Trending topic alert: The mysterious fan site administrator of a top celebrity has been exposed.

When Zhou Ai arrived home, it was already past one in the morning. The chill of the winter night was kept out of the door, and the house was well-heated, but the high excitement that had ignited in his body because of confirming his relationship with Chu Yi had not diminished at all. It was like a warm, boiling flame that dispelled all fatigue.

He didn't even bother to change his shoes. Leaning against the cold front door, the first thing he did was take out his phone and eagerly open the pinned chat window.

His fingertips flew across the screen, an irrepressible smile playing on his lips.

Get some rest, I'm home now. No need to reply, sleep well. Goodnight.

Send successful. He looked at the short message and imagined Chu Yi probably already asleep, or perhaps wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, lost in thought. His heart melted.

Putting down her phone, Zhou Ai kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot to the sofa in the living room, but she was not sleepy at all.

His excitement needed an outlet, and almost unconsciously, he opened his phone again, went to Weibo, and skillfully found the only account he followed, with the ID "π".

This account is a silent witness to the starting point of his acting career.

Opening the homepage feels like stepping back in time to many years ago.

Back then, he was young and inexperienced, with a strong sense of determination, but his popularity was far less than it is now. His events were smaller in scale, and there were very few fans waiting to greet him at the airport.

But this "π" has almost never been absent from his public appearances.

Zhou Ai scrolled down through the posts one by one. The account owner was clearly very meticulous, as each Weibo post was marked with detailed information about the time, location, and event name.

The accompanying photos are from his early days, some even a little blurry, but the composition and angles of the shots reveal a unique aesthetic. The filter style is also his preferred cool tone, which accurately captures his state and emotions at the time.

Looking at those carefully recorded moments that she had almost forgotten, Zhou Ai initially grinned foolishly, finding Chu Yi's sneaky way of doing these things cute and clumsy.

But gradually, as he looked through the photos more closely, seeing those taken in the dead of winter or the heat of summer, with backgrounds that were often empty and desolate, his smile slowly froze, and his eyes began to burn and sting uncontrollably.

He seemed to see the young Chu Yi—the second young master of the Cheng family, who had grown up under strict discipline and should have followed the established path of elites.

How carefully he concealed his identity, wearing a mask and hat, blending into the scattered crowd, or guarding a secluded corner alone, just to use his camera to record another young man who was still struggling in the mud.

What were Chu Yi's feelings as she repeatedly went to his event venues?

What kind of secret anticipation and joy did they harbor, and how much unknown tension and caution did they carry?

How did someone as aloof and accustomed to keeping his distance from others overcome all sorts of discomfort just to get a little closer to him, even if it was just as a stranger, a "station brother"?

He did all this willingly, even trying his best to hide it, not wanting him to find out anything.

If it weren't for tonight's unexpected event, this secret might have been sealed away forever in that piano by Chu Yi.

The thought of the hardships Chu Yi might have silently endured, the untold sacrifices he made, and the years of silent vigil made Zhou Ai's heart ache as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and regret surged into her heart like a tide.

He regretted not discovering it sooner, regretted realizing it too late, and that his "pi" had waited alone for so long.

A drop of warm liquid slid down unexpectedly, hitting the phone screen and blurring the photo of him singing on a simple stage many years ago.

Zhou Ai snapped back to reality, somewhat embarrassed, and roughly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. He muttered a curse at himself, "How shameful... I've never cried for anyone in my life, but because of Chu Yi, I've cried twice..."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his turbulent emotions. Just then, a new message notification popped up at the top of his phone screen.

It is Chu Yi.

Even though he had clearly told them not to reply, the seemingly aloof and distant person still obediently and earnestly replied with a single sentence:

Okay, get some rest. Good night.

These few simple words were like a warm current, instantly soothing all of Zhou Ai's bittersweet emotions.

He looked at the message, imagining Chu Yi's possible expression as she typed those words, and felt a mix of emotions.

"Tell me... what should I do with you, Chu Yi?" Zhou Ai stared at her phone screen without moving, her thumb unconsciously stroking Chu Yi's WeChat profile picture over and over again.

Swallowing back all the sobs and complex emotions welling up in her throat, Zhou Ai slowly took a deep breath, opened Chu Yi's WeChat profile editing page, looked at the nickname "Meteorite," solemnly deleted those two words, and then carefully entered the nickname she wanted.

【Good boy/girl】

This was a nickname he had stolen from his childhood. Looking at the new nickname "Guai Guai," Zhou Ai's heart finally settled down, enveloped by a huge sense of relief and satisfaction at having regained what he had lost.

He gazed at the deep night outside the window, a gentle yet firm smile returning to his lips.

Fortunately, he thought it wasn't too late to discover it now.

