Chapter 54: Great, absolutely great!

Impulsiveness was simply impossible.

After exhausting her mental and physical energy all day, she was starving to the point where her stomach felt stuck to her spine.

Having finally made it home, faced with a spread of her favorite foods, how could she care about anything else?

Auntie Wang had asked her in advance roughly what time she would return, timing the dishes so they would be served just as she arrived.

After washing her face and changing into loungewear, Gu Lanxi emerged to find Lu Nanting had already laid out the bowls and chopsticks.

Tonight, in addition to the soup Lu Nanting had simmered, Auntie Wang had prepared several other dishes, though each portion was small.

A small plate of blanched bok choy, a dish of cold beef and cucumber salad, a steamed crucian carp with chopped chili, two pairs of egg yolk chicken wings, and a dish of cold mung bean sprouts.

Gu Lanxi started with a few bean sprouts; they were sweet, sour, and slightly spicy—tender, crisp, and very appetizing.

"Did you have a poor appetite at lunch?"

She hadn't expected him to ask that the moment she picked up her chopsticks. Lu Nanting lied without changing his expression

"No! My appetite was great! Everything tasted delicious!"

Gu Lanxi smiled. "If everything truly tasted delicious, Auntie Wang wouldn't have gone to such trouble to coax you like this."

Auntie Wang had been with her for a long time.

Whenever her appetite was poor, Auntie Wang would offer her more variety to stimulate her hunger, but to avoid waste, she would reduce the portion of each dish.

"Fine, the matter was truly infuriating. I was so angry I couldn't eat."

As Lu Nanting spoke, he couldn't help but vent: "You have no idea. Those idiots in my studio actually planned to play that song at the next opening!"

"Which song?"

Gu Lanxi had been preoccupied with watching influencers promote products and hadn't had time to browse Bilibili, where the "guichu" (remix/meme) culture flourished; she truly hadn't heard it.

Lu Nanting knew she wasn't the type to waste time on the internet. Seeing her question, he realized she genuinely didn't know rather than pretending, so he explained

"A 'guichu' video went viral today. It's the one that goes, 'Go quickly, go quickly, go quickly, brother, brother, brother, make an appointment with a specialist to treat your love-brain...' No matter what it was called before, from now on, it's 'The Song of Lu Nanting.' Because I paid to buy the copyright."

This feeling of being simultaneously proud and humiliated was a new life experience.

Gu Lanxi put down her chopsticks, immediately opened her phone, downloaded the "pink app," registered an account, and searched for the video.

Lu Nanting had already heard it countless times today.

When you have too many debts, you stop worrying; when you have too many lice, they stop itching. He actually didn't mind hearing it again.

However, Gu Lanxi politely put on her headphones before pressing play.

The video was two and a half minutes long. Using editing techniques, it took the dialogue from a game recording and various clips of Lu Nanting, shredded them into pieces, and forcibly glued them together with a catchy, demonic melody, creating something both brainwashing and hilarious.

Gu Lanxi could not sense any "beauty" in this Frankenstein-like creation. She frowned throughout the entire video, struggling to restrain the urge to skip ahead, forcing herself to listen to the end.

Taking off her headphones and turning off her phone, she picked up her bowl again. Just as she was about to reach for a dish, Gu Lanxi suddenly gained a deeper understanding of Lu Nanting's breakdown.

*Oh, poor baby!*

Gu Lanxi silently placed an egg yolk chicken wing in his bowl before offering a natural, gentle smile

"Lu Nanting, you're amazing! Even though you didn't want to, you still listened to professional advice, didn't let emotion triumph over reason, and ultimately made the right choice. I wouldn't be able to do that."

The frustration that had been building in Lu Nanting all day instantly smoothed over.

Look at this—this was the person he had decided to spend his life with.

No matter how embarrassing something was, Gu Lanxi would never mock him; instead, she would rack her brains to find an excuse to praise him.

Because of Gu Lanxi's existence, he often thought that even if one day he became utterly disillusioned with the world, he would still feel that life was worth living.

"Since I was a child, my father taught my brothers and me that no one is perfect. He always said everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. The most important thing in life is to be able to listen to the correct opinions of others. One person's short-sightedness is corrected by another's; three people working together can deliberate. To act stubbornly on one's own is the worst thing one can do."

