Chapter 28: The Twenty-Eighth Day in the Book – Right now, she just wants to hold on until the missing…

Every morning, Yun Shuning would open her livestream room on time. This had already become a tacit understanding between her and her fans.

Sure enough, the moment she went live, the number of viewers in the stream skyrocketed, quickly surpassing the ten thousand mark.

Because she couldn’t comment or receive gifts during her nighttime streams, her morning streams were always full of chatter from her fans.

By the time she finished practicing her calligraphy and looked up, the chat had already shifted from “what are you eating today” to “what dreams did you have last night.”

When the viewers saw her putting down her brush, the screen was flooded with a flurry of little red flower icons.

After all this time, they were used to the 20-yuan gift limit and knew exactly when to send them to make the moment look more impressive.

Looking at the chat on screen, Yun Shuning’s expression softened. She suddenly spoke with emotion:
“You all must take good care of your health. Go to bed early, get up early, don’t stay up late, and remember to exercise more.”

“Ever since I started listening to Shushu’s livestreams, I haven’t stayed up late even once.”

“I used to stay up because I couldn’t fall asleep. Now that I have Shushu, I don’t struggle with that at all.”

“I can try to sleep early, and if I steel myself, I can get up early too—but exercising…”

“Shushu, why did you suddenly bring this up? Is something wrong with your health?”

Seeing their concern, Yun Shuning gently shook her head, picked up the thermos next to her, and took a sip:
“My body’s still okay. I’ve just recently realized how important good health really is.”

“I… I want to live a little longer,” she put down the thermos, her voice soft as a whisper, “so I can wait for him.”

After the stream, Yun Shuning raised the cup in her hand with a cold expression. Inside was the medicinal formula prescribed by a traditional Chinese medicine doctor during her recent health checkup.

Because she was still young, the wear and tear on her body wasn’t very obvious. But due to long-term neglect, she had developed a number of minor issues.

They weren’t exactly serious, but they also couldn’t be ignored. Left untreated, they could potentially evolve into major health problems.

So, following the doctor’s advice, she began the grueling journey of drinking herbal medicine.

The moment she brought the cup to her lips, a bitter and astringent smell mixed with a sour stench surged straight up her nose. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and gulped it down.

It was bitter, sour, astringent, and even stinky. After drinking it, she almost teared up from the taste alone.

In the past few days, her daily drink was goji berries soaked in water in a thermos. Her meals were all health-conscious porridge and diet food. This lifestyle seemed joyless on the surface, yet she found it deeply fulfilling.

She now stayed home every day. After finishing her work, she’d bask in the sun and play with her cat. Her life was peaceful and leisurely—exactly the kind of life she had always dreamed of.

Most importantly, during this time, Su Muqing, Yu Cheng, and He Chen—the characters from the original novel—had not come to bother her.

Living on her own, she would sometimes even forget she was inside a book, playing the role of a villainess.

She lay on a rocking chair on the balcony, holding Xiaobai in her arms, gently swaying in the breeze.

If things continued peacefully like this, after some time passed and all those characters from the original story had mostly forgotten her, she planned to leave Beijing with Xiaobai and find a scenic place to settle down.

She would pretend to slowly move on from He Yan, and by then, she could truly be at peace and live the life she wanted.

As her thoughts drifted to how she’d decorate the living room of her new home, a series of rhythmic knocks suddenly echoed from the front door.

Hearing the knocks, her heart sank little by little.

“Mr. Su,” she opened the door, her expression polite and distant, “May I ask what brings you here?”

For the past few days, Su Muqing had been targeted by Yu Cheng’s company. As soon as he finally got some free time, he came straight to see her.

Even though he knew she wouldn’t greet him warmly, when he saw her expression, his eyes still darkened uncontrollably for a moment.

But just for a moment—he quickly returned to his sunny demeanor:
“I brought some herbal soup that replenishes blood and energy. I thought you might need it, so I brought a portion for you.”

“The chef at that shop is very dedicated and takes his time cooking. I had to wait quite a while,” he said seriously, looking directly at her.

He never hid his kindness toward someone, nor did he conceal the effort he put in. In his mind, if he did something, it should be acknowledged.

If you don’t say anything, who would know how much you gave?

At this moment, Su Muqing had shed his usual “sunny boy” aura and seemed like a man ready to shoulder responsibility.

Seeing the sincerity and concern in his eyes, the unease Yun Shuning had long buried in her heart finally surged uncontrollably.

In the original story, Su Muqing was never this kind to the female lead.

“Mr. Su,” she took a deep breath and looked at him seriously, “I know you like my voice, but you don’t need to do all this. No matter what, I won’t stop my livestreams.”

“So, you don’t have to…” she paused, carefully choosing her words, her gaze calm, “show me this kind of excessive concern. I appreciate it, but I don’t need it.”

As she spoke, the smile on Su Muqing’s face slowly froze. He lowered his eyes, his expression becoming hard to read.
“But the thing I like… isn’t just your voice, Shushu.”

