CHAPTER 480: 434: IF YOU WANT TO PRAISE SOMEONE, DO IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT.

Without further ado, they began changing the medicine.

Du Heng took the lead in changing the medicine this time, with Gu Ping assisting.

To minimize Wu Shengnan’s pain during the medicine change, Du Heng proceeded with extreme caution. But despite his meticulous care, it was an open wound, and when he removed the gauze, it was still matted with Blood Water.

Throughout the process, Wu Shengnan shrieked in pain, her cries grating on Du Heng’s nerves. "Can you stop that racket? When did you become such a crybaby?"

"Du Heng, don’t be facetious! I *am* a woman, after all. Can’t I cry out when it hurts?" Wu Shengnan was already in agony, and Du Heng’s remark made her immediately retort.

"That’s not like you. Isn’t your name Shengnan? You should live up to it."

Du Heng enjoyed seeing Wu Shengnan flustered but helpless. Since no one else was around her at the moment, he felt free to engage in some verbal sparring.

However, given her current state, his words had a rather devastating impact, leaving her too incensed to retort. She could only bare her teeth and glare fiercely at Du Heng.

The medicine change was so agonizing that Wu Shengnan was convinced Du Heng was doing it deliberately. I’ve already decided, she fumed internally. As soon as I recover, I’ll make Du Heng experience the same torment I’m feeling today!

As for him saving me—that’s an entirely different matter.

Du Heng, engrossed in changing the medicine, paid no mind to Wu Shengnan’s glare. If he had noticed that ferocious look in her eyes, he actually would have been quite pleased.

After waiting a while without a response from Wu Shengnan, he spoke again, "Wu Shengnan—Nannan—how on earth did your family come up with that name?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nannan. Two ’nans.’ Isn’t that like ’man on man’? Sounds a bit suggestive, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t the ’nan’ meaning ’south,’ or the ’nan’ character that includes the wood radical, have been better?"

"Man on man?" Gu Ping, standing nearby, let out a PFFT of laughter. He had no idea how Du Heng had conjured up that phrase.

But Gu Ping’s laugh was the last straw for Wu Shengnan. She shrieked, "Du Heng, get out! I don’t want to see you!"

Du Heng finished cleaning the residual old medicine from the wound and gently applied the new medicine. He then entrusted the bandaging to Gu Ping and walked over to the head of Wu Shengnan’s bed.

Looking at Wu Shengnan’s face, contorted with indignation, Du Heng chuckled softly.

"Am I not right? Nannan, isn’t that what it means?"

Provoked by Du Heng’s words, Wu Shengnan flared up and shouted, "It’s the ’Nan’ from the Photinia flower, the character written with the ’wood’ component! You’re the one who’s ’man on man,’ you old bachelor!"

They say you don’t hit someone in the face or expose their sore spots when you’re arguing, but an incensed Wu Shengnan couldn’t care less. She seized on the fact that Du Heng had neither girlfriend nor wife and mocked him relentlessly.

She thought calling him an ’old bachelor’ would make him lose his composure, but Du Heng didn’t seem bothered at all. Instead, he appeared even more interested in her name. "Doesn’t Shengnan mean ’to surpass men’? So why Nannan now? I thought you were meant to surpass two men."

Wu Shengnan rolled her eyes dramatically. "My grandfather gave me that name. My brother is Wu Shengkui, and I’m Wu Shengnan. Do you have an issue with my grandfather?"

Du Heng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He quickly backed down, "My mistake, I misunderstood."

Hearing Du Heng concede, Wu Shengnan immediately became smug. Though the pain from her bandaged leg made her lips twitch, her triumphant expression was unmistakable. "I always thought that if one is to surpass, it should be men. So, I later changed it to the ’nan’ that means ’man.’ Hmph, you old bachelor! Has all your pent-up frustration addled your brain?"

AHEM. A cough sounded abruptly from the doorway. It was Sir Wu Zhong, returned from his smoke outside.

Strolling slowly over to Wu Shengnan, he gave his granddaughter a reproachful look. "What way is that to talk? Apologize to Xiao Du this instant."

Du Heng had heard the sounds at the doorway earlier, so he was already being cautious. Hearing Sir Wu’s words, he put on a magnanimous air. "No need, Sir. Nannan and I are friends; we were just teasing each other."

