Ji Shiyu was clearly in an exceptionally good mood tonight. When Xu Hui called late at night to report an urgent issue at the branch office that likely required his immediate attention, Xu Hui's heart was in his throat as he spoke, given it was a subordinate's mistake. Unexpectedly, Ji Shiyu showed not a trace of anger, agreeing calmly, his tone even carrying a note of leisure.
After hanging up on Ji Shiyu, whose temper tonight was inexplicably and incredibly good, Xu Hui was shocked, utterly baffled. Then, suddenly remembering something, he opened Cat Paw and navigated to the homepage of "Cat Paw's #1 Beauty," Gu Ran.
Gu Ran's profile picture was still that quirky half-face selfie. Recently, apart from sharing livestream links, she hadn't posted any other updates.
But at this moment, Xu Hui had never been so absolutely certain: Ji Shiyu's good mood tonight was definitely connected to the little golden canary.
No, not a little golden canary anymore—she was the little ancestor now.
Xu Hui fiercely gave Gu Ran's homepage a like.
...
Ding Ze came to Gu Ran's home and immediately started pestering her about the twenty-dollar-an-hour housekeeper.
Gu Ran made excuses for a while, finally brushing him off by saying the housekeeper's schedule was fully booked and she was temporarily unavailable.
"Is that so," Ding Ze said, looking somewhat disappointed. "Alright."
However, Ding Ze hadn't come specifically for the housekeeper. He looked around Gu Ran's apartment and stated his main purpose for the visit.
The magazine "Figures" recently wanted to do a feature interview with Gu Ran. Being a streamer is an emerging and popular industry in recent years, and they wanted to interview Gu Ran, a currently trending representative streamer, and also film a short documentary, "A Day in the Life of a Streamer," to give everyone a glimpse into a streamer's daily routine and work.
"Figures" is a serious news media outlet; only people with a certain level of social influence get featured. Being interviewed by the magazine was a form of recognition in itself, so Gu Ran agreed immediately.
Ding Ze looked at Gu Ran's 70-square-meter one-bedroom apartment, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I'm wondering if you should move to a different place?"
"Move?" Gu Ran asked.
Ding Ze replied, "You're a top female streamer, after all. Haven't you seen 'King Prawn' living in a huge penthouse downtown with eighty-thousand-a-month rent? Yours is a bit small."
"When they come here to film your day and see you still living in such an ordinary place, I'm afraid people might talk once it airs."
"Those celebrities, to avoid showing off their wealth on reality shows, specially buy small apartments to pretend are their homes. How about I rent a bigger place for you in the next couple of days? We need to project the right image."
Gu Ran: "..."
"What size do you think is suitable? How about twelve hundred square meters? A lakeside detached villa downtown?"
After saying this, Gu Ran fixed her gaze on Ding Ze, who was just about to say, "I think that's good."
The twelve-hundred-square-meter lakeside detached villa was the Nan Chen Mansion, her former gilded cage.
She had lived in the best villas and the lowest-tier hostels. Later, she realized that material desires were the most illusory things. Just like her former self, only when she felt empty and insecure to the extreme would she devote all her time and energy to satisfying material wants. She wasn't unable to afford an eighty-thousand-a-month downtown penthouse now; it was just that her current place was livable, and she couldn't be bothered to move.
Ding Ze understood the meaning in Gu Ran's look.
"Alright then," he agreed, then couldn't help adding, "But before the shoot, make sure to have the housekeeper give your place a thorough cleaning. The space can be small, but we need it clean and bright."
Hearing the word "housekeeper," Gu Ran smiled awkwardly. "Okay."
The interview was scheduled for the following weekend. Because they were filming "A Day in the Life of a Streamer," the magazine crew came early to install numerous cameras in every corner of Gu Ran's home.
Seeing the sudden proliferation of cameras in her house, Gu Ran was somewhat accustomed to it, having been surrounded 24/7 by various cameras, all live-streaming, during the recording of "Our Little Cabin."
Ding Ze also sent her an interview outline containing the types of questions the journalist might ask, so she could prepare in advance.
Gu Ran agreed.
She prepared for a while, jotting down keywords in a small notebook to organize her thoughts, just like before. She had always liked doing this since her student days; writing things down once on paper made them clearer.
After preparing answers for a few questions, she got tired, leaned back in her chair, and checked her phone.
