Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

Breakfast finally ended in this almost stagnant atmosphere. The group got up to pack up and prepare to return to Yunmiao Village.

Xu Hongdou was the first to put down her chopsticks and head straight to the car parked at the door. She opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, without glancing at anyone else or mentioning riding the motorcycle.

Lin Bufan rubbed his nose, watching Xu Hongdou's decisive back, and swallowed back the words he was about to say. Well, he dared not provoke her now.

Nana naturally got into the driver's seat, and Chen Nanxing, Da Mai, and Hu Youyu followed suit in the back. Just as Nana was about to start the car, Da Mai, who had been sitting quietly in the back seat, suddenly spoke timidly. His voice was soft, but it made everyone stop in their tracks.

"Um...did we...forgot something?" Da Mai blinked, looking at the people in the car and then at the outside through the car window.

Upon hearing this, everyone subconsciously looked at each other.

Nana asked in confusion, "Forgot what? Didn't you take all your luggage?"

Hu Youyu counted the heads: "Everyone's here, Teacher Lin, Nanxing, Hongdou, you, me, Damai... six people, that's right."

Da Mai pursed her lips and whispered, "When we came... there wasn't enough room, so Hong Dou rode on President Lin's motorcycle. Now... it seems like no one needs to ride a motorcycle anymore, right?"

Upon hearing this, the people in the car were all stunned.

Yes!

There were five people and a dog when they arrived, and the car couldn't fit them all, so Xu Hongdou rode on Lin Bufan's motorcycle. Now, going back, it's the same group of people... Wait a minute!

Xu Hongdou sat in the passenger seat, her expression growing even colder.

Chen Nanxing suddenly realized what was happening and blurted out, "Sang Biao! Sang Biao isn't here!"

All eyes immediately turned to Hu Youyu—he had shared a room with Sang Biao last night.

Hu Youyu was startled by the stare and quickly waved her hand to explain, "It's not my fault! When I called it to get up for breakfast this morning, it said itself that it wanted to take a beauty nap!"

Everyone: "..."

A dog taking a beauty nap?

This is so depressing.

Under the condemning gazes of everyone, Hu Youyu slunk back to his hotel room to call Sang Biao. A few minutes later, he returned with a yawning, disgruntled Sang Biao.

In the end, Nana drove, with Xu Hongdou in the passenger seat, Da Mai, Hu Youyu, and Sang Biao, who was forced to get up early, squeezed into the back seat. Chen Nanxing, on the other hand, offered to ride on Lin Bufan's motorcycle.

"I...I want to get some fresh air." That's how Chen Nanxing explained when faced with Xu Hongdou's death stare!

Xu Hongdou remained noncommittal, simply closing the passenger door with a blank expression.

The motorcycle once again sped onto the winding country road, the morning breeze even cooler than the evening breeze of the previous night. Chen Nanxing sat on the back seat, initially only gently supporting Lin Bufan's waist, but once the motorcycle was stable, she relaxed and even pressed her face against Lin Bufan's back.

"Hey," Chen Nanxing's voice, tinged with amusement and teasing, drifted through the helmet and reached Lin Bufan's ears on the wind: "How come I never realized you were so afraid of Hongdou? The way you were so cautious while we were eating breakfast just now, tsk tsk, like a mouse seeing a cat."

Lin Bufan was focused on the road ahead when he heard this and snorted, "You don't know anything."

“I don’t understand,” Chen Nanxing drawled out, deliberately saying, “So could you explain it to me? Mr. Lin, Mr. Lin? How could your millennia of cultivation be defeated by this little bean sprout, Hongdou? Look at how cowardly you were just now, not daring to breathe, chewing your bun like you were counting grains of rice.”

Lin Bufan paused for a few seconds, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before slowly speaking, his tone less playful and more serious: "What I was doing wasn't fear, it was..."

Before Lin Bufan could finish speaking, Chen Nanxing interjected with a playful expression, "You mean to say that what you feel isn't fear, but love, right?"

"Pshaw—that's what all henpecked husbands say!"

Lin Bufan paused for a moment, then continued, "Love certainly plays a very important role, but it's not everything."

"Oh, there's more? I'm all ears." Chen Nanxing became interested.

Lin Bufan's voice came through the wind, still very clear: "Mainly, Dou'er is obviously very angry right now, right? If I act like nothing's wrong at a time like this, laughing and joking, not caring at all, what would that mean?"

"Does that mean you're shameless? Or... you don't care whether she's angry or not?" Chen Nanxing guessed.

"That's right!" That's like saying, "It's your problem if you're angry, I don't care, I don't care about your feelings." Do you think that will make her feel better? She'll only be angrier, thinking I'm cold, selfish, and don't value her.

Chen Nanxing was slightly taken aback; she hadn't thought about this angle in detail.

Lin Bufan continued, "By showing this fear and caution, I'm actually telling her through my actions that I see you're angry, that I care about your feelings, that your emotions are important to me, so I don't dare to upset you, and that I'm trying my best to avoid making you even more unhappy. It's an attitude, a form of feedback. It lets her know that I see and value her emotions. That way, even if she's still angry, she'll at least feel a little better, knowing that I'm not indifferent. Do you understand?"

Chen Nanxing was stunned and remained silent for a long time. She hadn't expected that Lin Bufan had so many hidden thoughts in his mind.

"My God..." Chen Nanxing murmured, his tone filled with disbelief: "Lin Bufan, how is your brain structured? Do you spend every day racking your brains researching these things?"

"How can this be called scheming?" Lin Bufan said dismissively, "This is called basic emotional intelligence and respect. When two people are together, it's not enough to just like each other; you also need to know how to take care of the other person's feelings. Especially when the other person is obviously unhappy, your every move is sending a message. Pretending to be stupid or confronting them head-on are the dumbest methods."

After hearing Lin Bufan's "profound" remarks, Chen Nanxing was first stunned, then as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. He leaned on Lin Bufan's back and laughed so hard that his whole body trembled. His helmet was shaking. If he hadn't been holding Lin Bufan's waist, he probably would have laughed himself off the car.

"Hahahaha... Oh, I can't take it anymore... Hahahaha... Lin Bufan... You... Are you trying to make me laugh to death... Hahahaha..."

Lin Bufan was bewildered by the sudden burst of laughter. He steadied the handlebars and said irritably, "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? Am I wrong?"

"Wait a minute...wait a minute...hahaha...let me laugh enough...hahaha..." Chen Nanxing laughed so hard he could barely speak, and tears were almost streaming down his face.

After a long while, she managed to stop laughing, but her voice still carried obvious laughter and panting: "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I just... I just thought it was too funny... Lin Bufan, I admit, you are indeed very smart in those high-tech, biomedicine, and even songwriting and composing fields, and you have researched so many amazing things. I admire your IQ. But EQ? Haha... You're talking to me about EQ? Hahahaha... I really haven't discovered that you have that kind of thing!"

Lin Bufan's face darkened: "You don't know anything! Emotional intelligence is like underwear. You can choose not to wear it, but you have to have it. When it really matters, you have to be able to use it!"

Given my current identity, status, and strength, do I usually need to be insincere with people or deliberately show emotional intelligence?

No need at all!

Since I don't need to, why should I expose my underwear... no, my emotional intelligence to people every day? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?

Chen Nanxing finally managed to stop laughing, wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, cleared her throat, and said, "Okay, okay, even if you don't usually need to show your emotional intelligence, you still need to be mindful of the impact of your words and actions, right? Aren't you afraid that sometimes... well, you might speak without thinking, or that someone might film you doing something and post it online, taking it out of context and stirring up trouble, which could lead to cyberbullying or something? At that point, even if you had Superman's underwear, you probably wouldn't be able to stop the spittle, would you?"

Lin Bufan scoffed at what Chen Nanxing had said: "Nanxing, have you ever heard the saying, 'The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind'?"

Chen Nanxing replied with a hint of mockery, "I have heard of it, and I even know that the following part is 'When a mound rises above the bank, the current will surely be turbulent; when one's conduct surpasses others, the masses will surely criticize him.' But why do I remember that this was written by Li Kang in his 'On Destiny' during the Three Kingdoms period? Are you sure it was Lao Tzu who said it? Lao Tzu's surname is Li and his given name is Er, and Li Kang's surname is also Li. You haven't mixed them up, have you?"

