One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

She was a young girl who looked like a female student. She wasn't very tall, just over 1.6 meters, and she was wearing a faded blue school uniform jacket with the elastic bands on the cuffs hanging loosely.

She wore a low ponytail, and her hair was a bit frizzy, looking like it hadn't been properly styled in a long time.

She stood on tiptoe, tilting her head back towards the ticket window, clutching a student ID that was neither brand new nor worn.

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word conveyed a stubbornness and urgency that persisted despite repeated rejections, even carrying a slight tremor and a hint of a sob.

"Uncle, I bought a ticket, why can't I come in?"

Inside the ticket window sat a middle-aged man, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his arms thicker than a young girl's thighs. His square face wore an impatient expression, and his eyes revealed a kind of professional weariness of "I encounter people like you every day."

He threw the ballpoint pen in his hand onto the table, and the pen rolled twice on the table before stopping next to the keyboard.

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and said in a flat, almost indifferent tone, "I've told you several times already. Tickets, two hundred and sixty each, cash only."

The little girl clutched the faded student ID card in her hand, pushing it forward again and again, her voice filled with confusion and grievance.

Her speech quickened slightly, as if she were trying to persuade him logically, but every word carried the anxiety of being misunderstood: "But Uncle, I bought the ticket online. Can't I just swipe my ID card to get in? You already have my ID card, so I can just swipe it and I'll be in, right? Besides, you've already verified my identity. I'm a student, and you have my student ID. Didn't you check it?"

The middle-aged man didn't even lift his eyelids, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

When he spoke, his tone remained as businesslike and indifferent as ever, but every word carried a subtle, uncompromising undertone: "I'm sorry, you can't come in. There are many suspicious points."

For example, you say you are a student and bought a half-price student ticket online.

However, the stamp on your student ID is unclear, making it impossible to verify its authenticity.

For example, you're a high school student who doesn't own a smartphone, but you claim you bought the ticket at an internet cafe.

Don't you know that minors aren't allowed in internet cafes? With these points of doubt combined, I can't let you in by showing your ticket.

Stop being so unreasonable. My patience with you has its limits.

The little girl's eyes were already red, but she was desperately trying to hold back her tears.

She took a deep breath and explained in an almost humble yet stubbornly defiant tone.

As she spoke, she gripped the hem of her school uniform tightly with her fingers, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force: "Uncle, I've explained it several times—I'm a senior in high school, I'm over eighteen, I'm an adult, I can go into internet cafes."

I bought the ticket at an internet cafe. When I bought the ticket online, the system had already verified my student status, so I was eligible to buy a student ticket.

How could I not be a student? I really don't have a smartphone. My family... my family's situation isn't good, I can't afford a smartphone.

But I didn't lie, I really didn't lie.

The middle-aged man slammed his hand on the table, producing a crisp, muffled sound.

He leaned forward, bringing his face close to the ticket window, and said in a condescending tone, full of moral superiority, "Stop, stop! Don't try to morally blackmail me, I'm not buying it."

You look quite presentable, yet you lie without even thinking.

Is your family struggling financially? If your family is struggling financially, why are you coming to Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion? This is the ancestral home of Taoism, a national-level tourist attraction. The entrance fee is 260 yuan, and even with a half-price discount, it's still 130 yuan.

According to you, you came all the way from some remote mountain village. What are you after?

Upon hearing this, the little girl, who had been forcibly holding back her tears, finally couldn't help but let them fall.

She didn't wail loudly, but silently, tears welled up in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the faded lapel of her school uniform, leaving several dark spots.

Her voice was clearly choked with sobs, but her back remained ramrod straight, as if she were using her last strength to preserve her dignity, which had been repeatedly trampled upon.

She looked at the indifferent face in the window and said, word by word, "Uncle, I'm really saddened by what you're saying."

I cannot agree with what you said.

This is my freedom and my private matter. All I can say is that it was really not easy for me to come here.

I came here simply to pay my respects, to express what is in my heart, nothing more.

I really wasn't lying.

Please don't make things difficult for me anymore.

The middle-aged man leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and looked down at the little girl outside the window, whose face was covered in tears but who was still standing straight with a stubborn expression. A hint of disdain and coldness, as if his authority had been offended, played on the corners of his mouth.

When he spoke, there was no pity in his tone, but rather a hint of anger and unquestionable authority from having his professional judgment challenged: "Don't throw a tantrum and waste public resources."

I'm not buying it.

Two hundred and sixty, cash purchase.

Otherwise—I'm telling you, even Jesus couldn't stop you; you won't be getting in today.

With such a long line behind you, don't you have any shame?

The little girl turned around and glanced at the long queue behind her. The tourists, sweating profusely from the sun, were looking at her. Some looked at her with pity, some with impatience, and some simply looked down at their phones, indifferent to her situation.

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, quickly and forcefully, until her cheeks were red.

Then she turned back to the window and calmly said something, her voice not loud but clearly audible to everyone present, a calmness that concealed a crushed heart: "Okay, Uncle. I will never waste anyone else's time."

Please return my student ID and national ID to me—I'm not going in.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man not only did not feel gratified, but instead frowned.

He snorted coldly, picked up the ballpoint pen again, twirled it twice in his hand, and said in a leisurely tone, like a cat catching a mouse, "The lie has been exposed."

You think you can just pay me back like that? Wouldn't that make me lose face? Sorry—you're now suspected of fare evasion.

I need to verify your identity first. Your ID card and student ID will be temporarily confiscated.

Do you understand? Otherwise, you'll have to hand over 260 yuan obediently. Not a penny more, not a penny less. Nothing else is negotiable.

Upon hearing these words, the little girl seemed to have lost her last bit of strength, and the last bit of calm on her face was replaced by panic and fear.

She instinctively gripped the hem of her school uniform, her body trembling slightly, her voice finally teetering on the edge of collapse: "Uncle, how could you do this! I already told you I wouldn't go, okay? I really didn't lie, I've never lied in my life—"

Before she could finish speaking, she could no longer hold back her tears, which burst forth like a dam breaking. She squatted down, buried her face in her knees, and her shoulders trembled violently as she let out a suppressed, heartbroken sob.