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

The office fell into dead silence.

Lan Manwen's expression went from frozen to bewildered, then to shocked, and finally settled on a pale look that said, "I need a nitroglycerin pill."

She leaned back abruptly in her chair, one hand on her forehead, the other trembling as she reached for the drawer.

Shu Zi was startled and quickly stood up: "Sister Wen! Sister Wen, are you alright?"

Lan Manwen pulled a small pill bottle from the drawer, poured out two pills, and swallowed them with a glass of cold Americano. After a while, she pointed a trembling finger at Shu Zi, her voice unsteady:

"Shu...Shu Group...Shu Baizhou is really your father?!"

Shu Zi nodded, feeling a little guilty yet also wanting to laugh: "Yes, it's genuine, I'll compensate you tenfold if it's fake."

"you……"

Lan Manwen nearly choked, clutching her chest. "The heiress of the Shu Group! Miss! You...you've come to the entertainment industry to suffer like this?! Does your father know? Would he approve?!"

At this point, Shu Zi got excited, "Of course he disagreed!"

She pouted and said, "He's been wanting me to go home and laze around for ages, saying things like 'It's not like we can't afford to support you,' 'Why should a girl go to such a complicated place and have to put up with people's attitudes,' 'Come back and Dad will open an art gallery for you to play around with'..."

"Hmph, I won't do it!"

Lan Manwen was stunned: "So, you... you snuck out?"

"No, not really," Shu Zi touched her nose. "My mom supports me. She said I should do whatever I want, and being happy is the most important thing."

"As for my dad? His principle is that no matter what, my mom is the most important. He may verbally object fiercely, but he backs down as soon as my mom glares at him, so his objections are ineffective."

Lan Manwen: "..."

She suddenly remembered that several times when Shu Zi had been targeted, top law firms she had never contacted would proactively send her letters, some difficult partners would inexplicably become easy to talk to, and some high-quality resources would "just happen" to fall into Shu Zi's lap...

At the time, she thought it was either because Shu Zi was lucky or because she had managed things well.

Looking back now, it's likely that Mr. Shu Baizhou, the powerful CEO of the Shu family who was a force to be reckoned with in the business world, was secretly paving the way and clearing obstacles for his precious daughter while muttering "What's so great about the entertainment industry?"

"So, you entered the industry, and your family... your mother supported you, your father outwardly opposed but actually indulged you, and even secretly protected you?"

Lan Manwen felt that her worldview needed to be rebuilt.

"Impossible, he'd be protecting me! He'd love for me to fail in the entertainment industry so I could go home and inherit the family business! If anyone's backing me up, it'd be my grandfather."

"Your grandfather is...?"

"Shu Wangjin," Shu Zi said, uttering a name.

Lan Manwen's legs went weak. Sure enough, it was that big shot who had once dominated both the political and business worlds.

Shu Zi quickly added, "I mainly rely on myself! And Sister Wen, you've been guiding me!"

Looking at the pretty yet slightly naive face before her, Lan Manwen recalled how she could be happy for half a day over a small endorsement, how she would enjoy her boxed lunches on set, and how she never complained when filming action scenes while suspended by wires...

Suddenly, my feelings became extremely complicated.

She is a true heiress from a wealthy family, and she truly loves this job.

"One last question," Lan Manwen rubbed her aching temples, forcing herself to calm down and return to the most crucial issue.

"What's going on between you and Gu Yan now? Are you dating? Or is he pursuing you? Or is it that your two families... have some kind of unspoken agreement?"

This problem was even more of a headache for Shuzi than her family background.

Her eyes darted around, her fingers unconsciously picking at the hole in her jeans: "It's...nothing really happened. He's probably just...used to taking care of me? After what happened yesterday, no one could have ignored it..."

"Habit?" Lan Manwen sneered. "Shu Zi, who is Gu Yan? Do you think he can just casually 'habitually' use his time, energy, and top-tier properties?"

"Tell me the truth, is there anything between you two that goes beyond 'siblings' or 'childhood sweethearts'? Or, do you have feelings for him?"

Shu Zi's mind went completely blank when she was asked the question.

Does he? It seems so, but does he not? It seems like he's never explicitly said it... He's always been good to her, but it also seems a little different now.

And what about her relationship with him? It seems like she subconsciously draws closer to him and becomes dependent on him.

Is this also a habit?

"I don't think so," she said in a muffled voice, still somewhat uncertain.

Lan Manwen looked at her, clearly not believing her.

Shu Zi felt a little guilty under her gaze, and her tone became somewhat irritated, "Ugh, Sister Wen, stop asking, it's so annoying!"

Lan Manwen could tell from her ostrich-like mentality and agitation that she wouldn't get any more information out of her by pressing her for details.

She sighed and waved her hand:

"Fine, you don't know? Then I don't care what you do behind the scenes, but to the outside world, you'd better keep a tight rein on yourselves!"

"The fact that you are the daughter of the Shu family must absolutely not be revealed! At least not now! Otherwise, all your previous efforts and achievements will easily be misinterpreted!"

Shu Zi nodded earnestly: "I know, Sister Wen. I don't want to rely on my family, and I won't in the future."

"Secondly, keep your relationship with Gu Yan low-key! If you're photographed together again or in any ambiguous situation, I won't let you off the hook!"

Lan Manwen warned, "Be extremely careful when you go in and out of Yunqi Platinum Yue! I will have the team strengthen public opinion monitoring."

"understood."

"Alright, you can leave now. Let me have some peace and quiet." Lan Manwen closed her eyes wearily and leaned back in her chair.

"I need some time to process the fact that the most 'ordinary' and 'hard-working' artist under my management is actually a super-rich heiress, and that her father has always wanted her to come home and be a couch potato."

Shu Zi secretly stuck out her tongue and quickly slipped out of the office.

I had just reached the rest area to get a glass of water to calm my nerves when I heard a gentle, smiling voice coming from beside me:

"Zizi? Are you alright? I saw it trending on social media, I was so scared."

Shu Zi turned her head and saw Fang Yutong holding a cup of floral tea, looking at her with concern.

She wore a floral dress today, her makeup was exquisite, and her smile was flawless.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern," Shu Zi said calmly.

Fang Yutong's concern seemed utterly fake.

"It's alright, it's alright." Fang Yutong took two steps closer, lowered her voice, and spoke with even greater sincerity:

"Those obsessive fans are really terrifying. They must have psychological problems. Don't take it too hard. Just make sure to pay more attention to security in the future."

"By the way, you didn't go home last night, did you? Did you find a safe place?"

Shu Zi raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.

Is this an attempt to trick her into revealing information?

"Yeah, I'm staying at a friend's place temporarily, it's pretty safe," Shu Zi said casually, not wanting to say more.

"My friend's house..."

Fang Yutong smiled, her eyes sweeping over Shu Zi's face, her gaze carrying a pointed meaning.

"Is it with Teacher Gu? I saw on the show that Teacher Gu took special care of you. He must have been worried about you last night, right? Didn't he... stay with you?"

Shu Zi's expression turned cold as she looked at her. "Teacher Fang seems particularly concerned about my private affairs?"