"This is a river that flows through the city."
A cool breeze blew in the evening, with the noise of cars driving behind them, but the sound of the river flowing in front of them was peaceful and beautiful.
The moon was bright at night, and the lights of distant tall buildings were brightly lit, reflecting on the river, making it sparkle.
"This is also, I think, the most beautiful place in South City at night."
The two walked to the middle of the bridge, reaching the best viewing angle.
People came and went on the river embankment, and the lights of tall buildings on both banks reflected brightly, dazzlingly.
"Look at me."
Hearing this, Su Xiaojiu suddenly turned her head to look at An Chen, who flicked his fingers. Water, he didn't know when, had gotten on his fingers, and a drop flew onto Su Xiaojiu's eyelashes, instantly moistening her eyes.
This was mineral water taken out of the qiankun bag.
"Don't wipe it, just look."
Su Xiaojiu squinted her eyes and looked into the distance. Under the diffusion of the water droplet, the distant lights intertwined, blooming before Su Xiaojiu's eyes, making everything appear as brilliant as glazed glass.
"..."
Su Xiaojiu was momentarily speechless, simply taking a step forward, resting her hands on the railing, and quietly staring at the scene before her.
"I thought for a long time and realized that what our world has more of than your world is this urban scenery. Although many people feel this is a steel firmament and want to earn money to return to the countryside for a carefree life, it is still very beautiful."
"Mm, it's indeed beautiful."
Su Xiaojiu nodded.
In Kyushu, there were no such beautiful lights.
The nights there seemed to be pitch black, with only some pleasure quarters and entertainment venues in the cities having singing and dancing, emitting faint points of light.
"An Chen..."
"Hmm?"
"I'm starting to not want to leave. Your world looks really beautiful."
An Chen smiled and tapped Su Xiaojiu's head with his knuckles.
"You only see the good in this world, but you don't see its sorrow. You can enjoy the beauty of this world with a clear conscience because you don't need to struggle for survival. Beautiful scenery is good to look at for a while, but if you live here, all that prosperity has nothing to do with you."
An Chen sighed and continued:
"You also saw that I have to work the night shift at the internet cafe every night. This is unacceptable for most people, because everyone needs to sleep, but there is more than one person like me. Many, many people have to work as hard as I do. In that case, how can you enjoy such beauty?"
Su Xiaojiu stopped talking, just squinting her eyes and continuing to look at the river view, but she didn't seem to be looking, but rather thinking about something else.
"Just consider this a trip. This isn't life."
"But, can't you, as you are now, enjoy it for a while?"
Su Xiaojiu wiped away the water droplets from her eyelashes and said thoughtfully.
"You already have a large sum of money, so you should be able to live a pretty good life, right?"
"Now, yes, but what about later?"
An Chen spread his hands, smiling wryly:
"Some people always say to live in the present, but it's impossible not to think about the future. If you enjoy yourself now, what about later? I finally managed to press the spring down, and once the spring loses its tension, it will take a lot of effort to press it down again."
"Oh."
It was unclear if Su Xiaojiu understood the metaphor. She just stood on the bridge, hands resting on the railing, lost in thought.
"This is why I said that many people feel this is a steel firmament and hope to escape. In fact, I think it's the same everywhere. Poverty and destitution will be miserable in any environment. Even in your Kyushu, it's the same."
An Chen continued to speak to himself.
Even in Qingfeng City, there were beggars and people who committed suicide due to livelihood issues, and there were also slum-like areas within the city.
Some An Chen had seen with his own eyes, while others he had only heard about.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were suffering so much. I shouldn't have disturbed your life..."
"What are you talking about?" An Chen laughed, patted Su Xiaojiu's shoulder, and looked up at the river view and the neon world in the distance.
"Don't blame yourself. If you hadn't come, if there hadn't been this Transmigration, I wouldn't have had this chance to turn things around. Although I can't relax yet, I can occasionally take some time out to enjoy this so-called urban scenery."
"Really?"
Su Xiaojiu asked in surprise, her eyes lighting up.
"Of course it's true."
An Chen thought to himself, this girl is easy to coax. A few words and she's no longer sad.
"Then you're saying, is it because I'm the Fire Phoenix Sect Master's daughter that I don't understand this so-called human suffering, can't see the hardships of these people, and thus can only see the beautiful parts?"
"Hmm... there's that reason, I suppose. You grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth, probably had people taking care of your food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Your status probably wouldn't let you go to places like slums... But this also has something to do with your own personality. You might just tend to think of everything in a positive way."
Su Xiaojiu nodded, happily saying:
"That's true!"
An Chen suddenly took out his phone, stepped back two paces, and took a side profile photo of Su Xiaojiu.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking a picture, don't you know how?"
An Chen also knew how to use some functions of the tongshen jade talisman, which also had similar photo and video recording features. Judging from the mirror selfie without a person that Su Xiaojiu sent to that online friend, it was impossible for her not to know how to take pictures.
An Chen walked behind Su Xiaojiu again.
"Turn around, I'll take a picture of you with the river view in the background. It'll look good."
The sidewalk was relatively narrow, so An Chen couldn't get enough distance and could only take a half-body shot of Su Xiaojiu.
"Smile."
Su Xiaojiu obediently showed her big white teeth and smiled brightly.
"Don't close your eyes, smile with your eyes open."
Su Xiaojiu suddenly widened her eyes again, as if trying her best to open them as wide as possible.
"You don't need them that wide..."
An Chen gave a wry smile.
Only then did Su Xiaojiu open her eyes to their normal size, and then she stuck out her tongue.
An Chen then realized that Su Xiaojiu was deliberately trying to amuse him.
The shutter clicked, and the phone made a "click" sound. Su Xiaojiu suddenly grabbed An Chen's arm, pulled him closer to her, and then, grinning, took out her phone.
"I heard that selfies are popular here. Let's take one together!"
"Who told you that? That online friend who takes abs pictures in the mirror?"
"..."
Su Xiaojiu was speechless, while An Chen laughed heartily.
"Alright, alright, I'm just teasing you. Let's take the picture."
Su Xiaojiu pouted angrily, but eventually, she grinned.
"Click."
