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

Zhou Ai gently placed the carefully plated pasta and steak on the table in front of Chu Yi, her movements very careful, as if afraid that the clinking of the cutlery would disturb the other person's thoughts, which were immersed in the documents.

He, like a child waiting for praise, pulled out the chair opposite him, sat down, rested his chin on his hands, and stared intently at Chu Yi's focused profile.

He watched quietly, without saying a word or urging, as if simply watching Chu Yi work diligently was a pleasure in itself.

After finishing the last line of annotation, Chu Yi put down her pen, let out a soft sigh of relief, and then realized she was starving.

He looked up and saw the plate of steaming spaghetti next to him, the steak next to it was cooked to perfection, and someone had even added a few florets of bright green broccoli as decoration. It looked quite appealing.

"You did this?" Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai with some surprise.

Zhou Ai raised an eyebrow smugly, her chin slightly lifted: "Could there be a third person here?"

Chu Yi chuckled at his words, shook her head, tidied up the documents and phone on the table, and pushed them aside to make room for her to eat. She picked up her fork, rolled up a small piece of noodles, and carefully put it into her mouth to savor it.

"How is it?" Zhou Ai immediately moved closer, her bright, expectant eyes sparkling, just like a large dog waiting to be fed and praised.

Chu Yi chewed slowly and carefully, then looked into the eyes in front of her, gave a sincere thumbs-up, and simply commented, "Delicious."

These two words seemed to have a magical power. Zhou Ai was instantly overjoyed, her heart that had been hanging in suspense was finally put back into her stomach, and she happily took her plate.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Ai's phone, which was on the table, rang at an inopportune moment, and the name "Xu Yang" appeared on the screen.

Zhou Ai frowned, reluctantly picking up her phone to answer: "Hello, Brother Yang?"

Xu Yang's frantic, almost hoarse voice immediately came from the other end of the phone: "My God! You were really filmed?! And in such high definition! Are you out of your mind or do you want me to die?!"

Zhou Ai paused in his noodle-picking motion, instinctively glancing up at Chu Yi across from him. Chu Yi was also looking at him, his eyes questioning.

Zhou Ai mouthed "It's okay" to him, then covered the phone's microphone with her hand, got up, and quickly walked towards the balcony.

After closing the glass door to the balcony to block out the sounds from inside, Zhou Ai lowered her voice and asked, "The paparazzi came directly to you asking for money?"

"Money is a small matter!" Xu Yang's tone remained anxious. "The key is that they captured a picture of you and Teacher Chu together! Although Teacher Chu's face was obscured and not clearly captured, anyone familiar with him can immediately recognize his figure and demeanor! What's the difference between this and direct exposure?"

Zhou Ai paused for a moment, then her tone calmed down: "You didn't get a clear picture of her face, what are you worried about?"

"What am I worried about?" Xu Yang was practically going crazy. "What if... Professor Chu doesn't want to go public with you? Think about his family background, his profession! Can this be handled like dating someone in our industry?"

These words were like a fine needle, gently pricking Zhou Ai's heart. A brief silence fell on both ends of the phone.

Zhou Ai didn't hang up the phone. Holding his phone, he slowly turned around from the balcony. His gaze, passing through the glass door, met Chu Yi's, who was looking over from beside the dining table.

Seeing the unusually serious expression on Zhou Ai's face, Chu Yi assumed that she had encountered some difficult problem at work.

He put down his fork and silently mouthed, "What's wrong?" He then pointed to the almost untouched plate of noodles in front of Zhou Ai, indicating that he should finish his business before eating.

Looking into Chu Yi's clear eyes, Zhou Ai felt a mix of emotions. He said in a deep voice into the phone, "...I understand. I'll ask for his opinion first."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ai took a deep breath, pushed open the balcony door, and walked back to the dining room. He sat down again, but his appetite had vanished. He picked up his fork and mechanically stirred the noodles in his plate, looking somewhat preoccupied.

"What's wrong?" Chu Yi keenly noticed the change in his mood, and even carefully cut the untouched half of her steak with a knife and fork, naturally placing it on Zhou Ai's plate. "Don't you like it?"

Zhou Ai looked at the extra steak on his plate and shook his head. "No, it's just... I'm not very hungry."

He paused for a moment, raised his head, looked directly at Chu Yi, and decided to get straight to the point.

He needs to know Chu Yi's truest thoughts.

Zhou Ai's voice was calm, but carried a hint of barely perceptible tension. "Last night, we...we were photographed by paparazzi."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yi's face did not show the panic or worry Zhou Ai had expected. Instead, she remained calm and composed, only slightly frowning as she softly asked, "Will it affect you?"

