Chapter 176: Returning Home

“Hmm, actually, it’s a bit unexpected…”

Liuli had originally thought Serveyia would be the type to handle everything perfectly.

Looking at it now, Serveyia didn’t seem all that different from herself.

Thinking this way, did it make her feel a bit more at ease?

Finding out that someone you thought was high and mighty isn’t actually that different from you is undoubtedly a relaxing thing.

“It shouldn’t be that surprising, should it? I’m no different from you. We’re both flesh and blood people. It’s normal to have a side that wants to put on a brave face.”

“After all, the impression Serveyia gave before was so perfect. In that case, even if you told me Serveyia isn’t actually perfect, it wouldn’t be easy for me to believe, right?”

First impressions are still very important. Most of the time, people judge others based on first impressions.

Once a first impression of someone is fixed in your mind, it’s easy for all sorts of misunderstandings and prejudices to arise.

Thinking about it this way, breaking through that first impression is actually an important step in getting to know someone.

“Yes, just like you, Little Fox. People who don’t know you well would definitely think you are an elegant princess, right?”

After saying this, Serveyia fell silent for a moment, then looked at Liuli seriously.

“Looking at it this way, we’re actually not that different. We both have to be the perfect existence in others’ eyes. It’s just that I’ve been doing this for a long time, and you, Little Fox, have just started.”

Somehow, Serveyia saying this made Liuli feel much closer to her.

In the end, Liuli still hoped she could be worthy of Serveyia.

On that basis, Liuli naturally hoped she could be more similar to Serveyia.

“So, when Serveyia says that, does it mean you have some insights on this? About… how to act like an elegant person in front of others?”

After all, by that logic, what she was doing now could be considered deceiving the people who liked her.

So, at this point, how to make sure people don’t think she’s deceiving them was something Liuli absolutely had to figure out now.

“It’s simple. For those people, what you do, Little Fox, isn’t important. They just want to see what they expect to see. So even if you, Little Fox, really, truly do something that doesn’t meet their expectations, they’ll just use all sorts of reasons to make excuses for you. Of course, this is also based on it not being too outrageous. Like… the elephant in the room?”

The elephant in the room—Liuli knew this theory.

It roughly meant that when people encounter something too far beyond common sense, they try to rationalize it.

So, by that logic, does her performance in everyone’s eyes have to be flawless?

“I feel like everyone’s expectations of me are a bit too high…”

“Little Fox, aren’t your expectations of a princess also very high?”

“Huh?”

When Serveyia put it that way, it was true.

It seemed that whenever she heard ‘princess,’ she would subconsciously think a princess should be elegant and beautiful.

Thinking about it that way, maybe she shouldn’t blame everyone for having such high expectations?

“That may be so, but having expectations of others and having to meet other people’s expectations don’t seem to be the same thing, right?”

No matter how high-sounding it is, the fact is that the vast majority of ordinary people are lenient with themselves and strict with others.

And, it must be admitted that most of the time, others’ expectations carry a bit of an unattainable meaning.

Liuli couldn’t possibly say she had to fulfill all those people’s expectations, could she?

“So, it’s normal for everyone to have expectations, right?”

Normal? Liuli felt something was off somewhere, but she couldn’t put her finger on it for the moment, so she could only keep this question in her heart.

“Serveyia, do you have any suggestions?”

After arriving at the store and looking at the dazzling array of small furniture, Liuli’s indecisiveness kicked in.

It was at times like this that she would think, if she could really have brought You along, wouldn’t she have to trouble herself with thinking so much?

“I feel like there’s no real difference between any of these.”

Although she was grateful for the sales assistant’s tireless introductions, to be honest, in Liuli’s mind, these introductions were meaningless.

“Functions” and such were essentially things others imposed.

And, spending money for functions you might not even use—was that really meaningful?

“I don’t have any suggestions myself. For me, I tend to prefer more practical styles. But, actually, it’s best to let You choose. Of course, since You isn’t here, you can just choose what you like, Little Fox. I don’t think You would mind these things.”

“But…”

“This is also the guardian’s latitude, right?”

“I know what that means, of course, but…”

Liuli certainly knew what Serveyia was referring to and understood what the so-called guardian’s latitude entailed.

In fact, she herself had been forced by her parents to do things for similar reasons.

So, to be honest, she didn’t really want to treat You with such a forceful attitude.

Should she say she hoped to treat You with a more open-minded mentality, or should she say she hadn’t truly thought of You as her own child?

“Asking me to treat You with that mindset right now is still too early for me.”

“That’s true too. One’s mindset isn’t so easy to change. If you can’t adapt to it, Little Fox, you can just continue at your own pace. You is a good child. I imagine she would understand, right?”

Come to think of it, why did she need You to understand?

Maybe from this moment on, was she starting to need a bit of that ‘guardian’s latitude’?

In the end, Liuli chose a relatively plain-looking piece of furniture without too many strange functions.

After all, for this kind of furniture, practicality should come first. Probably.

“You, we’re back!”

Returning to Qingli Hall, You was indeed still in the room reading a book, looking very quiet.

Speaking of which, when she had some free time earlier, Liuli had taken the chance to search online to see what Forest Elementals were really like.

Liuli immediately understood why people disliked Forest Elementals.

Because Forest Elementals have a certain level of intelligence, when they’re being mischievous, they can be especially troublesome.

After all, compared to subconscious mischief, if it’s truly premeditated, prepared mischief, dealing with it would be relatively more troublesome, right?

A room turned into a complete mess—anyone who saw it would have their blood pressure rise, right?

Not to mention that making a mess is just the most basic, simplest prank.

In videos, you can often see Forest Elementals hiding their master’s belongings.

If hiding things is considered okay, some even go as far as hiding their master’s precious items.

Looking at it this way, You being so well-behaved was a huge help.

If others knew she actually left a Forest Elemental alone at home, they’d be absolutely shocked, right?