The declaration post on Xinbo's official Weibo was completely flooded by all sorts of onlookers:
[666666, this speed and force is worthy of Daddy Xinbo]
[Gu Ran's treatment, even a passerby has to sigh in admiration.]
[I really want my idol's trash agency to come and learn how to properly support their own artist.]
[Trash agency, get over here and learn! @xx Entertainment]
[This is the classic 'you can bully anyone but not our people', right?]
[So doting, so doting, what should I do, I think I'm suddenly starting to ship them.]
[I saw an interview with the Xinbo CEO in a finance magazine today. No photos, but just reading the text made my legs go weak. The cute fishing goddess x the CEO suddenly feels like such a good match, wuwu.]
[Wasn't Cat Paw's #1 beauty also rumored to be involved with the CEO last time... She even got really angry and did a live stream to debunk it.]
[Looking at how she debunked it, it seems unlikely, alas, I'm so annoyed!]
[It might not necessarily be the CEO's decision; other executives could have made this call. The CEO is so busy every day, he might not even know about these things.]
[+1, shipping random CPs can cause trouble for the people involved. Ranran is just a lowly, humble worker. We should try not to link her with the CEO to avoid him disliking the CP and, by extension, disliking her.]
[Right, right, be careful that the CEO's arranged-marriage fiancée sees you guys shipping them and gets unhappy, then starts targeting Gu Ran. It's fine to ship CPs within the entertainment circle, but this CP is not shippable.]
[Last time, Gu Ran was in such a hurry to debunk the rumors, probably because she was afraid the young lady fiancée would see it and get angry.]
[Looks like our Cat Paw 'socially awkward duo' is still the safest bet, Big Prawn and Ranran forever!]
[Hahahahahaha lol]
[Dammit, I want to see them play games on stream together again hahahaha]
...
Nancheng Mansion. The lake surface rippled calmly, and the light in the master bedroom shone desolately.
Ji Shiyu couldn't remember how many times he had come here again. He was spending more and more time living here. The cage that once housed the little golden canary, now empty, was where its master lingered again and again.
Ji Shiyu lay on the bed, looking at the diverse discussions and replies under the official post, then frowned at the mention of that seemingly out-of-nowhere "arranged-marriage fiancée."
He switched over to Cat Paw and saw that Gu Ran was live-streaming herself singing sweet love songs tonight.
She was wearing a recently popular internet-famous bunny ear hat. At every musical beat, she would squeeze the little ball beneath the bunny ears, making the ears on her head stand up straight.
Her look was so adorable it made everyone's hearts melt. The barrage was filled with [Wife].
Ji Shiyu's expression darkened slightly. Even though he had seen these two words countless times, they still made him uncomfortable every time.
Xu Hui sent a message.
An auction house in Hong Kong had recently sent an invitation. The collection up for auction this time was extremely rich, including many rare treasures that hadn't been seen for ages.
Xu Hui sent over some of the lots he had filtered through, thinking Ji Shiyu might be interested.
Ji Shiyu looked through the array of items and finally circled the "Moussaieff Red and Blue Fancy Color Diamond Pendant Bracelet."
Xu Hui acknowledged.
Just as Ji Shiyu was about to exit the lot preview interface, his gaze paused slightly upon landing on a picture.
An oil painting by a famous modern French painter, its Chinese name was "Little Moon Mountain."
The photo had the lot's dimensions written beside it: 50x73cm.
Ji Shiyu looked at this painting and, for some reason, opened his final chat history with Gu Ran.
She had sent a picture of that "Lake of Love Scars" painting, asking him if it was beautiful.
He had replied "Beautiful" more than once, but unfortunately, all he received back were red exclamation marks: "Message rejected by recipient."
That "Lake of Love Scars" was now in the Ji family's old residence. A monumental piece two and a half meters long, placed desolately in an unmanned corner.
The two paintings were by different artists, but their styles were very similar—warm, charming brushstrokes conveying a hazy sense of love.
Ji Shiyu tried calling again, hearing only the busy tone of rejection.
He circled this "Little Moon Mountain" painting as well.
...
Recently, every time Gu Ran posted an update on her streamer profile, comments like "Cat Paw's Little Princess" or "Xinbo's Little Princess" would always appear below.
She found these "little princess" comments quite cringe-worthy. Seeing Xinbo's statement about suing those who had insulted her, she pursed her lips.
She was never any princess. Before, she was just a cannon-fodder golden canary who didn't understand her place and had a one-sided crush on a wealthy young master. Now, she was a social striver working hard to make money.
Gu Ran subtly hinted to her fans in the fan group: it might have been fun to call her that at first, but please don't keep calling her "little princess."
