Gu Ran paused slightly, her hand on the doorknob, upon hearing those words.
She looked at Ji Shiyu, lifted her chin, her confidence inexplicably surging: "Who's trying to reel you in?"
"Your own mind isn't straight, yet you blame others. Tch."
After saying this, Gu Ran returned to her room in high spirits and closed the door.
Ji Shiyu looked at the tightly shut door, lowered his head, and let out a muffled, bitter laugh.
...
Just as Ding Ze had said, the year-end was packed with various events, big and small. Besides her livestreams, Gu Ran attended several commercial engagements, almost as busy as Ji Shiyu.
The biggest and happiest news was that Gu Ran was nominated for "Annual Most Influential Newcomer" at this year's Starlight Awards.
The most important year-end event was the annual "Starlight Awards." Organized by the platform, it was an awards ceremony primarily reviewing and selecting the year's popular figures and events. Most of the influential people from the past year were invited. The ceremony was entertainment-focused, with the majority of invitees being A- and B-list film and television stars, followed by sports stars, talk show hosts, esports players, and others.
As a female streamer who had skyrocketed to fame and broken into the mainstream over the past year, Gu Ran received this nomination for "Annual Most Influential Newcomer" and an invitation from the organizers.
Ding Ze arrived at Gu Ran's place today carrying a large suitcase.
Inside were gowns.
Unlike during the Cat Paw Carnival when they had to rent clothes from small studios, this time the gowns were lent by the brand—D brand haute couture. The ever-snobbish fashion PR had shown full sincerity.
Gu Ran changed into the dress; the fit was perfect.
D brand had provided their latest season's new design: a champagne-colored, crystal-embellished spaghetti strap dress. The skirt featured an asymmetrical hem, ending at the calf, while the bodice had a deep V-neckline, perfectly aligning with D brand's current season theme of retro sensuality.
When Ding Ze saw Gu Ran come out of the room in the dress, he was stunned for a moment, finally managing to say after a long pause: "It looks good, but I feel like wearing this on Cat Paw would get you banned by the moderators."
Gu Ran looked down at herself and nodded: "I think so too."
The dress was very fitted, making her B-cup look more like a C-cup.
Cat Paw had been cracking down on streamers wearing revealing clothing and peddling softcore content for two years, with increasingly strict, almost absurd rules in recent times. There were specific requirements for streamers' attire: female streamers' necklines could at most reveal the collarbone; male streamers couldn't be shirtless; skirts or shorts couldn't be shorter than seven centimeters above the knee. Violations would first result in a warning from moderators, with severe cases leading directly to account suspension.
Hence, a common saying was, "It doesn't matter if your outfit is normal for walking down the street; on Cat Paw, you'd still get a warning or a ban from the mods."
Ding Ze took a couple of photos of Gu Ran to send to the brand PR later, then asked, "Any adjustments needed? Does it fit properly anywhere else?"
Gu Ran twirled in front of the mirror, really liking the dress: "No, it's fine."
Ding Ze mused thoughtfully: "This time the whole venue is for just one event, so you probably won't walk the wrong red carpet."
Gu Ran: "..."
"Bye! See you never!"
Unwilling to relive her cringe-worthy moment of social death, Gu Ran huffily went to change out of the dress.
Ding Ze chuckled a couple of times, dropping the topic of social embarrassment, stopped Gu Ran, and pulled another item from the suitcase.
Gu Ran: "What's this?"
Ding Ze: "Heat packs. You'll need them for the event."
Gu Ran was puzzled: "Isn't it an indoor venue? No heating?"
Ding Ze: "The ceremony is indoors, but the red carpet is outside. So it might be a bit tough then."
Gu Ran gasped.
As the year-end approached, with more and more events, the weather was also getting colder and colder.
Gu Ran picked up her phone to check today's outdoor temperature:
5 degrees Celsius.
It was noon now, and the temperature had been dropping these past few days. By the day of the actual ceremony, whether it would even reach 0 degrees outdoors was questionable.
Gu Ran's expression suddenly twisted.
She pointed at the cool, slightly sexy spaghetti strap dress she was wearing: "You really expect me to wear this for a stroll outside then?"
"Not me," Ding Ze corrected meticulously. "The brand wants you to wear it."
"Several female celebrities wanted to borrow this dress but couldn't get it."
