Chapter 17 Chania

Chenia is wary of this world.She knew that sometimes she was overly guarded, as if she didn't believe in anything, and it wasn't very good, but she couldn't help it.She felt that she was just the opposite of Luo Ying. Luo Ying always believed too much in everything, believed in some empty good intentions that could not be true, and turned a blind eye to or refused to admit the facts.Chenia would rather protect herself more.She doesn't believe in love any more than she believes that the great men plan for the welfare of all citizens. When Ludi found Chania, she was drawing the slogan of the rally.She didn't notice him at first, but when she looked up and saw him, he had already stood beside her, and it was too late for her to cover the things under her hands.

"You keep drawing. I won't bother you." Lu Di tried to smile at her easily. "Is something wrong?" Chenia looked at him. "fine." Chenia bit her lip suspiciously, not believing it. "What are you drawing?" Ludy asked her. "A billboard." "It's rare to see someone draw by hand now. Why not just produce an electronic picture?" "The electronic map is not good-looking." Chenia answered very simply.She didn't give a real reason.She does not wish to leave any information or traces in the database prior to the assembly, whether in public or private.To her it was all the same.As long as the information is written in the system, the person who manages the system has a way to see it.They were not supposed to be snooping, but she didn't trust them.

"What is the billboard for?" Lu Di was still smiling, with his hands in his trouser pockets. "How do you know I'm painting here?" Chenia asked back.She didn't know what Ludy meant, or how much he knew, and it made her feel unsafe. "Would you believe me if I said I was passing by?" "Do not believe." Ludy smiled. "Okay, I admit it. Xiaoying said that you sometimes meet here in the afternoon." "What else did she say?" "Nothing. Really. I asked her what you were planning and she didn't tell me." "Then what are you here for?"

"I just wanted to see you." Lu Di looked directly into Chenia's eyes, which were burning with restrained dark fire.Chenia also looked at him for a moment, and a mocking smile suddenly appeared on the corner of her mouth.She could see that he was trying to use his usual girl-conquering look, which struck her as comical.She didn't want to be his fortress, and she didn't like to see him eagerly preparing to charge. She lowered her head again, picked up the brush again, and drew on the paper.She has no basis in painting, and just makes lace embellishments next to a row of large letters.The letters are written sharply, like a row of soldiers raising guns.

"'Give me liberty or give me death,'" Ludi read, standing beside her. "Why did you draw this?" "For a book conference." "Discuss what?" "Discuss whether we are free at all." "Do you think we are not free?" "It hasn't been discussed yet," Chenia said coldly, "how can I come to a conclusion." "How do you define freedom?" "Determine your own destiny." "But the contingency of fate is something people can never overcome, and people often can't decide anything."

"As long as it is not artificially blocked." Lu Di spoke with great interest, put one arm on the table, and leaned over to look at Chenia's painting while looking at Chenia.This is a street garden in a small transfer center. Two large glass long tables and small cubic benches scattered around are extremely convenient facilities for gathering and drawing.Ludy's blond hair was shining, but Chenia didn't look up. "By the way," Lu Di suddenly remembered, "Last time in the hospital, I submitted a proposal report to the Senate for you about your opinions on studying abroad."

Chenia raised her head alertly and asked, "What did you mention?" "I said that you feel that many discomforts in the process of studying abroad have caused psychological pain. It is recommended that the study abroad organization committee conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation, re-formulate the study abroad method, and increase advance preparation and psychological counseling." Chenia lowered her head again: "You didn't understand what I meant." "Then what do you mean?" "I mean studying abroad itself. It doesn't lie in these details at all."

"Are you saying you shouldn't go at all?" "You may not be able to understand. As long as we see another world, it's useless to adjust it. I just can't go back, I just don't like that kind of..." She thought for a while and said, "That kind of stuff is very stiff." "I can understand," Ludy said, smiling, "technocracy." "Yes, this is it." Lu Di nodded: "I hate this too." "yes?" "Of course. I have written articles against the current system structure more than once." Chenia raised her head, leaned her elbows on the table, turned her head to Lu Di, pondered for a moment and said, "Then tell you the truth, our seminar this time is actually trying to launch a campaign , I want to fight against this bureaucracy. Let the house and studio identity flow, don't let people always freeze in one place."

