I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"Explain? Why do I need to explain?" She said nonchalantly, "Your thinking is too rigid. Sometimes an object doesn't represent anything concrete."

".....ah."

I have no idea what she is trying to express.

"Okay, let's go." The elevator door slowly opened, and she immediately stepped inside. "What are you still standing there for? Come in quickly."

"..."

Then I saw her press the top button directly.

"...Um?"

What does this mean.

Like the truth revealed

"This is it."

As if relieved, she turned to me and spoke.

Gazing at her against the sunlight, it was difficult to discern her expression, but even a casual thought told me she must be smiling. With that in mind, I didn't need to force myself to check her expression... To me, it wasn't important at all.

So I turned my gaze slightly to the other side.

I think this is the first time I've ever stood at this height. The rooftop is windy... but it's not. It's sunny today. So sunny that I almost want the sun to dim its light.

The buildings in the distance were clearly visible against the clear sky, their light pollution-causing building materials reflecting the sunlight without reservation, visible even from a great distance. Looking closely, I could even see the road I had taken to get here, though I couldn't tell what color the traffic light was flashing. Well, at an intersection with no cars or pedestrians passing through, the color didn't matter.

The scenery within my sight isn't particularly eye-catching. Perhaps its greatest characteristic is its ordinariness. Even if I were to paint what I see, to others, it would simply be a "city." I have no reason to lament this, because, beautiful or not, this is where I live.

"Right here..."

I don't think my mood fluctuated much. And I didn't think the rooftop here was something I could just walk up to. However, Lingcan didn't seem to think so. She didn't worry about whether this would cause trouble for others. She simply followed the map's instructions and dragged me here... Well, even now, I doubt she understood the map.

"Hmm...nice view, huh?"

She looked around, and then a satisfied expression appeared on her face, the kind of satisfied expression like a king looking at his territory, as if everything she saw belonged to her.

I had been feeling a bit like that, but after seeing the distance between myself and the ground, I suddenly lost my joy for some reason... Well, even though there's a fence around the rooftop that looks pretty solid, looking down from such a height still makes me feel a bit uncomfortable... Maybe it's because I have a slight fear of heights.

Or maybe... this perspective reminded me of something, triggering a subconscious fear. Maybe I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm afraid of death.

"Hey, if nothing else..." We'd better leave here as soon as possible. I wanted to back out, but before I could finish my sentence, I was interrupted by the excited Lingcan.

"I heard that this place was still a vast field a dozen years ago, and there wouldn't have been such tall buildings to allow people to see so far back then, right?" She said this, seemingly imagining something, which left me baffled. "If I could travel back in time, I really hope to be able to see what it was like here from this height..."

"what are you saying..."

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about you... By the way, what are you still standing here for? Take this." As I spoke, something cold to the touch was stuffed into my hand. It wasn't big, but it felt heavy. Intuitively, I had a feeling it wasn't a good thing.

"Hmm, what is this...a camera?"

It has a lens and a body, and is all black and gray. It looks a little bigger than a camera, so I guessed so.

"Of course." He said with a matter-of-fact expression, "What else could it be... a hair dryer?"

Tsk, just ignore her question.

"So...what is this used for?" I shook the device in my hand to confirm with her.

"Of course the camera is used to record videos. What do you think it's used for? Making phone calls?"

Although I haven't paid much attention to this, I have a feeling that some companies are already researching this kind of black technology. I hope this is just my guess.

"Well, of course I know this is for filming...but why? And what are they going to film?" Come to think of it, she hasn't told me the reason for coming here.

"Do you need a reason? Well, if I must give one, it's because I feel it's worth recording."

"......"

what is this.

"Oh, forget it." Perhaps because I looked helpless, she sighed and then turned a little more serious. "Since that's the case, I'll be honest now. I'm actually not sure what this picture is supposed to convey."

"Hey..."

Suddenly I felt like I had been cheated.

"But... maybe that's just wishful thinking. I want to go to the location shown on the map and see what's going on, and record the process as well."

"..."

Well, if that's the case, it's not unacceptable. At least it sounds more serious.

"Although I really want to help you, I have never studied photography and I'm not interested in it... It's a bit difficult to give this to me..." Although I said this, I still subconsciously fiddled with the camera in my hand.

"This isn't for others to see, so even if you're operating it like a monkey, it's enough to capture the scene I want."

"...A monkey..."

Well, since I'm already a monkey who types randomly, I don't mind being a monkey who uses a camera again.

"Well, it's fine if you want me to take the video..." I said, flipping open the small screen on the side. I remember that this is what some people do when they want to take a video...

"Don't worry about those academic things like lenses and lighting. Those are just for others to see," she reminded me. "Those who are simply recording something won't care about those boring things at all, so just shoot like an amateur."

"You don't need to tell me that I'm an outsider." So there is no such thing as an outsider.

Anyway, I said and pointed the camera at her.

"Okay, you can start."

Although I had no idea what she wanted me to shoot.

"Well, let's go around it slowly and take a picture." She gave me instructions with a cheerful look.

"...good."

Chapter 3: The truth is revealed

At this moment, Lingcan and I were sitting on the stairs of the safety passage, watching the video that had just been recorded.

Objectively speaking, this simple shooting is completely unwatchable... However, it is a bit subtle that someone actually watched my first shooting with me.

"...How about it."

"What else can we do? Even if it looks terrible, we can't ask you to take another picture, right?" she said, standing up. "Well, now that we've seen the scenery here, let's quickly move on to the next place."

