My System Forces Me to Live off Women

Chapter 554: Chapter 350: Staying True to Yourself (2)

Li Peifeng was unusually melancholic, questioning his use of so much time and energy on romantic relationships, while deeply pondering the meaning of life.

Who am I? A special being on this planet with a near ’superhuman’ physique, enhancing my abilities further by living off others.

Where am I? In an abstract, twisted, colorful yet unchanging human world.

What do I want to do? I want to spend The Rest of My Life with several women who have deep feelings for me, but it seems they disagree.

Should I keep persisting?

"Ding~"

A WeChat message from He Yimeng: "Can’t sleep, tell me about what’s been going on with you lately."

He Yimeng: "I remember during the New Year they all went to your house to meet your parents, there was quite a conflict, but a few days ago you said you were getting along well with them, how did you resolve it?"

Li Peifeng: "(Sigh) I really want to let you know about the love-hate entanglements between me and them, and tell you how bleak our emotional future is. Like hard rocks that, no matter how the wind blows, can’t grow spring leaves. But I can’t confide in you; I can only swallow the misfortune alone, for such a night is not suitable for two people to share heart-wrenching sorrows."

He Yimeng: "(Surprised)"

He Yimeng: "You’re overthinking, once you say it, you’ll continue to be heartbroken, but I’ll be very happy!!"

He Yimeng: "Come on, tell me, make me happy!"

Li Peifeng: "..."

He Yimeng: "..."

Li Peifeng: "(In a daze)"

He Yimeng: "Are you very tired?"

Li Peifeng: "Not too bad."

He Yimeng: "Let go."

Li Peifeng: "Go to bed early."

He advised her to sleep early, but he didn’t rest himself, instead, he was scrolling through his phone, aimlessly clicking on something, and inadvertently found He Yimeng’s latest post on her WeChat Moments.

"The claim by Adler that ’all problems are interpersonal problems’ also implies the happy meaning that ’all happiness is also from interpersonal relationships’. But happiness and suffering are separated by a thin line; how to navigate this, a four-word suggestion: maintain oneself."

Li Peifeng liked the post and left a single digit to express double affirmation;

"6."

...

The human self is actually a quite complex and elusive concept; many philosophers and psychologists have different and even contradictory understandings and explanations of the self, and countless ordinary people spend their entire lives unable to truly know themselves. If one can’t understand oneself, how can one maintain it?

And Li Peifeng believes that the so-called self conceals three very famous ultimate philosophical questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?

Understanding the answers to these three questions is to understand the self. Simply put, it is to have a clear understanding of one’s desires, a clear understanding of the workings of this world and human society, and a clear understanding of one’s future life.

Achieving these three understandings allows one to find oneself and try to maintain oneself.

Li Peifeng used to be very clear about what he wanted to do, but now, the pressure of reality forces him to admit that his abilities are limited, and the ideal integrated approach seems very difficult to achieve.

Moreover, he finally realized a problem...

"Setting life goals on building intimate relationships with others might be fundamentally wrong.

"The goal for oneself should not be borrowed from others, nor seek emotional solace externally; it ought to be confined to one’s own body and spirit, otherwise, it’s just inviting trouble."

Li Peifeng thought and thought, unwilling to delve deeper, so he simply started writing.

In fact, what He Yimeng said in that WeChat Moment makes a lot of sense. Since relationships are the source of happiness and troubles, staying away from them temporarily is the answer. Focus on work, don’t think about emotions and others, just concentrate on self-improvement. Perhaps happiness isn’t guaranteed, but the troubles will surely be fewer.

...

February 4th, cloudy, north wind 5-6 level.

By the coast of Ningyuan City, the sea in the distance is overshadowed by thick clouds. Although the temperature of minus eighteen degrees hasn’t frozen the sea completely, it has created small ice fragments on the surface. The beach is covered with snow and ice crystals. On Juhua Island, the waves are even more tumultuous compared to the shoreline, the strong winds howling, waves crashing against the rocks with a thunderous roar, splattering white foam.

Such weather is considered harsh but fits perfectly with the scenes to be presented in the film’s trailer, "Sword and Magic".

"The heavens have blessed us, everyone get on the boat, let’s start shooting."

"Life jackets, everyone put them on."

