Ma Lu said, "You know, I once met a person who was a sociologist, but his head was a bit off. He wanted to create a world where everyone was equal and loving."
"The problem is, the world itself is like a piece of five-nut mooncake that's been sitting around for eight hundred years and has grown green mold; you can't scrape off the green mold because it's part of the mooncake, inseparable."
"The internet is the same. If you pay attention to it, you will find that it's becoming more and more violent and divided, just like our world. Even if you do nothing online, you could still be attacked for your gender or just because you come from a different province or like different things."
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"Cyberbullying isn't exactly anything new, and every year more and more people become its victims, but even when the state steps in, there's not much that can be done about it."
"Arresting a few examples might help a bit at the time, but it won't change the trend. It's the result of a combination of factors, including changes in world economics, geopolitics, and the increasingly fast pace of life."
"So I think for ordinary people, it's not particularly meaningful to worry about how to make the internet a more peaceful and loving place. The only thing you can do is adjust your own mood."
"If you really see a comment online that makes you furious, just fire back. If you want to judge others based on snippets, go ahead and do it because you'll be judged out of context by others anyway. Hmm, that could be considered some sense of fairness, I guess."
"From billionaires to ordinary civilians, everyone is treated the same with rumors and cyberbullying."
"But wouldn't that mean the internet is full of nothing but arguments?" Yi Xiaxia widened her eyes, not understanding.
"Trust me, even if you choose to be a good person, the arguments on the internet definitely won't decrease."
Ma Lu said, "You shouldn't be too hard on yourself. It's not a big deal to boost your mood value legally online."
"Brother Ma, are you a pessimist?"
Ma Lu shrugged. "You're not the first to say that, but on the contrary, I am a very optimistic person. I'm the type who would still live today happily even if the world were ending tomorrow because I don't waste my energy on things I can't change."
"Most of human suffering comes from being too harsh on oneself and the world."
"You always hope that you and the world will become better, so naturally, it's easy to feel depressed and disappointed when neither is good enough."
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"But you have to understand that neither people nor the world can avoid making mistakes."
"Just like I said before, this world is a huge furry five-nut mooncake, but aside from those annoying green hairs, hey, don't forget it's also a mooncake with a delicious flaky crust. Even if you don't totally like five-nut, surely there are one or two types of nuts that you do like, and that should be enough."
"The internet is the same. Besides becoming increasingly confrontational and divided, with all sorts of swearing and messy rumors, it also has some really awesome big shots sharing their sexy mods and cool little gadgets. You also have helpful netizens answering your questions, teaching you how to fix your washing machine and air conditioner."
"That singer you mentioned who died of depression, as a creator, being judged and misunderstood is inevitable, but apart from the accusations and speculation, he must have also received a lot of praise and genuine love after becoming a singer."
"All the praise and love must have supported him on his path as a singer for a long time. So if he had to choose again, he might still choose to be a singer."
"In the end, being alive means you can't avoid being criticized—by netizens, by your boss, by your family. Some people use these criticisms as motivation to push themselves forward, but there is ultimately a limit to what a person's psyche can handle.
"Once that limit is exceeded, bad things can happen, especially to those who already suffer from psychological disorders or feel like they have been in a bad mood for a long time.
"The most important thing for you isn't to reflect and make amends, but to find a way to block out those external voices, to reduce the pressure you're under, to stop letting that criticism hurt you.
"If it really causes you pain, that will only make those who criticize you happily smug, because they have successfully attacked you. Especially, don't do something drastic."
"Even if you're being slandered and you choose to end your life, it won't make those bastards feel even the slightest bit of guilt. Believe me, most people online are just casually commenting a few words, letting off some steam, and aren't really concerned with how many bowls of noodles Liu Zi actually ate."
"I... can't fully understand, but after listening to you, I do feel a lot better, not so terrible anymore," Yi Xiaxia said.
"Lowering your sense of morality a bit and occasionally slacking off can make your life a lot happier," Ma Lu said, "The stewed meat is getting cold, eat up."
"Uh..." Yi Xiaxia picked up the chopsticks and took a piece of wolf camel meat from the bowl, lifted it to her mouth, then paused, "Brother Ma, thank you for being willing to chat with me, and for your advice."
"Don't mention it. To meet is to have fate, plus you're quite a decent person," Ma Lu said, "Although I don't mind having online spats and even outsourced my accounts for that purpose, it's undeniable that being with people of high quality is more comfortable."
"But my high quality is only because of my good family background. I grew up around polite people, and if it weren't for my parents, I might be worse than the average person," Yi Xiaxia said.
"Hey, 'When the granary is full, one knows what is proper; when the clothes are warm and the food is sufficient, one knows honor and shame.' This isn't something to be ashamed of," Ma Lu said, "You shouldn't listen to those big talkers spouting nonsense. Whatever the reason, the fact that you managed to restrain from lashing out in that game already says a lot."
"Yeah." Yi Xiaxia nodded firmly, as if encouraging herself, trying hard to let go of others' judgments just as Ma Lu had suggested, and then she began to eat the meat in her bowl.
To her surprise, as soon as she took a bite, she was astonished, "Oh my goodness, this is so delicious! Did you make this, Brother Ma?"
"No, it was Old Wang. He's my roommate and business partner, also the head chef of our restaurant," Ma Lu explained.
"What's the name of your restaurant?" Yi Xiaxia hadn't paid attention to the sign at the entrance earlier because she was preoccupied with her troubles.
"Universe Infinite Canteen."
"Ah, so this is Universe Infinite Canteen? I've heard from a classmate about a small restaurant where the meals are expensive, yet there's always a long, long line in front of it every day. I thought the food here must be delicious to warrant such a queue. It turns out it's even a hundred times more delicious than I imagined," she remarked.