Gu Ran frowned slightly as Ji Shiyu's face suddenly drew near. She had originally intended to reply, "Of course not," but the words changed on her tongue.
She pushed against Ji Shiyu's body, which was blocking her way, and sat up. "None of your business."
"You're the one who's been parading around all lovey-dovey with Qin Wenyi in front of everyone. How could I possibly compare?" Gu Ran muttered defiantly.
Ji Shiyu suddenly regretted bringing up the topic.
His arm slid between her waist and the sofa, lifting her upper body slightly.
Gu Ran was startled. "What do you think you're doing?"
Ji Shiyu's gaze lingered on her rosy lips for a moment before he asked, "Is it okay today?"
Gu Ran leaned back, putting some distance between their chests, though her waist was still firmly in his grasp.
Through the thin layer of her loungewear, his arm felt incredibly strong, easily encircling her entire waist as if holding onto some soft little creature.
Gu Ran suddenly felt her cheeks burning.
She met his gaze, said nothing, and finally simply closed her eyes.
A warm kiss descended.
This one was deeper than before. He gently parted her lips, no longer content with just the sweet taste of her mouth, seeking to explore further.
After they parted, Gu Ran's cheeks were flaming.
She realized her arms had somehow found their way around his neck.
Gu Ran let out a soft hum and quickly disentangled her arms from his neck, feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if she'd lost track of time.
What were they even talking about before? How did it end up like this?
Ji Shiyu continued to press light, lingering kisses on her lips, his breath warm against her flushed cheek. He murmured in a low voice, "This is what 'lovey-dovey' looks like."
"Don't use the term so carelessly in the future."
Gu Ran remembered her earlier comment about Ji Shiyu and Qin Wenyi being a pair and acting all lovey-dovey.
So, was Ji Shiyu trying to say he was wronged? That he and Qin Wenyi had never been this intimate?
Gu Ran turned her face slightly, and Ji Shiyu's kiss landed on her cheek.
The corner of her mouth quirked up involuntarily. As if afraid someone might notice, she quickly smoothed her expression.
...
As scheduled, the reporter team from "People" Weekly arrived to begin their exclusive interview.
The theme of the interview was "A Day in the Life of a Streamer," documenting Gu Ran from the moment she woke up until she finished her live stream and went to bed. The reporter would spend the day at Gu Ran's home, asking questions during breaks.
The night before, when the crew came to set up all the cameras and adjust the equipment, a staff member paused, seeming to notice something off.
Gu Ran looked up at the technician on the ladder. "Is something wrong?"
The staff member glanced down at Gu Ran and smiled. "It's nothing."
Gu Ran gave an "Oh," and had already texted Ji Shiyu in advance, telling him not to come over for the next couple of days.
On Saturday morning, Gu Ran slept in as usual. After waking up, she ordered lunch delivery from her bed, then slowly got up to wash up.
Not long after finishing her takeout, the reporter arrived, followed by a cameraman.
The reporter was "People" Weekly's chief female correspondent, a very approachable woman named Chen.
Reporter Chen first shook hands and greeted Gu Ran upon entering, then looked around the apartment.
"Is this where you usually live?" Reporter Chen asked.
"Yes," Gu Ran replied.
Reporter Chen: "It's a bit smaller than I imagined before coming, but it's arranged very cleanly and warmly."
Gu Ran smiled. "Thank you."
Reporter Chen: "Could you show me where you usually do your live streams?"
"Of course." Gu Ran stepped aside, inviting her in. "Please, follow me."
She led the reporter to her study, which served as her streaming space. One side held professional streaming equipment, while the opposite wall had shelves filled with various items.
Gu Ran first introduced her streaming setup, then went on to explain the origins of the items on the shelves one by one. She pointed out her "Cat Paw" five-million-follower award plaque, a digital painting she'd colored during a stream, a life-sized cartoon standee gifted by a fan, and several plush toys she'd won from a claw machine.
The reporter listened attentively to each item.
In the afternoon, with no other activities scheduled, the two sat on Gu Ran's sofa for the interview proper.
Gu Ran had prepared for most of the reporter's questions and answered them methodically, covering topics from how she unexpectedly became a streamer to her future aspirations and reflections.
After the more formal questions, the reporter shifted the conversation to the gossipy parts that likely interested most people.
"As far as we know, you currently have no shortage of suitors. I'm curious about your current and future plans regarding your personal life?"
The "suitors" the reporter mentioned clearly referred to the widely known Ji Shiyu. Gu Ran thought for a moment and gave a rather general answer: "I think I'll just let things take their natural course. If I meet the right person, I won't let the opportunity pass. If not, I won't force anything either."
