By the time Gu Anqi reached her small apartment, the night's chaos finally caught up with her. She dropped her heels at the door, threw her purse onto the couch, and collapsed face-first on her bed with her dress still on.
Her entire body felt like jelly.
Her mind replayed the events again and again.
Falling into Shen Zhi.
His hand on her arm.
His steady voice.
His confusing protectiveness.
Li Feng's interest.
Shen Zhi's jealousy.
The way he looked at her when she danced.
Her cheeks heated so fast she buried her face into her pillow.
"This is illegal. My heart cannot handle this storyline."
She kicked her blankets dramatically, as if they were responsible for her embarrassment.
After ten minutes of quiet screaming into the sheets, she finally sat up, changed into comfy pajamas covered in cartoon dumplings, and padded into her streaming room.
Streaming always calmed her down.
Her audience did not care about her family.They did not care about banquets or fancy dresses.They liked watching her fall off cliffs in games and scream at spiders.
That felt safe.
She plopped into her chair, tied her hair into a messy ponytail, slapped her cheeks lightly for courage, and turned on her camera.
The moment the stream started, comments flooded in instantly.
"ANQI IS LIVE"
"DID YOU SEE THE BANQUET PHOTOS??"
"SHE LOOKS SO PRETTY OMG"
"SPILL THE TEA"
"DID YOU REALLY FALL ON A CEO???"
"EXPLAIN RIGHT NOW"
Anqi blinked wide-eyed.
"Oh no. Internet detectives are too powerful."
She waved frantically.
"Hello hello! Yes I am alive! No I did not fall on purpose! My foot betrayed me! I blame gravity!"
The chat exploded.
"GRAVITY SIMP"
"THE CEO LOOKED AT YOU LIKE YOU WERE A SNACK"
"MA'AM YOU HAVE GAME"
"STREAMER LORE UPDATED"
Anqi covered her face with both hands.
"You all are banned. Permanently. How dare you bully me like this."
Chat spammed heart emojis.
As she played her game, her silly energy returned. She screamed when a monster jumped out. She celebrated dramatically after beating a mini-boss. She made dumb jokes. She ranted at her character.
Her viewers adored it.
By the second hour, the viewer count had doubled. Her face softened, relaxed.Streaming was home.
Then her phone buzzed.
Caller ID: Lin Xu.
Her best friend. Her protector. Her certified chaos twin.
She glanced at chat.
"WHO IS CALLING??"
"ANSWER ON STREAM"
"WE WANT DRAMA"
"SHOW US THE TEA"
"No, chat," she scolded. "Lin Xu is my emotional support. You cannot steal him."
The phone buzzed again.
She sighed, muted her mic, and answered.
"Hello?"
Lin Xu's voice burst loudly through the receiver."ANQI. YOU. YOU MENACE. YOU PUBLIC MENACE."
She flinched. "I did nothing. I am innocent. I barely touched him."
"The entire internet is talking about you bumping into Shen Zhi. Do you know how many edits people already made? There's one where he catches you like a princess. There's another where you two are surrounded by rose petals. There is even an anime version!"
"I want to disappear," she whispered.
"Disappear? Girl, you practically trended. That man has never been that close to anyone. The whole world is confused."
Anqi sank into her chair. "Lin Xu… what if I ruined everything?"
"You did not ruin anything. You exist and are adorable, and that is enough."
She sniffed dramatically. "Thank you. That was very sweet."
"I have more advice," Lin Xu added. "Stop underestimating yourself. You looked beautiful. Anyone with eyes could see that."
Her cheeks warmed. "Stop."
"No. I will not stop. Also, did he smell good?"
"LIN XU."
"I am conducting research."
"He smelled like money and winter."
"I knew it."
She groaned. "I am hanging up."
"Fine, fine. But message me tomorrow. I want updates. If he calls you, I want to know. If he breathes near you, I want to know. Goodnight, princess disaster."
She smiled softly. "Goodnight."
She hung up and returned to stream, laughing at her chaotic friend.
But she did not notice something.
Her stream clip had been trending for the past hour.Which meant one other person had seen it.
Shen Zhi.
The next morning, Shen Zhi sat in the back seat of his sleek black car. The sun filtered weakly through the tinted windows. He had barely slept. His mind kept returning to the same image.
Her.Her smile.Her silly jokes.Her streaming laughter.Her voice on the call.
He had seen her stream.
He had watched the entire thing.
He told himself it was for research. He told himself he needed to understand her better. He told himself it was curiosity.
Yet he kept replaying her laugh, her hand gestures, her brightness.
No one had ever sounded like that around him. No one had ever looked so alive doing something so simple.
Xu Chen, sitting in the front, glanced at him through the mirror.
"Sir. You have cleared your entire morning schedule. Will you be working from the office or from home?"
"Neither."
Xu Chen froze. "Neither?"
Shen Zhi closed his laptop quietly."I will visit Miss Gu."
Xu Chen nearly choked on his own breath. "Visit? Personally? This early?"
"Yes."
"Should I inform her?"
"No."
"Should I explain the reason?"
"There is no reason."
Xu Chen rubbed his forehead. "Sir… this is how stories begin."
Shen Zhi ignored him.
Gu Anqi had just finished breakfast when someone knocked on her apartment door.
She froze.
The landlord? A package? Lin Xu surprise-visiting?
She opened the door.
And forgot how to breathe.
Shen Zhi stood there, tall and elegant in a tailored coat, silver hair slightly tousled by the morning breeze. His eyes met hers gently, calmly, with something unspoken beneath the surface.
"Good morning, Miss Gu," he said.
Her brain blue-screened.
She made a small choking sound.
Then another.
Then—
"Why are you here? Did gravity send you?"
His lips almost curved.
"May I come in?" he asked.
She stepped aside automatically, still malfunctioning.
As he entered her little apartment, she panicked silently. There were plushies everywhere. Dumpling pillows. Cat stickers. A blanket shaped like a smiling carrot.
He looked around slowly.
She wanted to die.
"I can explain," she whispered.
"You do not need to explain," he replied. "It suits you."
Her face burst into flames.
He turned to her again.
"I watched your stream last night."
She squeaked.
Then she buried her face in her hands.
"Why would you do that?" she mumbled through her palms.
"Because I wanted to."
Her heart thumped wildly.
Shen Zhi stepped closer but kept a respectful distance.His voice lowered slightly.
"I came to see if you are alright."
Her hands dropped.
"I am… fine. I think. My dignity is gone. But the rest of me is alive."
He looked at her with a softness she did not understand.
"Good."
She blinked, confused, warm, overwhelmed.
"Shen Zhi," she whispered, "why… why are you being so kind to me?"
He met her eyes directly.There was no hesitation.
"I do not know yet."
Her breath hitched.
"But I want to find out."
And for the first time, she felt her world shift too.