On the banks of the Huang River, along the Bund.
Tang Yuan and Wen Muxue walked among the crowd, looking at the towering skyscrapers like the Zhonghai Center Building, Shanghai World Financial Center, and Oriental Pearl Tower in the distance, a sense of insignificance spontaneously arose.
"Senior, what do you plan to do after you graduate?"
After walking for nearly half an hour, the two leaned against the railing, and Wen Muxue looked at Tang Yuan and asked.
"Do what?"
"I haven't thought about that question."
Tang Yuan gently shook his head, looking at the night scene before him, his eyes somewhat profound: "If I had to set a goal, it would be to enjoy life. This world is so vast and expansive; wouldn't it be a wasted life if I didn't fully savor it?"
"But don't people often say that a man must have his own career to gain dignity in this society?" Wen Muxue asked back, somewhat puzzled.
"Why should people's lives be defined by others?"
"Only you can decide what kind of person you want to be and what kind of life you want to live. Some people like to gobble down their food, while others prefer to chew slowly. Not everyone can wake up at seven in the morning, and not everyone eats only one bowl of rice per meal."
"Life inherently holds infinite possibilities; not all choices must be the 'correct' option. As long as you like it, as long as you won't regret it, you can completely cast aside worldly opinions and choose the option you prefer."
"What is true open-mindedness?"
"It is allowing others to be themselves, and allowing yourself to be yourself."
Tang Yuan turned to look at Wen Muxue, his eyes filled with seriousness and purity.
What if he was unlearned in this life?
What if he achieved nothing in this life?
Perhaps many people have no choice but to push forward desperately, but Tang Yuan, possessing the da shou cang jia system, is destined to have endless money in this life. So why should he live under the shackles of others' expectations?
When inspiration strikes, I often go alone, knowing the joy only to myself.
Walking to where the water ends, I sit and watch the clouds rise.
To follow one's heart without overstepping boundaries, this is the life Tang Yuan desires.
Facing Tang Yuan's pure and sincere gaze, Wen Muxue opened her mouth but didn't know what to say, because she realized that her level of thought was completely different from his.
If two hours ago, Wen Muxue was purely attracted by Tang Yuan's wealth, then at this moment, Tang Yuanhad another point that deeply attracted her: his profound thoughts.
Whether it was Tang Yuan's rich mindset displayed in the restaurant or his current display of magnanimity and nonchalance towards life, both greatly broadened Wen Muxue's horizons and earned her genuine admiration.
"What about you?"
"What do you want to do after you graduate?"
Tang Yuan saw Wen Muxue was somewhat distracted, so he asked.
"I want to stay in Shanghai. As for other things, I haven't considered them yet."
Wen Muxue's eyes showed a hint of confusion as she gently shook her head and replied.
"You still have two years. You can take your time to consider. Think about what you truly love? Think about what you truly want?"
"Only by seeing your own heart clearly can you make the most correct choice."
Tang Yuan had a very relaxed day today, a kind of ease he had never experienced before. Without the constraints of shackles, his body and mind were completely free, so in his good mood, he didn't hesitate to give Wen Muxue a few pointers.
Unconsciously, the topic of their discussion became more advanced, but in this discussion, Tang Yuan was completely in the dominant position, while Wen Muxue, with her relatively shallow life experience, was completely in the subordinate position, allowing Tang Yuan to continuously impart his wisdom to her.
The two leaned against the railing and chatted for a while, then started walking back.
By the time they returned to THE NEST restaurant's parking lot, it was already close to midnight.
It was late, and the temperature was a bit low. Tang Yuan retracted the convertible top of the FerrariLaFerrari Aperta. The two got into the car and turned on the warm air.
"It's late. How about I find a hotel nearby?"
Inside the small car, Tang Yuan glanced at the time, then asked very naturally.
"Senior, my roommate has been waiting up for me to come back and open the door; she hasn't slept yet. If I were to stand her up and not go back, she would definitely break up with me." Wen Muxue looked at Tang Yuan with her watery eyes, then bit her lip lightly: "Senior, you... you won't blame me, will you?"
"How could I?"
"I just said that because I was afraid your dorm would be locked."
Tang Yuan smiled, his expression unchanged.
In fact, Wen Muxue's answer was completely within Tang Yuan's expectations; he had deliberately asked that way.
As an experienced 'tea master' (a term for someone adept at discerning manipulative behavior), he was well aware of the various tactics employed by 'green teas' (manipulative women), the core of which was to exploit a man's fear of loss.
Looking at Wen Muxue's performance over the past two days, she always maintained a cold, goddess-like image in front of outsiders. Only when facing Tang Yuan did she seem like a melting iceberg, giving the impression that all her smiles were exclusively for Tang Yuan. And with deeper contact, she gradually began to increase physical touch, such as leaning in before meals, wiping his mouth after meals, holding hands when crossing the road, and so on.
If it were an ordinary guy or one with weaker 'tea-discerning' abilities, facing Wen Muxue's series of moves would largely satisfy his vanity, thereby creating a misconception that Wen Muxue had a great deal of affection for him.
However, once this emotion arises, the person has essentially fallen into the other party's trap. In the period that follows, the other party will quickly become distant, causing a feeling of anxiety over gains and losses.
Simply put, the core survival principle of a 'sea queen' (a woman who dates many men) is eight characters: you advance, I retreat; you retreat, I advance!
When she senses you're disheartened, she'll become enthusiastic again, rekindling your hope. But when she senses your enthusiasm, she'll become distant, making you feel anxious about gains and losses.
In the early stage, she provides emotional value to you.
In the later stage, you provide emotional value to her, and the emotional value you provide will far exceed hers.
Emotional value is also a form of sunk cost.
As the man's sunk cost grows, it may well transition from emotional investment to material investment, leading him to fall deeper and deeper, eventually becoming trapped in her 'fishpond' and unable to extricate himself.
From Tang Yuan's experience, Wen Muxue had been constantly providing him with emotional value over the past two days, a continuous baiting process. If he wasn't mistaken, the baiting phase should be coming to an end, and Wen Muxue would proceed to the next stage: rapidly withdrawing from Tang Yuan's side to make him feel a sense of loss.
If her tactics were even more clever, she might even mobilize her 'simps' to create a sense of crisis and competition for Tang Yuan, because whether in humans or the animal kingdom, once same-sex competition arises, it always makes people crazy, as winning and self-esteem are irresistible to most men.
Wen Muxue wanted to manipulate Tang Yuan, but why wouldn't Tang Yuan want to manipulate Wen Muxue?
Wen Muxue thought she was in the stratosphere, but in reality, Tang Yuan had long been overlooking her from the vacuum layer.
Fear of loss?
This trick can be played by women, and men can use it too.
Ultimately, it's just about who has the more skillful methods and who has the more stable mindset.
Whoever breaks first will be at the mercy of the other.
For this kind of interesting battle, Tang Yuan always loved it. Personally training a 'green tea' to be completely in your shape would undoubtedly be an extremely fulfilling thing.
"Rumble..."
With a deafening roar, Tang Yuan drove the FerrariLaFerrari Aperta towards the school.
Their game had just begun...