Chapter 269

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Chapter 269: Deceiving oneself, manipulating others.

Humans are plentiful but dragons are scarce. Humans have short lifespans, while dragons live long lives.

In the eyes of dragons, many humans are like pets; in the eyes of humans, dragons are cherished and protected creatures that can be admired from a distance but not approached.

In another world, Earth, everyone loves pandas, but nobody would be foolish enough to jump into the enclosure at the zoo and end up in a tussle with a national treasure, right?

Different individuals have different tastes, so their affinity for each other naturally varies.

For the good feelings between two people to exceed fifty, they would need to have been close for many years or have a deep connection.

Even Yun Wuxin and Xue Hanlei may not be able to pass this level, let alone the others.

Bai Wei. asked, "How else can we cheat? Should we just smash the testing device?"

Xue Hanlei shook her head, curious as well, "How exactly did they cheat?"

"As long as we understand the specific principles of that testing device, I don’t really believe that emotions can be quantified," Ao Hanli responded, "So, in order to study this, I spent a lot of free time collecting data and interviewing dragons who have participated in this assessment in the past. After a lot of analysis and quantification, I reached a conclusion."

"You’re quite meticulous. You actually spent time researching such a topic?"

"As long as there is a slight possibility of awakening the Dragon King grandfather, it is not a waste, just my summer research project in high school." Ao Hanli smiled, her attitude resembling that of a top student. She stated her conclusion based on the data she had gathered: "There is too much specific data to mention, but from the results, this jewel can quantitatively measure affection. However, it has multiple reference standards, so errors can occur."

"The most classic examples of errors, I will give you two."

"One instance happened ninety years ago, when a dragon maiden brought back her lover. They were deeply in love and had been together for more than thirty years, even considering marriage. However, in this test.s affection for the dragon maiden displayed less than fifty points, while the dragon maiden’s affection exceeded eighty."

"But this didn’t affect their relationship, because they trusted each other, which was more important than this device. After that, they quickly got married, and their children are among the group of young animals you saw yesterday."

"I asked them about this matter, and they admitted it was strange. I found out that the dragon maiden’s lover is a half-demon with both plant and animal characteristics. His heartbeat is very slow, but he has a long lifespan… However, his emotions are very intense and obvious, so I decided on the first indicator, which is ‘heartbeat.’"

Ao Hanli said, "During the test, we asked the man and woman to be very close to each other, holding hands. Holding hands signifies a connection of hearts. If the heartbeat doesn’t speed up, it means there’s no feeling of excitement."

Bai Wei understood, "So this is what they call the ‘heart-fluttering value.’"

"It’s not difficult to make your heart beat faster," Yun Wuxin asked, "but can it really increase one’s liking for someone?"

"There is another indicator," said Ao Hanli as she told the second case: "If the first case was too low, then the second case was too high. There was a dragon who casually invited a woman to visit the Dragon Palace, and she also joined in this. The dragon had a lot of romantic affairs and changed girlfriends many times. The woman was just playing along, but when they tested their feelings.s liking for him reached an astonishing seventy points."

This surprised the dragon. He was amazed that the woman was so deeply in love with him. He immediately knelt down and proposed to her. They quickly got married, and just one day before the wedding, they discovered that the woman was pregnant. They happily embraced parenthood, adding to their joy. I visited their home about three years ago, and they are still living happily ever after."

"But… during this event, I was there the whole time. I remember that this woman didn’t show deep affection towards her cousin. I even had a private conversation with her, and at first, she was unwilling to speak. It was only after more than ten years that she let go of the grudge because her family was happy enough and didn’t need to maintain the lie from back then."

"Back then, she truly didn’t love her current husband, who was a playboy. They were both just pretending and experiencing a love that came and went quickly. The reason it scored so high, she said, was most likely because…"

Ao Hanli paused here, lowering her voice and saying somewhat shyly, "The mating season arrived."

Yun Wuxin looked puzzled and asked, "What is the mating season?"

Humans don’t have the concept of a mating season. It’s better to say that they are in the mood for mating all year round. Immortals lack knowledge in this area.

Bai Wei summed it up succinctly, "Spring has arrived."

Xue Hanlei, with a sudden realization, said, "So she got pregnant so quickly because of this reason?"

Ao Hanli nodded and replied, "Yes, this is the second indicator."

Yun Wuxin spoke, "Increased heart rate and higher body temperature are not difficult, but… do the dragon clan also have an estrus period?"

Ao Hanli remained silent, but Xue Hanlei casually answered, "Yes."

