After Losing My Memory, I Became My Rival's Palm-Sized Chirper - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: The Nickname Jiaojiao

“You have such a big reaction just because I remembered something?” Qi Jia asked.

Yu Baixi replied, “I do not.”

The little fat bird put his wings on his hips: “You don’t want me to remember? No, that’s not right…”

Qi Jia narrowed his eyes again: “You should be the one most anxious for me to recover my memories. That way, our relationship could be cleared up. When that time comes, I might stop pestering you, and you’ll finally be free.”

The Celestial Emperor: “…”

The little fat bird’s exterior was round and plump, quite adorable; however, his human form was slender, noble, and peerlessly beautiful. From appearance alone, it was impossible to link his beast form to his human form.

But once Qi Jia began to analyze a problem seriously—making that squinting, sharp, scrutinizing gesture—his aura became identical to his human form. Even in a round, cute image, he could exude a sense of wit and shrewdness, much like the romantic charm and soulful eyes of his human self.

Yu Baixi looked down at the desk in front of him and said slowly, “When have I ever resented you for pestering me?”

“You’ve never resented it?” Qi Jia tucked his small wings and hopped another step forward.

His pale yellow, round little body entered the Emperor’s field of vision again as he continued to look up and scrutinize him. Because he was standing so close, he had to look almost vertically to see Yu Baixi’s face clearly, which was difficult for a round bird who found it inconvenient to lean backward for long.

But Qi Jia was good at being lazy; he simply leaned back. He flattened himself directly into a “pancake” shape, choosing to lie there while making eye contact with Yu Baixi.

Yu Baixi: “…”

“Never,” the Emperor said with his usual righteous air. “Not once.”

Qi Jia was satisfied. He shook his outstretched bird claws and asked, “Then do you want me to stay forever?”

Yu Baixi: “…”

“Do you or don’t you?” Qi Jia pressed.

“As you wish.” After a long silence, the Emperor said, “If you want to stay, then stay. If you don’t want to, I will not stop you.”

“…”

Qi Jia was not satisfied with this answer. His round eyes squinted at the Emperor: “If I really wanted to leave, you wouldn’t even try to keep me?!”

Just as he was about to curse the man for being a “scumbag,” the Emperor suddenly reached out and tapped his round head.

“I would.”

Qi Jia: “?”

The Emperor’s cool voice rippled out, but he suddenly asked a question in return: “If I keep you, will you stay?”

“I…” Qi Jia didn’t expect him to flip the question back. He froze for a moment before snapping back: “Of course.”

His outstretched claws shook again, his chirping voice full of pride: “If you sincerely ask me to stay, if you desperately beg me to stay, then this Consort will give Your Majesty some face.”

“Mhm,” Yu Baixi said. “Then stay.”

Qi Jia: “…” Wait, isn’t this tone a bit too flat!

However, even as the little parrot bared his belly without any regard for his image just to observe every change in the Emperor’s expression, he still couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

…Whatever. Even if the man didn’t ask, he wasn’t going to leave anyway. Hmph.

Qi Jia brushed it off and, remembering the previous topic, excitedly told Yu Baixi: “The Mystic Mirror Immortal has so many different functional mirrors at his manor. It’s so much fun! I originally thought he was called the Mystic Mirror Immortal just because he had the Heaven-Reflecting Mirror!”

The Emperor looked down at the excited bird still lying like a pancake. Hearing his happy, lighthearted voice, a corner of his lips quirked up instinctively. He reached out his hand, but seeing Qi Jia still baring his belly, he changed direction and poured a cup of tea for the fat bird.

Qi Jia was indeed thirsty. He shifted from lying to crouching, stood up on his bird claws, and lazily leaned over the rim of the cup to take a sip. Then he turned back to continue sharing his experiences at the Mystic Mirror Manor with Yu Baixi.

Yu Baixi waited for him to finish before speaking: “The first generation Mystic Mirror Immortal was a grandmaster of weapon forging. Because of his obsession with mirrored surfaces, the magical artifacts forged by his descendants all took the form of mirrors, though their functions vary.”

