I love when people answer this honestly, even if their answer is really personal/messy/distressing etc. I agree with you that most people don't actually want an honest answer, it's another weird NT ritual to make NTs feel comfortable in a completely fake way - I prefer an honest answer, because then I have actual information to asses the other person.

In other words, NT's love their ritual fake answers as an illusion of safety, whereas I like the truth so I can asses if I'm actually safe with this person.