Seeing the fair skin of Si Qing's forehead faintly crease, her two willowy brows knitting tightly together.
Her small mouth unconsciously pouted, and her rosy cheeks puffed slightly in anger.
The adorable yet stubborn look made Jiang Cheng feel as if a kitten were scratching inside his heart; he couldn't help wanting to tease her.
The corner of Jiang Cheng's mouth lifted in a faint smirk as he continued.
"This point of yours, I really must refute. In my eyes, the word 'affectionate' is absolutely not a derogatory term. On the contrary, 'promiscuous' is what's truly shameful."
As he spoke, Jiang Cheng gently reached out and tenderly turned Si Qing's huffing face toward him.
Their eyes met; his gaze carried a seriousness and determination, as though he wanted to etch his thoughts deep into her heart.
While gazing at her soulfully, Jiang Cheng's other hand once again tapped the "happy bean" on his phone.
"If someone falls in love with every person they meet, always craving the new and discarding the old, abandoning the old for the sake of the new, then that person is undoubtedly promiscuous—disrespectful and irresponsible toward love. But if, while mutually in love, a man can take serious responsibility for every woman who loves him, never casually abandoning any of them, giving them equal love and treating every relationship with sincerity, then that is called being affectionate."
As Jiang Cheng spoke, he stared intently at Si Qing.
He saw her eyes beginning to grow dazed.
He explained once more.
"Although Zhang Wuji is somewhat indecisive in love, he is sincere to every woman; he simply doesn't know how to choose."
At his words, the soft murmur she'd been letting out abruptly stopped.
Si Qing widened her clear eyes, staring at Jiang Cheng in shock, as though meeting him for the first time.
She had never imagined the words "affectionate" and "promiscuous" could be twisted this way by Jiang Cheng.
After his explanation, those affectionate scumbags actually sounded morally justified.
These arguments were completely different from everything she'd learned from books or elsewhere.
After pausing to think, Si Qing's consciousness suddenly snapped out of the tide of surrender.
She jerked back to her senses and glared at Jiang Cheng.
About to retort, she found Jiang Cheng's gaze blazing like the midsummer sun.
That scorching look instantly flustered her.
She could clearly sense the searing aura rolling off Jiang Cheng, as if a roaring flame were surging toward her.
The heat felt as though it would swallow her whole.
And that restless hand stirring up "clouds" beside her made her heart race uncontrollably, as though she might sink once more into Jiang Cheng's tender trap.
At this moment, Si Qing's heart was filled with regret and self-reproach.
She hadn't expected that in such a short time Jiang Cheng could throw her emotions into chaos and strip away all her convictions.
From the start, she had firmly warned herself not to have physical contact with Jiang Cheng and to keep her distance.
Yet just now she had not only broken the vow she'd made to herself, but had even taken the initiative to help ease Jiang Cheng's physical discomfort.
And now here she was, sleeping defenselessly, completely exposed before Jiang Cheng, letting him "toy" with her as he pleased.
Si Qing felt Jiang Cheng was downright toxic.
What amazed her even more was that, despite how absurd and unreasonable Jiang Cheng's arguments sounded,
she subconsciously felt nothing was wrong with them.
That feeling frightened her.
At the same time, an indescribable mix of emotions welled up inside her; her heart was in turmoil.
Si Qing was at a loss, unsure how to respond, as if two little figures were quarreling in her mind, tangled in conflict.
She shoved Jiang Cheng away with force, turned aside, and said uneasily,
"Have you ever thought that those girls, knowing Zhang Wuji is with others at the same time, might feel hurt and sad?"
Seeing her like this, Jiang Cheng didn't press closer.
Instead, he lay back sensibly and replied calmly,
"Hurt? Sad? Have you considered that maybe those women don't want Zhang Wuji to be so devoted? Perhaps they simply don't need him to make some self-righteous four-choice decision."
Jiang Cheng's words detonated like a bombshell, hammering Si Qing's already wavering thoughts into place.
Her puffed-up cheeks instantly turned blank, his statement echoing in her mind.
What Jiang Cheng said really did make sense; compared with a lifetime of lonely regret, it might be better for everyone to stay together around Zhang Wuji.
Perhaps because they were twins, Si Qing and Si Nian were indeed very different from ordinary girls.
A popular saying online goes: when girls dress up to go out, it isn't to seduce men; their real aim is simply to outshine every other girl they pass.
Compared with cases where they dress up for a date, most girls actually focus on whether they look better than other girls.
They care more about drawing admiring glances, even hoping other girls will pale in comparison to their beauty.
This competitive "female rivalry" mentality is the truest thought deep inside many girls.
But Si Qing and Si Nian grew up together.
Because the two look identical, they prefer to dress each other up.
Soaking in this unusual environment, the pair never developed even the slightest notion of joining the so-called "female rivalry."
Of course, one important premise is that they look so alike that seeing each other feels like looking in a mirror.