Qin Siyang asked, "How do you define the human heart?"
Rather than answering directly, Hu Chan asked him a question in return. "President Qin, how long has it been since you dealt with ordinary people?"
"Ordinary people? What, you're not ordinary?"
"I started out as an orphan, and now I'm the Holy Son of the largest church recognized by the United Government within the Safe Zone. Do you think I'm ordinary?"
"That sounds a little conceited, but you have a point."
"President Qin, there aren't really any ordinary people around you anymore. Never mind prominent figures of the older generation like Principal Zhao and Professor Li-even your peers are the same. Chu Baxing is the Commander's son, Zhao Sifang is the crown prince of the Black Market, and Gu Yunpeng is the young master of the Gu Family. Even Wen Shu, an ordinary person, is a brilliant student selected from the best of the best within the Safe Zone."
Qin Siyang frowned. "What do you mean, 'even Wen Shu'? You think pretty little of her, don't you?"
"No, I'm merely stating an objective fact. President Qin, you believe self-interest underpins everything. For unusual people like us, that's certainly true. But for ordinary people, it isn't necessarily so."
"What, ordinary people enjoy doing thankless work and sacrificing themselves for others?"
Hu Chan nodded. "More or less."
"Hu Chan, are you kidding me?"
"President Qin, don't find it so unbelievable." Hu Chan remained perfectly composed. "The human heart is complicated. Putting self-interest above all else is only one approach-the most realistic, the safest, and the easiest way to make steady progress. Naturally, it's also the one most likely to lead to success."
"Because everyone around you is smart, unusual, and successful, President Qin, you all regard self-interest as the universal standard."
"But