“Did other stars cause this much congestion? Did they get reported to the police? Were they the subject of an official notice?”
The internet was in chaos!
It was a war zone online.
Ruan Nian’s fans and some people who still liked her were struggling to defend her, blaming the manager and saying this was just a misunderstanding.
That one mistake shouldn’t define Ruan Nian as a person.
But most people were more rule-conscious.
Thankfully, the crowd had been stopped before anything bad happened.
If they’d been allowed to keep gathering like that—once Ruan Nian’s restaurant actually opened—who knew what chaos would break out with fans fighting for spots?
“Just to show off her popularity, she doesn’t care about fan safety? And this is the star you stan?”
“What a joke. Ruan Nian loves her fans the most! She just didn’t expect so many people to show up. If she had known, she definitely would’ve tried to disperse them! Haven’t you seen how, when fans gather outside her work, she always kindly asks them to step back?”
The arguments raged on.
Just then, someone in the restaurant suddenly screamed: “Holy crap, another exposé!”
Everyone turned to look at her.
The motion was so synchronized that people actually burst into laughter—turns out everyone was keeping an eye on the gossip.
The woman being stared at couldn’t help but laugh too.
Then she raised her voice to speak to the whole restaurant:
“A Ruan Nian fan just revealed that Ruan Nian doesn’t care about her fans at all. She actually cursed them behind their backs, saying they gathered without permission and disrupted filming. She called them undisciplined and uncivilized!”
“And there’s video evidence. Apparently, today she and the production team even smashed a fan’s camera worth over 100,000 yuan!”
The restaurant was instantly filled with gasps.
A camera worth over 100k, smashed?
And she said that about her own fans?
It felt like she was biting the hand that fed her.
This…was Ruan Nian?
At that moment, someone couldn’t help but glance over at Chu Yanze and Liang Zhiwei.
They looked too busy to be paying attention to the gossip.
Liang Zhiwei was in the kitchen working so hard she needed someone else to wipe her sweat.
Chu Yanze was also completely tied up, running back and forth serving dishes without pause.
And suddenly, everyone felt the same strange thought creep into their minds—
If all of this was true, then…the contrast is too extreme.
The difference was mind-blowing.
Ruan Nian, who had such a good reputation, now seen insulting fans and smashing their equipment?
Meanwhile, the supposedly arrogant, snobby Chu Yanze was diligently serving customers and listening to them politely.
And Liang Zhiwei, who had always been accused of copying Ruan Nian to climb the ranks, was back there seriously cooking—and she was good at it?
Not to mention Gu Zhaoping.
After coming into the restaurant, they found that she just quietly sat there managing the accounts.
Every time something happened, people would call out “Sister Zhaoping” for her to solve it.
It was totally different from the image people had heard.
It started to dawn on everyone that hearsay could be wildly inaccurate.
Maybe you really needed to meet someone in person to form an accurate opinion.
Word of mouth, in the process of spreading, always loses a little truth.
Just then, at one of the tables, a person silently put down her chopsticks and picked up her phone.
She typed carefully on the screen, and in the end, chose to hit “Post.”
She didn’t want to hide it anymore.
Her years of being a Ruan Nian fan felt like a lie.
Not long after, someone else shouted:
“Oh my god, another exposé just dropped!”
The entire restaurant erupted with the sound of phones being whipped out.
This time, the gossip was even more explosive:
“Someone actually saw Ruan Nian yesterday! She and that pair of rich siblings cut in line and shoved into the elevator. That rich heiress even said stuff like, ‘What a dump. How could anyone stand this place?’ and rolled her eyes, saying people had no taste!”
“What?? Apparently someone even warned Ruan Nian’s fans not to gather in large groups and told them about her behavior, but no one believed her—and they tried to dox her??”
Everyone was stunned.
This gossip was hitting in wave after wave!
Ruan Nian’s fans scrambled to shift the blame, especially once they realized the elite siblings were involved.
They rushed to say: “It’s definitely those rich brats’ fault. They were the ringleaders!”
“It’s Gu Zhaoping, right? We all said Ruan Nian would end up serving some heiress on this show. Poor thing, of course she couldn’t talk back. That woman is President Gu’s sister! Ruan Nian was caught in the middle!”
But before the argument could go far, the whistleblower added one sentence:
“Oh, it was Li Xunxi and Li Xunwen.”
Silence.
The debate that had been raging just seconds ago fell completely quiet.
All the fans stared at the newly released photos, and there was even live footage as evidence.
The fans who had been excited for the show—and those who liked the Li siblings—were totally stunned.
Wait…those elite siblings?
The wholesome, loving duo?
Weren’t they supposed to be the contrast to Gu Zhaoping and her brother in this show?
So…their image just imploded too?
Their supposed elegance was fake?
And Ruan Nian really was serving a “young missy”—just not the one they thought?
So all her previous appearances on other shows had been fake too?
Just part of the act?
