What exactly do I want to do?
Faced with the question posed by Fang Zheng, Asuna didn’t know how to answer for a while.
What she wanted to do was a question that Asuna once thought wasn’t a problem. She should follow her mother’s requirents, study hard, get into a good high school, a good university, beco an organizer or manager of certain committees, win a few awards, and finally marry a noble and outstanding man as her mother wished.
For Asuna, the path ahead of her was already planned by her parents. She only needed to follow this path. But now, due to a small accident, she deviated from the path her parents planned, wandering alone in an endless wilderness, not even knowing which way to go...
To be honest, Asuna’s problem didn’t seem like a problem at all to Fang Zheng. This kind of frustration, which probably only children of gatekeepers in Japan would have, was basically a nightmare for all of Fang Zheng’s peers. Back then, didn’t their parents ask them to get into a good university and find a good job just like Asuna’s parents?
And Fang Zheng’s generation was also called the generation of change. Why? It’s simple...
When Fang Zheng was in elentary school, college students were still eating fragrantly roasted wheat and there was no abolition of the iron rice bowl, so back then, parents nagged "Study hard, get into a good college, and then find a good job in the governnt, you won’t have any worries for life."
Then when Fang Zheng entered middle school, the iron rice bowl was gone, reform and opening up began, and foreign capital entered. So the parents’ words beca "Study hard, later go to college, learn foreign languages well, and find a good job in a foreign company, maybe you can even go abroad."
And when Fang Zheng went to high school, the internet started to boom, so the parents’ words beca "Study hard, learn computers, newspapers say computing is the future, choose a good major in college..."
Finally, when Fang Zheng went to college, college students were already selling pork...
When he graduated from college, programrs had already beco code monkeys...
Those students who were urged by their parents to choose finance, programming and other "popular" subjects found out only after graduating that today’s "popular" was already ice-cold, and there were more competitors for one position than monkeys... But what could they do?
There’s no regret dicine sold on this world either.
Of course, for Fang Zheng, he was sohow different from his peers. At least he had another survival skill, and as long as he mastered this skill well, becoming a famous pianist in the world domain was not a problem.
But what’s interesting about playing the piano compared to ga planning? Tapping the keyboard while imagining players crying in misery, spending money in agony, it’s just aweso!
So, in Fang Zheng’s view, Asuna’s little annoyance is nothing. Back then, many college students were sponsored by the whole village living frugally, and that pressure wasn’t much less than hers, but none of them broke down.
Of course, everyone’s capacity to withstand stress is different, which is understandable.
"Parents would plan a good life for their children, for example, a pianist’s parents would want their child to learn piano, a doctor’s... um, they might not recomnd their child to beco a doctor. This is all very normal. Because parents have much more life experience than you do, they make plans for you for your own good."
Saying this, Fang Zheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"But, you must know, ultimately, the choice of how to live your life can only be made by you. So, Asuna, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"
"...I..."
"Eiriri has her own dreams, and others do as well, Gabriel... okay, though lazing around without ambition is not sothing to be encouraged, at least that’s still a dream. So, do you have your own dream?"
"......"
This ti, faced with Fang Zheng’s inquiries, Asuna really couldn’t say anything.
Does she have her own dream?
Has she thought about what she wants to do in the future? Even just a thought?
"Looks like this is your problem."
Looking at the confused expression on Asuna’s face, Fang Zheng reached out and patted her shoulder.
"Find the problem, analyze the problem, solve the problem. Now that you know what your problem is, the next step... you decide for yourself."
With that said, Fang Zheng stood up and waved his hand towards Eiriri and Yui in the distance.
"Alright, Eiriri, Yui, let’s continue shopping!"
Afterward, Asuna didn’t say much more. She just silently followed behind Fang Zheng, Eiriri, and Yui, as if deep in thought. Although Eiriri was quite curious about how Fang Zheng guided Asuna, she didn’t snoop around as she figured if Fang Zheng wanted to tell her, he would.
But as the four of them walked out of the alley and into another side of the shopping street intending to enjoy food and shopping, they suddenly saw a commotion in the distant crowd, and then...
"Oh no, they’re coming, let’s go, quickly!"
Fang Zheng saw a vendor loudly shouting and waving hands, and the next mont, the surrounding players who were setting up stalls instantly packed up their stands and ran away. The scene was like vendors seeing city managent, which made Fang Zheng a bit curious. One must know that the Starting Town is a safe zone where attacks don’t cause damage, so logically these players wouldn’t be in trouble.
But why are they running?
However, as these players scattered, Fang Zheng saw a group of people in uniform swaggering over from the other side of the street.
They wore uniform armor, robes, and cloaks, looking much like NPC soldiers in a ga—if not for the markers above their heads indicating they were players, Fang Zheng might have actually thought they were NPCs.
"You should leave too."
At this mont, a player who had packed up a stall and was about to leave in a hurry saw Fang Zheng and the others standing aside, and quickly stepped forward to remind them.
"They’re the ’Army’ tax collection squad!"
"Army?"
Hearing this, Fang Zheng was even more curious, and that player nodded as well.
"Yeah, it’s said to be sothing like the Aincrad Army... Anyway, that’s what they call themselves."
"Why are they collecting taxes?"
"Hmph, they say it’s to protect the peace of players and to fund fighting against upper-level lord creatures... so they force us to pay money."
"But if you don’t pay, they can’t do anything to you, right?"
"Yes, although in the safe zone, they can’t harm us, but they can send soone to block our stalls and prevent us from doing business. And... these people might co to retaliate too, their Guild has more than a thousand mbers."
"Is there really such a thing?"
Hearing this, Fang Zheng’s expression suddenly darkened, and then he coldly glanced at those players and took a big step forward.
At this mont, those players who belonged to the "Army" were cornering a player who hadn’t managed to run away. When Fang Zheng approached, he could even hear their laughter and mockery.
"Hey, you made quite a bit today, right? Quickly hand over all your money!"
"We’re fighting for you, you should be grateful, shouldn’t you? Anyway, paying taxes is a citizen’s duty."
"I-I didn’t make much money."
The rchant player being surrounded by the Army was almost in tears.
"Then hand over your equipnt and goods, confiscate them!"
"That’s right, if you don’t hand over your stuff, you won’t be able to set up a stall here in the future!!"
At that mont, Fang Zheng also arrived at their side. Seeing Fang Zheng approaching, several mbers of the Army imdiately stepped forward to block him.
"Wait, what do you want to do?"
"A new unfamiliar face, no matter who you are, you have to pay us taxes, hand over all the money you have."
However, facing the threats from the Army players, Fang Zheng only gave them a cold look and then said.
"Get lost, bastards."
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