Chen Chencheng took out a notebook from her bag and opened it, while saying, "You know, I’m a psychologist currently pursuing a Ph.D. My main research focus is on a social topic, the name of which is ’On the Ability of Men Who Have Been Single for More Than Five Years to Engage with the Opposite Sex’. "
Li Qing’s face was a bit awkward.
"I think your topic is quite insulting to men!"
"It’s not a matter of insult; it’s an objective fact. Nowadays, Huaxia has thirty million more men than women, making the pursuit of the opposite sex a highly competitive issue among men."
Li Qing raised an eyebrow: "I don’t agree with what you’re saying; maybe in rural areas there are many bachelors, but in first- and second-tier cities like Shu Capital, there are actually more men than women. In fact, many women yearn for city life, so the flow is mostly towards cities, where the ratio is often more women than men.
Another objective fact is that men have the opportunity to marry before forty, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be women of the same age; they could be eighteen or twenty-eight, so I think the problem of severe gender ratio imbalance is too one-sided."
Chen Chencheng nodded slightly: "I’ve also thought about this, but there are still a large number of singles living in cities. According to the current statistics, there are about four hundred million singles in Huaxia."
Li Qing shrugged: "Maybe it’s because the marketing accounts have excessively brainwashed women, making them think they look as they do only with beauty filters. If you don’t have a car or house and don’t offer tens of thousands in dowry, they won’t even consider you, so they’re just left over."
Chen Chencheng’s brows furrowed slightly but imperceptibly, which Li Qing keenly caught, showing a hint of a smile: "It seems you don’t fully agree with what I’m saying." Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveIＦire.net
Chen Chencheng remained non-committal as she opened her notebook further and continued to ask, "Let’s change the topic. Do you feel, in your daily life, a desire to engage with women?"
Li Qing frowned: "I don’t think I need to answer your question."
Chen Chencheng was not angry and calmly said, "As a psychologist, I charge over three thousand per hour. Are you sure you don’t want to understand your psychological state better?"
This is completely a money-grabbing industry!
After an inner complaint, Li Qing hesitated slightly, his gloved left hand unconsciously rotating the coffee cup.
To be honest, if Chen Ke hadn’t forced him to come here, he would probably be home by now, earnestly studying the Level 0 Magic Light Technique in ’Magic Theory’. After all, the more this knowledge accumulates, the more interesting it is to feel the flow of magic nodes and trigger magic, analyzing the influence of magic node arrangement on the world and the relationship between magic flow frequency.
Isn’t that more appealing? Why bother with this stuff!
Chen Chencheng’s eyes brightened, and she enthusiastically said, "Is it true that once you start engaging, you subconsciously resist, feeling that the other’s presence disrupts your life rhythm?"
She nodded: "Many who have been single for a long time face this problem, regardless of gender. Once involved in a relationship, they become resistant. In your view, what is the reason for this?"
Li Qing pondered for a while, gently sipping his coffee, letting the bitter taste quickly unfold in his mouth.
"For our generation, love has become a complex concept that’s hard to describe. We believe that love requires a lot of money, a lot of time and energy, unparalleled emotional intelligence, and scheming.
The standards for developing love have become incredibly high, no longer just a gesture like handing you a glass of water or wiping away your sweat as an act of kindness, nor merely mutual affinity, but rather the desire for a complete persona that you have to embody for us to have a chance.
But the standards for creating disgust have become very low. Each person already has landmines buried in their heart, ready to blow up at any touch.
This is an era where it’s easier for people to dislike each other than attract each other.
And for those who are attracted to each other, the path ahead is not smooth; various marketing accounts will tell you that love should be this way and if you don’t conform, you don’t care. Under these artificially crafted rules, the party with vested interests will unconsciously believe and use it to demand from their partner; while the one suffering losses will either choose to follow, ending up as a sycophant, or choose to resist, only to face an arduous battle.
In this environment, the so-called happiness of love becomes increasingly unattainable. Some think transforming the other into a subservient slave is the only way to feel happiness; others believe defeating the other brings happiness. But nobody in the world is a complete fool; on the surface, everyone appears affectionate, yet behind the scenes, love chess games are played everywhere. A major characteristic of the new generation is that both men and women feel they’ve lost out in relationships.
And even if both parties are broad-minded, the world’s closest companions, the road remains incredibly rough. Love needs material conditions, represented by a house, as its foundation. This statement would have been scorned in the era of simple love but is an iron rule in today’s times. Those who meet the conditions would rather go bankrupt and in debt to prepare chips for love; those who don’t never deny this rule, simply considering themselves unworthy of love.
Diamonds, dowries, expensive fancy weddings, 520 gifts—many nonsensical things have become necessities. But if you don’t comply, you face strange looks from society and partners.
This is the power of customs, making those who can’t benefit feel cheated, the cheated think they’re unworthy, and those who can afford it spend their life’s gains into the pockets of manipulators.
Encouraging those hurt by it to mock those not hurt as single dogs, persuading compromisers to ridicule rebels as naive and immature.
Those who believe in mutual affection and simple unity are seen as either foolish or scummy by outsiders, so you dare not even think this way. Thinking may not even be right, and even if it is, you won’t get it. So why bother? Why suffer?"
Li Qing raised his coffee and drank it all at once: "So, I think this is the reason why there are more and more single men and women today."
Chen Chencheng remained silent for a long time and then said somewhat troubled, "This topic indeed involves today’s social situation, which is really difficult. I kind of regret choosing this topic for my doctoral thesis."
She sighed deeply with some realization: "No wonder the last time we met you made such a calculated move when you confirmed there was no possibility of furthering with me."
Li Qing said wryly: "That’s not called calculating; it’s awareness of one’s self-positioning. If I insisted on developing further with you, the most likely trend would be me devoting myself to you and becoming a sycophant since we’re not on the same level."