Gu Ran spoke in a very soft voice, just loud enough for the two of them to hear: "You're still wearing the mask."
Ji Shiyu's lips curved upwards: "Should I take it off then?"
Gu Ran glared at him, puffed up with annoyance: "Keep it on."
The sneaky photo, though blurry, had still captured their faces. With the mask on, it was one thing, but if he took it off, anyone with a bit of sense could compare the two and recognize him just from the outline.
Over there, the six people had already split into three groups. Gu Ran went over to draw the dish they would be making for tonight's dinner.
Sweet and sour pork ribs.
A moderately difficult home-style dish, for which the program crew had thoughtfully provided a recipe.
However, there were no pork ribs among the ingredients currently available in the cottage.
The other groups were also missing some ingredients to varying degrees. The group missing bamboo shoots took hoes up the mountain to dig for some; the group missing fish prepared fishing rods to catch some from the pond. As for ribs, they couldn't be self-produced, so they needed to go to the town market to buy them together.
Setting off for the market with Gu Ran and Ji Shiyu to buy groceries were also Liu Xiaolin and his lucky fan group.
The program crew provided a car to take the four to the town market, and the two groups went their separate ways.
The livestream for "Our Cottage" was now split into five rooms, one for each group, allowing viewers to choose their favorite guests to watch.
Today, the livestream room for the streamer Gu Ran and her lucky fan "wdlpml" had the highest viewership and popularity.
It wasn't just Gu Ran's fans, the "Little Fish," who were watching with mixed feelings of love and hate for this pairing; many regular viewers of the show and casual viewers also chose to watch.
Firstly, because they liked Gu Ran, and secondly, because they liked the pairing of Gu Ran with her ordinary male fan.
Because these two standing together wasn't just easy on the eyes; the main thing was that even through the screen, you could feel that subtle magnetic resonance between them.
In simpler terms, it was chemistry.
Chemistry is a mysterious thing. Sometimes, the male and female leads in a TV drama are both gorgeous, but when they play lovers, kissing and hugging, there's just no chemistry—they don't feel like a couple. And now, with this pair, even though the man is still wearing a mask and the two haven't seemed to actively said much to each other since being paired up, the feeling they give off when standing together just makes you think these two should be together. It makes people watching them can't help but smile and start imagining them kissing, hugging, and being unbearably sweet.
However, the various regular viewers and show fans were being very cautious. Knowing that Gu Ran's fans were watching closely and had significant objections to this "wdlpml," for safety's sake, they didn't dare reveal in the bullet comments that they were here to ship the couple.
Some even took the opposite approach:
[I really think the two of them look very ordinary together.]
[Yeah, yeah, not like a couple at all.]
[I've never seen two people with such zero chemistry.]
[The male fan is clearly one of those 'mask frauds'—the lower half of his face is probably super ugly without the mask. How could he be a match for the great beauty Gu Ran?]
On the surface, everyone in the bullet comments was pointing fingers disdainfully, especially at "wdlpml," saying how mismatched they looked. Meanwhile, in the show, Gu Ran and Ji Shiyu were buying fruit from an elderly lady.
The seasonal peaches were plump and temptingly colored. The old lady handed a weighed bag of peaches to Ji Shiyu, then smiled as she looked at the two young people before her.
"What show are you filming?" the old lady asked, having noticed the cameraman following them.
Gu Ran smiled and was just about to answer with the name of their show when the old lady continued, "Is it 'Newlywed Diary' or 'Our Little Couple'? I watch both shows every week. They're good."
The smile on Gu Ran's face gradually stiffened, followed by a slow mental question mark.
"...?"
The bullet comment crowd who had been pointing fingers: [...]
Damn, even the old lady could see the chemistry between these two. Having to pretend they're mismatched to spare the feelings of the Little Fish fans is really exhausting.
Carrying the peaches, Gu Ran walked out of the old lady's stall in a daze, following Ji Shiyu.
Gu Ran glanced at the man beside her. Even with the mask on, she could tell from the micro-expressions in his eyes that he was smiling.