His first reaction was still to worry about whether this would cause trouble for Zhou Ai's career.

Zhou Ai's heart felt as if it had been gently bumped by something, leaving it tingling and tender.

He shook his head and said firmly, "No. My career isn't that fragile."

He took a deep breath and asked the most crucial question, his gaze fixed intently on Chu Yi's eyes, not missing a single subtle change in his expression:

"But I want to ask you a question."

"If...we choose to go public with our relationship, would you be willing?"

Chu Yi paused slightly in her grip on the fork, her fingertips leaving brief marks on the metal.

He raised his eyes, his gaze calmly meeting Zhou Ai's tense and inquisitive eyes. The soft restaurant lights reflected tiny specks of light in his clear eyes.

Chu Yi did not answer immediately, but gently put down her fork, placed her hands neatly on her knees, and seriously considered the question.

In the brief silence, only the faint noise of the city outside the window filled the air.

"Public," Chu Yi began, her voice as steady as ever, but slower than usual, each word carrying the weight of careful consideration, "meaning your fans, the media, and even... my family and hospital colleagues will know."

He stated the facts without panic or excitement, more like calmly listing all the variables.

But Zhou Ai's heart tightened slightly at Chu Yi's words.

"I know," Zhou Ai nodded, leaning forward unconsciously, her tone urgent yet trying to remain calm. "I've considered all of this. There might be pressure, there might be gossip, but we can face it together. I just... need to know your thoughts. Are you willing? Are you willing to let our relationship be in the open?"

Chu Yi looked at the undisguised expectation and the cautious nervousness in his eyes, as if looking at a large animal that had exposed its most vulnerable belly to her.

He suddenly remembered Zhou Ai's scalding tears last night, his clumsy yet earnest figure in the kitchen today, and the look in his eyes that had dimmed instantly because he was worried about his wishes.

Those emotions that had been suppressed by meticulous rationality quietly overflowed the dam.

Chu Yi lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath them. When she raised them again, a gentle yet firm smile appeared in her eyes.

"Zhou Ai," he called his name, his voice gentle and clear, "when I chose to be with you, I was already fully prepared."

He didn't say "yes" directly, but that statement was more powerful than any affirmative answer.

It means that from the moment her heart was moved, Chu Yi had already accepted all the consequences, including everything that might come from going public.

Zhou Ai was stunned for a moment, and then, a huge joy exploded in her chest like fireworks, instantly dispelling all the gloom and unease.

He almost jumped up from his chair, forcibly restraining himself, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up into a bright smile, and his eyes even began to feel hot again.

"Really?" He couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling with excitement.

Seeing Zhou Ai's undisguised elation, Chu Yi couldn't help but smile and softly hummed in agreement.

"What if... your fans don't like me?"

Zhou Ai was forking a piece of broccoli, about to put it in her mouth, when she heard Chu Yi's words and paused. Then, as if she had heard an interesting joke, she grinned and opened her mouth into a smug and confident smile.

He put down his fork, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on the table. His peach blossom eyes stared intently at Chu Yi, gleaming with a confident yet slightly arrogant light.

"He doesn't like you?" Zhou Ai drawled, her tone filled with disbelief. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

He pointed a finger at Chu Yi from afar, his eyes conveying a sense of "you have no idea how good you are": "Dr. Chu, Teacher Chu, my goodness... you have to have some faith in my fans' judgment. The fact that they like me, what does that say?"

Zhou Ai even paused deliberately, creating suspense, before raising her chin and proudly announcing, "This proves that their aesthetic standards have been rigorously tested by the market and are top-notch! After all—an idol's taste is the ceiling for their fans!"

This is indeed in line with Zhou Ai's style. She first praised herself extensively, and then took all the credit for herself. Her logic was so self-consistent that it was laughable.

Seeing Chu Yi's somewhat stunned expression at his twisted logic, Zhou Ai's smile deepened, his tone softening, becoming more earnest and reassuring, "Don't worry. They like the real me, and the real me likes you the most right now. They'll feel it, just like..."

He blinked, lowered his voice, and said with a touch of mysterious intimacy, "Just like 'π' back then, even through a sea of ​​people, didn't it accurately discover this gem of mine? This shows that those with true vision will ultimately point to the same correct answer."

As Chu Yi listened to his domineering yet childlike words of comfort, and saw the trust and pride in his eyes without any shadows, she realized that she had only meant to tease him on a whim, but Zhou Ai's few words had instantly soothed her heart.

Hearing the end, Chu Yi couldn't help but chuckle, shaking her head with a gentle smile in her eyes.

"Distorted logic and heresy."

"How is that a fallacy?"

