Chapter 43: Which One Is It, After All?

A dozen or so boxes were moved downstairs in three trips and piled in a corner of the living room.

Lu Nanting put away the trolley and returned it to the storage room. As Gu Lanxi stretched her aching limbs, she spoke to him

"Let's take a shower first. Auntie Wang made cold noodles for lunch. It's so hot I don't even feel like eating, so I thought I'd change things up today."

"I'm not a picky eater..."

Lu Nanting put the trolley away, but halfway through his sentence, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, I mean, cold noodles are fine."

Gu Lanxi gave a soft chuckle and walked toward the bedroom while fixing her hair. Lu Nanting followed behind her to discuss

"There are still quite a few boxes left. This afternoon, pack your things too. Later, I'll arrange for the family truck to come and move everything to the new house together."

"Mhm."

Gu Lanxi responded and locked the door. Lu Nanting didn't mind and entered the adjacent room.

After they both finished their showers and came out, he received a call from Zhang Mingyuan.

"Is everything okay on your end? Be careful not to open the curtains to prevent drones from taking unauthorized photos. Don't take the trash downstairs either; just keep it in the house. I'll come by later to take it away and dispose of it somewhere far away."

Lu Nanting had only moved here for a little over a month, and Zhang Mingyuan hadn't expected his home address to be discovered so quickly.

While busy guiding public opinion, he also had to appease various brand owners, and then worry about the ubiquitous paparazzi and sasaeng fans.

Because he was stretched too thin, he could only call this side three times a day.

The poor "Manager Zhang" had barely slept at all these past few days.

Lu Nanting knew exactly how busy he had been lately and had no intention of adding to his burden.

"I haven't been going out lately, so don't worry. There's someone here to take care of me, and I have plenty to eat and drink. The trash is just normal trash. If someone really wants to go digging, let them dig!"

Lu Nanting understood Zhang Mingyuan's concerns. He was afraid that he and Gu Lanxi would be inseparable every day, constantly acting out scenes of "warfare" in their private time, leaving behind items like used umbrellas in the trash bags.

Lu Nanting wasn't a fool; just because he hadn't "eaten pork" didn't mean he hadn't "seen a pig run."

Furthermore, to prevent the emergence of high-tech sasaeng fans, the wealthy families ensured that as soon as a child reached adulthood, professionals were hired to teach them how to avoid leaking biological information.

Even if he and Gu Lanxi really did *that*, they wouldn't just throw the evidence directly into the trash.

Since these things were difficult to discuss with Zhang Mingyuan, Lu Nanting simply told him to rest easy.

Although Zhang Mingyuan worried about him, he knew Lu Nanting was always steady in his actions. Having received repeated assurances, he had no choice but to hang up.

After the couple finished their cold noodles, they spent the afternoon busy packing, with no interest in following the external situation.

In fact, the news online had become much calmer by now.

Lu Nanting had gone to register their marriage on Wednesday, and the news broke on Thursday night. By Sunday night, nearly three days had passed, and even the extreme fans who had threatened to jump off buildings had somewhat stabilized their emotions.

When people are not driven by emotion, everyone becomes a Sherlock Holmes.

Although the trending comments previously guided by Fan Tiantian had been heavily criticized, they had proven truly effective.

Now, the entire internet was searching for "Lu Nanting's wife." Some people were already watching leaked videos from his public events, unconsciously looking for "sugar" (romantic moments) to ship.

The topic forums would frequently pop up with new posts expressing "surprising discoveries," with replies instantly skyrocketing into the thousands.

It had to be said, the public's eyes were incredibly sharp.

【Did you guys see the charity banquet last November? Look, around the 3:40 mark, they both started staring in the same direction for at least ten seconds. It was like a romance drama. Just look at that gaze—really savor it.】

That soulful gaze was completely different from how he looked at others.

Anyone with eyes could see that his eyes were filled with nothing but affection.

【And this one—I don't know if you noticed—but every time he goes on stage for a concert, the first thing he does is carefully scan the audience. Before, I just thought he wanted to remember every fan's face, but thinking about it now, damn it, he was looking for someone, wasn't he? As a delusional fan, I am withered...】

Since his debut, Lu Nanting had maintained a "cool guy" persona. He was usually indifferent and didn't talk much, and his gaze rarely held warmth. Aside from singing with his whole heart, he didn't like hype. The reason his popularity was so high, besides his good looks, wealthy background, and talent, was that he acted with great character, making people feel comfortable.

