Gu Ran's face flushed at the words "express through action," and the way she looked at Ji Shiyu changed.
He was really waiting for her here, wasn't he?
Before she could say yes or no, Ji Shiyu had already lifted her chin and kissed her.
Gu Ran closed her eyes and responded. After a while entangled on the sofa, Ji Shiyu took off her little knitted cardigan, placing kisses on her snow-white shoulders and neck.
Having stolen enough sweetness, he simply scooped her up and headed towards the bathroom.
......
Right at this moment, in the live stream of the "#1 beauty streamer" on Cat Paw, everyone was completely focused, never having been so serious before. They turned the volume to maximum, pricked up their ears, and widened their eyes.
Long-time fans knew Gu Ran disliked over-ear headsets because they hurt her ears, so for convenience during gaming streams, she always used external speakers for sound and a wireless Bluetooth mini microphone for audio input.
The microphone had a small clip, which she would attach directly to her collar when in use.
Today, Gu Ran seemed too excited after winning a game and ended her stream in a hurry. Not only did she not fully shut down her equipment, but she also rushed out still wearing the microphone.
And then... everyone heard that earlier conversation.
"Honey, you're so amazing."
"Just saying nice things isn't enough."
"Express through action."
The number of viewers in the half-empty stream suddenly skyrocketed.
Along with this surge, the chat on the empty stream screen was completely flooded.
After all, the person who could make Gu Ran say "Honey, you're so amazing" was, without a doubt, him.
[That 'xb_first_handsome_bastard' from earlier was Ji Shiyu! It was actually Ji Shiyu!]
[No wonder the ID is 'xb_first_handsome_bastard'—it just means 'Xinbo's #1 Handsome Bastard'! This ID was definitely given by Gu Ran, a couple name with 'Cat Paw's #1 Beauty'!]
[Ji Shiyu specifically avenged Gu Ran in the game after she got bullied in her stream, holy crap what kind of idol drama plot is this]
[Not to exaggerate, but Ji Shiyu's skills are too OP. Why is a CEO so ridiculously good even at gaming?]
[So sweet so sweet so sweet!]
[I'm going crazy from the sweetness ahhhh!]
After realizing the "xb_first_handsome_bastard" who helped Gu Ran get revenge in the game was actually Ji Shiyu, the sweetness-crazed crowd finally focused on the content of their conversation.
On one side, a soft and tender "Honey, you're so amazing," and on the other, a demand for action over words.
[Holy shit!!!]
[Express through action? Is it the 'express through action' I'm thinking of?!]
[Huff huff huff, this old pervert has arrived]
[Damn, I'm starting to see colors, I'm not pure anymore]
[Of course the 'action' between a couple is that!]
Amidst the frantic chat, the completely unaware couple fell silent. Everyone with their volume maxed out could only hear faint, rustling noises.
Hearing this sound, everyone collectively lost their cool.
[Ahhhh what are they doing now?!]
[Are they already taking clothes off? Damn damn damn!]
[So thrilling, I'm deceased]
[Even though I really, really want to listen, I have to ask if anyone can contact these two? Live streaming that is really not okay, wuwuwu]
[I want to listen but also feel it's immoral, I'm so conflicted wuwuwuwuwu]
[+1]
[Ji Shiyu, you ungrateful man, be gentle!]
[Is this really something we're allowed to hear? I'm starting to take my pants off (shy.jpg)]
[My pants are already off]
......
In the stream chat that had automatically turned risqué, the rustling noises continued for a while before suddenly stopping.
Complete silence.
No matter how hard everyone strained their ears, they couldn't hear a single sound.
Immediately after, the moderator who had already clocked out with Gu Ran urgently logged back on and, amidst everyone's mournful protests, completely shut down the live stream.
......
At that moment, two phones on the sofa were ringing persistently, yet no matter how much they rang, they received no response, eventually falling silent.
The sound of running water echoed in the bathroom.
Gu Ran's head was tilted back slightly, droplets of water even clinging to her eyelashes. After the stimulation of a peak, she finally let out a soft whimper, unable to hold on any longer.
"Honey," she reached back to grip his forearm, "go back, go back, mmm."
Although not married yet, during certain special moments, like just now or right now, Gu Ran would call him "honey."
Ji Shiyu's mood always improved whenever he heard it.
Gu Ran's blunt nails dug into his forearm. He answered in a low voice, "Okay," then grabbed a towel to roughly dry them off before carrying her back to the bedroom.
...........
Gu Ran slept until the sun was high in the sky the next day.
It was the weekend. Rubbing her eyes awake, she saw Ji Shiyu entering with breakfast.
Gu Ran let out a delicate yawn and stretched her arms out towards him from the bed, just like usual.
Ji Shiyu's expression was slightly odd this morning, but upon seeing Gu Ran reaching for him, he put down the breakfast and went over to scoop her out from under the covers.
Gu Ran rested her chin on Ji Shiyu's shoulder like a koala and said lazily, "I need to wash my face and brush my teeth first."
Meaning she wanted him to carry her to the bathroom.
Ji Shiyu held Gu Ran, looking at her adorably sleepy morning face, and cleared his throat lightly.
Gu Ran blinked her lazy eyes. "What's wrong?"
Facing Gu Ran, Ji Shiyu took a breath and finally said, "Something happened yesterday."
Gu Ran: "Hmm?"
Gu Ran got down from Ji Shiyu and grabbed her phone.
She went into the bathroom, brushing her teeth while checking for anything related to herself.
Ji Shiyu waited outside.
Sure enough, in less than a minute, as he predicted, a scream came from the bathroom, followed by Gu Ran running out in tears.
Gu Ran threw herself crying onto the bed, her mind filled with the currently trending hashtags: #GuRanJiShiyuExpressThroughAction#, #GuRanLiveStreamMishap#, #CenturyCoupleHoneyYoureSoAmazing#.
The "Century Couple," previously criticized for not showing enough affection, had unexpectedly delivered this time—and it was the ultimate, top-tier sweetness.
From Ji Shiyu helping Gu Ran get revenge in the game to the later stimulating dialogue after the screen went black from the forgotten microphone, in just one night, sweetness rained down on everyone like a downpour.
They had even almost let everyone hear some sounds they shouldn't have.
Thinking of those risqué comments, and how if Ji Shiyu hadn't taken off her cardigan with the microphone attached on the sofa last night, and if the moderator hadn't arrived fairly promptly, she might have almost...
Burying her face in the blanket, Gu Ran cried, "I don't want to live anymore, wuwuwuwu."
Recalling last night's events, Ji Shiyu also felt some embarrassment. But seeing Gu Ran as if her whole world had collapsed, he had no choice but to lift her up from the blanket.
He was just about to offer some comforting words when Gu Ran, looking at Ji Shiyu's face, suddenly placed all the blame squarely on him.
"It's all your fault!" Gu Ran gritted her teeth angrily.
It was all his fault for saying "express through action," all his fault for wanting to do that.
Ji Shiyu inhaled sharply, feeling somewhat wronged.
If he remembered correctly, she was the one who said "Honey, you're so amazing" first.
And she was the one who forgot to take off the microphone.
However, Ji Shiyu knew that reasoning wouldn't solve things at this moment. He held Gu Ran close and said, "Alright, my fault."
Gu Ran clutched the hem of Ji Shiyu's loungewear. Having been a streamer for so long, she had never felt a moment like this where she wished she could just bury herself in the ground and never face anyone again.
...............
At noon that day, the popular female streamer at the center of the heated discussion finally went online and posted on her Weibo.
She explained, somewhat embarrassed, that it was an oversight yesterday—she had forgotten to mute her mic. "Husband" referred to her publicly known boyfriend, Ji Shiyu, and "amazing" was because he was great at gaming and helped her get revenge by defeating their opponents.
As for that later phrase about "expressing through action," it referred to Ji Shiyu continuing to carry her to higher ranks in the game—really, it meant nothing else.
Netizens watching the show looked at Gu Ran's Weibo post, with its explanation that only seemed to protest too much, especially the clarification about "expressing through action." They all let out a meaningful, drawn-out "Ohhh."
Alright, alright. Whatever you say.
We've all been there. We get what some things are about.
After Gu Ran's post, the buzz around the hot topic finally began to gradually die down.
Even so, Gu Ran claimed illness and took two days off from streaming.
She really didn't feel much like showing her face.
On the third day, Gu Ran finally went back online to stream.
But she was still completely out of sorts the whole time today. Even through the screen, her fans could sense that Gu Ran was still shy and awkward, barely even looking at the camera.
Her fans watched Gu Ran, all fidgety and not properly streaming on screen. In the end, they could only put their hands on their hips in exasperation and collectively scold her (in a not-so-serious way):
It's not illegal for a couple to do... what couples in love do. Why are you so shy about it?
Honestly, it's not like we don't support you.
