"What’s going on?"
Tong Yingying stepped out from the back, and only then did she fully take in the scene—custors outside the pub were all holding up their phones, watching sothing unfold.
"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
With her signature deadpan expression, she walked up to Yan Huan, placed a hand on his shoulder, and gently pulled him behind her.
At the sa ti, she turned toward the phone that was livestreaming, wanting to see for herself what was happening.
Strangely, the mont the red-haired woman stepped into view, the previously explosive livestream suddenly fell into a bizarre silence.
"......"
No more flashy effects.
No more loud sound effects.
The flood of extravagant gift notifications had completely vanished, leaving behind an eerily clear screen.
All that remained was the comnt section—spamming endless question marks.
"???"
"???"
"......"
Tong Yingying, thoroughly confused, turned to look at Yan Huan and Tian Li.
"So what, are these Schr??dinger's gifts? Their state changes the mont I observe them?"
Tian Li was silent for a mont before giving her a big thumbs-up.
"That just ans you’re all-powerful, Sister Tong."
"Scram."
"Got it, sis."
Tong Yingying glanced at the now-explosively popular livestream—sohow, this madness had propelled Nursery Rhy Pub’s stream to the number one trending spot in the South District.
Then, she squinted at the two bizarre default-avatar accounts occupying the top two supporter ranks and snorted.
"Why are they throwing money around like crazy? Is it really that easy to make money these days? What kind of lunatic—"
Tian Li paled instantly, frantically waving his hands in an attempt to stop her.
Yan Huan, on the other hand, already knew Sister Tong’s personality well—so he simply sighed and looked away.
Jinghe District – Luxurious Mansion
In front of her screen, Ying Gong Tong furrowed her brows as she stared at Tong Yingying, finding her… strange.
So this is the President’s boss?
Soone’s throwing money at her, and she’s not even happy about it?
With her years of wealthy family experience, Ying Gong Tong knew one thing for certain—when sothing seems off, it usually is.
Ye International Headquarters
Inside the towering skyscraper, a secretary knocked lightly on the door and called out to Ye Shiyu, who was also staring coldly at the screen, watching Tong Yingying.
"Shiyu, it’s ti for dinner."
But Ye Shiyu rely shook her head slightly and continued watching her phone.
Inside the livestream, the chat was completely losing its mind:
"Rich lady gets scolded for spending money—LMAO 66666!!"
"DYING. The sugar mama was going wild, and now the real boss showed up. This is about to be a bloodbath—GET
A FRONT-ROW SEAT!"
"This is literally a TV drama. If this isn’t scripted, I’ll eat my own hat."
Back at the pub, Tong Yingying didn’t quite get the internet slang, but seeing all the comnts annoyed her anyway.
She turned to Yan Huan, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"…Sugar mama?"
Yan Huan wanted to argue back, 'How do you even know they’re won?'
But then he hesitated.
Because if they weren’t won…
That’d be even more terrifying.
After careful consideration, he simply smiled helplessly and stepped forward to explain to the livestream audience.
"This stream was just ant to promote our pub, introduce our drinks, and provide an online ordering service.
"So, in order to keep things professional, I’ll be disabling the gift-sending feature from now on. I sincerely apologize."
Tong Yingying crossed her arms and remained silent—but since she didn’t object, that ant she was satisfied.
Tian Li, on the other hand, looked devastated. He was really curious to see just how far those two whale-tier spenders would go.
The livestream chat, however, was even more heartbroken than Tian Li:
"You fool! The path to riches was right before you!"
"Ignore your evil boss! With your looks, you could totally go solo!"
"Yeah, down with her! Revolt!!"
Yan Huan, while disabling the gift feature, chuckled as he replied to the chat.
"You guys are totally just the boss’s alt accounts, huh? Trying to test ?"
Behind him, Tong Yingying glanced at Yan Huan.
Good. At least all my training didn’t go to waste.
Though her face remained as expressionless as ever, her lips couldn’t help but curl into a faint smile.
The eagle-eyed viewers in the chat imdiately caught this detail and started spamming ssages:
"The boss just gave an evil capitalist smile~"
"She crushed two sugar mommies in a battle that shook the heavens and brought the Great Path to its end. What a terrifying woman."
"Bro, you better have a training arc after this."
"Watch, after the stream ends, the two bosses are gonna rage-quit and demand refunds."
Yan Huan only realized that Tong Yingying had smiled after reading the comnts.
He turned around, wanting to see for himself.
But the mont he lifted his hand slightly, Tong Yingying subtly turned her head away.
As if she was suddenly very busy, she rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
The instant Tian Li saw this, his eyes widened in horror.
"Wait! Sister Tong, hold on!!"
Tong Yingying blinked, montarily confused.
Her fingers had already pulled out a single premium ladies’ cigarette from the pack.
But the mont that cigarette fully erged and entered the fra—
Tian Li's face contorted in sheer agony, as if he had just swallowed a fly.
Yan Huan also realized what was about to happen and quickly turned back to the screen.