"Oh?" Lu Di's eyes lit up, looking interested, "This is a good thing." "You think so?" "Of course. Of course it's a good thing." Lu Di said very affirmatively, "Count me in. If there is anything I can help, I will definitely help you." Chenia hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.She guessed Lu Di's heart, wondering how much he really thought the same as them, and how much he expressed his enthusiasm deliberately to get close to her.She thought about it, and felt that even the latter was fine, and it wasn't too much.Their purpose is to arouse more people's support, and it is better to have one person's support than none.What's more, he is Luo Ying's elder brother and the governor's grandson.If he admitted that they acted rationally, they would certainly do so with more integrity.After thinking about it again and again, her wariness gradually subsided a little.She didn't express any welcome, but when he reached out to help her flip the display board, she didn't argue with him or refuse.

※※※ The next day, Chenia told Luo Ying about it.They walked and chatted on their way to the housing office. Luo Ying was not surprised by her brother's hospitality, but she was surprised by his open-minded attitude. "I remember a month ago, my brother was still very opposed to the revolution I occasionally mentioned." Luo Ying recalled. "I don't know what he thinks," Chania said. "He just said he hates technocrats, too." "That's possible." Luo Ying nodded, "My brother has always been a bit unwilling to be suppressed by the superior. He also said that the current department is not well designed."

