Stay away from the "honest" people around you.

 　　Those who have seen the world, been tempted, and had the opportunity to possess many honest people are the truly honest ones.

　　True honesty means being able to resist temptation, not that

　　one has never been tempted. Being capable but not doing it, and wanting to do it but being unable to, are completely different levels.

　　01

　　When I worked at a TV station, I had a female colleague who was very well-off. Her father was a very wealthy real estate tycoon.

　　After graduating from university, she studied in the UK for two years before returning to China. She was very pretty, with short, tousled hair and a fair complexion, resembling a second female lead in a TVB drama.

　　Every day, she drove a red Mercedes her father bought her to work and returned to her large, three-courtyard mansion after work.

　　As soon as she returned to Beijing, her family started arranging dates for her. Her mother was very strict, arranging at least two high-quality blind dates for her every week, but she felt absolutely no interest.

　　Soon after, a new employee joined the company, a young man from the countryside. He was thin with prominent cheekbones, his face was sallow, and his forehead was pockmarked.

　　In cold weather, his face would peel, and he often wore a dark, cheap pullover, with dandruff flakes constantly falling from his shoulders.

　　Unexpectedly, they got together…

　　We all asked her, “With so many rich and handsome men out there, what do you like about him?”

　　She said, “He’s honest and good to me. He says he only has eyes for me.”

　　A colleague privately warned her, “Be careful of this guy; he’s only after your money.”

　　The girl not only didn’t believe it but also foolishly told her boyfriend, “They say you’re only after my money!

　　” The man called and gave that colleague a good stern talking-to.

　　They got married. The girl’s parents bought them a house in Beijing, a Mercedes S600, and made the man the vice president of his company.

　　The girl, heavily pregnant, went back to his rural hometown with him for the first time. He locked her out, telling her to “get out!” In the dead of winter, the girl wandered around the muddy countryside all night, crying and sobbing.

　　She grew up in a sheltered environment, so much so that she didn't even know how to book a hotel.

　　Later, the man divorced her, didn't want the child, and ran off with a large sum of money.

　　For several years, she has been living alone with her child and parents.

　　I don't know how she is now.

　　02

　　Many girls, spoiled by their parents from a young age, say, "I want to find an honest man to be with; honest men are reliable."

　　Parents also pamper their daughters, saying, "Tell us, find someone who treats you well, and we'll figure out the rest."

　　Later, they cry out that they've been tricked, sobbing as they tell the man, "I was with you because you were honest! How could you do this to me!"

　　In his book *Human Nature You Can't Ignore*, Liu Yong teaches parents and daughters: "Many girls, with excellent qualities, marry scumbag husbands or suffer at the hands of shameless fathers, all because of their upbringing. It's not that their upbringing is bad, but rather too good. Thus, they become the most cautious investors, holding their money high, waiting and waiting, only to end up as scapegoats for those who profit from others' misfortunes."

　　Many people consider honesty the most basic virtue, but honesty is indeed the most precious quality.

　　Truly honest people possess wisdom and vision, remaining unmoved by temptation.

　　An honest person is like Liu Xiahui, unmoved by temptation.

　　An honest person is like Zhuge Liang, who would never usurp an easily attainable empire.

　　There is a low-level honesty, honest because of naiveté.

　　This kind of honesty is superficial and easily shattered. People often assume this is the entirety of honesty, and naive girls don't mind their poverty, their fragile hearts, or their lack of possessions.

　　They always think that meeting such a person is enough to make them content. They think such a person will always remain true to themselves. They think honest people will never change. They think it's wonderful to live a simple life with an honest person!

　　When he becomes rich, he will become a rich honest person; if he doesn't have money, at least he will still be an honest person.

　　This is typical little girl logic—beware of it!

　　03

　　In Chapter Sixteen of *Journey to the West*, Tang Sanzang and his disciples stayed overnight at Guanyin Temple.

　　The old monk took a fancy to Tang Sanzang's brocade cassock and wanted to borrow it to look at for the night.

　　Tang Sanzang warned Wukong, "Rare and interesting things should not be shown to greedy and treacherous people. If they see them, they will be tempted; and once their hearts are tempted, they will devise schemes."

　　Since this person is greedy, showing him rare and exotic treasures is no different from releasing a fish into the eyes of a hungry cat.

　　The poor scholar Zhang Sheng and the wealthy young lady Cui Yingying swore eternal love, but in the end, Zhang Sheng became a high-ranking official and abandoned Cui Yingying.

　　Which of those demons who came to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh didn't feign pitifulness and honesty?

　　History and reality have proven this countless times.

　　It is these honest people who indulge in extravagance, who abandon their lovers after they've been seduced, and who discard their usefulness after they've served their purpose. It's

　　easy to draw the heart and skin, but difficult to draw the bones; you can know a person's face, but not their heart.

　　Truly honest people are those who have weathered storms, seen the world, and embraced freedom.

　　This dazzling world is full of hidden reefs, and the more one knows, sees, and experiences, the easier it is to distinguish right from wrong.

　　Only then will the truth become clear about what should move one's heart and what should not.

　　Once, Huang Bo was interviewed, and a reporter asked him if he looked for a partner who was good-looking.

　　Huang Bo said, "You're really wrong. In our line of work, we're surrounded by handsome men and beautiful women every day. Even the most looks-obsessed person gets tired of it. I'd rather find someone I can talk to.

　　" Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, with a net worth of $43 billion, always wears the same clothes, drives a beat-up Toyota, and sits on the street eating McDonald's, yet he hasn't dumped his wife, who has had three miscarriages, to hook up with young models.

　　In 2014, Zuckerberg donated a total of $1 billion to charity.

　　When asked about his frugality, he said, "I'm Jewish. If I flaunt my wealth, my people will look down on me."

　　For truly wealthy people, money is a means, not an end.

　　Liu Yong warns readers: "The less status, position, wealth, and way out a man has, the more careful you should be."

　　Such people often reveal their true colors once they get what they want.

　　And the despicable nature of them afterward is enough to drive anyone to despair.

　　Stay away from those scumbags who are ashamed of having nothing, desperately want to change their situation, and use love as a means to an end.

　　Choose to associate with wise and honest people. Such people will not be blinded by beauty, nor corrupted by wealth.

　　Honest people who have weathered storms are like fine wine and delicious food, while those who are naive and inexperienced may become poison.

　　...

　　(The End)