Gu Ran had returned to her normal daily livestreaming routine. Recently, the edited version of "Our Little Cottage" began airing on television, consistently ranking first in its time slot. The harmonious and friendly interactions among the guests, and particularly host Gu Ran's charming performance, had won her a lot of goodwill.
Gu Ran recently noticed that more and more people on the street were recognizing her, including quite a few older uncles, aunties, and even grandparents.
Tonight was the airing of the third episode of "Our Little Cottage." Gu Ran was in her livestream, watching the show and chatting with her fans while playfully roasting.
The segment happened to be the one where she lost a game and had to accept a punishment: calling the first person in her WeChat message list and saying "I miss you."
Even though her livestream audience had already seen this live, watching the edited TV version today, they were still immensely amused to discover that Gu Ran's first contact was actually "The Hourly Maid."
[Hahaha, this is probably the first time in the auntie's career that an employer told her 'I miss you'!]
[Ranran, where did you find your hourly maid? How much per hour? Is it expensive?]
[Wuwuwu, I want to apply to be Ranran's hourly maid!]
Seeing this segment, Gu Ran hesitated, unsure whether she should explain to her fans that it was actually a misunderstanding.
The words got stuck in her throat. Looking at the barrage of comments asking her to recommend the maid service, she worried she might only make things more confusing if she tried to explain. She could only brace herself and answer: "Just found her randomly. The hourly rate... um..."
Gu Ran had never hired a nanny or hourly maid herself and wasn't very familiar with the current domestic service market rates. She could only make an estimate: "Twenty yuan?"
When they heard Gu Ran's hourly maid only cost twenty yuan per hour, the chat exploded with [Holy crap!]
[Ranran, where did you find an hourly maid this cheap!]
[That's way too cheap! My family's hourly maid is fifty yuan an hour!]
[I really want to see what this cheap hourly maid looks like]
Seeing the fans' comments, Gu Ran realized she had probably quoted a price that was far too low. Many fans were even asking her to share the contact, wondering if this twenty-yuan-an-hour maid could come work at their houses for a couple of days too.
Packing Ji Shiyu off to work at their houses for two days...
Gu Ran's expression froze. Then she saw another comment:
[Twenty yuan an hour? So cheap, how's the work? Is it good? Ranran, what do you think, are you satisfied?]
Gu Ran stared at this comment, stunned.
In some ways, she wasn't a completely naive young girl who understood nothing. She didn't know if she was overthinking it, or if the phrasing of this sentence was inherently a bit ambiguous.
Gu Ran was dumbfounded by this comment for a long moment before she noticed the person who posted it had added a follow-up:
[Ah, sorry Ranran, I missed a character! I meant to ask 'how's the work'!]
Gu Ran: "..."
They absolutely could not continue on this topic any further.
Gu Ran quickly found another topic to steer the conversation away, urging everyone to continue watching the show together.
After finishing the one-and-a-half-hour (plus twenty minutes of TV station ad breaks) third episode of "Our Little Cottage," Gu Ran ended her livestream and finally let out a sigh of relief.
She played on her phone for a while in her gaming chair and saw people on her Weibo homepage reposting screenshots of her and Ji Shiyu from the day they went to film the show.
There were shots of the two initially standing together pretending not to know each other well, being repeatedly mistaken for a married couple by market vendors while shopping, and finally the moment they were accidentally caught by Liu Xiaolin's group's camera, resulting in "physical contact." In the screenshot, Gu Ran had noticed the camera, her mouth agape in surprise, while Ji Shiyu had one hand still protectively behind her head. He was frowning upon seeing the camera, his face revealed for the first time.
The original poster captioned it: "Although I fully support Ranran making this clueless man wait for a lifetime, this day was just too good to watch. I wonder if this part will get cut from the final edit. Tearing up.jpg"
Reposts: "+1, I'm swooning."
"But the clueless man has to wait a hundred years! Can I just fast-forward to a hundred years from now? I want to see them get close, crying.jpg"
"Does it really have to be a hundred years that long? Can we reduce it by a few years? I'm afraid I won't live that long."
