Gu Ran had initially been worried that Ji Shiyu might have slipped up and been discovered, but after seeing the content of the post, her eyes widened in shock.
Especially when she saw many people in the comments agreeing, all with high numbers of likes.
["Yeah, yeah, earning so much money but only paying the cleaning lady twenty yuan an hour, and even bragging about it, so stingy and low-class."]
["That cabinet looks really heavy. Not only did she not help, but she stood there watching all high and mighty. Does she really think she's some little princess, superior to others?"]
["I'm literally shaking with anger. She said all this as if it were completely normal, not feeling she did anything wrong at all. This world is just too absurd. Why should a cleaning lady work from dawn to dusk doing hard labor for only twenty an hour, while this streamer who can't do anything earns so much money!"]
["Whenever workers come to my house, I always help out a bit. It's not for anything else, just for mutual respect. Does she really think paying twenty yuan makes her superior?"]
["My heart aches for the auntie at her house, sigh."]
...
After reading those replies, Gu Ran was filled with question marks and utterly astonished.
So you could pick a fight like this? You could even pick a fight from this angle?
Scrutinizing the female streamer herself daily with a magnifying glass for flaws was one thing, but now they were even targeting the streamer's cleaning lady?
Gu Ran was so angry she felt like a pufferfish about to explode, especially seeing these people constantly claiming to feel sorry for her cleaning lady, thinking she was exploiting her, as if the cleaning lady suffered greatly under her.
The cleaning lady was the oppressed working class, and she was the evil feudal landlord's wife with a vicious and picky demeanor.
Ding Ze called Gu Ran and said she had provoked a bunch of online "moral saints." A group of people who get righteously indignant online every day, shouting at others, "Why don't you donate?" "Why don't you go save people?" but when it's their turn, they don't give a single cent and just say, "What's it got to do with me? The rich ones should step up."
Fortunately, the trending topic wasn't too high-ranking. Most people who clicked in found it ridiculous. Ding Ze's opinion was not to bother with it, as this group would stop making waves once they couldn't stir anything up and would go cause trouble elsewhere.
Gu Ran agreed, but just the thought that Ji Shiyu had somehow become the one she was oppressing and exploiting, making her the villain, still put her in a very foul mood.
Gu Ran mentally cursed Ji Shiyu many, many times.
That evening, the trending topic had already faded. Gu Ran went ahead with her usual livestream. She always streamed happily, presenting her best self to bring her fans good vibes. But tonight, there were constantly people in the chat asking, "Why aren't you responding to the issue of you exploiting the cleaning lady?" "Feeling guilty?" "Got time to stream but no time to respond?" "Please apologize to the cleaning lady auntie."
These comments weren't numerous, but like persistent flies, they couldn't be driven away or swatted, utterly ruining the mood. Not just Gu Ran's mood, but also the mood of her Little Fishies fans watching the stream.
Gu Ran didn't respond at first. The Little Fishies fans started clapping back. Soon, arguments broke out in the chat.
Watching her livestream room being polluted by a bunch of moral saints, Gu Ran's expression grew darker, especially when she saw these people not only insulting her but also her fans, using many nasty words, saying things like "the streamer reflects the fans."
The smile faded from Gu Ran's face. She cleared her throat into the microphone.
"Ahem."
"Could everyone please quiet down? Stop arguing. My fans, please stop arguing for now, okay?"
The Fishies, who were passionately trading barbs with the saintly haters in the chat, heard Gu Ran asking them to be quiet and stop fighting. Though confused, they all silently put down their keyboards.
In the "Ranran's Fish Pond" group chat:
[Why doesn't Ranran want us to argue?]
[Those people are so infuriating to watch!]
After Gu Ran stopped her Little Fishies fans, the chat was left with only those asking her, "Got time to stream, why no response?" "Feeling guilty?" and even those demanding she publicly apologize to the cleaning lady.
Gu Ran spoke into the microphone: "I am not feeling guilty. There are some things I didn't want to respond to because I feel some people don't even deserve a glance. But the reason I'm saying these things now is entirely because you've attacked my fans."