She noticed her plastic sisters were recently throwing parties again, welcoming someone back.
Gu Ran clicked on the photos and saw the young playboy at the center, whose whole demeanor screamed "I'm just here to play." She realized the person back was Wei Lang.
She hadn't thought about this person in a long time.
Gu Ran gave her friend's social media post a like, put down her phone, and continued preparing for her interview.
...
At Xinbo headquarters, it was a rare day without overtime. Nearing the end of the workday, Ji Shiyu received a message.
Gu Mingjing invited him out for drinks tonight.
Gu Mingjing had rarely asked him out for drinks since getting married. Last time at the bar, he had rushed over and specifically emphasized his eleven o'clock curfew.
In response to Gu Mingjing's unusual invitation, Ji Shiyu simply called him, laughing leisurely. "Did your college student wife lift your curfew?"
"Oh, I saw that movie she was recently in. She acted quite well."
Gu Mingjing: "..."
He knew Ji Shiyu was getting revenge by deliberately poking his sore spot.
The movie Chu Xi filmed last summer had recently been released. After watching it, he discovered Chu Xi had a brief intimate scene with her male co-star, hugging particularly tightly.
He quietly voiced his dissatisfaction, only to have Chu Xi get angry, saying, "If even a hug is not okay, you might as well have me act in a lesbian film!" She had been staying at her university dormitory ever since, leaving him to sleep alone night after night.
Gu Mingjing had never admitted that Chu Xi never actually set an eleven o'clock curfew for him; it was a curfew he, as a married man, imposed on himself.
Hearing the light chuckle over the phone, Gu Mingjing knew Ji Shiyu was definitely laughing at his expense.
He suddenly laughed too. "Thanks for the compliment. I'll be sure to pass it along to my wife."
He emphasized the word "wife" particularly heavily.
Then he continued, "Does Gu Ran not have any activities lately? I saw she even liked a post about Wei Lang's return."
Ji Shiyu heard an unfamiliar name. "Who is Wei Lang?"
Gu Mingjing: "The Wei family's second son, the one raised outside. He was in the same grade as Gu Ran, the class next door."
Ji Shiyu had always known the Wei family had an illegitimate child but knew little else. Today was the first he learned this person was in the same grade as Gu Ran.
"Have I met him?" he frowned and asked.
Gu Mingjing: "Not likely. That kid was only brought back to the Wei family by his father after the old Wei man died. He transferred to Yingde High School in his second year."
Ji Shiyu knew Gu Mingjing definitely had ulterior motives. "What are you getting at by telling me this?"
Gu Mingjing stretched lazily on the other end of the line. "Nothing much. It's just that this guy seemed pretty close with Gu Ran back in the day. Old friends, you know. Now that he's back, of course they'll want to catch up."
Ji Shiyu frowned upon hearing the phrase "had a good relationship."
He hung up the phone, called Xu Hui in, and asked about Wei Lang.
He hadn't known about this person before because Wei Lang had transferred into the school in their second year of high school, the same grade as Gu Ran. By then, Ji Shiyu had already graduated and was in university.
In the two years after he graduated from Yingde, he didn't have much contact or interaction with Gu Ran, only making sure that no one bullied her in those following two years.
Today was the first time Ji Shiyu learned that someone had pursued Gu Ran back then.
However, this wasn't particularly surprising, given Gu Ran's looks.
Xu Hui urgently infiltrated the internal chat group of the "plastic sisters" to gather information about the situation back then. It was said that this Wei Lang was good-looking and had a smooth tongue, full of sweet talk to charm girls. Despite being an illegitimate child, he quickly became popular among his classmates after entering Yingde. As for his relationship with Gu Ran, perhaps because it was so long ago, there were all sorts of rumors.
Some said Wei Lang pursued Gu Ran for a while but she didn't agree; others said Gu Ran liked Wei Lang back then. However, the most widespread rumor was that the two had briefly dated for a couple of days, and they had even been spotted on dates.
Ji Shiyu looked at Wei Lang's photo.
Xu Hui wiped cold sweat from his forehead and began desperately finding roundabout ways to flatter Ji Shiyu, saying this guy isn't as handsome, tall, or wealthy as you, sir. There's no way Miss Gu could have been interested in him back then; it must be false.