"It's really such a long time. Will I see it in my lifetime? I'm afraid my CP (couple pairing) won't have a happy ending before I die, wuwuwuwu."
Gu Ran frowned slightly and clicked into the homepages of these users based on their IDs. She found they were all in a group.
The group was named "The Hundred-Year Couple CP Fan Group."
The group had quite a few members, similar to her own "Ranran's Fish Pond" fan group, and even had sub-groups.
Gu Ran had a vague feeling this "Hundred-Year Couple" was related to her. She clicked in and, sure enough, the group avatar was a screenshot of that moment of "physical contact" between her and Ji Shiyu.
But why was it called "The Hundred-Year Couple"?
Gu Ran remembered the earlier comment that said, "Friends who support Gu Ran making the clueless man wait, give a like! One like equals one more day of waiting." The statistics showed that comment had been liked over thirty thousand times, meaning Gu Ran had to make the clueless man wait over thirty thousand days, which rounded up to about a hundred years.
So, her and Ji Shiyu's CP name was "The Hundred-Year Couple."
Gu Ran scrolled down and saw the slogan of "The Hundred-Year Couple CP Fan Group": Everyone must strive to live on! Just live another hundred years, and our CP will have a happy ending!
Gu Ran: "..."
She used a side account to infiltrate the inner workings of "The Hundred-Year Couple CP Fan Group." She found that besides discussing the CP, members were sharing various health and wellness tips with each other, cheering each other on, and making a pact to live until the day their CP achieved a happy ending.
Gu Ran knew there was nothing in this world that CP fans couldn't ship; even Lin Daiyu and Voldemort had a CP. She just never expected her CP with Ji Shiyu would have this kind of vibe. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Gu Ran puffed out her cheeks and exited the Hundred-Year Couple CP fan group.
The doorbell rang.
Gu Ran knew it was the hourly maid.
She went and opened the door. Ji Shiyu was holding late-night snacks as usual.
He had arrived a bit later than normal today, probably because he had to work overtime in the evening.
Seeing the late-night snacks in Ji Shiyu's hand, Gu Ran remembered the number on her scale today.
She muttered, "I can't eat anymore."
It was because of these late-night snacks that she had recently gained two jin (approximately 2.2 pounds).
Whether as a current live streamer or her former "little canary" self, she had strict requirements for her weight and figure. Although she wasn't prone to gaining weight easily and usually didn't deliberately diet or restrict herself, she couldn't withstand this kind of constant feeding.
Ji Shiyu came very frequently, every day. Besides crayfish, he brought all sorts of things: pan-fried buns, spicy wings, even roadside grilled cold noodles.
Hearing Gu Ran say she couldn't eat anymore, Ji Shiyu asked, "What's wrong?"
Gu Ran looked at Ji Shiyu, her gaze suddenly tinged with resentment. "I gained weight."
"Two jin."
"It's all your fault!" The mention of those two jin pained her. She turned and went to sit on the sofa.
Ji Shiyu suddenly felt the bag he was holding was a bit problematic.
He walked over, placed the bag on the coffee table, and saw Gu Ran hugging a cushion, using the remote to constantly change channels on the TV.
"Really don't want it?" Ji Shiyu asked again.
Gu Ran glanced at it, swallowed, then turned her head away. "No."
"Take it away."
Ji Shiyu knew that weight was indeed a sensitive topic for Gu Ran, so he didn't press further. He placed the item on the dining table, planning to put it in the fridge once it cooled down.
Gu Ran lounged on the sofa, glancing at the TV then playing with her phone, noticing Ding Ze had sent her two WeChat messages.
A few voice notes.
Gu Ran preferred to listen to voice messages on speakerphone. Her volume was a bit loud. When she tapped the first one, the room was suddenly filled with Ding Ze's shocked questioning: "The part-time cleaner you hired last time really only costs twenty bucks an hour???"
The next message played automatically:
"Holy crap, where did you find this person? Send me their contact info, quick. My place needs a good cleaning too."