The shooting went more smoothly than expected; the initial three-day shooting schedule in Ningyuan City might be cut short by two days. Since today’s weather conditions were already ideal for filming, everyone didn’t need to wait for the following days.

Thanks to Li Peifeng, the leading actor, whose physical resilience was extraordinary, amidst sub-zero windy weather, he could still row shirtless in the sea, occasionally splashing around, transforming into a "water sprite". He seemed unaffected by the weather, naturally delivering an overall perfect presentation in front of the camera.

They started filming at ten in the morning, and by a little past three in the afternoon, they had shot nearly two hours of material for what would eventually be just three or four seconds of screen time, ensuring safety before wrapping up and heading back to Ningyuan City to Li Peifeng’s home.

Since acquiring the "Heart of the Chef", Li Peifeng hadn’t stopped cooking for two weeks. He believed his cooking skills had greatly improved and wanted to showcase them and hear others’ objective comments on his craftsmanship.

Now, the integrated team boasts thirteen employees, plus the two bosses present, totaling fifteen people. Li Peifeng took charge and prepared nine meat dishes, six vegetarian ones, and a soup, along with some seafood purchased from the Juhua Island farmers.

After a busy flurry of activity, with some cooking-savvy employees helping out, dinner officially started at six in the evening.

"Dinner’s ready, stop editing the video for now, come out to eat."

In the living room, two rectangular tables were pushed together, everyone took their seats one by one, and were somewhat shocked by the dishes on the table.

"This presentation? This appearance? It’s too exquisite!"

"Brother Feng, did you specially learn cooking before?"

The assisting chef Gu Jinyu chimed in, "Look at those knife skills, he must have learned!"

Li Peifeng didn’t respond, just instructed, "Where’s the bottle opener? Get it over here, pour the drinks."

Wu Wenyue joined in, "Fill up all the drinks, let’s toast to Chef Li."

"Come."

Smiling, Li Peifeng raised his glass, "Eat and drink well, rest up tonight, tomorrow we’ll head to the Lage Glacier, the tickets are already booked, hmm... this drink is to celebrate the early wrap of the film’s seascape shots."

He then took the lead in finishing his drink, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating. Others, who had long been tempted by the delicacies on the table, couldn’t wait any longer and began eating eagerly.

"It does look good, didn’t think his cooking improved this much."

He Yimeng looked at the dish closest to her, red dates and yam stew with pork trotters, picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. Instantly, she experienced the soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture, thick meat fragrance lingering between her lips and teeth, the savory yet sweet taste wrapping around her tongue.

"This taste? Delicious!!"

He Yimeng felt as if her brain was cheerfully celebrating, every cell in her body screaming ’Eat, eat, eat, I want more!’

Her pupils slightly contracted, she froze entirely, but her mouth and tongue unconsciously savored the food, then slowly swallowed it...

"What kind of deliciousness is this?"

"This spicy bass is too delicious!"

Others’ experiences were not much different from He Yimeng’s, whispering exclaimed comments, then focusing intently on the table’s dishes.

At this moment, each of them seemed like they hadn’t eaten for two days or hadn’t seen meat for half a year, treating their chopsticks as weapons, each eagerly grabbing their favorite dishes, fearful of missing them by a mere second.

"Xiaofeng, were you fooling us with your cooking before?"

Wu Wenyue wiped the oil from the corner of her mouth, complaining softly, "Deliberately hiding it, you have atrocious intentions!"

Li Peifeng explained, "Why would I hide it? Just because I’ve been cooking a lot lately, naturally improving my skills."

"It’s too delicious, Brother Feng, your skills are absolutely on par with those chefs in high-end Chinese restaurants!"

After slightly satisfying their appetites, everyone’s attention finally shifted from the food, praising Li Peifeng, the chef.

The flattery came ceaselessly, and He Yimeng jested with a smile, "I wonder which woman can be with someone as outstanding as our Boss Li, she must have saved the world in a past life to have such luck, right?"

"Of course, that’s certain, haha."

Others joined in the teasing, Wu Wenyue frowned slightly before quickly relaxing, thinking that besides her, there are at least three such lucky individuals...

What saving the world in a past life, it must be they personally destroyed the world to deserve such retribution!!