He fiercely criticized the Manchu scholar clique and the twelve emperors of the Qing Dynasty.

The black Audi smoothly drove into the underground parking garage of the residential complex.

The engine stalled.

Gu Nanxi pushed open the car door and, without waiting for her parents, quickly walked towards the elevator.

The elevator ascended. Gu Nanxi stared at the constantly changing numbers, her lips pressed tightly together.

Stepping out of the elevator, unlocking with her fingerprint, and pushing open the door to her home, Gu Nanxi changed into slippers and casually tossed her beige trench coat onto the daybed in the living room.

He turned around, walked to the fabric sofa, sat down, grabbed a cushion and hugged it to his chest, staring intently at his parents who had just entered the room.

After changing his shoes, Mr. Gu placed his car keys on a tray in the entryway and walked to the balcony as usual. Mrs. Gu took off her shawl, went to the water dispenser, filled a glass with warm water, and carried it to the living room.

"Have some water." Gu's mother placed the water glass on the coffee table in front of Gu Nanxi and then sat down on the single sofa to the side.

Gu Nanxi did not touch the glass of water.

"I thought you two had booked this private meal today because you genuinely wanted to treat someone to a meal," Gu Nanxi said, her clear voice carrying an undisguised annoyance.

"If I had known you two were going to arrange things like this, I would never have let him come. Look at what you just said at the table, how awful it was!"

Mrs. Gu picked up her teacup and gently fiddled with the lid. "Unpleasant to hear?"

"Isn't that awful?" Gu Nanxi tightened her grip on the cushion. "When someone gives you a gift, you say you don't need it and tell them to take it back; when someone goes out to eat, you bring up the lazy Susan and the seating arrangement. It's like you're practically slapping 'not a good match' on their forehead."

"Although I was a bit slow to react, I eventually understood. Did you really think that a liberal arts student who had read so many books couldn't understand your implied meaning?"

Mother Gu chuckled softly and put down her teacup.

"It's good that he understands, that's exactly what I want." Gu's mother leaned back slightly, looking at her daughter, "Nanxi, why am I doing this? Isn't it all for your own good? You're still in school, inexperienced in the ways of the world, and you see everything through a lens, thinking that talent and integrity are enough to make a living."

Mother Gu pointed to the coffee table: "But life is completely different from these superficial things. What is life? Life needs material support."

"Like this meal today," Gu's mother said calmly, yet with an undeniable sense of reality, "a meal costing several thousand yuan. If you want to eat it, we can order it for you anytime, you can go out to eat it every weekend. But what if you're with him?"

Gu's mother stared into Gu Nanxi's eyes: "Can you even afford to eat this once a year? Even if you do, wouldn't you feel heartbroken looking at the bill? That's the most obvious difference."

The crisp sound of a lighter came from the direction of the balcony.

Mr. Gu lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and the smoke rose through the glass door. He opened the glass door, walked into the living room, and sat down next to Mrs. Gu.

"Nanxi, I know exactly what you're thinking." Mr. Gu pushed up his frameless glasses and said in a steady voice, "To be fair, this young man is indeed quite good. He's quick-witted, articulate, and his ability to adapt to changing situations even surpasses that of many veterans who have been in the business world for over a decade. He's excellent in every way."

Father Gu tapped his finger, which was holding a cigarette, in mid-air: "But Nanxi, what we have in abundance in this era is talent. You told us before that he doesn't plan to stay at the university or work for a large organization. He wants to go it alone, start a cultural studio, and publish articles online."

Mr. Gu exhaled a smoke ring: "Have you ever thought about what the business model of a cultural studio is essentially? No matter how good the ideals or how much patriotism a liberal arts student has, they can't put food on the table. Business is about cash flow."

"He has no start-up capital, no social resources, and no ability to withstand risks. He relies solely on typing a few lines online. Once the hype dies down or he is demoted by investors, how will he make a living?"

Gu Nanxi leaned back on the sofa, quietly listening to her parents' barrage of questions.

"Are you two essentially liquidating his future prematurely?" Gu Nanxi asked rhetorically.

Gu's mother sighed and spoke again, "Nanxi, we're doing this for your own good. We've been through more than you've ever known joys and sorrows. We don't want you to live a life of constant worrying about every penny, arguing over the smallest things."

"And you heard it too, at the dinner table today, he was spouting his 'spinning wheel' theory, which shows he's extremely arrogant at heart. If you really marry him, life will definitely not be as simple as you think. He won't be like other boys who always go along with you."

Seeing that Gu Nanxi remained silent and was only picking at the tassels on the edge of the pillow with her fingers, Gu's mother decided to take drastic measures.

"Nanxi, putting money aside," Gu's mother leaned forward, "you know his family is from a rural area in northern Jiangsu, and his parents both work on construction sites. If you two get married, his parents will definitely live with you, or at least visit you often, right?"

Gu Nanxi raised her head.

"Have you ever thought about it? The huge differences in lifestyle are the most agonizing knife in a marriage." Gu's mother's tone became earnest. "Suzhou and northern Jiangsu are in the same province, but their customs are completely different. Our food is light and sweet, while theirs is heavy on oil and salt. In the end, who will listen to whom in the kitchen?"

