“I don’t care about his mess,”
Gu Zhaoping said.
“His romantic drama is his own business. If he can’t handle it, that’s on him. No one else is obligated to clean up his problems.”
Liang Zhiwei froze, lifting her head.
What?
She didn’t care?
“I just wanted to warn you to be cautious. I won’t be around next time, and there’s a chance Gu Zhaoye will appear. Watch out if he starts acting crazy. Don’t get tangled with him again.”
To Zhaoping herself, Gu Zhaoye was easily handled.
But to others, he was nothing short of a maniac.
Gu Zhaoping calmly thought that Gu Zhaoye might even do something as dramatic as eloping with Ruan Nian on the show—or go public just to stir up a media storm.
He might even make some over-the-top CEO-style declaration like: “Only I can love my woman.”
He might even try to make a scene by slapping Liang Zhiwei in the face just to show his devotion to Ruan Nian.
They were teammates, and she liked Liang Zhiwei more than her own brother, so she figured she’d warn her.
Liang Zhiwei was stunned, looking at Gu Zhaoping in disbelief.
How could she describe Gu Zhaoye so bluntly and so accurately?
She really didn’t care about their past?
Hearing that Gu Zhaoye might come next time, her face turned even paler.
She pressed her lips together and said,
“Okay, I understand. Thank you for the warning, Sister Zhaoping. I’ll be careful.”
After a brief moment of shock, her eyes became determined again.
She would stay far away from Gu Zhaoye, never get entangled again, and completely detach from that messy relationship with him and Ruan Nian.
She absolutely would not be their emotional puppet anymore.
But she was still surprised that Gu Zhaoping would take the time to warn her.
She looked at her gratefully.
“Thank you, Sister Zhaoping.”
Only then did Chu Yanzhe finally break his silence.
“Do you guys also think…Ruan Nian is a little strange?”
The two turned to look at him.
Chu Yanzhe hesitated, then finally grabbed the opportunity to voice a long-held suspicion:
“I’ve always felt like there’s some kind of curse around Ruan Nian. Anyone who opposes her ends up unlucky.”
“Since we all have our issues with her, I’ll just say it.”
Liang Zhiwei froze too.
She didn’t dare look at Chu Yanzhe.
“You don’t have anything to do with Ruan Nian, right?!”
She had also suffered from those fake couple rumors.
She couldn’t believe it either.
Chu Yanzhe almost choked from frustration.
“No connection! Absolutely no connection!”
He firmly denied any rumors about him and Ruan Nian.
“One time, I denied the rumors publicly. The next day, my record release ran into problems, and the company barred me from attending events. At first, I didn’t link the two things. But later, after I openly told someone I didn’t like her, the next day, I missed my very first concert due to an extremely bizarre situation. You wanna know how bizarre?”
“A kid by the river was throwing firecrackers for fun. But he grabbed the wrong one—a massive firework his parents had hidden away. At that exact time, my car was the only one crossing the bridge. The explosion sent a giant spray of water and fish flying onto the bridge. The police immediately sealed off the area. I was stuck under a mountain of fish on the bridge for four hours…as a suspect!”
“There was also this one time when I had just boarded a plane, and I had just clarified the rumors between me and Ruan Nian. Suddenly, the plane malfunctioned and started billowing smoke like it was about to explode. All the passengers panicked and evacuated immediately. But after we got off, the plane turned out to be fine. The inspection found nothing wrong. And that clarification post I made never got sent out.”
Chu Yanze had a look of relief, like he was finally letting out things that had been bottled up.
If he told anyone else about this, no one would believe him.
But seeing the expressions of the other two, he knew they believed him.
Chu Yanze had been on the verge of breaking down over the years.
Now, someone finally believed him.
Liang Zhiwei also looked like she’d just had a revelation.
“Now that you mention it, it really does seem like that. There were quite a few times when Gu Zhaoye wanted to go on a date with me, or make a promise to me, or even bring me to meet his family — and every time, something unexpected would happen. I didn’t think much of it at the time, even felt relieved, so I never gave it much thought.”
These two unlucky souls had gotten used to blaming their misfortunes on the conflicts of interest with Ruan Nian.
Now, after this recent round of group selections and repeated victories, and even being one step ahead of the others, they still couldn’t believe it.
But just the achievements they had so far were enough to make them feel content and happy.
Gu Zhaoping was silent for a moment.
At this moment, a thought occurred to her.
The others didn’t know, but she did — she had transmigrated into this book.
Her brother Gu Zhaoye was the domineering male lead, which meant Ruan Nian…was the female lead.
The first time Ruan Nian met her, she said some strange things…what if Ruan Nian had some kind of cheat or golden finger behind the scenes?
What if that “system” was working for her?
That would explain why she was so confident.
Going up against some mysterious higher power — now that was addictive.
