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

On the stairs, two people walked one after the other.

Shu Zi walked in front, and Gu Yan followed behind, their footsteps echoing softly and heavily in the quiet stairwell.

The warm yellow wall lamp cast long shadows of the two people, one overlapping the other.

Reaching the corner of the stairs, Shu Zi suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked down at Gu Yan, who was two steps behind. She raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Didn't you just leave from my place this afternoon? Why are you out again tonight? Your schedule must be pretty full, Mr. Gu?"

Gu Yan stood slightly lower, looked up at her, and a lazy smile curved his lips: "Mind your own business?"

Shu Zi immediately retorted, "Who cares about you? Go wherever you want, it's none of my business!"

Gu Yan's smile deepened. "Huo Fei asked me to come."

"He told you to come, and you came?" Shu Zi asked incredulously. "You're that obedient?"

"Yes," Gu Yan replied frankly.

Shu Zi stared at his expressionless face for two seconds, then turned back and continued walking downstairs, muttering to herself, "...I've never seen you so easy to talk to before."

As she approached the first-floor exit, Shu Zi pulled a black mask from her chain bag, quickly put it on, and then took out a black baseball cap, expertly putting it on her head. She deliberately pulled the brim down, almost covering her eyebrows and most of her face.

After completing this set of "basic celebrity street disguise" procedures, she continued walking towards the door.

Gu Yan watched her fluid movements from behind, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards almost imperceptibly.

Shu Zi seemed to have eyes in the back of her head; without turning her head, her voice came out muffled from under her mask:

"What are you laughing at! What's so funny!"

"Last time I had a craving for milk tea late at night, I went downstairs to buy some, and someone was staking out me! Guess what the trending headline was the next day? 'Shu Zi drinks alone late at night, looking forlorn, seemingly heartbroken!'"

"I wasn't wearing makeup and I was sleepy! I'm so mad!"

Gu Yan looked at the back of the person who was completely covered by a hat and mask, with only a small section of the white nape of their neck showing. He didn't say anything, but the smile in his eyes deepened.

Stepping out of Wuyu, the warm summer night breeze, mixed with the city's atmosphere, hits you, carrying a hint of sultry heat.

Shu Zi pulled down her mask, took a deep breath of the not-so-fresh air, and quickly put the mask back on.

She checked the direction and took two steps toward where she had parked her car.

"come over."

Gu Yan's voice came from behind.

Shu Zi turned around and saw that Gu Yan was already standing next to his low-key black SUV. The door unlock indicator light flashed, and the passenger door had already been opened by him.

The posture was casual, the movements natural, and the meaning was crystal clear.

Shu Zi glanced at the small white sedan she was parked a few meters away, then at the SUV with its door open. After hesitating for a fraction of a second, she walked over, bent down, and sat in the passenger seat, pulling her hat brim down a little further.

Gu Yan closed the car door, went around to the driver's seat, fastened his seatbelt, and started the car.

The engine emitted a deep, steady sound, and the car silently slid out of the parking space, onto the road, and quickly blended into the nighttime traffic.

The city's neon lights flashed past the car window, red, green, and blue, casting colorful streaks of light and shadow on the glass.

Shu Zi leaned back in the comfortable seat and finally pulled her mask down completely, hanging it on one ear.

She tilted her head, watching the rapidly changing street scene outside the window. After a while, she suddenly spoke, breaking the silence in the car:

"Huo Fei and Qiao Qiao... do you think they can work out?"

Gu Yan held the steering wheel with one hand, his gaze fixed straight ahead, his tone calm: "I don't know."

Shu Zi turned to look at him: "Aren't you very close to him?"

Gu Yan kept his eyes fixed ahead, his voice steady: "We may be familiar, but when it comes to matters of the heart, outsiders can't say for sure, and even the people involved may not know for sure."

Shu Zi turned her head and glanced at him in the dim light from the window.

His profile was illuminated by the intermittent light from outside the car, revealing deep contours and making his expression difficult to discern.

She looked away, then back out the window, her voice softening as if she were talking to herself: "...That's true."

The car slowly came to a stop at a long red light.

Shu Zi stared blankly at the scarlet taillights of the car in front of her. After a while, as if remembering something, she asked out of the blue, "Are you busy tomorrow?"

"fine."

"Then you cook for me."

Gu Yan glanced at her sideways, a hint of teasing in his voice: "Didn't you say you didn't need it?"

Shu Zi raised her chin, speaking with self-righteousness: "That was what we said this afternoon, but it's changed now."

Gu Yan chuckled lightly, "Okay."

Shu Shuzi then gave a satisfied "humph" and leaned back in her chair.

The car drove into the residential area where Shu Zi lived and went directly into the underground parking garage. Gu Yan parked the car next to the elevator entrance of her building and turned off the engine.

Shuzi put her mask back on, pulled her hat down as low as possible, and only after confirming that she was fully "armed" did she unbuckle her seatbelt and reach for the car door.

Gu Yan's voice came from the side: "Message me when you arrive."

"understood."

She opened the car door, got out, and walked towards the elevator without looking back.

After taking a few steps, she stopped as if possessed and looked back.

Gu Yan's car was still parked where it was, with the headlights on. Through the windshield, she could see him sitting in the driver's seat, looking at her.

Shu Zi turned around, quickly stepped into the elevator, swiped her card, and pressed the floor button in one smooth motion.

The moment the elevator doors closed, she leaned against the elevator wall, took off her mask, and let out a long breath.

Looking at the light above her head, the corners of her mouth slowly and slightly curved upwards, perhaps without her even realizing it.

Back home, Shuzi changed her shoes, walked into the living room, and collapsed onto the sofa, tossing her hat on the coffee table and throwing her mask into the trash can.

My phone vibrated.

A certain Mr. Gu, a despicable person: "Have we arrived?"

A little creature: "We've arrived."

A certain Mr. Gu, a despicable person: "Hmm."

Shu Zi stared at the "Mm" and typed a line: "Let me know when you get home."

After sending it, I felt it was a bit unnecessary, but I didn't retract it.

A certain Mr. Gu, a despicable person: "Okay."

Shu Zi tossed her phone onto the sofa, took a shower, and when she came out, her phone screen was lit up with a new message.

A certain Mr. Gu, a despicable person: "We've arrived."

A little girl: "Oh."

A certain Mr. Gu, a despicable person: "Go to sleep early."

Shu Zi stared at those three words for two seconds, typed "Hmm," then felt it was too cold, so she sent a moon emoji instead.

Gu Yan didn't reply. Shu Zi put her phone on the bedside table, turned off the light, turned over, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and stared at the ceiling in the darkness.

Her mind was a jumbled mess. She thought about what Fang Ran had said, and she herself didn't know what she really thought of Gu Yan.

She turned over and pulled the blanket over her head.

"...So annoying."