Gu Xing’s response could be described as indifferent—just a simple “Mm.”
Ruan Xingmian didn’t think much of it. Gu Xing wasn’t much of a talker over the phone, and compared to other people’s boyfriends, he could be considered cold. She was already used to it.
He asked, “Where are you?”
Perhaps from sitting in the car for too long, his voice was low, hoarse, and stiff, his tone flat and devoid of inflection.
Yet Ruan Xingmian sensed a sharp edge of interrogation in his words, giving her the illusion of being caught by her boyfriend.
Although nothing had happened between her and Lu Tian.
But if Gu Xing hadn’t called, Ruan Xingmian couldn’t be sure whether Lu Tian would have forced himself on her.
Even though she was confident she wouldn’t be taken advantage of, the incident reminded her to stay away from Lu Tian from now on. If she couldn’t avoid him, she’d bring Gu Xing along to back her up.
Ruan Xingmian couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety. When had Gu Xing, whom she’d been with for less than a week, already become her support?
“It’s stuffy inside, so I came out for a walk.”
Not wanting Gu Xing to misunderstand, she didn’t dare tell the truth outright and casually made up an excuse, hoping it would suffice.
“Alone?”
Ruan Xingmian glanced left and right at the empty bus stop, stretching her fingers to relax her body. “Mm, alone.”
The silent current of the call flowed quietly, and the silence lasted for a full minute.
“It’s quite nice here. Next time, we…”
She tried to break the silence on the call.
But Gu Xing cut her off.
“Mm, finish your walk and head back early.”
He said he was busy and hung up.
Ruan Xingmian stared at the ended call screen, her heart giving a slight tug…
Back at the rental apartment, Ruan Xingmian lay down for half an hour.
Only then did she recover from the shock of the old pervert’s harassment.
A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.
From now on, she’d stay away from Lu Tian when possible. Today’s trip wasn’t entirely wasted—at least she confirmed the pinhole camera wasn’t in his possession.
Turning her thoughts elsewhere, the matter of the pinhole camera hung over Ruan Xingmian’s head like a sword.
Had Gu Xing taken it?
Probably not.
When the original owner installed the pinhole camera, Lu Tian was present, and there was a recording of the two conspiring to harm Gu Xing.
If Gu Xing had really gotten hold of the camera, he’d probably want to kill her. Why would he choose to date her and treat her so well?
He wasn’t a masochist.
Besides, that night, she felt as if her bones had been shattered.
Gu Xing wasn’t much better off either. In the end, he fell into a deep sleep, looking no different from an old ox that had plowed two miles of land.
Gu Xing was ruled out.
And it wasn’t Lu Tian either.
That left a passerby.
For now, Ruan Xingmian could only think of one strategy: if someone showed up with compromising footage, she’d deny it to the death and then call the police.
Finally, she strained to recall the entire process of that night and compared it to the hotel layout. It seemed she and Gu Xing had done it three times on the carpet and bedding… Maybe nothing was captured at all.
As for what might have been recorded, Ruan Xingmian couldn’t be sure. She’d deal with it if someone came knocking.
For now, racking her brains was useless.
There were more important things to do. She quickly pulled herself together and began sorting through the recently shot footage, categorizing it into usable clips, pending clips, and discarded clips.
As she organized, she brainstormed captions.
It was all familiar work, and Ruan Xingmian handled it with ease.
By six o’clock, she tossed together a simple salad for herself and had dinner with some toast.
After finishing her meal in a hurry, she logged onto the platform to check her account.
First, she reviewed her profile to see if any improvements were needed.
Then, she noted the likes, comments, and daily follower count.
The original author incorporated various real-world settings into the story.
Thus, Ruan Xingmian was quite familiar with the two major short video platforms in the book: Yishou and Huanyin.
Yishou had the highest traffic, targeting the lower-tier market with extremely high penetration. Its user base spanned a wide age range, placing greater emphasis on authentic, down-to-earth content. The platform fostered strong community engagement and was steeped in a distinct “bro culture.”
