There is nothing wrong with the training method of the Justice Messenger

"I just think you're missing something, Kanda."

"What is it? Perseverance? Wisdom? Talent?"

"…That's not what I wanted to say, but after hearing you say that, I realized you seem to be missing something."

"The most devastating answer?!"

Kanda was about to cry, because he was also self-aware, and after hearing what Li Nian said, he felt even more like a loser. He really began to doubt whether Li Nian had no intention of comforting him at all, and that this person was just trying to take advantage of his misfortune.

Li Nian also realized that his words were not appropriate. He laughed, shrugged, and said, "Okay, I just think you lack a little... um, desire."

“…Desire?” Kanda thought for a moment and said tentatively, “Let me make it clear first, I am a normal man who stands up normally every morning.”

"...young man, you are being wicked. But sexual desire is indeed a part of desire... I am getting off topic. I am not asking you to think about it in a philosophical sense. Don't think too much. It is just a more specific desire, or goal. The most common example is [wanting money]. A bigger one is [wanting to become a scientist or astronaut]. Anyway, that's pretty much what I mean. Do you understand?"

"..."

"What can support a person's continuous efforts is often not a noble character, but a specific desire. Only when you want something will you work hard for it. This is the importance of goals. Only when you have a clear direction can you know where to go. Kanda, what you lack is this most fundamental thing."

"That's absolutely right." Kanda had a lonely expression. "In fact, I don't need you to point it out, Li Nian. I know myself well in this regard. Desires, goals, dreams... How could I not understand? Everyone in Sakurasou has clear goals. Mashiro wants to draw comics, Aoyama wants to be a voice actor, Misaki wants to do animation, Jin wants to write a script worthy of her, Ryunosuke is already a professional programmer, and Li Nian, you are also an exorcist and a writer. I have seen all the efforts you have made for your goals, and while I admire you, I am also envious... Envy that you know so clearly what you want."

It was as if he had found an outlet to vent his feelings. He talked endlessly and poured out his grievances, which showed that Kanda had been thinking about this matter all the time.

In response to this, Li Nian’s answer was.

"Envy? If you are, then find one yourself."

“The biggest problem is not being able to find it.”

Li Nian shook his head in a puzzled manner and asked, "Can't you find it or didn't you look for it?"

"..."

"I just muddle through my days, going to school and listening to lectures, and having fun after school. I'm used to it and feel quite comfortable. Day after day, year after year, it seems that there is no need to rush, right? I think I'm still young enough, and it doesn't matter if I wait a little longer to find my direction."

Li Nian missed squinting his eyes. Ah, this is youth. Youth should be this silly. He missed it quite a bit.

Kanda showed an expression as if a sore spot had been poked, and felt ashamed. Li Nian actually didn't mean to scold him, he was just teasing him. After all, he was also this stupid before. Who wasn't this stupid when they were young?

Bah, bah, bah, what do you mean by young? I’m not young anymore.

"Just think about it slowly. There's really no need to rush. Just be happy."

Chapter 307: Persuading People to Fall into the Trap

However, Li Nian had no intention of scolding anyone, and Kanda couldn't hear it at the moment.

“…That’s what you said.”

Kanda even stopped cutting the tofu with his knife. He looked embarrassed and lonely. It was obvious that he had been hurt: "...I made too many excuses."

Yes, I complained and struggled, but it was ultimately my own problem. I was immersed in a comfortable daily life, numbly following the crowd, living a life that did not change day after day. I clearly enjoyed it, enjoying this safe and comfortable daily life and could not get out of it. Yet I still wanted to be like others who were working hard and changing all the time, and wanted to be like them. What was the truth? The truth was that I did not use my brain or hands. I could not find my goal because I had never thought about it, and I had no achievements because I had never done it.

I haven't even taken the first step from zero to one, what kind of dream can I have? How can I complain to myself in front of everyone in Sakurasou who are busy working towards their goals?

Kanda felt that he was not worthy of complaining, and his expression became more and more depressed. He felt that Li Nian had seen through all his little thoughts, and that he was making excuses for his incompetence in front of Li Nian.

Li Nian was a little speechless, feeling that he had said something out of turn... Well, it wasn't just a little out of turn, because the boy he was trying to comfort was a teenage boy, and being sentimental was a privilege unique to this age. Kanda was now in a complete loser state, and it was very tactless of him to joke about it.

"Don't be so silly, bro. You almost wrote "I am a five" on your face, but think about it, are you?"

Kanda thought about it carefully.

"…I really seem to be a five."

Li Nian was angry: "How can you say that? Don't you, Kanda, have your merits, for example... uh, for example..."

Kanda Qiji looked over and saw Li Nian thinking for a long time before he uttered, "For example, are you a very Asian person?"

"Heh, a classic Asashi light novel hero, huh? I never thought that one day I, Kanda Sorata, would be able to receive this honor."

