Tears welled in Sheng Nian's eyes. Seeing Jiang Shu's still-suspicious gaze, he glanced at the hand supporting He Gu, then blinked, sending large tears tumbling down.
Yan Feizhuo returned from his phone call to find this scene. His face cold, he radiated a chill. "What are you doing?"
Seeing Yan Feizhuo approach, Sheng Nian seemed to have found someone to back him up. He tightened his grip on Yan Feizhuo's clothes and shook his head, looking deeply upset. "I really didn't push him."
Yan Feizhuo took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears. "Did they accuse you unfairly?"
Sheng Nian said nothing, looking at Jiang Shu with wounded eyes. "Jiang Shu, you always say I've changed, but you're the one who's changed. You never used to snap at me. You always believed me..."
Jiang Shu's throat tightened as he realized he really might have misunderstood Sheng Nian.
Just then, Tang Jiang, who had watched the whole thing from nearby, popped out from somewhere. "Oh, quite the gathering."
"Don't cry, little brother. Your big sister's here to back you up."
He Gu looked utterly bewildered. How had she gotten involved too?
Tang Jiang pointed to where she had been sitting, then at the Livestreaming Hoverball following her. "My ten million livestream viewers and I saw the whole thing. He really did fall on his own~"
"I wonder if Mr. He Gu didn't eat enough this morning and accidentally fell because his blood sugar dropped when he bent over."
He Gu's expression darkened when he heard that she had seen everything. When she brought up breakfast that morning, he clenched his fists hard.
He forced a stiff smile. "Yes, my vision did go black for a moment."
Jiang Shu abruptly turned to Sheng Nian, guilt washing over him. "I..."
Sheng Nian turned his head away, unwilling to look at him.
[Tang "The Righteous Magistrate" Jiang!]
[If Tang Jiang hadn't been here, would Jiang Shu have kept falsely accusing Sheng Nian?]
[President Yan, honestly! Such a good opportunity, and you let Tang Jiang beat you to it!]
His face stayed immersed in the act, but his fingers scratched at the arm Yan Feizhuo was supporting him with. His inner voice rang out: Yan Feizhuo, let's go. I can't keep this act up anymore~
Yan Feizhuo felt the little movement, light as a kitten's scratch. Hearing the cheerful tone of his inner voice, he was quietly reassured. As long as he hadn't really been bullied.
He pressed Sheng Nian's head into his chest to keep him from actually bursting out laughing.
But when he looked at Jiang Shu, his expression held an authority that brooked no argument.
"Jiang Shu, apologize."
Jiang Shu froze.
Right, he had misunderstood Sheng Nian. He ought to apologize. But why had that option never even crossed his mind just now?
His throat was terribly dry. He looked at Sheng Nian, sheltered in Yan Feizhuo's arms, and could not speak for a long while.
Tang Jiang couldn't stand the sight of him like this and remarked sarcastically from the side, "No way, no way. Surely no one would refuse to apologize after doing something wrong~"
Jiang Shu was left speechless for a moment, then said to the back of Sheng Nian's head, "Nian, I misunderstood you. I'm sorry."
Sheng Nian turned around in shock, as if he hadn't expected Jiang Shu to apologize to him.
"It's oka-"
Before he could finish, Yan Feizhuo covered his mouth.
Sheng Nian looked anxious, but inwardly he said, Nice one, Yan Feizhuo. Who wants to apologize to him?
At the same time, a system announcement sounded:
[Ding~ Congratulations, host. You have gained 3% Male Supporting Character Self-Salvation Progress and 300 System Coins. Current progress: 13%. Please keep up the good work.]
Hearing the system announcement, Sheng Nian immediately blossomed with delight inside, making it even harder to keep acting.
Now that Jiang Shu had apologized, Yan Feizhuo looked down at Sheng Nian, who was impatient to leave and kept scratching at his arm, and finally took pity on him and led him away.
Seeing that there was no more entertainment to be had, Tang Jiang followed them.
[Good job covering his mouth, Mr. Yan! Sheng Nian really has no boundaries when it comes to Jiang Shu. How could he forgive him so easily?]
[President Yan: If I don't want to hear it, I'll mute it manually.]
[Judging by Sheng Nian's reaction, he seemed really surprised Jiang Shu would apologize. Does that mean Jiang Shu never apologized to Sheng Nian when he did something wrong before?]
[Jiang Shu went a bit too far this time. He's taking advantage of Sheng Nian's feelings to bully him without restraint. I bet he might not even have apologized today if Yan Feizhuo and Tang Jiang hadn't been there.]
[President Yan finally won a round. My knees went weak watching him give orders!]
[Our big sister Tang Jiang was incredibly cool too. I love her sarcasm!]
As they walked, Yan Feizhuo chided Sheng Nian. "Why do you always get bullied whenever you run into those two? Where's all that fierceness you show me?"
Sheng Nian didn't want to bother with him. He snatched the handkerchief from Yan Feizhuo's hand and bared his teeth at him.
Hmph (╯^╰) This tool knew perfectly well I was acting!
Once they had walked a little farther, Yan Feizhuo looked at Tang Jiang, who was still following them. He nodded in acknowledgment, then tried to send her off. "Thank you for this."
Tang Jiang was blunt. "I was helping Nian. You don't need to thank me."
It was rare for anyone to talk back to Yan Feizhuo. He glanced at Tang Jiang but ultimately said nothing more.
Sheng Nian, on the other hand, obediently thanked Tang Jiang, only to have her pinch his little face again. "No need to thank me. Your big sister will be even happier when you develop better taste and stop liking that Jiang Shu."
Sheng Nian: "..."
He really wanted to say that he truly didn't like Jiang Shu anymore, but he couldn't get the words out.
Beside him, Yan Feizhuo said, "Now that's what I like to hear."
[This is hilarious. A rare moment of agreement between two Alphas.]
[Tang Jiang and Sheng Nian make a great match too!]
[Tang Jiang loves teasing Sheng Nian every time she sees him~]
Tang Jiang said a few more words, then left.
Sheng Nian took out the Orca Wood Carving and examined it. He found a mechanism and opened it, revealing a pearl hidden inside, just as expected.
Yan Feizhuo raised an eyebrow, then took a pearl out of his pocket too.
Sheng Nian asked, "Where did you get that?"
"I found it on that Fortune-Attracting Tree over there while I was on the phone."
Sheng Nian took the pearl from Yan Feizhuo, then pulled the other five out of his bag. "We've got them all!"
[They collected them all so fast! Wow, wow! Our Sheng-Yan pair is in first place again, right?]
[Quick, quick, quick! Let's go summon the divine dragon!]
[I want to see just what this divine dragon the Production Team arranged actually is.]
[Sheng Nian's team alone took seven pearls, leaving only eight in the Sea Demon Tunnel. That means at most two teams can find three and complete the mission. A huge advantage for the Shengyan Group!]
"We can go summon the divine dragon now!"
Sheng Nian's eyes shone.
Yan Feizhuo smiled at the seven pearls cupped in his hands, gleaming with a soft, lustrous white light. "Well done, young master."
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