I grew up poor, but without ambition. I was lazy in my studies, indulgent in play, lacking direction.
I found solace in mountains and rivers, drowned myself in fleeting pleasures of romance, wasting over twenty years of my life.
When I first read “Preface to Sending Off Dongyang Ma Sheng,” I found it obscure and hard to understand, unaware of its meaning.
Now, reading it again, a deep sorrow wells up within me.
Only after experiencing life’s hardships did I comprehend its true essence.
Years spent lost among nature, wandering far and wide, and now at the age of thirty, I have neither wife nor child, nor a confidante by my side.
Tears fall uncontrollably.
Alas, flowers bloom again, but youth never returns.
Returning to my hometown, regret overwhelms me.
What I once saw as mere literature now feels like the story of my own life, stirring self-pity. Life is a path where both success and failure are journeys forward.
No matter how lofty one’s ambitions, human strength is finite.
Birds have wings to soar the nine heavens.
Fish have fins to roam the four seas.
Even if fish dream of flying high, it remains impossible.
Even if birds long for the seas, it remains unreachable.
Knowing these hardships, I regret my past.
Life is like a game of chess—once a piece is played, there must be no regret.
“Ladies, what would you like?”
“Five cups of the best-selling milk tea, please. Remember to add ice.”
“Sure.”
It was Saturday, ten in the morning.
Outside, the air was thick with heat, but inside the milk tea shop, the air conditioning blew cool breezes.
Su Moli led the timid and shy Meng Siyu to a corner to sit, while Zhang Sisi and the others wisely took seats opposite them, both sides wearing stern expressions as they stared each other down.
The surrounding customers noticed the high school girls sitting so solemnly opposite one another, the atmosphere thick with tension.
Especially on one side — the girls dressed like spirited young ladies — the patrons instinctively gave them a wide berth, ordered their own milk teas, and watched on with anticipation.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
“Do you need me to explain the rules again?”
“No.”
“Then…the match begins!”
Seeing both sides prepared, Su Moli stood between them, raised her right hand high, then swung it down sharply, declaring the start of the competition.
(What now? Should I join in? It should be fine. After all, I stayed up all night memorizing thousands of words of notes on Thousand Love, Ten Thousand Blossoms—hair colors, hobbies, settings, costumes, even the number of buttons on their clothes.)
Prepared to the fullest, Meng Siyu immediately pulled out her phone and opened it in front of the others, fingers flying across the screen like a typewriter, furiously fast-forwarding through the game, hoping to reach all endings in the shortest time.
“I concede.”
Zhang Sisi and the others were stunned to see Meng Siyu actually playing Thousand Love, Ten Thousand Blossoms.
They had spent the whole previous day searching the school for the game, pooling the strength of three people but still couldn’t find it.
In the end, they paid someone at the computer market to download it.
But back home, they couldn’t even figure out how to unzip or install the galgame.
They had never even heard of accelerators or emulators.
They thought that just successfully downloading a game as difficult as Thousand Love, Ten Thousand Blossoms would already put them ahead of 99% of people.
But unexpectedly, today they encountered the 1% genius.
Meng Siyu’s ability to play Thousand Love, Ten Thousand Blossoms was terrifying.
“Eh? Eh? Eh?”
Seeing the three opposite hopelessly place their phones down and bow their heads in surrender, Meng Siyu’s phone was currently playing the “gun shooting” animation with the choice between “outside the dorm” or “inside the dorm.”
The sound effects made her quickly lower the phone volume.
“???”
“You’re already giving up?!”
Even Su Moli, acting as referee, was dumbfounded by this turn of events.
She had expected Meng Siyu to win in a one-versus-three match, but at least she thought it wouldn’t end so quickly.
Yet the others had just forfeited outright.
“Hmph. You made your bet, now accept the outcome. We’ll apologize to that boy.”
“Let’s go!”
“Alright, boss.”
“I thought once we managed to download Thousand Love, Ten Thousand Blossoms, winning would be guaranteed.”
Feeling the shock radiating from Meng Siyu and Su Moli, Zhang Sisi felt their gazes were openly mocking her, like looking down on a fool.
It was unbearable.
Since that was the case, she might as well accept defeat and bow out early.
“Here, your milk teas have arrived.”
Just then, the server brought over five cups of iced milk tea.
“Did you forget something important?”
As the others tried to leave, Su Moli hurriedly blocked their path, stopping them.
“What? Are you going to humiliate us some more?”
Stubborn pride forbade Zhang Sisi from being insulted.
Seeing Su Moli unwilling to let them go, ready to stop them, she assumed a harsh humiliation was coming.
Though she couldn’t beat her, she wouldn’t kneel easily, certainly not in front of this spirited young lady.
At least, she wouldn’t lose face.
“Of course not. This is the post-match feast—you forgot?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Inside the KFC restaurant, Zhang Sisi and the others sat upright, staring at the table piled high with burgers, fries, chicken wings, egg tarts, and more.
For a moment, they couldn’t tell if they were dreaming or if this was real.
“What are you all standing there for? Dig in.”
Seeing them stunned, Su Moli was the first to grab a burger and start eating, explaining as she chewed.
“Hmm don’t make this so serious, okay? Alright, everyone…we’re all classmates, no need to act like mortal enemies.”
“Since they’ve already decided to apologize, that makes them good people. And when good people finish a match, a friendship meal is absolutely essential~”
“Don’t be polite, just eat. This meal’s on me. Consider it making friends, slurp~”
After speaking, Su Moli picked up a glass of iced cola and drank heartily.
She had just eaten a burger and was a bit choked up.
“Sorry >人< Sorry >人< Sorry >人<”
Seeing Su Moli’s generosity—in strategy, strength, character, and finances—
Zhang Sisi and the others lost all their previous arrogance and admitted defeat thoroughly from the bottom of their hearts.
“Hurry up and eat. It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
“Okay! From today on, you’re our big sister. If anything happens at school, just come to us.”
With lofty words, Zhang Sisi and the others raised their iced colas and drank in one gulp.
(Minors shouldn’t drink alcohol.)
“Um…Su Moli, today is Wednesday though. Is that okay?”
Seeing the notorious school bullies now so warmly addressing Su Moli as their sister, Meng Siyu felt like she was dreaming.
But glancing at the table full of delicious food brought her back to reality.
This entire feast of burgers, colas, and fried chicken at KFC wasn’t on a Thursday, nor were there any memberships, coupons, or discounts involved.
It cost over 500 yuan!
“No problem. Because I’m here to help you enjoy your youth~”
Maybe because she felt older inside, seeing all the beautiful young girls happily eating burgers, fried chicken, and cola around her, Su Moli felt a deep sense of fulfillment, like raising a daughter.
If only when she was young, she had an elder sister like this, taking her out for KFC…how wonderful that would have been.
Thinking of this, Su Moli recalled her childhood, when her family was poor and there were no snacks.
She would sneak out to the fields to pick cucumbers, which had little flavor.
So she dipped the center of the cucumbers in homemade chili sauce to give them taste.
“Ding ding!”
A WX message suddenly arrived.
【Um…sorry, I’ve thought about it all day, but I really can’t remember which classmate you are?】
【Can you tell me?】
The sender’s note read
【Unemployed Girlfriend to be Captured — Gu Shiying】.
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