What You Said Is Wrong

Rising early for three consecutive days had drained almost all of Yan Xiao's energy.

He even lacked the strength to bicker with Lin Fangxin.

"If you lose to me this time, you'll start going to school and coming home on time from now on, alright?"

"Mm..."

"If I win, you'll do a set of college entrance exam mock questions every day from now on."

"Oh..."

"Which of us do you think is going to win?"

"Oh..."

"Yan Xiao! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?!"

"Mm..."

Faced with a series of perfunctory mms, ahs, and ohs, Lin Fangxin quickly conceded defeat.

"Forget it, want to go get skewers with me?" Lin Fangxin invited.

"Can I go back to sleep?" Yan Xiao had no desire to go; he had already seen through this woman's true nature.

She just wanted to force him to study hard, sacrificing his time for entertainment and rest.

How could that be...

"No, let's go." Lin Fangxin said with a smile, grabbing Yan Xiao's hand and pulling him along.

So soft... Yan Xiao's heart fluttered, and he subconsciously followed Lin Fangxin...

Ordering food,

dishes served,

with a bottle of beer downing his stomach,

Yan Xiao perked up quite a bit.

Sure enough, beer was the source of all refreshment,

especially suited for those physically fatigued...

"Tell me, do you think our paper can win an award?" The topic about studying that Yan Xiao had just diverted was dragged right back by Lin Fangxin.

"You've already asked several times. Even your dad said it's a sure thing, what are you worried about?"

"Of course I'm going to care." Lin Fangxin propped her chin with her left hand while holding a chicken wing in her right. "When I was doing this paper by myself before, I just thought participation was what mattered and that there was no way it would win an award.

As a result, you joined, and our new paper together is so amazing. Doesn't that give me a sense of anticipation?"

"Keep a balanced mindset. Getting it is my fortune, losing it is my fate. Not striving, not rushing, and not being nervous is the right way to go." Yan Xiao said very casually.

Of course, truth be told, he was nervous too.

After all, the success or failure of a million-yuan major project was in the hands of a bunch of old men and women serving as judges. To say he wasn't nervous would definitely be a lie.

"Getting it is my fortune, losing it is my fate." Lin Fangxin softly repeated Yan Xiao's words. "That sounds really good."

After a pause, she couldn't help asking, "Yan Xiao, Yan Xiao, why do you always manage to pop out with so many golden quotes like this from time to time?"

With golden quotes like this, anyone on our earth with a middle school education or higher could churn out piles of them... After all, it's all knowledge from textbooks. Even if it's not in the textbooks, web novels, fiction, and gossip news feature them all the time...

Thinking this in his heart, Yan Xiao answered out loud instead:

"This is all just everyday accumulation and reflection. Language, you see..." Yan Xiao dragged out a long tone, having no idea what he was actually going to say next.

Lin Fangxin, however, assumed Yan Xiao was deliberately keeping her in suspense and urged, "Hurry up and tell me, don't dilly-dally like a sissy."

"You..." Yan Xiao deeply regretted teaching the phrase "dilly-dally like a sissy" to Lin Fangxin, only for her to apply it by analogy.

"This stuff is actually innate. The reason I can say it is because I occasionally used to write poetry and things like that. This sentence was written before." Yan Xiao decided to once again attribute such hard-to-explain matters to his usual "how I used to be".

"You used to write poetry?" Lin Fangxin's gaze burned brightly.

"Mm."

"I want to read the whole thing."

"No problem."

Lin Fangxin sat up slightly straight, full of anticipation.

Yan Xiao, however, picked up a skewer of mutton and started chewing.

Lin Fangxin waited for half a day only to see Yan Xiao eating and drinking heartily without reciting any poetry. "Didn't you say no problem?"

Yan Xiao washed down the chewed mutton with beer, nodded, and said, "You didn't say you wanted to listen right now..."

Filled with exasperation, Lin Fangxin snatched away the mutton skewer Yan Xiao had only half-eaten and urged, "Recite it, hurry up and recite it!"

