Getting Ting-ge’s affirmation and support made Su Yiran genuinely happy.

He discussed his thoughts about the potential contract with Gu Yuanting, mentioning that his senior had said she was free tomorrow afternoon, so he planned to treat her to some afternoon tea to finalize the contract details.

When Gu Yuanting heard Su Yiran mention that senior, he frowned subconsciously.

He still remembered the day Su Yiran opened his shop—how that woman had immediately and unreservedly called him “Ranran.”

Gu Yuanting said, “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

Su Yiran was surprised. “But you have to go to work. I can handle it on my own—you shouldn’t skip work. You’ve only just started this job. It wouldn’t look good.”

Gu Yuanting: “…”

Su Yiran saw the look on his face and instantly knew he was turning into a little jealous vinegar jar again. He couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re talking about work. Don’t let your imagination run wild.”

He found Ting-ge quite adorable and reached out to pinch his cheek. “Don’t let me catch you sneaking over and pretending it’s just a coincidence. You hear me? Now that you’ve started your job, focus on your work.”

Gu Yuanting, caught red-handed, had no choice but to agree. “…Okay.”

Satisfied, Su Yiran suddenly remembered, “By the way, you said you wanted to redo the wood carving with me—have you found the wood?”

Gu Yuanting also recalled it. “I found it. I’ll go get it.” He walked into the study.

Su Yiran was surprised. “That fast?” He’d only asked casually.

Not long after, Gu Yuanting returned carrying a wooden box and handed it to Su Yiran. “Take a look.”

Su Yiran accepted the box. It felt quite heavy. He opened it and found a piece of raw whitewood nestled in black velvet padding. He picked it up—the wood’s cross-section had a purplish-red core with petal-like grain patterns and emitted a faint fragrance.

“This smells really good. Is it rosewood?” he asked.

Gu Yuanting nodded. “It’s Fragrant Rosewood, has a natural scent.”

Su Yiran didn’t know much about wood, just some famous ones like rosewood and agarwood. So when Gu Yuanting said that, he assumed it was just another type of rosewood and didn’t think much of it.

The last time they made their “Yi Ting” carving, it was done on a whim with some random wood. They had worked hard on it, but the result was still a failure.

This time, since they were doing it properly, Su Yiran took it very seriously and was determined to get it right. The box also contained design drafts, molds, carving tools—everything they’d need for the project.

Su Yiran opened the design draft and recognized Gu Yuanting’s work. “Did you draw a new one?” The design currently displayed in the shop was also one drawn by him.

Gu Yuanting nodded. “Yeah. Do you like it?”

Su Yiran looked at it. “It’s nice—pretty similar to last time, but your drawings always look good anyway.” He smiled at Gu Yuanting.

Gu Yuanting: “…”

Now that his interest was piqued, Su Yiran enthusiastically compared the blueprint to the wood and pondered where to begin.

Seeing his excitement, Gu Yuanting helped him plan. The most important thing in woodcarving was adapting to the natural grain of the wood—removing or preserving parts based on its lines to create a harmonious blend with the design.

The two of them leaned in close, studying the wood and discussing it. They began shaving out the rough shape, then followed with sketching lines, marking points, carving, sawing, chiseling. When Su Yiran got tired, he let Gu Yuanting take over. They spent over two hours on it and finally completed the rough model.

The overall shape wasn’t fully visible yet, but the wood grain had been smoothed out. The arcs in the pattern were clean and harmonious, and the finished parts showed no chipping or splintering.

Gu Yuanting marked the design directly on the rough model. Next, they would follow the marks to carve and hollow out details.

Su Yiran was delighted. “Nice. This one is already way better than last time.”

Gu Yuanting nodded, as if it was only natural. “Of course.”

Seeing how late it was, Su Yiran declared it was time to shower and go to bed. They’d continue tomorrow. During the day, he could take the piece to the shop and work on it when he had free time.

–

The next afternoon, Su Yiran met his senior for afternoon tea at Yishu Teahouse, a more upscale place—his way of properly thanking her.

She arrived quickly. After they ordered some dim sum, they chatted casually over tea for a while.

But they were here for business, after all. Soon, the senior got to the point. She pulled out a stack of contract templates from her bag and handed them to Su Yiran to review.

He flipped through them and didn’t see any major issues. The rest of the discussion focused on contract details—like required weekly streaming hours, how tips from viewers would be split, what resources the platform would offer, etc.

Su Yiran had already thought all of this through—he had even discussed it again with Ting-ge yesterday—so it all came down to the platform’s stance.

The senior was the operations manager of the Lifestyle section at Apple Live, so she had the authority to finalize things.

They negotiated for over half an hour and both were satisfied. They agreed on a time, and once the revised formal contract was ready, they’d proceed with signing.