Chenia and Luo Ying walked slowly towards the Russell District Community Activity Center.It was not a weekend, and there were few people in the activity center, so it was very quiet.A series of circular rooms become art clubs, gourmet clubs, and social dance clubs on Sundays. On days when there are no activities, they are quietly empty. From the closed glass windows, you can see the unfinished peaceful scenes in every part of the room.They passed the activity center and headed south along a straight road. There were trees and lawns in the middle of the road, and two paths shaded by branches and leaves on both sides, which were very suitable for walking. "Your brother also said he wanted to help us." "Really? How can I help?" "He didn't say. He just said he could help as much as he could." "That's not bad." "But I don't know if he just said that casually." "Don't worry about it," Luo Ying said with a playful smile, "Even if he said it casually, it was to get close to you, and in order to get close to you often in the future, he couldn't easily go back on his word, so it wasn't just a casual remark." Chenia blushed, twisted Luo Ying's arm, and said angrily, "Let you talk." "I'm the one who suffers." Luo Ying smiled while hiding, "If you get back with my brother, I'll still call you sister-in-law." "Who is nice to him!" Chenia argued. "Don't you like my brother?" "I don't like anyone." "Sorin doesn't like it either?" "dislike." "why?" "I told you," said Chania firmly, "that I don't believe in love at all." "How old are you?" Luo Ying looked at her and smiled, "you know how to believe in love?" "I just don't believe it. I believe what Longe said, that people are utilitarian, and whether they love it or not is actually just selfishness and intentions for themselves." "Then what do you think my brother intends?" "I don't know," Chenia said, "Many things are not so straightforward. He may be out of vanity, and he has always been used to being praised by others. It is rare to meet an unfamiliar person, and he wants to challenge and conquer. To prove myself." "That's not bad, at least it shows that you are attractive." "Where is the charm. There are only two possibilities, either it is impulsive, or he loves himself too much." "Why are you so extreme?" Luo Ying squeezed her hand, "What Sorin said is absolutely right." "It's because you think too simply." Chenia said, "I'll ask you, do you trust Anka's feelings?" Luo Ying was stunned for a moment, and smiled after a while: "Why are you talking about me again? Do you think Anka can't be trusted?" "It's not that he is untrustworthy, it's that his feelings are untrustworthy." "Did you hear anything?" "No. Just wanted to ask, are you sure he cares about you? Did he say so?" "No." "Then can you be sure that he is a person who believes in feelings?" "I think he is." "It's just that we trust him because we know him well. But that's no guarantee of anything." "Then what guarantee is there?" "There can be no guarantee." Chenia shrugged and said, "That's the problem. Many people's so-called love is just an emotional change when two people face each other, and they don't take it seriously afterwards." "Where did you get so many theories?" Luo Ying still acted disapprovingly, but her voice was not so confident.She lowered her head and looked at Xiaolu, pursed her lips and said nothing.Chenia turned her head to look at her face, and shook her hand in front of her eyes.Luo Ying turned her head and smiled, and Chenia also smiled.The two of them walked quietly for a while, with a trace of doubt in their hearts.Chenia wasn't sure if she was right or not.She felt that she wanted to see through everything about her problems, but Luo Ying didn't want to see through anything.She can't see through everything, and Luo Ying can't see through everything.They don't talk about this situation, but they all know it well.Should I believe it for once, Chenia asked herself, to believe in selfless kindness and a certain degree of sincerity. "Anyway," Luo Ying looked at her feet and said as if she had read her heart, "I still want to believe it. And I hope you can believe it at least once. It doesn't matter who the other party is." Chenia was silent for a while, then smiled and said, "I hope." The housing registration office is on the second floor of the activity center.There is only one middle-aged woman sitting in the rather spacious office, which looks too empty and desolate.The office is usually unattended, and there are temporary staff only at appointment time, so the facilities and daily necessities are very simple.A circular room with a rectangular table in the middle, a woman sitting behind the table, the table is smooth and clean. "Who wants to register?" The woman asked with a smile on her face, her eyes looked through the top of the glasses, from Luo Ying to Chenia, and from Chenia to Luo Ying, with seven points of politeness and three points of suspicion, Look back and forth. "We want to apply for a friend." Chenia replied. "Why doesn't he come by himself?" "This..." Chenia looked at Luo Ying, "This is a gift we want to give him, he doesn't know yet." The woman smiled, as if laughing at their youth and ignorance: "Children, I can't help you with this. We can't let others do it on our behalf. You need to sign the agreement with your fingerprints to take effect. Otherwise, why set up this office? Database How fast is it to register the electronic information. Since you come to the scene, you have to come in person." Luo Ying and Chenia looked at each other in blank dismay, they hadn't thought about this question. "Then," Luo Ying thought for a while, "Can we apply for him first, and then bring him here after confirmation?" "Actually, we just want to help him build a small house." Chenia added. "Well." Luo Ying continued, "We can also do it ourselves. We have already gone to the building construction office, the materials have been booked, and the style has been selected. They said they have to register with you first, as long as they register can be built." "Just help us." Chenia said again, "This person has helped us a lot." "Please." Luo Ying said. The woman listened intently, took off her glasses and held them in her hands, her expression was forgiving but with a hint of helplessness, she wanted to interrupt but didn't say anything, until they all stopped and looked at her expectantly, she moved her elbows Standing on the table, with his hands spread out, he pondered for a moment to speak, and spoke very tactfully. "It's not that I don't want to help you," she said, "but we also need instructions to register. The best I can think of is a way. Can you bring this person's marriage registration papers?" "This..." Luo Ying was immediately embarrassed, "I'm afraid there is no way." "I'm afraid it won't work. As long as we receive the documents from the Marriage Office, we can register. But if we don't have it, we can't." "He's not married." "not married?" "Ok." "Then why do you need a house? Shouldn't he have a