Let's Eat Some Face Cream

After being hit a few times, An Nuan couldn't help but think about a question. At home, it was common for her to bicker with Professor Liu from time to time, but she rarely resorted to physical violence.

Thinking about it carefully, it was actually since she started dating Liu Chang'an that she had repeatedly lectured An Nuan in front of Liu Chang'an, and hitting her was a common occurrence.

Did she do it intentionally?

It's basically sending a message to Liu Chang'an: Little Liu, this girl isn't as good as you think; look how naughty she is!

What does she mean by that? An Nuan looked at her mother angrily. Liu Yuewang back and saw An Nuan's eyes, but she didn't hit her. She just glared at An Nuan.

When An Nuan opened the door, she noticed that Liu Yuewang hadn't kicked off her shoes as usual; even the way she took off her shoes and bent down to put them back on seemed more elegant.

Professor Liu has always been an elegant and charming woman, even in the smallest gestures. An Nuan felt that young girls didn't need to be so particular, but that didn't stop An Nuan from paying attention and learning from her. She felt that Professor Liu's movements made her hips look beautiful, so An Nuan also imitated Professor Liu's movements by taking off her shoes and bending over to put them on.

"Did you get a leg cramp?" Liu Chang'an asked with concern.

"You're the one with a leg cramp!" An Nuan stomped on Liu Chang'an's shoe in annoyance, refusing to study anymore.

Liu Yuewang changed her shoes first, then poured a cup of hot water and handed it to Liu Chang'an.

"Chang'an, did you catch a cold or eat something bad? If you caught a cold, I'll get you a heat pack." Liu Yuewang said with concern.

An Nuan originally wanted to say, "I'm a hand warmer, let me stick this on you," but Liu Chang'an just said that she had a leg cramp, An Nuan decided not to give him that treatment.

Although it's incredibly difficult to resist the urge to act cute and charming, let's just endure it for a little while. If they bring up the topic of hand warmers again, then An Nuan can act cute and charming.

"No need, I feel fine now. I'll just drink some more hot water." Liu Chang'an downed a cup of hot water in one gulp.

I must give face to Liu Yuewang's concern.

Liu Yuewang took the cup and poured him another one.

Liu Chang'an took a small sip.

"Mom, you seem to have grown taller?" An Nuan was waiting for them to talk about hand warmers, preparing to find an opportunity to interject, when she inadvertently glanced at Professor Liu's curvaceous figure and unexpectedly discovered something.

"Nonsense, can I still grow taller?" Liu Yuewang didn't take it seriously, but she was happy to hear it. After all, if she could still grow taller, that was a privilege only young girls had. Girls basically stop growing after the age of eighteen. If An Nuan needed to grow taller, wouldn't Liu Chang'an have to put in a lot of effort?

Liu Chang'an also took a look and found that there was indeed a problem.

"I used to be the same height as you! But ever since Liu Chang'an started massaging me to help me grow taller, I've grown a bit, but there's still no significant height difference between us!" An Nuan circled around Liu Yuewang to observe her.

"Really?" Liu Yuewang turned around, standing back-to-back with An Nuan, and then asked Liu Chang'an, "Are we still about the same height?"

"Yes, judging from An Nuan's height increase, Professor Liu, you've grown at least two centimeters taller." Liu Chang'an nodded affirmatively.

"How could this be? Have I become young again? No, I'm not old to begin with, this is called reverse aging." Liu Yuewang wasn't dissatisfied with her original height, at least she was a little nervously surprised. If this could prove that she could really age in reverse, that would be great.

"You look even better now that you're taller," An Nuan said with a hint of envy.

Of course, this is An Nuan's perspective and standard; she considers anyone fuller than herself to be too full-figured, which makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

I only noticed today that Professor Liu has grown taller. This is naturally because Professor Liu wears different shoes every day, with varying heights and even a wide variety of slippers.

A woman's shoes, from heels over ten centimeters high to flats, make her appear to have a different height with each new pair. Liu Yuewang changes her shoes every day before going to work, and the different shoe heights don't attract much attention. Today, she and An Nuan were both wearing flat slippers at home, which is when An Nuan noticed her height.

"But how could I grow taller?" Liu Yuewang turned to look at Liu Chang'an, hoping for an answer. Her daughter's boyfriend was erudite and knowledgeable, almost omniscient—this was already Liu Yuewang's preconceived notion.

"Isn't it good to grow taller? I worked so hard and only grew a tiny bit taller than you!" After being happy for her mother, An Nuan felt depressed for herself, as if she hadn't inherited Professor Liu's talent.