Gu Zhaoping looked up, gave a small smile, and said,
“If that’s the case, maybe there really is such a thing as a child of destiny in this world.”
The other two turned to look at her, drawn in by her words.
Gu Zhaoping’s tone was extremely calm, without any emotion, no fear and no hesitation.
She spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, slowly and deliberately: “Then I’d like to see — can man conquer destiny?”
Perfect.
Gu Zhaoping loved a good fight.
She didn’t care if that “opponent” was a person, fate, a plot, or even some kind of digital lifeform.
She was happy to throw down.
The other two stared at her blankly.
It was hard to say what kind of shock they’d just experienced from Sister Zhaoping.
***
The next morning, the show’s photographers were already stationed outside each of their rooms.
They had arranged a surprise segment, hoping to knock on doors before 6 AM to catch the guests just waking up — groggy, cranky, and completely unprepared — and use that to show that working in the food industry meant waking up early!
The director thought this would be a great highlight.
On his signal, the photographers split up and went to start knocking.
But then, one door suddenly opened from the inside.
Photographer: “!”
He nearly fell in with his entire camera!
He stared at his watch in disbelief — it was only just past 5 AM.
Why was someone already up?
Gu Zhaoping had already washed up and dressed neatly.
After opening the door, she calmly returned to the sofa, picked up a document to read, and sipped on a smoothie beside her.
The photographer was stunned.
Then something clicked in his memory.
Wasn’t it mentioned in the pilot episode that Gu Zhaoping always got up super early and spent her mornings being productive?
They had all assumed that was just for show.
But it was real?
She really got up this early?
And was just as serious about this as she was about her flexibility training?
The camera cautiously panned around the room.
Then the photographer’s eyes locked onto a machine — was that…a high-powered blender?
It had a soundproof cover on it.
She actually brought a blender to the show??
Gu Zhaoping looked up, noticed the camera, and casually explained,
“South African Withania and Huperzine A.”
Then she lowered her head and continued reading.
The photographer was dumbfounded…that wasn’t even what he meant!
When she lifted the cup again, the camera zoomed in — and at the bottom of the cup, there really was an engraving:
“You are what you calculate.”
He froze completely.
Wait, wasn’t that from her self-introduction video, where she said it was engraved on her favorite coffee cup?
Back then, he — and the audience — all thought she was just showing off.
But now, one thing after another kept getting confirmed.
It was all real!
This golden moment of a candid wake-up shot…failed.
The photographer felt awkward.
Meanwhile, Li Xunxi had set her alarm extra early, hoping to be the first one out of her room, captured by the camera as the epitome of rich-girl discipline.
As she got up and opened the door, ready to greet the crew, she suddenly saw someone returning from a run — sweaty and out of breath.
It was Gu Zhaoping.
She had already finished her morning run!
Li Xunxi was stunned.
Her face fell.
She didn’t even finish opening the door.
She…she was already back?
How early did she wake up?
Was that even humanly possible?
Gu Zhaoping noticed her and stopped instead of walking past, offering a seemingly kind greeting:
“Li Xunxi, what’s wrong? Want to make another bet with me today?”
Li Xunxi almost couldn’t keep her expression under control.
What was Gu Zhaoping so smug about?
She turned back into the room and dragged Ruan Nian out of bed.
No way were they losing to Gu Zhaoping’s group today.
She banged on the door, stormed inside, and shook Ruan Nian’s shoulders until she was awake.
Ruan Nian, bleary-eyed, was about to lose it.
She’d stayed up half the night practicing Spanish knife skills and only just been allowed to rest — now Li Xunxi was back again?
“Hurry up! Gu Zhaoping’s group is already heading out and you’re still in bed? Why are you so lazy?!”
Ruan Nian was furious — wasn’t it you who made me practice until midnight?
You guys got to rest — what about me?
Then she remembered her plans for the day — her chance to gain lots of sympathy points — and finally forced herself to calm down.
She took a few deep breaths, got up, and said,
“Sister Xunxi, I’m up.”
Over on Gu Zhaoping’s side, the three had already gotten into the car.
Only then did they notice Li Xunxi’s group stepping out of their room.
Compared to their chaotic rush, Gu Zhaoping’s group looked refreshed and full of energy.
Liang Zhiwei scrolled through Weibo for a bit, then suddenly said,
“Looks like Ruan Nian’s fans are gathering and heading our way? They’ve organized a group to check in at their restaurant?”
It was a message from her manager.
Liang Zhiwei frowned.
“They’ve organized a team of hundreds — and the number’s still growing!”
Chu Yanze: ‘Well damn, that’s straight-up cheating. Not even trying to hide it.’
Sure, they’d all planned to use some celebrity effect to attract customers, but that was supposed to be a surprise for launch day.
Getting customers on opening day was supposed to be the skill test — but if they already contacted fan groups and planned organized spending, what even is this?
Liang Zhiwei started getting worried.
