Chapter 1013: Beautiful Girl (58)

"System, you're getting smarter and smarter."

System: I think I'm starting to understand. For example, people who always say that spiritual fulfillment is the most important thing and money doesn't matter are either poor people comforting themselves, or materially wealthy people who have already begun pursuing higher needs. As for those who are poor but hardworking, they rarely talk about such things. They're already exhausted and busy just trying to survive every day. How could they have the energy to discuss such useless topics?

In that moment, it felt as though he understood many things.

Or rather, truly fulfilled people, whether poor or rich, all had goals and pursuits of their own. They weren't the type to indulge in empty fantasies and think endlessly about meaningless things.

Tang Guo laughed. "Please remember, you're a system, not a human."

Perhaps, in the future, I can study human psychology, the System thought. Following Host all this time, maybe one day we'll leave these small worlds. By then, I'll definitely pursue some high-end profession.

There was another thought he didn't say aloud.

Most people who spread rumors were probably just bored and empty inside, so they focused on slandering others.

Especially malicious rumors like these, which were different from the purposeful rumor campaigns in the entertainment industry.

Even in those cases, the people who followed along, spreading gossip and viciously attacking others, were usually idle people with nothing better to do.

Busy people, when they had a little free time, would spend it working toward their goals and ambitions, improving themselves—not hiding behind anonymous accounts online to attack others and vent their frustrations.

As time passed, Chang Zhan made it a habit to pass by the entrance to Tang Guo's alley every day. He would drive her to school before heading off to his own.

"Senior, your exams are coming up soon. Why do you still have time to pick me up every day?"

Tang Guo glanced at Chang Zhan. "Do you find it troublesome?"

"No."

Holding a pen in his hand, Chang Zhan was working through practice questions.

He was an exceptionally diligent person. Even with his extraordinary intelligence, he still treated the upcoming exams with complete seriousness.

He believed that intelligence was a gift from heaven, but possessing talent without studying was simply wasting that gift.

The System sighed from the side.

Host, this is what a truly well-bred rich second-generation heir looks like. Good upbringing, good character, hardworking—ordinary people simply can't compare.

"Mm," Tang Guo answered. "Those exposed to the public are merely examples singled out. In this world, the rich only become richer. Most people capable of becoming wealthy aren't fools. What they value most is the education of the next generation. Of course, there are scum everywhere. Don't be deceived by appearances. While others are playing around, they're still working hard. Can you imagine children in their teens already mastering three or four, even five foreign languages?"

The System clicked his tongue.

Wasn't that true?

After traveling through so many worlds, most wealthy families he had encountered spared no expense in raising exceptional children.

Before long, the college entrance examinations arrived.

In the end, Chang Zhan was admitted to the nation's best university.

Before leaving to report to campus, he still arranged for his driver to continue taking Tang Guo to school.

"There's really no need to go to so much trouble," Tang Guo said.

System: Host is saying one thing while feeling another. She's obviously delighted. Women's mouths really are deceptive little ghosts.

"Not troublesome."

Chang Zhan looked at Tang Guo seriously, his voice calm and gentle.

"I'll wait for you."

Tang Guo narrowed her eyes into crescents and smiled.

"What are you waiting for me for?"

---

✦ Translator's Note — Who Gets to Live Outside the Cage?

Okay, these two chapters gave me something to think about.

I actually find Tang Guo's whole argument about rules being cages really interesting.

Her basic idea is that rules are often most restrictive for the people who have the least power. If you're weak, poor, or otherwise vulnerable, you have to be very careful about the rules because breaking them can have consequences you simply can't afford. And its also something they hold on to.

But if you're powerful enough?

Suddenly, the rules become a lot more... flexible. 😂

And I think there's something uncomfortable about how true that can feel.

Tang Guo's solution is basically: then become strong enough that you don't have to live inside the cage.

And honestly, that's very Tang Guo. 😂

She believes in strength. She believes that if she becomes powerful enough, capable enough, wealthy enough, or simply strong enough to protect herself, then most of the things that could restrict her will eventually stop being a problem.

And within the worlds she travels through, that logic often works.

But it got me thinking about how different this is from real life.

Because unfortunately, we can't just cultivate for a few thousand years, reach the peak of our realm, and walk out of the cage. 😭

We have laws. Social expectations. Money. Family responsibilities. Work. Institutions. Other people's decisions. Circumstances we didn't choose.

And sometimes even when you do everything “right,” you can still find yourself stuck somewhere you don't want to be. And sometimes not because we aren't trying or working towards it.

Which makes me wonder...

If strength is what allows someone to escape the cage, what do we do when we can't simply become strong enough?

Maybe the answer isn't always about becoming powerful enough to break the cage.

Sometimes it's about figuring out which cages are actually necessary, which ones are imposed on us unnecessarily, and which ones we've somehow built for ourselves.

Because I think we all have some version of a cage.

Sometimes it's money.

Sometimes it's fear.

Sometimes it's other people's expectations.

Sometimes it's the idea that “this is just how life is supposed to go.”

Sometimes it's a relationship we don't know how to leave, a career we don't know how to change, or a version of ourselves that we've been trying to live up to for so long that we forget we were ever allowed to want something different.

And sometimes the cage isn't even locked.

We just don't realize that the door is open.

...Okay, wow. 😂 I went from reading a system-host argument about power to accidentally psychoanalyzing all of us (here's another day of me wondering if I really am as stupid as the system".

But I think that's why I find Tang Guo's worldview so fascinating.

She has the luxury—or perhaps the terrifying determination—to approach every world thinking:

Fine. Then I'll become strong enough.

And there is something incredibly liberating about that mindset.

But for us ordinary humans who don't get to be as cool as Tang Guo... 😂 maybe our version of “becoming stronger” looks different.

Maybe it's gaining financial independence. Learning something new. Building a support system. Setting boundaries. Leaving somewhere unhealthy. Getting an education. Asking for help. Becoming confident enough to say no. Or simply realizing that we don't have to live our entire lives according to rules that we never consciously chose.

So now I'm curious—

What do you guys think?

Do you agree with Tang Guo that power is ultimately what allows people to escape the cage of rules, or do you think there are other ways to become free?

And perhaps the more interesting question is:

What kind of cage do you think people most often build for themselves?

...And yes, I realize I have now turned a quick Translator's Note into a philosophical discussion. 😭

I'll stop here before Tang Guo herself comes back and tells me that the answer is simply “Get stronger.” 😂

—Cy