Chapter 35 – Mu Ran, Drunk, Forces Gu Beicheng

"Fu Jiaojiao, could you stop acting like some high and mighty young lady?" Qi Jun had never encountered such an oblivious starlet before. Other actresses in the industry might throw their weight around behind the scenes, but this Fu Jiaojiao was brazen about it, acting petty and sharp-tongued even on a live broadcast, fully aware the cameras were rolling.

In terms of status, she was beneath everyone here. As for how long she'd been in the business, she was the most recent newcomer of all. Where did she get the nerve to swagger around like this?

What annoyed Qi Jun even more was that Fu Jiaojiao always seemed to target Mu Ran, deliberately picking fights. He found her particularly distasteful. Yet, she somehow had a legion of brainless fans, convinced she was genuine and unpretentious.

He really wanted to find an opportunity, when no one else was around, to teach this woman a lesson!

Fu Jiaojiao tossed her head defiantly, her gaze filled with disdain and contempt. "I'm not pretending to be a young lady. I am a young lady."

Mu Ran merely arched a delicate brow, sitting quietly to the side, eating her own tomato and scrambled eggs.

Gu Beicheng was seated beside her, his long arm resting on the kang, drawing her halfway into his embrace. With his other hand, he held a piece of beef jerky.

"Why aren't you eating? Is it not good?" Mu Ran's beautiful eyes widened as she glanced at him. Gu Beicheng rarely ate much—was he watching his figure?

He shook his head, his lips curving into a faint smile. With his slender, well-defined fingers, he pointed to his own lips. "They've gone numb. If I eat any more, I won't be able to speak."

To onlookers, his gentle and ambiguous gesture seemed to be an invitation for her to kiss him.

"Alright, I'll be more careful next time with the seasoning," Mu Ran said, preparing to keep eating. She wanted to fill up before heading out again—otherwise, she knew she'd regret it.

But just as she lifted a piece of egg to her lips, his hand gently caught her wrist.

Setting down her chopsticks, Mu Ran's expression turned slightly displeased, her demeanor growing cold. What was with this man? He wouldn't eat, and now he wouldn't let her eat either?

"What are you doing?"

Gu Beicheng didn't answer. His broad chest drew closer, his cool, compelling presence enveloping her. Mu Ran put her hands up, bracing against his chest.

"What's wrong, Mr. Cheng?"

She bit out the words, tense. A dozen people were gathered in this room, all eyes now fixed on them—was this man really so desperate?

Suppressing the anger threatening to spill over, Mu Ran repeated, "Mr. Cheng?"

Gu Beicheng's handsome face showed no expression. He shot her a glance and leaned in even closer.

Just as Mu Ran was about to push him away, he slowly straightened up. Her gaze dropped and, seeing the tissue in his hand, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. All this fuss just to hand her a tissue?

In the next instant, he pressed the tissue to her lips. "Wipe it."

Mu Ran stiffened, then snatched the tissue away. "I'll do it myself," she muttered, brusquely wiping her mouth and preparing to resume eating.

"Don't eat any more." Gu Beicheng's tone had a faint edge, though there was amusement and indulgence in his hawk-like eyes.

A streak of rebelliousness flared in Mu Ran. She defiantly stuffed a large piece of tomato in her mouth, narrowing her fox-like eyes at him as if to say, What are you going to do about it? I’ll eat if I want to.

"Your lips," he said, pointing at them.

Mu Ran was puzzled. What was wrong with her lips?

She picked up a small mirror and checked—her lips were completely swollen and red. She quickly set down her chopsticks, pushing the plate of tomatoes and eggs far away.

It must have been the Sichuan pepper oil.

But she had no sense of taste—she couldn't detect anything.

In her previous life, even at the moment of her death, with a mouthful of blood, she had not known what blood tasted like.

She grabbed a small porcelain bottle nearby and downed it in one gulp, intending to rinse her mouth, but the next second—

"Hey! Sister Ran! That’s strong liquor, not water!" Qi Jun tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Gu Beicheng took the little bottle from her hand, bringing it to his nose. "It's baijiu—very strong."

"Xiao Ran, are you alright?" Gao Minglang hurried over. This girl was something else. The baijiu was a homemade specialty from the Northeast, incredibly pure, and she had downed it without so much as a flinch. No wonder President Gu was taken with her—she was bold and straightforward.