"Alright then, listen up." Yan Xiao coughed twice to clear his throat and recited:

"That I dare brave the universal condemnation and exert my utmost strength to fight is not merely to seek escape from the cruel sufferings of agony, but truly to seek the settlement of my conscience, the establishment of my personality, and the salvation of my soul.

Who among men does not seek ordinary virtue? Who does not seek the ease of the ready-made? Who does not fear hardship and danger? Yet there are those who break through the encirclement-how can this be of their own willing choice?

I shall seek among the vast sea of people my sole soul's companion; to attain it is my fortune; to not attain it is my fate, and that is all.

Alas, my teacher! I have once exerted the essence of my soul to condense an ideal pearl, infused it with steaming blood, and brightly illuminated my profound spiritual mansion.

Yet the vulgar view it with envy and jealousy, ever wishing to numb its soul, shatter its ideal, extinguish its hope, and defile its purity!

That I do not sink into depravity, into vulgar cowardice, into baseness-the margin is all too slight!"

When Yan Xiao finished speaking, he felt Lin Fangxin's gaze grow even brighter.

Yet there was also some confusion mixed in.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lin Fangxin said.

"Can I say no?" Yan Xiao was speechless. This woman always pulled stunts that looked like questions but were actually just foreplay.

"Definitely not." Lin Fangxin smiled sweetly, making Yan Xiao's eyes light up.

After a pause, she asked, "Since your ambitions are so grand, why do I feel like you're always acting so frivolous and unserious in daily life?"

Yan Xiao thought for a moment and replied, "Because I am simultaneously a staunch supporter of existential nihilism."

"Existential nihilism?" Lin Fangxin didn't understand.

Yan Xiao explained, "The general meaning of existential nihilism is that human existence has no meaning or value. For instance..."

"How is that possible!?" Lin Fangxin interrupted Yan Xiao, feeling that he was far too pessimistic.

"How is it not possible? Let me explain my logic to you."

Without waiting for Lin Fangxin to ask, Yan Xiao continued:

"Human life is limited, right? Meaning that in this finite life, no matter what you achieve, the moment you die you will say goodbye to the world forever.

No matter how grand an achievement you make or what kind of success you attain, it's all the same.

Then someone will say, so what's there to fear? You work hard, you live diligently, and then your descendants will enjoy the blessings of your legacy.

However, there is a particularly crucial point in all this.

From a bloodline perspective, the idea of leaving a legacy for later generations is indeed correct.

No matter what, that represents the continuation of your genes' existence.

But then again, do you know about graves?"

Lin Fangxin nodded. "I know."

"Now, think about it: from ancient times to the modern era, how many generations have we continued? If we go by normal circumstances, I should at least be able to pay my respects to my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's... ancestors of several loops back, right?

Take sweeping graves during the Qingming Festival for instance; I'd have to buy every single chrysanthemum inside a floral wholesale market...

Or every single pastry from a certain chain bakery,

just to avoid neglecting all my ancestors."

Seeing Lin Fangxin furrowing her brow and rolling her eyes, Yan Xiao said, "Don't calculate, just keep listening."

Only then did Lin Fangxin give up on figuring out how many generations of people there would roughly be from antiquity down to their generation.

Seeing Lin Fangxin snap back to reality, Yan Xiao continued:

"The realistic situation is that I don't even know where my grandfather's grandfather's gravestone is, nor whether he's still in this world.

Then, standing here in the present, looking hundreds of years into the future, what is the value of our existence?

To leave a legacy for unfilial descendants who won't even offer sacrifices to their elders on Qingming Festival?

Bah!"

Yan Xiao had finally pulled his logic back around, successfully linking the philosophical concept of "existential nihilism" with "whether or not to leave an inheritance to unfilial descendants."

Lin Fangxin lowered her head in deep thought, while Yan Xiao resumed his attack on the meat skewers and beer.

After a long while, Lin Fangxin finally raised her head and said, "What you said is wrong!"

After a pause, she raised her volume and stated, "Dad said that living a splendid life without regrets is the right way to go! Don't think too much! Otherwise, you'll regret it when you're old!"

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