Professor Liu's talent is that she has become God's favorite. Everything can be accomplished by her without any effort. Things that others cannot obtain can be obtained by her without any effort.

"It must be the problem with those face creams I ate last time." Professor Liu's growth spurt couldn't be explained by bone hyperplasia, could it? There's always a reason behind everything. After thinking for a moment, Liu Chang'an found the problem.

"Are there problems with those face creams?" As a health enthusiast, Liu Yuewang was most afraid of hearing that certain foods, health products, and skincare products had been found to have problems, usually related to cancer.

"How do you interpret this? It's not that the face cream caused you to grow taller, but that it did something bad." An Nuan was unhappy that such a good face cream was being smeared. It was made with great effort by Liu Chang'a Nuan, who couldn't even give her more.

"That's what An Nuan meant. But An Nuan's growth is continuous; she can still grow a little taller. The growth caused by the face cream Professor Liu is taking won't continue indefinitely." Now that Liu Chang'an knew the problem, he was also aware of the series of details and possible consequences.

"Why?" Liu Yuewang with relief and curiosity. Growing a little taller was a good thing, it meant that her body was still very energetic and her cells were very active. However, she did not want to continue to grow taller, because it was not necessarily better to be taller... She was not like that little girl next to her who wanted to play volleyball.

"Because those face creams... are all-natural, not hormone-based. They simply activate your body's self-repairing abilities. After a person stops growing taller, they actually shrink to a barely perceptible degree. Now, you're just returning to your peak height through your body's self-repair process, and you won't grow any taller afterward." As the manufacturer of the face cream, Liu Chang'an was naturally very clear about the principle behind it. After all, his research in this area had been extensive, mainly based on experimental observation, and he already had a thorough understanding of it.

"That's good." Liu Yuewang was most concerned about the fact that the products she used were all-natural and hormone-free. Liu Chang'an's explanation was very scientific. "So, does that mean I can continue using that face cream?"

"Why are you using food?" Liu Chang'an asked calmly and evenly. "Eating it occasionally is to treat your shock symptoms."

He realized that Liu Yuewang had eaten it more than once.

"She eats it all the time!" An Nuan immediately complained, "She even persuaded me to eat some too! She said that ever since she started drinking the face cream mixed with water, she sleeps incredibly well every day, her skin is smoother and more delicate than when she used the face cream, and she feels especially good!"

"You brat!" Liu Yuewang initially felt that eating face cream was a bit silly to talk about, like some kind of stupid thing as drinking juice or getting an IV drip, but she couldn't resist the temptation. After Liu Chang'an brewed a little bit for her to drink last time, Liu Yuewang felt very comfortable. Wanting to consolidate the effect, she tried it twice more. As a result, she found that not only did she sleep better and have smoother skin, but even her lower abdomen didn't hurt during her period like before. Most importantly, she felt... like she had regained her youth, not only physically but also psychologically.

Liu Chang'an thought for a moment. Most people wouldn't drink face cream mixed with water. If it weren't for Liu Yuewang's shock disorder requiring treatment last time, Liu Chang'an wouldn't have made such a suggestion.

Liu Yuewang inadvertently discovered the most effective way to use this face cream.

However, it is not something that should be encouraged or recommended.

"Don't eat it anymore. After all, it was originally designed for external use," Liu Chang'an advised, feeling quite troubled.

"That argument doesn't hold water," Liu Yuewang said with great erudition. "I know some drugs that were initially developed for purposes completely different from the areas where they were actually used. The pharmaceutical companies then took advantage of this and changed their intended uses."

For example, Viagra was originally developed to treat cardiovascular diseases, but it later developed side effects that were widely known and appreciated by men. These side effects overshadowed its original therapeutic effects and became its primary use today.

"I'm not trying to reason with you, I'm just telling you, stop eating." Liu Chang'an couldn't reason with her properly. "You'll feel bad when there's nothing left to eat."

After saying that, Liu Chang'an took a cup of hot water and went to the kitchen while drinking it.

"He... he seemed to be threatening me?" Liu Yuewang looked at An Nuan uncertainly, not wanting to get angry directly because she wasn't sure. "His tone was also a bit fierce."

"It's not just a little fierce, it's fierce towards you. Who told you to act recklessly? Think about it, if you were teaching a class, you meticulously prepared your slides, researched a lot of materials and archives, and lectured for an entire period of time, talking animatedly, and in the end your students said, 'Teacher, your class was really hypnotic,' would you be happy?" An Nuan said irritably.

"When did I ever lecture with such fervor?" Liu Yuewang realized that this girl was always trying to tarnish her image.