Then she finally processed what had just happened.
The old lady had just asked if they were filming "Newlywed Diary" or "Our Little Couple."
Her face darkened.
Gu Ran lowered her head and quickened her pace for a couple of steps, not walking side-by-side with Ji Shiyu.
Ji Shiyu wasn't in a hurry, slowly catching up from behind.
The two finally arrived at a meat shop.
Gu Ran picked the best piece of ribs and had Ji Shiyu pay.
The money for groceries was provided by the program crew. Ji Shiyu pulled out a stack of ten and twenty yuan bills from his pocket. The butcher uncle took one look and chuckled.
Not noticing the cameraman behind the pair, the uncle said with a smile, "Using cash in this day and age? Does your wife manage the money that strictly?"
Ji Shiyu handed two twenty-yuan bills to the shop owner. He didn't answer, but seemed to smile, his gaze shifting to Gu Ran beside him.
Gu Ran felt a twitch in her temple and tried to explain, "You've misunderstood, we're not..."
The uncle wore an "I understand" expression, cutting Gu Ran off and waving at the two. "Oh, I know, not married yet, just dating, right? She's already managing the money, so marriage is inevitable sooner or later. Same difference."
Gu Ran: "..."
She suddenly wanted to return the ribs in her hand and buy from a different stall.
Back in the livestream, if the old lady could be written off as having poor eyesight due to age, now that the butcher uncle had also openly shipped the couple in front of a national audience, the various casual fans clearly sensed the death glare from the Fish fans directed at "wdlpml." They trembled with fear, not daring to make a sound.
Gu Ran bought the ribs, huffing with annoyance.
With the ingredients mostly purchased, it was time to head back. Teacher Zhao Mincong suddenly sent Gu Ran a message. Knowing they were at the market, he asked if they could help bring back some hot pot base.
Gu Ran agreed.
This time, she simply didn't acknowledge Ji Shiyu and went off on her own to find a place selling hot pot base.
The man behind her, utterly lacking self-awareness, called out, "Ran Ran."
Wanting her to wait.
Gu Ran stopped and turned back, giving him a look that said "do you want to explode on the spot?", then glanced in the direction of the camera.
Was "Ran Ran" a nickname a no-name, bottom-tier wild fan with no official fan status could use in front of the cameras?
The livestream viewers munching on popcorn heard this "Ran Ran." Although they knew Gu Ran's fans generally called her "Ran Ran," hearing this lucky fan call her that to her face today somehow felt... like they'd hit the jackpot.
Of course, the words "hit the jackpot" could not be said out loud.
Bullet comments:
[This doesn't sound like a boyfriend calling someone at all, not at all.]
[Ahhh! This wdlpml really has no sense of his place! How dare he call her 'Ran Ran'?]
[Really has no sense of boundaries and is utterly shameless. My heart aches for the Little Fish fans having to watch this no-name wild fan strut around in front of them.]
[Hugging the Little Fish fans. Let's go privately message him on Cat's Paw to scold him later.]
[Being able to walk with Gu Ran is a blessing he must have cultivated in his past life. How dare he call her "Ranran" directly? Who does he think he is?]
Fish Powder Fan: [Agreed.]
...
On site, Gu Ran took a deep breath.
She glanced at the director and cameraman following behind her, then walked over and said a few words to the director.
She had some things she wanted to say privately to this fan. Could she step away for a moment?
The director looked at Gu Ran's sincere eyes, then at the lucky fan, wdlpml, who was carrying various ingredients.
The problem was that this lucky fan didn't look like an ordinary person at all, which led to them being mistaken for a married couple or young lovers all day. The lucky fan had been tacitly going along with it without changing his expression, which must be quite annoying for the female streamer.
The director nodded: "Alright."
"But make it quick, ten minutes at most. We'll wait right here."
Gu Ran: "Thank you."
The director added in a low voice: "But try not to be too harsh. It won't look good if things get awkward. After all, he's your fan. It's unrealistic to expect him not to like you."
