17

 The video that broke in the early hours of the morning in Chapter 17

had a huge impact. Whether it was someone stirring things up behind the scenes or the sheer number and anger of Jiang Nian's fans, the situation quickly spiraled out of control, trending on social media.

Initially hovering near the bottom, it climbed into the top three overnight.

[Nian Nian, a female streamer on a borderline website, male]

[Nian Nian, video mocking fans]

[Who is Nian Nian?]

Fans were either hurling insults at Jiang Nian on social media or weeping in despair. Curious passersby casually searched for "Nian Nian" and found numerous beautiful photos of her in women's clothing, followed by the leaked video of the male streamer. After reading the whole story, people were surprised and saddened that such a beautiful person could have such a terrible character.

Some even mocked the fans, saying that one was greedy and the other lecherous—a perfect match. Others, enjoying the drama, clicked on Nian Nian's social media account, only to find it empty, as if she had no connection to the online world.

By noon, Jiang Nian still hadn't come forward to explain.

He was pulled from the covers by Xue Rongfeng, tiny as a child, clinging to Xue Rongfeng. Xue Rongfeng, unusually, wasn't wearing a suit today, looking several years younger and lacking his usual aloof, elite air. Xue

Rongfeng placed Jiang Nian in the bathroom, telling him to wash up himself while he went out to prepare lunch. Jiang Nian

's eyelids were still drooping; despite having slept for a long time, he was still incredibly sleepy. Jiang Nian forced himself to look at the sink, where a double set of toothbrushes, towels, and blankets had been prepared sometime earlier—they were very new, probably just bought by Xue Rongfeng that day.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Jiang Nian looked haggard, with faint dark circles under his eyes. The wound on his neck had been treated by Xue Rongfeng the night before and was bandaged.

Jiang Nian picked up his toothbrush, squeezed on some toothpaste, and put it in his mouth. He mumbled to the system, "Is the mission complete?"

The system glanced at the network, then at the backend, and replied, "Almost."

Jiang Nian spat out the mouthwash, turned on the tap, and rinsed his face with cold water, looking as fresh as a lotus flower emerging from clear water. He casually dried himself with a towel and continued, "Are the fans very angry?"

"Yes, remember to turn off message notifications and don't look at social media." Although the fans' anger was probably different from what Jiang Nian expected, the system didn't say anything more. After all, once he left this world, any comments wouldn't concern him.

"Okay," Jiang Nian obediently replied.

After he left, the spacious living room was empty. Jiang Nian hadn't had a chance to look around Xue Rongfeng's house yesterday, and today the decor and furnishings felt cold and impersonal.

Xue Rongfeng's voice came from behind, "Come and eat."

Next to the living room was an open kitchen with very few dishes. A dining table was set up next to it. Jiang Nian went over and sat down. It was clear that Xue Rongfeng rarely cooked for himself. Jiang Nian's plate looked decent, but the fried eggs on Xue Rongfeng's plate looked burnt.

Xue Rongfeng wasn't embarrassed at all. He cut open the burnt egg, put it in his mouth, chewed a few times, and said, "Don't worry, it's still edible."

Jiang Nian didn't mean it that way. Looking at her heart-shaped egg, she couldn't believe Xue Rongfeng would do something like that. She took a bite. It was simply seasoned with black pepper and sea salt; not bad, but not to her taste either.

After finishing their meal, Jiang Nian picked up her plate and went into the kitchen with Xue Rongfeng. Xue Rongfeng took the plate and put it in the sink. While washing the dishes, he said to Jiang Nian, who was standing beside him, "I looked online today and found something amiss about what happened to you. I'll have my subordinates who know about this handle it. It's safer for you to stay home these days, okay?"

Xue Rongfeng had seen the video. He didn't comment on Jiang Nian's frivolousness; she was still at an age where she liked to play around. However, Xue Rongfeng knew immediately that the voices weren't from Jiang Nian. It was his intuition. Xue Rongfeng knew someone was sabotaging things, so he directly ordered people to control online public opinion and find someone to make a clarification video.

Xue Rongfeng knew how malicious people could be when they were blinded, so even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he didn't want Jiang Nian to be hurt.

Jiang Nian absolutely couldn't go out until this matter calmed down.

Xue Rongfeng didn't think he was being overprotective. He had a very direct feeling about how lovable Jiang Nian was; yesterday's enthusiastic fans already proved a lot.

Jiang Nian didn't understand. He hadn't expected his fans to hate him so much. Xue Rongfeng implied that they might do something extreme to him. Jiang Nian didn't want to get into trouble, but he also didn't need Xue Rongfeng's help. The mission was almost complete! So he said, "No, thank you. It's too much trouble."

"Don't be so formal with me, Nian Nian. It makes me sad," Xue Rongfeng said sincerely.

"You don't need to worry about this. Just ignore their insults. They'll forget about me eventually," Jiang Nian said, gritting his teeth, and added, "I'm not being formal with you. They'll be done venting."

"You didn't know?" Xue Rongfeng keenly sensed that Jiang Nian might not have seen the video and simply assumed the fans couldn't accept that he was a boy.

