An eighteen-year-old girl usually has one thing on her mind.

  Marriage.

  What eighteen-year-old girl doesn't yearn for love?

  It was perfectly natural.

  Guo Dalu chuckled. “You’re not sick. A man should marry, and a woman should wed—no one can say there's anything wrong with that.”

  He puffed out his chest and added, “So… Who's the lucky guy you've set your sights on?”

  Yan Qi gred at him coldly and said, “Of course, it's you.”

  Guo Dalu chuckled. “That's not necessarily true.”

  Though his words expressed uncertainty, his confident expression suggested otherwise.

  A man like him was one in a million—impossible to miss, even if you were searching with a gong.

  If Suan Meitang wasn't interested in him, then who else could she be interested in?

  Suan Meitang was indeed looking at him, but she shook her head, covered her mouth with a ugh, and said, “Maybe! Maybe not! I can't say just yet.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “Why not?”

  Suan Meitang replied, “Because it's not the right time.”

  Guo Dalu pressed on, “When will it be the right time?”

  Suan Meitang's eyes flickered as she lowered her head. “I need to see if he’s truly a good person. This is a lifelong matter for you—I have to be extra careful.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “And you still can't tell?”

  Suan Meitang hesitated. “I... I just want to wait a little longer, to observe a bit more.”

  Yan Qi scoffed coldly. “I think you'd better speed up—someone here is about to die of impatience.”

  Guo Dalu grinned and said, “No rush, take your time. A good man only looks better the more you look at him.”

  Suan Meitang smiled charmingly. “Once I've made up my mind, you'll be the first to know.”

  Suddenly, Yan Qi stood up and walked out without a word.

  Guo Dalu called after him, “Why are you leaving? Can't we all just chat together?”

  Yan Qi replied, “What's there to talk about?”

  Guo Dalu asked, “Don't you have anything to say?”

  Yan Qi said, “I have only one thing to say.”

  Without looking back, he continued coldly, “Girls these days really are getting thicker-skinned.”

  Guo Dalu watched Yan Qi walk out, then shook his head with a smile and said, “He may have a strange temper, but he's a good person. Miss, please don't take offense.”

  Suan Meitang corrected him sternly, “My surname is Mei, not Suan.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “Mei, as in plum blossom?”

  Mei nodded. “My name is Mei Runan.”

  Guo Dalu chuckled. “Plum blossoms and orchids—sounds like you could open a flower shop.”

  Mei Runan ughed. “It's not ‘n’ as in orchid, but ‘nan’ as in man.”

  Guo Dalu remarked, “Mei Runan—that's quite an unusual name.”

  (T/N: 酸; suān, means sour; 梅; lán from 兰花; lán from lánhuā , means orchid flower; méi from 梅花; méihuā, means plum blossom; 汝; rǔ is an archaic and literary way of saying "you"; 男; nán, means "man" or "male; so, 梅汝男; méi rǔ nán, can be interpreted as "you should be a man" or "be like a man.")

  Mei Runan expined, “My te father gave me this name to remind me to be strong, to act without hesitation, and to always speak my mind.”

  Wang Dong suddenly said, “If your father's spirit watches over you, he must be very proud.”

  Mei Runan asked, “Why?”

  Wang Dong replied, “Because you've truly lived up to his expectations.”

  Mei Runan blushed and asked, “You… you really think I act like a man?”

  Wang Dong responded, “Are you not a woman?”

  Mei Runan couldn't help but ugh.

  Guo Dalu also ughed and said, “You do handle things more like a man than many actual men. For example—”

  He lowered his voice to a whisper and said secretly, “My friend Yan Qi sometimes acts more like a woman. Not only is he a bit delicate, but he also tends to get moody for no apparent reason.”

  Mei Runan asked, “Do you think women get upset for no reason?”

  Guo Dalu just smiled without answering.

  Mei Runan continued, “Women are just like men—if they're angry, there's always a reason. The only difference is that men don't understand it.”

  She chuckled and added, “Actually, men aren't as smart as they think they are.”

  Guo Dalu wanted to argue but held back.

  He decided not to debate with her—at least not now. If there was going to be an argument, it could wait until she revealed who she had her eyes on.

  By then, he would tell her that men were, at the very least, much smarter than she imagined.

  By then, she would believe it.

  A smile appeared on Guo Dalu's face as he imagined the glorious moment: Suan Meitang nestled in his arms, telling him that he was the one she had chosen.

  "Then everyone will know who's really the smart one."

  Guo Dalu grinned so wide that he could hardly close his mouth.

  Lin Taiping was also ughing.

  Was he thinking about the same thing?

  A man who doesn't indulge in a little self-admiration can hardly be considered a real man.

  Perhaps he can't even be considered a person at all.

  What makes humans superior to animals might just be the ability to revel in themselves—something animals can't do.

  Mei Runan suddenly said, “Actually, a man with a bit of delicacy isn't a bad thing.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “Why?”

  Mei Runan replied, “At the very least, such men wouldn't be crude or barbaric. They'd be more gentle and considerate.”

  Out of nowhere, Guo Dalu stood up and sashayed out of the room in an exaggeratedly feminine manner. Then, he suddenly turned back and asked Wang Dong, “Do you think I have a bit of delicacy in me?”

  Wang Dong responded, “Are you a man?”

  Guo Dalu burst into ughter. “I used to think so, but now, even I'm not so sure.”