The days of peaceful happiness always fly by. In just a few days, Li Haojun's envisioned solar farm was completed. Everything was automated, following standard procedures. The entire process required almost no human contact, from earthwork excavation and underground concrete construction to the assembly of solar panels and windmills.
With this large toy, Li Haojun spent more time on the farm, installing energy storage capacitors and debugging wiring and voltage conversion electronics. With the extra electricity, more lights were used for decorating the courtyard at night. After several busy days, the two of them enjoyed the fruits of their labor after dinner.
Decorative light strips were hung above the living room's French windows and in the porch. The dim yellow light added warmth to the previously cold courtyard, leaving the other half of the walls and corners feeling cool. Only a few small lanterns hung on the banana trees for subtle embellishment, achieving a perfect balance between light and shadow, warmth and coolness.
Li Haojun and Qin Wenjing sat on a bench in front of the porch. To their right was a vertical, slightly arched, floor-to-ceiling glass window in the living room, through which they could see the interior furnishings and, reflected in the glass, the quiet, verdant courtyard. To their left was a blue brick wall, bathed in the dim yellow light of the courtyard lamps, its base and a distant corner of the wall faintly hidden in the night. A few dim lights illuminated the dark green of the banana leaves in the darkness.
Night had just fallen; the sky was not yet completely dark. Looking up, the dark corners of the rooftops and the tops of the walls separated the courtyard from the outside world, giving those in the courtyard a strong sense of security.
With his arm around Qin Wenjing's waist, Li Haojun sat on the wooden bench, enjoying the warm breeze of the early summer night.
“Hey, look, there seems to be a plane flying by over there,” Li Haojun pointed to the sky to his left.
Qin Wenjing looked over. “That should be the flight path of a flying car.”
“Oh, that explains why I couldn’t hear the noise of a jet engine. It’s electric.”
“Yes, their flight paths usually follow roads. They could also be patrol drones; they’re all similar types of aircraft.” Qin Wenjing explained to Li Haojun as she looked.
“It should be more reliable than human police, right? At least they won’t be corrupt, collude with criminal organizations, or commit murder for money and harm the community. After all, American police have a lot of power when enforcing the law, and the job is also dangerous. We can’t rule out the possibility of others trying to infiltrate the police force.” Li Haojun said.
“Yes, drones are now replacing the old-fashioned street patrol officers. They’re quite effective in rural areas like ours.” Qin Wenjing took Li Haojun’s hand, rested her head on his shoulder, and looked at the same sky with him, discussing the same topic.
“But the situation is more complicated in the city,” Qin Wenjing added, “We need human law enforcers. In the past, laws were passed by votes in a region, but the implementation wasn't ideal because ordinary people couldn't effectively monitor politicians. They would use various pretexts to pass laws and abuse public power for their own benefit.”
“For example?” Li Haojun asked curiously.
“Hehe, for example, affirmative action laws, which claim to protect vulnerable groups and minorities, but the result is often injustice and reverse discrimination against the other side. There are also employment issues and women's rights issues. From a societal perspective, emphasizing the power of one side is oppression of the other. Those organizations and individuals, by appealing to equality of outcome…” This kind of reverse discrimination, or moral blackmail, used to suppress the efforts and competitive advantages of others, effectively placing themselves in a position of advantage to exploit and oppress others. It was once a serious problem, but it was also a reason for Lanzhou's gradual decline. You see, some people who were originally in a privileged position in society, out of moral considerations, relinquished some of their advantages to those who were originally in a disadvantaged position. However, they gradually began to treat these advantages as divinely granted rights, demanding legal protection. Yet, they lacked the power to guarantee what they claimed, which never belonged to them in the first place, nor did it originate from them.”
“Hmm, it's like someone who's been suckling at their mother’s breast, isn't it?” Li Haojun succinctly summarized.
"Hahaha," Qin Wenjing laughed heartily, turning her head to look at Li Haojun with a mischievous grin, asking, "Did you scold me this morning?"
Li Haojun put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her closer, kissed her lips, and whispered, "How could I bear to?" He then looked deeply into Qin Wenjing's eyes.
Qin Wenjing tilted her head back; the light from the living room illuminated the contours of Li Haojun's face. It was completely dark, and the contrast between light and shadow accentuated his rugged, masculine beauty.
“Later, all that chaos gradually disappeared,” Qin Wenjing continued. “Each city and region has been divided into areas with different legal system preferences, for suitable people to move into. Basic human rights, such as life, property, health, freedom of speech, dignity, and other constitutional rights, are protected in all resident areas. However, some advanced rights, social rights, such as equal employment and principles for determining sexual harassment, and private rights such as marriage, are protected in a biased manner. The protected party can voluntarily choose to pursue or waive these rights in advance, by making a declaration, to live in a different legally defined area. In this way, the way a group of people can hijack the whole to obtain power becomes ineffective. Individuals also don't have to pay the price for the outrageous behavior of others in the group.”
“Sigh, so are there any trolls who just run off to…” "Protesting your demands on someone else's turf? Or something even more insidious, infiltrating and sabotaging? Hahaha," Li Haojun suddenly thought of this bug and immediately asked,
"Yes, all kinds of people do that. You can protest peacefully, but it will be recorded, and the region holding the values you're protesting might not hire you. That's why the Accountable Act was later enacted; your publicly stated values are no longer protected as personal privacy."
"Yeah, that's fair. Everyone should be responsible for the consequences of their actions."
"The latter you mentioned is ideological subversion, which is illegal. You can publicly declare or self-promote the life you want. But disrupting someone else's lifestyle is illegal."
"Ah! You've matured a lot. Dad can finally relax," Li Haojun quickly seized the opportunity to tease Qin Wenjing.
But she didn't refute him, nor did she react as expected with, "Ugh, you're annoying," or anything like that. Instead, she calmly continued, "It was you who taught me before: women should focus on inner growth, otherwise it will be difficult to face themselves after losing their beauty in the second half of their lives." Li Haojun felt ashamed of her earlier joke, thinking to herself, "I was so shallow." He hurriedly explained,
"Compared to the old me, I hope you don't mind, I don't remember the past, and I don't even know if I'm still the same person I used to be." After hesitating for a moment, Li Haojun added softly, "Please don't be disappointed in me, okay?" Qin Wenjing smiled slightly, said nothing, and continued the previous topic,
"You taught me before, you said that a woman's golden age is relatively short. For example, if we use age as the horizontal axis and attraction or value in a relationship as the vertical axis, on this plane, a woman's curve might rise sharply from twelve or thirteen, fifteen years old, reaching its peak at twenty-two or twenty-three, twenty-five or twenty-six, and then dropping to about half or a third of its peak by thirty-five. For women, attraction to the opposite sex in a relationship comes from their biological attributes; the peak of the curve is very high, but the decline begins relatively early. And women's evaluation of men is often based on their social value. Teenage boys are nothing; the curve's vertical axis..." "The curve starts low, gradually rising in high school and university as personal achievements improve. Then, around 25 or 26, the starting point for entering the workforce, the curve continues to rise with some success, but it's still far behind the peak female curve of the same period. Around 35 or 36, if a man's career is stable, the curve will gradually rise. If he's already successful, the peak male curve might not be reached until his 40s or 50s, and even then, it will still be lower than the female peak, because males in mammals generally pursue females. However, it can be assumed that the integral area of the male and female curves is equal; it's the way of nature, God has given men and women fairness in his own way."
"But this also presents women with a dilemma. A high start followed by a decline can be difficult for young women without life experience to cope with. Most people lack the wisdom to manage such a life. That's why you reminded me from the beginning not to be too obsessed with female charm and unable to extricate myself, to transition early, so that I could be happier in the second half of my life." After saying this, Qin Wenjing looked up silently at Li Haojun.
As they chatted, it became completely dark, and the night breeze was slightly cool. Li Haojun picked up Qin Wenjing and placed her on his lap, wrapping her thin clothes in his shirt. He held her close and continued listening to her recount their past.
"You see, as long as I'm sincere to you, you'll cherish me. Your true nature has little to do with whether you remember the past." Qin Wenjing smiled knowingly in Li Haojun's arms.
After a moment's hesitation, Li Haojun asked, "There are some things I don't know if I should say,"
"Why can't you say them? Only communication can solve problems. That's always been what you've told me."
"Okay, my mind is like an eighteen-year-old boy now, haha," Li Haojun chuckled, then continued, "I had a dream this morning about women, two of them."
"Hahaha, given a choice, right?" Qin Wenjing laughed heartily. "We've talked about this before. Go ahead and tell me, let's see if you've changed your mind." She smiled at Li Haojun, the dim lighting from the restaurant making her face appear even more alluring.
“It started at home. I had a female friend, just a casual relationship. She's my type: pear-shaped figure, oval face, almond-shaped eyes, fair skin, and a slender build,” Li Haojun said, then paused and asked, “Is it you?”