While Xue Rongfeng was relieved that Jiang Nian hadn't gone online, he also felt that Jiang Nian should know the truth and that he wanted to protect her. However, he couldn't leave her completely confused. He simply said, "Don't go online. Things aren't what you think. Someone is trying to smear you. Your fans might have misunderstood you, so it's not something that can be appeased with a few insults."

"What?" Jiang Nian was stunned. He thought Xue Rongfeng was referring to the post he had made.

Seeing that it couldn't hide it any longer, the system spoke up: "Niannian, someone did indeed smear you. They photoshopped the video, and your post from yesterday was deleted; nobody's reading it."

Jiang Nian exclaimed, realizing what had happened. He asked the system, "Why didn't you tell me?"

The system coughed a few times, concealing the truth, "I just checked."

"Okay."

Seeing Jiang Nian's silence, Xue Rongfeng assumed he was upset. He dried the plate, sighed, washed his hands, and then took Jiang Nian's hand gently, saying, "Niannian, people aren't always as good as you think. There are always good and bad people. If you want to continue being a streamer, I'll pave the way for you; you don't need to worry."

Jiang Nian didn't pull away. He looked up at Xue Rongfeng, his green eyes blinking, seemingly reaching into Xue Rongfeng's heart. He said, "Xue Rongfeng, I haven't been a streamer for a long time, didn't you know?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't know." Xue Rongfeng apologized naturally. He had been a little careless about Jiang Nian's affairs. He then said, "Then come to my company and be my secretary."

This was somewhat of a romantic intention.

How wonderful it would be to go to and from work with your loved one every day, and when you're tired from work, just looking up at your loved one's face would instantly refresh you. During lunch break, you could hold your loved one while eating food fed to you by your loved one—how wonderful!

Jiang Nian smiled and didn't agree. "No way, work is too tiring every day."

Besides, once the task was completed, he would leave; what work would he need?

Xue Rongfeng didn't insist. He and Jiang Nian cuddled for a while. Seeing him being so clingy, Jiang Nian urged him to go to work. Xue Rongfeng asked, "Nian Nian, don't you need me to stay with you?"

"No, I'm not that fragile." Jiang Nian had her own things to do, and she couldn't do them if Xue Rongfeng kept clinging to her.

Xue Rongfeng realized Jiang Nian didn't welcome him, so he didn't say anything more. He told Jiang Nian all the necessary passwords for the house, handed her the elevator card, took a spare, got dressed, ruffled Jiang Nian's hair, and said, "My assistant will bring you a game console later, remember to open the door." Jiang Nian was incredibly

obedient in someone else's house, nodding softly.

Xue Rongfeng watched Jiang Nian running after him, eagerly seeing him off at the door, finding her adorable to an extreme degree, making his desire to marry her even stronger.

Xue Rongfeng thought that if Jiang Nian didn't agree to marry him sooner or later, he would eventually tie her up and take her to get a marriage certificate. But thoughts aside, in reality, Xue Rongfeng good-naturedly said goodbye to Jiang Nian.

"Okay, goodbye."

Jiang Nian ran to the leather sofa in the living room, sat down, and picked up her phone to go online, ignoring the system and Xue Rongfeng's instructions.

"Honey, where can I watch the video you mentioned that was edited?"

"On the forum."

Seeing that it couldn't stop Jiang Nian from seeing the truth, the system manually changed his internet mode to a minor's mode, blocking all profanities as symbols.

When Jiang Nian logged into the forum, he found the screen full of asterisks. He didn't say anything, but clicked on the most popular post and saw the one he'd scrolled through countless pages of.

He carefully watched the video, finding it somewhat amusing. He said to the system, "It feels like they didn't really have the heart to smear me."

Jiang Nian was right. While those words were certainly unacceptable to his fans, if they had truly smeared him to the point of no return, there would have been more room for manipulation.

The system didn't understand either. It said, "However, this post has helped you complete your mission, so don't worry about it."

"Okay, I understand."

Jiang Nian spent a lot of time scrolling through the entire thread. His expression was nostalgic; aside from the asterisks, the comments still showed the fans' past love for him—it was genuine.

Jiang Nian took a deep breath, looking out at the cold, towering buildings outside the glass window. It was a pity; his mission was to be a scoundrel, which meant he was destined to disappoint his fans.

Jiang Nian exhaled, and as the sunlight shone on his cheeks, he said, "At this rate, it feels like the mission will be completed in less than a day."

The system replied, "Yes, just a little bit more."

That little bit arrived quickly.

Xue Rongfeng's subordinates worked all morning and finally managed to suppress the trending topics and other social media posts by the afternoon.

This, however, angered the already furious fans. Coupled with Jiang Nian's continued silence, other streamers on the same platform seized the opportunity to attack him. As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. True and false revelations mingled on social media, making the situation murky, and Jiang Nian's negative reputation deepened.

After seeing Xue Rongfeng's assistant off, Jiang Nian, clutching the bag containing the game console, heard the sound of fireworks exploding in her mind. The system's mechanical voice was particularly prominent. It said, "Congratulations, host, the mission in World One is complete. Do you wish to leave this world?"

Jiang Nian lowered her eyelashes, looking at her fingertips, slightly white from straining, her voice softly floating in the air before slowly dissipating, "Wait a minute, I want to say something on my account." (

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →