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

Gu Yan glanced at her, said nothing, reached into his pocket, took out the black phone, and handed it to her.

Shu Zi grabbed it, looked down at it, then turned around angrily and walked away.

"Where to?"

"Play games!" Shu Zi said without turning her head, her voice stiff.

She hasn't logged in for days!

Gu Yan: "..."

Director Liu stood at the door, watching Shu Zi's menacing figure walk away, then looked at Gu Yan and couldn't help but ask, "You just gave it to her like that?"

Gu Yan's gaze was still fixed on the corner where she had disappeared, a helpless smile flashing across his eyes: "Otherwise what? What could I do?"

Neither of them was wearing a microphone, and Director Liu, unable to contain his gossip, took a half-step closer and lowered his voice: "Teacher Gu, you're on this show... because of Shu Zi, right?"

Gu Yan did not answer immediately.

The corridor was so quiet you could hear your own breathing.

After several seconds, he gave a barely audible "hmm," his voice as soft as a sigh.

Then, without saying anything more, he turned and went upstairs at a leisurely pace, as if he had just casually replied, "The weather is nice today."

Director Liu stood there, stunned for a moment, his eyes slowly widening, then he revealed a smile that said, "Just as I thought, I saw it coming." He shook his head, his lips parted, and closed the door.

-At the dining table-

Su Yanhuan glanced at Gu Yan, who had just sat down, and then at the black phone in Shu Zi's hand that was clearly not provided by the production team. Her eyes lit up instantly, and her gossip spirit burned brightly.

Jiang Yunyou belatedly realized, "Sister Zizi, this... is Teacher Gu's phone?"

Shu Zi nodded and continued watching her funny videos, calmly as if she were doing her own thing.

[Is Shu Zi holding Gu Yan's personal phone?!]

[Important! It's a personal phone! Not from the production team!]

So what exactly is their relationship now?! How can they just take each other's phones like that?!

Su Yanhuan was about to ask another question when Shu Zi's phone suddenly vibrated.

Shu Zi glanced at the caller ID; it was a work call. She casually raised her hand and handed the phone to Gu Yan, who had just walked to the table.

Gu Yan took it, glanced at the screen, swiped to answer, and put it to his ear.

"Um."

"Can."

Send it to me tomorrow.

The entire process took less than twenty seconds and was concise and to the point.

He hung up and handed the phone back to Shuzi.

Shuzi took it and pressed her thumb on the screen.

The screen lit up, unlocking successful.

She seamlessly transitioned to watching the video of the cat sliding off the sofa.

The movements were fluid and natural, as if they had been rehearsed hundreds of times.

A brief silence fell over the dining table.

Su Yanhuan stared at Shu Zi's fluid movements, swallowed hard, and asked in a slightly unsteady voice, "Sister Zi...you...you can unlock Teacher Gu's phone?"

Shu Zi was amused by the video and casually replied, "Mhm."

Su Yanhuan gasped, her voice rising, "W-how could you untangle it?!"

Shu Zi finally looked up from her phone, glanced at her, then at Gu Yan beside her who looked completely at ease, and said matter-of-factly, "I recorded my fingerprint, so what?"

Su Yanhuan opened her mouth, but remained silent for a long time.

Fang Yutong's hand holding the spoon paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, then she continued to sip her porridge, her expression perfectly controlled, showing no sign of anything amiss.

The barrage of comments exploded like a nuclear explosion:

[Recorded! Fingerprint!]

[Private phone used to record the other person's fingerprints! I don't need to explain the nature of this relationship, right?!]

[The seamless handover of the phone and the perfect coordination takes at least ten years to develop.]

[Su Yanhuan: Speaking for the millions of viewers in front of the screen]

Su Yanhuan took a deep breath, steadied her trembling voice, and asked again, "Sister Zizi, you and Teacher Gu... have known each other for a long time, haven't you?"

Shu Zi was looking at her phone when she heard this. She looked up, glanced at Su Yanhuan, then at Gu Yan, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Yes, we know him. Don't you guys know him?"

Is the "knowledge" we're talking about that kind of "knowledge"?!

Su Yanhuan: "...What we're talking about might not be the kind of acquaintance where you 'know the name'."

Shu Zi was even more confused: "Which one is it?"

Jiang Yunyou couldn't hold back any longer and interjected, "Sister Zizi, what I mean is, you and Yan Shen didn't seem... very familiar with each other before?"

Shu Zi said "Oh" in a flat tone: "Oh, he made me angry back then, so I didn't want to talk to him."

Jiang Yunyou: "...So you guys are actually quite close?"

Shu Zi nodded: "Yes, we've known each other since we were little."

Jiang Yunyou's mouth opened into an "O" shape.

Su Yanhuan's eyes widened like saucers.

Fang Yutong's spoon stopped in mid-air, and after half a second she continued to stir the porridge in the bowl.

Yu Shize didn't look up, but his fingers tightened around the bowl.