Huanyin, on the other hand, was relatively younger, focusing on short videos ranging from 15 seconds to one minute. Its content was fast-paced and impactful, frequently utilizing background music and visual effects. It emphasized a “hit-driven logic” and offered a rich variety of content types, including talent performances, comedy skits, scripted scenarios, and informational or educational clips.
When Ruan Xingmian created short videos, she emphasized a culture of beauty.
Beauty in composition, beauty in music, beauty in content.
She chose Huanyin, which had slightly lower traffic.
At the time, many people’s prejudice against short videos stemmed from Yishou, which they perceived as tacky and boring.
Only when more and more young people gathered on Huanyin would the true spring of the short video boom arrive.
In Ruan Xingmian’s view, that day would come very soon.
Currently, there were very few bloggers who seriously filmed videos for documentation. Ruan Xingmian’s first video received traffic support from Huanyin, gaining her nearly a hundred followers.
Compared to millions of followers, it was but a drop in the ocean.
However, in Ruan Xingmian’s eyes, this was already quite good.
Haste makes waste. She planned to maintain an update schedule of every other day.
After recording the data, she immersed herself in editing.
By eleven o’clock, having worked tirelessly without receiving any message from Gu Xing, Ruan Xingmian could no longer stay awake. She sent a “good night” text and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next day, the new bed was delivered. Ruan Xingmian got up early and set up the camera.
The newly purchased bedding was apple green, washed and neatly folded in advance.
After wiping the bed clean, Ruan Xingmian eagerly made it.
This bed hadn’t cost much.
After selecting it at a physical store, Ruan Xingmian spent three consecutive days bargaining with the sales manager, first paying a deposit of one thousand in cash.
If, within three months, she managed to help their brand sell three beds through her short videos, she wouldn’t need to pay the remaining balance.
If the sales target wasn’t met by the three-month mark, Ruan Xingmian would then settle the remaining payment.
For appliances like the refrigerator and washing machine, she hadn’t encountered such accommodating salespeople. Despite talking until she was hoarse, the other party wouldn’t budge, so she had to pay in full.
Only with the new bed in the room did it finally feel like a home.
Ruan Xingmian couldn’t wait to take a photo and send it to Gu Xing.
Glancing at the time, she guessed Gu Xing was probably at the press conference.
She remembered there was a live stream of a mobile phone brand’s launch event on Huanyin.
Ruan Xingmian slipped into the kitchen and cooked a bowl of plain noodle soup.
She ate while waiting for the live stream to start.
She enjoyed cooking.
But she disliked washing dishes, cleaning pots, and tidying up the aftermath.
So when Gu Xing wasn’t around and there were no filming requirements, she generally kept things as simple as possible, just meeting her nutritional needs.
Moreover, the doctor had advised that during early pregnancy, she shouldn’t overindulge in eating and drinking.
Otherwise, not only would her appetite expand, but all the weight would go to her, creating a vicious cycle.
By the time she finished her noodles, the press conference live stream was about to begin.
Perhaps due to insufficient preparation, the live stream equipment was quite blurry.
Nevertheless, it was clear that this phone was highly popular—there were already ten thousand viewers as soon as she joined.
The comment section was even livelier.
Ruan Xingmian immediately spotted what she wanted to see.
[Here to see Teacher Qin.]
[Here to see Gu Shen.]
[Here to drool over the screen.]
Following the comments’ cues, Ruan Xingmian found Gu Xing sitting in the audience.
At the same time, she caught a fleeting glimpse of Ruan Xingyue and Ji Ling.
A talented scholar and a gifted lady, a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
A truly pleasing sight.
From last night until this morning, she hadn’t received a single message from Gu Xing. Ruan Xingmian’s heart felt sour and swollen.
After the live stream ended, Ruan Xingmian didn’t even bother to put away her phone and collapsed onto the bed to sleep.
