Dawn broke gently. Su Wanwan couldn't sleep. The bedding beside her had long turned cold. She walked downstairs and sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching as the indigo sky was slowly gilded by strands of golden light. In the distance, the faint sound of car horns drifted in.
Fu Liangmu entered from outside, impeccably dressed in a suit, the chill of the morning dew still clinging to his shoulders. Upon seeing her, he paused briefly in surprise.
"Why are you up so early?"
Su Wanwan's gaze swept across his tailored suit.
"My phone hasn't stopped vibrating. Everyone's urging me to start the livestream."
Fu Liangmu frowned slightly and, without a word, picked up a thin blanket to drape over her shoulders. Her voice was soft and sweet.
"But I have no idea what to stream… I can't just sit there and play a few piano pieces—how dull would that be?"
She pondered earnestly for a moment, then suddenly said,
"Hmm, how about I cook lunch today? I've got nothing else planned anyway."
Just as Fu Liangmu was about to decline, she added with a smile,
"We can stream it too, let everyone watch."
"…Alright."
By the time Fu Liangmu had finished tidying up the kitchen for her, the old madam had come down the stairs.
"Wanwan, oh Wanwan, your racing skills are incredible!"
Su Wanwan was taken aback and gently held the old lady's hand.
"You know about racing, Grandma?"
"I don't," the old lady chuckled, "but you looked so cool behind the wheel!"
"But from now on, unless it's a competition, just let Liangmu do the driving. No need to be polite."
Su Wanwan smiled softly.
"Okay. By the way, Grandma, what would you like for lunch? I'll cook for you."
"No need, no need. Isn't there a chef in the house?"
"Oh, I just gave the chef a day off," Su Wanwan replied playfully.
The old lady pointed at Fu Liangmu.
"Isn't he a chef too? Free of charge, even. Better than none!"
Su Wanwan giggled, holding onto her grandmother's arm with a coquettish charm.
"Grandma, I'm livestreaming, remember? I want to show off a little for my fans. So no letting Liangmu help today!"
The old madam gave it serious thought.
"Fair point. Liangmu's skills aren't worth showing off anyway! But if you're going live, make sure to tell me the room number—I'll send you some gifts!"
"Deal."
The fridge was running low, so Su Wanwan took Fu Liangmu to the supermarket. Before leaving, she posted a message on Weibo:
[Going live at exactly 11:00 AM. Come watch!]
Soon, comments poured in beneath the post:
[Aaaah, can't wait!]
[Is it racing?]
[Or piano?]
[All of you are shallow. I just need to see Wanwan's face.]
[Step aside, she's my wife!]
Holding a grocery list in hand, Su Wanwan already knew what ingredients to buy. As she passed through the vegetable section, she picked up a leafy stalk but found it slightly lacking in freshness. So she headed to the meat section instead and also requested a fish.
While the shopkeeper cleaned the fish, Fu Liangmu stood about eight meters away, quietly watching, the depths of his otherwise stoic gaze tinged with a trace of… unease.
"Why don't you go pick out some vegetables instead?" she suggested.
He nodded immediately.
"Sure, which kind?"
She handed him the leaf in her hand.
"This one."
Fu Liangmu accepted it, full of confidence.
"I'll be back in three minutes."
However, when he arrived at the vegetable aisle, he found himself staring at a sea of green leaves, each one seemingly identical to the one he held. When Su Wanwan came looking for him, her fish already in hand, he was still buried in the greens.
"Still haven't found it?"
Fu Liangmu shook his head awkwardly.
Su Wanwan glanced casually, then picked one up effortlessly.
"It's this one."
Fu Liangmu etched the look of that vegetable deeply into his memory. She smiled gently, reassuring him,
"It's okay. I couldn't tell them apart at first either. You'll get it with practice."
"I'll work hard," he replied solemnly.
Groceries in hand, they returned home. Knowing he couldn't help much with cooking, Fu Liangmu took it upon himself to clean all the ingredients, ensuring everything was spotless.
At exactly 11:00 AM, Su Wanwan launched her livestream. Since it was her first time, some adjustments were needed. When fans entered the stream, they were greeted by a blindingly white screen.
[Huh? Is my phone broken?]
[That's Wanwan's face.]
[No visible pores?]
[She looks like a peeled egg!]
Su Wanwan adjusted the phone on its stand and stepped back to a suitable distance. Her face suddenly flickered and shrank on-screen. She laughed a little awkwardly.
"Sorry, I didn't realize the app had built-in beauty filters…"
[LOL! Our Wanwan doesn't need filters.]
[That filter was terrifying—turned her into a cone-face!]
Once all filters were disabled, the stream looked normal again.
[Wait, it's not piano? Not racing? Is this… her home?]
[Gasp! Is that a kitchen?]
Su Wanwan nodded and panned the camera toward Fu Liangmu.
"Lunchtime's coming up, so I thought I'd cook something and let everyone watch."
[Dark cuisine incoming?]
[Suddenly not jealous of Fu Liangmu anymore. Godspeed, brother.]
[Women cooking? Yikes. My wife nearly blew up the kitchen last time.]
Watching the messages and gifts flooding in, Su Wanwan gently reminded everyone:
"I'm about to start cooking, so I might not be able to see your comments for a while. And please, don't spend money sending me gifts—I'll get mad! Save it and treat yourselves to something yummy instead."
With that, she handed her phone to Fu Liangmu, asking him to film everything. Then, with practiced hands, she began chopping vegetables.
The disaster everyone had anticipated never arrived. The moment viewers saw her knife skills, they realized—
[Wait… am I watching a gourmet channel?]
[She actually knows how to cook…]
[That knife work is incredible!]
Fu Liangmu, reading the barrage of praise, allowed a rare smile to grace his otherwise cool lips, a hint of pride and delight surfacing.
Just then, everyone in the stream noticed a prominent system notification at the top of the screen:
'Longsha Wanliqiu has sent ten diamond rings to Su Nian's livestream.'
Diamond rings were the most expensive gift on the platform—each worth ten thousand yuan. Dropping a hundred thousand in one go was no small gesture.
Ordinarily, this wouldn't mean much. Even if Su Wanwan and Su Nian were livestreaming at the same time, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But then, Su Nian's fans began flooding into Su Wanwan's stream. Seeing the modest rankings on the gift leaderboard, they couldn't resist stirring up trouble.
Yi Nian Hua Kai:
[Tsk tsk, I thought Su Wanwan's fans were more impressive. Turns out, not so much.]
[Looks like our Nian Nian has today's trending spot in the bag!]