Ji Shiyu glanced up at Xu Hui, seemingly acknowledging what he said.
...
Today, Gu Ran was on break and not streaming, lying at home watching variety shows.
Ji Shiyu also arrived earlier than usual.
Because a film crew would be coming to her house next week to shoot "A Day in the Life of a Female Streamer," Gu Ran had done a bit of tidying up today and cleared out many unwanted items.
Since Ji Shiyu was here, she decided not to waste the hired help. She said, "In the study, the room where I stream, there's a box full of things I don't want. Could you help me take it downstairs when you leave later?"
"And in the bedroom, I want to move that nightstand, but it's too heavy. Can you help me move it?"
Ji Shiyu noticed several unplugged cameras in Gu Ran's house. He had learned from her fan group that Gu Ran was apparently going to do an interview next week.
Ji Shiyu said okay and first went to the bedroom to move Gu Ran's nightstand.
After moving the items, he walked to the living room and saw Gu Ran letting out a delicate yawn at the TV.
So, Ji Shiyu turned back and fetched a small blanket from the bedroom.
Gu Ran was feeling drowsy. Sensing something being draped over her, she slowly opened her eyes. Ji Shiyu had covered her with a blanket.
She said "thank you" and continued watching the TV, occasionally letting out a few laughs.
Ji Shiyu sat down beside Gu Ran.
The variety show she was watching was quite lively. This episode's theme was "Returning to Student Days," with several celebrities wearing school uniforms and playing games.
The two youngest guests, a male and a female, were reenacting a classic scene from a campus romance movie.
Ji Shiyu suddenly remembered how Gu Ran looked in her school uniform, and that set of Japanese-style JK uniform from her first set of photos that went viral.
He somewhat regretted not looking at her more often back then. Remembering the hypotheses Xu Hui mentioned, his eyes darkened.
Just then, Gu Ran received two message notifications. She took out her phone and saw it was a message from a plastic sister asking if she was going to a party this week, adding that Wei Lang said he hadn't seen you in a long time.
Wei Lang actually still remembered her. Gu Ran secretly sighed, thinking it wasn't easy, then replied that she had to stream and was sorry she didn't have time.
Ji Shiyu glanced at Gu Ran's phone screen and saw the two characters "Wei Lang."
He suddenly started a conversation: "Who is Wei Lang?"
Gu Ran turned and noticed Ji Shiyu had been looking at her phone. She pulled the phone closer to herself, her face showing dissatisfaction at his peeking, but still answered: "A classmate from the parallel class."
Ji Shiyu nodded, then asked again: "How would you know someone from a parallel class?"
"What was your relationship like?"
Ji Shiyu was never one to pry into others' affairs. Gu Ran suddenly felt a bit wary: "Why do you care so much?"
When Wei Lang first transferred, he had been exceptionally enthusiastic towards her, inviting her to eat or study together every few days. She didn't have many friends back then and thought someone finally wanted to be friends with her, so she agreed a few times. Only later did she realize Wei Lang was actually pursuing her.
His pick-up line was: "Although I've had many girlfriends before, you will definitely be my last one."
She was only sixteen. Ji Shiyu was with Qin Wenyi at the time. Faced with Wei Lang's confession, which seems cliché now but was very effective for young girls back then, she had actually wavered for a moment. After all, Ji Shiyu belonged to someone else, and few people here had ever been so enthusiastic towards her. This person gave her a pretty good feeling. However, in the end, reason prevailed over impulse, and she rejected Wei Lang's confession.
Wei Lang wasn't as awkward as she imagined after being rejected. He just said, "Then let's be friends from now on," and immediately moved on to pursuing the next girl.
Using the same method, the same routine. Gu Ran even personally heard him use the exact same confession line: "Although I've had many girlfriends before, you will definitely be my last one."
Only then did she realize that all of Wei Lang's girlfriends probably shared the collective title of "last girlfriend," and she felt relieved that she hadn't agreed in a moment of hot-headed impulse.
Facing Gu Ran's sudden wariness, Ji Shiyu had already guessed that it was pretty much what happened.
"Ranran." He turned sideways and pulled the small blanket higher up on Gu Ran.
The distance between them suddenly closed again. Ji Shiyu pulled the blanket up to Gu Ran's chest, looked at her cautious little face, and asked softly by her ear: "You didn't say yes, did you?"
