In the dead of night, a gust of wind blew in through the cracks in the stone slabs at the back door of the primitive cave.

The pungent smell was not of flowers or the faint scent of mugwort, but of urine mixed with the stench of feces.

Inside the cave, all the primitive people were fast asleep, their breathing sounding like the croaking of frogs in the fragrance of rice blossoms, a chorus of croaking about a bountiful harvest.

Xu Que quickly covered his mouth and nose and took a deep breath.

Once the smell wore off, I couldn't fall asleep anymore.

Outside the cave, the roars of beasts echoed, and the sounds of predation, resistance, and fighting sent chills down Xu Que's spine.

Xu Que quickly clenched his fists and used his index fingers to cover his ears.

Hou rolled over, draped an arm over Xu Que, and reflexively groped his chest a few times before instinctively pulling him tighter. His legs followed closely behind, just as Xu Que usually did when he was on top of Hou, draping them heavily over him without any mercy, instantly giving him a sense of security!

Feeling the suffocating "protection" emanating from the roar, Xu Que comforted himself: if a wild beast were to attack, she would be the first to be eaten. Thinking of this, he felt that being weighed down by the roar wasn't such a loss after all. For tonight, and given the current situation, he no longer intended to retaliate by pressing down on her!

As time passed, the surroundings gradually quieted down.

Feeling utterly bored, Xu Que couldn't help but summarize his past and present lives.

How wonderful it would be if there were a girl like this clinging to me in the world I used to live in!

He has enough "cost" to take her back to the village and show off. He can regain the "dignity" he once lost in front of his parents! And make them happy for once.

Back then, before the Spring Festival, the village's simpleton Er Si was accompanied by a mentally unstable widow, and they went from house to house to offer early New Year's greetings.

Xu Que's parents were incredibly envious, their words implying that Xu Que, despite all his years of education, was no better than a fool! Xu Que was so angry that he didn't eat for three days and three nights!

If anyone else had said these words, Xu Que would have remained nonchalant, simply nodding and smiling, not taking them to heart at all. But these were his beloved and respected parents! Xu Que was disappointed and heartbroken!

"Am I not even as good as an animal in your eyes?"

Xu Que continued, "That idiot is just an animal! One animal leading another mentally unstable animal, flaunting their sorrow as capital in front of a bunch of idiots. You're so stupid that you're not ashamed but proud, actually setting an example for me? Isn't that laughable?"

Everyone deserves respect! I know this makes you uncomfortable, but it's the truth!

"I want to ask, what can that idiot give her? Love or a future? It's just driven by animal instinct!"

"She's mentally ill, belonging to a vulnerable group lacking self-awareness! That idiot tricked and coaxed her into coming home, just to have his child and carry on the family line! He only uses her as a breeding machine! What's there to brag about?"

"Have they ever considered what their child would face if born under their circumstances? It would be an endless abyss, unbearable suffering, and a lifelong sense of emotional torment! And behind all of this is simply the parents' fear of having no one to care for them in their old age!"

"Hmph! You idiot, she's better than you! If you're so capable, find me a crazy woman! I bet you're all talk and no action! Even a crazy woman wouldn't want someone like you who's all talk!" Mr. Xu lit a cigarette and pointed at the idiot in front of him.

The idiot's vanity was greatly satisfied, and his head almost reached the sky!

"How dare you talk to me like that! All you do is drink, and when you're drunk you beat your mother! Honestly, have you ever truly cared about her even once? Just looking at her rough hands and the cracked skin on her fingers, I can tell you're a complete good-for-nothing! You're just a little luckier than me!"

Xu Que took his mother's hand and said frankly, "It's not that I can't find a girlfriend, it's that I'm afraid to! I only have a salary of 3,800 yuan, and I'm already struggling to survive! In this era where everything costs money, I'm really afraid that one day I'll end up like him, and she'll end up like you! I'm sorry! The Xu family line may end with me!"

"You're just too soft-hearted. No matter how he treats you, you won't leave him! Your mindset is worthy of the suffering you've endured all these years!"

With tears in her eyes, Xu Que's mother said, "Who will take care of you when you get old like this!"

Mr. Xu then said, "You slut! Look how spoiled you've become of your father!" He then tried to hit his wife.

Xu Que went to the woodshed, found an axe, pointed it at his father, and said, "If you dare to hit Mother again, I'll kill you!"

Seeing this, Mr. Xu stopped talking.

Xu Que beat his father a total of three times, each time after his mother had been drinking! He would try everything to appease her, but then resort to violence! The effect was obvious! At least his father never hit his mother again while Xu Que was around!

The idiot looked at Xu Que with disdain for five and a half seconds, then turned and pulled his crazy wife out of Xu Que's house, muttering as he walked: "Sigh! A college student, and he's so unfilial to his own father! I think he's worse than a pig or a dog! No wonder he can't find a girlfriend! All those years of schooling were wasted! If my child is like him, I'd rather die than let him go to college!"

Grandpa Wang, a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government welfare program for the elderly and disabled) next door, heard an argument going on at Xu Que's house and came in to find out what was going on, just to get a sense of what was happening.

He pulled Xu Que to the lush jujube tree by the door and began to teach him.

"You silly kid! Your parents are doing this for your own good! If you don't date, get married, or have children, who will take care of you when you're old? Look at me, I'm a living example! Do you want to become a recipient of the Five Guarantees in the future?" Grandpa Wang stretched his lame leg and leaned against the jujube tree in a new position.

"Back in the day, if I had even a tenth of your looks, I'd probably be surrounded by wives and concubines and have a house full of children and grandchildren by now!"

"Even in his current state, he still goes to a foot massage parlor every few days! People have to look forward, right? If everyone were like you, afraid of mistreating their girlfriends, and only started dating after they'd earned enough money to last a lifetime, then it would be too late! If you see someone you like, don't hesitate, just take them to a hotel! The more you think, the less a girl will think you like her! Women's thinking is often the opposite of ours!"

"You feel you don't have money, can't offer her a future, and are too responsible to touch her! But she sees it as you not liking her! Men and women think very differently about relationships! Do you understand what I mean?"

"From now on, if you meet a girl who's interested in you, go for it regardless of whether it's a good match or not! You're not stupid enough to actually believe that women genuinely pursue you, are you? They're all just tricks! If she asks you if you can pluck the stars from the sky, you have to pat your chest and say yes! You have to keep praising her, even if she farts, you have to describe it as a fragrant breeze! You have to find ways to please her..."

"Did you remember what I said? That's all for today! Next time, I'll tell you all about those days when I would knock on widows' doors in the middle of the night! And the days when I would go to the red-light district to pick up girls!" After saying that, Grandpa Wang limped home with his cane.

The old man was a pitiful fellow, finding his sense of existence only in the harmless Xu Que! Xu Que knew the old man had a hard life, and he knew much of what the old man said was just boasting. But he wouldn't call him out on it; instead, he would pretend to listen with great admiration! He tried his best to add some fun to the old man's dull life! He considered it a secret act of kindness to society! At least, that's what Xu Que thought!