“Mhm, I also think the idea of using mirrors as magical weapons is great and very practical.” Qi Jia nodded, but then his expression turned dejected. “However, I looked into all the mirrors, and every single one with identification functions said I was just a tiny budgerigar.”

The Emperor hesitantly raised his hand and tapped the bird’s rounded back, which he had finally turned back around. “Is being a budgerigar not good?”

“It’s not that it’s bad…” The little fat bird sat down unhappily, stretching his claws forward with a look of exhaustion. “Budgerigars don’t have crest feathers on their heads! Look at the Cockatiels next door! They’re big, they have thick head feathers, and they have those two patches of blush—how cute is that!”

Yu Baixi: “…”

After a long pause, Yu Baixi tapped the fluffy bird again and said, “You are also cute.”

“Thank you.” Qi Jia accepted the compliment graciously.

“But for some reason, I always feel like I shouldn’t look like this,” Qi Jia sighed, letting the man pet him.

The Emperor: “…Appearance is but an external shell; there is no need to worry about it.”

“But what if someone cast an illusion on me to make me look like this?” Qi Jia looked at Yu Baixi and hooked the man’s finger with his claw. “Did I look like this when you saw me before?”

Yu Baixi withdrew his hand somewhat hurriedly, though his voice remained calm: “If you think you did, then you did.”

Qi Jia: “?” What kind of nonsense answer is that?

Yu Baixi added: “This Seat can confirm that no one has cast an illusion on you.”

This was at least a definitive answer.

Qi Jia continued to sigh: “The mirrors said the same thing.”

He had looked into so many mirrors, including one that was a high-level immortal artifact specifically used to break through illusions and disguises. The image reflected was perfectly honest—he looked like that in human form, and he looked like that in bird form.

So he really was a budgerigar.

Small in stature, and though he managed to eat himself round through his own efforts, he would never be as large or full as a Cockatiel. And no matter how he groomed himself in this life, he was the kind of little parrot that would never grow long crest feathers!

Because of this, during lunch, Qi Jia ate an entire plate of “Tiger-skin Phoenix Claws” (chicken feet) and added an extra “Tiger-skin Chicken Leg” for good measure.

Yu Baixi found this hard to understand: A budgerigar (Tiger-skin Parrot) is a species, while Tiger-skin Phoenix Claws and legs are the names of cooking methods. Aside from the characters being the same, the two had nothing in common. He didn’t understand why Qi Jia was taking his anger out on this food.

Qi Jia clarified that he wasn’t taking his anger out. He ate them mainly because they were delicious. He was simply turning his grief and indignation into an appetite.

The Emperor: …

After the grief was converted into an appetite, the bird’s mood improved significantly. Especially when he thought about it—even if he wasn’t the Cockatiel he envied, the name “Jiao Feng” (Charming Phoenix) wasn’t bad. It highlighted his cuteness perfectly.

From then on, the little round bird had his own “Courtesy Name”: Jiao Feng.

Actually, by now, Qi Jia wasn’t in much of a hurry to find out his past identity. Perhaps it was because his injuries were healing and his spiritual power was returning, so he didn’t feel unwell anymore. Amnesia didn’t affect him that much. He didn’t feel any lingering attachments in his heart, so he found life in the Heaven Realm quite comfortable. It seemed that not having a past wasn’t such a big deal.

Consequently, he became more accepting of the name “Qi Jia” given to him by the Ancestor. He even happily chose a nickname for himself.

“Mhm.”

Judging by the Emperor’s reaction, he seemed to approve of the name: “Jiaojiao.”

But Qi Jia: ? Not that “Jiao” (delicate/pampered)!

Qi Jia belatedly suspected that the reason he thought the name “Jiao Feng” was good was because Yu Baixi always called him “Jiaoqi” (delicate/whiny).

…It was the kind of call where the voice was flat, the expression indifferent, and the composure as steady as a mountain, yet it always made the bird feel a sense of indulgence and warmth. After being called that so many times, he felt that being “delicate” wasn’t such a bad word.

