Le Ning didn’t have many problems, but she did have one physical quirk—whenever she got nervous or excited, her face would easily turn red.

Like right now.

Even though she wanted to stay calm and keep her eyes from betraying her emotions, the redness in her cheeks still revealed the truth.

She took a deep breath, pressed her lips together, and glanced at the man sitting beside her.

Compared to the Zhou Ran from high school, the man in front of her now exuded a cold and hard aura. His features were sharp and stern, with no trace of the mischievousness he once had. But that one sentence he had just said… for some reason, it made Le Ning feel something.

They exchanged glances, and she quickly looked away, coolly saying, “Isn’t it normal to feel nervous around a police officer?”

Before Zhou Ran could respond, Xie Wei, sitting opposite, laughed and said, “Miss Le, don’t worry, we’re not investigating you today.”

Le Ning smiled faintly and said, “Thanks then.”

Xie Wei looked at her and felt that she seemed even more familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he had seen her before.

He was an outgoing person, so he decided to start a conversation with her.

“Miss Le, you went for a run today, right?”

“Mm.”

Le Ning paused, then looked at him, “You didn’t go home all night?”

Xie Wei nodded helplessly, “We haven’t found any leads on the killer yet, so we couldn’t risk going back to rest.”

Le Ning nodded and said softly, “That must have been tough.”

Xie Wei smiled and joked, “It’s all in a day’s work, serving the people.”

Le Ning looked at the man in front of her, who was laughing and chatting, and thought it was quite interesting.

It was rare to see such a lively person under someone as cold as Zhou Ran.

Xie Wei knew when to stop talking, never coming off as annoying.

Before long, breakfast arrived. This place was famous for its dumplings, each one stuffed generously with meat. The moment you took a bite, the sauce would flow out, making it incredibly satisfying.

Le Ning loved them, eating while scrolling through Weibo.

The Weibo feed was filled with news from last night, including the murder case that was exposed, though not many people seemed to be following it. On the contrary, the beauty event she attended the previous night was trending in the top searches.

Le Ning clicked into it, and the heat hadn’t died down even after a whole night.

She scrolled down and found a photo of herself.

It was posted by a marketing account, which liked to share various photos of Le Ning, whether from live broadcasts or other events. The photos were always retouched to make her look stunning.

——[Oh my gosh, let me show you what a goddess looks like! Le Ning looked absolutely gorgeous tonight!!]

Since the post was shared, her fans had been actively commenting.

【Ahhhh, what kind of face does Le Ning even have?】

【I just want to ask—how is Le Ning so slim but still has a chest?? I can’t wrap my head around it.】

【Oh my god, calling her a “baby-faced giant” to describe her is spot on.】

【Is this even considered pretty? She must have gotten way too much hyaluronic acid, right? How many fake followers did Le Ning buy, and why are they all mindlessly praising her?】

…

Le Ning scrolled through the comments and felt a little annoyed.

She swallowed the dumpling in her mouth, coughing a few times before she stopped.

What nonsense.

Le Ning pinched her face. What do they mean by saying she got too much hyaluronic acid? Which of them saw her face stiffen?!

She unconsciously straightened her back, raised her hand, and accidentally bumped into the man beside her.

Le Ning froze, then turned her head to glance at him.

Zhou Ran had already finished his breakfast and was now looking at his phone, completely unaware of the fact that Le Ning had bumped into him.

Le Ning hesitated for a moment, silently lowered her hand, and pretended nothing had happened.

After finishing breakfast, Le Ning asked the owner to pack some food for her and went to pay.

Just as she walked over, she was told that the bill had already been taken care of.

Le Ning glanced at the two men, bypassed Zhou Ran, and spoke directly to Xie Wei.

“Did you pay the bill?”

Xie Wei replied without thinking, “It was the captain.”

Le Ning: “…”

She pursed her lips and pretended not to understand. “How much was it? I’ll transfer the money to you.”

Xie Wei smiled, “No need, it was nothing.”

Le Ning was about to argue, but then decided against it.

She figured it was like when she bought drinks for him in high school.

Hmph!

Suddenly, Xie Wei said, “By the way, Miss Le, let’s exchange contact info. We’ll return your clothes once they’re washed.”

“…Okay.”

Le Ning had no objection.

She had always had a bit of a favorable impression of the police, and since Xie Wei’s personality wasn’t bad, there was no reason to refuse a request from a police officer.

After exchanging contact information, Xie Wei and Zhou Ran left.

Le Ning also took the packed breakfast and headed home, walking in the opposite direction.

It wasn’t until they were far away that Xie Wei turned to look at Zhou Ran, his detective instincts kicking in.

“Captain Zhou.”

“Do you know Miss Le?”

Zhou Ran didn’t respond.

Xie Wei’s eyes lit up, “So you really do know her?”

If Zhou Ran didn’t know Le Ning, he would have denied it immediately, but since he stayed silent today… it was pretty obvious there was something going on.

So Zhou Ran took the initiative to sit next to her…?

It turns out they know each other?

But the way Le Ning looked at Zhou Ran… it didn’t seem like it.

Before Xie Wei could think it through, Zhou Ran gave him a cold glance and asked in a deep voice, “Aren’t you getting in the car?”

…..

After Le Ning got home, Le Luo had also woken up.

After having breakfast, Le Luo went to her room to do homework, while Le Ning returned to her room.

Just then, a message from Ruan Qiu came through.

