In the blink of an eye, another week passed.

Su Yiran’s dessert shop, Yiting Desserts, was getting more and more popular. After launching the limited-edition Dirty Bun, he went on to release Dirty Cake, Dirty Smoothie, and Dirty Milk Tea. As soon as these new additions to the Dirty Series hit the market, both online and offline, they received a wildly enthusiastic response.

Aside from the Dirty Series, his first signature dessert line — like the Soy Milk Box — also became widely loved. The other classic desserts in his shop were similarly well-received, and most customers who tried them once ended up becoming regulars.

Naturally, with fame came negativity, especially online. Behind the anonymity of the internet, the more attention Yiting Desserts, the Dirty Series, and Su Yiran himself attracted, the more negative voices arose.

Some accused Yiting Desserts of pure marketing hype — and to be fair, that was partially true, especially in the early stages when the shop had done some targeted promotions.

Others claimed that the overwhelming online praise for Yiting was mostly paid shills, even saying that the popular food influencers at the Dirty Bun tasting event had been bribed by Yiting, and that the hype would eventually crash and burn.

These accusations sparked a backlash from the influencers involved. The online debate had already gone back and forth twice, with the influencers’ large followings easily overpowering the dissenters.

Lately, discussions had started to shift toward Su Yiran’s live streaming. Since he had never shown his face on stream, some speculated that he must be too ugly to show himself and was just hyping up a “super handsome” persona online.

Fans who had visited the shop and met the owner in person immediately pushed back. The debate flared up, with fans, haters, and clueless bystanders all taking sides. Weibo, forums, and especially the Apple Live community forums were filled with heated arguments, building post after post.

Su Yiran had only heard bits and pieces of this but didn’t pay much attention.

Some people just wanted to hate for the sake of it. When your career was on a rapid ascent, negative voices were inevitable. If they didn’t have this reason to hate, they’d find another one.

Right now, his mind was on expanding the shop.

No matter how fierce the online drama, his Dirty Series was still trending across the internet, and his shop remained packed every day.

With the increasing customer traffic, the shop’s current seating area could no longer meet the demand. Although many customers preferred to take desserts to go, a significant portion still liked to sit in and enjoy them leisurely.

Su Yiran was considering expanding — maybe renting the second floor or the adjacent storefront, renovating, and connecting them to the current space. But he hadn’t decided which option yet.

Staring at the rough sketches of the renovation plans, he absentmindedly drew possible layouts, still undecided.

It was Monday afternoon, and the shop wasn’t too busy, so the staff in the back, like Zhang Xiaohong, could handle things. Su Yiran had a rare moment of peace.

Zhang Xiaohong was almost fully trained by now. She was smart and hardworking, with previous experience, and could already make most of the shop’s desserts — only a few complex ones needed more practice.

The other staff were improving as well, and Su Yiran believed they’d soon be fully competent.

Putting down his pen after sketching a bit, he picked up a cup of goji berry water and took a sip.

As he looked at the floating red berries, he suddenly remembered Ting-ge’s advice about “nourishing the kidneys”, making his face flush.

Come to think of it, since opening the shop, both of them had been so busy and exhausted that… they really hadn’t done anything in a long time.

Actually, Su Yiran secretly suspected that maybe it was Ting-ge who needed the kidney boost…

Though admittedly, he had been relieved before — every time they did it, Ting-ge left him completely defeated, humiliated in every possible way, with crying being the least of his problems…

But after all this time apart, Su Yiran really missed Ting-ge.

He remembered Ting-ge saying he’d be back in just over half a month, and he couldn’t help feeling excited, shy, and a bit nervous.

As he stared into his cup, lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang, making him jump.

Fumbling to answer, he heard his senior sister’s voice:
“Yiran, in a few days it’ll be Apple Live’s six-year anniversary. The company’s inviting you to the anniversary event. Want to come?”

Su Yiran’s mind returned to business:
“What’s the exact time?”

“Thursday night, 7 to 10 PM. There’ll be fan interactions and celebrity appearances. The event will be streamed live on the Apple Live homepage.”

Su Yiran knew about this anniversary event — it was held annually, inviting only top-tier streamers with over a million followers, plus A-list celebrities, always drawing huge attention.

“Alright, I’ll be there,” he agreed.

His senior shared more details and said she’d send him the full schedule and venue address shortly, then hung up.