Zhou Ai retorted confidently, picked up her fork again, and continued enjoying her dinner in high spirits. "This is a reasonable inference based on facts. In short, don't worry, I'll take care of things. If they dare not like you..."

He pretended to wave his fist, which, combined with his handsome face, looked somewhat comical. "Then I'll... I'll just hold more concerts until they accept it!"

Seeing his expression, Chu Yi finally burst out laughing.

Whether it's made public or not seems to have become irrelevant.

The important thing is that they confirmed their feelings for each other and chose to face all the possibilities of the future together.

The night outside the window was gentle, and the indoor lights were warm. The peace and understanding in this moment were more powerful than a thousand words.

---

After getting everything ready, Zhou Ai insisted on taking Chu Yi back to his apartment. Chu Yi couldn't refuse him, so he let him have his way.

"Wait a moment, I'll go get the car." Chu Yi nodded and stood under the streetlight beside the sidewalk.

The cold winter wind, carrying dampness, immediately rushed towards him, and he instinctively buried half his face in the soft cashmere scarf.

Just then, he looked up in surprise and discovered that tiny, crystalline white specks were quietly drifting down—

It's snowing; it's the first snow of the winter.

The snowflakes were small and light, falling sparsely and slowly from the dark blue sky.

Chu Yi grew up in the north and was no stranger to snow, but every time she saw it, she still felt a serene beauty that washed away the dust.

He reached his hand out of his coat pocket, his slender, pale fingers half-hidden by the cuff, the tips gently protruding as he tried to catch a falling snowflake. The icy touch was fleeting, leaving a damp chill on his fingertips.

At the same time, Zhou Ai had already driven the car out of the parking lot. He slowly drove closer, and the car's automatic headlights turned on, two beams of light piercing the dim night, illuminating the area under the streetlights ahead.

Within the beam of light, Chu Yi was tilting his head slightly, intently watching the falling snowflakes.

The black cashmere scarf made the lower half of his face appear even whiter. Tiny snowflakes fell silently onto his soft black hair, his thick, long eyelashes, and even a few drops clung to the folds of his scarf.

The dim streetlights and bright car lights intertwined, outlining a soft halo around Chu Yi. Snowflakes danced around him, making him look like an elf who had accidentally fallen to earth, or a protagonist in a carefully composed scene from a movie—pure, serene, and unrealistically beautiful.

Zhou Ai sat in the driver's seat, momentarily forgetting what to do. He gripped the steering wheel, held his breath, and quietly watched the scene before him.

The noisy world seemed to have been muted at that moment, leaving only the silent falling snowflakes and the figure in the light and shadow that stirred his heart.

Chu Yi seemed to notice the car lights approaching and stopping. He slowly turned his head and looked straight at the beam of light.

His eyes looked exceptionally clear under the light, because he had just looked up at the snow, and his gaze still held a hint of haziness and focus.

Eyes facing each other.

Through the car window and the drifting snowflakes, their eyes met in the air.

Zhou Ai could see the slight surprise in Chu Yi's eyes, followed by a faint smile.

Chu Yi stood there, watching the car window slowly roll down, revealing Zhou Ai's smiling face. The night lights cast soft shadows on his sharply defined profile.

Before Chu Yi could speak, Zhou Ai suddenly leaned forward and swiftly and accurately hooked Chu Yi's neck with her left hand.

The next second, Zhou Ai tilted her head back and accurately captured Chu Yi's slightly cool lips, placing a soft and brief kiss on them.

The kiss came suddenly, but not hastily, carrying the freshness of the snowy night and the warm scent emanating from Zhou Ai.

Snowflakes gently fell on their foreheads and noses, which were close together, and melted instantly from their body heat.

Instantly separate.

Zhou Ai released his grip, his eyes gleaming with triumph and deep tenderness. He chuckled softly, "A goodnight kiss on the first snowy day."

Chu Yi remained slightly bent over, his cheeks flushing red in the light of the streetlights and snow, the tiny snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes trembling gently with each blink. He stared blankly at Zhou Ai, the lingering warmth on his lips clearer than the snowflakes themselves.

Seeing his appearance, Zhou Ai's heart softened, and she lowered her voice even further: "Get in the car quickly, it's cold outside."

Chu Yi straightened up, pursed her lips which still seemed to carry the other person's warmth, walked around to the passenger seat, opened the car door, and got in.

The warm air inside the car instantly enveloped him, subtly concealing the lingering heat at the base of his ears.

Zhou Ai leaned over and expertly helped him fasten his seatbelt, his fingertips brushing against the collar of his coat, causing a slight tickle. Looking at Chu Yi's still slightly flushed cheeks, he started the car in high spirits.

"Let's go home."