Chapter 11: Before I Fall for You

These events happened over a decade ago, and the relevant news had long since been suppressed; the average person truly wouldn't know about it.

Gu Lanxi described it objectively and then cut her story short.

She was as ruthless, decisive, and vengeful as her mother, yet she hadn't inherited her mother’s "love-addled" brain.

She possessed all the necessary qualifications to be a femme fatale.

If Lu Nanting promised her the world but couldn't offer her a lifetime, then their ending would certainly not be a graceful one.

So, letting go now was still well within time.

She was giving him the chance to choose, and for the moment, she could still keep her heart in check. But if they were married for a long time, and he continued to treat her this well, then it would be hard to say.

"I won't deliberately act unlikable just to make you hate me, nor will I maintain a facade of truth, goodness, and beauty just to please you. If we get married, I will continue to be myself. The real me isn't very likable. Since I'm letting you know what kind of person I am in advance, you’d better think it over carefully."

Gu Lanxi looked at him calmly. "I’m giving you a chance to retreat unscathed, but that only applies before I’ve given you my heart."

She didn't deny that Lu Nanting was still very attractive to her.

She also didn't deny that she hadn't yet regained that initial feeling of heart-fluttering excitement.

After all, so much time had passed; time is the most heartless thing of all.

Lu Nanting’s answer was to take her hand and slip that ultra-sparkling pink pigeon-egg diamond onto her finger.

*Click, click.* He took five photos in a row.

Before she could react, he quickly swapped it for the minimalist style suitable for daily wear.

He had fantasized about what she would look like wearing it countless times.

He took the photos so he could look at them slowly when he was alone.

Compared to the last two years, he was already very satisfied with this progress.

"Keep this one safe for now. Go touch up your makeup; the agreed time has arrived, and we need to go in."

Seeing that he knew about these things and still had no intention of backing down, Gu Lanxi felt a bit anxious.

"Are you really not afraid? I..."

"Shh! I know. But that assumes I’m the one who wrongs you first, right?"

If one wants to pluck a rose surrounded by thorns, one must be prepared to be pricked.

He had enough confidence in himself and knew exactly how wonderful she was, so he cut her off before she could finish.

Seeing Gu Lanxi choked up, staring at him with wide eyes, not knowing what to say, Lu Nanting couldn't help but smile gently.

"My grandfather’s house is only two streets away from yours. This matter even reached Hong Kong back then; do you really think I wouldn't know? Honestly, knowing your past, not only am I not afraid of you, but I cherish you even more because of it."

He had only been young when he heard about it, and unlike Gu Lanxi, he didn't have a great memory, so he hadn't immediately connected her to that poor girl.

Hearing her say so much, some old memories surfaced for Lu Nanting.

The year he graduated from elementary school, his mother took him back to Guangzhou for summer vacation.

One day, while he was eating ice cream on his eldest uncle’s balcony, his cousin suddenly grabbed his arm and made him stand up to look across the street.

"Look at her, she's collecting rent for her grand-uncle again!"

The Gu family had been established for hundreds of years, and the financial conditions of its various branches varied greatly.

Gu Lanxi’s great-grandfather was a gambler who lost all the ancestral houses. Her grandfather was mediocre, just scraping by with a herbal tea shop. Her father’s generation had finally become wealthy, only for him to kick her out of the house.

From age twelve to fourteen, she hadn't lived a wealthy life, especially in the period before she was adopted; she didn't even have a decent place to stay.

Although some clansmen took pity on her and helped her out from time to time, she was a person with immense self-respect who wanted to keep everything under her own control.

Rather than relying on others' charity, she preferred to support herself.

So, during the days of her family's funeral, besides cursing her scumbag father and his mistress, she found a way to make money as quickly as possible.

As soon as the funeral ended, she bought the cheapest *suona* she could find, took the included sheet music, and ran to the university residential area across the street to find a clanswoman she had seen at the funeral, begging her to teach her.

That clanswoman had a background in traditional music and was a teacher at the art academy. Seeing her sincerity and pitying her, she actually agreed.

Gu Lanxi learned quickly.

In just two days, she barely practiced a song called "The Grand Funeral." While the bodies of the three elders were still warm, Gu Lanxi dragged a tattered box to the entrance of the ancestral hall and openly began her path of "selling misery."