This sleep frightened her.
The original owner in reality, wearing her face, had boldly ventured into the short drama track.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
The original owner had never lifted a finger for household chores and was completely clueless about intangible cultural heritage and cooking.
Besides live-streaming sales, she was most skilled at managing fans and hyping up trending topics.
Now, leveraging her immense popularity, she had received quite a few short drama scripts.
Mostly as the Villainess Supporting Female Character.
Ruan Xingmian covered her eyes, truly afraid that the original owner would get too into the role and start slapping everyone she met.
When she woke up, Ruan Xingmian felt a sense of loss.
The original owner was like flowing water—living recklessly, freely, and unrestrained.
In contrast, her own life felt soft and weak. She glanced at her still-flat belly and realized belatedly that they had swapped lives. The original owner had thrived in the past, while she had drawn the short end of the stick with a disastrous start.
But then she thought, she now had people she cared about. For Gu Xing and the baby, she had to get moving.
Ruan Xingmian gathered her spirits, dragged her grocery cart, and strolled to the Farmers’ Market.
Gu Xing got off the high-speed train after five.
He would be home just in time for dinner.
Sweet and sour pork ribs, shredded pork with garlic sauce, steamed egg custard, and tofu soup with greens.
All home-style dishes.
Including the preparation and cooking, this meal took Ruan Xingmian nearly four hours.
As soon as five o’clock arrived, Ruan Xingmian eagerly called Gu Xing.
“I’ve made dinner, waiting for you to come back and eat together.”
Perhaps because she had secretly met Lu Tian, Ruan Xingmian felt her tone carried a hint of guilt and ingratiation.
“Not tonight.” Gu Xing’s voice carried an apologetic tone, yet it remained calm. “My mentor reserved a private room for a gathering tonight.”
An arrangement that made sense.
“Oh.” Ruan Xingmian swallowed her disappointment. “Then I’ll eat while it’s hot. You enjoy the gathering, don’t worry about me.”
“Xingmian.” He suddenly called her name softly.
“Hmm?” Ruan Xingmian’s reply was soft and sweet.
She loved the earnestness with which Gu Xing called her name.
“Tonight’s gathering… would you like to come along?”
Ruan Xingmian scratched her scalp. “…No, let’s wait for another time.”
Teacher Qin was like a parent to Gu Xing. Attending this gathering was no different from meeting the parents.
Ruan Xingmian wasn’t mentally prepared yet.
On one hand, she was somewhat bothered by what Ji Ling had said.
She didn’t want to become a tool for others to attack Gu Xing. Besides, she was used to living alone and wasn’t good at handling interpersonal relationships. Going would be exhausting.
“I… I’ll just eat at home. I made a lot of dishes, and it would be a waste not to eat them…”
Gu Xing hummed in acknowledgment, fell silent for a few seconds, and then hung up.
Staring at the ended call screen again.
Ruan Xingmian felt a strong sense of disparity.
Gu Xing these past two days had been so cold it felt unfamiliar.
Before, when they talked on the phone, he would always wait for her to hang up first.
Why had it changed now?
Ruan Xingmian collapsed onto the sofa. Had he grown tired of her after just a week of dating?
She couldn’t understand it and forced herself not to dwell on it.
Looking at the carefully prepared dinner again, it was too much for one person to eat alone.
Ruan Xingmian scrolled to Wen Zhu’s WeChat, sent her a beautiful photo of the three dishes and one soup, and asked if she had time to come over for a meal.
Wen Zhu sent a string of excited emojis.
Wen Zhu: I’ll bring my own bowl and chopsticks!
The dishes on the table were fragrant and delicious. Ruan Xingmian had a sudden thought and sent a photo to Gu Xing as well.
After waiting for a long time, there was still no reply, not even a single word.
Frowning, she tossed her phone aside and decided not to think about it anymore. She served the dishes and began to eat.