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墨書 Inktalez
"Tobeornot, itisaquestion."
(This is a question worth discussing: to exist or to perish.)
This is the first sentence on the page of the book, and it is the core of the entire text. Ye Mingshang has not read much of this book, nor does he remember much. One reason is that his English is not very good, and the other is that he does not like philosophical thoughts that often ponder life and question existence.
His philosophy is to abandon the past and the future, focusing only on the present, cherishing only the beauty and eternity of the moment. This contradicts those philosophical thoughts that frequently reference the past, future, and various possibilities.
However, the old dean's thinking is clearly different from his. The dean's English is also very good; reading these books is as easy for him as reading in Chinese.
Closing the book, Li Mingqi smiles and takes a deep breath, looking quite fulfilled. The philosophical thoughts of these great figures have deeply moved him.
"Hey? A-Jin, when did you come back?" Coming back to his senses, he realizes that Ye Mingshang is standing beside him.
Ye Mingshang smiles and says, "I've been back for a while. Does your father really enjoy books?"
Li Mingqi runs his fingers over the book with longing and reminisces, "Yes, I've loved books since I was a child. They record the thoughts of those with advanced thinking and high-level intellect. Once, my dream was to become a scholar, but alas, Transmutation played tricks on me."
He has always excelled academically since childhood, once being a pride to his family and teachers. He possesses wisdom and thought far beyond his peers; even his school teachers are amazed by him. The slow pace of education at school cannot keep up with his learning speed; knowledge that others cannot fully grasp in a year, he can master in a month. He skipped grades continuously and became a university student before turning twelve, making him the youngest university student in history.
Originally, according to the story's development, his future would align with his aspirations to become an excellent scholar. However, perhaps it was fate's arrangement. One day, he suddenly saw a dark side hidden within the light—a darkness that penetrates people's minds and souls. Thus, he decided to make a change starting with our next generation—these pure and innocent children. He wanted these children to become the core of changing the world.
However, what is easy to accomplish? Ideals often contradict reality; his thoughts were acknowledged but not executed. Turning everyone into good people is merely an idealistic vision; in reality, who can achieve that?
In youthful anger, Li Mingqi, resolutely abandoned his studies, status, and bright future.
But where could a teenager go to promote these plans and ideas that influence the next generation? Who would even glance at him? At most, they would consider him a lunatic.
Later, after being influenced by some people, naive Li Mingqi joined a scam organization. His exceptional thinking and intelligence brought rapid development and funding to the organization. Just when he thought his dream was finally about to begin, they were arrested.
The disaster of eight years in prison made him realize how foolish he had been in the past.
He wanted to pursue his dreams, but to his family, teachers, and friends, he was just a boy. His kindness was seen as malice, his thoughts were ostracized, and he was completely abandoned.
For eight years, his family never visited him, and when he was released from prison, he discovered that they were all gone. Because he had deceived someone he shouldn't have, that person, in desperation, brought a bomb and reduced his house to rubble.
After suffering significant blows in life, most people would either go insane or develop extremely twisted and perverse thinking. However, he did not; these setbacks only strengthened his resolve. He vowed to uphold his beliefs and make the world a place free from darkness, filled with light and goodness.
All of this required a plan and a direction for effort.
Until he met the first orphan. When he picked that child up from the ruins, he knew he had to do something.
After numerous hardships and many years, he finally established his own orphanage and adopted over a dozen children.
However, as a private orphanage, all expenses fell on him. Where would the money come from?
The funding from Good Samaritans was one aspect, but at that time the internet was not well developed, and relying solely on those donations was far from sufficient. So, he resorted to old trades—scamming.
Using only his wits and high intelligence, he acquired a lot of money, enough to keep the orphanage running while ensuring that no loopholes could be found by others; even the law could not convict him.
Through his efforts, the orphanage grew stronger day by day, with more and more children. Some had slowly grown up and even reached adulthood; under his guidance, that goal seemed no longer distant.
Yet, whether it was fate's mockery or divine will, an inferno claimed his life. If it weren't for that inferno, if he hadn't saved those children, perhaps he wouldn't have died. After so many years, his children must have achieved great things by now.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans; his wishes were destined to remain unfulfilled.
Thinking about this brought a wave of melancholy to his heart.
Not wanting to dwell on sad topics, Ye Mingshang placed a bag on the table.
"This is the grilled fish from Liufangzhai that father loved most. Please give it a try."
Seeing the fragrant grilled fish in the box, Li Mingqi's eyes lit up. "Oh! It's actually grilled fish from Liufangzhai. I remember that place is in Zhengzhou. Has it moved to Nanjing?"
"Liufangzhai has developed rapidly in recent years, with franchise stores in major cities across the country. Give it a try and see how it tastes," Ye Mingshang said as he handed over a pair of chopsticks, but suddenly remembered that he was now a spirit and couldn't eat directly.
Li Mingqi smiled. "No need to be so troublesome." Saying this, he took a deep breath.
A wisp of white smoke flowed into his nose, making him involuntarily exhale comfortably. "This is the taste. I can't believe that after all these years, I still have the chance to enjoy my favorite grilled fish."
Seeing the old dean's happy expression, Ye Mingshang felt very pleased and opened another box, revealing a palm-sized exquisite porcelain bottle inside.
"What is this?" Li Mingqi asked, puzzled.
"This is Liufangzhai's Barley Wine, your favorite drink from back in the day."
Li Mingqi's eyes brightened as he hurriedly opened the lid and took a deep breath, looking utterly enchanted.
Back then, he had to take care of a bunch of children, so he had refrained from drinking, rarely touching his favorite wine.
With fish and wine, the old dean was completely absorbed in bliss, alternating between smelling the fish and savoring the wine, filled with happiness.
(To be continued.)
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