“What do you think? Does it look like me?” Qin Wenjing replied playfully.
“I don’t even know if my dream is a memory from before,” Li Haojun explained helplessly.
“Continue, continue,” Qin Wenjing urged.
“Then the scene was at school, with classmates sitting in front of and behind each other. My deskmate was a girl,”
“Oh…” Qin Wenjing deliberately drawled,
“That kind of ambiguous feeling between young boys and girls, sometimes a single word, a gesture, whether or not you respond, all have a subtle connection. I was considering which one to choose… so in the midst of our banter, I neglected my deskmate a little.”
“Is she not as pretty as the one at home?” Qin Wenjing pressed.
“Yeah, but she seemed to like me. Sigh, maybe I’m just imagining things.” Li Haojun explained the details,
"So, are you interested in her?"
"A little,"
"You're like someone who's eating what they don't have while eyeing what they don't?"
"Not really, the pretty one isn't with me yet."
"Hmph, so stubborn," Qin Wenjing said, giving Li Haojun a disdainful look. "If I were you, I'd get whoever I want first."
Li Haojun was momentarily speechless at Qin Wenjing's words.
"Oh, I'm not that kind of person," Qin Wenjing quickly explained. "You're the one who told me that scumbags all have that kind of logic, tell me quickly."
"Oh, later, during evening self-study, there weren't many people left. I don't know if she was retaliating against my indifference or if it was her own choice, but she started passionately kissing another boy right next to me, and then it even progressed to that guy... " Another junior and I were right next to them, doing this without a care in the world.
"Yeah, in most countries and conservative regions, doing this kind of thing in public is illegal." "So later, rules were refined in different regions with varying levels of tolerance, such as public places and workplaces. The most liberal areas allowed it all," Qin Wenjing said.
"It's a bit like Sodom," Li Haojun added.
"Yeah, in that kind of place, you can't accuse someone of rape in that kind of situation. Anyone who wants to live there has to bear the consequences."
"Are there people in that kind of place?" Li Haojun asked curiously.
"There were some at first, but those people couldn't sustain the local economy. So after a period of social experimentation, Sodom disappeared. Only some open areas retain these districts as an ecological preservation, proving its failure."
"Yes, there's no living, failed utopia there; there will always be people who yearn for it."
"What happened to your dream later?" Qin Wenjing followed up.
"Later?" "Haha," Li Haojun continued recounting his dream,
"Then she turned into a white-feathered chicken, hehe," Li Haojun laughed as he spoke.
At this point, Qin Wenjing was laughing uncontrollably, getting off Li Haojun's lap and bending over with laughter.
Li Haojun continued, "Then my junior took it, used a kitchen knife, and chopped off the chicken's butt in one stroke, and then showed it to me..."
At this point, Qin Wenjing was laughing so hard she was squatting on the ground, unable to stand up. The two of them calmed down for a while before sitting back down on the bench.
Li Haojun looked up at the starry sky and murmured to himself, "Sometimes I think, some dreams are really strange, as if they were scripted for me, designed by another consciousness, because I have no idea how they unfold. It's like an experiment testing my thoughts."
"Hmm, what do you think you would do if something like that happened in real life?" Qin Wenjing asked.
"I would be more restrained, just leave. Why get involved with them?" "Li Haojun answered without hesitation, then immediately asked, "What are the regulations for this kind of thing in our area?"
"This is a conservative area. An adult going to someone's house is considered sexual consent. So, people who aren't familiar with each other won't get very close, especially among Puritans."
"Exactly! You can't use sex to seduce the opposite sex and then enjoy their attention without wanting to bear the consequences. Isn't that just playing with people?" After grumbling, Li Haojun quickly added, "So, what I did in my dream was out of necessity!"
"Hmph, you said you couldn't help yourself." After saying that, Qin Wenjing got up and said, "It's getting late, time for bed." Li Haojun knelt down on one knee, hugged Qin Wenjing's buttocks, buried his face between her legs, and said, "This old minister is willing to serve Your Majesty the Queen in bed. May Your Majesty sleep with me a thousand times, a thousand times, a thousand times." “Ugh, you're so annoying…” With that, Qin Wenjing broke free from Li Haojun and ran back into the house. The bench in front of the porch was empty, only the wooden surface reflecting the dim yellow light of the night. A moment later, the decorative lights went out, and through the gaps in the wooden back of the bench, the living room was illuminated. Then, the living room lights also went out, leaving only the quiet courtyard under the twinkling starry night sky.
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