"That's why I got you heat packs. You're the first streamer ever nominated for 'Annual Most Influential Newcomer' at the Starlight Awards. That's major face."
"Just endure it for a bit. You can do it!"
Gu Ran clutched the pack of heat pads Ding Ze gave her.
Although some might see Starlight Awards as just popularity contests, the streaming world didn't have prestigious awards like the Golden Rooster, Golden Horse, or Hong Kong Film Awards. For her, being nominated for an award starting with "Most Influential" as a streamer was quite meaningful.
She nodded firmly: "Okay."
After delivering the items and confirming everything was fine, Ding Ze left. Gu Ran didn't pack the dress back into the suitcase but smoothed it out and hung it up instead.
Ji Shiyu saw the dress Gu Ran had specially cleared a space for in the wardrobe.
He knew Gu Ran had many events lately; this gown was probably for one of them. Looking at the dress, Ji Shiyu could roughly imagine how Gu Ran would look wearing it.
The man couldn't help but frown slightly.
Noticing Ji Shiyu looking at her gown, Gu Ran thought for a moment and asked, "Do you think it looks good?"
Ji Shiyu: "I think it's just average."
Seeming to feel a simple "average" wasn't enough, he began a proper critique of Gu Ran's spaghetti strap gown, commenting on everything from the color to the material, from the material to the cut, and from the cut to it being a bit too revealing. In short, it wasn't suitable for Gu Ran.
After stating his reasons, Ji Shiyu said, "Change into another set."
Having listened to his pile of excuses, Gu Ran had expected this answer: "Your thinking it's average doesn't matter. I think it's pretty, and that's what counts."
"Anyway, it's not for you to see," she said, delivering the line she had prepared when asking his opinion, feeling quite pleased.
She had worn many exorbitantly priced gowns only once before being discarded. But back then, she basically wore whatever Ji Shiyu picked. Sometimes Gu Ran even suspected Ji Shiyu must secretly love playing dress-up games like Miracle Nikki in some hidden corner, otherwise why was he so fond of changing her outfits?
In the past, Ji Shiyu always picked conservative fairy-style dresses for her, even more exaggerated than Cat Paw's dress code.
Gu Ran held up the dress to admire it herself, then told Ji Shiyu, "You can admire how beautiful I am through the screen when the time comes."
"Just wait and see."
Ji Shiyu looked at Gu Ran's smug little face and let out a deep breath.
...
The "Starlight Awards" venue lived up to its name, glittering with stars.
The temperature today indeed hadn't dropped to zero, but the cold couldn't dampen the fans' enthusiasm. The red carpet was surrounded by countless fans holding various support banners and light boards, erupting in deafening cheers from time to time.
Gu Ran's look today was done by a stylist sent over by the D brand along with the dress. Since the crystal-embellished dress was dazzling enough, it didn't need too many other accessories to clutter it. Her hair was simply curled and left down, with no extra adornments anywhere on her body.
Sitting in the car provided by the organizers, Gu Ran was wrapped in a down jacket that reached her instep. She had originally thought she could just tough it out, but now that she was at the venue, she felt on the verge of tears.
She thought hand warmers would be enough, but when she was changing, she had only stuck two on her body before the stylist screamed at her to take them out.
Because the dress was designed to be form-fitting, having those things inside would ruin the silhouette and beauty of the lines.
The brand lent you the dress hoping you would appear beautifully in their clothes; of course, they don't want you adding random things inside that mess up the lines.
None of the hand warmers Ding Ze prepared were used.
Gu Ran's spot on the red carpet was in the middle. It was almost her turn to go on.
Ding Ze went to double-check with the staff once more that this was indeed the "Starlight Night" red carpet and they hadn't gone to the wrong place. When he came back, he saw Gu Ran huddled into a ball, wrapped in her down jacket.
He was wearing two pairs of thick socks today. Gu Ran currently had on a pair of ten-centimeter stiletto heel sandals.
Although he felt terrible, Ding Ze had to say, "It's almost your turn."
His hand went to the down jacket on Gu Ran: "Give this to me."
"I'll have it waiting for you at the end. It'll be over quickly."
"Come on, be brave."
Gu Ran clutched the down jacket desperately, already sniffling a little from the cold, looking quite pitiful: "What if I don't win an award tonight?"
