Two days later, Gu Ran eagerly changed into the JK uniform she had received. To complete the look, she curled her bangs and tied her hair into twin ponytails with strawberry-patterned hairbands.
She had finally moved from the small inn to a decent two-bedroom apartment in a residential complex. After perfecting her outfit, she immediately took a selfie in front of the full-length mirror.
She covered her face with her phone in the photo and, in exchange for the store’s five-yuan cashback for a positive review, used it as an anonymous buyer’s showcase. She carefully wrote her feedback:
"The fabric is nice, the skirt holds its shape well, and the color combination is very pretty. The only issue is that the waist is a bit loose, so I had to clip it at the back with pins. Other than that, everything’s great—very satisfied with this purchase. Highly recommended for anyone interested!"
After posting her review, Gu Ran sent a screenshot to the store’s customer service to claim her cashback.
The customer service was probably busy and didn’t reply immediately. While Gu Ran brainstormed ideas for her evening livestream, the store finally responded.
【The sender has transferred you a red envelope.】
Gu Ran’s eyes lit up at the notification. Excited, she tapped open the red envelope—only to freeze at the amount displayed: 200 yuan.
Her hand trembled slightly.
As a buyer who never took advantage of others and couldn’t even haggle, Gu Ran swallowed hard and typed: 【Store, I think you sent too much for the cashback.】
【The card said five yuan for a photo review, right?】
The customer service replied instantly: 【Thank you so much for your review with photos! This red envelope was specifically instructed by our store owner for you.】
Then, the customer service sent her a screenshot.
Gu Ran saw that her buyer’s showcase had already become the top-liked review in a short time, with a flood of comments underneath:
【Damn, sis, are you sure you’re not a paid promoter for the store?】
【First time seeing a buyer’s photo that looks better than the model pics. I’m sold.】
【This outfit is fire! I’m buying it too—gotta become a campus sweetheart!】
【The skirt waist is loose and needs clips??? If I’m not mistaken, you bought the smallest size, XS. And you’re telling me the waist is too big for you?】
【This is next-level humblebragging, my friend.】
【I’m so jealous of that waist. Lemon emoji】
【Ordering a set right now to make my boyfriend wear it for me.】
【???】
【Who’s wearing it for whom?】
After reading the chaotic comments under her review, Gu Ran finally understood why her photo review was worth 200 yuan.
This actually worked?
But she wasn’t humblebragging—she was being honest. The skirt’s waist really was too loose, and she had to pin it at the back to keep it from slipping.
Pocketing the 200-yuan cashback, Gu Ran started practicing a trending hand dance from a tutorial video.
The hand dance, popularized by a foreign girl group’s upbeat hit song, was simple to learn. It involved playful gestures synced to lyrics like "How dare you—do you even like me?" "This time, you have to confess first," and "You’re definitely going to fall for me," with exaggerated cute, sulky, or flirty expressions.
The finale was a wink at the camera followed by a finger-gun "snipe," dubbed the "lethal shot"—the soul of the entire dance.
Gu Ran watched her own "lethal shot" ending and nodded in satisfaction.
...
That night, outside the budget inn in the city’s urban village—where rooms cost 100 yuan a night—several luxury cars stood out starkly against the shabby surroundings. A Maybach led the lineup, followed by Mercedes sedans.
The innkeeper, hands trembling, unlocked the creaky door for the imposing young man and his entourage of black-suited bodyguards or assistants. Internally, he cursed his luck—what sin had he committed as a mere innkeeper to deserve this?
"Th-this is it," the owner stammered, pushing open the squeaky door.
Ji Shiyu stepped inside and was immediately hit by the damp, musty stench of a room deprived of sunlight.
As the owner hesitated about whether to follow, one of the men blocked his path with a gesture, signaling him to wait outside.
Xu Hui kept the innkeeper at the door and entered after Ji Shiyu.
He scanned the cramped, dilapidated space, then glanced at Ji Shiyu’s face.
The man’s expression, darker than the room’s gloom, said everything.
