Bai Ji did not know what a dimensionality-reduction strike was, but he was experiencing one firsthand.
Even without years of accumulated experience, Wang Yan was an educated university student from outside who had come here to help develop an impoverished region—a young man with aspirations. Bai Ji had no chance of competing with him at all.
"Brother Yan, are you and Xiao Yan together?"
When they went to sleep that night, Bai Ji still could not help wanting to make sure. He smoked as if he did not care much, but the ash on his cigarette had grown long without him noticing.
Wang Yan nodded with a smile. "I'll buy you a drink when we get married."
"I'm not saying anything, Brother Yan, but isn't this way too fast? You haven't even been in Machi County for two months, and you've only met Xiao Yan a few times. You're already together? And you want to get married?"
"Relationships progress one layer at a time. Xiao Yan and I have not met often, but every time we met, we grew a little closer. She sees me as a young man with aspirations, and I see her as beautiful and gentle. A turtle sees a mung bean, and their eyes meet. Speed and time spent together do matter, but they are not that important."
Wang Yan smoked as well and said with a smile, "You may not know this, but in some developed places, there are dance halls and bars. As long as a man and woman catch each other's eye, they can sleep together that very night. The place can be pretty casual too."
"Wouldn't that make them prostitutes?"
"Those who charge money are prostitutes. What about those who do not?"
"There are women who do it for free?"
"If she