Her father was a scumbag who harmed the whole family, including her.

She couldn't get enough to eat, was starving, and had no other choice.

Most people were fine with it, and many even treated it as a joke. But the clan leader—her grand-uncle, who valued the Gu family's reputation more than life itself—couldn't stand it. He walked over, trembling on his cane, and told her to come to his house for meals from then on.

As long as one member of the Gu family was still alive, he would ensure she grew up safely.

He had said it very beautifully at the time, and it was even reported in the newspapers.

Gu Lanxi was young and lacked social experience, so she believed him directly.

As it turned out, things didn't go as she wished.

Having achieved her goal, she hadn't intended to keep causing trouble. However, the grand-uncle’s wife had been close to her grandmother and had never liked her; after her grandmother died, she liked her even less.

Despite the family collecting rent from over a dozen buildings, they fed her cold leftovers every day and never let her move out from under the stairs.

The weather hadn't turned cold yet, so she could actually endure that.

The key was that they wouldn't give her meat, claiming that since she was in mourning for her grandparents, eating vegetarian for three years was the only way to be a filial child.

And every time they ate, they would nag her with this brainwashing nonsense right beside her.

Forget three years; she didn't want to do it for even a day.

She was at the age where she was growing, and she wouldn't mistreat herself.

She didn't just want to eat meat; she wanted to eat plenty of it, grow tall, strong, and healthy so she wouldn't get sick.

No one had ever raised her with care, so she always remembered to raise herself. Whenever there was even a slight opportunity, she would strive to live better.

However, since she was eating their food for free, she couldn't openly complain that it was spoiled.

The clan leader hated her for causing trouble and making the family lose face repeatedly. He knew full well how his wife was tormenting her, yet for over two months, he didn't say a word.

At first, Gu Lanxi had held expectations for him, not understanding these calculations, as he was a highly respected elder in the clan.

Later, she saw it clearly.

All he cared about was his reputation.

These high-and-mighty figures would never care about the suffering she endured in the shadows.

Since he had put on such a show, she couldn't be ungrateful.

She couldn't throw tantrums and beg at the ancestral hall anymore, so she quickly opened up a new path to wealth.

It must be said that the fact she could thrive in the entertainment industry within just a few years showed she truly had a talent for it.

During those two months of eating leftovers, she hadn't been idle.

While studying hard, she used her spare time to master common *suona* tunes.

Once her professional skills had improved significantly, she immediately took action.

Whenever she saw someone holding a wedding or a funeral, she would take the initiative to go to their door and play the *suona*.

At weddings, she would play "Zhu Bajie Carries His Bride" to amuse people, followed by "Carrying the Bridal Sedan" or "The Big Bridal Sedan" to make the hosts happy.

She was different from other performers; she didn't follow rules or routines.

She was like a little beggar asking for a red envelope during someone else's celebration.

She played the tunes so vividly that the hosts didn't mind letting her stay for a meal.

When it came to funerals, she would go and play "Erquan Ying" or "Leaving the Hometown." If it happened to be an old lady who had passed away, she would play "Mother, Your Child Misses You."

She guaranteed the hosts would be moved to tears, waving money at her and begging her to stop playing.

If they had a good attitude, she would take the money and stay for the feast anyway.

If they had a bad attitude, she would play it by ear.

Specifically, if someone scolded her, she would endure it for the sake of their grief. If someone hit her, she wouldn't endure it, and she would let them taste a spicy slap for free.

Unfortunately, most of the locals were wealthy and knew what a ruthless person she was, so they weren't stingy about giving her a meal or a decent red envelope.

Thus, Gu had roamed the "rivers and lakes" for over three months, and she never once encountered a situation that escalated to a real fight.

Relying on this business, she not only saved up a sum of money but also bought new clothes. Because she ate well and was in a critical growth spurt, she even grew a few centimeters taller.

It must be said that a person who is capable and thick-skinned will never starve anywhere.

As long as she didn't starve, she had a way to make her life better and better.

Having written so many heroines, apart from Wei Wenxin, sister Lanxi is definitely the one with the most unique train of thought. Her various wild maneuvers are too numerous to count.