Trillian put down the mirror, turned to Hermione, and asked:
"So Hermione has a good-looking face?"
"It's a friendly face," Draco explained. "It means not dangerous, the kind of face people are willing to trust. But I don't really understand it either. Anyway, all I know is that my wife is very beautiful."
"Tsk tsk tsk..." Trillian pouted in disdain, "I really didn't expect that. When you were giving me the 'thief face' look, you were all set up, but when it comes to your wife, you're all over her with compliments..."
Draco's praise and Trillian's teasing made Hermione blush slightly. She turned her head slightly and said, "Stop teasing me."
Having achieved his goal, Draco didn't continue teasing his wife, but instead steered the conversation back on track, "Speaking of which..."
"Helping the vulnerable requires careful methods. One cannot use the guise of helping to harm their interests or plunder their rights; such actions will backfire. For example, if charity is done solely for profit, trouble will inevitably follow. Similarly, one cannot use the banner of the vulnerable to swindle or exploit others' sympathy for personal gain. Both of these situations will corrupt social morals."
Having discussed bottom lines and taboos, Draco returned to the logic of mutually beneficial symbiosis and doing good, continuing his previous theories of self-interest and Heavenly Dao:
"Helping the vulnerable can compensate for one's own shortcomings, or it can be seen as increasing one's own interests. For example, if you are a business owner and you hire unemployed people, you are also helping the vulnerable, because they have what you don't, and they might have what you don't. It's a two-way complementary relationship."
"Yes," Selene affirmed, then asked, "Is there anything in this world that doesn't involve interests?"
"I don't think about it," Draco replied. "Perhaps only by being free from desires, thoughts, and wants can one achieve true selflessness. As long as a person is alive, they will have too many thoughts and endless desires."
"What about family and love? These are genuine emotions that come from the heart, aren't they always pure?" Trillian asked tentatively.
"Not really," Draco shook his head and replied, "It's just that the interests involved are relatively small, and it also depends on the timing."
"Everyone has a scale in their heart, and it will always tip to one side to some extent. For example, an obedient child and a disobedient child. An obedient child is well-behaved and doesn't cause you any trouble, which in itself brings you benefits;"
"Disobedient children cry and fuss, always causing trouble, wasting your time, and draining your energy. If you're very busy with work, wouldn't you instinctively favor the obedient child? Wouldn't you give them more of the good things?"
Following this line of thought, Trillian asked, "Then being an only child must be much better, right? There's no comparison, no competition, and parents can't show favoritism; all the affection is unique to them."
"That's not necessarily a good thing," Draco shook his head again, analyzing the pros and cons, "Because everything is relative."
"For every yin, there is a yang. Plugging all resources onto this only child can easily lead to spoiling."
"However, one child can be taken care of, but the child will also understand what unfairness is later—and when they encounter it, they may not be able to accept it, which could cause significant problems."
Trillian then asked, "Is it good for families with two children to let the children experience unfairness too early?"
"That's not necessarily a good thing; anything can happen." Draco shook his head again. "In the future, the child who suffers unfair treatment and the child who is favored will drift apart."
"The favored child feels that this is enough for you, while the child who suffers unfair treatment will be relegated to a lower level. If the favored child treats you badly, the child who suffers unfair treatment may not even want to look at you."
Upon hearing this, Trillian sighed, "Then it seems the only thing we can do is try our best not to be biased. Being a parent is really not easy!"
Draco smiled and said, "Everything is difficult. Being a chicken is difficult, being a dog is difficult, being a human... is the most difficult of all."
"Young Master, is it difficult to be a kept man?"
"I asked with a grin," Trillian asked.
"Of course it's difficult. My wife is in charge of finding food, so I have to be in charge of cooking. Which one do you think is more acceptable?"
After thinking for a moment, Trillian said, "For my profession, neither seems very acceptable. It's easier to just grab food—no need to look for food or cook."
"What's your profession?" Draco shattered her illusions. "Have you forgotten your current status? You're my maid now. Cooking and cleaning will be your jobs. What are you dreaming about?"
"Huh? Then what will you be responsible for, young master?"
Draco replied matter-of-factly, "I'm in charge of enjoying myself. There are cooks and people who find food; I'm in charge of eating."
"Then you're of no use to us at all, young master! You're just someone who lies around and takes advantage!" Trillian pouted, dissatisfied.
"Really?" Draco feigned surprise, his tone laced with a wicked amusement. "That's easy. Just ask my wife. If she's a lesbian, would she be willing to team up with you?"
Hearing this outrageous joke, Hermione nearly choked on her drink. She put down her glass, glared at Draco, and said, "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
Then, Hermione met Trillian's gaze, Trillian was looking at her with an expectant yet probing look. Hermione felt a chill run down her spine and firmly refused, "Don't even think about it."
Draco shrugged at the disappointed Trillian and said smugly, "How could you possibly skip the middleman!"
After a few jokes, Draco toned down his playfulness and steered the conversation back to the topic of favored children and children who suffered injustice.
"Another possibility is that children who suffer unfair treatment may treat their parents better than favored children."
Hermione was immediately puzzled. "Impossible, right? How could someone who has suffered so much injustice and unfairness be more filial?"
"The reason is simple," Draco explained. "Because he's not pampered by his parents, he has to do many things independently. Such children are more courageous in facing society."
"On the other hand, those favored children are meticulously protected by their parents, and even on the day their parents pass away, they may still not have learned how to face the storms of life on their own."
"As for the proportion of these two situations, it's impossible to know. Perhaps no one has ever done such statistics, and I don't have a reliable source of data, so I dare not draw any conclusions."
Trillian couldn't understand this viewpoint. "Isn't that impossible? Even if children who are treated unfairly by their parents grow up and become capable, will they still be willing to repay their parents?"
"The key is whether you can figure it out," Draco said.
"The child might understand that not being favored can actually help their development, and thus they won't resent their parents."
"I feel the former is more likely." Hermione wasn't entirely convinced either. "Even knowing that your parents are helping you a lot, who can accept being treated unfairly?"