...
Xuan Hao straightened up and slowly walked to Qian Renxue.
"Love is a product detached from reality.
So when the outside world tries to suppress a love with the hardships of reality, worldly prejudices, or the rules of power, you will find that this emotional bond will not only not collapse, but will rebound and become even more unbreakable."
"The more oppressive the regime, the more intense the resistance, and the more profound the love.
This is the rebellion of human nature, and also the instinct of love."
"Conversely, if you try to use material temptations, exchanges of benefits, or your power as the crown prince, you can easily change or buy out a so-called 'love'..."
"Then please don't doubt it, that wasn't love at all.
It was just a transaction with a price tag."
"To put it bluntly, anyone can come."
"To put it bluntly, it's prostitution."
Qian Renxue felt a chill run down her spine.
Every word Xuan Hao uttered seemed to challenge the bottom line of her understanding that she had built up over the first twenty years of her life.
This theory, which strips love of all its sacred veneer and dissects it nakedly into a transaction of human nature and emotions, is completely at the opposite extreme from the dogmas about emotions she had encountered in the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Royal Family!
"This is utterly absurd!"
Qian Renxue struggled to calm herself, forcefully finding a flaw in the argument, and countered, "If, according to your logic, love is completely detached from material reality and responsibility, then where does the 'sense of security' in love come from?
Without solid responsibility as a foundation, where does the sense of security come from?"
"sense of security?"
Xuan Hao sighed helplessly, looking at her like she was a hopeless, dim-witted student.
"When did the sense of security in love start to require real responsibility to fulfill?"
"As long as you dare to say it, that's enough.
You can even point to the stars in the sky and make a promise to the other party, even if you don't have a single gold soul coin right now."
Xuan Hao spread his hands.
"I've already said it, this is a transaction based purely on emotions.
Transactions based on emotions don't require any actual material involvement."
"To put it bluntly, the so-called provision of a sense of security is essentially a scam!"
Xuan Hao looked directly into Qian Renxue's shocked gaze: "If you dare to say it with such passion, the other person will believe you wholeheartedly! In that moment of intense emotion, that's enough! That's what security in love is all about!"
"You think it's ridiculous and absurd, right?"
"But in reality, this is what love truly looks like! Love has never been something beautiful placed on a pedestal.
On the contrary, strip away that glamorous disguise, and in essence, it's not much different from the lowlife tricks on the street."
"But most ordinary people in this world simply don't get this kind of extreme emotional experience.
Especially those pedantic literati, they are dull, they don't know how to please girls, and they don't know how to conduct precise emotional value exchanges.
But at the same time, they crave this kind of thing intensely."
"Therefore, they can only use their pens to describe this unattainable thing as extremely noble and immaculate, and even endow it with all kinds of sacred halos."
Xuan Hao looked at Qian Renxue, "But what is the reality?
In the end, people are just ordinary beings who eat the food of mortals.
How noble and pure can the feelings that arise between a group of ordinary people be?"
"Never have any unrealistic expectations of love.
It's not noble at all. In fact..."
"Only the kind of love that can never be obtained, processed by regret and imagination, is the purest, the most solid, and the most unforgettable."
"And those loves that you truly hold in your hands, because they are too beautiful and unrealistic, will inevitably fall from their pedestal and gradually return to the mundane realities of life as time goes by and passion fades."
The alleyway fell silent once more.
Qian Renxue frowned deeply as she listened to Xuan Hao's unorthodox and utterly rebellious nonsense.
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she felt.
Although Xuan Hao's logic was self-contained and interconnected, it did seem quite reasonable at first glance, even so angled that she couldn't find a suitable point of rebuttal for the time being. However…
Why do I keep getting the feeling that all this talk today was actually aimed at shattering her illusions about love and persuading her to give up on him?
Having clarified this line of thought, Qian Renxue's previously somewhat confused gaze sharpened again.
"Since you describe love in such a despicable way, even no different from the lowest of the low..." Qian Renxue stared intently at Xuan Hao and asked, "Then why do you spend all day flirting and talking about love with so many young girls like Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing?"
"Because I'm not a noble person to begin with."
Xuan Hao answered almost instantly. He pointed to himself without any hesitation and smiled smugly:
"I've said it before, I'm a womanizer and a philanderer at heart.
I'm the kind of despicable scum you're talking about."
Qian Renxue's brows instantly furrowed into a tight knot.
She finally realized what was going on.
This guy first went on and on, belittling love to the point of being worthless, and then he frankly admitted that he wasn't any better himself.
The unspoken message was a clear warning to her:
If Qian Renxue still wanted this relationship and still wanted him, then she would have to take off her goddess persona and willingly become just as worthless and vulgar as him.
"Oh..."
Qian Renxue suddenly laughed out of anger.
She looked at the boy in front of her, who was willing to degrade himself to the mud in order to get rid of her, and a complicated light flashed in her eyes.
"Xuanhao, Xuanhao," Qian Renxue shook her head, her tone filled with a stubbornness that seemed to be clenched between her teeth, "If it were a few years ago, when I didn't know you, I might have actually been convinced by your flawless logic today, and might even have left you because I thought you were worthless."
"pity."
Qian Renxue stepped forward, almost pressing herself against Xuan Hao's chest, her eyes like knives:
"Over the years, I've witnessed too many of your shameless and cunning tricks.
I'm immune to your despicable tactics of trying to shift blame by belittling yourself and praising others!"
Qian Renxue reached out and smoothed Xuan Hao's collar, which she had just crumpled.
Her movements were gentle, but her tone carried a chilling obsession and madness:
"Don't expect me to let you go just because you come up with a few twisted theories! Let me tell you, Xuanhao, even if we really torture each other, even if it all ends in a mess, I will never let you go!"
"I'm upset, and you're not going to have it easy either!"
After saying that, Qian Renxue did not give Xuan Hao any further chance to explain.
She turned around and strode out of the alley without hesitation.
"..."
Xuan Hao leaned against the blue brick wall, watching Qian Renxue's resolute departure, utterly speechless.
He raised his hand to rub his slightly swollen temples and sighed deeply.
It truly proves the old saying:
"When a scholar encounters a soldier, reason is useless."
He spent so much time explaining his understanding of human nature and emotions so thoroughly, even resorting to self-deprecation.
No matter how perfect or flawless the logic is, it's utterly useless when faced with an ultimate stubborn person like Qian Renxue who's determined to go down a dark path!
Her attitude is clear: What you're saying seems to make a lot of sense, but sorry, I'm not listening!
No matter what you're babbling about, I'm going to stick with you no matter what!
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