Regarding whether he regrets concealing that Cao Chuang is an internal ghost, Li Xiang undoubtedly has deep remorse. When An Xin asked him at Cao Chuang's grave, his answer was: "I regret it every day, every day." "So, what exactly did he regret?Is it hiding the truth?Did he help Zhao Lidong to fulfill the abuse?Or is he involuntarily in his body now?Probably both. But rather, if given another chance, he might still make the same choice. This can't help but remind people of a dialogue in the play, Xu Zhong asked An Xin: "If you go back to twenty years ago, would you still send Gao Qiqiang a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner?"An Xin first said resolutely: "I definitely won't." But after a moment of contemplation, he added: "It's not good to say, the question is who knows what is going on." ”
Life is like this, always on the path chosen, full of reverie for the path not chosen, maybe envy, maybe regret. However, every choice has a reason and meaning behind it. In the context and state of mind at the time, we weighed the pros and cons and made what we thought was the most correct choice. An Xin, Li Xiang, and even Gao Qiqiang, they all made their own choices, even if they go back in time, they will still stick to their choices. Because the meaning and reason behind the choice have long been ingrained in their hearts. Here's a full rewrite of the original text:
When faced with Cao Chuang's identity as a ghost and the truth behind Zhao Lidong's instructions, Li Xiang was faced with three choices.
First, he can choose to reveal the truth. Doing so may cause some trouble to Zhao Lidong, but as long as Zhao Lidong is not knocked down, Li Xiang's life will not be easy. In addition, revealing the identity of Cao Chuang's inner ghost will make Li Xiang "infamy" on his back. Although he is motivated by justice, the outside world may think that he is a ruthless and unrighteous villain who will do anything for meritorious service, and it is difficult for anyone other than An Xin to identify with him.
Secondly, Li Xiang could choose not to say anything. In this way, he could claim to the outside world that when he arrived at the scene, Cao Chuang had already lost his breath and knew nothing about it. The advantage of this is that he doesn't have to push out the esteemed ** with his own hands, so as not to be emotionally tortured. At the same time, the case will not be closed easily, giving An Xin a chance to continue the investigation, and Zhao Lidong will not target him. However, this choice may result in the case not being able to detect Zhao Lidong's crimes.
In the end, Li Xiang can choose to hide the truth. Doing so would maintain Cao Chuang's reputation and decency, and make Zhao Lidong owe him a favor. However, he needs to face the condemnation in his heart, An Xin's doubts, and has to get involved with Zhao Lidong. Because once the truth is concealed, Zhao Lidong will understand that Li Xiang knows that he is the mastermind behind it. In this case, Zhao Lidong will try his best to win over Li Xiang to become his own. If Li Xiang rejected Zhao Lidong, he would still offend him. Because he didn't dare to offend Zhao Lidong, Li Xiang chose to hide the truth, which also meant that he couldn't refuse Zhao Lidong's "invitation".
For Zhao Lidong, he will use Li Xiang's interests and fear to control him. Li Xiang's position as the detachment leader is the benefit given by Zhao Lidong. In this world, there is no stronger relationship than the intertwining of interests. Therefore, no matter which option Li Xiang chooses, he is destined to be inextricably linked with Zhao Lidong. He can't let anyone know his secrets, even if they don't have real evidence. Therefore, Li Xiang faces two possibilities: either become his ally and share the risk;Either try to shut up Li Xiang and eliminate the threat. This can be seen from previous cases, such as An Xin's experience or Xu Jiang's ending. Think deeply about these three options, from a benefit perspective:
Option 1 is obviously the most unfavorable for Li Xiang. Not only would it anger Zhao Lidong, but it might also make it impossible for him to bring him to justice.
Option two did not appear to have a clear benefit or prejudice.
Option 3 has both pros and cons. The advantage is that it has maintained Cao Chuang's reputation and helped Zhao Lidong protect himself;However, this also violated his conscience and made him embarrassed with Zhao Lidong.
