"Am I right?"

Huang Que said with a smile,

"After wanting to come to Copenhagen for so long, I finally have the chance, but I haven't left a single photo. Don't you think it's a bit of a pity?"

Lin Xian only realized it after hearing Huang Que's words.

It seems...

Indeed.

He doesn't particularly like taking photos, and he doesn't have the habit of posting on social media. This has led to... Lin Xian's phone camera being mainly used for scanning QR codes.

Similarly, in his phone's photo album, apart from screenshots, there are only work files. If you search through all the photos, you probably won't find a single selfie, nor any landscape or life photos.

So naturally, he didn't consider taking photos at all during this trip.

Along the way, Lin Xian was either thinking about the deeper meaning behind Huang Que's actions, or he was thinking about his future plans, how to find Kevin Walker, and how to find a breakthrough.

Tsk.

He clicked his tongue.

He really wasn't interested in this trip to Copenhagen, but Huang Que was different. Although he didn't know what her specific obsession was, this place was indeed what she had always longed for.

But along the way, he hadn't seen Huang Que take any photos; she hadn't taken any selfies, nor had she asked him to take any for her.

Thinking about it this way...

Indeed, a souvenir should be left behind.

At least to represent that she had come to Copenhagen as she wished and seen the Little Mermaid from her favorite fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid."

"Alright, since you've said so."

Lin Xian threw the crumpled napkin in his hand into the trash can:

"It doesn't hurt to go again."

"Anyway, we're not doing that check-in style of tourism, where we absolutely can't go back, and we absolutely can't visit the same scenic spot twice. Let's go wherever we want. Shall we set off now?"

Afterward, the two paid the bill at the restaurant, went out, got into a taxi, and headed for the Langelinie promenade.

Lin Xian glanced sideways, looking at Huang Que's eyes in the reflection of the car window.

Azure blue and crystal clear, they had obviously regained their original brightness.

The driver of this taxi was a tall, elderly man with some gray hair and a completely white beard. He had noticed Huang Que's eyes when the two got into the car and praised her in surprise:

"This young lady has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, just like the sea!"

Huang Que smiled slightly and replied in English:

"Maybe I'm a daughter of the sea?"

Hearing this, the driver, realizing that the two customers' destination was the Little Mermaid statue, suddenly understood and gave Huang Que a thumbs up, praising her for her clever reply.

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped on the right side of the promenade.

Lin Xian and Huang Que got out of the car.

They walked to the shallow sea beach where the Little Mermaid statue was located...

The two didn't rush to approach.

Instead, they stood ten meters away from the statue, examining this truly brave and beautiful "Daughter of the Sea" from the fairy tale world.

The well-known Little Mermaid statue is mainly composed of two parts.

The lower part is an oval granite stone with a diameter of about two meters as the foundation, supporting the Little Mermaid statue above, which is about 1.5 meters high.

The upper body of the statue is a bronze-colored girl with neat hair tied behind her head, her right hand resting on the stone of the base, and her left hand resting on her right leg.

Her direction is not facing the sea.

Instead, she faces away from the sea, facing the coast, looking at the distant city on land, her head bowed, lost in thought.

The lower half of the statue is both human and fish. The slender legs are kneeling, and the lower end of the legs has no feet, but a slender fishtail.

It also corresponds to the original fairy tale, where the Little Mermaid princess transforms her fishtail into legs and bravely pursues love and dreams.

"Andersen's fairy tale 'The Little Mermaid' was written in 1837. And this Little Mermaid bronze statue was cast and carved from bronze in 1913."

Huang Que stood on the silent beach.

With her hands in her windbreaker pockets, she stared at the Little Mermaid statue under the night sky and the impact of the滔滔 seawater, and said softly:

"At that time, a brewery owner, while watching the ballet 'The Little Mermaid', was moved by the Little Mermaid's personality and tragic fate, so he decided to donate money to create a statue for the Little Mermaid."

"The model for this statue was the actress who played the Little Mermaid in that ballet at the time. There are some interesting little stories in this. In short, this brewery owner really liked the Little Mermaid and really worked hard for this statue for several years."

"The biggest obstacle encountered was still at the final moment of making the statue. The question of whether the Little Mermaid's lower body should be legs or a fishtail caused a lot of controversy in various circles."

"But in the end, just like the famous debate between Einstein and Bohr, each insisted on his own opinion and no one convinced the other. So in the end, there was no way, so the two sides simply compromised, and it was carved into this appearance with both legs and a fishtail."

...

Listening to Huang Que's narration, Lin Xian substituted himself into this historical story and began to re-examine this world-famous statue.

It was already close to 10 p.m., which was not early.

Because it was already nine o'clock in the evening when he and Huang Que came out of the Copenhagen Opera House after watching the performance.

Then they had dinner before taking a taxi here.

So.

At this time, there was no one on the shallow sea beach except them.

It was so quiet that you could only hear the sound of the waves lapping against the rocks.

For some reason.

The Little Mermaid bronze statue under the night sky looked more sad and lonely than during the day, and had a touch of melancholy.

Its position is in seawater less than one meter deep, and the granite foundation raises it high, far from the water surface.

Unless there is a big storm or high tide, the waves rarely hit so high and wet the Little Mermaid bronze statue.

Clearly the daughter of the sea, yet unable to touch the sea, she has come to land.

Clearly she possesses everything in the ocean, yet she gazes at the land where there is no place for her, longing for it.

Huang Que turned her head and looked at Lin Xian:

"Lin Xian, even if you know the ending of the fairy tale 'The Little Mermaid'... that is, 'The Daughter of the Sea,' it's probably from the Internet or Douyin short videos, right? You probably haven't read the original, have you?"

