Phoenix A has Gone Viral Across the Entire Internet! - Chapter 32

Upon hearing the name from Ji Xicheng, Shen Nian was suddenly startled, and her entire being became several degrees more alert. Did such a person truly exist in this world?

Fearing that Ji Xicheng might say something she should not, Shen Nian hung up as quickly as possible. “I am on my way home right now. Let us talk when I am free.”

The call was temporarily cut off, but the harmonious atmosphere that had previously filled the car could not return to what it was. As the vehicle passed through a tunnel, the surroundings plunged into darkness. Shen Nian instinctively turned her head, hoping to capture the expression on Jiang Zhiwan’s face the moment the light returned. However, the other woman seemed to have anticipated this and turned her gaze elsewhere in advance.

The air pressure inside the car dropped silently. Until the two of them stepped out of the vehicle, neither took the initiative to speak.

After returning to her bedroom, the first thing Shen Nian did was summon 432, which had been beeping alarms in her sea of consciousness. Usually, the Protagonist’s Blackening Value—which mostly served to record Jiang Zhiwan’s mood—only fluctuated by two or three points before dropping back down. Just now, however, it had surged past the eighty-point mark and showed no sign of decreasing.

This proved that the other woman was truly angry this time.

Regarding this, Shen Nian could not help but feel somewhat innocent. Heaven and Earth be my witness, she had no impression of that Qi Wan at all. Who knew what kind of plot this small world had automatically supplemented? The only person who might know was likely still in her room, nursing her sulky anger.

At this thought, Shen Nian rubbed her forehead with a headache. “432, back when Qi Wan created Qi Wan—ugh, that is a tongue twister—anyway, what kind of plot did she arrange for her?”

432 was ever-responsive. It searched for a while before concluding with an answer of little significance.

[Unknown plot detected. The host must explore it personally.]

Shen Nian could not help but let out a soft sneer. “If I have to explore everything myself, then what was the point of Qi Wan dumping you on me?”

432 replied with an uncertain tone.

[I think, maybe, perhaps it was to keep you company and relieve your boredom?]

Shen Nian had long expected that this cheap system would be unreliable, so she chose to call Ji Xicheng to glean some useful information. As it turned out, this call was quite significant. Shen Nian learned in advance that Qi Wan’s first public appearance since returning to the country would be as a surprise guest on a wildly popular variety show.

Shen Nian felt a slight throb in her brow, still holding onto a final sliver of hope. “Um, it is not the one I am participating in, is it?”

Unfortunately, Ji Xicheng cruelly shattered her last bit of stubbornness. “Bingo! How did you know it was yours?”

Shen Nian’s heart instantly felt like cold ash. On the other end of the phone, Ji Xicheng sounded excited. “To be honest, this dating show is really hot right now. It would be a pity not to join the fun.”

Furthermore, those couple fans were truly skilled at editing. Now, even Ji Xicheng had started shipping Shen Nian and Jiang Zhiwan.

In contrast, Shen Nian’s voice sounded listless. “If I could, I would truly wish for you to take my place.”

Ji Xicheng raised an eyebrow. “What is wrong? Is it that serious? It is just one Qi Wan. Can she really scare you this much? You do not even want to participate in the show anymore?”

Shen Nian felt this was strange. It sounded like Ji Xicheng knew something, but no matter how hard Shen Nian racked her brain, she had no relevant memories. Thus, she asked tentatively, “What is the deal with Qi Wan? Why should I be afraid of her?”

Ji Xicheng thought she was intentionally feigning ignorance and immediately distanced herself. “Hey, first of all, even if I was the one who suggested it, you were the one who did the deed. If Qi Wan chases you for responsibility this time, I am staying out of it!”

The more Shen Nian heard, the more confused and alarmed she became. What exactly had “she” done to Qi Wan, and what responsibility did she have to take? Unfortunately, Ji Xicheng remained ambiguous and refused to explain properly, eventually hanging up in a hurry as if fearing Shen Nian would say more.

This resulted in Shen Nian avoiding Jiang Zhiwan at all costs before the second episode of the dating show began. She even asked Wu Ma to deliver her breakfast, lunch, and dinner to her bedroom, looking exactly like someone with a guilty conscience.

But what must come will eventually arrive; there was no escaping it. At the start of the recording for the second episode, Shen Nian kept glancing around, wanting to see what this Qi Wan actually looked like. Who would have thought? After all the talk about a “stand-in,” she had never even seen the face of the original. She had always thought it was just a code name used to provoke Jiang Zhiwan; who knew there was an actual person?

However, whether Ji Xicheng had reported false information or something else had happened, the host led everyone to the filming location without any mention of a surprise guest. Glancing at Jiang Zhiwan’s somewhat cold expression, Shen Nian remained silent but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, through two days of her unique phoenix-style avoidance, she had successfully waited for the other woman to calm down. Even the Blackening Value had dropped to 66.

The theme of the second episode was understanding ethnic minorities. The filming location was special: a secluded village the program crew had contacted. Legend had it that the villagers here were skilled in sorcery and secret arts. Combined with its isolation, it was highly mysterious to outsiders.

Shen Nian was curious. In such an ordinary world, could such talented and strange individuals truly exist? As soon as she entered the village, she could not help but observe her surroundings to see if there was anything special. Her conclusion was that the architectural style was indeed unique, but she did not sense any spiritual energy.