Once, when a concert was about to begin, he caught a cold and lost his voice. Having no choice, the concert was canceled. Not only did he issue full refunds, but he also promised fans that if they wished, they could use this year's expired tickets to attend a concert of the same scale for free at the same time and location next year.

After their initial anger subsided, fans remembered his kindness and followed him back with tears in their eyes, leaving them with only one obsession.

They wanted to see just how wonderful the person he chose must be to deserve such devoted love.

As the evidence mounted, fans cried even as they felt bittersweet, unable to explain exactly why.

【At the time, I just thought he was in a good mood; I never thought there might be another possibility. Now, thinking that he might have been looking for the person he loves... I don't know why, but I just want to cry.】

After sleeping for only three hours, Fan Tiantian climbed up. Seeing that things had finally changed, she immediately moved to guide public opinion, building a "tragic lover" persona for Lu Nanting.

If there were details fans hadn't unearthed yet, she would arrange for people to pose as fans and release pre-edited videos.

At first, the fans were angry and unmoved.

But after seeing similar scenes a few times, their hearts would soften.

Once their hearts softened, they couldn't help but think: *He loves so sincerely, yet he hasn't received a single response. Can people please stop treating him like this!*

*Love him well! Be with him properly!*

After praying, they couldn't help but curse themselves.

*What did he do wrong? He just likes someone; he hasn't been fooling around. Why are people attacking him!*

*He hasn't spoken out for days; is he feeling very sad?*

*The people who used to love him so much suddenly changed their faces and all joined in the criticism. He must be so heartbroken, right?*

As things developed according to the predetermined trajectory, after the fans' sense of loss passed, they found a new target and quickly regained their momentum

【There are over a dozen glamorous female celebrities sitting over there, so can someone tell me which one he was actually looking at?】

Most other singers would frequently appear on shows to do duets with female singers, but he never had.

There was no overlap in their professional work, and privately, according to feedback from wealthy "sugar mommy" fans who followed his schedule for years, he had never been close to anyone.

【Do you think our brother might be in an online relationship?】

【Emmm, probably not? Last year on "A Star's Daily Life," the cameraman followed him for a week and found he doesn't even play games. When he's busy, he just hands his phone directly to his assistant. Can an online relationship be maintained through sheer willpower?】

【Stop guessing wildly. That look in his eyes has happened more than once, and it's been caught on camera every time. Maybe we can compile a list of the crowds he looks at, filter out the overlaps, and then exclude those who are already in relationships or married.】

A "hater" immediately jumped in to comment

【No one can say for sure what happens in the entertainment industry. So what if there's a relationship? So what if they're married? Who can guarantee he isn't seeing someone on the side? Maybe he got someone pregnant and had to marry for the sake of his career? Otherwise, why hasn't he made an official announcement? And what's wrong with looking at someone? How can anyone prove that the person he looked at then is the same person he marries now?】

These days, if you don't have some haters, you can't claim to be famous.

Many people actually agreed with these comments.

Stars play around, and a wealthy young master couldn't possibly be devoted; one could only say that prejudice harms people.

Just when they were full of emotions with nowhere to vent, seeing the haters emerge gave Lu Nanting's fans something to do. They swarmed the haters to tear them apart

【If he really did that kind of thing, Lu would have broken his legs long ago. Our brother comes from a family with very strict upbringing, unlike your idols! Get lost! Stop making baseless speculations!】

After a massive battle, the fans were high-spirited. Under the management of the team, their cohesion reached a new level.

Seeing the steadily rising fan count, the studio staff, who had been frowning for days, finally relaxed.

"Come, come, come! Tonight's late-night snack is a seafood feast! The boss specially arranged for the family chef to make it for us! Everyone has worked hard these past few days!"

In the studio, Zhang Mingyuan, accompanied by the Lu family chefs, pushed a food trolley into the lounge.

Lifting the stainless steel lids, they brought out large platters, neatly arranged across the table.

Giant king crabs lay on top, each nearly as large as the plate itself.

The nerves that had been taut for days instantly relaxed, smiles appeared on everyone's faces, and cheers grew louder and louder.

(End of Chapter)