His "pi", the witness to his long unrequited love, his clumsy yet affectionate Dr. Chu, from now on, no longer need to hide behind the camera, no longer need to conceal his feelings, he can openly and honestly be Zhou Ai's "darling".

---

A soft clatter of a door closing echoed from the entryway, followed by silence, signaling Zhou Ai's departure.

Chu Yi remained curled up on the sofa, wrapped in a thick wool blanket, like a frozen sculpture.

The room seemed to still carry Zhou Ai's presence, and the air was filled with an unprecedented, unsettling tension.

Chu Yi's mind was still blank, as if all her thinking ability and senses had been exhausted in the sudden "storm".

He instinctively retreated into the fragile fortress of blankets, trying to process everything that had happened that night.

From the discovery of the piano secret, to Zhou Ai's forceful yet gentle interrogation, to that kiss that almost suffocated him, and finally to Zhou Ai's scalding tears and the choked sob of "It's killing me..."

Every scene played repeatedly in his mind like slow motion, impacting his established, orderly world.

Chu Yi had been sitting motionless in a corner of the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, ever since Zhou Ai left.

It wasn't until the phone screen on the coffee table lit up and emitted a familiar notification sound that he was jolted back to reality from his daze.

It was a WeChat message from Zhou Ai.

Get some rest, I'm home now. No need to reply, sleep well. Goodnight.

Chu Yi stared at the line of text, his fingertips trembling slightly, his heart racing uncontrollably. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately disobeyed Zhou Ai's instruction not to reply. He stretched out his somewhat stiff fingers and carefully typed out a reply:

Okay, get some rest. Good night.

After successfully sending the message, he seemed to have accomplished a major task and let out a soft sigh of relief. Only then did his gaze dare to look around.

Everything in the house had been carefully tidied up before Zhou Ai left—the scattered albums were neatly stacked on the piano, the crooked cushions were straightened, and even the glass of water he had left behind was thoughtfully refilled with warm water.

Everything seemed to have returned to normal, clean, cold, and orderly, just like every night when he lived alone.

But Chu Yi clearly felt that everything was different.

In this space, it seemed that every corner bore Zhou Ai's imprint: the scent that permeated the air, the lingering wrinkles on the sofa, even the warmth and strength of his fingertips when Zhou Ai held them tightly, as if they still remembered it...

Everything is silently proclaiming that some things have changed completely and irreversibly.

Chu Yi tried to close her eyes to calm herself down, but the moment her eyelids closed, Zhou Ai's face, his smiling peach blossom eyes, his warm breath when he was close, and the clear and soft touch on his lips when they kissed... all played uncontrollably in her mind like a short movie, incredibly clear and impossible to forget.

Whenever these images appeared, a strange heat would rise from the bottom of his heart and quickly spread throughout his body, making his cheeks burn and his heartbeat erratic.

He knew perfectly well that it was just dopamine acting up, the most direct physical reaction after emotions overwhelmed reason, but it was still hard to calm down and uncontrollable.

Chu Yi even subconsciously wanted to bury her face in the blanket again, seeking some cover and a sense of security.

However, when he did this, he could smell even more clearly the unique scent of Zhou Ai that clung to the blanket fibers.

The smell seemed to carry an electric current, making him even more flustered, and he could only awkwardly raise his head again.

Around 2 a.m., Chu Yi practically fled the living room and went into the bedroom. She washed up, changed into her pajamas, and lay down in the cold bed, her every movement carrying a blank, mechanical quality.

He lay flat on the bed, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, trying to hypnotize himself using the most primitive method of counting sheep. However, his consciousness remained unusually clear.

It was precisely in this silence, as he tried to force himself to sleep, that a clearer, more undeniable feeling slowly engulfed him like a tide—

He realized that from the moment Zhou Ai left home, every minute, every second, his thoughts were uncontrollably drifting towards that person.

This unfamiliar and overwhelming feeling of longing came so swiftly and so irrationally that he felt helpless, yet... willingly.

Chu Yi finally realized, belatedly, that Zhou Ai had not only broken into his home and uncovered his secrets, but had also completely captured his heart in a domineering yet gentle way.

In that instant, all the love that had been hidden away for so many years crumbled.

---

Zhou Ai didn't even know when she fell asleep on the sofa. When she woke up, it was already bright outside, and sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting long, narrow strips of light on the floor.

He found himself still in the same position he had slumped in after returning home the night before, with a stiff, aching pain in his neck and back.

"Hiss..." He sat up with some difficulty, rubbing his sore neck and back, and his other hand instinctively reached for his phone. The screen lit up, showing 11:00 AM.