The person who came to receive the crew was an elderly man wearing traditional ethnic clothing. From a distance, he seemed to be holding something in his hand that was emitting small puffs of white smoke. Shen Nian initially thought it was some special treasure and stared at it for a long time. When he drew closer, she realized it was just a lit hand-rolled cigarette.

The old man noticed Shen Nian staring at his smoke, so he chuckled and asked politely, “This is our local self-made tobacco. Would the young friend like to try one?”

Shen Nian shook her head, saying almost instinctively, “The Shen family rules state that one cannot smoke.”

With the unblocking of her sea of consciousness, she had basically recovered all of “Shen Nian’s” past memories. One particularly deep impression was of her cousin, Shen Dengfeng. A few years ago, he had been curious about his friends smoking and tried to learn. He became overconfident and was caught by the family’s matriarch on his third attempt.

The matriarch did not want to strike him personally. Instead, she sat fingering her prayer beads and called for his uncle to recite the family rules to him several times. That day, Shen Dengfeng’s wailing was truly tragic. Since then, the elders often used that incident as an example to scare the younger generation.

Jiang Zhiwan also knew about this. She had heard Shen Nian mention it before, so her eyes shifted slightly and her expression became softer than before. It was as if she were silently reminding her that the past was interesting and the people involved were endearing.

Hearing 432’s announcement that the Blackening Value was decreasing, Shen Nian’s mood improved for no apparent reason, though she did not show it on her face. Consequently, she became active and full of vitality during the subsequent activities.

The scenery here was beautiful, attracting many birds. What was even rarer was that they were not afraid of people. Shen Nian’s eyes lit up at the sight of them, and she was unexpectedly popular with the little creatures. When she was excited, she would occasionally make “chirping” sounds, appearing as though she could actually converse with them.

What Shen Nian did not know was that while she was focused on chatting with the birds, Jiang Zhiwan was watching her from the side with an unreadable look. Simultaneously, a hint of suspicion began to rise slowly in Jiang Zhiwan’s heart. The reason was simple: the chirping sounds Shen Nian made were far too similar to those of her beautiful little bird that had not visited for a long time.

Shen Nian was completely unaware of this. Or rather, because she had not transformed into a bird to visit Jiang Zhiwan for so long, she had almost forgotten about it.

Since there was no direct evidence, Shen Nian was not at immediate risk of having her cover blown despite the suspicion. However, when everyone went to wade in the water, someone with sharp eyes noticed something tied to her ankle. Shen Nian instantly remembered the bracelet that Jiang Zhiwan had tied on her, which could never be removed.

In the next few seconds, her mind was filled with “I am doomed, I am doomed, I am doomed.”

Although her reaction speed was very fast and she dropped her pant leg almost immediately, she could see from the expression on Jiang Zhiwan’s face that the other woman had clearly recognized it. Shen Nian felt apprehensive. The other woman had not yet unblocked her memories, and “spirits” were not allowed to exist after the founding of the country; would she be arrested as a monster?

Unlike her nervousness, Jiang Zhiwan’s current state of mind was as calm as water. The current Shen Nian and the Shen Nian of the previous life were the same person. Jiang Zhiwan was certain of this. But what she felt concerned about was that there might be details from the previous life that she did not know. For example, was the Alpha’s true form actually that beautiful little bird? If so, why did the Alpha never transform back to her true form to find her in their previous life?

At this thought, Jiang Zhiwan narrowed her eyes and swept a light glance toward Shen Nian. Shen Nian did not dare have any special reaction and could only pretend she had noticed nothing.

The second episode of the dating show finished filming after about a week and a half. During this period, coordination with the promotion of Juqu helped form the basic “Nian-Wan” couple fanbase, which showed extremely high loyalty. The traffic effect was excellent, and both parties achieved a perfect win-win situation.

However, almost the very day Shen Nian returned home from the crew, she faintly sensed that something was wrong with her body. She did not take it to heart at first. It was not until that night, when she suddenly could not control herself and transformed back into her original form, that she realized the severity of the consequences.

Although she tried to endure it, she eventually stumbled and appeared outside Jiang Zhiwan’s bedroom window, guided almost entirely by instinct. At that time, Jiang Zhiwan had just showered and dried her hair. She stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a white bathrobe.

When she saw the little bird outside the window, she was momentarily stunned. It would have been fine if she had been in the dark, but now that she knew the bird was actually Shen Nian, why would the other woman transform and come to her late at night?

Despite her thoughts, Jiang Zhiwan did not stop her pace. With a calm expression, she opened the window and let the bird in. Having received permission, the little bird plunged toward her almost impatiently. The little creature was not large, but she had some strength when she pounced, nearly causing Jiang Zhiwan to take a half-step back.

Perhaps because the other woman had just showered, the little bird could smell a faint scent of roses surrounding her, which was exceptionally pleasant. After taking a few steps back, Jiang Zhiwan sat on the bed and looked down at the little bird currently clinging to her palm, puzzled about what she was up to tonight.

With just one look, Jiang Zhiwan noticed something unusual. The bird’s current state seemed wrong; she was listless and her body felt a bit hot. She frowned and tried calling out, “Shen Nian?”

The little bird was weary, but she still managed to lift her head to look at the other woman as if to offer comfort. It was actually nothing serious; her current state was simply something that happened once every few years.

Her Heart-Throb Period had arrived.

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