Chapter 874: The Peak-End Effect
Aries stared at me and Jiang Ruoxue for a long time.
His gaze gradually shifted from being defenseless back to ice-cold.
After about a minute, he seemed to recall who I was. Then he turned his head to glance at Jiang Ruoxue, nodded slightly, and muttered softly, "Good thing."
The voice came faintly from behind his mask. I wasn't even sure if I had heard correctly.
Before Jiang Ruoxue could speak, Aries fixed his eyes on her again and asked, "What did you just say?"
"I...?" Jiang Ruoxue blinked. "I said I thought you weren't working today."
"Working..." Aries let out a bitter laugh. "Saying 'working' makes it sound so miserable. I come and go freely here—this place is no different from my home."
"Oh?" Jiang Ruoxue nodded. "Then let me rephrase: So Aries is home, after all. I called out for ages and no one answered—I thought you weren't here."
I really had to admire Jiang Ruoxue.
Even though it was her first time meeting Aries, she could naturally joke and chat with him. It had taken me months just to get more than a few words out of someone like Aries.
"Interesting." Aries nodded. "People who force conversation like you are rare."
"Are they?" Jiang Ruoxue shrugged. "People who just stand there in a daze like you are pretty rare too."
Aries didn't seem inclined to follow Jiang Ruoxue's train of thought. Instead, he turned back to look at me. "What's the matter? Why are you coming to see me in the afternoon?"
"I..." I didn't know how to answer. Was I supposed to say, "I brought Jiang Ruoxue here to give you a new explanation of what love is"?
"Hey! Aries!" Jiang Ruoxue reached out and patted Aries on the shoulder directly. "I'm here to teach you something!"
"Teach me something?" Aries was slightly taken aback.
"What?" Jiang Ruoxue laughed. "Do I not look capable of teaching you?"
"That's not it," Aries replied. "It's just that not many people talk to me like this. It sounds a bit novel."
"I'm not like Zhichun." Jiang Ruoxue crossed her arms. "As long as there's one thing I'm better at than you, I'm willing to teach you humbly."
"Then it depends on whether I'm willing to learn humbly," Aries said. "What skill do you have?"
Jiang Ruoxue gave a mischievous smile and looked at Aries as she asked, "Have you ever been in love?"
"I..." Aries froze for a moment. "What does that have to do with you?"
"Zhichun explained 'love' to you before, but I'm afraid she was too one-sided. So I thought I'd add a couple of points for you."
After a few seconds of silence, Aries's eyes turned exceptionally cold as he said, "It's no longer necessary."
"No longer necessary...?" Jiang Ruoxue's expression also darkened. "Did I come too late...?"
"Too late?" Aries's gaze shifted from cold to appraising as he looked Jiang Ruoxue up and down, as if something had occurred to him. "I didn't peg you as a clever person."
"I'm no genius—I'm just someone who follows my whims." Jiang Ruoxue laughed. "Are you sure you don't need help anymore? The version of love Zhichun described to you is probably too perfect... That kind of thing doesn't exist in reality..."
"Oh?"
Jiang Ruoxue paused, then continued, "When two people are together for a long time, not everything goes smoothly. You might clash over trivial things—like who washes the dishes after a meal, what time to go to bed at night, or even which side of the bed each person sleeps on. You might have different opinions, and you might even have a huge fight over these little things and break up..."
"Not important," Aries interrupted.
"What?"
"I said, not important," Aries repeated. "The fact that you remember those bad things is just the 'peak-end effect' at work."
"The 'peak-end effect'...?" Jiang Ruoxue turned to look back at me.
I quickly explained, "That means people usually only remember the emotional peak of an experience and the emotion at its end. If both of those are pleasant, they'll think the whole experience was pleasant."
"I don't understand theories," Jiang Ruoxue said. "Give me an example."
"Many businesses use this principle," I explained. "For instance, when you buy a piece of clothing, the salesperson might casually compliment you—'great figure,' 'fair skin'—while you're choosing. When you pay, they'll tell you about a promotion or give you a discount. That way, both the beginning and the end are pleasant, so you think the whole shopping trip was pleasant. You'll also unconsciously ignore negative aspects like 'the store was crowded,' 'the trip was far,' 'the clothes aren't that great quality,' 'there were a few loose threads,' and so on. And you'll be willing to tell others, 'That's a nice store.' That's the 'peak-end effect' in action."
"Good thing we have a translator." Jiang Ruoxue then looked back at Aries. "I understand the 'peak-end effect,' but what does my remembering those arguments have to do with it?"
"If I'm not mistaken..." Aries said, "The reason you remember those arguments is because you broke up."
"What..." Jiang Ruoxue was taken aback.
"Because both the 'peak' and the 'end' were unpleasant," Aries said. "So you believe 'love is imperfect.'"
"Sigh..." Jiang Ruoxue shook her head helplessly after hearing that. "I just know that if I like someone, I stay together; if I'm tired, I walk away. Talking with clever people like you is such a pain..."
"It's not a pain. I can replicate 'love' with theory and knowledge. Even though I don't understand love, I can use the 'peak-end effect' to simulate real love. As long as the relationship doesn't end in a breakup, I'll always remember the positive memories and always think the other person is perfect."
After hearing that, Jiang Ruoxue was completely speechless.
Listening to the exchange between Aries and Jiang Ruoxue, I could roughly guess what Aries intended to do.
But the conclusion was too absurd for me to believe.
Aries was going to create an absurd, flawless, perfect emotion within his own inner world?
"Aries..." Jiang Ruoxue took a deep breath and then said, "You might not know this, but I was born far away. It wasn't easy for me to come find you. Are you sure there's nothing you need my help with?"
"Why are you so determined to help me?" Aries asked.
"This is my 'karma,'" Jiang Ruoxue replied. "Because I value Zhichun, and she values you, her 'karma' has become my 'karma.'"
"Interesting." Aries nodded. "If that's the case, there is one thing I need your help with."
"Oh?" Jiang Ruoxue raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."
Aries slowly leaned a step closer to Jiang Ruoxue, as if he wanted to whisper in her ear.
Seeing this, Jiang Ruoxue reached out and pushed against Aries's chest to stop his advance. Then, with a displeased expression, she asked, "What is it that Zhichun can't hear?"
Aries glanced at me and then shook his head. "It's not that I'm afraid of Yan Zhichun hearing. It's other people I'm worried about."