Although the phrase "Even the Cat's Paw platform's top beauty can have fun with it, so who wouldn't?" sounded a bit odd, Gu Ran happily signed the renewal contract with the gaming company.
During her livestream, her edgy, villainess-style makeup was screenshot by fans and spliced together with clips of her earlier days wearing JK uniforms and acting cute. The resulting video, titled "The Dark CEO's Sweet Little Wife," juxtaposed her pure and sweet persona with a cold, darkly glamorous one. It quickly surpassed a million views and was featured on the platform's weekly must-watch list.
Especially striking was the moment when Gu Ran clapped back at haters—her icy smile, domineering gaze, and the way her fingers lightly tapped on the table seemed to send shivers through the screen, straight to everyone's hearts.
The comment section erupted into a frenzy of screaming, flooded with messages like: ["AHHHHH SIS GIVE ME A CHANCE!!"]
Watching the fan-made video of her "self-shipping" persona, Gu Ran finally understood—and was both shocked and a little embarrassed.
So this was a thing too.
Those mannerisms? She’d picked them up from Ji Shiyu.
Then she shook her head, telling herself not to think about Ji Shiyu anymore.
She was a streamer; he was a CEO. From now on, they’d stay in their own lanes.
After finishing the video, Gu Ran refreshed her homepage, where the algorithm recommended a few new clips. One had a financial news thumbnail, and she wondered why the platform would push business updates to her. Then she read the headline—and froze.
"Zebra Finance Hot Topic: Xinbo Group plans to acquire a 51% stake in Cat's Paw Live for over XX billion RMB, making Xinbo the largest shareholder."
Gu Ran clicked in, skimmed the video, then searched for related news on other platforms.
She rarely followed financial reports, let alone corporate acquisitions. But a quick search revealed that rumors about Xinbo’s takeover of Cat's Paw had been circulating for a while, with analysts predicting that Cat's Paw would dominate the livestreaming industry under Xinbo’s backing.
Gu Ran forwarded the links to Ding Ze.
[Is this for real???]
As a talent manager at Cat's Paw, Ding Ze was the best source for insider info.
After a pause, he replied: [Yeah.]
[The paperwork’s mostly done. Official announcement in a couple of days.]
This wasn’t exactly surprising. Cat's Paw had grown from a small platform to a major player in a cutthroat industry. To secure its position, being acquired by a larger conglomerate was almost inevitable—and the best move for its executives.
Ding Ze: [Why the sudden interest?]
[This is upper management’s business. Nothing changes for us—contracts stay the same.]
Then he added: [Well, actually, there is one change.]
Gu Ran: [Which is?]
Ding Ze: [Now we’ve got Daddy Xinbo’s backing! LMAO No more struggling alone!]
Gu Ran: […]
Ding Ze suddenly turned gossipy: [Word is Xinbo’s CEO is young and single. No one knows what he looks like, but just that detail alone has every female streamer in the beauty section plotting their moves.]
Gu Ran inhaled sharply and typed: [Well, best of luck to them.]
She exited the chat, muttered a curse, then tried to rationalize the situation.
Ji Shiyu’s acquisition of Cat's Paw was just business. It had nothing to do with her being a streamer—and he certainly wouldn’t buy a whole platform just for her.
Still, the idea of an ex suddenly becoming her company’s owner was deeply annoying.
Soon, news of Xinbo Group’s impending acquisition broke officially, with major outlets reporting it.
The signing ceremony wasn’t open to the media, but Cat's Paw held an internal event attended by all top executives. As a livestreaming platform, they also invited two streamers as representatives.
Being chosen for such an occasion was a huge honor. Cat's Paw’s plan was to pick one male and one female streamer. While the male side had several top contenders, for the female spot, no one outranked the "Cat's Paw #1 Beauty."
When Ding Ze excitedly notified her, Gu Ran just said, "Huh," then refused.
"You’re not going??" Ding Ze thought he’d misheard. "The male streamers are fighting tooth and nail for this, and you—the top female streamer—are saying no?"
Gu Ran: "Is that a problem?"
Ding Ze: "Why?"
Gu Ran pouted. "I’m lazy."
"You HAVE to go!" Ding Ze was exasperated. "If you don’t, it’ll go to Meng Miaomiao. Remember how she paid trolls to smear you? You’d just hand this chance to her? What if she cozyes up to some Xinbo exec and whispers in his ear? You’re done for."
Gu Ran: "…?"
Ding Ze: "I already accepted on your behalf. It’s not about you—we can’t let others steal the spotlight."
Gu Ran reluctantly asked for details. The ceremony would host all Cat's Paw executives, while Xinbo would send a few higher-ups involved in the deal.
Meaning Ji Shiyu wouldn’t be there.