A cockroach skittered along the baseboard in Ji Shiyu’s line of sight.
He inhaled sharply, his voice colder than the stale air: "She lived in a place like this?"
Xu Hui, spotting the fleeing cockroach, grimaced inwardly. "Yes," he answered quietly.
Their investigation showed Gu Ran’s registered address was still this inn, and the owner confirmed a strikingly beautiful young woman had stayed here until recently. He’d even given her a discount and a free can of insecticide.
Ji Shiyu thought of the frozen credit cards and had never wanted to swear more in his life.
Gu Ran had been with him long enough yet remained naive—she’d never learned to transfer money to her own accounts. She’d acted cute to enable "intimate payment" on shopping apps but never acted cute to have assets under her name.
She’d bought that uniform skirt he’d like, yet there’d been no word from her since.
Ji Shiyu recalled Gu Ran running away in tears that day.
He shut his eyes briefly, brows furrowed, finally admitting to himself that he regretted it—regretted being too blunt, regretted not stopping her when she fled, regretted freezing all the cards at once.
So much that she’d been too afraid to take the first step back, even after buying the outfit.
Xu Hui’s forehead beaded with sweat. As the chief assistant, he prided himself on his shrewdness—yet freezing the cards now struck him as a glaring misstep. Had he read Ji Shiyu’s attitude toward his little canary over the years more carefully, a truly cunning subordinate might’ve even paid out of pocket to keep her comfortable during this lovers’ quarrel.
Fortunately, Ji Shiyu didn’t seem to blame him. The man opened his eyes and asked, "Have you found where she is now?"
Xu Hui clenched his jaw. "Not yet, but we’re close."
Ji Shiyu: "You’d better be."
Xu Hui: "Understood."
...
The Maybach finally left the dust-choked urban village behind.
Ji Shiyu sat in the back seat, the image of that squalid, cockroach-infested room still burning in his mind. An unshakable restlessness and frustration weighed on his chest.
Needing a distraction, he pulled out his phone and revisited the JK uniform store page.
The product reviews now featured a new top comment.
The reviewer was anonymous, leaving a lengthy comment before posting a buyer's photo.
While scrolling down, Ji Shiyu accidentally clicked on it.
The photo was taken in front of a full-length mirror, with the face obscured by a phone.
His gaze abruptly lingered on the image. Even without seeing the face, the arms, the waist, and the legs looked strikingly familiar—so familiar that at first glance, he thought it was Gu Ran. Upon a second look, the resemblance remained uncanny.
Ji Shiyu blinked, wondering if he’d lost his mind. He closed the image, only to notice that the same anonymous buyer had just added another follow-up comment:
"My fans all say it looks amazing! Sisters, go ahead and buy with confidence—wear this, and you’ll be the hottest girl on the block!"
Frowning, Ji Shiyu decided he really must be going mad, seeing Gu Ran in just about anyone.
He exited the shopping app.
...
In her newly rented apartment, Gu Ran had just finished her livestream.
Tonight’s viewer count had hit a new high, and the chat exploded when she performed a hand gesture dance. Delighted, she went back to leave another follow-up review.
She felt genuinely good about her life now—happily working as a small-time streamer, earning a decent base salary of tens of thousands, plus occasional heartfelt gifts from fans. She’d truly proven she didn’t need Ji Shiyu to survive. She was self-sufficient, perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
And since she only streamed on Cat’s Paw, neither Ji Shiyu nor her fake socialite "friends" watched livestreams, so they’d never find out what she was up to or bother her.
The more Gu Ran thought about it, the happier she felt. While showering, she faced the mirror and struck the final "fatal sniper" pose from her dance again.
"Bang!"
Laughing at her reflection, she finished her skincare routine and settled in for a good night’s sleep.
Meanwhile, after the buzz of the "Cat’s Paw’s Most Beautiful Streamer" livestream, nearly identical short clips of her went viral across multiple platforms, all with similar captions:
"That new female streamer causing chaos on Cat’s Paw—who wouldn’t call her absolutely stunning? Good lord, she’s got game!"
