I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

Shu Zi stood there, her phone vibrated, she picked it up and saw it was a message from Lan Manwen.

Big Sister: "The show's been cancelled, we're coming to pick you up."

A little girl said, "...Sister Wen, I'm going to Gu Yan's place. He'll take me away."

A little girl: "Well-behaved.jpg"

After a few seconds of silence, a reply came: "You'd better have something on your mind.jpg"

A little girl: "?"

A little girl shouted: "Fang Zhizi! Give your phone back to Sister Wen!!!"

Big Sister: "Zizi, how did you figure that out? Wen went to get something, so I'll take over for now (grinning)."

A little girl: "..."

Big Sister: "Sister Wen is here, I have to talk to you later. Oh, by the way, Sister Zizi, my phone broke, it hurts so much, waaaaaa X﹏X"

A little girl: "I feel sorry for you.gif"

The boss said, "Your identity is getting more and more talked about online, with everyone tagging you and your studio. What are you planning to do? Do you want to handle this with public relations?"

Shu Zi looked at the message, thought for a moment, and typed a reply:

A little girl said, "No need to suppress it. I didn't get to where I am today because of the Shu family. There's nothing wrong with admitting it. I'll just do a live stream tonight and say it openly."

Boss: "Have you thought it through?"

A little girl said, "I've thought it through. I think my identity is alright, and it shouldn't be shameful to say it out loud."

Big Sister: "...Okay, I'll make the arrangements. You just need to prepare what to say."

Shuzi replied with an "OK" emoji and put her phone in her pocket.

She looked up and saw Gu Yan carrying a suitcase coming downstairs and walking up to her: "Let's go."

Shu Zi nodded, followed him out the door, and got into the car.

The car slowly drove away. Shu Zi leaned against the passenger seat and chatted with Gu Yan casually. After a few words, her eyelids started to droop, her head tilted to the side, and she fell asleep.

Shu Zi was still asleep when the car was parked in the underground parking garage of Park Hyatt Yunqi.

Gu Yan turned off the engine, unbuckled his seatbelt, turned to the side, and quietly looked at her for a few seconds.

Then he got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and leaned down to lift her out of the seat.

In her dazed state, Shu Zi felt herself being lifted into the air and instinctively snuggled closer to him, mumbling something indistinctly:

"……arrive?"

"Mm." Gu Yan's voice came from above, deep and steady, "We're here. You can go back to sleep."

Shu Zi hummed in agreement, without even opening her eyes. She nuzzled her face against his chest, found her place, and slumped limply in his arms, not intending to move again.

Gu Yan carried her into the elevator and pressed the button for her floor.

As the elevator ascended, he glanced down at the person in his arms. Their breathing was steady, their eyelashes were quietly closed, and they showed no sign of waking up.

He smiled slightly but didn't say anything.

The elevator doors opened, and he walked through the entryway, straight to the bedroom, and gently placed her on the bed.

As soon as Shu Zi's body touched the mattress, she automatically rolled over, curled herself into a comfortable position, and casually pulled a corner of the blanket over herself.

Gu Yan stood by the bed, reached out to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen across her cheeks, looked down at her for a moment, and then turned to put the suitcase in the dressing room.

*

Shu Zi was woken up by her phone vibrating.

She groggily reached for her phone, squinted at the screen, and saw that Qiao Yueke's messages had already flooded the screen.

Cute and clueless: "Zizi, where are you?! Come out here! I got something from Huo Fei!"

Cute and clueless: "But please don't be angry when I tell you."

Cute and clueless: "Hey, are you still there?"

Shu Zi was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, but she managed to type one word in reply.

A little creature: "Squeak."

The reply came instantly.

Cute and clueless: "It's good that you're alive!"

Cute and clueless: "I just got this out of you last night, but you have to stay calm after you hear it."

Cute and clueless: "You swear first that you will never lose your temper."

Shu Zi stared at the screen, half-awake from sleep, and slowly typed out a line of text:

A little girl said, "You said I would never lose my temper."

Cute and clueless: "You fa si!"

A little boy said, "I'll give five."

Cute and clueless: "..."

Shu Zi sat up, stared at the screen for a few seconds, and slowly typed out a line: "Is it my dad?"

Cute and clueless: "? You know that?"

She then quickly sent another long string of messages:

"Zizi, don't be angry. I think your uncle must have his reasons. With his personality, he probably thinks that no man in the world is good enough for his daughter."

"Especially someone like my brother, who's handsome and rich, he gets even angrier when he sees them. Isn't it obvious they're trying to steal his precious little one away?"

"If I were his uncle, I wouldn't let him have it easy either. I'd send him abroad to calm down for two years, no, ten years!"

Shu Zi didn't read any more of Qiao Yueke's message. Instead, she went straight to her contacts and dialed Shu Wangjin's number.

The phone rang a few times before it connected.

A leisurely, contented voice came from the other end:

"Hey, big star, what brings you to call this old man?"

Shu Zi cut to the chase: "Grandpa, did you already know why Gu Yan went abroad back then?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then Shu Wangjin's voice suddenly became muffled:

"What? What did you say? Ugh, my signal is bad! I can't hear you! Feed? Feed?"

Shu Zi: "...Grandpa."

"Beep beep beep—"

The phone hangs up.

Shu Zi: "..."

She stared at the five large words "Call ended" on the screen and remained silent for a full three seconds.

So, they all knew, but kept it from her, right?

She tossed her phone onto the bed, turned around, and went downstairs.

As she reached the corner of the stairs, she looked up and saw Gu Yan standing by the bar, holding a glass of water.

Hearing the noise, he turned around, his gaze falling on her: "Awake?"

Shu Zi was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously said, "Didn't you go to the company?"

Gu Yan smiled and said, "There's a kitten at home that hasn't eaten, and I'm worried about it."

She didn't say anything, stood there and looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly felt a lump in her throat, quickly walked over, wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face in his chest, and pressed herself tightly against his chest.

Gu Yan was knocked back slightly by her bump, still holding the water glass in his hand, hovering above her back.

He paused for a moment, gently placed the water glass aside, and then hugged her back, his palms pressed against her back, tightening his grip slightly.

He looked down at the person in his arms, his voice unconsciously softening: "What's wrong?"

Shu Zi shook her head without saying a word, but buried her face even deeper into his chest.

Gu Yan didn't ask any further questions.

He supported her waist with both hands, lifted her up, and hugged her face to face.

Shu Zi naturally wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

He turned and took two steps, then sat down on the sofa, letting her straddle his lap.

He held her waist with one hand and stroked the back of her head with the other, his voice low:

"Who made my baby unhappy?"