Ding Ze: "Uh..."
He couldn't bear to tell Gu Ran that among the others nominated for "Annual Most Influential Newcomer" tonight, apart from another short-video influencer blogger, the rest were all newcomers heavily backed by entertainment industry capital.
The probability of Gu Ran winning an award wasn't very high.
Ding Ze: "Even if you don't win, you'll get a nomination certificate."
"Hurry up, they're already urging us over there. Go!"
With quick reflexes, Ding Ze snatched the down jacket from Gu Ran's shoulders and gave her a push toward the battlefield: "Remember what I said, no matter how cold you are, the moment the camera is on you, you must not let them see you're cold! It's a matter of dignity!"
The moment Gu Ran's skin made contact with the cold air, she gave an intense shiver. But when she looked back, there was already no way to retreat.
She gritted her teeth and walked forward step by step.
Ding Ze's advice echoed in her ears.
Gu Ran told herself that she wasn't the only one suffering from the cold tonight. For women to be beautiful, they have to sacrifice warmth.
The "Starlight Night" red carpet was also live-streamed.
The feeling of tonight's red carpet was once again "beautiful but freezing." Down jackets and thick cotton coats seemed destined to have no place here. No matter how cold the weather, the female celebrities gritted their teeth and wore their gowns, like warriors of ice and snow, stepping onto this battlefield that belonged to them.
Everyone's red carpet performance was quite good tonight. Even a few comedians and talk show hosts known for their comedic style looked exceptionally beautiful. The live stream chat was constantly flooded with comments like 【xxx is so beautiful】.
When Gu Ran stepped onto the red carpet, she finally heard the host announce her name: "Next, coming toward us is Cat's Paw's number one streamer, Gu Ran!"
Gu Ran heard the cheers from the fans around her. Many of her "Little Fish" fans were present tonight.
One of Gu Ran's hands was clenched tightly from the cold, while the other was raised, trying to wave to the cheering fans.
Then, as the cheers died down and it got a little quieter, Gu Ran heard the loudest shout come from her own fan group: "Ran Ran, don't walk the wrong way tonight!"
Gu Ran's waving hand froze in mid-air: "..."
This sentence was picked up directly by the on-site audio and fed into the live stream, standing out very clearly.
Chat:
【Hahahahahaha】
【She didn't go the wrong way today, she didn't!】
【LMAO】
【I'm gonna go rewatch that cringe-fest moment again hahahahaha】
After everyone had a laugh, they refocused their attention on Gu Ran's look tonight: a champagne-colored crystal-embellished spaghetti strap dress, skin as white as snow, her figure curves perfectly outlined.
Even in winter with temperatures nearing zero degrees, looking at her made people unable to help but exclaim, "So hot!"
【Gu Ran is so beautiful tonight too】
【It's clearly so cold, but I can't help but drool drool drool】
【Thank you, Ran Ran, for letting us see such a beautiful woman even in the middle of winter!】
【Who doesn't love girls dressed up beautifully? On behalf of everyone, I bow in thanks to all the beauties on the red carpet tonight.】
【Cat's Paw's regulations on streamers' attire are so strict that I'm only now realizing Gu Ran is so well-endowed orz】
【Drool drool drool, my eyes are out of control, what do I do】
【Gu Ran doesn't seem afraid of the cold at all, nb!】
Just as everyone was marveling at how brave and beautiful the girls were, a group of strange creatures floated by in the chat:
【Wuwuwu, the Hundred-Year Couple still hasn't had a happy ending yet】
Everyone: "..."
Then came stern protests:
【No happy ending allowed! Just thinking about the Fishing Goddess ending up with some ungrateful man makes my heart ache】
【Beautiful lady, keep fishing! Fish until he's dead!】
【Those wanting a happy ending, wake up! Have you seen your CP name? That's something for a hundred years from now】
...
After Ding Ze took her down jacket, Gu Ran relied entirely on sheer willpower to keep going, step by step toward the host's direction to go sign her name.
Both her hands were clenched tightly, her whole body tensed with effort, telling herself there was nothing she couldn't endure. Shivering and such, just bear with it a little longer. For the sake of beauty, there's nothing she couldn't endure.
The live stream fans and casual viewers were also blowing beautiful rainbows of praise, until Gu Ran reached the end of the red carpet and stood beside the host.
