Chapter 128: Clash of Concepts

Yue Yao’s words focused Yurong’s gaze on his face, making Li Yan secretly bemoan the situation. Although he knew Yue Yao meant well, she didn’t understand the difficulty of splitting himself today...

How are you planning to celebrate with her? Going out for a romantic time for two is certainly nice, but if the two of you stay home... it might not be as Yue Yao’s suggestively hinted, perhaps she’s still sitting in front of a computer at the office...

As Li Yan hesitated and didn’t speak, Zhang Yurong said quietly, "What’s there to celebrate? There’s a birthday every year, and what’s different about today compared to yesterday? It’s just a usual day. A world for two? It’d definitely be boring with him."

These words fully expressed her attitude. Although she said there’s nothing much to celebrate and felt birthdays aren’t special, she only mentioned that a world for two with him would surely be boring, without rejecting the suggestion.

Yue Yao understood this and looked at Li Yan, and he understood too. But he had already promised Wen Qianyi, and at least he needed to find time to go there.

After Yurong finished speaking, he elegantly wiped his mouth, then said seriously, "Birthdays are worth celebrating. Even though there’s a birthday every year, who can guarantee how many more birthdays one can have? The world is unpredictable, and no one can even assure the next birthday. Even if you can guarantee a long life, each birthday that passes is one less..."

"It’s Yurong’s birthday, don’t be... pessimistic," Yue Yao gently reminded him, reluctantly using "pessimistic" as a substitute.

That’s why they cherish life far more than the average person, treasuring each day. When healthy and without mishaps, ordinary people usually don’t feel the unpredictability of the world or the fragility of life, and thus don’t cherish life as much. This is why we need various festivals and anniversaries to remind us, to remind us to cherish life, cherish time, cherish family, love... cherish everything we have.

"This is not pessimism, nor is it deliberately sounding bad. I’m just reminding Yurong to learn to cherish. Don’t always think about next year, or leaving things for later. Because we don’t understand how to cherish, we leave too many things for ’later’. Will ’later’ really let everything come true? The fear is that by the time ’later’ arrives, what you originally longed for has already been forgotten. Perhaps, you’ve thought about letting go of everything and traveling well, having a place you’ve always wanted to go, or just going to some utopia to escape the mundane..."

Upon hearing Li Yan’s words, Yurong slightly puckered her lips, feeling he was showing off with profound teachings, but later on, she began to resonate with him. She really had such thoughts.

"...But you’ve never acted on it!" Li Yan looked into her eyes and said.

Zhang Yurong opened her mouth, "That’s because..."

Li Yan interrupted, "Because you have no time! Before, it was because of studying, you didn’t have time. You wanted to be more outstanding than others, compressing the study time others needed. You earned a Ph.D. and mastered several languages at a young age, not only because of your talent but also because your mother started nurturing you earlier than most, and you understood the importance of seizing time earlier than most. You’ve always been rushing, shortening the regular study time by several years, and you’re also rushing in investment, management, and business. Each success takes less time than others..."

"Have I been wrong to do so?" Zhang Yurong frowned, "Even by rushing, it’s hard to reach my father’s level. Should I be lazy like you as the correct life attitude?"

Li Yan smiled slightly, "I didn’t say that. I read in a book called ’Science and Rationality’ that ’Remember that a map has an important property, which is not the actual territory. To be precise, it’s a representation of the terrain designed for different uses.’ A map isn’t the actual territory, and the world isn’t an absolutely real world, only a world shaped through sensory experiences..."

Zhang Yurong furrowed her brow, "Are you trying to discuss idealism philosophy or psychology with me?"

Yue Yao shrugged, feeling speechless as discussing these topics with a girl was undoubtedly a mood killer.

"No, what I just said, consider it as a hypothesis, not a law. But we can understand that different maps can show different territories for different purposes and places. But the world? Is there one that’s exactly the same? Do Yun Country People, Si Country People, Li Country People, Weili People, Western Continent People... see, know, and understand the world in the same way? Narrow it down, you, me, Yue Yao, Sister Liu, do we all understand the world in the same way?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Li Yan’s words puzzled Zhang Yurong and Yue Yao.

"Li Yan, you’re on a particularly profound level today," Yue Yao smiled.

Even Zhang Yurong said, "I feel the same. But what’s your point in saying all this? To prevent us from underestimating you? None of us ever underestimated you."

Li Yan smiled and shook his head, obviously Zhang Yurong knew about his qualifications. He admired her genius but never felt inferior because of it. After reading many books on psychology and other fields, he wasn’t bothered by it.

"There’s a theory that the memories, experiences, concepts, beliefs, etc., that accumulate and store in our brain from a young age affect how we see the world, and not just our worldview. The same material world looks different to different people. For example, walking down the same street, some people only see beautiful women, some see stylish clothes, and some see many cars..."