In-depth consultation?
Sun Wen remained silent, taking another sip of his drink.
Although he was indeed curious about how deep it could go, he was not in the mood right now.
"Heartless," Xu Wei shook her head as she looked at him, then smiled again, "but I’m even more interested in you now."
Conquering a man like him would be more interesting.
"Isn’t that heartless too?"
"It’s different."
"How is it different?" asked Sun Wen.
"I find ways to make myself comfortable, you find ways to make yourself miserable," Xu Wei pointed at him with her finger, then pointed behind herself, "The more you can’t have, the more miserable you feel, whereas I just need to meet someone decent to replace you."
Sun Wen chuckled, "You’re not over thirty, are you?"
It’s really hard to tell the age of a woman, especially one who takes care of herself.
Let alone with makeup on.
"I’m eighteen this year."
"Alright, I believe you."
The two of them stopped talking. Sun Wen placed his glass on the bar and gently spun it, while Xu Wei rested her forearm under her chin and leaned quietly at the edge of the bar, watching him.
The more she watched, the more intriguing it became.
When the beautiful illusion shatters, the more love-stricken the man, the more thoroughly he crumbles.
"I can offer you some advice."
After a long silence, she spoke with a smile.
"What advice?" asked Sun Wen.
"Advice on how to salvage a relationship."
"Let’s hear it?"
His face showed obvious skepticism as the woman suddenly changed her attitude; he couldn’t quite figure out what she was thinking.
Xu Wei didn’t mind his attitude and maintained her posture leaning on the bar, beginning, "Do you know what your problem is?"
"What is it?"
"What’s the difference between men and women?" Xu Wei didn’t answer but posed another question.
"Just say what you want to say directly." Sun Wen was tired of playing guessing games with her.
"I am helping you analyze the fundamental problems of your relationship." Xu Wei lazily flicked her fingernails, "We were just talking about the princess dream, have you read fairy tales?"
"Of course."
"What are the princesses like in fairy tales?"
"Beautiful, gentle... kind... generous, strong..." Sun Wen pondered and ended up chuckling, "just add all the good qualities together, and that’s it."
"And their way of doing things?"
"Uh..."
"Waiting." Xu Wei curled her lips into a meaningful smile, "Whether tortured by a queen, kidnapped by an Evil Dragon, or enchanted by a witch, the princesses endure all the sufferings quietly and just wait for a Prince or a warrior to save them. All they do is wait."
"And then?"
"On the contrary, princes and warriors, they fight through thorns, cross mountains and rivers, and overcome numerous difficulties to save the princess."
Xu Wei looked at Sun Wen’s thoughtful expression and smiled even more, "That’s the difference between men and women."
"Hmm? Men and women?"
"Women are passive, men are proactive. No matter how much suffering they endure, women, especially those in the princess dream, find it hard to wake up because it’s normal for a princess to suffer. Sooner or later, a prince will come to rescue her. If it’s not you, it’s because you are not her prince."
She paused, then continued, "Men are different though, once they face a few rejections in society, they’ll wake up and realize they are just ordinary people, not princes or heroes, just plain mortals. The dream of marrying a princess also vanishes."
"So women’s standards are almost always upwardly aligned, finding a spouse who must be stronger than themselves, and the flaws can’t be too many. They can ignore all of a man’s other merits over a tiny flaw and then tell him, ’We’re not suitable.’"
"Men are the exact opposite, most men’s standards are downwardly aligned, it doesn’t have to be great, just passable, with one or two good points, he can ignore all other flaws, fall in love with the woman, and then pursue her."
Sun Wen lit a cigarette and thought for a moment, "Isn’t that a bit absolute?"
"Of course, I’m speaking about the majority, there will definitely be exceptions." Xu Wei didn’t deny it but just looked at him and said, "But you, and your ex-girlfriend, are not the exception."
"Go on."
"Your ex-girlfriend, who believes ’love needs no reason’ as the truth, is clearly still living in a dream. Being whimsically unreasonable in love occasionally is okay, but constantly disregarding right or wrong and demanding to be coaxed and pampered..."
Xu Wei shook her head with a smile, "Once you fail to do that, she’ll think you’re not her Prince—this is the root of your problems."
"What else can you do if not coax?" asked Sun Wen.
"For someone like your girlfriend, coaxing isn’t wrong, but you shouldn’t start by trying to be rational. Only resort to coaxing when reasoning fails... Humanity has evolved for billions of years to develop such a perfect brain, yet she refuses to use it, too lazy to reason, just wants to be coaxed and pampered like a pet. Why should you reason with her?"
"..."
"Your relationship wasn’t equal from the start. Maybe you sometimes feel insignificant in this relationship, but actually, the insignificant one isn’t you; it’s her. She has made herself a man’s accessory. You don’t need to reason with her, just coax and deceive her. Does that give you some perspective?"
"..." Sun Wen smoked silently without responding.
Xu Wei watched him with a smile, "Now do you know what to do?"
"What to do?"
"All that said in vain." She shook her head, "The reason you broke up is because you aren’t scummy enough."
"Not scummy enough?"
"As long as the lies you tell her are grand enough, the words sweet enough, the lies believable enough, and the pampering sufficient, she won’t be able to leave you—you’re not her Prince, but you should pretend."
"..."
"Unconditionally indulge her, lie generously when it comes to money, offer empty promises—are these not something you already know?"
"I don’t want to play games," Sun Wen frowned.
"But you want to get back together." Xu Wei shrugged indifferently, "The more you spoil her, the harder it is for her to leave you. Even if you break up again in the future, her new boyfriend won’t put up with her, and then she’ll come back to you."
"Is that so?"
"Think about it. Do you just break up and let her make mistakes with other trashy men, or will you take on that role?"
"...I actually think what you’re saying makes sense." Sun Wen stubbed out his cigarette and took a large swig of liquor, "So, all that reasoning was a mistake?"
"Reasoning was the spark. You need to learn to deceive." Xu Wei shook her head, "She wants an LV bag, and you reason with her about saving money, considering the future... Isn’t that foolish? You need to figure out how to dissuade her while keeping her happy."
"There’s a way to do that?" Sun Wen was stunned.
"Of course, as long as you keep her happy, she naturally can’t leave you."
Xu Wei saw that Sun Wen’s glass was empty and gestured for a waiter to refill his drink.
"Thanks." Sun Wen didn’t refuse, "But what about later?"
"I’m only teaching you how to win her back; the rest is up to you."
Xu Wei’s gaze carried a hint of playfulness.
Later?
This kind of love is essentially one person verbally pleasing another, and when one is pleased, they both enjoy the thrill.
It’s just a transaction, where does "later" come into play?
"So how do I start?"
"What’s your current situation?"
"Now, well..."
The two continued drinking and chatting.
The night outside deepened.