Han Jingxue's expression didn't change much; she already knew.

The chat exploded:

"Known since childhood"? Childhood sweethearts?

So Gu Yan and Shu Zi are childhood sweethearts?!

Why did you pretend not to know him before? Shu-Tzu said, "He made me angry."

What exactly did Gu Yan do to make Shu Zi want to ignore him?

Wait, so Gu Yan came to this show because of Shu Zi?

You're not the last one to know this.

[Help! This couple is revealing way too much information!]

It took Su Yanhuan a while to find her voice: "Sister Zizi... why didn't you say so before?"

Shu Zi tilted her head, thought about it seriously for a moment, and then uttered a sentence that made the whole room fall silent again:

"You didn't ask either."

Everyone: "..."

[“You Didn’t Ask Anything” by Shu Zi, a Logical Genius]

I can't refute this reason...

[The way Shu Zi glared at Gu Yan was so practiced it was almost heartbreaking (not really)]

Su Yanhuan's gaze swept back and forth between Shu Zi and Gu Yan a few times, then suddenly an idea struck her. She lowered her voice even further, with a cautious, tentative tone:

"Teacher Gu is from the Gu family... then Sister Zizi, your family is also..."

The words were left unsaid, but the meaning was already crystal clear.

Shu Zi was looking down at her phone. Upon hearing this, she didn't even look up, her tone as matter-of-fact as ever: "Oh, my family doesn't have any money."

Su Yanhuan opened her mouth, wanting to explain, "That's not what I meant," but then she got stuck.

Looking at Shu Zi's expression that seemed to say, "I'm really poor, don't ask me," she felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Upon hearing this, Han Jingxue paused almost imperceptibly.

She raised her eyes, glanced at Shu Zi, and a hint of helplessness flashed across her eyes, as if she wanted to laugh but forcibly suppressed it. Then she lowered her head and silently took a sip of tea.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Shu Group, in the top-floor president's office.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is a bustling city skyline, and sunlight streams onto the dark-colored desk.

Shu Baizhou sat in his large office chair, with the breakfast live stream of "For Your Heart" playing on his computer screen.

His hand, which was holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.

The secretary beside him held her breath, carefully observing his expression, and dared not utter a sound.

Shu Baizhou put down his teacup, picked up his phone, and opened Weibo.

The top trending topic has become #Shuzi said my family has no money#, followed by a bright red "hot" character.

Shu Baizhou stared at the line of text for a few seconds, put down his phone, picked up his teacup again, took a sip, and uttered three words expressionlessly:

"This girl."

The secretary didn't hear her clearly: "Mr. Shu, what did you say?"

Shu Baizhou didn't repeat himself, and his gaze returned to the live broadcast screen.

On the screen, his daughter, who was "poor at home," was looking down, engrossed in watching funny videos on Gu Yan's phone, completely unaware of the uproar that was raging online.

Shu Baizhou looked at it for a long time, then finally shook his head, his tone helpless yet tinged with indulgence:

"Let her be."

The secretary nodded and quietly left.

[Han Jingxue's gaze!!! She glanced at Shu Zi!]

What did that look mean?

Does Han Jingxue know something?

Her eyes seemed to say, "Are you serious?"

[Shu Zi said her family had no money, and Han Jingxue's expression clearly showed disbelief.]

So what exactly is Shu Zi's identity?

Fang Yutong put down her spoon, looked up, a flawless, gentle smile on her face, and spoke softly:

"So, you two are childhood sweethearts?"

"Right?"

Fang Yutong's smile deepened, and she casually asked, "So, Teacher Gu, did you come to participate in this program because of you, Shuzi?"

The restaurant fell silent instantly.

All eyes turned to Gu Yan.

Fang Yutong asks a lot of questions! Ask more!

[I want to know too! Is he here to win back his wife (crossed out) and coax her?]

Before Gu Yan could speak, Shu Zi spoke first, without even raising her head, her tone carrying a disdainful air of "you're all dreaming":

"Him? Because of me? No way! He's more like here to annoy me!"

Everyone: "..."

There's no way to respond to that.

Just as the atmosphere became tense, Director Liu strolled in from outside, his steps unhurried, successfully interrupting the dangerous conversation.

Ever since he received that "hmm" last night, the way he looks at Shu Zi has changed.

When my gaze falls on her, it always carries a sense of inquiry, as if I've discovered some incredible secret, like looking at an unsolved mystery edged with gold.

To grow up alongside the young CEO of the Gu family, and to have this man personally appear on variety shows and make additional investments for her...

Anyone with a brain knows that this girl's background is anything but simple.

However, these are not things he should delve into.

He only needed to be clear about one thing: Shu Zi, this move was absolutely right.

At the same time, the hashtag #ShuZiGuYanChildhoodSweethearts# quickly climbed the Weibo hot search list, followed by the word "boiling".

The show's popularity skyrocketed.