"STREAM ENDED!"
"Your account has been temporarily suspended for violating the platform’s livestream guidelines. The livestream function will be unavailable for three days."
Tian Li collapsed to his knees in despair.
Yan Huan, arms crossed, let out a helpless laugh.
"Sister Tong, I’ve told you to quit smoking. Now look what happened. You nuked our entire stream."
Linn had extrely strict regulations on tobacco sales.
Cigarettes couldn’t be displayed on store shelves, and buyers had to specifically ask for them to be retrieved from locked storage.
To make things worse, every pack featured graphic anti-smoking images, so Tong Yingying always transferred the cigarettes into her own case after purchasing them.
Smoking outside required a designated smoking area, otherwise, you'd get arrested—but here in the South District, nobody cared.
However, showing a cigarette on a livestream?
That was straight-up illegal.
And so, Tong Yingying successfully got their entire stream banned for three days.
She massaged the back of her head, looking completely unbothered, and muttered,
"Eh, good. Now I can have so peace.
"Or… were you hoping to get back online and rake in more money from your sugar mommies?"
Yan Huan sighed.
"If I really wanted to do that, Sister Tong… why would I have disabled the gift feature in the first place?"
Tong Yingying smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying anything.
She looked up—only to find that all the custors outside the pub’s glass windows were pressed against the glass, spectating the drama.
anwhile, Tian Li, who had recovered from his earlier despair, checked the drink orders and suddenly whipped around excitedly toward Yan Huan and Tong Yingying.
"Sister Tong, you totally misjudged this! I told you this would make money…
"We’re completely sold out!!"
Ye International Headquarters – Outside the CEO’s Office
Ye Shiyu gripped her phone tightly, staring at the now-banned livestream.
The mont Yan Huan disabled gift donations, her rank on the fan leaderboard beca permanently fixed.
And due to her reaction speed, she had ended up below that annoying first-place user—“Loves Cats.”
Second place.
Inside the now-silenced livestream, a few scattered comnts still drifted across the screen.
But what truly caught Ye Shiyu’s eye was a single golden-highlighted ssage:
Loves Cats: "I won. You're just second place~"
Already, she had been incredibly irritated seeing Yan Huan disable donations just to appease that so-called boss—even interacting with them and their colleagues.
This was an old problem of hers.
Whenever she saw Yan Huan show kindness to others, a naless fire would ignite within her, as if he was being tainted.
And now, adding fuel to the fire—she had lost to “Loves Cats.”
With the livestream banned, her rank was frozen, leaving her stuck at second place.
It felt as if that damn first-place user had used sheer financial power to snatch Yan Huan away from her.
The combination of both these humiliations caused the barriers placed upon her by her mother and Yan Huan to begin to crack.
A demon called "Desire" was beginning to stir within her.
"Bzzz~"
Suddenly, her phone screen flickered—the display turning into an eerie shade of purple.
"Tap… Tap… Tap…"
"Shiyu, what are you doing? Why haven’t you co down for dinner?"
Ye Shiyu, still staring blankly at her phone, suddenly heard footsteps approaching from the corridor.
The mont she recognized her mother’s voice, the strange purple glow on her screen shattered.
She swiftly turned her head—just in ti to see Ye Lan walking toward her.
Tonight, Ye Lan was wearing a white blouse with lace embroidery, layered beneath a black overcoat with no sleeves.
Her arms, wrapped in the white sleeves of her shirt, were crossed over her chest. As she stepped closer, she lightly adjusted her gold-rimd glasses, her gaze falling upon her daughter—sitting silently in the dark.
Ye Shiyu opened her mouth slightly, but no words ca out.
Yet Ye Lan’s sharp gaze caught the subtle shift in her daughter’s expression—an unfamiliar hint of aggression.
She glanced at Ye Shiyu’s phone and asked,
"What happened just now?
"Didn’t you say you wanted to consult
about emotions?"
Ye Shiyu hesitated for a mont.
Then, she unlocked her phone, displayed the fan leaderboard, and explained everything to her mother.
Ye Lan listened calmly, taking a seat beside her daughter as she spoke.
Only after hearing the full story did she let out a deep sigh, shaking her head with a touch of helplessness.
"You… every ti sothing like this happens, you completely lose your rationality.
"All you do is get angry and work yourself up."
Ye Shiyu pressed her lips together, about to respond—
But Ye Lan cut her off.
"And you still think your fight was against that rank one user?"
"......"
Ye Lan raised three fingers and looked at her daughter.
"You said you didn’t know about his livestream beforehand and just stumbled across it.
"Alright then, let
ask you—"
She lowered one finger.
"Do you know what kind of difficulties Yan Huan was facing at work that made him suddenly start livestreaming?"
"......"
Ye Shiyu paused, then shook her head.
Ye Lan lowered another finger.
"Do you know who that first-place user is, whether they know Yan Huan, or what their intentions are?"
"......"
This ti, her silence lasted even longer.
She shook her head again.
Ye Lan finally lowered the last finger, leaving only her index finger pointing at Ye Shiyu.
