When Si Nian woke up the next day, the Mumbling Thoughts tag was still trending.
Although it had already dropped to the lower half of the trending list, it was enough to prove that everything from last night was real—she had actually trended.
The post she made about going home after work last night had already garnered over 500,000 likes.
Every major app’s homepage was flooded with marketing accounts summarizing last night’s highly praised MiniGiltz fashion show, and in almost every comment section, people were asking about the girl in the green shirt or the pink dress.
Jiang Yihan finally had a few days off after the big show.
The moment she woke up, she ran to Si Nian’s house for a meal.
While eating, she kept refreshing Si Nian’s social media account, where the follower count was increasing by the second, and clicked her tongue in amusement:
“I told you, as long as netizens aren’t blind, there’s no way you’d only have ten thousand followers!”
Si Nian hadn’t expected that the results of this show would be even better than she had initially anticipated—or rather, much better.
Her original goal was just to ride the wave of the big show, get some exposure, and gain a little traction, but instead, a massive surge of traffic had come flooding in.
New followers not only watched the short video she posted last night after work but also dug up the ten or so posts she had previously made.
The most popular one was a behind-the-scenes clip she had shared while shooting for Mohe’s wedding dress campaign.
Firstly, because the photos were beautifully taken.
Secondly, because someone in the comments at the time didn’t realize that (Mumbling Thoughts) in the wedding dress was a model and thought she was actually getting married.
Then, even personally responded to that comment asking if she was married:
“It’s a work shoot, not a wedding. I’m single~”
Underneath Si Nian’s comment confirming she was single, the replies had already reached hundreds of layers:
Ahhh, now that I know she’s single, I feel relieved.
Being single is great, being single is wonderful, being single is amazing!
I declare that the three most beautiful words in the world are not ‘I love you’ or ‘I do,’ but ‘I’m single’ from Mumbling Thoughts!
Damn, she looks stunning in a wedding dress, I want to marry her.
No wonder she looked so familiar last night! I just saved Mohe’s sample photos two days ago, thinking of taking wedding photos there in the future, hahaha.
A beauty like this should stay gloriously single!
Who says you’re single? Didn’t you just lie in my arms last night and promise to be my wife? Hmph, you deceitful woman.
Woman, before meeting me, you were single. But after meeting me, you’re not. [Bites rose] [Spins dramatically] [Smirks seductively]
Si Nian couldn’t help but feel a little flustered seeing her suddenly buzzing comment section.
But since she wasn’t a celebrity or idol, publicly sharing her relationship status wasn’t a big deal.
Jiang Yihan, now sprawled on the sofa, was already strategizing how Si Nian could capitalize on this wave of traffic.
Online traffic is like the wind—it usually comes fast and disappears just as quickly.
Most trending topics are forgotten within two or three days.
Some people, when lucky enough to go viral, immediately seize the moment to make quick money, knowing they might not be able to sustain the attention.
But for Si Nian, this traffic was clearly not just luck—it was about her own presence and appeal.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to break through a trending list dominated by celebrity fan wars.
With her looks, figure, and on-camera presence all on point, instead of cashing in for quick profits, she should focus on long-term brand building.
Sustained content creation could bring endless economic benefits.
Not only would her rates for commercial shoots increase as her following grew, but even mid-tier influencers with a decent fan base could earn a considerable income just by posting occasional advertisements on social media throughout the year.
Both Si Nian and Jiang Yihan shared the same perspective on how to handle this newfound traffic—they were not going to go for quick cash.
She had left a work email in her profile bio, and now that she had gone viral, her inbox was flooded with all kinds of business offers and invitations from talent agencies.
However, Si Nian still had no intention of signing with any agency.
Jiang Yihan was eager to take on a side gig as her manager, helping her coordinate work and splitting the future earnings.
Since they weren’t planning on making quick money, her top priority now wasn’t to immediately accept commercial deals.
Instead, she needed to produce more content to solidify this wave of traffic and retain the new followers.
Si Nian looked at the 28,000 yuan that had already been deposited into her account after the show.
A small amount was deducted for taxes, but it was still reassuring.
Indeed, every penny earned from working independently was clear and tangible.