She took a deep breath: "You wanted a response, right? Well, here's my response. Listen up, better yet, take notes."
Gu Ran: "I hope everyone stops judging other people's affairs without knowing the full picture. This is an arrangement both the cleaning lady and I agreed upon and find satisfactory. It's not for others to judge. If anyone genuinely thinks twenty yuan per hour is too little? Or the working hours are too late? Well, if you really think it's too little, then starting today, the hourly rate is two hundred. Whoever thinks it's too little can come and pay the difference to raise my cleaning lady's salary. Whoever thinks the hours are too late can be responsible for picking her up and dropping her off home. Is that okay?"
As she said this, those clamoring for a response and apology suddenly fell silent.
Gu Ran gave a slight smirk: "Oh my, I'm literally shaking with anger too. In today's society, how can a cleaning lady possibly be expected to do work? Is a cleaning lady paid to work for you? When everyone hires a cleaning lady, don't you all offer fruits, snacks, hot tea, and then invite them to sit in the air-conditioned room while you wash clothes, mop floors, and take out the trash? How dare you make a cleaning lady work? We're all successors of socialism; even if you paid money, so what? How dare you have another person work for you? This is so disrespectful of human rights!"
Gu Ran delivered this speech with righteous indignation, perfectly imitating those saints who accused her of making the cleaning lady move heavy things.
The chat was already filled with [HAHAHAHAHA].
[When it comes to subtle sarcasm, Ranran is the master.]
[Why have some people suddenly gone quiet?]
[Probably because they can't afford the two hundred yuan hourly rate, hahahaha.]
[Right, why boss others around? If you think the pay is low, go pay her yourself. If you think it's late, go pick her up. If your heart aches for her moving heavy things, go move them yourself. What's the point of blabbering everywhere with a keyboard?]
[Dying of laughter at this shade.]
[Queen Gu slays!]
Gu Ran let out an innocent laugh at the camera: "Now I've responded. Is anyone satisfied? You're all so kind-hearted. Did you all get released recently because Notre-Dame de Paris burned down and you had nowhere to live? You'll definitely leave behind several sacred relics after cremation."
The rest of the livestream audience was in hysterics.
After Gu Ran roasted the saintly haters, their presence finally disappeared from the livestream room, and things gradually returned to normal.
She let out a sigh of relief. The full-combat mode from just now subsided as she looked at her streaming interface.
She knew the things she had just said would definitely be recorded and spread. Those self-righteous critics wouldn't let it go so easily. With some exaggeration and embellishment, it would probably be circulated as something like "Female Streamer Gu Ran, Exposed for Exploiting Hourly Help, Angrily Lashes Out at Righteous Netizens."
But she didn't regret it.
The fans in her livestream noticed that Gu Ran seemed a bit down, not at all like the radiant, domineering little sun she was when she was clapping back at those critics.
[What's wrong, Ranran?]
[Why does Ranran seem unhappy?]
[The haters are all gone now, Ranran, give us a smile!]
Gu Ran smiled at the camera and said, "From now on, if you see any of that nonsense talk, just report it or ignore it. There's no need to rush to argue for me or defend me, really."
"I'm a public figure, and, well, I earn quite a lot of money. So being criticized like this is fine. It's something I'm destined to endure for having a high income. But I don't want you all to get worked up and upset over these things with me. Everyone should just live your own lives happily."
It was then that her little fishies remembered what Gu Ran had said when she was clapping back at the anti-fans: "It's because you attacked my fans."
They were suddenly moved to tears.
The love between the fishing-style great beauty and the fish in her pond is mutual.
[Wahhhh, liking Ranran is the best decision I've ever made!]
[Ranran protecting her fans is so badass!]
[Why do people always keep picking on such a good girl?]
[Can't be helped. When you're popular, you have to go through this. Where there are fans, there will be haters. Everything gets magnified and people look for flaws. If you're a nobody, no one cares what you do.]
