As soon as Gu Xingzhao’s voice echoed, Lu Qing quickly finished the last few sips of his instant noodles before reporting the day’s events to his ancestors.

It turned out that Liu Xiangbai, feeling grateful for the Lu family’s care over the past month, wanted to contribute something in return. Lu Qing then arranged for him to teach Princess Shunyu and Youtang. After all, Liu Xiangbai had been personally trained by Liu Chengye, and his character and knowledge were top-notch.

Lu Qing initially wondered if it might be a waste of Liu’s talents to have him teach his granddaughter. However, Gu Xingzhao thought it was a good idea. After all, the old man was getting on in years and shouldn’t be burdened with too much responsibility, as his body might not be able to handle it.

Gu Xingzhao had gone to the supermarket, bought two boxes of items, and also printed out a simple illustrated instruction manual. She delivered these along with the boxes to Lu Qing.

Just as she placed the boxes down, her phone started buzzing incessantly, and calls began to pour in. Not wanting to stay long, Gu Xingzhao left after a brief explanation. “These two boxes are full of good stuff. I’ve put a sheet inside explaining how to eat them. Just follow the instructions.”

Lu Qing opened the boxes himself and found that they contained large packets of food. Since he had just eaten a bowl of instant noodles and wasn’t hungry, he called his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to investigate while he sat by the fire.

Lu Yang and Lu Xingyao were particularly eager—one couldn’t wait to taste the delicacies, while the other was curious about the items sent by their ancestors. The two huddled together to explore.

Lu Yang, impatient, opened the lid, tore open the packets, and was about to pour hot water over them as he did with the instant noodles, but Lu Xingyao stopped him.

“Second Uncle, that’s not how you do it! You need to open this packet first, then pour the water. The top layer is for food, and the bottom layer is for this!” Lu Xingyao, reading from the instruction manual, was almost frantic. Eventually, frustrated with Lu Yang’s meddling, he took over.

Feeling slighted, Lu Yang complained to his elder brother, Lu Zhou. “Big Brother! Look at your son! He’s even yelling at me!”

Lu Zhou couldn’t even look at his brother, who was acting more like a child than an elder. He and Song Shi tried to maintain a calm exterior, but their eyes were glued to their son as he worked. They were just as curious about what their ancestor had sent, as it seemed rather complex.

Lu Xingyao quickly got two boxes set up, secured the lids, and sat down to wait, continuing to study the instructions. He couldn’t help but marvel, “Whoever drew these pictures is truly skilled—they’re so lifelike!”

Hearing this, everyone else gathered around to take a look. The illustrations on the paper depicted the box and hands so realistically that they seemed to leap off the page.

Madam Xu, not well-versed in art, could still tell that this must have been drawn by a highly skilled artist. She exclaimed, “Could this have been drawn by our ancestor?”

This speculation quickly gained support from others. “Since it was given by our ancestor, it must have been drawn by our ancestor!”

“Who knew our ancestor was such a master artist? It’s truly admirable.”

“An ancestor’s talent is beyond us mere mortals!”

Lu Xingyao’s admiration for his ancestor grew even deeper, and he carefully folded the paper, intending to tuck it away in his clothes.

But as soon as the other clan members saw this, they became anxious. “Hey! Don’t put that away—let us admire our ancestor’s work a little longer!”

Lu Xingyao cleared his throat. “You all are too rough; if you damage our ancestor’s masterpiece, I’ll have to take good care of it myself.”

Clan members: “???”

“Hey, you cheeky rascal, you just want to keep it all to yourself!”

Even Lu Zhou wanted to examine it further and sternly ordered his son, “Xingyao, as a junior, you should show respect to your elders. Hand over our ancestor’s masterpiece so your uncles can have a look.”

With his father’s command, Lu Xingyao had no choice but to obediently hand over the paper. But just as he was about to give it to his uncles, Lu Zhou snatched it away.

Lu Zhou carefully examined the paper, praising it repeatedly and admitting his own inferiority. “An ancestor is indeed an ancestor—his artistic skills are truly humbling.”

The clan members, still waiting for their turn: “???”

You father and son are in this together, aren’t you!?

At this moment, Lu Qing heard the commotion and got up to investigate. As soon as he saw the paper in his eldest son’s hands, he reached out and snatched it. When he took a closer look, his eyes widened in amazement. Could this really have been drawn by their ancestor?

“!!!”

The old man was overwhelmed with emotion. “Such a masterpiece should be remembered forever!”

Meanwhile, in the modern era, Gu Xingzhao was on a video call with three of her college roommates when she sensed Lu Qing’s emotional surge and froze for a moment.

When she concentrated and saw what was going on, she nearly burst out laughing. It was just a few photos she had taken while cooking self-heating hotpot, accompanied by some simple instructions printed on A4 paper. How did it become a masterpiece that should be remembered forever?

Help, she really wanted to laugh.

Her roommates, noticing her silence, asked, “Ah Zhao, what’s so funny?”

Gu Xingzhao replied, “Nothing, just suddenly thought of something else.”

One roommate sighed, “I really didn’t expect Lei Ping to be such a person. We should have kicked her out with a broom when she was freeloading off us!”

Another roommate chimed in, “Ah Zhao, you’re trending now. A lot of people online are saying you’re beautiful and have a nice voice. They’re sharing your college photos, even the ones from when you worked part-time and looked exhausted. It’s hilarious!”

“My boyfriend found out that we know each other and asked if you’re interested in becoming an influencer. He said his company could sign you, and with some packaging, you might even become a star. What do you think—interested?”

Gu Xingzhao quickly waved her hand. “I can’t do that. I’m fine just running my little supermarket.”

The idea of being watched by so many strangers made her uncomfortable. In just a few hours, she had received hundreds of friend requests on WeChat and QQ, and even an old social media account she had used for venting had been dug up.

She felt overwhelmed. Wasn’t life supposed to be less dramatic than this?!

Her roommate laughed, “You’re not cut out for it. Someone’s already started a live stream to catch this wave of popularity and become an influencer.”

The roommate was naturally referring to Lei Ping, who, after discovering that her secretly filmed video had gone viral, immediately started a live stream, even titling it “The Person Involved in the XX Hotpot Incident,” desperately trying to ride the wave of attention.

Another roommate rolled her eyes. “Unbelievable. I’ve never seen someone so shameless. Instead of apologizing, she starts a live stream. Doesn’t she care about being cursed out?”