Looking back, she continued,
“Gu Zhaoping? Someone’s actually slandering Gu Zhaoping? You guys have no idea how amazing their restaurant is! Liang Zhiwei’s cooking is on a god-tier level—I’ve never had such delicious light food in my life! Chu Yanze even served us personally. I was their very first customer, and they gave me a little gift and even shared their seasoning recipe! Gu Zhaoping herself walked me out!”
“You’ve all got the wrong impression—completely misled!”
“If any of you are nearby, go check out their restaurant for yourselves. You’ll understand!”
Looking at all the new exposés, honestly, if anyone still supported Ruan Nian now…they’d be heartbroken.
Yes—someone like that was sitting right there.
A spy fan.
She didn’t want to believe it.
But one revelation after another, even an official notice—it was impossible not to.
Was this who Ruan Nian really was?
Had everything she’d done before just been an act?
She couldn’t accept it.
She had no appetite left.
As she prepared to pay and leave, her heart heavy with despair, Chu Yanze seemed to notice her.
He walked over, fished around in his apron pocket, and pulled out a mint candy: “Hi there, this is a small gift for customers.”
She froze.
Then it hit her—her reactions in the restaurant all this time must’ve been noticed by Chu Yanze.
She took the mint candy.
And suddenly, a strange and overwhelming feeling bloomed in her heart, spreading fast and fiercely.
“Th-thank you,” she said softly, then quickly left the restaurant, feeling too embarrassed to stay.
She was ashamed of her own stereotypes.
This meal, which she’d originally come to eat while acting as a spy, had completely overturned her impressions.
It made her reevaluate the kind of person she actually liked.
Why were the ones opposing Ruan Nian—those hated by her fans—actually the kind ones?
Later in the afternoon, when the crowd finally thinned, Liang Zhiwei had a chance to speak to Gu Zhaoping.
“Sister Zhaoping, you were right all along. They really did get into trouble!”
Gu Zhaoping sat behind the counter, reviewing the morning’s earnings with a calm expression, calculating as she replied: “As expected.”
Liang Zhiwei still looked eager to learn, so Gu Zhaoping explained:
“One of their key problems is the location they chose for the restaurant. It’s too cramped—can’t handle large foot traffic. They had to aim for a ‘small and refined’ brand image. But that kind of reputation takes time and skill to build. You can’t pull it off in just one day.”
“Once the crowd grows, issues start popping up. First, the space is too small. Second, they barely have any capital left and can’t afford to hire staff. Li Xunxi and Li Xunwen are the kind of people who expect to be served, not work. The fact that they haven’t had a falling out yet is pure luck.”
“There’s another risk too—” she had just gotten to that part when a huge wave of customers suddenly surged in from outside.
Gu Zhaoping glanced over and paused.
Turning to Chu Yanze and Liang Zhiwei beside her, she said,
“Business is here. Let’s serve them first—we’ll talk later.”
***
Meanwhile, Ruan Nian walked out of the police station.
She glanced back—
Sister Li was still inside.
Sister Li had once again taken the fall for her.
Ruan Nian wanted to breathe a sigh of relief.
But the consequences looming ahead left her unable to relax.
A tightness gripped her chest.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and crouched in a corner, dialing a number.
When the call connected, her voice was thick with tears, almost breaking from the weight of her grievance.
She couldn’t rely on herself anymore—there was no way she could achieve her goals alone now.
What she needed was a massive surge of “sympathy points,” only then could she use the system item to reverse public opinion.
She had one last resort left.
The biggest one: Make herself look like the victim.
***
Gu Zhaoye was off on a short vacation, blowing off steam at the shooting range.
When his assistant told him Ruan Nian was calling, he finally stopped, took off his soundproof earmuffs, and found a quiet spot to answer.
Leaning casually against the wall, he lit a cigarette and asked lazily,
“What is it? Sound like someone bullied you.”
He took the cigarette from his mouth and added,
“Tell me who it is. I’ll make sure they regret it.”
Such a classic domineering CEO line.
Seeing that Gu Zhaoye was calm now—not as explosive as before—
Ruan Nian finally felt relieved.
She had originally wanted to say it was Gu Zhaoping’s fault.
After all, Gu Zhaoye had warned her not to interact with Gu Zhaoping.
But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to say it and awkwardly changed her wording:
“…Do you still remember Liang Zhiwei?”
“She’s on the same show as me. I thought she didn’t have any resources—so how did she even get in? Gu Zhaoye…are you still in contact with her?”
Gu Zhaoye paused, cigarette in hand, frowning deeply.
He had personally pulled Liang Zhiwei’s resources—he knew better than anyone that she didn’t have any backing.
Ruan Nian continued: “Could you come back? I get the feeling she has powerful connections. People keep bashing me and praising her. The way public opinion has flipped is just…too suspicious. I’m scared she’s going to crush me soon. Can you come help me?”
Gu Zhaoye remained silent, his face growing darker.
But his thoughts weren’t on what Ruan Nian was saying.
He was thinking something else: How did Liang Zhiwei manage to get into such a big show?
His eyes narrowed with a flash of hostility.
Had she…found someone else to support her?
Had she latched onto another powerful figure?
“I’ll be back soon.”
He stubbed out the cigarette by his side.