The reporter seemed to have anticipated that Gu Ran wouldn't give a definitive answer and didn't press further. She asked a couple more questions. As the interview was winding down, the bubble tea Gu Ran had ordered arrived.
She had ordered several cups, enough for the reporter, the cameraman, and the waiting staff outside.
The reporter accepted the tea with a smile. Remembering the empty takeout containers she'd seen on Gu Ran's table earlier, she added an impromptu question: "Do you usually order takeout quite often?"
Gu Ran nodded. "Yes, I, um, don't really enjoy cooking."
The reporter had clearly done her homework on Gu Ran before the interview: "I heard you have a part-time housekeeper. Does she come to help with chores every day? Will she be coming today? And why not have her cook meals as well?"
Gu Ran's smile stiffened slightly at the mention of "housekeeper."
She answered slowly, "Well, he usually only comes in the evenings, so unfortunately you probably won't get to meet him today. Also, since it's evening, there's no need for him to cook, just handle some other chores."
Reporter Chen looked surprised. "It's quite rare to find part-time help willing to work evening shifts."
Gu Ran gave an ambiguous reply. "His daytime schedule is pretty packed, so he can only come in the evening."
Reporter Chen: "Around what time?"
Gu Ran: "Around nine or ten. I also prefer he doesn't come during my live streams, so it's usually after I finish streaming."
Reporter Chen: "Wow, that's quite demanding. The cabinet in your room earlier, he moved that for you too, right? It looked very heavy."
Gu Ran nodded. The overall interview atmosphere remained relaxed, so she answered in some detail: "It's manageable, I don't think it's too hard on him. I specifically had him move that cabinet. Generally, I save any heavy lifting like moving things for him to do."
The reporter finished the exclusive interview and left with the accompanying photographer. Only the camera filming the documentary short remained operating in the house, capturing the most crucial content: Gu Ran's preparations before each livestream and a third-person perspective view of Gu Ran during her livestream.
During her evening livestream, Gu Ran mentioned that she had given an interview to "People" Weekly and told everyone they could check it out when it's published.
Fans flooded the screen with bullet comments saying "looking forward to it." Then, Gu Ran noticed some new IDs appearing among her fans' usernames, users with the prefix "One Hundred Years xxxx."
She clicked on one of their profiles. Sure enough, they were a "One Hundred Years Couple" shipper for her and Ji Shiyu—a pair that would supposedly need a hundred years to get a happy ending.
This user posted a daily update on their profile: a countdown timer. "Countdown to my CP's happy ending: 99 years and 300 days," followed the next day by "99 years and 299 days."
Gu Ran: "..."
...
"People" Weekly was very timely and efficient. The interview was published the following week.
When the magazine issue came out, the magazine's official Weibo account released the documentary short "A Day in the Life of a Streamer" and the video of Gu Ran's interview, aiming to take everyone beyond the livestream room and closer to the most authentic side of the top female streamer's life.
Gu Ran received the magazine copy sent to her by the publisher. She watched her own short film and interview video. "A Day in the Life of a Streamer" was only ten minutes long. The first shot showed her struggling to get out of bed in the morning, and the final shot was of her sitting in her chair playing a mobile game for a while after ending her livestream, before going to wash up and sleep.
The interview video wasn't edited down much. From start to finish, every question the reporter asked and every answer she gave was included, even the later few sentences related to the housekeeper.
Ding Ze said after watching that her answers were all quite good. Although most questions had been prepared for in advance, the content was what she genuinely wanted to say, so it felt very authentic.
Gu Ran reposted the magazine's official Weibo post containing her related videos. Fans' comments after watching were all "so cute," "the bedhead struggle is so relatable," and "hahaha so the gaming addiction is really that serious."
Gu Ran saw she had made it onto a minor trending topic.
This was normal. She didn't pay attention to the trend and played games for a while. When she looked back, she found another trending topic about her had appeared, even ranking above her solo one—
#GuRan Housekeeper#
Seeing the word "Housekeeper," Gu Ran immediately thought of Ji Shiyu. She froze for a second, a jolt running through her. Afraid something might have been discovered, she quickly clicked into the topic. She saw a blogger had reposted content from a gossip forum, accompanied by screenshots of those few sentences she mentioned about the housekeeper during the interview.
The post was furious:
"That scene in today's interview where Gu Ran said with a smile that she leaves all the heavy work to the housekeeper and just supervises made my blood boil. As the top female streamer on Cat's Paw, she must earn tens of millions a year, right? Hiring a housekeeper for only twenty bucks an hour, on duty from 10 PM to handle all the heavy chores. Just thinking about an auntie braving the cold night dew to work at her place for twenty yuan and having to endure all her nitpicking makes me heartbroken. Is this how the princess exploits the labor of the working class?"
