The sweetest in the entertainment industry

Chapter 34 First Day of Living Together

The eight people in the venture capital studio sat around the conference table, taking turns to do their quarterly summaries. Gu Lanxi's camera was off, but a faint "hmm" could be heard from time to time, indicating that she was listening.

This year, the authority to make small-scale independent investments was relaxed, and now it's time to assess the results at this stage. She listened with extra care.

After finishing his phone call, Lu Nanting wandered around the house with nothing to do. Passing by the study door, he casually brought her a glass of warm water.

Gu Lanxi took it casually, gesturing for him to do as he pleased, and then interrupted the person opposite her: "Has this data been carefully checked?"

Her voice was lowered slightly, losing its softness and becoming more authoritative.

The man paused for a moment, then probably realized the problem. He didn't dare to argue, so he simply admitted his oversight and promised to report back to her separately after the calculations were done. He then continued speaking without changing his expression.

It must be said that his mental fortitude is quite remarkable.

Lu Nanting didn't disturb her. He left the study and closed the door behind him.

Among those in positions of authority, some are dignified, some are cold, and some seem as warm as a spring breeze, but in reality, they are intolerant of any wrongdoing. In front of her, not even the slightest mistake can be overlooked.

Whether it's her studies or her career, Gu Lanxi is very serious and never ignores problems.

Lu Nanting left the study and walked around every room.

Having gotten used to a busy life, it's actually quite strange to suddenly have free time.

Gu Lanxi was busy. He had just moved in and, apart from a few sets of clothes and his phone, hadn't brought anything to keep him entertained. He was really quite bored.

I figured I might as well stay in the living room, browse Weibo for a while, and check WeChat.

His mother sent a lot of messages. Scrolling to the top, he found several voice messages in a row. Lu Nanting opened them one by one; they were all her cheerful complaints:
"Oh my god! These paparazzi are so good at picking on the weak! When your dad and brother go to work, they just follow them from a distance and take a picture, but when I go out, they surround me and ask me all sorts of questions, and they almost shoved a microphone into my mouth!"

"I was originally going to come and see Manman, but I can't now. For your sake, I'll just stay home for the time being!"

"Tingzai, where are you two now? Do you want to go home?"

"I've made a list here. Take a look and see if it's suitable for Manman. I'm worried that it might not be the right thing for her. If there are no problems, I'll send it to her."

"I really can't count on you. Never mind, I'll just send it to her directly!"

"Thankfully, it's the internet age, so we can still chat well even without meeting in person, hehehe..."

[Images*38]
Lu Nanting clicked on each item and looked at them one by one: cash, real estate, jewelry, antiques, luxury cars...

The mother's words were full of joy, clearly indicating that even though the paparazzi were bothering her and making it inconvenient for her to go out, she wasn't really unhappy.

Just as Lu Nanting was about to reply to the message, a trending topic notification popped up at the top of his phone.

Upon closer inspection, it was quite amusing:

"Mom, did you send a red envelope to the paparazzi?"

"Yes, let them share in the joy, keep their mouths shut, and accumulate good karma, haha~"

Zhang Ruolan was also at home scrolling through her phone at the moment, and replied to the message instantly.

Lu Nanting sighed helplessly: "Mom, do you know that you sent a red envelope and it went viral! Now everyone outside is saying that you are extremely satisfied with your youngest daughter-in-law."

"I'm already extremely satisfied! I'm extremely satisfied with all three daughters-in-law! Besides, in the internet age, there's freedom of speech, and it's impossible to shut people up. I might as well take this opportunity to increase our visibility; maybe the increased traffic will even boost the stock price."

Fearing her youngest son would be unhappy, she even offered a special explanation:

"Your father has already spoken to the relevant authorities and told them not to use public resources for private matters. As long as you are careful and don't get photographed and posted online, the news of Manman's marriage to you won't be exposed by the media."

Lu Nanting wasn't too worried about Gu Lanxi because her family had always treated her well.

"We just had breakfast. She's in a meeting. I've postponed my work for the past few days and won't be going out. Don't worry about me, just take care of yourselves."

The Lu family members are always accompanied by bodyguards and rarely go to crowded places. Apart from worrying about paparazzi taking pictures and making up stories, they are not too afraid.

Lu Nanting was most worried about his two nephews and nieces.

"How are Wei Chen and Jia Ning? Did they go to school today?"

Lu Nanting opened the family group chat and saw that his two sisters-in-law hadn't said anything, so he was a little worried that they might be unhappy.

Zhang Ruolan understood her son's concerns, so instead of teasing him, she directly told him about the two children:

“Your two sisters-in-law took their two kids and left early this morning for a study tour in Northern Europe. They won’t be back for two weeks. They were worried you’d feel guilty, so they asked me to tell you that it was all planned a long time ago, haha~ They haven’t even landed yet! You can contact them later.”

