Chapter 334: 334 Life Philosophy

“I’m here.” Cao Ningning pushed open the car door and ran toward the entrance of the residential complex, waving to Chen Xu in the car.

Chen Xu nodded, closed the car window, and signaled the driver to drive off.

The car slowly disappeared in the drizzling rain, and Cao Ningning dropped her hand, turned around, and ran into the complex, braving the light rain.

When she arrived at her front door, she took out her keys and stood for a few seconds. Not hearing any arguing from inside, she slowly inserted the key and opened the door.

“Ningning, you’re back! Look what mom made for you.”

As she entered, she saw her mother, wearing an apron, carrying dishes to the table with a smile on her face. She couldn’t help but pause in surprise.

“What are you standing around for? Go wash your hands, I’ll go call your dad,” her mother said, wiping her hands on the apron before walking toward the room.

Cao Ningning took a deep breath and said, “Got it, Mom.”

Everything will get better, won’t it?

…

Chen Xu returned to Luo Xiyun’s house and saw her wearing an apron, cooking in the kitchen.

“Why are you home so early today?” Chen Xu leaned against the doorway and asked.

“Today is my little brother’s birthday.” Luo Xiyun held a spoon, tasting the soup. After a taste, she shook her head, scooped another spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and offered it to Chen Xu, saying, “Try this, is it too bland?”

After tasting it, Chen Xu smacked his lips and said, “Mmm, it’s just right. But, are you sure he’ll come back for dinner?”

Luo Xiyun stopped what she was doing and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Do you think he wants to spend his birthday with whom? I bet he’s going to meet up with that girl.”

Luo Xiyun was startled for a moment and instinctively looked at the assorted dishes she had prepared–there were at least four or five–and asked, “Then what about all this food?”

“It looks like it’s just us to deal with them.”

While they were talking, they heard the front door open. Turning to look, it was Zhang Yixuan, his hair and clothes soaked. He walked into his room without a word and slammed the door shut.

It was clear to anyone that he was not happy.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Xiyun asked in a low voice.

Chen Xu shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you check on him?”

“Are you sure? It might just add fuel to the fire…” Chen Xu said, not exaggerating. Zhang Yixuan had a deep prejudice against him, barely speaking to him over a month, and their relationship had been awkward since.

With Zhang Yixuan’s current demeanor, obviously upset, sending Chen Xu to counsel him might indeed be like adding fuel to the fire.

Then, the door opened again, and Zhang Yixuan, carrying his clothes, headed toward the bathroom. It seemed he was going to take a shower.

Chen Xu said, “You keep cooking, we’ll ask him properly during dinner.”

Luo Xiyun thought it made sense and continued cooking.

…

At the dinner table, Zhang Yixuan was still silent, eating quietly.

This was clearly not normal. Usually, he was quite talkative. Since returning to the country, everything was new to him, and he would always share his experiences with Luo Xiyun at meal times.

Unable to hold back, Luo Xiyun asked, “Little brother, what’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing,” Zhang Yixuan replied, putting down his chopsticks. “I’m done,” he said and went back to his room.

“Hey–” Luo Xiyun saw that he had barely touched his food and wanted to call him back, but he acted as if he hadn’t heard.

She looked at Chen Xu. “What should we do?”

“I think it’s mostly about a woman,” Chen Xu speculated, asking her, “Do you know the situation of the girl you mentioned last time?”

Luo Xiyun shook her head, “I don’t know, my little brother didn’t say.”

Seeing her constantly looking at him, Chen Xu felt compelled to intervene and said, “It’s time to teach him some life philosophy.”

After dinner, Chen Xu came to Zhang Yixuan’s door and knocked.

“Leave me alone, let me have some quiet,” Zhang Yixuan’s voice came from inside.

Chen Xu twisted the handle, and the door opened.

Zhang Yixuan was lying on the bed, and when he saw the door being pushed open, he sat up with a start, “How did you get in? I clearly locked the door.”

Chen Xu smiled, closed the door, and walked over.

Ever since Luo Xiyun had locked him out last time, forcing him to climb through a window, he took the opportunity to dismantle and reinstall all the room’s door locks, so a lock was no use against him.

“Who let you in? Get out now.”

Chen Xu pulled over a chair to sit down and said, “Heartbroken?”

“What’s it to you?”

Chen Xu said to himself, “Let me guess, she didn’t outright reject you, did she? Instead, she gave you vague answers, didn’t agree to spend your birthday with you, but also didn’t shut down the possibility completely.”

Zhang Yixuan didn’t speak, just laid back down, turned his back on him, and didn’t move.

Chen Xu continued, “So, you’re very disappointed, very upset. But you also feel there’s still hope and haven’t completely given up. If that’s the case, then congratulations, you’ve successfully turned yourself into a backup option.”

Zhang Yixuan couldn’t stand it and retorted angrily, “You’re the backup.”

“I guess you haven’t really seriously dated anyone, have you?”

“Bullshit, I’ve had four girlfriends.”

“From what I see, those were just kids playing house. Otherwise, how could you be taken for such a ride by a woman?”

Zhang Yixuan’s face turned red with anger, “You’re talking nonsense.”

Chen Xu laughed, “Ask yourself, do you really think that she likes you now?”

“Of course she likes me, we chat so well online.”

“That’s even worse. She liked you when chatting online, but after meeting, she doesn’t like you anymore. Do you know what that means? You lack charm.”

“You–” Zhang Yixuan had already sat up, looking at him somewhat angrily.

Seeing that he had struck a nerve, Chen Xu changed his tone and said, “Given your looks, it shouldn’t be difficult to attract girls, but why is it that after meeting, they become less interested?”

“In the past, there must have been girls who chased you, right? Did you find them charming? Maybe some were very pretty, but after being with them, you quickly lost interest.”

Zhang Yixuan didn’t make a sound, his face no longer angry, but now showing contemplation.

“In relationships between men and women, it’s basically a game of strategy. Generally speaking, the one who shows they care more will eventually lose disastrously. Sometimes, you see strange phenomena where clearly trashy men and women have someone willingly sacrificing for them, as if their brains were kicked by a donkey.”

Zhang Yixuan couldn’t help but ask, “Yeah, why is that?”

“Because, for people, the joy of getting something only lasts a very short time. You win several million, initially over the moon, but after a few days or half a month, you become calm. But the pain of losing something lasts much longer. Like if you lost a hundred thousand, even years later, the thought can be unbearably painful.”

“It’s the same with love. You win over your dream girl, and after a while, you take it for granted. Until one day, she suddenly breaks up with you, you’ll feel tremendous pain, and that pain will last a long time.”

Zhang Yixuan was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, “So what, these are all problems after getting into a relationship.”

“No, actually, it’s the same even in the initial ambiguous stage,” Chen Xu shook his head and said seriously, “You and a girl have mutual feelings, and no one makes it clear, which is good. At this time, if you’re too enthusiastic, she’ll be happy at first, but that’ll pass quickly. Then, she’ll find it boring because it was too easy to get, and she won’t value it.”

“What should I do then?” Unwittingly, Zhang Yixuan had been drawn into the conversation.

Chen Xu countered, “What do you think?”