Chapter 601: Chapter 22: The Sea’s Daughter (Added for alliance leader 492!) Chapter 601: Chapter 22: The Sea’s Daughter (Added for alliance leader 492!) “You think I’m right?”
Huang Que said with a smile:
“Having wanted to come to Copenhagen for so long, we finally had the chance, but to not take a single photo, don’t you think it’s such a pity?”
It was only after Huang Que said this that Lin Xian realized.
He himself was not particularly fond of taking photos, nor did he ever have the habit of posting on social media.
Lin Xian’s phone camera essentially existing just for scanning QR codes.
Similarly, in his phone’s photo gallery, apart from screenshots and work files, one could probably comb through all the photos and still not find a single selfie, nor any landscape or life photos.
So naturally, on this trip, he hadn’t considered taking photos at all.
Along the way, Lin Xian was either pondering what deep meanings Huang Que’s actions hid or contemplating his own future plans and how to find Kevin Walker and break through the impasse.
He indeed had no interest in this trip to Copenhagen, but Huang Que was different.
Although he didn’t know her specific obsession, this was indeed the place she had always longed for.
Yet along the way, he had not seen Huang Que take any photos; she had neither taken selfies nor asked him to take photos for her.
Indeed, a keepsake should be left.
At least to signify that she had fulfilled her wish of visiting Copenhagen and seen her favorite fairy tale “The Little Mermaid.”
“Alright then, since you say so.”
Lin Xian threw the napkin he had balled up in his hand into the trash:
“Another visit wouldn’t hurt.”
“After all, we aren’t on the kind of sightseeing trip where we can’t retrace our steps or visit the same spot twice.
Let’s just go wherever we want, shall we head out now?”
Afterwards, the two of them paid the bill at the restaurant, stepped outside, and got into a taxi, heading for Langelinie Shoreline Sidewalk.
On the way, Huang Que was silent and reticent.
She always kept her eyes closed as if pondering something.
She also stared out the car window with an expression that was sometimes vacant and sometimes melancholic.
This kind of expression…
It was hard to imagine the always confident and proud Huang Que allowing such a weak emotion as melancholy to appear on her face.
What was she thinking about?
Lin Xian had thought that Huang Que’s decision to bring him to Copenhagen must have had some purpose.
But now, it seemed he really might have misunderstood her.
She was indeed earnestly touring, and now she even wanted to take tourist photos.
The taxi drove along an unnamed road.
Lin Xian glanced over, looking at Huang Que’s eyes reflected on the car window.
Deep blue and crystal clear, they had clearly regained their original brightness.
Huang Que’s health also temporarily had nothing to worry about, right?
The taxi driver was a tall, elderly man with salt-and-pepper hair and a completely white stubbly beard; he had noticed Huang Que’s eyes when they had gotten into the car and had exclaimed in surprise:
“This young lady’s eyes are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, like the ocean itself!”
After hearing this, Huang Que simply smiled slightly and replied in English:
“Maybe I am also a daughter of the sea?”
Thinking of the two passengers’ destination being The Little Mermaid Bronze Statue, the old driver suddenly understood, gave Huang Que a thumbs up for her clever reference.
Half an hour later, the taxi came to a stop on the right side of the sidewalk.
Lin Xian and Huang Que got out of the car.
They walked to the shallow beach where The Little Mermaid statue was located…
The two of them did not rush to approach.
Instead, they stood about ten meters away from the statue and observed the true, from the fairy tale world, brave and beautiful “Daughter of the Sea.”
This well-known Little Mermaid statue was mainly composed of two parts.
The bottom part was an oval granite stone about two meters in diameter serving as the pedestal to support the approximately 1.5 meters high Little Mermaid statue above it.
The upper part of the statue was a bronze-colored young girl, her neat hair tied back, her right hand resting on the stone base, and her left hand placed on her right thigh.
She did not face the sea.
Instead, she turned her back to the ocean, facing the coast, looking towards the distant city on land, her head bowed as if deep in thought.
The lower half of the statue was both human and fish-like.
The shapely legs were kneeling, with no feet at the ends, but elongated fish tails instead.
This corresponded to the original fairy tale’s Little Mermaid princess, who transformed her fish tail into legs, bravely chasing love and her dreams.
“Andersen’s fairy tale ‘The Little Mermaid,’ was written in 1837.
The Little Mermaid Bronze Statue was cast and sculpted in bronze in 1913.”
Huang Que stood on the quiet sand beach.
Hands tucked into the pockets of her trench coat, she watched without blinking the Little Mermaid Bronze Statue battered by the night sky and surging seawaters, and spoke softly:
“At the time, a beer factory owner, after watching the ‘Little Mermaid’ ballet, was so moved by the mermaid’s character charm and sorrowful fate that he decided to fund the creation of a statue.”
“The model for this statue was the actress who played the Little Mermaid in that ballet.
There are some interesting stories there as well.
In any case, the beer factory owner truly loved The Little Mermaid, and he really went through quite some trouble over several years for this statue.”
“The biggest contention faced when making the statue was at the last moment regarding whether to use legs or a fish tail for the lower half of The Little Mermaid.
It sparked a big debate among different circles.”