Chapter 48: We, Fang Hong, Disdain to Play with Women's Feelings
The next day, in the Binhu community, He Xuan woke up around 9:40 in the morning.
Opening her eyes, she realized she was in a bedroom. She glanced at the pillow and found herself alone in the bed, with Fang Hong nowhere in sight.
He Xuan sat up, covering the quilt with both hands.
At that moment, she noticed a bed sheet discarded on the bedroom floor.
The events of the previous night began to replay in her mind. She instinctively bit the corner of her lips.
After sitting for a while, He Xuan got up, left the bedroom, and went to the living room. Looking around, she thought to herself, "So he lives in Binhu District..."
This area was one of the best in the center of Xincheng City. Of course, the housing prices here were ridiculously high. While it couldn't compare to the prices of ten years later, it was still a price that ordinary people could only dream of.
As He Xuan wandered around the living room and was about to explore other rooms, Fang Hong walked out of the study. He had already completed his stock account operation for the morning session in less than half an hour.
When Fang Hong came into the living room and saw He Xuan, he smiled and asked, "Are you awake?"
He Xuan smiled and walked toward Fang Hong, proudly declaring like a winner, "From now on, you belong to me..." She placed her hands on his waist.
Fang Hong embraced her waist and led her to the sofa in the living room. As He Xuan sat on his lap, staring into his eyes, she suddenly asked, "You'll be responsible for me, right?"
Fang Hong nodded without hesitation, "Yes."
Hearing this, He Xuan smiled and asked again, "Then you'll marry me, right?"
Without hesitation, Fang Hong replied, "No."
The smile immediately disappeared from He Xuan's face, and she frowned, staring into Fang Hong's eyes. "Why not? You just said you'd be responsible for me. Why can't you marry me?"
Fang Hong calmly responded, "Being responsible for you and not marrying you aren't contradictory. The two aren't mutually dependent because I simply have no intention of marrying."
He Xuan moved away from his lap, sat beside him, and said with resentment, "You won't admit it after you've had your fun, right? And you won't admit it in front of others!"
In fact, He Xuan had already prepared herself because she had overheard the phone conversation when Fang Hong and Lin Ruoshui broke up. She heard most of it. She was aware of some things, but hearing him say this still left her with complicated feelings.
Fang Hong continued, calm and gentle, "The underlying logic of marriage is the integration of resources between two people. From a practical standpoint, marriage is based on the life instinct to reproduce and form intimate relationships, providing stable emotional support, and creating a complementary partnership to thrive in society."
Fang Hong didn't mention two key aspects: property division in marriage and the constraints that come with it.
For most people, marriage is a way to integrate resources and complement each other. It's down-to-earth to say that one person can't do everything alone, and it's easier to share the burden with another.
For Fang Hong, however, there was no need for marriage to integrate resources. The value was gone, and all that remained were disproportionate benefits and risks. So he wouldn't engage in it, as it would be an irrational choice.
In his eyes, everything isn't about black and white or right and wrong but about assessing risks and benefits, making rational choices.
Even if they signed a prenuptial agreement, the property would still be jointly owned. If they divorced after accumulating vast wealth, the assets would be divided in half.
Moreover, marriage would give the other party a sense of security, knowing that you couldn't easily leave, which would lead to potential manipulation, making it necessary to keep appeasing them.
Although risk isolation could be managed through technical means, it wasn't difficult for the other party to circumvent it, such as by transferring assets to a trust before a divorce.
But Fang Hong preferred to address the root cause—by simply not letting this issue arise.
At this point, He Xuan looked at Fang Hong and asked, "How can you be responsible for me if you don't want to marry me?"
Fang Hong tilted his head, still gentle, and replied, "As long as you don't touch the bottom line during this time, I won't actively terminate our relationship. As long as it's maintained, your affairs are mine, but as long as they don't affect my work or career, I will try to be a good boyfriend. If you ever want to end it, just tell me in advance."
