My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 55 - 54 Director Meng

Chapter 55: Chapter 54 Director Meng

The next morning, when Meng Lang was ready to leave, Lin Xiaoyu was already waiting at the door.

"Xiao Yu, good morning. You didn’t wait too long, did you?"

"Uncle, good morning. I just stepped out too. Here’s breakfast for you."

Lin Xiaoyu handed over a plastic bag with a smile.

Meng Lang, feeling somewhat flattered, took the bag. Inside there was a small water cup with rabbit ears and a ham and egg sandwich.

emm...

It’s been 24 years, but this is the first time a girl has brought me breakfast, and it looks homemade...

What’s with these complicated feelings?

"Xiao Yu... oh wait, I mean, Boss Lady. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble."

"Haha!" Xiao Yu laughed at Meng Lang’s joke, and the two chatted and laughed as they went downstairs.

As Meng Lang walked, he took a bite of the sandwich, the runny egg yolk lingering in the gaps between his teeth, while the savory scent of the ham filled his mouth.

What a lovely day...

He then opened the water bottle and took a sip of the thick soy milk and casually asked, "Where’s your sister?"

"She’s still sleeping. She was busy until late last night, so I didn’t wake her... Uncle, are you disappointed not to see my sister?"

"Pfft!" Meng Lang spat out his soy milk.

He coughed a couple of times, glaring at Xiao Yu, "Young lady, don’t talk nonsense."

"Hehe!"

"Cough! So, Xiao Yu, how are you doing with your studies at school?" Meng Lang asked, quickly changing the subject to hide his embarrassment.

"Uncle, don’t you already know? I always rank first in my class," Xiao Yu said, batting her eyelids.

"I... I mean don’t be complacent! Being first in your class doesn’t mean anything. There are only so many people in a class, being first in the whole grade, now that’s impressive!

You have to realize there’s always someone better, there’s always a higher sky."

Meng Lang felt his previous question was kind of dumb and immediately released an "adult’s domineering aura," ready to give Xiao Yu an educational talk from a position of strength.

"But I am also first in my grade."

Meng Lang was left speechless.

"How many classes are in your grade?" he weakly asked.

"Six classes, a total of 312 students."

"You... you remember quite well."

Meng Lang felt as if he could see an invisible aura of triumph steaming off Xiao Yu.

His "adult domineering aura" was ruthlessly crushed by the "scholarly domineering aura."

Faced with a blow to his dignity, Meng Lang felt it necessary to maintain his "adult" persona.

"Actually, grades don’t explain everything. You should not only read books thoroughly but also understand and apply what you read. Don’t just read them blindly. Alright, Uncle is going to ask you a few questions."

"Sure!"

"Question: During a physical fitness test, you kept running until you finally passed the person in second place. What place are you in now?"

"Second place," Xiao Yu answered almost without thinking.

"Hmm! That question is quite basic. Now listen to the next one.

A snail fell to the bottom of a well that was 7 meters deep. One morning, it started to climb up. During the day, it could climb 3 meters, but at night, it slid down 2 meters while resting. How many days would it take to reach the top of the well?"

"The fifth day."

"It’s known that putting an elephant into a box takes three steps: open the box, put the elephant in, close the box. So tell me, how many steps does it take to put a giraffe into the box?"

"Four steps, because you have to take the elephant out first."

"Zero is greater than two, two is greater than five, and five is greater than zero. Why is that?"

"Because it’s rock, paper, scissors."

Orz!

You’re forcing me to use nuclear weapons!

"Hehe! It seems these elementary questions are no challenge for you. Let me pose a more difficult adult question..."

"Uncle, why do you look a bit sinister when you laugh."

"Is that so? Those are just small details. Here comes the question!" Meng Lang took out his phone and opened his bookmarks.

"Zhang Baizhi’s ex-husband is Xie Tingfeng,

Xie Tingfeng’s former girlfriend is Wang Fei,

Wang Fei’s husband is Li Yapeng,

Li Yapeng’s former girlfriend is Qu Ying,

Qu Ying’s current boyfriend is Zhang Yadong,

Pu Shu has an ex-girlfriend named Zhou Xun,

Zhou Xun has an ex-boyfriend named Li Yapeng,

Wang Fei’s ex-husband is Dou Wei,

Dou Wei has a cousin named Dou Peng,

Dou Peng has an ex-girlfriend named Zhou Xun,

Dou Peng’s cousin is Dou Ying,

Dou Ying’s ex-husband is Zhang Yadong,

Zhang Yadong’s current girlfriend is Qu Ying,

Qu Ying’s former boyfriend is Li Yapeng.

So tell me! What is the relationship between Zhang Baizhi and Li Yapeng?"

Xiao Yu: "..."

"Uncle, you’re bullying me..."

Faced with Xiao Yu’s pitiful little eyes, Meng Lang suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

"Cough! Actually, Uncle’s real intention was to tell you that the adult world is quite complicated, so there’s a lot you still need to learn. Don’t be arrogant or complacent, okay?"

"Oh~ what a messy circle..." Xiao Yu shook her head like an adult beyond her years.

