Phoenix A has Gone Viral Across the Entire Internet! - Chapter 7

“Oh, right! We still have to find the female lead!”

System 432 only remembered this task after being reminded. After hurriedly activating the tracking function, it asked in a deadpan voice: [Nian’er, have you ever heard that saying about finding love around the corner?]

Shen Nian replied with a mental question mark.

She instinctively took two steps forward. As she rounded the side hall, she indeed spotted Jiang Zhiwan. However, Shen Nian’s gaze only lingered on her for three seconds before shifting to another Omega.

At that moment, Luo Shan was all smiles, wine glass in hand, chatting with a group of actors from the crew. Shen Nian watched her, lost in thought.

[System, I bet once she is done with the fake pleasantries, she will move right into the classic vicious female supporting lead segment, right?]

[Pretty much. So Nian, go for it! Do not hesitate to rescue your girl!]

[432, you sound like an idiot.]

After dropping that heart-wrenching remark to her system, Shen Nian unilaterally cut off the connection with 432 and walked forward composedly.

According to the original plot, Luo Shan would soon find an excuse to propose a toast to Jiang Zhiwan. Although this wrap party was mainly for everyone to relax after months of hard work—meaning only mild-tasting fruit wines were served—one would not expect any issues.

But who could have guessed that these were special drinks Luo Shan had specifically ordered? Some of the ingredients coincidentally contained Jiang Zhiwan’s allergen. Luo Shan had brought her own funding into the production but had failed to secure the lead role as she had hoped. She wanted to take this final opportunity to make Jiang Zhiwan suffer a little.

Shen Nian had gone through a lot of trouble to get here just to ruin the other woman’s plan. Since her timing was perfect, she naturally chose to strike first.

Setting aside her status as a popular young starlet and Alpha in the entertainment industry, there were a few people present who knew Shen Nian’s true background: the eldest daughter of the Shen family and the sole heir to the future Shen Corporation. Those who did not know her were fine, but those who did naturally had to show her some respect.

Consequently, as Shen Nian took the initiative to walk over, people quickly began greeting her. Shen Nian’s attitude was neither distant nor overly friendly; she acted as if she had simply bumped into them and come over to say hello.

Ji Xicheng followed behind her and raised an eyebrow. She thought to herself that this person usually hated crowds. If Shen Nian had the bad luck to crash into a pack of people, she could not blame anyone but herself.

The production crew’s banquet was held at the Xinjia Hotel, which happened to be one of the properties under the name of Luo Shan’s aunt. Thus, after Luo Shan casually mentioned this to everyone, the place effectively became her home turf.

Seeing that the stage was set, Luo Shan signaled the waiters to pass the wine to everyone. “I am grateful for everyone’s care while I was with the crew. This is a new fruit wine blended by the Xinjia Hotel. Please, everyone, give it a taste and let me know what you think of the flavor and texture.”

The others suspected nothing. They took their glasses and tried it as invited. The taste was indeed quite unique. After Jiang Zhiwan took her glass, she was not in a hurry to taste it. Instead, her eyes were fixed on a certain spot, deep in thought.

Luo Shan’s original intention was to toast Jiang Zhiwan, but before she could even take a step, Shen Nian intentionally intercepted her midway. Shen Nian knew this person’s tactics. By expressing a desire to drink together in front of everyone, Luo Shan would appear to be making a friendly gesture, but she was actually applying subtle pressure.

There were already rumors within the crew that Jiang Zhiwan and Luo Shan did not get along. At that moment, if Jiang Zhiwan refused to drink, who knows what the gossips would turn it into later? Regardless of the settings in the original novel, the current Jiang Zhiwan was just a newly debuted actress.

Luo Shan had a powerful tree to lean on, while Jiang Zhiwan had no one to rely on. Her only possible support, Shen Nian, was still just a bastard Alpha who viewed her as a substitute.

It was a somber thought. Shen Nian suppressed her swirling emotions, maintaining her calm and indifferent exterior. She was not familiar with Luo Shan, but she had crossed paths with the girl’s aunt a few times.

Naturally, the opening for this conversation started with Yu Xixuan. “I haven’t seen your aunt in a while. How has she been lately? Is she busy picking a new script?”

If one wondered how someone with Luo Shan’s personality—throwing a fit every other day—could act so freely in the industry without being exposed for being a diva or bullying peers, the credit belonged to her influential aunt. Yu Xixuan had entered the industry early. Her looks and acting were impeccable. Combined with her family background being public knowledge, it was not surprising she could provide such backing for her niece.

Facing Shen Nian’s initiative to chat, Luo Shan was surprised, but thinking back to the romantic rumors she had heard about the other woman, she felt she understood her intentions. Is she setting her sights on me?

Luo Shan actually looked down on such playboys, but since she knew this Alpha was the eldest daughter of the Shen family and had brought up her aunt, she had to give her some face.

So, she flashed a smile and spoke as carefully as possible. “Auntie is a busy person, so I am not entirely sure what she is up to lately. She should be preparing for a new project.”

Shen Nian nodded. As if casually, she took a sip of the wine in her glass and praised naturally. “This new fruit wine you mentioned has a sweet overall taste, like a fruit drink but with a slight kick. The flavor is very good.”

She paused, seemingly savoring the ingredients. “There is a slight hint of sourness in this wine. Did you put hawthorn in it?”

Luo Shan did not expect this Alpha to be such a connoisseur. She took the opportunity to flatter her. “As expected of Miss Shen. You even picked up on such a subtle secondary flavor. Indeed, some hawthorn was added to this fruit wine to neutralize the sweetness, bringing it down to just the right level.”