Mu Ran glanced longingly at the porcelain bottle in Gu Beicheng’s hand, then obediently shook her head. "I'm fine."

Gu Beicheng’s aura turned cold, his expression dark. His sharp gaze swept over to Gao Minglang as he raised the bottle, his voice gravelly and angry. "Director Gao, are you letting your guests drink baijiu on the show?"

Gao Minglang’s heart skipped a beat and his legs turned weak. If he hadn’t been sitting on the kang, he probably would have collapsed before Gu Beicheng. But with the live stream ongoing, he couldn’t let Gu Beicheng’s true identity slip, so he tried to hold himself together.

"This little bottle is a local specialty from the Northeast. The production team just wanted to let the guests have a taste..." Who would have thought that as soon as it was brought out, this forthright woman would drain it in one go?

"I'm fine, really. No one needs to worry about me. I can hold my liquor—never been drunk, never lost at the table. Who am I afraid of? Gu... Gu... uh, Mr. Cheng, could you give me a hug?" Mu Ran shook off Qi Jun’s hand, which was reaching to check her temperature, and turned to the man with a bright, mischievous smile.

Her words fell, and the room instantly fell silent.

Did she call that "fine"?

She was clearly tipsy.

"Mr. Cheng, there's another room. Why don't you take Xiao Ran there? It’s crowded here... I mean, she's not feeling well," Gao Minglang stammered, catching himself mid-sentence.

Qi Jun got up, ready to help. "Sister Ran, I’ll come too. Are you alright?" But as he stepped off the kang to put on his shoes, Gao Minglang grabbed him.

"What are you going for? They’re a couple. Your girlfriend's over there." Gao Minglang gestured to Fu Jiaojiao, who was eyeing the plate of tomato and eggs.

"You’ve got some nerve. That dish was made by Sister Ran with her own hands..." Qi Jun wanted to say more but decided it wasn’t worth wasting words on such a shameless woman.

"I don’t see why not," Fu Jiaojiao said, popping a piece of egg into her mouth—only to spit it out a second later.

Qi Jun immediately sidestepped, grateful the kang was big enough for him to dodge her. Otherwise, she would have spat it all over him. "Are you crazy? Eating and spitting it out—do you have any idea how disgusting that is?"

Fu Jiaojiao stuck out her tongue, searching for water. "No, that dish is just too numbing. Mu Ran must be out of her mind—who puts Sichuan pepper oil in tomato and eggs?"

Everyone present was speechless at this woman who both ate and insulted the food. No one bothered to respond.

In the other room of the farmhouse—

Mu Ran sat on the edge of the kang, her head spinning as she stared blankly at the wall, muttering to herself.

"What are you saying?"

Gu Beicheng leaned in with interest, crouching in front of her, watching her face flush with intoxicated shyness.

"Mr. Cheng! Cheng Beigu! They’re all bad people! They bully me! They set me up! They slander me!"

It was the first time Gu Beicheng had seen her so soft and aggrieved. Her pitiful look made his heart ache with tenderness.

He stood, sat beside her, and drew her tightly into his arms. His lightly stubbled chin rested atop her head, his large hand grasping her soft, delicate fingers.

He took a deep breath of her scent. "Don’t be upset. Be good—don’t be sad. I’ll help you. Whoever bullies you, I’ll take care of it."

A flash of ruthless resolve passed through his hawk-like eyes. He didn’t know exactly what he felt for this woman, but at this moment, all he wanted was to protect her and never let her suffer again.

"You! You’re the one bullying me! You said you didn’t like me!" Mu Ran pulled her hand free and smacked his chest, her teary eyes full of accusation.

"Me? I never said I didn’t like you." He ruffled her messy hair, then pressed his finger to her lips. "Silly, don’t bite your lip—you’ll make it bleed."

Mu Ran was completely drunk now, utterly unrestrained and oblivious to the live camera behind her. "You want me to guess! Stupid Beibei! How am I supposed to know how you feel about me? Let go of me! Don’t touch me!"

The pink atmosphere between them sent the streaming chat into a frenzy.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"What are we witnessing?"

"Are they about to go official?"

"Drunk Mu Ran is adorable!"

"Mu Ran is faking it, isn’t she? She’s just trying to seduce him!"

"Let go of Mr. Cheng! Let me take your place!"

"Has Cheng Beigu really fallen for Mu Ran?"

"There’s no such thing as love in showbiz!"