Mother Gu continued, "Let's talk about lifestyle. The older generation of rural people have toiled on construction sites their whole lives. What do they value most? It's thrift, you could even say they're stingy. When you buy a bag or a set of skincare products, it costs several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan."

"In their eyes, this is wasteful and shows a lack of financial management skills. This clash of ideas is deeply ingrained and irreconcilable."

Gu's mother patted the armrest of the sofa: "At that time, he will be caught in the middle, with his parents who raised him with great difficulty on one side and you on the other. Do you expect an extremely arrogant man to talk back to his parents for your sake? Nanxi, wake up."

The living room fell silent.

Mr. Gu stubbed out his cigarette, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and waited for his daughter to digest it.

Gu Nanxi loosened her grip on the pillow. She didn't throw a tantrum or cry, but looked at her parents with a helpless smile on her lips.

"Alright, that's enough." Gu Nanxi stood up, smoothing the wrinkles in her clothes. "You two analyzed things very logically, and your deduction of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict was perfect."

Gu Nanxi looked down at her parents, her tone regaining its usual coldness and rationality: "But can't you two step back from this scheming and look at something positive?"

Mrs. Gu frowned: "What's so good about it?"

"Fortunately, their family background is clean." Gu Nanxi met her mother's gaze without backing down. "When he was interviewed by TV before, he talked in detail about his parents' values. His father was a construction worker who didn't have much schooling, but he taught his son the principles of 'contentment brings happiness, and being a good person means keeping your heart pure'."

Gu Nanxi took a step forward: "You think they will criticize me for spending money? Wrong. People with this kind of simple and honest nature know best how to respect other people's lifestyles."

"Because they unconditionally support their own son by giving up a teaching position to start a business, why do you think they would criticize me over a meal or a piece of clothing?"

Gu Nanxi took a deep breath: "Even if you're really not used to it, even if you can't eat from the same pot, people raised in this kind of family will never react to suppression and blame when they encounter disagreements. Instead, they will be tolerant and accommodating because they know how to be dignified."

Gu Nanxi turned to look at her father: "Dad, you said that liberal arts students starting businesses is unreliable, but you forgot that in this booming market, liberal arts students who can calculate resources and people's hearts so clearly are much more terrifying than most self-righteous business elites. Since he dared to get involved, it means that he had already planned for the worst outcome."

"You guys do the math. Calculate the return on investment for every step to two decimal places." Gu Nanxi turned and walked towards the corridor. "Anyway, I don't care. I'll take responsibility for what I've decided. I'm going to take a shower."

The bedroom door clicked shut.

In the living room, Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu looked at each other in bewilderment. Mrs. Gu opened her mouth, but in the end, she let out a sigh.

"What kind of bewitching drug has this girl been given?" Gu's mother rubbed her temples.

Mr. Gu stared at the untouched glass of lukewarm water on the coffee table, remaining silent for a long time before slowly uttering, "She was right about one thing: that young man is indeed more clear-headed than we imagined. But the road ahead is long; let's wait and see."

At the same time.

A budget hotel outside Pingjiang Road.

Zhao Shuyao took a hot shower, changed into a gray cotton pajama set, dried his hair, and walked to his desk.

Outside the window is the night view of Suzhou's old city, with neon lights flashing.

The exchanges at tonight's dinner party didn't even leave a ripple in his mind. Class arrogance? Pressure for resources? Faced with absolute cognitive dimensions and the impending torrent of the times, this petty-bourgeois defensive posture seemed both ridiculous and fragile.

I casually draped the towel over the back of the chair.

Pull out a chair and sit down, place your phone on the portable stand, plug in the charging cable, and adjust the angle.

Open the Bilibili app.

For self-media creators, text and images and short videos are hooks to attract public traffic, but live streaming is the real nuclear weapon for refining fans and building deep connections.

Click on [Start Live Stream].

The room title didn't use any fancy gimmicks; it was just ten simple words: "[Casual History Chat, Specializing in Curing Those Who Disagree with Unofficial Histories]".

The live stream has started.

The image was stable, but the lighting was slightly dim. Zhao Shuyao leaned closer to the screen and tidied his somewhat messy hair.

The number of people in the top left corner started to fluctuate.

In less than two minutes, the number jumped from 0 to 17.

On the right side of the screen, the bullet comments section began to scroll sporadically.

[Wrong channel! Is this the history section or the appearance section?]

[This guy looks familiar... Holy crap, isn't that Zhao Shuyao, the guy who angrily confronted that old man on Toutiao a couple of days ago and even gave up his spot at Dongda University?]

[It really is him, alive!]

[Hey bro, why aren't you posting videos on Toutiao? Why are you streaming on Bilibili?]

Zhao Shuyao looked at the scrolling comments on the screen, leaned back in his chair, and smiled warmly.

"Good evening, everyone. Yes, it's me." Zhao Shuyao's voice was calm and unhurried, with a reassuring and relaxing quality. "As for why I'm starting a live stream on Bilibili, the reason is simple."