Chapter 578

After Zhen Jie mentioned Ruan Ruan Shujun's situation, even Li Ye, who was never one for gossip, became unsettled.

"What? That Ruan Shujun didn't get sick—she gave birth? And last time she had Zhen Zhen Rongrong cover for her, she didn't even pay her?"

Li Ye looked at Zhen Zhen Rongrong with amusement, his expression clearly saying, "Sis, are you really that gullible?"

Zhen Zhen Rongrong awkwardly said, "You all just saw it—Ruan Shujun's body is extremely weak, and she can't afford to lose this job."

"What does her weakness have to do with you?"

Li Ye cut her off: "If she's weak after childbirth, shouldn't the baby's father take responsibility? Why are you the one footing the bill?"

Zhen Zhen Rongrong fell silent, because Wen Wen Leyu, Zhen Jie, and even Fu Fu Yiruo, the driver up front, were all watching her through the rearview mirror—it was deeply embarrassing.

Zhen Jie looked at Zhen Zhen Rongrong, exasperated: "She's taking advantage of your soft heart. Only someone as new to the Lighthouse as you, Zhen, would feel too shy to say no."

"Look at the veteran international students—do any of them put up with her? She reaps what she sows; why should anyone else suffer for her?"

The senior class monitor, under collective pressure, lowered her head and muttered, "I'm not being soft—I just know she's alone here overseas, and her boyfriend's gone missing."

"Gone missing? He's just had his fill," Zhen Jie sneered. "I still can't believe it—Ruan Ruan Shujun's sharp as a monkey when dealing with her own kind, yet she turned down Liu Liu Dongsheng outright. But after just a few days with Kardil? She lost her head."

"Wow, is Kardil that handsome? Alain Delon? Gregory Peck?"

"Please! Alain Delon? He's got a flat nose and sausage lips—I can't even look at him without feeling sick."

"Get real! Who's Alandelong? Big flat nose and sausage lips—I can't even look at them without feeling sick."

"How should I know? Maybe he poured her some magic love potion! You haven't met Kardil—he's got the sweetest tongue, ugh, ugh, ugh."

"How would I know? Maybe they got a good dose of mind-altering soup! You haven't met that Kardeer—he's so sweet-talking, Zezeze."

Zhen Jie's sharp tongue kept going, firing off a barrage that stirred everyone's curiosity—Fu Fu Yiruo and the others chattered nonstop, and even Wen Wen Leyu had her ears perked up, listening intently.

But Li Ye noticed they were veering off-topic, so he cut in plainly: "You're all missing the point. Ruan Shujun isn't obsessed with Kardil because she's stupid—she's fallen for a cultural misunderstanding."

But Li Ye noticed they were veering off-topic, so he cut in plainly: "You're all missing the point of this matter."

Zhen Zhen Rongrong and Zhen Jie both froze, confused by Li Ye's meaning.

Wen Wen Leyu blinked rapidly and asked directly: "Explain clearly—don't keep dangling clues like a chef teasing hunger."

"Hahaha~ Brother, your wife says you're stalling!"

Wen Wen Leyu blinked rapidly and asked directly: "Be clear—don't talk in riddles and make my appetite ache."

Li Ye chuckled sheepishly: "My bad, I wasn't clear enough. Haven't you noticed? Lighthouse people talk way more than us Huazhong folks."

"And from childhood, they're trained to praise others—constantly, all the way to old age. Even a thief can find something nice to say about you."

Li Ye chuckled awkwardly: "My bad, my bad—I didn't explain well enough. Haven't you noticed? Lantern people talk way more than us Huazhao people."

"But we Huazhong people are the opposite—we believe 'silence is golden,' 'speak carefully,' and despise 'flattery.' We say as little as possible, ideally nothing."

"So when we do speak, we cut straight to the point—no small talk. That means we're pointing out problems, right? And what's a problem? A flaw."

Li Ye spread his hands: "So mainlanders are best at spotting flaws; Lighthouse people are best at spotting strengths."

This wasn't Li Ye making it up—later research showed mainlanders spoke barely one-fifth as much as Lighthouse people in daily conversation.

"Exactly! You're right, classmate," Zhen Jie nodded eagerly. "Lighthouse people really do love praising. When I first came, I almost floated away from all the compliments."

This wasn't Li Ye making things up—later generations actually studied it, and found the daily word count of mainlanders versus Lantern people was nearly 1:5.

Li Ye spoke like a motivational speaker hitting his stride: "Lighthouse people grow up hearing praise constantly, so they're used to polite compliments."

"But mainland men? We're blunt. Who says a girl's pretty? If you do, you're either hitting on her or trying to date her."

