"Alright, then I have another question for you."
"Regarding a person’s fine character—when they’re born, they’re a blank slate. They have no character to speak of."
"And the debate that has raged for millennia—is human nature inherently good or evil?—has never reached a conclusion. So, for now, we can safely assume a child is a blank slate."
"Therefore, you don’t bring any fine virtues with you into this world, and when you die, those virtues don’t go with you, either."
"Their brain will die. All the moral standards they stored in their mind and set for themselves will become invalid."
"As a modern university student who has studied biology, you should understand what I mean."
"So, can you tell me, should character truly be a condition for judging a person? Is it even an important condition?"
Su Ruoxi’s pupils suddenly dilated. Her gaze was fixed on Lin Feng, and her tone grew more intense. Every word she spoke landed with force, and every sentence she uttered was undeniably logical.
Lin Feng, however, was completely stunned by this sudden barrage of questions.
’I’ve really never thought about it... why is morality considered the most important part of judging a person?’
’After all, according to conventional wisdom, it’s a fine virtue, so of course it should be the most important part of judging someone.’
’But now that Su Ruoxi has put it this way, morality seems just like money and wealth—things you can’t take with you when you die.’
’So why must we treat it as such a crucial part of evaluating a person?’
"Okay, you don’t have to answer me just yet."
"Let me ask a follow-up by analogy: is a person’s eloquence part of how you measure them?"
"What about a person’s looks—their beauty or ugliness? Does that affect your evaluation of them? What about their family background, their upbringing, the personalities of their parents—do those things influence your judgment?"
This series of questions was like a series of giant hammers, smashing down on the so-called moral principles, the rigid will, and the rock-solid prejudices that Lin Feng had built up over his life.
And in an instant, those great hammers shattered all his foundation stones to pieces!
Lin Feng stared wide-eyed at Su Ruoxi. Suddenly, the pale yellow desk lamp seemed to change color. It grew brighter, even glaring.
"I think I understand what you mean, but I still can’t figure out what’s wrong!"
Lin Feng was now truly dazed, even bewildered.
He didn’t know what was right anymore, nor did he know what he should do. He even felt that his entire outlook on life, the world, and his values had all collapsed.
"That’s because you still approach every problem from a purely emotional perspective. You haven’t deeply analyzed what a human being truly is. You’ve never even considered the most profound philosophical question of all: Who am I?"
When Su Ruoxi uttered that age-old question from Socrates, it struck Lin Feng like a blow to the head!
Ever since his system had been established, Lin Feng had felt he’d become a being who surpassed everyone else.
He felt the system was like a buff.
It allowed him to understand the past and present, to know all of history.
The so-called ways of the world, all the skills needed in this society—he could master any of them in a second.
And with his personal charisma and decisiveness, he could accomplish anything he wanted with ease.
This made him feel as if he had already experienced most of life’s twists and turns.
It was as if one year of his life was equivalent to ten for an ordinary person. Whether in terms of life experience, depth of thought, or even on a philosophical level, he felt he was a million times superior to his peers.
Thus, he had grown accustomed to looking down on others. Whether it was Lin Xiaoman, his own capable subordinates, or even Su Ruoxi, he viewed them all from a high and mighty perspective. He always felt they were naive, as if they would be completely unable to manage their lives without him.
But little did he know that the woman he shared a bed with every night would present him with such a difficult problem today.
More importantly, she had shattered all his confidence, all his pride, and even all his values.
"Darling, I know you might be questioning your life right now."
"But it’s okay. You were too well-protected by your family growing up, and everyone around you was too good to you. Your life has been mostly smooth sailing. Because of that, you’d never have a reason to think about these things. You’d never be able to completely put yourself in someone else’s shoes to consider a problem."
At this, Su Ruoxi sighed.
Though she appeared exasperated on the surface, deep down she envied Lin Feng and Lin Xiaoman for having such a happy family. She envied that they could grow up and still have a naive streak in their personalities, that their understanding of the world was still so innocent and simple.
Sometimes, not everyone wants to grow up. Some people are forced to.
Just like Su Ruoxi herself, who, at an age when she should have been innocent and carefree, was instead disciplined into a lady from a prominent family, one who was deeply versed in the ways of the world.
But what this brought Su Ruoxi was, more than anything, a defensiveness toward the world and a wariness of everyone. It even made her timid, afraid to interact with people in a completely open and honest way.
She could act sincere, she could act lively.
But only she knew that she had never truly opened her heart to anyone—except Lin Feng.
Thinking of this, Su Ruoxi suddenly choked up.
Tears welled in her eyes as she grieved for her lost youth and her unhappy childhood.
"It’s okay. I can’t figure these things out, but you don’t have to cry for me."
"Hey, it’s making my heart ache. How about we just move on from this and talk about it next time?"
Lin Feng could clearly hear the catch in his girlfriend’s voice.
But he didn’t know what to do.
Just as he didn’t know the reason for Su Ruoxi’s questions, or even what the right answers were.
"It’s fine. You need to listen to me carefully."
Su Ruoxi waved her hand, trying to steady her emotions. She fixed her wise gaze on Lin Feng again and spoke.
"A person is never a single concept. They are always a combination of all information. There’s even a saying that a person is the sum total of all their interpersonal relationships and social value."
"So, a person’s appearance, their personality, their character, and even their wealth all belong to them, and they should all be counted when evaluating that person. They are all critically important aspects. You say you can’t take those things with you when you die, but if we’re really going to argue that point, the only thing we bring with us at birth and take with us in death is our soul."
This idea was like a bomb thrown into an icy cave, instantly shattering all the remaining ice into dust.
Just like Lin Feng now. He suddenly felt a jolt in his spirit. It was as if he had vaguely seen a door open, and a beam of light from another realm was now shining into his world.
And his system suddenly began to HUM, as if it had received some kind of enlightenment, or as if a part of it that had never been opened was just unlocked by the correct key.
"So, is wealth important?"
"Of course it’s important. It accompanies us throughout our lives and affects every aspect, from our food and clothing to our joys and sorrows. Even how outsiders evaluate us is based on our financial capacity. It might still seem worldly to you, but that’s the reality. And it holds true whether you look at it from a philosophical or a scientific perspective."
After she finished speaking, Su Ruoxi noticed a light shining in Lin Feng’s eyes that had never been there before.
And this light was different from his usual impulsiveness or excitement.
This light was a symbol of maturity. Su Ruoxi could even sense a trace of wisdom within it!

Comments

Loading...