My family reacted quickly.

Lu Nanting breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, the hype will definitely die down by then." He knew his family was good to him.

"Then you should just stay here! It's a good time to take a vacation and spend some quality time together."

I was initially worried that the two kids would be too busy to spend much time together, but the person who leaked the information was quite considerate.

After talking with his mother, Lu Nanting felt increasingly calm.

Seeing that it was past ten o'clock, I went to the refrigerator, grabbed a carton of yogurt, drank it, and then went to the kitchen to wash an apple.

He dried his hands and was about to "snap, snap" when he remembered that he was now a married man. He quickly found a fruit knife, carefully peeled the skin, asked Aunt Wang for a special cutting board and knife for cutting fruit, cut it into small pieces and put them in a bowl, and finally took a shiny pineapple fork to stick it on, and diligently delivered it to the study.

After the meeting ended, Gu Lanxi turned off her computer and saw him come in carrying a small bowl.

"what?"

Seeing her rub her dry eyes and tiptoe closer to look, Lu Nanting forked a piece of apple and fed it to her—"Ah~"

Unfortunately, Gu Lanxi did not appreciate it.

"Thank you, I'll eat it myself."

Taking the bowl, Gu Lanxi turned and sat down on the sofa.

Seeing her holding the bowl and eating in small bites, so well-behaved, Lu Nanting couldn't help but take two more photos of her before handing her his phone over.

"Mom was supposed to come over, but she got stopped by the paparazzi. She made a list last night and sent one to both of us. Take a look and see if there's anything you don't like?"

Generally speaking, the betrothal gifts given by the groom's family and the dowry given by the bride's family are discussed by the elders and must be in accordance with traditional customs.

In Gu Lanxi's case, her biological father's life was no different from being dead. Times have changed, and customs have also changed. The only requirement of the Lu family couple for their son's marriage was that their daughter-in-law should marry into the family happily and live there for a long time.

Zhang Ruolan wasn't the kind of person who couldn't be flexible, so she directly asked her if she was satisfied.

"Cars, houses, money, jewelry, and antiques that can be passed down through generations—both of my sisters-in-law had these when they married into the family. You can accept them without worry."

Although these items are registered under the daughter-in-law's name, they are intended to ensure the young couple's quality of life and represent the elderly couple's heartfelt wish to protect their son.

Having understood his meaning, Gu Lanxi knew that it wouldn't be good to refuse rashly.

But accepting it directly doesn't feel quite right.

In some wealthy families, the property is notarized before the daughter-in-law marries into the family. Only after she gives birth to a son will the parents-in-law reward her with a mansion, cash, or company shares. Most of the time, the property is registered under the grandson's name, and the daughter-in-law only has guardianship rights.

The Lu family, however, provided their daughter-in-law with a gift as soon as she entered the house, and it was given to the daughter-in-law herself.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Lu Nanting sat down next to her, comfortably leaning against the pumpkin-shaped cushion:

“Our family is different from others. My brothers and I all married each other through free love, and we all married people we loved, so we value feelings more than benefits. Many other families have arranged marriages, so naturally they value benefits more. Our parents hope that we will stay together for a long time. If we really can't make it in the future, it's because the three of us brothers are not capable enough, and we can't blame our daughters-in-law.”

How much do your parents trust in the judgment of you three brothers?

"It's not entirely because of our taste. If Mom and Dad didn't approve of you, they would have broken you up long ago."

Seeing Gu Lanxi's utterly absurd expression, Lu Nanting was extremely smug:
"Look, where are those families that scheme and plot against each other now? Only our Lu family, because we value relationships the most, is united. When people are united, they can move mountains, you know? Look at us, each generation is stronger than the last, and every generation is harmonious. No matter how many sons the head of the family has, there has never been a case of brothers fighting among themselves."

"That's something to be proud of."

Lu Nanting opened his arms, pretending to hold up a crown, and gently placed it on Gu Lanxi's head: "Alright, Third Young Mistress, I now announce..."

How come this guy keeps spouting so much nonsense all day long?!
Gu Lanxi shoved the last piece of apple into his mouth: "Okay, brother, don't talk."

Ok.

He liked hearing that.

Lu Nanting immediately shut up after skillfully making a zipping motion.

I can't imagine what it would be like if the two of them did a live stream.

I'll go check out how celebrities do their live streams first, learn from their experience, and then I can easily write about it sometime when I feel like it.

I really tried so hard!
Homework: Based on the context, guess what the King of Trash Talk was saying that he didn't finish his line.
Please, please, let me copy a book review.

Sometimes I feel like Gu Lanxi and Xu Yiyang were classmates in the early childhood education major. They're really good at soothing children.

(End of this chapter)