Gu Ran: "..."
After speaking with the director, Gu Ran walked up to Ji Shiyu, her expression cold, and uttered just two words emotionlessly: "Come here."
Ji Shiyu followed.
The live stream footage remained on the bustling market, with the director and cameraman waiting in place.
The last thing the live stream fans heard was Gu Ran's detached "Come here," before she led the lucky male fan away, both disappearing from the live stream camera.
The show's fans who had just been secretly enjoying the chemistry despite their words:
[???]
[Damn, is Gu Ran angry?]
[She must be angry. Any girl would be annoyed if a guy she just met kept letting people misunderstand their relationship and called her by an affectionate nickname.]
[So is she going to warn her male fan now? Gu Ran looked really fierce just now.]
[The ordinary fan is so pitiful. He didn't really do anything wrong, right? He's just a bit handsome. It was other people who misunderstood on their own.]
[I even suspect Gu Ran might take action against the fan.]
[+1]
...
Gu Ran found a corner far from the director and cameraman, stopped, and turned off her microphone.
Ji Shiyu also turned off his microphone, looking at Gu Ran's sulky face: "Are you angry?"
Gu Ran didn't answer, instead asking: "Satisfied?"
"You seemed quite happy just now, smiling so much that even your mask couldn't hide it."
Gu Ran said, directly pulling down the mask on Ji Shiyu's face.
After all this time, she finally saw the man's full face.
The feeling of your every expression being under his gaze, while all his reactions were hidden behind a mask, was utterly infuriating.
Seeing Ji Shiyu's real face made Gu Ran feel a bit better, but then she noticed a faint smile still playing on his lips.
Gu Ran bristled: "Don't smile!"
Ji Shiyu retracted his smile.
He sounded somewhat helpless: "But there's nothing I can do about it either."
People kept mistaking them for a couple.
Gu Ran: "So you just go along with it? Shouldn't your first reaction be to jump in and strongly deny it? But not only do you not deny it, you even smile. Do you think you did nothing wrong?"
"This is all your fault!"
"And," Gu Ran continued, "don't call me 'Ranran' in front of the camera. That's not for you to call. Please call me Miss Gu or Gu Ran. That's the appropriate address for you."
"We have no relationship anyway," she said proudly, lifting her chin.
Ji Shiyu looked at Gu Ran, who was like a puffed-up little kitten, sighed slightly, and agreed: "Okay."
He agreed quite readily. Gu Ran "hmph"-ed.
For a moment, neither spoke.
With every move just now being filmed, it was uncomfortable no matter what. Now they seemed to finally relax a little.
Ji Shiyu tentatively approached. When Gu Ran didn't retreat in resistance, he reached out.
He hugged Gu Ran.
Gu Ran smelled the clean, refreshing scent of the man's embrace.
She felt she should push him away, but her fingertips retracted slightly after touching the hem of his clothes. She stood there and muttered: "Had enough?"
Ji Shiyu rubbed her head again and answered: "Almost."
Gu Ran suddenly remembered that night, and the words "I missed you too."
She didn't speak, just felt suffocated with her face buried in his shoulder, so she turned her head slightly.
She remembered their group's director and cameraman were still waiting.
What would it look like if they were seen?
Fortunately, it should be safe now. As Gu Ran was breathing in Ji Shiyu's scent, she suddenly heard a voice: "Gu, Gu Ran?"
“Hmm?” Gu Ran looked in the direction of the sound.
She saw Liu Xiaolin and his lucky fan standing opposite, carrying large and small bags of ingredients, both wearing the same dumbfounded expressions.
Gu Ran was stunned at first, until her gaze met the accompanying photographer behind them.
Ji Shiyu also heard the sound. He lifted his head from Gu Ran's neck and looked in the direction she was staring.
The red light was on. The camera was tirelessly operating.
So this was the true face of Gu Ran's lucky male fan.
Liu Xiaolin's live stream fans wore the same "eating melon" expressions.
