Last night I had dinner with a friend who works within the system. After we talked, I had a lot of thoughts.

It seems like her life’s script was already set: a stable job, buying a home, getting married, having kids.

Her everyday joys are things like eating at the mall and watching a movie, while her spare time gets spent on short dramas, domestic-family dramas, and blind dates.

Every day the work is repetitive and competitive, and even on holidays you always run into adjusted days off.

There aren’t many sudden problems—everything goes smoothly: you get to take a vacation, meet the right person, and it feels like life is pretty good.

The yardsticks for each person’s values naturally differ.

Some people value life choices and the freedom to explore outward, while others prefer a controllable, low-risk, steady life.

There’s no inherent superiority or inferiority in choices—everyone just makes different trade-offs in their hearts.

Walking along the night streets, suddenly it feels like every road has its own scenery.