Though Cat's Paw led the livestreaming industry, it was still a small fish compared to Xinbo’s empire. Xinbo acquired countless companies yearly—if Ji Shiyu attended every signing, he’d never have time for anything else.
Unable to resist Ding Ze’s "How could you let a schemer like Meng Miaomiao win?" plea, Gu Ran finally agreed.
On the day of the ceremony, Ding Ze personally drove her to Cat's Paw HQ.
She wore a semi-formal skirt suit with light makeup.
It was only her second time at headquarters since signing her contract. In the elevator, employees recognized her, marveling at how she looked even better in person than on stream, and asked for selfies.
Gu Ran was guided to the main conference room where the signing would take place. Name cards marked each seat, and she found hers—"Cat's Paw #1 Beauty"—and sat down.
The two streamer reps had little to do. Ji Shiyu, as expected, was absent. Gu Ran zoned out, clapping mechanically when required, just waiting for the group photo so she could leave.
Then, near the end, she sensed a shift in the room’s atmosphere.
Before she could react, the male streamer rep, Wang Daxia, nudged her elbow, signaling her to stand.
As she rose, the door opened—and in walked Ji Shiyu in a tailored suit, Assistant Xu following behind.
The man exuded an overpowering presence. Several senior executives from Xinbo, who had been seated at the head of the table, immediately lowered their heads and yielded their positions upon seeing him.
The higher-ups from Cat’s Paw seemed equally surprised that Ji Shiyu had decided to attend in person today and stepped forward to shake his hand.
Wang Daxia leaned over and whispered to Gu Ran, "Damn, he’s pretty good-looking."
Gu Ran frowned.
Ji Shiyu took his seat, his gaze instantly locking onto the live-streaming representatives sitting in the back row.
Gu Ran didn’t look at him.
The meeting proceeded as planned, but Wang Daxia, growing restless, turned to Gu Ran again—the only woman in the room—and murmured, "Not even a little interested?"
Having interacted with plenty of female streamers, Wang Daxia knew exactly what most of them were after. A man like the CEO of Xinbo was someone no one could resist eyeing.
Gu Ran shot him a glare. "Is that something I could ever reach?"
Wang Daxia chuckled, impressed by the self-awareness of the so-called "Cat’s Paw’s Most Beautiful Streamer."
A man like the one on stage had no shortage of women around him—aristocratic heiresses from influential families, dazzling celebrities from the entertainment industry. Compared to them, even a top-tier female streamer like her seemed laughably out of her league.
Wang Daxia pulled out his phone. "Let’s exchange WeChat. Maybe we can collab on a stream sometime—I’ll carry you in-game. Guaranteed no deaths."
Gu Ran fished out her phone and added him.
Ji Shiyu watched as Gu Ran kept whispering to the man beside her.
From his elevated position, he could see the two discreetly pulling out their phones under the table, scanning each other’s QR codes—clearly adding WeChat.
His lips pressed into a thin line.
The current CEO of Cat’s Paw sat beside Ji Shiyu.
Following Ji Shiyu’s gaze, he spotted his two streamer representatives chatting below, like students passing notes in class.
Unable to intervene directly, the Cat’s Paw CEO wore an awkward expression.
Finally, the last contract was signed, and applause filled the meeting room.
Xinbo had acquired 51% of Cat’s Paw’s shares, officially becoming its largest shareholder.
Then came the group photo session.
All Gu Ran could think about was getting the photo over with so she could slip away.
Over a dozen people participated—executives from both Xinbo and Cat’s Paw, along with the two streamer representatives.
Ji Shiyu naturally stood at the center.
Gu Ran positioned herself at the very edge, but after a couple of test shots, the photographer said she was out of frame and told her to move.
She shifted to another corner, only to block the Xinbo and Cat’s Paw logos behind her. Still no good.
The room fell silent. With Xinbo’s top brass standing around waiting for a minor streamer to adjust her position, the Cat’s Paw VP, fearing disrespect, stepped forward and grabbed Gu Ran’s arm to guide her himself.
"Stand here," he said, shoving her toward a spot near the middle-back.
Before Gu Ran could react, his grip tightened—impatient and forceful—and he pushed her forward. Wearing high heels, she stumbled instantly.
"Hey—" It happened too fast. Her arm ached where the VP had grabbed her, and her free hand flailed for balance, desperate not to fall.
Then, suddenly, she crashed into a solid chest.
Her flailing hands instinctively clutched the fabric of the man’s suit.
Heart pounding, she steadied herself.
Ji Shiyu held her firmly against him, ensuring she regained her footing, before shooting a glance at the Cat’s Paw VP.
The VP froze, his hand still hovering mid-air, bewildered by what had just happened.
Then he realized—the streamer he’d just been manhandling was now standing in front of the most powerful man in the room.
And that man was glaring at him.
With murder in his eyes.
