Chapter 57: No wonder it hurts

Lu Nanting felt as if he had been struck by lightning; he felt like he was about to shatter into pieces.

Gu Lanxi, however, breathed a secret sigh of relief.

That accidental touch felt like she had been carrying an eggplant—it was truly terrifying!

No wonder it hurt!

"Who is it? I'll go see!"

Seeing her scramble to sit up impatiently, Lu Nanting nearly had to grab her by the ankles to pull her back!

Because her phone rang, Gu Lanxi snatched it up to look, delivering news that completely crushed his hopes

"Don't be afraid, it's my cousin, Gu Jiayi. She's not a paparazzi or a sasaeng fan."

So *that* was the priority now?

The poor Young Master Lu had thought he would be able to "enter the harbor with his gun raised" tonight and become a "regular employee," only to end up retreating to his room in disgrace once again.

After all, since it was Gu Lanxi's sister, his current state was simply too embarrassing.

Seeing him leave, Gu Lanxi quickly tidied herself up and went to the door. She saw Gu Jiayi downstairs, wearing a baseball cap and waving her phone at the camera.

Gu Jiayi came here often; Gu Lanxi had registered her license plate with the property management, so she could drive directly into the underground garage, but to take the elevator up, someone had to answer the door.

Confirming it was indeed her, Gu Lanxi remotely operated the elevator to open the doors. Gu Jiayi stepped inside, and a moment later, she arrived on the 18th floor.

Previously, she would always call ahead to ensure someone was home before visiting, but this time she had just shown up.

Gu Lanxi couldn't figure it out.

But the moment the person appeared, she understood immediately.

Because Gu Jiayi had injuries on her face.

Looking at the bruised, yellowish edges, they were likely several days old.

"Sis, what happened to you?"

As Gu Jiayi stepped out of the elevator, she kicked off her high heels, bent down to find her personal slippers in the shoe cabinet, and put them on before speaking with a look of frustration

"What else? I ran into a piece of trash. He wasn't much of a provider, but he certainly had a big temper—and not in the good way..."

Gu Lanxi was becoming a bit sensitive to the word "big" lately; she bypassed the nonsense and asked directly, "Who hit you?"

"My ex-boyfriend!"

Gu Jiayi answered through gritted teeth, clutching her bag as she walked through the main door.

Clearly, this breakup had been very undignified, leaving her quite distressed.

"Which ex?"

It wasn't Gu Lanxi's fault for asking; Gu Jiayi had so many ex-boyfriends that if they didn't contact each other for a week, she might end up with two more.

"The one from two months ago!"

Gu Jiayi entered the living room and, as if she were in her own home, tossed her recently purchased limited-edition bag onto the sofa from a distance.

The bag bounced on the sofa and rolled onto the floor, but she didn't care. Instead, she focused on pouring a glass of warm water and gulped it down.

"I hit the evening rush hour leaving the city and got stuck in traffic. It took over three hours to get here. I forgot to buy a bottle of water the whole way. Ugh! Manman! I have so much to tell you! Telling you over the phone just doesn't feel like enough!"

"I thought you said things were heating up and you were moving in together?"

"I didn't expect it either! He seemed so easygoing normally, but when he lost it, he was terrifying! *Hiss*—that hurts! That bastard! He went straight for the face!"

The bruising at the corner of her mouth was particularly severe; whenever her emotions flared, she winced in pain.

Gu Lanxi felt heartache just watching her.

"Did you get a medical report? Did you call the police? Which lawyer did you contact?"

She didn't ask about the cause at all, only caring about the results and the solution.

That was very Gu Lanxi.

Seeing her worry, Gu Jiayi explained the situation

"I was so scared at the time, I grabbed a fruit knife and gave him a few stabs..."

When Gu Lanxi's maternal relatives arrived, Lu Nanting felt it was impolite to hide in the bedroom alone. Once he had calmed his emotions, he immediately changed clothes and came out.

However, as soon as he reached the living room and heard Gu Jiayi say that, his eyes widened instantly!

Seeing a man approaching from the bedroom, Gu Jiayi didn't wait to see him clearly; she merely raised an eyebrow and naturally finished her sentence

"...Following the method you taught me, eight stabs resulted in only minor injuries. I hired a lawyer. He hit my head first, so it was self-defense, and in the end, I didn't have to pay a cent. I wanted to sue him for attempted murder, but since it's just soft tissue damage and doesn't even qualify as a minor injury, he refuses to admit to anything."

