116

After a while, Anne finally emerged from her room.

She had changed into a looser, more comfortable set of loungewear, swapping out her high heels for soft slippers.

Gu Ran immediately noticed that she had just touched up her makeup, and her eyes looked slightly red, as if she had been crying.

He quickly asked, "Anne, are you okay?"

Anne smiled warmly, her expression bright and cheerful. "I'm fine—wow, that smells amazing! Is that the dish you made? It looks incredible!"

Gu Ran was speechless.

Don't praise it. Please, don't.

Anne walked over to the dining table and took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma. "I've never smelled anything so delicious before. Gu, you're amazing! Being able to cook something this good all by yourself—I'm so lucky to have you as my housemate!"

Gu Ran: …

Seriously, stop. I have some dignity left.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Eat it while it's hot."

Anne glanced around. "Okay… um, where are the knives and forks?"

Knives and forks? Did she think she was about to eat a steak?

Gu Ran saw his chance to mess with her a little.

He handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Use these. Knives and forks ruin the integrity of the food before it even enters your mouth. Chopsticks are the proper way to eat Chinese cuisine."

Westerners were used to utensils, so getting them to use chopsticks should be a struggle… right?

But to his surprise, Anne's face lit up with excitement. She eagerly took the chopsticks. "This is great! I've always wanted to learn how to use chopsticks! It's really trendy in Hollywood to eat Chinese food with chopsticks—it looks so sophisticated! But as a celebrity, I never had the chance to practice in front of people. Now I finally can, without any pressure!"

She clumsily attempted to pick up a piece of food, her efforts filled with an adorable enthusiasm, like a child finally getting to play with a toy they'd always wanted.

Gu Ran was stunned.

What was happening?

Why wasn't she reacting the way he expected?

She was Anne Hathaway, a Hollywood star. Shouldn't she be getting annoyed? Throwing a diva tantrum?

Yet here she was, happily fumbling with chopsticks like she was enjoying a game.

After watching her struggle for two full minutes without successfully picking up a single piece of pork, Gu Ran started to get anxious for her.

But Anne remained patient, giving a soft smile. "Sorry, I can hold them, but I can't really pick anything up yet… Gu, could you teach me how?"

Gu Ran's brain short-circuited.

Was this flirting?

No, no, no—Anne Hathaway was a sweet and innocent star, not the type to say something suggestive!

It must be his youthful body overthinking things.

He steadied himself and said, "Alright. Picking up food with chopsticks may seem simple, but it's actually a very advanced skill. First, you need to understand the point of leverage. Don't apply force randomly—become one with the chopsticks, and that way, all your strength will focus on a single point."

Anne blinked her big, beautiful eyes and hesitantly said, "Um… sorry, Gu, I didn't quite get that. If you don't mind, could you show me in a simpler way?"

A simpler way?

Gu Ran frowned slightly. "That would mean… I'd have to guide your hand directly."

Anne looked at him expectantly. "Would that be okay?"

Holy—

Only an idiot would refuse!

Suppressing the excitement pounding in his chest, he forced himself to sound reluctant. "Fine, I guess."

He stood beside her and gently took her delicate, porcelain-like hand in his own.

Anne's arm trembled slightly but quickly relaxed.

Her skin was incredibly smooth, thin enough that he could faintly feel the fine structure of her bones beneath. More importantly, he could feel his own heart pounding.

Something seemed to explode in his brain.

For a moment, everything blanked out.

This was the first time he had ever touched a real Hollywood A-lister.

Forget his younger, inexperienced self—even in his previous life, he had never been in a situation like this!

For a split second, he wanted to run out of the villa and scream toward the endless ocean: I JUST HELD ANNE HATHAWAY'S HAND! HAHAHA!

"Gu? Gu?" Anne's soft voice brought him back.

Realizing he was still holding onto her hand tightly, he quickly snapped out of it.

"Oh," he said, putting on a serious expression. "I was just thinking about the best way to explain how to use chopsticks."

Anne raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you Chinese? I thought all Chinese people just instinctively knew how to use them."

"Of course. I just remembered."

He adjusted her fingers, positioning the chopsticks correctly. Moving her hand with his own, he guided her toward the dish. "First, find your target and place it between the chopsticks. Then, apply force inward and lift…"

"Wow!" Anne's eyes sparkled as she successfully picked up her first piece of sweet and sour pork.

Gu Ran instructed, "Hold it steady, keep your grip firm, and move smoothly… okay, now open your mouth."

Anne obediently opened wide.

…Her lips parted beautifully, forming a graceful curve.

Gu Ran couldn't help but think—big mouth beauty.

With a composed motion, he guided her hand to bring the pork into her mouth.

Now, it was time for the ultimate moment—when Anne would realize how awful the dish was and her negative emotions would explode.

Gu Ran braced himself to collect the perfect talent bubble.

Sure enough—Anne's expression changed!

Then, she quickly chewed twice and gasped, "Oh my God! My God! This is… amazing!"

Gu Ran: ???

Amazing?

She was being sarcastic, right?

Wait—she really swallowed it?!

Gu Ran was completely dumbfounded.

Anne excitedly picked up another piece—this time on her own—and popped it into her mouth, savoring it.

"This is incredible! Oh my God, this is delicious!"

"It's so good, I feel like crying!"

"I've never had anything this tasty in my entire life!"

"Gu, did you secretly use magic? How is it crispy on the outside, tangy and sweet, yet still juicy inside? What kind of meat is this? I swear, I've never had anything like it before! This must be from some rare, exotic animal, right? Something super expensive?"

Gu Ran: …

What the hell?!

This wasn't how things were supposed to go!

His horribly botched dish—she was actually enjoying it?!

She looked like someone who had never tasted proper pork before!

Damn it.

Forget collecting a perfect talent bubble. Forget even a blue skill bubble. She wasn't even dropping a white bubble!

This was a complete waste!

With a sigh, he picked up his own bowl of instant noodles. "It doesn't matter if it's expensive or not. As long as you like it, you can have the whole plate."

Anne hesitated, then suddenly looked serious. "Gu, you shouldn't be so kind to me."

Gu Ran was stunned.

What?

Anne continued, "You made something so delicious, and yet you're eating instant noodles? No, that's not right. I can't be so selfish. Unless you eat with me, I won't take another bite."

Holy…

That was actually touching.

But—seriously, don't make me eat it!

Gu Ran sincerely said, "Anne, you're overthinking it. I'm really not holding back. You eat, don't worry about me."

But Anne insisted, "If you don't eat, then I'll go hungry too."

Please, no!

Resigned, Gu Ran sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you the truth. I completely screwed up this dish. It's terrible. I can't eat it."

Anne widened her eyes in disbelief. "You call this terrible? Oh, I get it—you're pretending it's bad so I can have it all to myself!"

Gu Ran hurriedly clarified, "No, I'm serious."

Anne pouted. "Gu, you're such a bad liar. You have no acting skills."

Gu Ran: …

There was no explaining this.

He sighed, shook his head, and resumed slurping his noodles.

Meanwhile, Anne happily ate away, flashing grateful glances at him with every bite.

First day living together, and he was already outmatched.

This woman was unfarmable!

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