After all, there was someone who sincerely thought you were good just as you are. That feeling of being pampered and appreciated…

Forget it. I’ll just take it as you saying I’m as handsome as a prince and peerlessly charming.

Thinking about it, Qi Jia transformed into his human form. He always ate in human form, but usually preferred his bird body.

Now, a young man with long black hair reaching his waist, loosely held by a jade hairpin, sat at the table. His upturned eyes had naturally red corners, bright eyes, and white teeth—a face so radiant it would make peaches and apricots ashamed. His only pale feature, his thin lips, had turned a vivid red because he had just eaten something spicy.

“But even though I’m so ‘charming’ (Jiao), you still won’t Dual Cultivate with me. Isn’t that a bit too much?”

Yu Baixi: “…”

Although Qi Jia wasn’t in a rush to find his memories, he hadn’t forgotten about them. Even if he didn’t care about the memories, he still cared about his strength, and he certainly hadn’t forgotten the purpose behind staying so obediently by the Emperor’s side these past few days.

However, at that moment, the Emperor suddenly stood up. Looking down, Yu Baixi said, “Why are you still not wearing shoes? …Someone, come in.”

Fairy Shuoling quickly pushed the door open.

The Emperor, standing tall, said, “Go get a pair of boots for the Consort.”

“Oh, don’t bother, it’s too much trouble.” Qi Jia felt annoyed and simply turned back into a bird.

He didn’t like wearing shoes; simply because he had been a bird for so long, wearing shoes felt restrictive. Besides, he was of the fire attribute and didn’t need to worry about catching a cold.

But Yu Baixi seemed to care a lot about this. Almost every time he turned into a human, the man would start nagging him to put on shoes after a short while… Hmph, talkative.

However, ever since Yu Baixi gave him that jade pendant as a “token of love,” Qi Jia had been showing it off among the birds of the Jade Capital, and his status among them had risen. Because his token was of the highest quality and the most beautiful among all the birds, in the bird world, it signified a love as solid as gold and stone.

It proved that Qi Jia had a partner in the Jade Capital who cherished him and had quite good “assets.” This made Qi Jia the object of envy for the flock; they even dropped his “honorary bird” title, and he even made a couple of easy-going bird friends.

Qi Jia credited all of this to Yu Baixi, so he became increasingly pleasant toward the Emperor.

Moreover, the longer he spent with the birds and the closer he got to the life of the local avian tribes, the more Qi Jia realized how superior his current living conditions were. For example, due to their bloodline habits, most birds preferred to perch in trees. Even though the celestial birds of the Jade Capital didn’t need vegetation for nourishment, perching in trees was like a recreational facility to them.

But the Jade Capital had few trees, which meant the birds lacked a place to play freely—at least the birds on Mt. Budu didn’t fight over a single tree’s territory. Although the valleys and streams of the Jade Capital were much more beautiful than Mt. Budu in Qi Jia’s eyes—at least the spiritual energy was abundant—seeing two groups of birds fight until they were bloodied over the perching rights of a single tree made Qi Jia realize that having the rights to three trees all to himself was a massive benefit!

Not to mention he had plenty of delicious, non-repeating spiritual food every day… Qi Jia would occasionally pack some snacks to bring to his bird friends who were more laid-back.

Then, perhaps because some of the pastries were too exquisite—things the birds had never even seen before, clearly coming from the high-ranking households of the Jade Capital—some birds began to press Qi Jia about his partner’s identity.

These birds weren’t really Qi Jia’s friends, as they were mostly snobbish and loved to nitpick. Qi Jia was very strict about choosing friends! In the eyes of those snobbish birds, Qi Jia—an ordinary parrot with barely any crest feathers—couldn’t possibly have found such an excellent partner.

Gradually, the questioning turned into jealousy and mockery. Their blatant “sour grapes” attitude caused the birds who had become Qi Jia’s friends, those who liked him, and those who had received his food and chose to help him, to form a faction and get into a massive brawl with the snobbish birds.

Qi Jia, who had accidentally incited a “war”: … Am I the legendary “kingdom-toppling demon chicken”?