Lin Bufan tilted his head slightly in surprise: "Are you that good at studying? You even know this?"

Chen Nanxing proudly raised his chin, though Lin Bufan couldn't see it: "That's right! You think everyone's like you, always spouting famous quotes at me? I'm busy studying the Tao Te Ching, I don't have time for so many witty remarks."

Lin Bufan didn't care at all about Chen Nanxing's ridicule: "Then...then do you know that Lao Tzu once said, 'When I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will debate the classics for me'?"

"Lin! Bu! Fan!" Chen Nanxing was speechless and slapped him hard on the back: "Can you stop blaming everything on me?"

After a pause, Chen Nanxing added, "Even if you're going to push someone's name, you should push it onto Lu Xun. He said a lot, making it easier for people to believe that he said it!"

“That makes sense.” Lin Bufan nodded readily, then changed the subject: “But that’s not important. What’s important is, like the two sentences I just mentioned, it’s impossible for someone as outstanding as me not to be envied or gossiped about. Similarly, once you reach my level, you don’t actually need to deliberately debate anything. There will naturally be plenty of people who will actively discover all the shining points in me, interpreting the profound meaning and merits of everything I’ve said and done, whether good or bad.”

For example, people say that speaking frankly and without reservation is a sign of being genuine and unpretentious;

Their unconventional and rule-breaking behavior is often attributed to their pure heart and childlike innocence, which allows them to break with convention and achieve extraordinary success.

Anyway, once you succeed, even your farts will be analyzed and found to have philosophical meaning and fragrance.

Chen Nanxing rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, you're showing off again. Let's not talk about this nonsense anymore, let's talk about the present. What are you going to do about Hongdou?"

"What else can we do?" Lin Bufan sighed, his tone becoming more serious. "Let her calm down first. Once she's calmed down a bit, I'll... well, I'll use my charm a little to show my sincerity. Maybe she'll soften and forgive me."

"A honey trap? Sincerity?" Chen Nanxing scoffed, "I thought you were going to come up with some brilliant ideas after your analysis, but this is all?"

"It just works!"

"Useless my foot!" Chen Nanxing retorted mercilessly: "With your current image in Hongdou's mind, even if you stood naked in front of her, she would probably find you an eyesore."

Lin Bufan sensed the hidden meaning in Chen Nanxing's words and asked, "Then what do you suggest? Do you have a better idea?"

"Hmph," Chen Nanxing raised her chin, her tone slightly smug: "Hongdou and I have been best friends since college. I know her better than you do what she's like. I know exactly what makes her angry and how to appease her most effectively."

Lin Bufan feigned skepticism: "Really? You have a way? I don't believe it at all."

"Believe it or not." Chen Nanxing kept everyone in suspense: "But... if you have a better attitude and sincerely beg me, I might be in a good mood and give you some pointers."

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Bufan's voice softened immediately, even carrying a hint of flattery through his helmet: "Oh, Nanxing, my dear Nanxing! Please, teach me how to calm Dou'er down! I promise to learn humbly, execute diligently, and never cut corners!"

Chen Nanxing was amused by his exaggerated tone, and could feel her body trembling slightly even through her clothes: "How about this, I can help you deal with Hongdou and make her stop being angry, and even... maybe I can even create some good opportunities for you. But... you have to agree to one condition."

Upon hearing that there was a chance, Lin Bufan immediately chimed in, his tone so sincere it was almost palpable: "Nanxing, you're being too polite! We're practically family, aren't we? Even if you don't help me with this, I'll definitely agree to any request you make that I can fulfill without hesitation! Not just one, but a hundred!"

"Come on," Chen Nanxing scoffed behind him, his helmet lightly bumping against him. "I believed your nonsense. Men's words are all lies. But... remember what you said today."

"I must remember this! Never forget it!" Lin Bufan declared confidently. "So, what exactly are the conditions?"

"I haven't thought about it yet, I'll owe you one for now." Chen Nanxing smiled slyly. "I'll tell you when I've thought it through. Just remember you owe me one thing."

"Sure! No problem!" Lin Bufan readily agreed, but in his heart he was thinking that this girl had a lot of tricks up her sleeve and he wondered what kind of demands she would make. But that was not important. The most important thing right now was to appease Xu Hongdou.