bachelor's apartment?" "Yes, there is. But it's too small. He used to have a laboratory and an activity room, which didn't matter, but now he doesn't even have these. We think his free space is too small, and we hope to help him build a slightly larger one." one's house." The woman opened her mouth, and showed that tolerant and helpless expression again, as if she didn't know how to answer, she casually found a blank piece of paper from the table, and drew some rough circuit diagrams while talking. "I don't know how to explain it to you," she was still very kind, "I can only say... In fact, our office is just like this resistor, or this diode... Sorry, I am a circuit student, I only know This... Our function is to receive files from the previous office and send them to the next office, just like a resistor passing electrons. A resistor cannot make its own decisions, and cannot create an electron by itself. That is the task of the power supply. If you do it yourself, everything will be messed up. So I'm really sorry, but I really can't help you guys." This simple and sincere explanation was like a condensed injection, and the air immediately cooled down after speaking. Chenia bit her lips, and wanted to say something more, Luo Ying took her hand, shook her head and said, "Forget it." She turned to the woman at the table again: "Thank you. Do you know who we should go to be more useful?" "I think," the woman thought for a while, "You should go to the marriage office and ask. Finding a way to help him get married is a serious matter. Once you get married, you will naturally have a house." Luo Ying and Chenia walked through the spacious and empty corridor, inadvertently looking at the posters on the wall.The marriage registration office is at the corner on the other side of the same building. They ran across the softly curved steps at the corner, intending to give it a try, but encountered two calmly locked doors.There is no one in the marriage registration office.They didn't have an appointment, it's normal that there's no one here.They just wanted to try their luck, but luck did not visit them.They looked into the room through the glass door. A white decorative table made of artificial flowers stood against the wall, and many framed photos hung on the far wall. At this time, an old woman came down from upstairs and passed them. "Hello!" Luo Ying stopped her, "Excuse me... May I ask if you know this office..." She said and looked at Chenia, not knowing how to proceed. The old lady smiled kindly, looking very enthusiastic, and asked with a wrinkled mouth: "What's the matter?" Chenia finished the second half of the sentence for Luo Ying: "Do you know if this office can also help you find a marriage partner?" The old lady looked at them curiously: "You..." "It's not...it's not us." Chenia said quickly, "It's a friend." "Oh," the old lady nodded, "then why doesn't he go to dating parties? They happen every weekend." "He, he doesn't seem to like it very much." "Oh. Then let me help you think about it." The old lady looked very serious, "Which studio does he belong to?" "He doesn't have a studio right now." "No studio?" The old lady frowned, as if hearing something incredible. "Well. He's helping out at the archives." "That's it." The old lady thought for a while and said, "Little girl, based on my experience, I'm not saying it's absolutely impossible, I can only say it's very, very difficult." She paused and added: "Very difficult." The old lady's gaze embarrassed them a little.Chenia looked at Luo Ying, and Luo Ying also looked at her. Later in the afternoon, as the two of them walked towards Russell District No. 1 Hospital, Chania forgot the trace of warmth she had just found, and returned to the cold but strong disbelief she had been holding on to earlier.She usually oscillates between believing in warmth and not believing, and not believing makes her feel safer most of the time, without expectations, there is no disappointment and trouble.She was her usual self again, convinced that there were always various utilitarian purposes behind emotions. "Haven't you understood?" She asked Luo Ying, "The so-called stable marriage is just such a house." Luo Ying's mood was also a little low, although she still said: "I don't think so." As Chenia spoke, she could feel the coolness in her heart: "Why do you think people don't get divorced? It's because they can't leave. Just like what we said before, the issue of good law and order is not a high moral quality at all. The divorce rate here is low. It’s not at all because people all love each other more and value family more than couples on Earth, it’s because there’s only one house, and when you get divorced, one person has to move to a bachelor pad, it’s as simple as that.” The old lady's words left a strong impact on Chenia's heart. Although she had some vague impressions before, they were never so clear.A marriage, a family, and a vow are not as sacred and indestructible as they believed when they were young. Not to mention the unmarried state that is common on Earth, even on Mars, such economic benefits greatly discount the beautiful warmth in it.The old lady said that in order to solve the problem, two couples exchanged spouses, divorced and remarried separately. There were still two families and two houses.How much of it is love, Chenia doesn't know.She felt her swing had swung back to the side of unbelief. The hospital is coming soon, hidden behind a row of low conical pine trees, with white walls and simple shapes, there is a simple and clean majesty.They stopped.Chenia raised her head, trying to find the small room on the top floor that Luo Ying had described to her. "Does Dr. Rainey know our plan?" she asked softly. "Probably not. I never mentioned anything." "I still don't think such a small gift is enough. We should strive for something more practical." "But you also saw it," Luo Ying sighed, "What can we fight for?" Chenia wanted to say something, but at this moment, they suddenly saw an object falling from the roof.If you look closely, it is a person.They immediately covered their mouths, their eyes widened in horror, all their voices were choked up and their hearts were beating wildly.In the blink of an eye, that person disappeared from sight and fell behind the bushes. There was a muffled sound on the ground, like an earthquake.In the short moment when there was no time to react, a person fell to the ground like a tossed baggage.It's all over. At that moment, Chenia suddenly felt very depressed.She shivered for a while, turned her head to look at Luo Ying's pale lips, knowing that she had the same memory as herself. They froze for a while, then ran towards the scene of the incident in shock. Many people rushed out of the hospital and surrounded them.Amidst the bloody distortion, Luo Ying stood still in a daze.She told Chenia softly that she had seen the deceased before, that is, the crazy patient she met on the rooftop by chance last month, when he was desperately knocking on the glass.