"Can they cook? What are they like? Are they diligent? How about you send me a photo..."
Gu Ran, startled, immediately cut off the playback and started mentally cursing Ding Ze.
Over by the table, Ji Shiyu paused for a moment as he was putting things away.
After setting the items down properly, Ji Shiyu walked back.
Gu Ran put away her phone, unconsciously sitting up straighter on the sofa. Her eyes darted around, unsure if Ji Shiyu had heard.
Even though she had played it on speaker, eavesdropping on others' messages wasn't a good habit anyway. Gu Ran thought somewhat indignantly while observing Ji Shiyu's expression.
"You should leave after sitting for a bit." After observing for a while and seeing no particular reaction from Ji Shiyu, Gu Ran concluded he probably hadn't heard clearly and spoke up first.
Ji Shiyu glanced at his watch. "Let's make it fifty-two more minutes."
Gu Ran: "Huh?" That precise?
Ji Shiyu: "Stay for a full hour. Then you can settle the bill. Twenty RMB."
Gu Ran: "..."
What a petty man!
Since he already knew, Gu Ran sat up to argue her case. "I didn't know the market rate when I said twenty! How was I supposed to know twenty was so low in the domestic service industry? Even college students working at convenience stores only get ten or twenty an hour. Fine, next time I'll say fifty."
Ji Shiyu's eyebrow twitched. "Fifty?"
Gu Ran was shocked. "Don't tell me you want a hundred?"
Ji Shiyu: "..."
"Gu Ran!" He gritted his teeth, suddenly leaning down like a leopard targeting its prey. He braced his arms on either side of her, trapping her between him and the sofa.
Gu Ran leaned back abruptly, still clutching a cushion. With the sofa back behind her and Ji Shiyu blocking the overhead light, her vision darkened, and she caught the familiar scent of him.
As he leaned in, Gu Ran felt her heart give a loud thump. She held the cushion between them like a barrier, wary. "What do you think you're doing?"
Ji Shiyu's gaze fell on Gu Ran's full, rosy lips, and his breathing grew heavier.
Nothing was more torturous than this feeling.
Was it money he wanted?
Gu Ran nervously gripped the cushion, about to reprimand this cleaner for overstepping and behaving inappropriately again, when Ji Shiyu suddenly closed his eyes, took a deep, heavy breath, and reined in certain improper thoughts.
Then he stood up.
Her field of view returned to being wide and bright.
Gu Ran scrambled up, a faint blush lingering on her cheeks. "You can go now," she said, feeling awkward.
Ji Shiyu let out a bitter laugh. "Alright."
As he turned to leave, Gu Ran suddenly called out, "Hey."
Ji Shiyu looked back.
Gu Ran stared at the floor, thought for a moment, and finally said, "I didn't mean that you're only worth twenty an hour."
"And I didn't mean you're not good at your job."
As Gu Ran spoke earnestly and looked up, she noticed Ji Shiyu's expression had changed.
His look had become somewhat unnatural.
Gu Ran was first confused, then suddenly realized she had also missed out a word.
"..."
It was all that fake fan's fault for using that abbreviation!
Another social death moment.
Gu Ran forced herself to appear calm and added an explanation. "I meant the work. I didn't mean you're not good at the work you do."
Ji Shiyu looked at her flustered explanation and gave an "Mhm."
Gu Ran pouted. "I've never seen a cleaner anywhere who does so little work yet has so many demands."
Ji Shiyu: "Then should I do something else?"
Gu Ran averted her eyes. "No need."
She stood up from the sofa and looked at Ji Shiyu, gesturing for him to come closer.
Ji Shiyu walked over.
Standing on the sofa, Gu Ran was now a head taller. The man looked up slightly at her.
Meeting his eyes, Gu Ran leaned down slightly and placed a kiss on his lips.
It was a very light kiss, carrying the warmth of her breath, fleeting, yet it left the man stunned, his mind exploding like fireworks.
Gu Ran tapped his shoulder with her finger. "From now on, only when I say it's okay."
"Go on."