"What... so fast?"

"What's the hurry? This is the original plan." Seeing that I hadn't stood up yet, she urged, "You want to finish your homework quickly, too, right? Then hurry up and walk the route on the map with me."

"Okay, okay... I got it." I stood up and handed the camera back to her. "I don't have enough room in my backpack for this, so I'd better give it back to you."

"Hmm? That's easy." She didn't take the camera from me, but handed me the backpack behind her. "Just carry mine too."

"Don't say such meaningless and cool lines in this situation..."

Although she was a little reluctant, she still helped her hold it.

"That's right, then let's go to the next place quickly."

. . . . . . . . . . .

The journey that seemed meaningless to me so far finally ended a small part... It was really a small part, because after confirming again and again, I found that there were probably more than a dozen such points... I felt like I wanted to travel around the entire city.

This means that my days of staying at home might not return for a while... Well, actually, I don't really dislike going out, it's just that I don't want to leave because I don't have a reason to do so. And if I go out once in a while like this, it doesn't seem that bad... I just feel a little tired.

Yes, after riding for a while today, I can already feel a subtle pain in my thighs. I wonder if the pain in my legs will keep me from going out tomorrow. Even so, she'd be so inconsiderate as to drag me out of the room without a second thought... Speaking of which, besides the water and food I'd packed, I also have a backpack that Ling Shen used for miscellaneous items... Judging by the weight, it probably has more than just the camera.

From this point of view, it seems that I really don't understand women's hearts. But if you look at it from some aspects, Lingcan's thoughts are still hard to relate to those of ordinary girls... Well, maybe I will never know what she is thinking in this life.

"Huh... I'm on the road again." The feeling of getting on the bicycle again is really a bit subtle. Although the view from the high place is very wide, I don't feel safe. On the contrary, it feels better to have my feet on solid ground.

"Do you want to go to a more remote place?"

I asked Ling Can, who was standing beside me. She seemed to have just decided where to go.

"No, we have to go back the same way we came." As she said that, she turned the car back in the direction they came from.

"Huh? Why..."

Where's the line you said you'd designed? This doesn't look like a line you'd say after designing the line.

"Because the other point is near the city."

"But why not go there first and then come here?" I couldn't help but question, "That way the distance would be shorter, right? Besides, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line... We've taken quite a detour..."

"Since I've already said I've thought it through, all you have to do is follow me. And even if it takes a little extra effort, there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

“…”

Forget it, it’s better not to say anything now.

..............

Things that don't need to be worried about

"This place will become a place for people who enjoy quiet and tranquility. It's already a remote area, but with the wide open space... Hmm, that sounds good. Now, what do you think the houses here will look like? Will they be tall, one-story buildings?"

Leaning against the shade of a tree that blocked out the sunlight, one person sat powerlessly on the ground, while the other, despite being sweating profusely, was still looking at the distant scenery with great interest, muttering something difficult to understand.

"...Just to take a look at the situation here? You walk such a long way for such a trivial thing, you really are..." The shoes have been taken off, and the hands are constantly rubbing to relieve the soreness.

"I can't help it. I like this place anyway."

"......" Doesn't this guy feel embarrassed to say such a thing? He thought to himself, but didn't say it out loud.

"I remember that you didn't live here from the beginning, so there are still many places you haven't been to, right?"

His gaze seemed to have turned here.

"Yeah...but so what."

As a transfer student, the school curriculum and language used in conversation here are very different from where he was before, and he still hasn't fully adapted to the local dialect... and he kind of hates being told this by others.

"Well... Actually, many people don't like this place. Because they think it's a place with nothing... But I think there are still things here that make others linger."

"..."

So what if he still lingered? Those who should leave will still leave. Besides, the reason he felt nostalgic was simply because he hadn't experienced and seen the prosperity of those big cities. If he had seen it with his own eyes, he probably wouldn't say such words that would not resonate with others.

But he kept the words to himself. He wasn't sure why, perhaps because he didn't want to ruin the guy's good mood, or perhaps because he wanted to wait until the last moment, until he had finished what he needed to say.

All in all, it’s better to ignore it for now.

"If you can like this place through my efforts, then people who come after you will probably like it too."

Wasn't this really just wishful thinking? As he wondered, he suddenly realized that due to the amount of exercise and the length of time he'd spent, he was already starving.

"By the way, are you hungry?"

He turned around and asked.

Finally, something moved him slightly. He nodded quickly and calmly took out his backpack.

"Ahaha, in that case, let's eat something quickly." The guy who sat next to him smiled and continued smiling, "I'm sorry for forcing you to accompany me."

"fine...."

I thought I had come along because there was something really interesting to do, but if it was just a boring hike like this... then maybe it would be better to stay home.

"...Hmm... Well, let's leave it like this for now..."

He suddenly noticed that the guy next to him did not take out the food first, but instead took out a small notebook that looked like it was made of waste paper, and was writing something on it with a pencil that had been used very short.

"...What are you doing?"

This action was enough to arouse his curiosity in the midst of his boredom.

"Record... the general situation here," the man said, pointing the notebook towards him. The faint words on the back of the paper confirmed his suspicion. This guy simply didn't have any extra paper for something unrelated to studying, so he had to use scrap paper. "Although I've never learned to draw... but at this level, it should be fine for just recording."

The guy seemed to show a rare sense of shyness when talking about this.

"..."