He eagerly opened WeChat, but the pinned chat window remained quietly occupied by his "Goodnight" message from the previous night and Chu Yi's brief reply, with no new messages.

"How heartless of them." Zhou Ai looked at the empty chat box, not angry at all, but instead chuckled indulgently and muttered a sentence.

He gently tapped Chu Yi's WeChat profile picture, which he had renamed "Guai Guai," as if he could touch the other person that way, before getting up and going to the shower.

Just as he was about to take off his wrinkled coat, a delicate little gift box slipped out of his pocket with a "thud" and fell to the ground.

Zhou Ai paused for a moment, bent down to pick it up, and then suddenly remembered—this was the tie clip gift he had carefully chosen for Chu Yi last night! He had been so focused on "interrogating" her that he had completely forgotten about it. Holding the small box, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up again.

After taking a shower, Zhou Ai, her body still steaming with warm water, roughly dried her wet hair with a towel while picking up her phone to call Chu Yi.

He wanted to hear his voice, and also to "question" him about why he hadn't sent a single message.

However, when the call was made, all that came through the receiver was a long and repetitive "beep beep beep..." busy tone.

One time, no one answered the phone.

Zhou Ai frowned, hung up, and dialed again.

Still a busy signal.

He dialed a third time, refusing to believe it, but was still turned away.

After three consecutive busy signals, Zhou Ai, holding her phone, began to question the meaning of life.

A sense of unease crept in—had he disappeared on the very first day of their relationship?

On the other hand, Chu Yi was indeed "wronged".

He also experienced severe insomnia last night, and after struggling with his inner turmoil and feeling flushed and his heart pounding, he finally drifted off to sleep.

As a result, he was woken up at seven o'clock in the morning by an urgent phone call from a colleague at the hospital, reminding him that today was the deadline for submitting his promotion thesis materials.

He had no choice but to force himself to get up despite his exhaustion, rummage through drawers and cabinets to organize his documents, and then rush to the hospital.

When Zhou Ai called him, he was busy handing over thick stacks of documents in the personnel department. His phone had long been set to Do Not Disturb mode, so he naturally missed all the calls.

Zhou Ai was confused. Looking at the unanswered phone, his unease grew rapidly. He didn't even bother to dry his hair properly. He threw the towel aside, hurriedly put on his clothes, grabbed his car keys, and rushed out the door, heading straight for Chu Yi's house.

Along the way, various thoughts flashed through his mind. When he arrived at Chu Yi's door, he eagerly rang the doorbell and knocked hard on the door, but there was only silence inside, no response.

That belated sense of fear instantly gripped him—Chu Yi's personality, seemingly calm on the surface, but actually stubborn and easily embarrassed, could it be... could it be that he regretted it, felt unable to face her, and simply packed his things and ran away in the middle of the night?!

The thought made Zhou Ai's heart sink. He forced himself to calm down and quickly thought of where Chu Yi might have gone.

After thinking it over, he dialed a number—to Cheng Yingzhi.

"Feed? Cheng Yingzhi, do you know where Chu Yi is?"

Cheng Yingzhi was taken aback by this abrupt question: "How should I know? How could someone as grown as him get lost? Why are you looking for him?"

After Zhou Ai had talked to him in circles for a long time and confirmed that Cheng Yingzhi was really unaware of the situation, her original anxiety suddenly turned into a mischievous thought.

He chuckled mischievously, his tone turning cheeky: "By the way, cousin, I have something to tell you."

He even paused deliberately before saying clearly and quickly, "Your brother, Chu Yi, and I are in love."

After saying that, Zhou Ai hung up the phone decisively, giving Cheng Yingzhi no time to react or roar.

He could imagine Cheng Yingzhi's stunned and disoriented expression on the other end of the phone, which made him feel a little better because he couldn't find Chu Yi, and he could consider it a comeback.

But even after hanging up the phone, the practical problems remained.

Where did Chu Yi go?

Zhou Ai stood at the tightly closed door of Chu Yi's house, like an abandoned large dog, looking lost and frustrated for nearly half an hour, but still couldn't figure it out.

Just as he was about to give up and consider whether he should resort to drastic measures, his phone chimed with a WeChat message. It was from Cheng Yingzhi.

The message was very simple, containing only one address.

This was followed by a concise, seemingly slightly annoyed, addition: "[Maybe here.]"

When Zhou Ai opened the address, she saw that it was the apartment registered under Cheng Ying's name that Chu Yi would occasionally go to rest after finishing her night shift.

What a twist of fate!

Zhou Ai almost cheered. He immediately replied, "Thanks, my dear cousin. I'll treat you to dinner another day."

Without hesitation, he turned around, rushed back into the elevator, started the car, and sped toward that address.

This time, he's determined to catch his "good boy" red-handed!