Hearing this, Yun Shuning’s heart sank—what did he mean by that?

“Mr. Su, if you enjoy watching my streams, you should know I already have someone I like, right?” Yun Shuning kept to her persona. When she mentioned He Yan, her eyes unconsciously softened. Then, when she looked back at Su Muqing, her gaze turned cold and distant again. “With your moral standards, Mr. Su, I assume you wouldn’t do something so low, would you?”

Like being the “other man.”

At this moment, Yun Shuning suddenly realized—He Yan was actually a very useful shield. Whenever something happened, she could use him as cover.

It didn’t matter whether Su Muqing truly liked her or not. What mattered was that she had to create distance between them.

“…I wouldn’t,” Su Muqing replied to her accusation, feeling like a knife had stabbed into his heart.

Of course he knew He Yan was dead and wouldn’t return. But he couldn’t say a word—because he wasn’t supposed to know that.

His persona now was just a fan of Shu Yan—he couldn’t and shouldn’t know anything more.

“Good,” hearing his reply, Yun Shuning’s cold expression eased slightly, but her entire demeanor still screamed rejection. “Then you should keep the herbal soup for yourself.”

Just as she was about to say goodbye and close the door, a voice suddenly came from down the hall:
“1602, this is the place.”

Yun Shuning looked toward the sound and saw a man struggling to carry a bouquet of roses much larger than himself.

The flower shop employee glanced at the apartment number and then at her standing at the door. His eyes lit up as he quickly walked over.

Because the bouquet was so massive, he accidentally bumped Su Muqing aside as he reached her.

Su Muqing was pushed to the side and, seeing what the man was holding, ground his molars hard.

“Are you Miss Yun Shuning?” the employee asked, smiling like he’d just spotted a VIP client, his eyes sparkling.

She was, after all, one of their flower shop’s most valuable customers.

“I am,” Yun Shuning replied, looking at the enormous bouquet with a growing sense of dread.

“These roses are from a Mr. Yu. Please sign to confirm receipt.” These weren’t ordinary roses—they were a premium variety called “Louis XIV,” imported from France at great expense. Their unique fragrance was intoxicating.

This Mr. Yu had wiped out the shop’s entire stock in one go. The commission from this single order was nearly half the employee’s monthly salary.

Yun Shuning didn’t need to think to know exactly which “Mr. Yu” he meant.

Were the male leads from the original story all going crazy? The female lead didn’t even like them, yet they were all flocking to her instead.

The employee looked puzzled when he saw her icy expression. He’d expected the recipient to be happy, but why…

“Miss Yun, this rose variety is called Louis XIV, specially cultivated in France—” he thought she didn’t understand its value and rushed to explain.

But after he finished speaking, her expression only grew colder.

“Sorry,” Yun Shuning politely nodded to him, “please return this bouquet. Also, tell Mr. Yu that I really don’t like it, and ask him not to cause me any more trouble.”

With that, she gave a polite smile—and closed the door.

She felt sorry for the florist employee, but there was no way she could accept those flowers.

What now?

After closing the door, the calm expression on Yun Shuning’s face instantly vanished. Now, both of the original story’s male leads seemed to have feelings for her.

Though she still wasn’t sure how strong those feelings were.

She sat on the couch and closed her eyes, suddenly recalling what the two of them had done in the original novel.

After Yu Cheng found out that He Chen and Lin Wan were together, he kept targeting the male lead’s company. Later, because He Chen inherited the He family, Yu Cheng had no way to deal with him anymore.

In the later stages, he constantly hurt himself to get Lin Wan’s attention.

A fever today, hospitalized with a stomach illness tomorrow—he would torment himself however he could.

That’s just the kind of person he was. To get what he wanted, he would wound himself all over.

So she could understand why Lin Wan didn’t choose him—because being with him meant never knowing when you might displease him and be met with threats of suicide.

As for Su Muqing, if Yu Cheng’s madness only hurt himself, Su Muqing’s madness only hurt others.

When he found out that Lin Wan and He Chen were together, he outwardly appeared pained and helpless, finally smiling and offering his blessings.

But in the conflicts between Lin Wan and He Chen later on, his shadow was always present.

He made Lin Wan misunderstand He Chen, used underhanded methods to make her hand over He Chen’s company secrets to him. After the male and female leads made up, he directly incited the female supporting character to stage a car accident that nearly destroyed them both.

Thinking of this, Yun Shuning shivered—these two men actually liked her now?

Thanks, but no thanks—she just wanted to run as far away as possible.

She had originally thought about pretending to slowly let go of He Yan after everything calmed down.

Whatever picturesque town nestled between mountains and rivers, whatever romantic encounter—she didn’t want any of it. She only wanted to spend her life holding onto the missing He Yan!

Yun Shuning took a deep breath and slowly calmed herself.

She couldn’t panic. The best way to handle the current situation was to cling tightly to the persona of someone deeply in love with He Yan.

Compared to a real, present lover, a missing lover probably wouldn’t provoke them as much. Lin Wan only started going crazy after being with He Chen and showing off their love constantly.

