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

Gu Yan's kiss finally stopped, and he slowly loosened his grip, but still kept her in his arms.

He held her quietly for a while, until her breathing gradually calmed down, before speaking in a low voice:

What would you like to eat for lunch?

Shu Zi nestled in his arms, her voice soft and still somewhat dazed, lazily saying, "I've already eaten."

Gu Yan was taken aback: "When?"

Shu Zi looked up at him, her ears still red, but she curved her lips into a smile and slowly uttered two words:

"just."

Gu Yan didn't react at first, but when he met her slightly sly gaze, he suddenly understood.

He chuckled softly, raised his hand and gently lifted her chin, his voice low: "Learning from me?"

Shu Zi met his gaze, raised an eyebrow, and asked with a hint of triumphant arrogance, "How about it?"

Gu Yan didn't answer, but just looked down at her, his eyes full of smiles.

He still had one hand on her waist, his thumb gently rubbing against her through her clothes twice, the movement slow and casual.

Shu Zi felt a ticklish sensation on her side from his rubbing, and instinctively flinched back. She reached out and grabbed his mischievous finger, squeezing his knuckles in her palm.

Gu Yan let her pinch him, his gaze fixed on her lowered eyelashes, his voice languid: "Have you pinched enough?"

"no."

Shu Zi didn't even look up, but she kept prying his fingers open and closing them one by one, having a great time playing with them.

"You have beautiful hands, can I borrow them to play with?"

Gu Yan chuckled softly, not pulling back, letting her do as she pleased.

After a while, Shu Zi finally finished playing, put his hand on her waist, and looked up at him:

What are your plans for this afternoon?

"I was going to the company." He paused, looked down at her, "but now I don't want to go."

"That won't do," Shu Zi said, sitting up straighter from his lap, her expression serious.

"Mr. Gu, you can't skip work right after starting a relationship; it'll set a bad example."

Gu Yan raised an eyebrow: "Then, Professor Shu, what suggestions do you have?"

Shu Zi thought about it carefully and counted on her fingers:

"You go to the company, I'll teach my dad a lesson, then we'll have dinner together when you get back tonight, and then I'll do a live stream and explain my identity."

She clasped her hands together. "Perfect!"

Gu Yan caught a key phrase: "Teach your dad a lesson?"

Shu Zi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

"Yes, I'll go and have a good talk with him about how he unilaterally decided to send my boyfriend to the frontier for two years. I feel I need to express my dissatisfaction."

She paused, then became more and more animated as she spoke.

"Hmm... First, give him the cold shoulder for two months, then secretly replace his treasured bottle of Moutai with plain water, and rearrange all the chess scores in his study according to pinyin, and replace the golf clubs too."

"Yes, that's it!"

She looked at Gu Yan with a serious expression and patted him on the shoulder:

"Don't worry, boyfriend, I will definitely get justice for you."

After hearing this, Gu Yan reached out and pulled her back into his arms, looking down at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation:

"Baby, are you sure you're going to teach your dad a lesson, and not my future father-in-law?"

Shu Zi blinked: "Is there a difference?"

"Of course."

Gu Yan spoke slowly and deliberately, his fingertips twirling a strand of her hair:

"I just got my license and you're already going to offend my dad... no, he's still your dad. What if he thinks I instigated this? My license will be revoked before I even have a chance to use it properly."

Shu Zi was stunned for a moment, then laughed and leaned on his shoulder:

"Don't worry, my dad wouldn't dare offend me. Besides, he's in the wrong right now, so he wouldn't dare do anything to you."

Gu Yan was silent for two seconds, quickly assessing the risk level in his mind, and finally lowered his head to kiss her, letting out a resigned sigh.

"Alright, go teach them a lesson, but take it easy and don't bully them too much, or my father-in-law will blacklist me before I even have a proper visit."

Shu Zi gave an OK sign and smiled confidently: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

She got off Gu Yan, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, and looked back at him: "I'm hungry."

Gu Yan stood up and casually pulled her slippers to her feet: "Okay, I'll go cook."

Shu Zi put on her slippers and followed him to the kitchen door, where she leaned against the door frame and watched him wash and chop vegetables.

Sunlight streamed in through the French windows, falling on his shoulders. She suddenly felt as if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Gu Yan turned and glanced at her: "What are you standing there for?"

Shu Zi tilted her head: "I admire my chef."

Gu Yan didn't reply, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

He moved swiftly, and soon the kitchen was filled with delicious aromas.

Shu Zi sat by the island counter, resting her chin on her hand, watching him in front of the stove, chatting with him casually.

Once the food was served, the two sat down facing each other. Shu Zi sat at the table, eating with great satisfaction, her chopsticks never stopping and her mouth never idle, occasionally commenting, "This dish could be added to the regular menu."

Gu Yan sat opposite her, smiling as he looked at her.

After dinner, Shuzi went upstairs to change her clothes, then came down and nestled on the sofa to digest her food, hugging a cushion and spacing out for a while.

After Gu Yan finished clearing away the dishes, he came out and sat down next to her. He casually pulled the cushion off her lap and replaced it with his own hand.

Shu Zi naturally leaned over, held her phone between them, and said while flipping through the pages:

"It turns out that the recording was leaked by Fang Yutong's former assistant. She had been bullied by Fang Yutong a lot before, and after being fired, she happened to come here to work. That day, she overheard the conversation between the two and recorded it."

She continued scrolling down, then suddenly chuckled: "The comments below say, 'Good and evil will ultimately be rewarded; karma is a cycle.'"

She nodded in agreement and gave a thumbs-up, saying, "I think that's quite right."

She scrolled down two more pages:

"Yu Shize's situation isn't much better either. His substitution of a role and his forcing out the original actor have been thoroughly exposed, and the production team has already issued a statement saying that an investigation has been launched."

She put down her phone, turned to look at Gu Yan, and raised an eyebrow: "This matter escalated so quickly, you must have been behind it, right?"

Gu Yan looked down to meet her gaze, did not deny it, and gave a faint "hmm".

Shu Zi looked at him, the corners of her mouth slowly curving upwards, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek:

"Well done, no wonder you're the man I've set my sights on."

She leaned back on his shoulder, contentedly continuing to scroll through the comments.

About ten minutes later, Shu Zi stretched and sat up straight:

"Alright, I should get going. I'll catch my dad off guard before he can react."

Gu Yan chuckled and turned to look at her: "Shall I take you there?"

Shu Zi waved her hand:

"No need, I'll drive myself. You're a newly licensed driver, you should focus on doing your job well first."

Gu Yan nodded and told her, "Be careful on the road."

Shu Zi stood up, patted his shoulder, and cleared her throat with a serious expression:

"I've been driving longer than you've been dating, I'm very steady."

She took two steps, then turned back, looking at him earnestly:

"Don't worry, I'm not going there to overturn the table this time; I'm going to reason with them."

After saying that, she turned and left, her steps light and quick, her back view exuding an aura of "Today I'm going to show Comrade Shu what it means to be truly clear-headed."