"And lastly—"
"You spent all that money, but does Yan Huan even know that account belongs to you?"
"......"
Ye Lan frowned and lowered her hand entirely, withdrawing it back to herself.
"You don’t know anything.
"So even if you had won first place… what would it have changed?"
"All you would’ve done was trick yourself into thinking you had ‘defeated’ your competitor—fooling yourself into believing that being top on the leaderboard ant you had ‘claid’ Yan Huan.
"But even if you took first place, you wouldn’t have truly gained anything.
"You wouldn’t have won against anyone."
Ye Shiyu’s pupils contracted slightly, lifting her gaze toward her mother.
"Conversely," Ye Lan continued, "Even though you didn’t get first place…
"You didn’t lose anything either.
"And you didn’t lose to anyone."
Ye Shiyu stiffened.
Her anger and frustration from before felt as though it had been washed away slightly, her hand unconsciously pressing against her chest.
Seeing this, Ye Lan exhaled softly and said,
"Honestly, I don’t even care how much of that money will actually end up in Yan Huan’s pocket—so I won’t count it as a complete waste."
She placed a firm hand on her daughter’s icy fingers and, after a brief silence, spoke in a low, aningful tone.
"But listen carefully, Shiyu.
"I’ll teach you sothing.
"If you want to truly claim soone as your own…
"Then first, your heart has to reach theirs."
"You developed feelings for Yan Huan because of the kindness he showed you, didn’t you?"
"And that kindness existed because he put himself in your shoes."
Ye Lan reached out and gently tapped a finger against her daughter’s chest.
"It’s because he realized you might reject him that he maturely chose to leave this house on his own.
"That’s what changed your perception of him, isn’t it?"
"So right now—Yan Huan is the one who has ‘claid’ you.
"And because you are the one being claid, that’s why you feel so powerless, so angry."
Ye Shiyu’s inner storm wavered slightly.
She clutched her chest, confused.
"Then… what should I do?"
"Do what Yan Huan did."
"Let your heart step out of its cage and into his world."
Ye Lan turned to look at her daughter, continuing,
"As long as your heart remains trapped inside your own world, there will always be a wall between you.
"So tell , Shiyu—do you truly understand him?
"Have you ever helped him?
"Have you ever truly talked with him, gotten to know him?
"Have you ever made him genuinely happy?"
Ye Shiyu lowered her head.
Suddenly, she recalled a seemingly small mory.
The ti she had visited Yan Huan’s ho.
Back then, he had been excitedly introducing his adorable black cat to her.
But she…
She hadn’t cared at all.
She never paid attention to the things he liked.
She had only stared at him.
And later, when she hypnotized him—
She had even used his beloved cat as a threat.
She never truly saw him.
Just like that cat—she had ignored everything that made him who he was.
"Got it, Mom."
After a long silence, Ye Shiyu finally took a deep breath—her gaze noticeably clearer.
For a brief mont, her phone screen flickered with static, and the front cara seed almost... sentient.
It was as if it glanced at Ye Lan with a mix of anger, helplessness, and fear.
Ye Shiyu’s lips curved into a faint smile as she was about to say—
"I’ll make sure to truly understand Xiao Huan."
But before she could finish, her mother suddenly raised a hand, cutting her off.
"Don’t get ahead of yourself just yet, Shiyu," Ye Lan said.
"Eh?"
Ye Shiyu turned toward her mother, only to see her smiling gently as she gazed back at her.
"There’s one last thing, Shiyu…
"When you step into soone else’s heart—make sure you know how to protect yourself, alright?"
Ye Shiyu tilted her head slightly, a hint of confusion in her expression.
"I’m teaching you this because Xiao Huan was the one who took the first step.
"So naturally, it’s now your turn to gather your courage and step into his heart.
"But in the future… I an, in the long run…"
Ye Lan looked at her daughter directly, reaching out to gently ruffle her hair as she reminded her,
"If one day, he stops moving toward you,
"If he stops making an effort for you and instead expects you to always stay in his heart,
"If staying in his heart starts to hurt you…
"Then, you step back. Do you understand?"
Ye Shiyu stared into her mother’s golden-rimd glasses, as if trying to decode every layer of her ssage.
And then—after another long mont of silence—
She slowly reached out and held her mother’s hand.
Leaning her head into Ye Lan’s palm, she nuzzled against it slightly, then lifted her gaze and softly said,
"Mm.
"I’ll protect myself.
"And I’ll carefully, cautiously claim Xiao Huan as mine."
Seeing this, Ye Lan let out a helpless chuckle, shaking her head.
"This was just a reminder…
"After all, from the mont you were born, anyone who dared to hurt you or make you suffer has never been shown rcy."
She gave Ye Shiyu’s head a gentle pat before straightening up.
"Alright, don’t just sit there like a fool, sweetheart. Get up.
"Let’s go eat."
Ye Shiyu tightened her grip on her phone, then rose to her feet as well.
With a soft nod, she responded—
"Alright, Mom."
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