Demon Lord 3

Chapter 1933: Fang Yuan

From a young age, we were taught that without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Since we were going to schools, we were expected to learn rules. However, I don't think this is the right thing to do. Schools are generally for learning knowledge and culture; there's no need to teach us how to draw squares and circles. My parents taught me that as long as it doesn't break the law or harm others, I can do whatever I want. This "doing whatever I want" doesn't mean being irresponsible towards others or myself; it means being very responsible. When I was younger, I knew many more people, and the prevailing educational approach was to ensure children studied hard and improved themselves every day. This is a common logic among people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. We lived in a very low-income area, and I didn't understand this before, but later... Only later did I understand. My father told me that if I hadn't grown up in that place, I might never have ended up in such a low-lying area. He wanted me to become a well-rounded, multifaceted person, so he found me a haven, a kind of haven even within the lower classes. My parents went to great lengths for this, because their generation hadn't experienced as much as I had, and they hadn't truly struggled at the bottom. Everyone's experience is different. I grew up knowing nothing, slowly climbing up from the bottom, while my parents came here later to experience life. I used to think I was like those people, but later I realized there was a difference. While those people might sometimes have lofty ambitions, they... To a certain extent, people think that life is too short, so they might as well enjoy it while they can. Even though there's nothing wrong with enjoying life, many people think that retreating is a form of compromise—not a compromise for a better life, but a compromise. Those things they once disliked and said no to might be eliminated by life once they have a family and children. Those people will also compromise. Men are burdened, women are worn down. Although the world is kind to people, and this city is our utopia, often those at the bottom have no say in anything. The so-called utopia still depends on the individual having some power. Everyone sees the world differently. Some people, standing in a higher position, see everything as beautiful; they only see prosperity. While they can't see the trash on the ground, those at the bottom of society see more than just trash; they can even smell the stench of decaying garbage close to the ground. Thinking about this reminds me of something from my childhood. Back in school, my parents still cared about me. Once, I asked my teacher for leave, saying I was going out to play. Many classmates agreed, since tickets were cheaper that season, and my family was relatively frugal. I never knew their true identities. I wanted to go out with my best friend, but the next day she cried, "Waaah, my parents wouldn't let me go. They're afraid the teacher will look down on me at school, afraid the teacher will be angry because I asked for leave." I was completely baffled. I thought maybe my parents had their reasons. When I got back, I told my friend about my trip, and he was very envious. After that, we lost contact. I used to think that after a long time, I would understand how adults think, but now I realize I still can't understand it. A teacher has to deal with forty or fifty students; how could they be angry because one of them asked for leave? It's not like a single student's absence requires a portion of the teacher's salary. Whether a teacher pays more or less, it doesn't really matter. A responsible teacher is at most worried about students falling behind, and their intentions are good. So why does this happen? In the end, it boils down to four words: "Making a fuss over nothing." They all fear something called rules, but are rules really all around us? We always say that without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Our world isn't square or round. We used to say the sky was round and the earth was square, but scientific proof shows that the sky isn't exactly a circle, and the earth isn't exactly a square. I finally understand why people always argued about squareness and roundness, about making the sky round and the earth square. It's because those people were short-sighted, like frogs in a well. They thought the sky was small, just a tiny bit, a shape they could comprehend. That's because they were short-sighted, at the bottom of the well. If you stand at the bottom of the well, you only see the size of the well's opening. Only if you stand on a higher level do you realize the sky has no boundaries.