After skimming the schedule, Su Yiran went back to work.

---

Meanwhile, Tongtong was feeling down — she hadn’t managed to get a ticket for the Apple Live anniversary.

Since A City was just an hour’s train ride from her, and she was a top fan, she’d planned to attend in person to cheer for Yiting.

Yes, Tongtong had become one of Yiting’s top fan leaders.

Unable to get tickets, she could only open the official Apple Live anniversary stream to watch online.

Even before the event started, the live chat was already flying:

【Waiting for my Jupiter-ge (:з」∠)】
【Heard Yang Cendong is guest-starring this time, true? Apple really spent big.】
【Lu Qingqing is coming too! My little fairy!! Can’t wait for her to sing.】

Most of the chatter was about the celebrity guests, especially the top star Yang Cendong, which drew even non-regular viewers.

Tongtong, a seasoned viewer, was used to this. But then she caught sight of a particular comment:

【That ugly-ass hyped-up Yiting, are they coming? Bet they wouldn’t dare show their face, probably too hideous, hahaha.】

Tongtong: …!!!

Instantly enraged, she switched to battle mode, fingers flying across the keyboard — but before she could even send her reply, other Yiting fans had already started firing back. Tongtong quickly joined the fray.

Soon, the fan wars over Yiting outpaced even the celebrity discussions. Curious onlookers asked who Yiting was, and upon learning it was the owner of the viral Dirty Series desserts, they grew intrigued.

Tongtong was busy fighting when the stream finally started. After the opening ceremony and some speeches, it was time for guest entrances.

As the celebrities walked the red carpet, signed the wall, and posed, the comment section was flooded with fan squeals, burying all Yiting-related chatter.

Tongtong stopped fighting and waited patiently.

Finally, when the host announced,
“Next up, please welcome our streamer My Yiting Desserts!”

Su Yiran appeared at the end of the red carpet under the spotlight, walking towards the signing area.

The comment section, bustling seconds ago, fell weirdly silent.

Su Yiran signed his name, then turned to greet the camera audience — though a bit flustered trying to locate the correct camera. Only after some direction did he face the lens and smile, revealing a shallow dimple on his right cheek.

The chat stayed silent until he left the frame, then suddenly exploded:

【I’m dead…】
【OMG what kind of godly handsome man is this!!!】
【WTF】
【I! GOT! MYSELF! A! GOD!】
【How did I die just now?】
【That dimple killed me…】
【Instant slap in the face… so fragrant now T_T】
【Looking lost finding the camera was too cute!!!】
【Where are the haters now? Face swollen yet? LOL】
【Gege killed me…】

—

Unaware of the chaos online, Su Yiran followed the program: watched performances, played games, interacted with fans, and even unexpectedly received the “Lifestyle Category Best Streamer” award.

His senior hadn’t mentioned the award — a surprise gift. He was genuinely happy. After his speech, he returned to his seat, where a fellow streamer congratulated him.

“Thank you,” Su Yiran smiled.

The streamer was Jupiter Shi Ye, previously the most popular lifestyle streamer, whose follower count had been stuck under 5 million due to niche content. Su Yiran’s success came thanks to the viral attention — otherwise, the award might’ve been Jupiter Shi Ye’s.

Shi Ye glanced at Su Yiran, then calmly turned back to watch the stage.

After three hours, the event finally wrapped at 10 PM. As people left, Su Yiran lingered, planning to thank his senior in person.

Then, someone called out:
“Su Yiran.”

Turning around, he was surprised to see Hang Zikun.

“Hello,” Su Yiran greeted politely, though confused as to why Hang Zikun was here.

Hang Zikun smiled knowingly:
“I’m one of the anniversary sponsors. Why, surprised?”

Su Yiran smiled and shook his head:
“No, I have some things to do, I’ll get going.”

“Wait,” Hang Zikun stopped him. “Didn’t you say last time your Gu Yuanting works at Weihua Finance, one of the Fortune 500?”

Su Yiran nodded, puzzled.

Hang Zikun chuckled with a trace of mockery:
“I have a friend who’s a senior exec there. They told me there’s no employee named Gu Yuanting.”

Su Yiran froze.

---

Author’s Note:
Gu Yuanting, Every Day is Panic Mode: panicking.jpg

Thank you to the little angels for the support!