"Even friends shouldn’t speak so recklessly."

However, seeing the aggrieved look on his granddaughter’s face, Sir Wu ultimately didn’t press her to apologize.

Sir Wu looked at Du Heng with a smile. "Xiao Du, how old are you this year?"

"Thirty."

Sir Wu nodded. He knew Du Heng’s age; it was just a way to make conversation. "Thirty is getting on. Do you have a girlfriend? Planning to get married?"

Du Heng laughed and said openly, "I’m a bachelor."

"Oh." Sir Wu wasn’t surprised. It was precisely because Wu Shengnan had called Du Heng an ’old bachelor’ that he’d told her to apologize. "Isn’t your family pressuring you?"

"They are. My older brother is currently focused on finding suitable blind-date candidates for me."

Sir Wu Zhong nodded, then glanced sideways at Wu Shengnan. "Our Nannan is a handful too. She’s nearly thirty and still doesn’t have a boyfriend.

"We’ve introduced her to several young men we consider quite exceptional, but after they date for a while, either it fizzles out, or they end up becoming like brothers and sisters.

"You and Nannan are friends. Perhaps you could give an objective assessment of her and pinpoint where the problem might lie?"

"Grandpa!" Wu Shengnan protested with a pout. "I’m not thirty yet! I’ll only be twenty-six after the New Year, alright?"

"What’s the difference between twenty-six and thirty? You still don’t have a boyfriend either way. That’s enough. You lie down and rest; I’ll chat with Xiao Du."

Having silenced Wu Shengnan, Sir Wu Zhong turned back to Du Heng. "You go on. Don’t mind her."

Du Heng shot Wu Shengnan an amused look, only to be met with a fierce glare.

But as soon as Du Heng looked away, she fixed her gaze intently on him again. I really want to hear what kind of impression I make on him, she thought.

"In that case, I’ll speak frankly," Du Heng said.

"Please do. Unpleasant advice is often beneficial. You must tell the truth. Only by deeply recognizing her own flaws can she truly improve," Sir Wu Zhong urged him once more.

"She has a great figure and is very beautiful. And unlike the gentle beauty of other women, she possesses more of a valiant, spirited charm. She’s dedicated to her work and exceptionally loyal to her friends..."

Listening to Du Heng’s unceasing compliments, Wu Shengnan felt a small thrill of secret delight and a touch of smug pride. Even the pain from the medicine change seemed to diminish considerably.

Though Du Heng maintained a serious demeanor, racking his brain for the limited vocabulary of praise for women he could muster, inwardly he was gloating.

You called me an ’old bachelor’? You just wait and see.

This tactic is new to me—it’s called ’killing with praise.’ I’ll laud you to the heavens, make you believe you’re a celestial fairy, that no one is worthy of you. That way, your standards will become sky-high, and you’ll see everyone else as a pile of dung.

You must be picky, incredibly picky.

Don’t accept anyone less than a president, not someone too old, not anyone whose family assets are less than a hundred million. Your youth is worth that much!

Don’t accept anyone less handsome than Wu Yanzu, shorter than Yao Ming, balding like Ge You, with an IQ lower than Wei Shen’s, or less talented than Mo Yan. Your beauty cannot be compromised!

The more Du Heng spoke, the more elated he felt, his mind becoming increasingly nimble. Suddenly, it was as if he’d returned to the peak of his erudition from his college entrance examination days; poems long dormant in the depths of his memory surged forth.

"Her breath from cherry lips, an orchid’s scent; her delicate, jade-like fingers, so pitiably lovely to hold.

"Among the crowd, her radiant smile and single glance make all worldly beauty seem like dust.

"Beside the wine cask, a beauty like the moon; her bright wrists, like frost and snow congealed."

...

Such verses extolling feminine beauty flowed effortlessly from Du Heng, all readily applied to Wu Shengnan.

Although Wu Shengnan’s appearance and figure could indeed withstand such effusive praise, Du Heng, having laid it on so thick, still felt his stomach churn slightly.

That was a bit excessive, a little too potent, he thought.

This barrage of compliments from Du Heng left the three people present utterly astounded, each reacting in their own distinct way.