Chapter 11
Yan Yan’s eyes lit up.
But he was still in the middle of a fight with his owner.
The little bird thought for a moment, decided to stay put, and changed sleeping positions on the soft and comfy coconut fibers.
Moments later, the coconut fibers blocking the entrance were peeled away.
Si Jingce reached in and poked at Yan Yan. The little bird angrily shrank back inside, then turned around and bit down on his index finger.
He held back his strength—it didn’t really hurt.
Seeing the bird react, Si Jingce smiled softly, eyes lowered. “I just got scolded. I’m really sad. Can you come out and comfort me?”
His voice was quiet, sounding almost dejected.
Yan Yan quickly released his beak.
The little bird peeked his head out of the coconut shell, tilting to look at him.
Did he really cry? Let me see.
He scrutinized him for a while but didn’t notice anything unusual on Si Jingce’s face.
Half-convinced, Yan Yan flew up to his shoulder and gently rubbed against his cheek.
Alright then.
Human, you may weep in the broad embrace of your bird.
Si Jingce: …
Where did he even learn all this internet lingo?
The soft feathers brushing against his cheek were really ticklish. Si Jingce scooped Yan Yan down and pinched his rosy little cheeks. “So… want to go out with me?”
Yan Yan: “Chirp?”
Where are we going?
“Tomorrow, we’re going to the flower-and-bird market.” Si Jingce deliberately mentioned all of Yan Yan’s favorite things. “There might be tasty new bird food, pretty flowers, and maybe even others like you.”
The little bird in his palm was quiet for a long time.
After a long while, Si Jingce finally heard a hesitant reply:
{Just to be clear, I’m not going because I want to play. I’m only going to keep you company.}
Thus, in the name of comforting his sorrowful owner, the cold war between man and bird came to a temporary ceasefire.
Taking a pet bird outside was something bird owners treated very seriously.
Birds can fly—once they leave their humans, it’s incredibly hard to retrieve them.
Pet birds don’t have the ability to survive in the wild and are easy prey for predatory birds or stray cats.
Yan Yan was relatively intelligent and wouldn’t likely give up his cushy life of being fed daily to flee into the wilderness, but since his wings weren’t clipped, Si Jingce remained extremely cautious.
He prepped a transparent bird backpack and laid a thick bed of coconut fiber at the bottom. Before leaving, he double-checked the ventilation holes to ensure they weren’t blocked, then let Yan Yan climb inside.
The little bird was so excited that he pressed his whole body against the acrylic wall, feathers puffed up. “Chirp chirp!”
Let’s go!
The flower-and-bird market was quite a distance away, so Si Jingce chose to take a taxi.
Once inside, he carefully observed Yan Yan for signs of motion sickness.
The pearl bird stared up at the scenery zooming past the window, completely ignoring him.
Si Jingce withdrew his gaze and opened Weibo to check the latest gossip.
The internet was in total chaos over him.
The Weibo post he made yesterday had caught Luo Huoxi completely off guard.
Before Luo Huoxi could react, both Yun Duan and his girlfriend launched their counterattack.
Yun Duan wrote a long post listing all of Luo Huoxi’s disgraceful behavior over the years. His girlfriend, BoboMei—also a streamer on Gem TV—simply posted a picture of a pomelo leaf on Weibo with the caption: “Sweeping away bad luck.”
That was the breaking point. Many other streamers jumped in, fanning the flames with subtle shade.
Aren’t you the one who loves roasting people?
Aren’t you the one who’s always cocky?
Now you finally know what it feels like to hit a steel wall!
Netizens devoured the mutual mudslinging like wild boars in a melon patch, binging on drama all night until they couldn’t even get up.
Luo Huoxi, who had been pretending to be dead, finally responded at dawn with a Weibo post.
[Luo Huoxi]: Just blunt and straightforward, bro don’t take it personally @lcberg. Yeah, I do raise cats and birds together, but my myna’s bigger than my cat, so there’s no danger. You better control yourself and not raise a cat. Watch out for your little guy, or it’ll be swallowed whole, not even a feather left [image]
Luo Huoxi owned a small tabby. In the photo, his myna was preening in front of the cat, while the cat crouched on the bed in a hunting stance.
A completely insincere apology escalated things to the next level.
[What? You seriously think this picture is cute?]
[Good cat, good bird—shame about the owner who’s got motor oil for brains.]
[Ugh… this is hard to watch. Cats naturally hunt, and as humans we can’t completely suppress that instinct. That’s why we always urge people not to raise cats and birds together. And you, as a public figure, not only mocked someone for possibly raising a cat in the future but are already doing cat-bird cohabitation yourself? I’m out, seriously [eyeroll][eyeroll].]
This move backfired hard, causing a massive wave of people to turn against him. Not long after posting it, Luo Huoxi deleted the post.
After reading the full chain of events, Si Jingce’s eyes narrowed darkly when he read that line: “swallowed whole, not even a feather left.”