He Xuan stared at him again and asked, "You want to keep me?"
Fang Hong shook his head and said, "Strictly speaking, this is not quite the same as marriage. It's an unequal relationship where the one who has the right to terminate it unilaterally is at a disadvantage. I've given you the right to terminate it, while I can only accept it passively. But the prerequisite is that you can't touch my bottom line."
He Xuan was silent.
After a while, Fang Hong added, "Before starting this relationship, we need to clarify the underlying logic so that it will be stable and won't collapse in the future. Even if we quarrel, both of us know where the bottom line lies, and everything stays within that."
He Xuan turned her head and muttered, "Straight men, and machismo..."
Hearing her muttering, Fang Hong said slowly, "What is machismo? Machismo means ignoring a woman's feelings, doing whatever I want. Straight men really don't understand how you girls feel, even though they try to. They can't understand it."
He Xuan turned her head, staring blankly at Fang Hong. After a moment, she realized that this was the truth and didn't know how to argue.
Fang Hong, calm and firm, continued, "I'm not a straight man; otherwise, you wouldn't be here, but in your school dormitory. I'm not a machismo because I didn't ignore your feelings. I gave you reasonable protection based on your situation. I'm also not a scumbag, otherwise I would agree to everything you say. I don't bother to play with a woman's feelings."
He Xuan fell silent again as she listened to Fang Hong's calm explanation.
Eventually, Fang Hong stood up, fetched a credit card and a key, and handed them to her. "This is the house key, and the credit card's overdraft limit is over 500,000. If you accept it, then we're good. If you don't, I understand and respect your decision. I'll send you back to school later, and I'll compensate for what happened last night within reason."
As Fang Hong finished speaking, the living room fell silent again. He Xuan didn't say anything, giving herself time to think.
After a long time, He Xuan suddenly grabbed the card and key, threw them aside, and sat down on the other side, crossing her legs.
She lowered her eyes, murmuring coquettishly, "Hmph~~, don't get too smug. I'll tame you eventually and make you fall under my charm. You'll marry me obediently."
Hearing her defiant words, Fang Hong couldn't help but smile. This was a high-EQ response. She was pretending to be tough, but the important part was that she responded, meaning she had already made her choice.
It was a straight man's move to seek confirmation.
After a while, Fang Hong glanced at her and said, "What are you still waiting for? You've already skipped class today. If you keep dragging it out, you'll miss more."
He Xuan didn't care, smiled and said, "What class? I have more important things to do now, we'll talk about classes later."
Fang Hong smiled and said, "Alright, I'll let you do as you want, and we'll talk about it later."
---
Later, neither of them went to school that day.
In the afternoon, Fang Hong went out and returned with several sets of cosmetics.
"Remember to give them to the others when you head back to school and tell them to register for Weibo," he added as he entered the room and glanced at He Xuan.
At that moment, He Xuan was lazily lying on the sofa, looking weak and unwilling to move.
"Actually, Dongyan, Xiaoli, and Xiaoxue all have different preferences for cosmetics, but Lancome, which you bought, happens to be my favorite brand. Xiaoli prefers Estee Lauder, Dongyan likes Chanel, and Xiaoxue likes Dior."
He Xuan continued, "But if you give them Lancome, they'll still like it. Their cosmetics right now aren't as good as Lancome."
College students don't have income, and those from ordinary families have strict spending limits.
Fang Hong placed the cosmetics aside, nodded, "Alright, tomorrow I'll buy their favorite brands and send them over."
He Xuan lazily nodded, "Well~, leave it to me!"
The situation took an unexpected turn. Initially, Fang Hong had planned to leverage He Xuan's connections to attract the "New Great Five Beauties" to Quantum Beat. But instead, he ended up attracting He Xuan, one of the "Five Beauties," to his home.
It wasn't a problem; it was good to have a new girlfriend, and it made it more convenient when handling other issues.
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