"So when a girl who's never heard praise comes to the Lighthouse and gets told she's beautiful, charming—she's like someone who drank a love potion and forgets her own name."

"It's not our sisters' fault for being naive—it's the Lighthouse men who've mastered lying with a straight face, speaking with such sincerity, like vows sworn under heaven."

Li Ye mimicked a girl's voice, teasingly: "Ohhh, back home, no one ever said I was pretty. But here in the Lighthouse? Look how they praise me! Turns out I'm so charming… Lighthouse boys have such good taste. Mainland men are all blind."

"It's not our sisters' lack of experience—it's just that Lantern men are used to lying with their eyes wide open, speaking with such conviction and sincerity, like sworn oaths—who could resist?"

Li Ye imitated a girl's tone, playfully saying: "Oh my, back on the mainland, no one ever said I was pretty—but now I'm in the Lantern country, look how they praise me! Turns out I'm so charming—Lantern boys really have good taste; mainland guys are all blind."

After Li Ye finished, silence hung for a long moment before everyone burst into laughter—Zhen Jie laughed until tears streamed down her face.

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right! When they compliment you, they stare right into your eyes—it's unnerving."

"Cough, cough," Li Ye cleared his throat, then turned serious: "So once you're in the Lighthouse, don't take their compliments seriously."

"First, compare yourself to your peers—ask yourself: are you really that outstanding? Really that beautiful?"

"Cough, cough," Li Ye cleared his throat, then said seriously: "So once you're in the Lantern country, don't take their compliments seriously."

The car fell quiet again. Then Zhen Jie sighed: "Mainland guys really are such honest souls."

"."

Li Ye sensed Zhen Jie's words carried deeper meaning. He thought for a moment—then realized: there were four girls in the car, and among them, only Zhen Jie was average-looking—the rest were all beautiful.

But Zhen Jie was easygoing. She turned to Li Ye: "Young brother, how come you understand Lighthouse people so well? I've been here years and never figured this out."

Li Ye replied coolly: "Because I value this internship opportunity—I made an effort to understand the Lighthouse fully."

Zhen Jie gave him a thumbs-up: "People from big companies really are different. This is a genuine compliment from one of our own—not a Lighthouse compliment!"

"Thank you, thank you—I can tell."

Li Ye accepted Zhen Jie's praise without blinking.

But this conclusion wasn't entirely his own—it came from a drunken night years ago, when his closest friends, hunched over a barbecue stall, had stumbled upon the truth.

Why do mainlanders always lose out to white and black people? Is it really just about money?

No—it's because they've practiced "sweet talk" as a daily habit since childhood.

Compared to mainland boys who, before college, couldn't even muster the courage to speak to girls, their emotional value was a crushing, dimensional advantage.

Dammit, I wonder if "emotional value" is even a Western import that invaded the mainland.

"Li Ye, you haven't eaten yet! Come on, let's go—I'll treat you to dinner."

"No thanks, we want to try Western food today. You guys head to the shop!"

"You're impossible."

"We'll cook for ourselves during Spring Festival—we'll definitely come over and eat three big bowls."

"No, no, today we want to try Western food—you guys head to the restaurant first!"

After arriving in Chinatown, Zhen Zhen Rongrong insisted on treating Li Ye and the others to dinner. Yesterday, Wen Wen Leyu had secretly paid the bill, and she felt guilty. Today, seeing how many gifts Li Ye had brought for his classmates, she felt even worse.

But Li Ye still declined Cao's restaurant. He knew from experience that Zhen Zhen Rongrong barely made any money—this one meal would cost her days of wages.

For university students working in restaurants, the real perk is free meals—usually one free meal a day, two on holidays. That's why wages are so low.

After parting ways with Zhen Zhen Rongrong and the two girls, Li Ye strolled down Chinatown, browsing for food.

But as they walked, Li Ye noticed Wen Wen Leyu kept glancing sideways at him—glance, look away, glance again—like a cat eyeing its snack.

Li Ye couldn't help asking: "Wen Leyu, what are you staring at?"

Wen Wen Leyu blinked, bit her lip, and didn't deny it. She smiled sweetly: "I'm wondering—were all those compliments you gave me before just like what you said about Lighthouse people? Were you just Hongwo?"

But as they walked, Li Ye noticed Wen Wen Leyu kept tilting her head to glance at him—glance, then turn away, then glance again, like a fat orange cat eyeing its snack.

Li Ye froze for several seconds—he hadn't expected the boomerang to come so fast.

Sure, he was better at complimenting than mainland boys of this era—but it was still different from Lighthouse-style polite flattery.

Wen Wen Leyu watched him, stunned, not angry—just quietly smug.

