Chapter 20: The Landlady

“Generally speaking, when I’m working, the team takes care of me. When I’m on holiday, I basically go back to my parents'. Even though you bought that upstairs apartment around the same time as me, I only moved out to live alone last month, so I’m still not very good at managing a household. But I’ll learn as quickly as I can.”

It was quite late, and there was no time to continue joking; Lu Nanting became quite serious when he set his mind to something.

“As for the people around me, there are a bit too many...”

Lu Nanting counted on his fingers and finally concluded, “There must be over twenty!”

Thinking about it further, he added, “Because I was almost kidnapped a few years ago, my parents weren't at ease and arranged bodyguards for me. There are eight who stay by my side constantly, working in three shifts with rotating holidays. Their salaries are paid by my father’s side.”

In other words, he had over thirty people under his command, but only about twenty of them were on his personal payroll.

Gu Lanxi felt this personnel structure was a bit bloated, but she didn't feel she had the standing to interfere, so she just listened quietly.

Lu Nanting wasn't as meticulous as her, but he was very good at learning from the best.

Finding Gu Lanxi's documents simple and clear, he directly called his manager and instructed him to send over the profiles of all the employees in the studio.

To make it easier for Gu Lanxi to recognize them, he specifically requested that everyone provide a casual photo.

Zhang Mingyuan was just about to finish his shower and go to sleep when he received the call halfway through. Receiving such an order left him completely bewildered.

“Ting-zai, what are you up to?”

Then, Gu Lanxi saw a certain someone unable to suppress the grin spreading across his face. He cleared his throat twice, feigning depth: “Sending them to the Boss Lady, so she can recognize everyone.”

Gu Lanxi: “...”

She knew it!

Seeing her glare at him, Lu Nanting silently turned his back to her, adopting a "dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" attitude, while continuing to answer his manager's questions rapidly

“Of course it’s the legitimate Boss Lady! The kind where we’ve registered our marriage! What are you thinking? We have no plans for an official announcement for the time being. How could we! It’s not that I don't want to! Alright, you know who it is, just prepare a PR contingency plan. Ridiculous! How could we be caught? Even if we are, paparazzi need to eat, right? Keep a close eye on your inbox lately; if they catch photos, buy them for me.”

After finishing his rant, he hung up immediately, regardless of the chaos he had caused on Zhang Mingyuan's end.

Fearing a barrage of frantic follow-up calls, he even put his phone on silent.

Having hung up quickly, Lu Nanting turned around, intending to coax Gu Lanxi.

Unfortunately, Gu Lanxi had already left the study.

By the time he chased after her, he saw her tying up her hair while simultaneously performing a spinning kick—*Thud!*

The gym door was kicked open, and Lu Nanting immediately saw his old friend—a wooden dummy that was nearly as old as he was, polished smooth by years of use, and one that Gu Lanxi brought with her every time she moved.

Oh boy, she was angry.

Even though she knew that notifying the manager about the marriage immediately was the best choice for them, Gu Lanxi didn't know why she was angry.

After skillfully finishing her stretches, she began swinging her legs like whips, kicking the heavy bag on the wall. She looked incredibly irritable.

There are very few people in this world who are naturally gentle.

Gu Lanxi usually appeared to have an excellent temperament and great patience, always speaking in a calm, unhurried manner. That was because she had long since made it a habit to pour all her negative emotions into high-intensity exercise.

Whenever she was in a bad mood, she loved to work out.

As Lu Nanting gripped the doorframe, his eyes were screaming, *"How can anyone stand someone so cute?"* while his legs were shouting, *"How can anyone stand someone so fierce?"*

Consequently, he looked a bit strange.

His head was desperately pushing into the room, while his legs were desperately pulling him back.

Lu Nanting decided to stop overthinking and apologize first, then slowly explain his reasons to her.

It was undeniable that he had been a bit cocky today, always wanting to show off. Having finally seized an opportunity, he couldn't help himself...

But the reason he did this was primarily for their future.

A martial artist has keen senses; Gu Lanxi knew he hadn't left.

After breaking a sweat, her irritability subsided, and she stopped.