[They're definitely just jealous that our Ranran is beautiful, rich, and has the president of Xinbo pursuing her, tsk.]
[Miss Gu the Great Beauty must keep fishing for that ungrateful man today! Hook him, hook him good!]
[Hook him till sparks fly, but don't give him any sweetness, hahaha!]
Gu Ran looked at the barrage of comments in front of her.
The radical fans who used to get angry about her having any involvement with a man had mostly left. Her current fanbase had basically accepted the existence of a certain "ungrateful man."
Ji Shiyu was first recognized during that program livestream, when everyone saw her and Ji Shiyu hugging.
Fans are like family. They know what it really means when two people hug like that. But the feeling is complicated. Even though they know it's inevitable, they just don't want that formerly ungrateful man to get his way too easily.
Hence the one-hundred-day countdown.
Fortunately, Gu Ran was also holding strong. She still hadn't announced a relationship. The ungrateful man was still just a pursuer, which gave everyone a bit of satisfaction.
Gu Ran played a few more rounds of Landlords in her livestream and then ended the broadcast.
She knew the video of her clapping back at people in the livestream tonight had definitely been posted already.
Gu Ran sniffed and scrolled through the homepage. Sure enough, she saw posts about "Female Streamer Gu Ran, Exposed for Exploiting Hourly Help, Angrily Lashes Out at Righteous Netizens."
Gu Ran snorted coldly in her heart.
Don't tarnish the phrase "righteous netizens."
She saw that the "righteous netizens," clearly angry after being publicly called out in her stream tonight, had maliciously screenshotted a few frames where she seemed to be rolling her eyes. They demanded she not only apologize to the hourly help but also to them, the "righteous netizens" who stood up for the worker.
Why should she apologize to people who just point fingers and criticize? Maybe in the next life.
Gu Ran couldn't swallow this anger. Since she had already clapped back tonight, she might as well go all the way. She directly posted another update on her Cat Paw streamer feed and on Weibo.
The content was the same for both: a simple "stunned pretty girl" meme.
In the past, when public figures clapped back, they were almost always criticized regardless of whether they were in the right, because it seemed like public figures should just take hits without fighting back. The result was almost always the public figure apologizing. Someone as direct as Gu Ran was a first.
Sure enough, when the self-righteous critics saw her "stunned pretty girl" Weibo post, they weren't angry but were instead excited as if they'd smelled blood. It was a flaw delivered right to their doorstep—not only did she clap back on stream, but she also posted a provocative Weibo afterward. Using this to play the victim would further cement her image as arrogant and lawless.
As soon as Gu Ran posted the Weibo, she saw many comments like "Hope you have the guts not to delete this," "Let's see how long you stay tough," and "Waiting for your apology."
After posting, she sat at home waiting for Ding Ze to contact her. She knew she had stirred up trouble and that the next few days would likely be stormy.
But after waiting a while, Gu Ran didn't receive Ding Ze's expected frantic phone call.
What was going on?
Had Ding Ze given up on her? Had Cat Paw given up on her?
Come to think of it, Gu Ran suddenly remembered that Ji Shiyu hadn't come tonight either. Usually, it was her who didn't let him come when he wanted to. Today, he hadn't made a sound and just didn't show up.
Did this mean he was giving up on being the hourly help?
A wave of irritation rose in Gu Ran's heart, and she punched the sofa cushion.
Men really are no good. Fine if he doesn't come, fine if he doesn't want me. The money I earn now is enough for me anyway. I'll go raise a bunch of pretty young boys in the future, each one better than him.
Thinking this made Gu Ran feel a bit better. She finally opened her phone to take a look.
She thought she, having just clapped back at people, would definitely be the top trending search. But to her surprise, the current top trending tag was #HourlyHelp Ji Shiyu#.
She clicked in and saw that twenty minutes ago, an account named "Ji Shiyu," verified as the President of Xinbo, had reposted the original Weibo that accused Gu Ran of exploiting hourly labor and criticized her while sympathizing with the worker.
Ji Shiyu: "It was me. I was happy to. Got a problem?"