Li Xiang is well aware of the true meaning of these three choices. He was well aware that choosing either option meant giving up other possibilities. It was precisely because he knew the pros and cons of each option that he finally chose the last option. He once said frankly to An Xin: "The reason why I chose to cooperate with you is to maintain the reputation of the best." But beyond that, I have my own fears. I'm afraid that I won't be able to compete with Zhao Lidong, and I'm afraid of losing everything I've worked so hard to gain over the years. ”
When faced with a choice, people tend to choose the side that is more beneficial to themselves, which is the instinct of human nature. Li Xiang is no exception. He didn't want to be with Zhao Lidong, nor did he want to betray his police duties. But he was even more unwilling to bear the price of offending Zhao Lidong. This also led to him having to be coerced forward by Zhao Lidong. As for the final result, either he found enough evidence to fight Zhao Lidong to the end, or he completely fell into the dark abyss.
Gao Qiqiang's change in fortune is not entirely due to external pressure and persecution. As can be seen from three key turning points in his life, it was all his own choice. The so-called "self-involuntariness" is just a means of self-comfort and gaining sympathy from others. From Gao Qiqiang's life course, we can analyze three important turning points for him. The first turning point was his clever use of An Xin as his "talisman". It was precisely because of An Xin's kindness and his ingenious lies that Gao Qiqiang was able to get rid of the bullying of the Tang brothers. Since then, Tang Xiaolong's attitude towards Gao Qiqiang has changed dramatically, and this is all thanks to the influence of the forces behind An Xin, especially An Changlin. This also laid the foundation for Gao Qiqiang's subsequent rise.
On the issue of the location of the fish shop, Gao Qiqiang not only kept it without objection, but also waived the so-called sanitation fee. Gao Qiqiang actually didn't have a bottom in his heart about this "beautiful misunderstanding", but in order to continue to enjoy this preferential treatment, and at the same time to make the Tang brothers jealous, he chose to take this misunderstanding seriously. Therefore, he not only acquiesced in his close relationship with An Xin, but also solved the matter of Lao Ma's younger brother in the vegetable market under the banner of An Changlin. This is an important turning point in Gao Qiqiang's life. For the first time, he tasted the sweetness of "having a backer", which he didn't need to exchange for an expensive TV, and he could easily get it by telling a small lie. However, this also indicates that Gao Qiqiang's path will go further and further.
If a person who originally did his duty and acted according to the rules suddenly realized the benefits of taking shortcuts, then this person is no longer willing to move forward in a down-to-earth manner and step by step. Shortcuts will become his first choice in life. This is Gao Qiqiang's second turning point: participating in Xu Lei's affairs. If it is said that bringing down Xu Jiang is a forced counterattack under his self-preservation, then it is his own choice to get involved in this right and wrong.
When Tang Xiaolong told Gao Qiqiang that Bai Jiangbo paid someone to teach Xu Lei a lesson, he had every reason and opportunity to refuse. At that time, Tang Xiaolong had already believed in the relationship between Gao Qiqiang and An Xin, so he would not force him to wade into this troubled water. However, the reason why Gao Qiqiang agreed to this errand had nothing to do with being forced to be helpless, it was entirely because of money. Because with 20,000 yuan, he and Gao Qisheng's PHS store can be opened smoothly, and if the store can be opened, they will have the opportunity to make more money.
It's just that what Gao Qiqiang didn't expect was that 20,000 yuan was not easy to earn, and even made him embark on the road of crime. It's never wrong to want to live a better life and make more money. But if you do what you shouldn't do for the sake of money, abandon your bottom line, conscience, or even break the law for the sake of money, it is a big mistake. There is a saying in "Huainanzi Miao Chengxun": "A gentleman does not think that small acts of kindness are not enough to give up for them, because the accumulation of small kindnesses is great goodness;Nor do they think that small evil deeds are harmless, because the accumulation of small evils is great evil. "No wicked person is born that way. People often end up on the point of no return to sin because of their neglect of small mistakes. In the face of the mistakes of the weak, we are always easy to give understanding and forgiveness, but we should also give compassion and care to those who are in difficult situations but persist in kindness. Gao Qiqiang, he once thought about turning himself in, maybe for the future of his younger brother, maybe to repay the past kindness, or for inner peace.