“Have you already discussed things on your end? It’s right to make thorough preparations in advance. I’ll give Brother Yong a call in a bit too.”

Looking at the person standing before him again, calm and gentle, Lu Nanting felt a heart full of shame

“I’m sorry. I was just too happy and couldn't help myself; I wanted to tease you. If you don't like that title...”

The relationship between the two had not returned to its former intimacy.

Due to various uncertainties, Lu Nanting inevitably became more cautious.

“It’s not because of that.”

They had dated when they were seventeen or eighteen, for over a year. Lu Nanting always liked to call her by different names; compared to "Sweetheart" or "Honey," "Boss Lady" was nothing.

“I’m just a little afraid. Afraid of being discovered, afraid of being cyberbullied. Afraid that everything from my past will be dug up and become fodder for people's idle gossip.”

Gu Lanxi was covered in sweat, stray hairs sticking to her face, and her dark T-shirt was soaked in large patches. Standing before Lu Nanting, she tilted her head slightly and looked at him earnestly.

The past she had long since cast aside was the pain she was most unwilling to mention in the depths of her heart.

“I love the feeling of experiencing different lives, yet I hate being excessively scrutinized. I once thought about leaving the industry, but in the end, I stayed. Isn't that contradictory?”

She wasn't even twenty-two yet. Although she was smart enough, she still had her own troubles.

At eighteen, she would have insisted on being strong and would never have said such things.

Four years later, she not only had the courage to tell Lu Nanting about her unseemly past, but also the courage to reveal her fears.

Even if they were no longer as close as they once were, the trust they had built back then remained.

“So, regarding this marriage, you aren't actually completely indifferent, are you?”

He was smart enough and perceptive enough; his single question left Gu Lanxi speechless.

Lu Nanting had two sisters-in-law, and his mother had always been a full-time homemaker; he knew that when they were in a bad mood, they loved to go on shopping sprees.

After the two returned from the Civil Affairs Bureau, Gu Lanxi had bought a luxury mansion, yet her heart still hadn't found peace; at the slightest trouble, she couldn't help but feel irritable.

So, her concern was more than just a little.

It was worth at least 180 million.

The reason the two were back together was almost entirely due to Lu Nanting being stubborn and insisting, which made him feel quite insecure about what he might lose.

Knowing that the feelings were mutual and having found proof, Lu Nanting was momentarily overcome with emotion and picked her up directly

“Don't be afraid. Trust me. Go to sleep early; I will make full preparations. Okay?”

Gu Lanxi didn't know how he planned to do it, nor did she know if it would work, but being comforted like this made the anxiety in her heart ease slightly.

Whenever a top-tier male star announced a relationship, it was always a storm of controversy; most of the blessings were likely from paid internet trolls.

For someone like him, who had never even had a dating rumor at such a young age and had gone straight to marriage registration, his fans would likely explode on the spot!

With so many concerns in her heart, Gu Lanxi ultimately didn't have the courage to make an official announcement.

To her, this matter had happened suddenly and was not in her plans at all. It was normal to feel anxious, afraid, and worried.

Not regretting it when her emotions flared up was already quite an achievement.

That night, after Gu Lanxi finished her shower and lay in bed, she tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling into an exhausted sleep.

***

The editor notified me that the book will be released on the 1st of next month.

To coordinate with the website's promotion, two chapters will be updated in the early hours of the 1st, and two more after 6 PM on the 2nd, after which updates will return to normal.

Because I need to hit a certain word count to enter the PK (competition) for better promotion, extra chapters cannot be promised based on my personal mood; I have to wait for the editor's arrangement. I can only work hard to save up drafts to respond to any changes.

This is my first time following the Q阅 (Qingyue) recommendation process, and I am not very familiar with it, so I need the editor to control the pace.

Please understand.

The editor said the cover is too ugly and not sweet at all, telling me to find someone to commission a new one. I'll struggle a bit more to create a "sweet strike" kind of cover.

Sigh, if only I had a talented best friend...

The "Senior Sister" story will finish at the end of the month; otherwise, I won't get the subsidy for the new book's launch.

I'm going to be incredibly busy for the next ten days.

I will try to minimize useless output.

(End of Chapter)