She didn't want to build a "princess" persona. Cat Paw supported her because her metrics were genuinely number one, not because she was some forcibly promoted princess. Besides, what would other streamers think if this kept up?
As for Xinbo, Gu Ran looked at that lawyer's letter and chose to ignore it.
The fans picked up on the subtle meaning in Gu Ran's words and started calling her "Ranran," "Fishing Goddess," and "Beauty Gu Ran" again.
Successfully shedding the "royal princess" persona, Gu Ran scrolled through her Moments and saw Yuan Mengxuan showing off a blue diamond she had acquired at auction.
It reminded Gu Ran that the Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong had apparently started recently. In the past, this was one of the battlefields she attended every year.
At the last Guardian auction in City A, she had intentionally outbid Yuan Mengxuan for the Winston blue diamond she had her eye on, reportedly making Yuan so angry she couldn't sleep for three days. Now that Yuan had finally secured one for herself, it was natural she was happy.
Gu Ran sincerely gave Yuan Mengxuan's post a like to congratulate her.
If Yuan Mengxuan hadn't always used Qin Wenyi to annoy her before, her shallow nature wasn't actually that hateable.
Anyway, Yuan Mengxuan never really got the better of her. She used Qin Wenyi to annoy her, and Gu Ran would specifically outbid her for the auction items she liked, enjoying the constipated look on her face when she had to say "congratulations." An eye for an eye.
After liking the post, Gu Ran noticed Yuan Mengxuan had sent her a message.
There was a girls' gathering this weekend for afternoon tea at the Bulgari Hotel, inviting her to join.
Yuan Mengxuan specifically hinted that there were no friends with the surname Qin in their gathering.
Ever since Ji Shiyu followed Gu Ran out at the last birthday party, and later Ji Shiyu's assistant went on a massive rant in their social circle against the Qin family's "dead ex," many people, after the initial shock, had quietly switched their allegiances.
The fastest to change sides were, of course, the fickle plastic sisterhood.
Gu Ran looked at Yuan Mengxuan's invitation and replied: [Thanks, but no.]
She exited WeChat and leisurely ordered herself some takeout.
A spicy crayfish combo would be good.
An afternoon tea of macarons and black coffee at a five-star hotel couldn't compare to the happiness of spicy crayfish, ice-cold cola, and watching a drama.
After ordering, Gu Ran saw a message from Ding Ze saying he would come by her place later to deliver her trophy.
Cat Paw had rewards for streamers at each tier. The highest tier, for streamers with over 5 million fans, automatically conferred the title of "Diamond Streamer," along with an honorary trophy and certificate.
Ever since her followers surpassed five million, Gu Ran had been eagerly anticipating her trophy. The trophy was custom-made and required a certain lead time. The production speed couldn't keep up with her rate of gaining fans, so it was only now, when she had six million followers, that it was finally ready.
Gu Ran immediately replied: [At home. Come over.]
A short while later, there was a knock on the door.
Ding Ze stood at the doorway, carrying some items.
Gu Ran found slippers for Ding Ze: "Where's my trophy?"
She had recently wanted to change her livestream background. She bought a small shelf and planned to display the trophy on it, along with a few small trinkets and some decorations, to give her livestream room a refresh.
Ding Ze put down the things he was carrying. Instead of taking out the trophy first, he first pulled out a royal blue velvet ribbon box, his movements extremely formal and solemn.
He even somehow produced a pair of white gloves, put them on, and then carefully opened the box.
In the center of the black velvet, diamonds sparkled with an extravagant, intoxicating, dazzling brilliance.
Ding Ze looked at this heirloom bracelet with a final hammer price of 189 million Hong Kong dollars, feeling that just seeing it once today made his life complete.
Ding Ze swallowed hard and looked at Gu Ran: "This... Chairman Ji asked Assistant Xu to ask me to pass on to you."
"He said for you to wear it for fun."
"Let me tell you, I came here today in Xinfo's dedicated car. My hands were shaking when I received it, and the bodyguards are still waiting for me downstairs."
"I feel like after today, my own status has risen. I'm someone who has carried 180 million on my person."
Gu Ran: "..."
She looked at the bracelet in the box.
It was actually a style she liked.
However, Gu Ran still furrowed her brows: "You came just to give me this?"
She picked up the bracelet and looked at it again, then snapped the box shut with a "bang."
Ding Ze jumped at the sound of that "bang," terrified that the 189 million inside might suffer some mishap.
Gu Ran stuffed the box directly into Ding Ze's coat pocket: "Take it back. Tell him I don't want it."
"I won't accept these kinds of things."
The bracelet was undoubtedly beautiful, but wearing it—wasn't it just a pair of gorgeous handcuffs to lock up a canary?
