they will also lack a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

So after the initial excitement, life goes on as usual. But that doesn't mean that what Lin Qi said was useless. In fact, his words are still very encouraging for those who have already gained their freedom.

For example, young people who can't afford to go to school and start working right after graduating from high school, or students at ordinary universities, freedom is definitely more valuable than "regulations," and this is also the mainstream ideology of the Federal: freedom is more important than life.

Those people at the bottom of society are desperately fighting for freedom, while Lin Qi, and the people here, are still going further and further down the path of "norm".

Anna was clearly aware of this as well. Every word that came out of Lin Qi's mouth filled her with an invigorating power, but after he finished speaking and thought about it again... tsk.

"That's fantastic!" the girl exclaimed, her words carrying little truth.