Shen Zhi's residence felt almost unreal the moment Anqi stepped inside. The ceilings stretched high, the windows swallowed the city lights, and the marble floors gleamed so perfectly she almost felt guilty for stepping on them with her carrot slippers.
"It looks like the kind of place where the air also pays rent," she said, glancing around.
Lin Xu elbowed her. "If this is the guest room, imagine the bathroom. It probably has a button that gives you life advice."
Shen Zhi ignored his dramatics. "If you need anything, let me know."
Anqi smiled at him. A small one, clean and bright, the kind that had slowly begun to chip at his carefully controlled calm.
"Can I stream here?"
"You may use the study."
He said it like offering her access to treasure vaults. She said, "Cool," and skipped off with her laptop under her arm.
Lin Xu whispered to Shen Zhi, "She acclimated to the billionaire environment too fast. This is dangerous."
Shen Zhi said nothing. But he watched her disappear into the study, watched her ponytail bounce, watched her little silhouette glow against the heavy atmosphere of his world.
Something in his chest ached. Something he hadn't named yet.
The study was enormous, but Anqi made it warm instantly. She spread her carrot blanket across the chair, propped her cheap mic onto a stack of unused law books, and opened her laptop.
When she went live, her entire face lit up on camera.
"Hello hello, sunshine reporting for duty," she greeted cheerfully. "No, I am not dead. No, I am not kidnapped by aliens. Yes, this is a new background. No, I am not rich now. I just broke into a CEO's house."
The chat exploded.
[CuteCarrot: WHAT]
[Starglitter: Why does that room look expensive enough to pay college tuition]
[FanaticFrog: Blink twice if you need rescuing]
Anqi blinked twice.
Then added, "I blinked because the ring light is bright, not because someone suspicious is behind me."
Outside the door, Shen Zhi paused with a glass of water, hearing the sentence. For a moment, he almost stepped inside to correct her. Then he stopped himself, leaned against the wall instead, and listened.
There was something soothing about her voice.Something he had not noticed the first time he watched her stream.It wasn't only cheerful.It was alive.
She told stories, laughed until she hiccuped, and nearly spilled water on her keyboard twice. Lin Xu snuck in at one point, wearing a blanket like a cape, and got scolded by her viewers.
Midway through her stream, someone commented:
[Moonberry: You seem different today. Happier. Bright.]
Anqi slowed for a second.
"I am trying my best," she said quietly. "Even if scary things happen, I think… as long as I keep talking to you all, I won't lose myself."
Shen Zhi's fingers tightened around the glass he held.
He had not expected that sentence to hit him with that much force.
When she finished streaming, she slumped into the chair with a long sigh.
"I survived. My dignity did not, but I did."
She clicked out of her stream dashboard.
Then opened another tab.
"Felix Valentine is live," she said softly.
Her eyes brightened like she had just seen the moon rise.
She clicked on his stream.
The screen filled with soft, muted colors and a man sitting in a dimly lit room. His posture was relaxed, almost slouched, and his hair fell slightly over his eyes. He had an unshakeable calmness about him, the kind that didn't come from peace but from exhaustion so deep it settled into the bones.
Felix Valentine.
He spoke in a quiet, steady tone. "Good evening. Let's just get through today together."
Even his greeting sounded tired. Not weak. Just worn down, like he kept carrying something heavy and had forgotten how to set it down.
Anqi rested her chin on her hand. "He looks more tired than usual."
Shen Zhi appeared at the doorway again. "You watch him often."
"He's my idol. His gameplay is amazing. His calmness is amazing. His everything is—"
She cut herself off, because Shen Zhi's eyelashes lowered almost imperceptibly, and Lin Xu was mouthing "jealousy arc" behind him.
She cleared her throat. "Anyway. He is inspiring."
Felix missed a shot on-screen, paused for a heartbeat, then offered a half-smile filled with quiet resignation.
"My hands are slow today," he murmured. "Bear with me."
Anqi whispered, "See? He is so gentle even with his failures."
Shen Zhi tilted his head. "You admire that."
"I do. A lot. He has this sad, calm energy that makes you want to work harder."
Lin Xu whispered loudly, "She is describing a depressed poet."
But Anqi ignored him. Her eyes were glued to the screen.
Felix's voice filled the room again, even softer now. "If you're struggling today… keep breathing. Some days are heavy. It's alright."
Anqi's smile weakened. "He always says things like that. It feels genuine, like he knows what pain tastes like."
Shen Zhi's gaze shifted from Felix to her.
He watched the way her shoulders relaxed when Felix spoke.He watched the expression of quiet empathy she carried.He watched how she listened as if hearing someone who mirrored a part of her she rarely showed.
And for the first time, he wondered what her sadness looked like when she wasn't pretending.
"You admire him because you recognize something," Shen Zhi said.
She turned to him, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"You see sadness in him," he said. "And you understand it."
Her throat tightened.She didn't answer immediately.Then she whispered, "Maybe."
Felix continued streaming, unaware of the small study where three people watched him.
He looked calm.He looked tired.He looked like someone who had built a palace out of silence because noise hurt too much.
Anqi loved his streams for that reason.
Shen Zhi could see it clearly. Lin Xu saw it too.
Lin Xu whispered, "So now she has two emotionally damaged men watching her watch her emotionally damaged idol."
Shen Zhi gave him a look that made him go silent instantly.
Anqi didn't notice. She was already scribbling notes.
"I need to improve my transitions," she muttered. "Also my reaction timing. And my emotional pacing. Felix does it so well. He is cool without trying to be cool."
"You can be cool," Shen Zhi said.
"No, I am silly," she replied cheerfully.
"That is also cool," he murmured.
She nearly choked on air. Lin Xu slapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from shrieking like a fangirl.
The room fell quiet, warm in a strange way.
Felix continued streaming in the background, his voice soft and soothing.
Anqi watched with admiration.
Shen Zhi watched her watching him.
Lin Xu watched everything like someone witnessing a romantic disaster in progress.
Two men noticed her that night.
One on the screen.
One standing in the doorway.
And neither understood yet how deeply she would change their worlds.