Bai Wei raised an eyebrow and said, "That’s strange. Dragons are the only species that can match humans in terms of XP. Humans can go into estrus all year round, 24 hours a day without interruption. Dragons should be similar."

"Not quite. Dragons have the desire like humans, but their physical condition may not allow it. Long-lived races have limitations in this aspect. Normally, they can enter the breeding period only once every five years," Xue Hanlei explained, talking about the knowledge of biological species. "This period does not even last a month, it’s very short. So, even if dragons try their best, it’s difficult for them to have consecutive pregnancies."

Bai Wei asked again, "How long is the dragon’s gestation period?"

"Three years," Xue Hanlei added, "And after giving birth, the mating period will be postponed for ten more years."

"The dragon’s body structure is so amazing," Bai Wei exclaimed.

"Each dragon maiden’s period is different," Xue Hanlei said, "I probably won’t be able to use this cheating method, I’m not at that stage yet."

"What should we do then?"

"There’s a solution," Xue Hanlei said, "I have a short film here. As long as you get into the right state, isn’t it the same?"

"Get lost!" Bai Wei angrily said, "You want me to embarrass myself in public?"

Yun Wuxin looked at Ao Hanli , "So, you are…"

Ao Hanli nodded, trying to remain calm, "Exactly, it’s my first month as an adult."

"You’ve worked hard," Yun Wuxin said.

"…It’s fine."

After a moment, Yun Wuxin and Ao Hanli walked up to the testing device, took a deep breath, and then touched it.

Yun Wuxin controlled her heartbeat consciously, causing a brief increase in body temperature. Suddenly, the screen displayed high scores of 54 and 78.

"May the two of you have a happy hundred years together, but even if it doesn’t work out, it’s okay. Just part ways after a hundred years."

They passed the test.

Ao Hanli breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It seems that my assumption was correct."

"But your sacrifice is quite significant." Yun Wuxin let go and said, "Your sexual orientation will be questioned in the future."

"I can use this as an excuse to avoid blind dates." Ao Hanli shook her head, "I’m not at a loss."

Next, it was Bai Wei and Xue Hanlei, a woman’s turn.

"I can’t believe I have to measure compatibility with a married woman." Bai Wei had mixed feelings.

Xue Hanlei scoffed, "If you’re not satisfied, why don’t you find someone else?"

"Someone else…" Bai Wei was awakened by these words and suddenly had a flash of realization in his mind.

Yes, as long as I find someone else, it will be fine.

Both of them placed their palms on the testing device at the same time. In the next moment, a bright light shone, and the screen displayed high scores of 88 and 61.

Xue Hanlei suddenly widened her eyes.

Yun Wuxin was about to take a sip of water, but the high affection level made her lose focus for a moment. Suddenly, she applied too much pressure with her hand and accidentally crushed the water bottle, causing water to splash out. The flowing water quickly turned into irregular ice cubes.

"May you both have children soon."

The testing device didn’t even have any flirty comments left. There’s no doubt that Bai Wei and Xue Hanlei achieved the highest score today.

Xue Hanlei let go and stared at Bai Wei , looking left and right, and finally looked down. "Are you… faking your skill?"

Bai Wei shook his head. "You’re mistaken. My skill is too strong to fake."

Xue Hanlei didn’t understand. "Then, how did you get such a high score? Even if you were obsessed with married women, it wouldn’t be this high, right?"

Yes, the affection level was too high that it reached a point where she couldn’t believe it. Only someone truly close, like a mother or father, would love her this much.

Yun Wuxin also looked at the two with a somewhat empty gaze. "I also want an explanation."

Ao Hanli tried to calm the situation: "Stay calm, Young Master Bai must have used some kind of cheating method."

"That’s right," Bai Wei admitted, tapping his forehead. "Actually, it’s not complicated at all. It’s just a simple form of self-suggestion."

The Heroic Spirit Principle and the Golden Power are both about developing one’s soul, allowing temporary modifications and covering of one’s consciousness, which is essentially self-suggestion.

"What I just did was temporarily hypnotize myself, self-suggesting that the person next to me is not Xue Hanlei," Bai Wei explained.

"I see, so the principle is simple, but is it really that easy to do?" Ao Hanli asked.

"It’s difficult," Bai Wei replied. "It’s not recommended for non-professionals to try."

Yun Wuxin let go of the ice block in her hand. "I understand."

She asked inappropriately, "The person you just self-suggested, who is it if it’s not Xue Hanlei?"

Bai Wei didn’t answer. "It’s none of your business."

"Is she your sister?" Yun Wuxin asked again, showing her curiosity.

Bai Wei sensed her determination to find out the truth and replied after a pause, "No, she’s not."