"You actually know this joke, hahaha."

"Hahaha."

"..."

"..."

"…So I am indeed a five?"

"No, no, no, no, no, not five. You're just a mediocre person. Average, you know? You're still at this level."

"What should I do? Now that I hear that, I'm actually a little happy."

"..."

"[This guy is so troublesome, can I just ignore him?], you have written this thought on your face - have you become more and more vulgar recently, Li Nian? You were not such a talker before, or is this just your nature? But don't back out now, aren't you just pulling me over to give you a beating and then walking away? If you do that, I will resent you for the rest of my life."

Snap, snap, Kanda cutting the tofu with a blank expression looked a little scary.

Li Nian gave a dry laugh.

It was so obvious that even Kanda could see it. Li Nian himself was not unaware of it. Recently, as his state of mind improved, he was becoming more and more casual. After fighting with the Tsuchigumo, he felt like he had seen the sunrise after the clouds had parted, and a huge shackle had been removed from his heart. The flaming spear in the icy lake of his mind burned more and more fiercely - he had too many unrestrained thoughts, and was less cautious in his words and actions.

Li Nian coughed.

"I'm just trying to wake you up, Kanda. A real man shouldn't get more motivated the more he gets angry the more he gets scolded. It was you who just said you wanted to turn your anger into motivation."

"You keep making it up, I'm listening"

It's over. Kanda no longer has any trust in himself.

Li Nian sighed and became slightly serious.

"You said I've changed, and I want to say you've changed, too. Kanda, you're not such a heartless person, are you? When we were preparing for the project review, we scolded you a lot, pointed out all your mistakes, and scolded you when you made a fool of yourself. At that time, you listened and accepted, and you were always inspired, and then you corrected yourself and became better and better. You really listened and turned your anger into strength. But why can't you do it now?"

“…Because I lost.”

"You lost once, but you didn't lose your life - okay, I won't give you any chicken soup now. Let me be frank, after this incident, you, Kanda Sorata, obviously got a lot of benefits. Who are you trying to show off to?"

“…A lot of benefits?” Kanda looked over in confusion.

"It's experience gained, isn't it?"

"...The result is still the same old chicken soup?"

"Calm down, Kanda. No matter how much you get upset, you can't ignore the objective facts."

Li Nian was not joking at this time, and his cold voice was serious: "It's better to do it than not to do it."

"...I know, but I can't help but think that this is meaningless. After all, this world only looks at the results."

"Wow, you have realized the philosophy of life again at this time. You really should drink less of this poisonous chicken soup... It's a wrong idea to say that the experience gained in the process is not important. I seem to have made similar excuses to a stupid girl who started to regret her life after being criticized for a novel. But since you are not a beautiful girl, I am too lazy to persuade you."

"You really didn't try to persuade me in a nice way from the beginning, because I'm not a pretty girl?"

"You are a real man, and a real man has to get up on his own after falling down. Anyway, I understand that you take the results of the review too seriously and take too lightly everything you gain in the process of working hard to achieve your goals."

"I know myself……"

"You know nothing, you know, you are doing something you have never done before, taking steps you have never taken before, you are urging your lazy body to move, finally moving, this is of great significance - if you really know this truth, you will not be here to complain about yourself."

"..."

"Now that you've started, don't let yourself stop. If you stop, all your previous efforts will be wasted. This has nothing to do with spiritualism or anything like that. It's because of what I just told you, that people forget things too quickly. Once you stop, you'll forget everything over time, including the pain of failure and... the passion you had when you were working hard, and even the skills you've accumulated. Everything will be lost as a result."

Kanda looked thoughtful.

Now he cut a piece of tofu into very nice shape. After all, he is a single man, and Kanda's knife skills are not bad.

Although he argued with Li Nian verbally, saying that Li Nian had been suppressing him and that Kanda had lost his confidence, in fact, Kanda had always been doing what he was told to do seriously, and was also listening to Li Nian's words and thinking seriously.

Li Nian pushed other ingredients to this guy at the right time to handle, so that his hands were also busy. He continued, "A machine that has been stopped for a long time was filled with oil and finally started to move with a click. It will always be slow and inefficient at the beginning, but as it keeps running, there will inevitably be an accumulation of output, and it will inevitably move faster and faster. But if it stops again, when will it be started again? It will have to start all over again and preheat again. How much loss is that? The time and energy wasted are actually glittering gold and silver. So don't stop. From a utilitarian point of view, don't let it stop no matter what. Force yourself not to stop. This is the most important thing, don't understand? As long as you don't stop, the road will continue to extend..."