After Gu Ran finished signing, she faced a sea of media. There was a brief photo session.
The photographer's lens swept from bottom to top, finally landing on Gu Ran's exquisite face.
Gu Ran looked at the dense black mass of camera lenses in front of her, managed her expression again to reveal a smile, and told herself it was the last thirty seconds, she'd be free soon, must remain poised and elegant.
The shutter sounds clicked away, everything was so perfect.
Gu Ran relied on astonishing willpower plus a strong sense of duty to endure these last thirty seconds.
The host announced the photo session was over, and the next guest was entering.
Gu Ran saw the cameras had already shifted direction and were no longer aimed at her.
Then, the woman who had just been perfectly managing her expression for the cameras seemed to vanish from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
In the chat, everyone had been praising her beauty, some with words only half-typed, and then the person in the frame was gone.
Where's Gu Ran?
Even the director was shocked at where Gu Ran had disappeared to in an instant, simply switching the camera back. The photographer, in a hurry, only managed to catch a shot of her retreating back.
The moment the host announced it was over, she ran.
Her speed was jaw-dropping, even more astonishing than her previous cringe-fest moment of running away after walking the wrong red carpet.
Everyone watched Gu Ran running away like crazy. After the shock, the chat turned into: 【Gu Ran must have trained in sprinting before...】
【Holy shit, running that fast in such high heels, this woman is too nb】
It turns out all that grace and elegance she just displayed for the cameras was an act. This woman, currently possessed by the spirit of Usain Bolt, is her true self.
She just hadn't anticipated the director being so ruthless as to film even her retreating back.
[Hahahaha some people appear graceful and elegant on the surface, but secretly they're running with the speed of Usain Bolt from the cold.]
[No matter how miserably cold you are, you must maintain your beauty-consciousness in front of the camera.]
[Did you think just because the host said it was over, there'd be no more shots of you? How naive, woman.]
[The director is so mean for filming this hahahaha]
...
Having successfully completed her mission of maintaining grace and elegance on camera, Gu Ran hurriedly ran off the red carpet to find Ding Ze.
She was so cold she felt nauseous. The moment she stepped out of the red carpet area, before she could even see who was there, she was enveloped in a large, puffy down jacket.
Gu Ran pulled on the jacket and saw, to her surprise, that the person waiting for her wasn't Ding Ze, but Ji Shiyu.
Ji Shiyu zipped up the jacket for her.
Gu Ran's words came out in shivers. "When did you get here?"
Ji Shiyu: "I didn't want to watch through a screen, so I came to see for myself."
Gu Ran wanted to retort, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't suppress a sneeze.
She had been freezing for too long; her body was icy cold. The down jacket, which could only retain heat but not generate it, was somewhat useless.
Ji Shiyu could see her lips had a bluish tint, visible even beneath her lipstick.
Gu Ran was still rubbing her hands and shivering, constantly breathing warm air onto her palms.
Ji Shiyu frowned.
Then, he opened his own coat, unzipped Gu Ran's down jacket, and pulled her close against his body, tucking her into his embrace.
It was rather sudden, but the warmth of his body temperature was too tempting. Like a drowning person clutching a lifebuoy, Gu Ran couldn't help but press herself against the heat source the moment she got close, her arms tightly circling his waist.
Noticing some people seemed to be looking their way, Ji Shiyu pulled the hood of the down jacket over Gu Ran's head. The oversized jacket enveloped her completely. He rubbed the back of her head through the hood and pressed her a little tighter against his chest.
Warmth gradually transferred from him to her body. The blood in her stiffened limbs seemed to finally start flowing freely again.
Their two coats blocked out all the bitter cold, creating a sealed, warm space between them. Gu Ran finally felt better. Hearing the man's heartbeat, she knew this was a proper, intimate embrace.
She basked in this warmth for a while, as if finally coming back to life. However, once revived, she gradually began to sense something was off. Why had Ding Ze suddenly disappeared, only for Ji Shiyu to be waiting for her at the end? And then, seeing she was cold, he chose this method to warm her up.
The air-conditioned lounge wasn't far away at all.
Gu Ran looked up at Ji Shiyu, her expression turning serious. "To be honest, I'm starting to suspect you did this on purpose."