“If their revenue shoots ahead because of this…and they win, does that mean we lose all our chips?”
She herself didn’t really care about this—it was mainly that she felt bad for Gu Zhaoping.
He had worked so hard all day to help them earn those chips, only for them to be outdone by the fans that Ruan Nian’s team had contacted in advance.
“It’s fine,”
Gu Zhaoping looked out the window and calmly raised the car window.
“Their team has too many hidden problems. Let’s just focus on running things well and wait and see.”
Several cars departed at the same time.
The two of them were momentarily stunned.
Gu Zhaoping had spoken so confidently that they also started to think about these “hidden problems.”
They could see that the atmosphere in Li Xunxi’s group was a bit off.
Li Xunxi was too much of a dictator, and her younger brother, Li Xunwen, blindly followed her lead—perhaps this was the legendary picture-perfect sibling bond?
But what other obvious risks were there?
Then again, they figured Gu Zhaoping wouldn’t be seeing issues that just anyone could notice.
So they decided to give themselves a break and stop thinking too hard.
***
Li Xunxi was in a foul mood.
She had gotten up early for nothing and missed her chance to establish her persona—
Gu Zhaoping had seized that first-mover advantage, and that irked her.
What made her even more uncomfortable was how different Gu Zhaoping seemed from the impression she’d had of him.
The more he deviated from what she expected, the more irritated she became—and by extension, she found Ruan Nian increasingly displeasing as well.
Ruan Nian could feel the constant nitpicking from Li Xunxi and was holding in her frustration.
Just wait. You treat me like this now, but later you’ll have to rely on my fans to support our business.
How will you justify giving the key person the cold shoulder?
Once the episode airs, viewers will see the truth.
They’ll be able to tell who’s actually doing the work and who’s just standing around barking orders.
These so-called elite heirs are nothing special.
***
But when they got out of the car and tried to approach their restaurant, they were stunned—suddenly freezing in place.
The cameramen followed and were just as shocked.
Li Xunxi pointed at the black mass of people crowding the entrance, her voice cracking in disbelief: “Where did all these people come from? Are they crazy? This isn’t some sale on discount eggs!”
The director who had followed them was dumbfounded too.
He hadn’t heard of any nearby event—how could this many people gather here?
Sweating profusely, he hurriedly sent someone to investigate.
As soon as that person squeezed into the crowd, they overheard loud conversations:
“Where’s Nian Nian? Didn’t they say she’s opening a restaurant here today? I heard we’ll even get to eat her cooking!”
“I brought four friends with me. We’re going to eat till we drop and give tons of tips to boost her sales!”
“I brought five friends!”
“I dragged my whole group here for a gathering today!”
The director’s mind exploded.
Ruan Nian again?!
This entire crowd was her fans?!
What the heck was going on?
They had only come to scout the location yesterday—how did word leak?
And how did so many of her fans show up?
Sure, she was popular, but this level?
Really?
It’s not like Ruan Nian was some recluse who only appeared this once—she had tons of fan events all the time.
Her fans couldn’t be this starved for a glimpse of her, right?
At that moment, someone sharp-eyed spotted the van parked outside and shouted,
“Isn’t that Nian Nian’s van? I see her bodyguards!”
Instantly, the crowd went wild and surged forward!
Inside the crowd, the director was terrified—he couldn’t even run.
He got pushed backward by the throng and nearly fell multiple times!
“Holy crap! Don’t push! Someone’s gonna get hurt! I’m gonna be crushed!”
He shouted as he stumbled back, nearly landing in a trash bin by the roadside.
Barely managing to steady himself, he looked back in shock—only to see Ruan Nian’s fan army completely swarming the van.
Ruan Nian had been about to get out of the car but recoiled instantly upon seeing the wave of people coming at her like a zombie apocalypse.
She slammed the door shut in a panic.
Outside, fans screamed in excitement: “Nian Nian, look over here! Say hi to us! I came all the way from the next city!”
“Nian Nian, is there going to be a fan event today? Can we take photos?!”
Terrifying.
The vibe was utterly terrifying.
Li Xunxi looked at Ruan Nian with a face like stone—she was having a breakdown.
What the hell was this?!
Ruan Nian was pale.
She had asked her manager, Sister Li, to bring in some fans to make sure they didn’t lose to Gu Zhaoping’s team—but how did it blow up like this?!
Word spread like wildfire, and now more and more people had come!
The driver barely managed to maneuver the van around while bodyguards cleared a path.
The three of them scrambled out at a different entrance and squeezed through the back stairwell.
After the director lured the fans away with a decoy plan, they finally made it into the building and into the elevator—panting and disheveled.
But they didn’t even have time to catch their breath.
The moment the elevator doors opened, the packed hallway of people turned in unison and screamed with joy:
The director turned to look and felt like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.
“What the hell?!”
Did they issue a draft notice or something?!
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