With the business part done, the atmosphere relaxed. They enjoyed their tea and chatted casually.

—

Outside the teahouse, in a wide-open roadside parking area.

Inside a low-key luxury black car—

Assistant Xiao Zhu, who had been on the job for several days, sat in the driver’s seat, once again secretly glancing at the rearview mirror at the man in the back—CEO Gu.

It wasn’t that he liked snooping—it’s just that CEO Gu was acting weird again.

A few days ago, for unknown reasons, the CEO’s mood had improved noticeably. He was even polite to Xiao Zhu, and the usual suffocating atmosphere in the car had lightened. Xiao Zhu’s work had become much easier.

Then today, the CEO suddenly said he wanted to go to Yishu.

Xiao Zhu knew full well there was no such stop in today’s official schedule. He assumed it was an impromptu business meeting and was confused why it would be at Yishu.

But when they arrived, all Gu Yuanting said was, “Park here.”

And he had now been sitting in the car for over an hour—gazing silently out the window, his face emotionless, while the air in the car became heavy again. No one knew what he was thinking.

Xiao Zhu glanced outside. In the direction of the Yishu Teahouse—built with glass walls—it was easy to see many customers seated near the windows, chatting and enjoying afternoon tea.

What was the CEO thinking? Xiao Zhu, bored out of his mind, let his imagination run wild.

—

Inside the teahouse—

After chatting for a while, the senior hesitated but eventually voiced the question on her mind:
“By the way, I haven’t asked… does Gu Yuanting allow you to do livestreams?”

Allow? Su Yiran found the phrasing a little odd, but didn’t dwell on it. The moment he thought of Ting-ge, the corners of his lips curled up in an involuntary smile, his eyes filled with warmth.
“He supports me a lot.”

“He supports you?” The senior saw that Su Yiran wasn’t faking it and finally breathed a sigh of relief. The vague concerns she had harbored for years eased. She smiled. “That’s good.”

So it was just her overthinking things. Thankfully, she had withdrawn that “Be careful” message before sending it. Otherwise, with the two of them clearly doing well, she’d just look like a meddler with weird suspicions.

She relaxed and chatted a bit more with Su Yiran.

In her mind, she couldn’t help but recall events from several years ago.

She had always thought Gu Yuanting was twisted—and dangerous.

Back in university, she had become friends with Su Yiran. After tasting the desserts he made, she casually suggested livestreaming since she was interning at Apple at the time.

Su Yiran was interested, and they were close to finalizing a contract—until it fell through for various reasons.

What Su Yiran didn’t know was that Gu Yuanting had come to find her.

She still remembered that vicious, shadowed look in his eyes—the cold threat:

“…Stay away from Ranran.”

“He’s mine.”

His gaze even carried the scent of blood.

She had instinctively felt he’d seen violence before.

His threat and the consequences he outlined had frightened her. She was confused and angry, and ultimately cut off contact with Su Yiran.

Later, she accidentally heard more stories about Gu Yuanting—through a mutual classmate from their high school—and the more she learned, the more disturbed she felt.

But self-preservation won out. She never reached out to either of them again.

Years passed. When Su Yiran graduated and married Gu Yuanting, he sent her a wedding invitation. Only then did she reconnect with him on WeChat as casual friends.

A lot had happened in her own life since then—so much so that she barely remembered those early events unless specifically reminded.

The other day, on a whim, she dropped by his new shop for the opening, found his desserts delicious, and her professional instinct kicked in. She habitually suggested he try livestreaming—without overthinking it.

Only these past couple days had the old memories resurfaced.

She still believed Gu Yuanting had a pathological need for control and possession over Su Yiran.

Having studied sociology and psychology, she knew how dangerous that dynamic could be—how quickly an obsessive relationship could spiral from love into a tragedy that made headlines.

But now, seeing how well Su Yiran seemed to be doing, she felt maybe she had worried too much.

Maybe the ordinary domestic life—cooking, cleaning, and bills—had tamed him.

After all, how many true psychopaths are there out there?

Life wasn’t some dramatic novel.

She let go of the thought, saw the time, and said goodbye to Su Yiran.

In a great mood, she walked out of Yishu Teahouse. As she passed a black luxury car, she gave it a casual glance, mentally wondering when she’d be able to afford a car like that.

She strolled toward a nearby movie theater, planning to catch a film. After crossing two intersections, she turned down the street that led to the theater.

After walking for a bit, she suddenly noticed a car trailing her.

It was the same black luxury car from before.

The senior looked around. There were plenty of pedestrians, a security booth with a guard nearby. She felt reassured and stopped in a safe, visible spot.

The luxury car slowly pulled up beside her.

The rear door opened automatically.

Inside sat Gu Yuanting, expressionless, staring coldly at her.

Senior: “???”