Even if it wasn’t a huge sum, it was far better than her past, where she had to endure humiliation and rely on a breakup fee from a man.
Thinking about how she had wasted five years over a ridiculous, carrot-dangling breakup fee, Si Nian couldn’t help but regret it.
After being so busy these past few days, she unexpectedly thought of Lu Shuyan.
She had no idea what he was doing now.
But whatever it was, it had nothing to do with her.
Si Nian, for once, allowed herself to curse at Lu Shuyan in her mind.
Damn man, repay her youth and restore her dignity.
The sky was clear today.
Sunlight reflected off the glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers and gently spilled over the lush greenery.
At the Rongsheng Headquarters, inside the CEO’s office.
Zhao Chao was there.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but every time he entered the CEO’s office today, he felt that his boss seemed distracted.
A rare moment of absent-mindedness.
“President Lu?” Zhao Chao had just finished conveying a message from the chairman of Lihe, who wanted to meet with President Lu next weekend.
Looking at the man seated in the executive chair, he tentatively called out, “What is your decision?”
Lu Shuyan snapped back to reality at the mention of “President Lu.”
He glanced at Zhao Chao, who was waiting for his response, and recalled the invitation from the Lihe chairman.
He gave a brief “Mm,” indicating his agreement.
Only then did Zhao Chao leave the CEO’s office.
When the door closed, Lu Shuyan stared at the solid wood desk in front of him and finally decided to put his work aside for the moment.
His mind was still occupied by the image of Si Nian on the runway last night.
The certified Mumbling Thoughts model account on social media.
The promotional sample wedding photos from the photography studio.
Lu Shuyan had always known that Si Nian had worked as a model before.
When they first met and started dating, she had presented herself as a hardworking student, busy with part-time jobs to make ends meet.
According to her, she took on various jobs home tutoring, promotional modeling, etiquette work, and restaurant service—anything that was legal and paid well, so she could send money back home.
Back then, he didn’t want to appear too calculating in their relationship, but he still had someone look into it briefly, and the findings seemed to match her claims.
Until last night.
Lu Shuyan thought of Si Nian on the runway playful yet confident, almost unrecognizable even to someone as intimately familiar with her as he was.
At least, based on his previous understanding of her modeling work, he had never imagined she was that professional.
He had always assumed that her modeling gigs consisted of occasional photoshoots for online stores or trying on clothes for fashion students—small, simple jobs, similar to her other part-time work.
No matter what, he had never expected that just after their breakup, she would be walking a flawless runway show or posing in wedding photos with a male model so convincingly that she helped make an entire photography studio go viral.
His chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.
Just like that night.
That familiar feeling of being deceived started creeping up on him again.
Lu Shuyan clenched his lips tightly, his gaze darkening, convinced that Si Nian had lied to him again.
Not only had she spent five years with him just for a ridiculous, baseless breakup fee, but even from the very beginning, the innocent, hardworking girl she portrayed herself as was a lie.
Even all those times she seemed timid, inexperienced, and easily flustered around him—perhaps that had all been an act too.
Lu Shuyan tossed aside a piece of scrap paper from his desk.
Suppressing the growing frustration in his chest, he picked up his phone and mindlessly scrolled through his screen.
But his thumb accidentally tapped on an app.
The internet speed was so fast that the page loaded before he could exit.
The first thing that popped up in his algorithm-driven feed was a short video.
A girl in a wedding dress, sitting on a folding chair during a break in her shoot.
The background was a golden sunset and rugged mountain ridges.
She scrunched her nose playfully at the camera in a live photo clip set to a cheerful tune.
Due to the sudden surge in popularity, this video originally posted over half a month ago—had resurfaced and was now being pushed to users likely to enjoy and engage with it.
Lu Shuyan was classified as one of those potential users, someone who would probably like this video.
His lips pressed into a firm line.
His gaze remained locked on the screen, staring at the person in the video.
Then, he saw the top comment in the comment section.
It was her response to a fan asking if she was getting married, a reply that had received tens of thousands of likes and sparked an outpouring of cheers:
“It’s a work shoot, not a wedding. I’m single”
At that moment, Lu Shuyan knew he had to do something.
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