Ding Ze felt his coat pocket was about to be burned through by the 189 million. He quickly took it out and placed it on the table, then looked at Gu Ran. He saw no joy on her face, not even the awe one might feel upon seeing such a beautiful object worth 189 million.
At that moment, a sense of spontaneous admiration suddenly arose in his heart.
Gu Ran tilted her head, searching: "Where's my trophy?"
"Oh." Ding Ze snapped out of it and handed over the bag he had been carrying. "It's all in here."
Gu Ran took it and smiled with satisfaction.
Ding Ze looked again at the blue jewelry box on the table: "You really don't want it? Then I'll really take it away?"
"Every moment I'm away from the bodyguards while carrying this thing, I'm panicking."
"I urgently need to see them now for a sense of security."
Gu Ran: "Go on, go on."
Ding Ze left, clutching the jewelry box like a thief. Gu Ran opened his bag and first took out her five-million-follower trophy, stroking it.
Her mood was extremely pleasant.
In the bag, there was also the "Diamond Streamer" certificate issued to her by Cat's Paw, already framed.
Gu Ran took out the trophy and certificate, then discovered there was one more thing in the bag.
A painting, also framed, had been placed together with her certificate.
Gu Ran pulled the painting out of the bag and examined it for a while, thinking this must be a prize from Cat's Paw besides the certificate and trophy.
She thought the painting was quite nice, very much to her taste, and she had recently been decorating her livestream background wall.
Gu Ran carefully polished the trophy and placed it on the small shelf on the background wall. Then she stuck two hooks and hung this painting on the wall as decoration. Finally, she placed a few plush toys she had won from claw machines on the shelf.
After arranging the new livestream background, Gu Ran clapped her hands in satisfaction at her handiwork.
That night, Gu Ran started her stream five minutes earlier than her usual scheduled time, eagerly showing all her fans her newly decorated livestream background.
The five-million-follower trophy was in the center stage position of the background.
"Everyone, doesn't it look good!" Gu Ran moved her chair aside to sit at the edge, fully revealing her livestream background wall, excited like a child showing her work to friends.
The fans, of course, showered her with mindless praise:
[So pretty! So pretty!]
[I see the Diamond Streamer trophy hahaha]
[Ran Ran is amazing!]
Gu Ran pointed at the plush toys on the shelf, proudly lifting her little chin: "I won all of these myself from claw machines."
Bullet comments:
[Wuwuwu how can my wife be so adorable]
[Wife, when can we go grab toys together?]
[Huff huff today is another day I've been hooked by the gorgeous Gu Ran]
...
After showing off her newly decorated livestream background, Gu Ran sat back in the center and began her livestream for the day.
In the upper right corner of the background was a painting.
Gu Ran was now a top female streamer. To support newcomers, the platform would occasionally have her do interactive PK sessions with some new female streamers.
Sometimes, new female streamers would be nervous when connecting with Gu Ran, only to find her very nice during the interaction—nothing like the overbearing manner of the former top streamer Meng Miaomiao, who seemed afraid others might surpass her.
In the livestream room, Gu Ran had just finished an interactive mini-game with a new streamer and picked up her water glass to take a sip.
While drinking water, she glanced at the bullet comments and noticed they were all spamming the words "Little Moon Mountain."
[OMG "Little Moon Mountain"]
[It really is "Little Moon Mountain," right?]
[Holy moly, what's going on?]
[What is "Little Moon Mountain"? Can someone explain?]
Seeing these comments, Gu Ran frowned, equally puzzled. She leaned closer and asked, "What's going on? What are you all talking about?"
Someone in the bullet comments immediately replied: [Ran Ran, is that painting on your background wall "Little Moon Mountain"...]
[Someone recognized it just now, saying the painting behind you is "Little Moon Mountain."]
Gu Ran immediately turned to look at the painting hanging on her wall, which was rather inconspicuous in the background.
Ding Ze had delivered it today along with her trophy.
Gu Ran immediately looked down and searched for "Little Moon Mountain" on a search engine.
The most recent news headline: "At a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, the famous French painter's renowned work 'Little Moon Mountain' was acquired by a mysterious mainland telephone bidder for a hammer price of 43 million Hong Kong dollars."
Gu Ran's hand trembled slightly. She clicked into the news content, saw the photo of "Little Moon Mountain" in the article, and then turned to look at the painting on her livestream background wall again.
She tried hard to calm her emotions and breathing, suppressing all panic. Countless thoughts flashed through her mind. Half a minute later, she finally turned to face her livestream camera.
"Uh, I didn't expect everyone's eyes to be so sharp."
"This," Gu Ran took a deep breath, pointed at the painting on her background wall, and said to everyone, "is a fake."
"Ninety-nine yuan, shipping included, on Taobao. Friends doing home decoration can search for it."