"That's the gist of it." An Nuan actually felt that what Professor Liu did was indeed inappropriate, but it shouldn't have made Liu Chang'an angry. She didn't understand why Liu Chang'an was so firmly opposed... But supporting her boyfriend was never wrong, and she could also take the opportunity to dampen Professor Liu's overly enthusiastic attitude towards Liu Chang'an.

An Nuan hopes her mother likes Liu Chang'an and that her boyfriend respects her mother, but that's all she wants. She doesn't want anything to go too far. Everything should be done in moderation. For example, today Professor Liu casually held Liu Chang'an's hand, An Nuan felt that it was inappropriate.

Most families wouldn't care so much, but An Nuan felt her family was different. The only man who frequently came and went was Liu Chang'an, and her mother was exceptionally beautiful, which could easily attract gossip. So, if she was careful, she wouldn't easily create any misunderstandings.

In short, An Nuan isn't the type to be jealous easily; she prioritizes the bigger picture and her actions are always aimed at creating a better family atmosphere.

"Fine, if you don't want to eat, then don't. But you have to talk to him and ask if he can bring me two more bottles later if I don't want to eat." Liu Yuewang asked An Nuan to talk to him. There was no other way. A woman's desire for youth and beauty was being controlled by someone else. Even if it was her future son-in-law, she had to bow down to him. Being fierce for a moment was fine... but if he continued to have a bad attitude, Liu Yuewang would hit his girlfriend and make a scene to see who could be fierce to whom!

"Why are you acting like a child, making demands even after doing something wrong?" An Nuan sighed. They'd only just started dating, and she'd already become the buffer between her mother and boyfriend... But it was good this way. If there wasn't a buffer between them, if everything bypassed An Nuan and they communicated, coordinated, and handled things directly... that wouldn't work.

So An Nuan went to the kitchen to find Liu Chang'an, feeling somewhat smug.

Liu Chang'an was making dinner when An Nuan hugged him from behind and giggled twice.

"Get out, and stop causing trouble." The kitchen is a place for professionals. Liu Chang'an has always found those scenes in TV dramas where the male and female leads playfully frolic and become intimate in the kitchen incredibly boring and dangerous. Doesn't he realize that the chances of injury or death from playing around in the kitchen are as high as the chances of getting into a car accident while running a red light?

"No, you were mean to my mom just now, and now you're mean to me too." An Nuan reached out and touched Liu Chang'an's stomach. "Does your tummy still hurt? It doesn't hurt anymore, pat it."

"You didn't eat those face creams, did you?" Liu Chang'an asked, turning around.

"No, I'm not like her, I don't have that kind of urgent need for skincare." An Nuan shook her head. Liu Chang'an's stomach felt quite comfortable to the touch. "That... did it have any side effects that are inconvenient to talk about?"

An Nuan knew her boyfriend quite well and sensed there was something going on, so she didn't tell her mother her suspicions directly. Instead, she talked to Liu Chang'an first.

"You see, although your mother takes good care of herself, we often say she looks like your older sister... but there's still that mature feeling that comes with age that distinguishes her from you. But if she takes too much face cream, she'll become younger and younger, to the point where she looks about the same age as you, or even younger at first glance." Liu Chang'an frowned slightly. "At the same time, due to the regulation of various hormone secretion, the body tends to reverse aging, which also has a great impact on psychology. Some psychological phenomena that are usually associated with adolescence will appear, sometimes making her seem childish or even rebellious."

"I think she's a bit childish now!" An Nuan was surprised and deeply agreed. She felt that Professor Liu used to be charming and mature, a top representative of mature women, especially her charming and elegant movements, which little girls envied the most. But when her mother spoke just now, her tone and expression seemed a bit more childish than before.

Perhaps influenced by Liu Chang'an's words, An Nuan wasn't entirely sure.

"In short, it won't do any harm by eating it, but it's best not to. The key is that if you get addicted, you'll always have to come to me." Liu Chang'an put down the kitchen knife in his hand, turned around and kissed An Nuan's forehead.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on her." An Nuan stood on tiptoe, sticking out her tongue a little bit. "Here's some sweet pudding for you, don't be angry with Professor Liu!"

Liu Chang'an wasn't angry to begin with, he just felt it was inappropriate. Now that he had eaten the pudding, he was in a great mood and, after pushing An Nuan out of the kitchen, he showed off his cooking skills.

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I highly recommend a fantastic book, "The Spy in the Republican Era." It's incredibly good. Since it was adapted into a TV series, I also recommend watching it. The author is experienced, mature, and steady, and updates his work consistently—a model for Xia Hua to emulate in this respect.