Meng Lang felt a sweat break out on his forehead. Seizing the moment when the pedestrian light turned green, he quickly changed the subject.

"Xiao Yu, have you thought about what you want to do when you grow up? Do you have any dreams?"

"Hmm... I haven’t decided yet, but it will definitely be the kind that makes the most money."

"Making money? Why?" Meng Lang was taken aback.

"Because my sister works so hard to make money, if I could earn a lot, she wouldn’t have to work so hard," Xiao Yu said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Meng Lang felt somewhat helpless.

"Xiao Yu, you don’t have to think about others in everything you do. Making money is certainly important, but what you like is also very important,

You should think about what you like, then set a dream for yourself when you’re young, and maybe you’ll achieve it when you’re grown up?"

"I like..." Xiao Yu thought for a moment, "I like being with my sister, so what dream should I choose?"

Emm...

Severe sister dependency syndrome?

As Xiao Yu’s "temporary guardian," Meng Lang felt it was his responsibility and duty to guide the flower of the motherland along the correct path of growth.

"Actually, we can think about this from another angle. You like being with your sister, and you want her to have a better life, right?

So the most important thing is to make ourselves better and stronger. That way, the more capable you are, the more you can help your sister, right?"

"Hmm..." Xiao Yu furrowed her little brow and considered it seriously for a moment.

"But if I make a lot and lot of money, doesn’t that mean I am excellent and strong?"

"Uh..." Meng Lang suddenly didn’t know how to refute.

Because such a viewpoint is almost like today’s universal set of values.

The belief that only money matters, and that it’s better to be wealthy than honorable, is the reality of this society.

He could actually understand why Xiao Yu had such a stubborn conception of money.

Because of family reasons, the concept of money was ingrained in her young heart very early. Together with being mature beyond her years, she could see more clearly than her peers.

From Xiao Yu’s perspective, Meng Lang truly had no right to stand on a "moral high ground" and preach to her about "noble ideals."

Because even until not long ago, his own imagination and standards for a successful life were limited to an annual salary of a million.

In that sense, Xiao Yu in second grade had already reached the life insights that Meng Lang had at 24 years old...

He felt inexplicably sad for himself.

And given Xiao Yu’s intelligence and effort, her starting point in society in the future could very well be where his own struggle ended in a version of "A Miserable Life."

Did a poor student have any right to dictate the life of a future top student?

However, after reading many biographies, Meng Lang had a new understanding of life.

"Money is indeed an important standard of strength, but there are many things that cannot be solved with money. That’s when the importance of dreams becomes evident."

"Like what?"

"Like health, like life, like happiness..." Meng Lang sighed and spoke sincerely.

Seeing the puzzled look on Xiao Yu’s face, Meng Lang gently guided her.

"For example, what if I discovered I had cancer ten years from now? Can money cure me?

Or if a disaster suddenly strikes and many people I care about lose their lives, can money bring them back to life?

Or twenty years later, if I develop Alzheimer’s and slowly forget all the people around me, can money make me happy again?

Therefore, above money, we should have a bigger and more noble pursuit, and that is a dream!

It’s harder than making money, but once you achieve your dream, you might just change the whole world!"

"Hmm..." Xiao Yu fell into thought.

"So Uncle, do you mean I should become a doctor to save lives and help the sickest?"

"Yeah! I think that’s a great dream!"

Meng Lang looked pleased as if seeing a student who had learned well.

"I think I’m beginning to understand. So what’s your dream, Uncle?" Xiao Yu asked curiously.

"Me?" Meng Lang was stopped in his thoughts.

Yes, what about my dreams? I only achieved half of my childhood dreams before they came to an abrupt halt, so what about my dreams for the future?

He hadn’t really thought about this problem properly.

After considering it carefully for a moment, he gradually came to a realization.

"My dream... it should be to see a world without sadness and that’s more interesting.

At least, by the day I’m old, the autobiography I write... should not be a tragedy..."

"Uncle’s dream is so strange."

At Xiao Yu’s comment, Meng Lang laughed too.

As they reached the entrance of the school, Xiao Yu suddenly stopped.

"Uncle, I have one last question."

"Yeah! You always have one last question, ask away," Meng Lang said with a smile.

"That... does being a doctor make a lot of money?"

Meng Lang’s fatherly, kindly smile froze on his face.

...

Watching Xiao Yu enter the school, Meng Lang shook his head reluctantly.

"The main thing stopping us from living freely and nobly... is the obsession with wealth..."

He mused to himself in an artistic way, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure standing by a small car on the street, smoking a cigarette.

"Yo! Captain Wang! What are you doing here?" Meng Lang waved and greeted as he walked toward him.

A few passersby turned their heads at the sound.

Wang Zhao Ping turned pale when he heard the voice.

When he turned his head and saw Meng Lang slowly approaching him, his face stiffened.

But in the next instant, he switched to a happy expression, tossing away the cigarette in his hand.

"Director Meng! I’ve been waiting for you. Come on, hurry up and follow me. The residents in the neighborhood are almost rioting. If you don’t get back, our security team won’t be able to hold on!"

Meng Lang was flabbergasted.

Director Meng?

Am I not just a nominal consultant?

Am I already part of the system?