So, in the upcoming livestreams, she had to portray her love for He Yan well.

But she couldn’t be too direct or abrupt—it had to be subtle, revealed accidentally, and then brushed over lightly.

After Shuyan admitted she had a deeply loved partner, she rarely brought him up again in the livestreams. But sometimes, a smile, or a sentence or two about their interactions, would quietly speak of her happiness.

And at those times, no matter how much the fans asked, she would simply smile gently and move on to other topics.

This evasive attitude made many people feel that she had unspoken sorrows, or that she wasn’t living happily.

But the fans never got that impression. Perhaps it was because whenever she mentioned him, her voice would unconsciously soften, and her naturally gentle tone would always carry a hint of joy.

Every time they heard her voice like that, the fans would feel a sweet warmth bubbling up from their hearts, like their dreams were filled with pink, dreamy bubbles.

At the same time, some fans began to ship the couple, even though they had never seen the lover Shuyan spoke of. But they firmly believed that anyone who could make Shuyan so happy, who could make her smile just by mentioning him, must be an amazing person.

On the forums, an official CP (couple pairing) fan group emerged.

Original poster: Our goal is to pick up a magnifying glass and gather proof of love between Shushu and her boyfriend, so that everyone pulling Shushu into random pairings knows the official couple is the sweetest of all!

Comment 1: I remember the very first time someone asked if they could marry Shushu, she said she already had someone she liked a lot. Most fans didn’t believe it at the time and thought it was just an excuse.

Comment 2: Do we still need proof they’re in love? Shushu already admitted it—what more do you need?

OP: It’s because Shushu’s livestream suddenly got super popular and tons of people are now making up fake pairings for her. The most infuriating part is that they’re using things Shushu said to her lover as lines in those fake pairings! So we need to clarify and defend the official couple!

Comment 3: Do you all remember when Shushu recently said to take better care of one’s health?

Comment 4: Isn’t that normal? What’s so special about that?

Comment 5: Of course it’s special! Right after that, Shushu added, “I want to live a little longer,” but no one paid attention to what she softly added next: “…for him.” Her voice was too quiet, but I definitely caught those words. That “him” must be her lover! (Attached: audio clip)

Comment 6: How could anyone forget what she said when someone in the comments asked what she’d do if they broke up? Shushu said, “We won’t.” As in, they won’t break up!

Comment 7: You forgot the most important part—another comment said people’s hearts are hard to predict and asked what kind of boyfriend she’d look for if they did break up. Shushu said, “A passionate love once in a lifetime is enough.”

Comment 8: Sobbing What kind of fairy-tale love is this?

Comment 9: But I still find it strange. Why hasn’t her lover ever appeared in her livestreams after all this time? If it were me, I’d have shown up long ago to claim my woman!

Comment 10: Shushu explained that her lover doesn’t like being on camera. Apparently, they don’t even have a single photo together.

Comment 11: But doesn’t that make it seem like Shushu is the only one putting effort into the relationship? He hasn’t done anything for her—not even taken a picture?

Comment 12: That can’t be true. Shushu’s behavior and words clearly show that she’s happy. Maybe her lover just has camera anxiety. It’s not like he’s done anything to hurt her.

Comment 13: Shushu once said she really likes cilantro. Every time they eat together, all the dishes have tons of cilantro, and he never complains—he eats it with her. Later, she found out from his family that at home, if there’s even one dish with cilantro, he won’t eat a single bite.

Comment 14: That’s definitely true love. My boyfriend and I have fought so many times over cilantro—we finally just started ordering separate meals.

Comment 15: I love my girlfriend and would give her my life, but cilantro? No way.

Comment 16: That’s not all! Remember how Shushu always takes Sundays off from livestreaming?

Comment 17: Now that you mention it, every Sunday night during her stream, she seems to be in a better mood. Her voice gets so soft and warm when she reads bedtime stories.

Comment 18: Same here. Every time I fall asleep listening to her Sunday livestream, I have the sweetest dreams. Even though I forget the details, the happiness and sweetness linger after I wake up.

Comment 19: From all this, I feel like Shushu’s recent interest in health probably has a lot to do with her boyfriend. Maybe he’s the one who encouraged her.

Comment 20: Seeing all this, they really are a perfect match. Is there any more proof? I want more sweetness!

Comment 21: I wonder if they have any kind of token of love or keepsake? I don’t think Shushu’s ever mentioned anything like that.

Comment 22: You don’t know Shushu well enough. She’s never brought up money-related things in front of us. Even gift-giving is limited. Maybe she avoids showing off gifts because she doesn’t want to influence fans with strange views about money?

Comment 23: Of course from just Shushu’s side, it seems like she gives more. But once her partner appears before us, we’ll be able to make a fairer judgment.

…

Comment 1390: I can’t believe I read through the entire thread. To sum it up: the official couple really is the sweetest!!

Comment 1391: After reading it all, I just hope they stay together forever. I believe in love again.

Comment 1392: When they get married, I’m definitely giving them a wedding gift.