Lin Xian nodded:

"Yes, the ending I know is probably hearsay from a marketing account's video or a network post. I just know a general process, and I know it's a tragedy. The details are actually not very clear."

"I only know that the Little Mermaid sacrificed herself for love in the end and disappeared into bubbles, but the specifics... to be honest, I've almost forgotten now."

"Because I don't really like tragic stories and I'm not very interested in tragedies... Even if you said that the story of 'The Little Mermaid' is not a tragedy for you, it's already in the category of tragedy for me, at least not a happy ending."

Huang Que breathed a long sigh of relief.

Then she took her hands out of her coat pockets and crossed her arms in front of her chest:

"You see, that's where the problem lies."

"[The reason you think this story is a tragedy is because you don't understand the whole picture.]"

Lin Xian turned his head in confusion:

"Isn't that so? Isn't that what Andersen's original work says?"

Huang Que chuckled and shook her head:

"'Andersen's Fairy Tales' was the first birthday gift I received in my memory, given to me by my parents. I don't really like most of the stories in it, and I'm not very interested in them either."

"But I especially like this one, 'The Little Mermaid,' and I've read it many times. I think this is the real fairy tale, not so deliberately sentimental, with a beginning, an end, and logic, and it also tells a meaningful and allegorical love story."

"This story may not be too good as a fairy tale, but if you wait until you grow up, become an adult, especially when you get older, and then look back at this fairy tale again, you will definitely have deeper feelings."

She raised her head again, looking at the Little Mermaid in front of her, watching the distant sea:

"Let me tell you the real ending of the original story."

Huang Que's voice was very soft:

"On the night before the Little Mermaid knew she was going to disappear at sunrise, her sisters gave their hair to the witch in exchange for a sharp knife. You only need to insert this sharp knife into the prince's heart and let his blood flow on the Little Mermaid's legs... Then, her legs will turn back into a fishtail, restore the mermaid's original form, and she can also regain 300 years of life."

"Of course, the Little Mermaid ultimately couldn't bring herself to kill the prince. She just kissed the prince's delicate eyebrows, then threw the sharp knife into the sea, and jumped into the sea in the glory of the sunrise, turning into bubbles."

"But the story doesn't end here. It's true that the Little Mermaid turned into bubbles, but she floated up and rose in the air, without dying. Instead, she gained eternal life... Do you know why this is, what happened?"

She turned her head and looked at Lin Xian:

"Because the Little Mermaid gained an [immortal soul], which is probably something you can't see in the marketing account's videos. Mermaids themselves don't have immortal souls, and they will never have such souls. Unless she can get a [mortal's love]."

"The Little Mermaid's kindness, bravery, persistence, and determination just happened to become her ticket to the elven paradise. She turned into tumbling foam and disappeared into the world, but she transformed into a greater spirit illuminating the entire world, accompanying this world with an eternal soul, watching this world, and embracing this world."

...

Lin Xian nodded gently after listening to Huang Que's narration:

"If you add this setting, it doesn't sound so tragic."

Huang Que smiled meaningfully.

Then she pointed to the Little Mermaid statue in front of her:

"Then I'll stand under the Little Mermaid statue in a while, and you can take a photo of me with your phone. You can stand at this distance, it should be enough to get both me and the Little Mermaid in the picture... This can be considered that I didn't come to Copenhagen in vain, at least I left a piece of evidence, a souvenir."

"No problem."

Lin Xian took out his phone from his pocket:

"Go ahead, my photography skills are okay."

Huang Que closed her eyes.

She wanted to say something, but stopped herself.

Then she lifted her toes and took the first step on the beach, towards the Little Mermaid statue.

The second step.

The third step.

She finally stopped there and turned her head.

The blue halo in her pupils reflected the moonlight, flickering under the light and shadow of the sea, just like the erratic space-time particle:

"Lin Xian, actually I lied to you about many things, much more than you think."

Lin Xian shook his head:

"That doesn't matter anymore."

"I lied to you, actually I was never a member of the Genius Club." Huang Que said, looking back:

"I just know some things about it. Even if you enter the Genius Club, we won't see each other there... So the sentence I said when I first met you, 'I'll wait for you at the Genius Club,' will definitely break my promise."

"That doesn't matter either."

Lin Xian shook his head:

"Whether you lie to me or not, whether you are in the Genius Club or not, this is the path I have to take. Whether the Genius Club is an enemy, a friend, justice, or evil... As you said before, I always have to see it for myself before I can make a judgment."

Hearing this.

Huang Que showed a gratified smile:

"Otherwise, why would so many people be willing to follow you and pay so much for you? When you grow up, you are still very likable."

"There's one more thing that I have to confess to you now... Actually, the reason I said I wanted to come to Copenhagen was also a lie to you."

"That man would never break his promise. He would definitely do what he said. So, on the matter of agreeing to go to Copenhagen, and on many other things... Actually, it was me who broke my promise."

"That's nothing." Lin Xian spread his hands generously:

"Anyway, we're already here. Is there anything else?"

He asked with a smile:

"It seems that there aren't any particularly explosive lies. It can even be said that these are all white lies. You don't seem to have really deceived me in any real sense."

"[Actually, there is.]"

Huang Que blinked and looked at Lin Xian:

"But I don't want to say it, can I?"

"Of course you can."

Lin Xian replied:

"You have helped me enough, and I am very grateful to you. And... I often have some inexplicable guilt, and I don't know how to repay you, and I don't know what I can do to make up for you."

"[Then listen to me and take a pretty picture of me.]"

Huang Que chuckled and habitually tucked the broken hair on her cheek behind her ear.

Then she turned around.

She strode forward.

Facing the Little Mermaid statue in the darkness, who was in deep thought and pain:

"After all, this is our... last lesson."