Shen Nian looked thoughtful. Suddenly, she turned her gaze toward Jiang Zhiwan and remarked with a casual smile. “In that case, I am afraid Jiang Zhiwan cannot drink this glass. I was bored at the studio today and flipped through the actors’ profiles. If I remember correctly, I happened to see that she is allergic to hawthorn.”

Jiang Zhiwan had not expected Shen Nian to resolve the trouble for her through such a coincidence. But she was more than happy to play along. When the other woman openly cast an inquiring look her way, she admitted directly. “That is right. I have a very strong adverse reaction to hawthorn products.”

Therefore, she naturally would not touch this specially made fruit wine.

With Shen Nian’s unintentional interference, Luo Shan’s original plan was completely ruined. She could not exactly pressure someone to drink in front of everyone when she knew they were allergic.

Facing the culprit who disrupted her plans, a surge of nameless anger rose in Luo Shan’s heart. However, she could not show it on her face. She could only suppress her rage, letting out a faint, sarcastic remark. “It seems Miss Shen is quite concerned about Miss Jiang?”

Otherwise, with so many actors and so many profiles, how could it be such a coincidence that Shen Nian happened to remember Jiang Zhiwan’s allergen? Could it be that this playboy has her eye on Jiang Zhiwan? She had not heard of any prior intersection between the two.

Then why did she bother coming over to talk to her?

Shen Nian sensed the change in Luo Shan’s mood. Knowing the woman’s vindictive personality, she figured Luo Shan must be fuming inside after failing her revenge. She found it amusing but could not show it, answering plainly. “I just pulled a few pages randomly while I was idle, and hers just happened to be on the first page. I would not call it concerned.”

Seeing Luo Shan’s skepticism, Shen Nian casually swirled the wine glass in her hand, raising an eyebrow with a faint smile. “Perhaps you could call it fate?”

Seeing the other’s nonchalant attitude, Luo Shan finally, begrudgingly, believed that there really was nothing between them. It seemed this time truly was just an accident, Luo Shan thought. That woman surnamed Jiang got lucky. She hoped the two of them would not have any more dealings in the future; otherwise, luck might not be on her side next time.

Even though Shen Nian had ruined her plans, Luo Shan could not lash out. She could only seethe with jealousy over Jiang Zhiwan’s luck. She had no desire to stay any longer, but since everyone was there, it was not a good look to leave early. She could only patiently continue her act.

Shen Nian was wary that this person might come up with another bad idea. To prevent any more surprises, she decided to sacrifice herself and engage in awkward small talk with her. This behavior left Ji Xicheng, watching from a distance, completely dumbfounded—so much so that she rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

Was that her unscrupulous friend? Suddenly being such a sycophant? Rushing to hover around that Omega and talk her up? Truly shameless!

Ji Xicheng despised Shen Nian’s behavior from the bottom of her heart. Moreover, because of their interactions over the past few days, she really could not stand Luo Shan. She decided to go over and stir things up to snap her friend out of it. Shen Nian could not be so blind as to fall for such a mean-spirited person.

As one of the popular Omega starlets, Luo Shan was known behind the scenes for verbally and physically abusing her assistants, never showing a kind face. While Shen Nian could be a bit sharp-tongued and superficial at times, Ji Xicheng could not just watch her friend jump into a fire pit.

As it turned out, Ji Xicheng was overthinking it. Anyone who got close could tell the chemistry between the two was completely off. Under the influence of her emotions, even if Shen Nian possessed the peerless beauty that Omegas adored, Luo Shan could not appreciate it. On the contrary, the more she looked at her, the more detestable she found her.

Especially since, while Shen Nian followed her, there was no hint of romance in her eyes. Instead, there was a faint, lingering trace of disgust. What on earth is she disgusted by? If she is so disgusted, why is she still following me so shamelessly?

Luo Shan had nowhere to vent her anger and forgot about making trouble for Jiang Zhiwan. Instead, she focused all her energy on dealing with this annoying Alpha. Given Shen Nian’s status, she could not plot against her directly, but making her drink a bit more—surely no one could find fault with that.

At this thought, Luo Shan’s attitude became slightly more attentive as she began to focus on urging the other woman to drink. If she did not make this person named Shen walk out of here in a straight line tonight, she would consider it a loss.

Shen Nian naturally saw through her intentions but was too lazy to call her out. Plotting to make her drink more was ultimately trivial. As long as Jiang Zhiwan could go home safely tonight, she did not mind sacrificing herself a little.

That being said, Shen Nian would not just wait around to be doused in alcohol. Every now and then, she would use small tricks to casually pour the wine away. She thought she was being discreet, unaware that Jiang Zhiwan, standing not far away, had been observing her the whole time.

The amount of allergens a glass of fruit wine could contain was actually quite limited. As long as she did not drink as much as she did in her past life without any defenses, it would not cause any major issues. Jiang Zhiwan had taken allergy medicine in advance and was well-prepared; she was not afraid of Luo Shan’s provocation tonight.

However, Shen Nian’s actions tonight were truly beyond her expectations. This was a rare occasion where the other woman had taken the initiative to step in and resolve a situation for her—without demanding any price in return.

Regarding that previous explanation, the Alpha had lied. Shen Nian did not see her allergen from a profile; she already knew it. After all, they had spent quite some time together day and night.

Why would Shen Nian suddenly do this?

Jiang Zhiwan thought that she suddenly could not see through Shen Nian anymore. Or rather, she had never truly seen this Alpha clearly at all.

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