He said to An Xin: "In two days, I'll give you a gift." And this gift is actually himself. However, his decision was not understood by his younger brother Gao Qisheng. Gao Qisheng tried to prevent his brother's surrender for various reasons, from material ** to family affection**, he did everything he could. In the end, in the face of his sister Xiaolan's innocence and innocence, Gao Qiqiang finally gave up the idea of turning himself in. At this moment, his life path changed drastically. As Lu Yao said: "No one's life path is straight, and there is no fork in the road." There are some forks in the road, you take a wrong step, which can affect a period of life or a lifetime. ”
Gao Qiqiang's every choice made him farther and farther away from the right path, he always thought that he could control his own destiny, but he didn't know that every choice had changed the trajectory of his life. It wasn't until Li Xiang confessed that he concealed the truth because he was afraid that he would not be able to fight Zhao Lidong and was afraid of losing everything he had, that I understood that Xiaolan's appearance was just a reasonable excuse for Gao Qiqiang to give up and surrender. In the play, there is a detail: after Xu Jiang was wanted, Gao Qiqiang went to a law firm before preparing to turn himself in, and consulting about his situation would be sentenced to several years. The lawyer told him: "Your friend has been involved in a serious criminal offense and has committed multiple counts. Under normal circumstances, the penalty for several crimes will be combined, and the sentence will be at least 10 years. This answer is the real reason why Gao Qiqiang gave up surrendering.
On the one hand, his consulting behavior has shown that he has not made up his mind to turn himself in, and he wants to understand the cost before making a decision. On the other hand, Gao Qiqiang once told Gao Qisheng that he was relieved to leave for a few years, that is, Gao Qisheng originally thought that he would be sentenced to three or five years at most, and ten years was far beyond his acceptable range. In other words, Gao Qiqiang, who got the answer, didn't want to surrender anymore, but he couldn't convince his conscience, so he drank so much wine. And then Xiaolan's appearance gave him a perfect reason to convince himself: It's not that I don't want to turn myself in, I don't want to affect my sister, I'm not afraid, I'm for my family.
This is similar to Li Xiang's persuasion to conceal the truth. When Li Xiang learned that ** was an inner ghost and Zhao Lidong was behind the scenes**, he felt conflicted. On the one hand, professional faith and righteous conscience told him that he should tell the truth;On the other hand, the fear of power drives him to hide the truth. In the end, it was Cao Chuang who convinced him to hide the truth: I'm not afraid of Zhao Lidong, I'm a performance of roundabout tactics and understanding current affairs;I'm not for myself, I'm here to preserve the reputation and decency of **.
In short, Cao Chuang, like Xiaolan, is a "tool man", and it is Li Xiang and Gao Qiqiang who try to convince themselves and find a plausible and reasonable excuse. When doing something wrong, people always want to find reasons from others or the outside world, and no one wants to dissect themselves bloodily. In the face of our own inner fragility and **, we must be honest with them. Here, we have to think about such a question: If An Xin was at the scene of the Xujiang crime, what choice would he make?I firmly believe that he will not hesitate to reveal the truth. In An Xin's concept, good and evil, black and white, should be distinct and not confused. His faith is so strong that fame and fortune cannot shake his determination, so he will not hesitate for any reason.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, An Xin is too "stubborn" and easy to suffer. However, I think this is what makes An Xin valuable. Although in real life, people like him are rare, "rare" does not mean wrong, and "universal" is not necessarily wise. In a world where many people only focus on profit and personal gain and loss, An Xin adheres to some "seemingly stupid principles", such as faith. This is also the core message of the play.