"…Should I say that the example you gave is down-to-earth or down-to-earth…Well, if I don't stop, then I won't stop. I shouldn't stop, and I don't want to stop. The reason is that I just can't get excited right now, mainly because I don't know what to do next. I am the kind of five young people you mentioned, the kind of young people who can't find their goals or directions, the kind of young people who are lost and at a loss like little lambs."

"Don't just sit there and think about life. The most important thing is to get moving. You pretentious young people, can't you find your goal? That's because you haven't moved your butts! If you find something to do, you won't be thinking about weird things all day long. I think you did a good job when you were reviewing game plans before, so why don't you continue with your previous goals now?"

"……What's the meaning?"

"During the time when you were reviewing game plans, you were very serious about it. Why don't you just keep doing it?"

Kanda was confused: "... continue to work on the game plan? Uh, but this plan has passed the review, and I was rejected. Who will the plan be shown to?"

On the contrary, Li Nian felt it was strange and gave him a puzzled look.

"Planning? Who asked you to plan? What's the point of a piece of paper? Games, games, didn't you participate in this planning review because you wanted to make a game?"

Kanda was really stunned this time.

"I...want to make games?"

"You asked me with a surprised expression... Didn't you want to make games in the beginning... Oh." Li Nian thought about it and understood, and laughed: "Oh, no wonder you care so much about whether a piece of waste paper is selected or not. It seems that you didn't think clearly about the nature of the project when you participated in the planning review."

Li Nian thought that Kanda was aiming to make the game, but it turned out that this was not the case. Kanda seemed to be only concerned with the review and was only trying to get his piece of paper approved by the people above him.

Kanda began to think back to his original idea... It was when he was working on the collaboration between Shiina and Kasumigaoka-senpai, and he was reading a magazine in that coffee shop when he had nothing to do, and he had the idea to give it a try.

I also happened to see a flyer from a company soliciting game projects from the public, so I signed up without thinking too much... I just wanted to give it a try...

So in the end, what exactly do you want to "try"?

“…By the way, I did set out to make games in the beginning.”

I just wanted to “try making a game”.

How could I forget.

...It's not that I forgot. When I was busy preparing for the review, I certainly imagined what it would be like if the review passed and I entered the game production stage. It's just that now that the review failed, my mind is full of planning issues.

Kanda took a deep breath.

"I seem to have put the cart before the horse."

After saying this, Kanda's expression was no longer confused and he regained his calm.

Seeing this, Li Nian jokingly asked, "Have you realized it, idiot?"

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Master."

After another round of nonsense, the two glanced at each other and laughed.

Kanda finally smiled with a refreshed look: "I understand, Coach! I want to make games, I want to make games!"

Li Nian also laughed. Finally, he had explained the truth to this kid... This sounded so familiar. Oh, by the way, An Yi kept saying this all day long.

When she thought of this, Li Nian suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.

That’s not right. Is An Yi’s unprofessional idea really worth spreading?

Is he trying to persuade a student who is about to enter his senior year of high school to realize that he should use his time playing games?

Is it because he is talking too much and has been infected by An Yi and started to cause trouble to other good young people?

Li Nian coughed and reminded, "Well, Kanda, a student's duty is to study, and hobbies should be put aside."

"You're right, but it's also good to combine interests with studies, isn't it? I didn't know what to do in the future before, and I was still thinking about what major to choose. Now, if I want to make games, maybe I should go in the direction of programming." Kanda became more and more excited and said with a smile: "It just so happens that Ryunosuke is a great programmer. He gave me a lot of related books before. I don't have to buy professional books like [C++ from Beginner to Divine Commitment]..."

Kanda looked like a young man whose dreams were just beginning to ignite.

Li Nian glanced at him and thought about the many programmers among his friends in his previous life. In fact, they were all doing pretty well. In the current information society, programmers' hard work is indispensable. When they met and reminisced about the past, their hairlines gradually moved up year by year...

Not a bad direction anyway.

The price of becoming stronger is becoming bald, and this is the price you have to pay! Probably!

No matter what thoughts were running through Li Nian's mind, Kanda was becoming more and more excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood. While he kept talking about his prospects for the future, his hands became active and efficient in helping to process the ingredients.

In any case, this person seems to have recovered his spirits.

Young people's emotions come and go quickly.

It is by no means a bad thing to gradually clarify what you are going to do in the future.

Li Nian blinked at Shiina and others who were standing over there and peeking at this place at some point in time.

Yes, during this period of time everyone has returned to Sakurasou one after another, and learned from Shiina that Kanda was not selected.

Everyone in Sakurasou was concerned about Kanda. They gathered together in the corner of the corridor, spying on the situation here. After receiving a signal from Li Nian - and seeing Kanda's expression gradually becoming cheerful, they realized that they no longer had to worry about anything.

Mitaka smiled knowingly and patted Kamiigusa's shoulder: "Korata seems to be fine. Let's go, Misaki, and wait for the sumptuous dinner tonight."