So, the one who deserved praise was his father, not him.

Seeing his eyes soften at the mention of his father, Gu Lanxi didn't contradict him.

"Your father is indeed a man of great vision. I admire his wisdom."

She also envied Lu Nanting for having such a father.

One is not born with the ability to be a leader; only leaders can raise leaders.

For ordinary people to cross class boundaries and become the elite, they often have to exert twelve times the effort, frequently hitting their heads against walls until they bleed, only then summarizing various ways of conducting themselves through experience.

But for people of their background, they only need to follow their elders and mimic their ways.

If one doesn't understand at first, after a few tries, even a pig would eventually gain enlightenment.

Lu Nanting was delighted by her praise, his previous low mood completely gone.

"I'll share half of my father with you. From now on, he's your father too."

So there was absolutely no need to be envious.

Gu Lanxi didn't respond, simply lowering her head to eat.

After a moment of thought, Lu Nanting put down his chopsticks to return the favor

"Speaking of which, you also possess a quality I am incredibly envious of, do you know? You have extremely strong observational skills, and you are exceptionally upright. When you discover someone's strengths, you don't flatter them, nor do you feel inferior; instead, you praise them generously. That is also wonderful!"

Gu Lanxi moved the chopped chili away from the crucian carp and placed the piece of fish belly she liked most into Lu Nanting's bowl.

She said nothing, yet it felt as if she had said a great deal.

Since childhood, she had received countless compliments, but those from her own family had always been pitifully few.

Marrying a "rainbow-farting" (excessively complimentary) person seemed like a good choice.

He provided emotional value exceptionally well.

Lu Nanting knew she was feeling shy, so he chuckled and ate the fish belly.

"It's sour, spicy, and appetizing. Very fresh. It's not an overly spicy flavor; it's quite good!"

"Auntie Wang made the chopped chili herself. Since I can't eat much spice, but sometimes crave a little bit after a while."

A single deep conversation felt like a collision of souls. Both felt a bit shy and tacitly agreed to act as if the mutual praise hadn't happened, turning instead to casual small talk.

"Try this winter melon and lotus leaf duck soup. See if it's different from the one we had at the restaurant that day."

He was referring to the meal they had with Li Jingxiu and his wife.

That soup had been served then as well.

Gu Lanxi took a spoon, tasted it seriously, and her face filled with praise: "Yours is better."

Lu Nanting looked jubilant. "Really?"

"Mhm. Because it has more... of that... affection in it."

Lu Nanting fought back a laugh and asked again, "Really?"

Gu Lanxi buried her head. "Mhm, mhm."

After finishing the bowl of soup, including the winter melon and the duck leg, she added in a small voice

"It would be perfect if there weren't any chopped green onions."

The two had never lived together before, so many small details of daily life were actually not that clear to them.

Lu Nanting's energy instantly deflated. "I saw Auntie Wang had some left over from the salad, so I just sprinkled a bit in."

He hadn't expected her to dislike that combination so much.

He knew that with Gu Lanxi's personality, she wouldn't say anything unless she truly disliked it.

Gu Lanxi thought seriously before saying, "A little bit can be added to clear broths; it pairs well. But for slow-simmered soups, it feels strange. Though it also depends on personal taste. I had a roommate who liked adding minced celery to soup, and some classmates thought adding chives made the flavor better. Some even like cilantro. It's perfectly fine if you like green onions! You know, I only represent myself."

Gu Lanxi always spoke this way—with a certainty based on objective reality that made it impossible for anyone to get angry with her over subjective emotions.

It felt as if doing so would mean losing.

No one wanted to admit defeat in front of her.

"Then I'll just put it in my own bowl next time."

His mood was unexpectedly peaceful.

Gu Lanxi nodded, calmly resolving their first disagreement caused by differing lifestyle habits.

"It's no problem."

She chose to seek common ground while reserving differences.

Lu Nanting expressed his admiration for her approach.

She was always like this: she would firmly express her own opinions, yet she would never force others to be the same as her.

Being with her, everyone could truly be themselves.

That feeling was wonderful.