Ruan Qiu: [Is your cold still not better? Let’s go out today, I’ll take you to see a doctor. The weather’s nice.]

Le Ning thought for a few seconds and replied: [Okay, I’ll do a live stream too. Will you come pick me up?]

Ruan Qiu: [No problem.]

Le Ning returned to her room.

She usually streamed on Bilibili, where she had over a million followers now.

As soon as she started her live stream, without any prior announcement, her dedicated fans showed up.

[??? What am I seeing here?!]

[Le Ning is streaming today?]

[Wow wow wow!! Am I the first one here? So lucky!]

Le Ning looked at the bullet comments, smiling with a slight curve to her lips.

“I’m heading out later, so today I’ll be doing a simple caramel pumpkin makeup look, perfect for fall.”

She blinked, adjusted her position, and sat in front of the vanity.

Le Ning’s features were delicate, and no matter from what angle she was filmed, she always looked flawless—360 degrees with no dead angles, she looked stunning from every shot.

While doing her makeup, Le Ning occasionally did product introductions to satisfy her audience.

When applying foundation, she glanced at the comments: “This is a foundation everyone’s familiar with, Estée Lauder’s ‘Futurist Hydra Rescue.’ Compared to the Platinum version, this one has better transparency, giving that creamy skin look everyone wants. But the Platinum version is better for winter since it’s more moisturizing, and both have decent coverage.”

She paused for a moment: “In short, if you have the money, get Platinum; if you don’t, get Futurist—there’s not much of a difference.”

[Hahahahaha I love how direct and simple Le Ning is!]

[Waaah, I’m a student and bought Futurist last time. It’s really long-lasting, didn’t even smudge when I went to hotpot.]

[I just want to say, if I had Le Ning’s skin, I wouldn’t even care which foundation to buy! Even without makeup, I’d still be the brightest person on the street!]

Le Ning laughed.

Her movements became quicker as she applied her makeup. Her technique was excellent, and she had her own unique style.

Le Ning first became famous due to a parody video.

In the video, she used makeup to impersonate several popular female celebrities, and there was one even more impressive, where she directly imitated a famous male celebrity.

The makeup was so well done that it looked as though she were the real person. Everyone was amazed by her makeup skills, and more and more viewers came to her stream out of curiosity.

At the last step, after applying lipstick, Le Ning tossed her hair and looked at the camera: “Done. Was that quick enough?”

Fans exclaimed how fast it was, but they couldn’t get enough.

Le Ning raised her eyebrows, her curled lashes fluttering as she looked like a little fairy, making her fans’ hearts race.

She was truly stunning.

“Alright, I’m ending the stream now. See you next time.”

She thought for a moment: “I’ll post about the products I used on Weibo tonight, so everyone can check it out then. No need to screenshot now.”

“Of course, it would be even better with a class representative.”

Fans: …

After finishing her makeup, Ruan Qiu arrived just in time. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Le Ning’s makeup: “You look great, today you’re a college student.”

Le Ning’s outfit was youthful today; she wore a plaid sweater with a small tank top underneath, paired with a white shirt, and a high-waisted skirt that showed off her long, straight, and fair legs, making her stand out.

As soon as she got close, Ruan Qiu lightly sniffed the air, surprised as she looked at her.

“Your perfume smells really nice today.”

Le Ning nodded, her eyes lighting up as she said, “Right? I thought it was perfect for today’s romantic vibe.”

‘Jasmine Sambac & Marigold’—jasmine and marigold—has a white floral scent, giving the impression of flowers on the roadside after the rain. It was the first time she’d smelled it, and it was refreshing and natural, making it quite addictive.

Ruan Qiu seized on one point.

She looked at Le Ning in disbelief and blinked: “Romantic today? What’s so romantic about today?”

Le Ning gave an “Oh” sound, winking and giving a playful look: “You’re taking me to the doctor, isn’t that romantic?”

Ruan Qiu: “…”

Hospitals were always crowded, with long lines for registration and complicated procedures.

By the time it was Le Ning’s turn, she had already been sitting in the chair nearly falling asleep.

Luckily, there was nothing major wrong, just a seasonal change she hadn’t paid attention to.

After getting some medication, the two of them left the hospital.

“Where to now?”

Ruan Qiu had already made plans: “Let’s grab something to eat first, then I’ll take you to the bar to dance.”

Le Ning: “…Oh.”

However, Le Ning didn’t expect to run into someone she knew at the bar.

The bar was so loud that after a while, Le Ning’s ears started to hurt. She excused herself to go to the restroom while Ruan Qiu was excited.

Just as she came out of the restroom, she bumped into Zhou Ran.

The man was leaning against the wall, one leg slightly bent, his posture relaxed, completely different from how he had appeared the night before.

He was smoking.

This side of the bar was a smoking area, and a few other men were also smoking nearby.

Le Ning saw Zhou Ran, and Zhou Ran naturally saw her too.

When their eyes met, Zhou Ran paused, then extinguished his cigarette.

Just as Le Ning turned to leave, he suddenly asked, “What are you doing here?”

Hearing this, Le Ning wasn’t happy.

“What, is the police still checking bars tonight?”

Zhou Ran: “…”

He chuckled, the corner of his mouth lifting as he slowly asked, “Why do I feel like—Miss Le, you have a lot of hostility toward me?”

Author’s note:
Le Ning: Why do I have hostility toward you? Don’t you know in your heart?
Zhou Ran: No.