She suddenly remembered a day years ago, when she'd felt insecure because she wasn't like Liu Liu Xiaoqing—until Li Ye told her she was prettier than anyone else.

【So that's what he meant—he was trying to date me!】

After snapping out of his daze, Li Ye suddenly scowled: "When have I ever Hongguo you? When I'm unhappy with you, I always say it straight."

She suddenly remembered a day years ago, when she'd felt insecure because she wasn't like Liu Liu Xiaoqing—but Li Ye had told her she was prettier than anyone else.

Wen Wen Leyu panicked, scrambling to recall what she'd done wrong.

Fu Fu Yiruo's eyes sparkled with gossip. She opened her mouth: "Brother, you dare to be unhappy with your wife? What did she do?"

"First—you don't eat properly!"

Li Ye raised his first finger, pointing sternly at the bewildered Wen Wen Leyu: "Admit it—haven't you become pickier? You keep eating sweets, skip meals afterward. Haven't I scolded you?"

Wen Wen Leyu blinked rapidly, then pouted and nodded.

Li Ye raised his second finger: "Second—you read in bed till dawn, wake up with dark circles."

"I don't accept that!" Wen Wen Leyu jumped up. "I don't read in bed anymore—I've fixed it!"

Fu Fu Yiruo turned away, afraid her grin would give her away.

But Li Ye raised three fingers: "Third—you and I train in bayonet drills. I told you every other day. Haven't you secretly added extra sessions? Even twice a day?"

Wen Wen Leyu still resisted: "Practicing hard is wrong? My dad says I don't train hard enough!"

"You only care about hard training. Didn't I teach you kinesiology? Do you know what healthy training is? Does your dad still get back pain in the rain? Do you want that too? You're training with me—whose rules do you follow?"

But Li Ye persisted, holding up three fingers: "Third—you train bayonet drills with me, I told you every other day, but haven't you been sneaking in extra practice? Even twice a day?"

Wen Wen Leyu still resisted, retorting angrily: "What's wrong with training hard? My own dad says I don't train hard enough!"

Li Ye's tone was harsh. Wen Wen Leyu pouted, grinding her toe into the ground several times, then reluctantly muttered "Oh," surrendering under his pressure.

Li Ye wasn't bluffing—German researchers had long concluded the body's optimal recovery period is 36 hours. Two sessions a day risk injury.

Many elite athletes end up crippled from overtraining.

Though Wen Wen Leyu's bayonet drills with Li Ye were mostly "play," lasting only one or two hours,

Li Ye observed closely—if she trained more, she'd develop strong muscle tone, burn off all subcutaneous fat, and when he hugged her waist by Weiming Lake at night, he'd feel nothing but hard muscle.

How could that be acceptable? Is looking good really the goal?

Overtraining harms the body—and severely damages male tactile pleasure.

But Li Ye observed very carefully: if she trained any more, Wen Wen Leyu would develop pronounced muscle definition and lose all her subcutaneous fat; at night, when walking by Weiminghu and wrapping an arm around her waist, all he'd feel would be muscle.

How can this be acceptable? Just because it looks good doesn't mean it's good.

Excessive exercise causes severe harm to the human body and greatly diminishes the male tactile pleasure.

Sure, some people love the dance teacher who does Latin, her legs twisting and turning in a one-word horse stance, looking so thrilling—but do you know how thick her calluses are? Would you be happy if her long legs went rigid and stiff?

Every gain comes with a loss; health is a balance.

Like Wen Wen Leyu now, following Li Ye's training with moderate exercise and balanced nutrition, her qi and blood are abundant, her skin fair with a rosy glow, smooth and dewy, her body fat ratio perfectly balanced to Li Ye's satisfaction.

So Li Ye absolutely forbids her from carelessly damaging it—absolutely not allowed.

"Let's go, I'm hungry—there's a Western restaurant up ahead, let's hurry and feed our five viscera!"

Fu Fu Yiruo, seeing her sister-in-law's discomfort, quickly spoke up to defuse the tension.

But Li Ye said: "Why eat Western food in Chinatown? Let's eat hot pot!"

"."

Fu Fu Yiruo, watching her brother stride ahead, couldn't help whispering to Wen Wen Leyu: "Sister-in-law, has my brother eaten gunpowder?"

Wen Wen Leyu snorted: "Pfft~ I just saw through his sweet talk."

"."

Fu Fu Yiruo said awkwardly: "No way—my brother's such a straightforward guy!"

But Wen Wen Leyu laughed: "It's fine—I don't mind. My brother only uses sweet talk on me, and I love hearing it! Hehehehe~"

Fu Fu Yiruo: "."