Journey in the Imperial Capital

When I think of the Imperial Capital, this is the image that comes to mind: sandstorms, people wearing thick masks; whenever it rains, you can see the sea and go boating in the Imperial Capital.

But when I got off the car, I realized that the sky was not cooperating at all. It was so blue, so blue that I wanted to write a few words on it declaring “I am the color of the sky”.

After arriving at the hotel arranged by the tour guide, my friends and I were astonished: it was a row after row of tiled houses, just like that.

Day 1

Early in the morning, I found plastic bags and dirt everywhere on the ground, as if it was the street scene behind the big stalls in my hometown.

Later, under the guidance of the tour guide, I realized how difficult life in the Imperial Capital was.

During this time, the tour guide kept rushing, as if trying to quickly finish the day’s itinerary.

Seemingly having mastered the art of lightness, without any big movements, swiftly and quickly, leaving us far behind.

Within half a day, we visited Tiananmen Square, the National Museum, the Military Museum, and then went to the Water Cube/Bird’s Nest.

At noon, KFC was mentioned, and I knew it was referring to the film “Tiny Times” that had received a stunning 0.9 score on VeryCD (a Chinese website for downloading movies). The lowest score seems to be 1, so how did it get 0.9? I couldn’t quite grasp it.

Later, we were forced to watch an acrobatic show.

In the evening, the check-up results were satisfying. After working so hard for a year, I got a tan in an instant.

Fortunately, the couple traveling with us had their return tickets for the day after tomorrow, otherwise they might have gone back the next day.

I had a profound experience of the struggles of the “ant tribe” in Beijing and the widely promoted Chinese dream.

In the evening, we had a meal at a street that claimed to be full of gold. I listened to a friend of the tour guide talking endlessly about how difficult it was for him in the Imperial Capital, how he could have worked at a government agency but chose to come to the Imperial Capital to try his luck.

As I sipped water, I thought to myself, why does it seem like you’re the only one suffering in the world? What a pity.

But since he was treating us, I had to pretend to sympathize, luckily I didn’t burst into laughter.

Unexpectedly, the couple insisted on paying the bill to save face, and the tour guide happily took the reimbursement back.

At the end, as we came out, I imitated the words from the movie “The Hobbit” that Gandalf said to Bilbo Baggins:

“The world is not in your maps and books …When you come back, you will not be the same.”

PS1: Wasn’t the big bowl restaurant that closed down in my first year of high school?

PS2: At the same time in Wangfujing, @Xinhua Viewpoint: On the night of the 30th at around 8:42 pm, in front of the New Dong’an Market in Beijing’s Wangfujing, a man stabbed a girl.

Day 2

We went to the Forbidden City, and for some reason, I felt that every brick and tile exuded strong feudal and backward thinking.

The tour guide was babbling on as if no one was around, talking about feng shui, Yin and Yang, and whatnot. Two passersby became free spectators.

PS: One of them was a Huawei developer.

During that time, I saw a foreign girl with long hair, her head lowered, quietly leaning against the railing, with cute freckles on her face.

PS: No wonder some Caucasians tan their skin to a wheat color.

Another PS: After seeing this kind of person, it feels like the world becomes quiet. I have only seen a few of them in total. In this noisy and restless society, they bring tranquility. I wonder when I can achieve such a state without relying on external things.

In the evening, the tour guide changed us to a five-star hotel, no, a budget hotel outside the Fifth Ring Road.

Disagreements arose when bringing the physical body to the intended destination.

After a long ride on the subway, I noticed that some young people were using their phones/reading books, making the most of every second to charge up, including our tour guide.

This made me think of the reading habits of the Russian people. Finally, the Great Kingdom is making progress.

But will it end up being unintentional? It’s a sad scenario.

PS: Frequently not going on dates with girls turns into notifications.

With a mindset of inaction, I didn’t want to become a scapegoat and the situation was getting worse.

On the first day, I occasionally made fun of the tour guide, but now I have no energy for it.

Life is hard, so let’s skip this part.

Day 3

Originally, I wanted to go to Peking University and other universities, as well as visit Zhongguancun (China’s Silicon Valley).

But I heard that the new semester had started recently, and I might not be allowed in.

Coupled with the recent disaster in Thailand, I had a terrifying realization and a sudden thought to retreat.

Checking the time, I decisively set off alone.

At the South Station, I drank a bottle of water from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, filled with positive energy.

I read a book for a while on the train, then got off and bought an ice cream.

Hooray!

Of course, the end result was disappointing.

Just then, I received a text message, inviting me to dinner.

Dizzy, didn’t they know I was exhausted? Just came back from the Imperial Capital, half dead tired, and they want to have dinner. Also, what about that guy?

Then these past two days, I’ve seen an effect of willpower, remembered that thing called “green exercise,” took a deep breath, and asked why. The answer was that they hadn’t eaten.

Then I remembered being rejected at a critical moment in the past and all the subsequent frustrating and dramatic events. Looking back on it now, it seemed like a cheesy romantic novel that fell apart.

I bought a watch last year and didn’t calculate the expenses. That was already a mistake. So clever.

After returning home, I spent over an hour online only to find that there was no water.

Suddenly, I realized how accurate the revised Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was.

I ran to pay the water bill, and the salesperson looked surprised, saying that I didn’t owe anything.

While I was still wondering, I received a text message from the landlord saying that they had shut off the main switch.

Damn, what the hell!! And to think that they were still on the hard seat of the red train at that moment.

Later, I heard the landlord’s wife say that their train car had caught fire due to aging wires, and they were later called by the police to give a statement. It must have been around that time.

So, you can’t speak too harshly, and you can’t be too extreme in life, young man.

Translated by gpt-3.5-turbo