Gu Lanxi covered her face with her hand.

There was really no need to be quite so detailed.

Only then did Gu Jiayi realize that the "wooden chicken" in the corner was Lu Nanting!

This time, she was truly shocked: "Is this... my brother-in-law?"

The news of Lu Nanting's marriage had been trending for several days. Gu Jiayi wasn't a cavewoman; seeing him emerge from the bedroom in loungewear so late at night, she guessed immediately.

She hadn't expected that the "lucky guy" the entire internet was searching for was actually her own cousin!

In recent days, more and more information had been unearthed online. The currently accepted theory was that Lu Nanting had married the first love mentioned in his songs, which was supported by evidence, as some songs were composed when he was seventeen.

And Lu Nanting's studio had not refuted it throughout the process.

Under normal circumstances, that meant tacit admission.

Gu Jiayi was utterly shocked! She didn't even bother to pick up her shawl when it fell to the floor!

"Manman, you actually had a teenage romance?!"

Gu Lanxi wanted to say: *You worry about me being tricked by bad boys all day and threaten me constantly; how would I dare tell you?*

But in front of Lu Nanting, those words were hard to say.

When Gu Yongxin was studying in Beijing, she had seen Gu Lanxi and Lu Nanting dating, but she was tight-lipped. Since Gu Lanxi told her not to tell the family, she truly never said a word.

Gu Jiayi, however, had only moved here two years ago when she was transferred to the North China branch.

By then, Gu Lanxi and Lu Nanting had already broken up.

Therefore, she didn't know they had ever dated.

Gu Jiayi visited her often, and the bond between the sisters was clearly strong, but she had been kept in the dark about this.

Already dealing with a breakup, learning this news made her feel both lost and sad. Gu Jiayi looked at her, not knowing what to say.

Lu Nanting also couldn't help but glance at Gu Lanxi.

When they were dating back then, the Lu family knew and expressed their support, yet her cousin, who was so close to her, had been kept in the dark...

Being stared at by both of them at once made Gu Lanxi's head spin!

However, before she could explain, the two of them quickly convinced themselves.

Gu Jiayi thought that since her sister had always been well-behaved, she naturally wouldn't dare let the family know about a teenage romance.

Lu Nanting, on the other hand, thought that Gu Lanxi was somewhat distanced from the Gu family; her relationship wasn't as intimate as his was with his own family, and her temperament was different from his.

Since she herself was full of doubt regarding this relationship and lacked the confidence to see it through to the end, it was perfectly normal that she hadn't mentioned it to her kin.

With these thoughts in mind, both reached out simultaneously to formally meet one another

"Hello, I am Gu Jiayi, Manman's older cousin. I work in Baoding and come to visit Manman occasionally during my time off."

"Hello, Sister Jiayi, I am Lu Nanting."

It was their first meeting. Since Gu Jiayi had just been intentionally saying things to scare him, seeing him be so polite made her quite embarrassed. Just as she was wondering how to ease the atmosphere, she heard Lu Nanting ask her

"Sister Jiayi, since you've come from so far away, have you had dinner?"

As he spoke, he began rolling up his sleeves.

With Auntie Wang away, as the host, he had to find a way to entertain the guest.

Gu Jiayi raised an eyebrow, not expecting this young master of a wealthy family to actually know how to cook.

When meeting a new son-in-law, the maternal relatives couldn't help but be somewhat evaluative.

Gu Jiayi rubbed her stomach and spoke with great seriousness, as if the barbecue she had earlier had been fed to the dogs

"I'm not particularly hungry. I can just go out and grab something casual later."

Gu Lanxi's apartment was located in a bustling district with endless food options nearby, so she wasn't worried about starving.

But once those words were out, Lu Nanting wasn't a fool; he immediately headed into the kitchen.

"Auntie Wang is on leave. My cooking isn't great, so I'll just whip something up for you. Please don't hold it against me."

As a "sea woman" (someone with many lovers), Gu Jiayi had lost count of the boyfriends she had dated, so she naturally had her own standards for a good man.

If he couldn't even cook, who would take care of Manman if she got sick and the nanny was off duty?

So, she readily accepted: "Then thank you very much!"