Without further thought, he organized his documents and sent them to someone on WeChat with the username “.”
The response came quickly.
[.] OK, received.
At the same time, Yun Duan secretly messaged him: [He’s still streaming. If only I had that thick a skin.]
With nothing else to do in the car, Si Jingce put on headphones and opened Yun Duan’s stream.
The chat was filled with vulgar, abusive messages. The moderators couldn’t keep up. The stream’s popularity skyrocketed, hitting #1 on the platform.
Luo Huoxi, flashing his yellow teeth, maxed out the beauty filters and shamelessly grinned at the camera: “You guys are all misunderstanding me. I just meant he should discipline his pet better, that’s all.”
“Why should I be afraid? The more they hate, the more popular I get. I’ve always been known for harsh commentary—if no one complains, I’m done for.”
The chat was a mess. Luo Huoxi’s supporters got bolder, while his haters were muted the moment they posted and had to switch accounts to continue yelling.
Yun Duan was especially indignant: [Do you know what they’re saying about our profession now? They think all streamers are uneducated trash like him. If the platform doesn’t step in soon, Gem TV’s whole site might get shut down for inspection!]
Si Jingce replied: [Don’t worry. They will.]
Ignoring Yun Duan’s question mark, he continued watching Luo Huoxi’s stream.
The man on-screen took a sip of his drink and sarcastically read a comment aloud: “Why hasn’t this guy been banned yet? What’s Gem TV even doing?”
“They dare ban me?” Luo Huoxi raised his voice. “I’m Gem TV’s backbone. So many people rely on me to make a living. Let’s see who dares to ban me?!”
Some viewers had already typed out scathing replies, ready to send them—
This stream has been banned.
Netizens: ?
Yun Duan: [??? What just happened]
Gem TV quickly released an announcement:
[Gem TV]: We’ve received multiple reports. As per Article 23 of the Gem TV Streamer Guidelines, the involved streamer has been suspended for one month and ordered to make corrections. Thank you for your support and supervision.
Banned?
Luo Huoxi’s stream actually got banned??
That final clip went viral and was hailed as the ultimate “face slap” moment online. Yun Duan couldn’t hold back and flooded Si Jingce with messages.
[Yun Duan]: Damn! He actually got banned. The platform’s showing some backbone! But only one month? That’s too short.
[Yun Duan]: Who was the brave soul that filed the report? Even with his influence, the platform made a public announcement!
Half a beat later, Yun Duan sensed something off…
[Yun Duan]: Wait a sec, bro… don’t tell me it was you…
Si Jingce admitted directly: [Yeah.]
[Yun Duan]: Huh? You two got beef deeper than I thought.
[Si Jingce]: Because he cursed Yan Yan.
Yun Duan still didn’t get it: [Yeah, that was way over the line! But how come Gem TV responded so fast? Don’t tell me… the boss is your dad?]
Si Jingce shot down that ridiculous theory: [No…]
[Yun Duan]: Yeah, didn’t seem like it either.
Then he excitedly invited him: [This calls for celebration—come play an intense game with me!]
[Si Jingce]: Taking Yan Yan out. No time.
[Yun Duan]: Did you raise a pet or a partner? He’s clingier than my girlfriend…
Seeing how he couldn’t get three sentences out of him without bringing up his bird, Yun Duan gave up and logged off.
Just as Si Jingce put down his phone, he turned to see Yan Yan stretching his neck to sneak a peek at the screen—too late to pull back now.
No one knew when he started snooping on the phone content.
The man tucked the bird backpack close to his chest and said coolly, “Too much screen time is bad for your eyes.”
It’s fine to look for a bit!
Yan Yan muttered and shrank back in.
He bit a piece of coconut fiber, full of inner conflict…
Why did it feel like his human didn’t really need him for protection after all?
Man and bird soon arrived at the flower-and-bird market.
Both sides of the road were lined with all kinds of strange and exotic plants, as well as hamsters, rabbits, and brightly colored goldfish. Yan Yan stopped to admire each one.
The little bird pressed against the backpack, watching intently one by one. Then he suddenly saw someone holding up a huge stick full of candied hawthorn skewers.
Bright red fruit coated in glossy sugar, the sweet smell carried even from afar.
I want that!
Yan Yan chirped anxiously, clinging to the acrylic wall, beak stretching out through the ventilation hole.
Unfortunately, the market was too noisy. Si Jingce didn’t hear a thing and kept walking deeper in.
The candied hawthorn grew farther and farther away.
Yan Yan: QAQ
Farther in, they reached the bird section. Si Jingce slowed his pace.
The main reason for this outing… was to find a companion for Yan Yan.
After days of deliberation, Si Jingce decided to let Yan Yan pick his own partner at the flower-and-bird market.
If Yan Yan liked one, he’d buy the bird and take it home.
If not, they’d walk away.
To be honest, if Yan Yan really brought home another pearl bird, Si Jingce wasn’t sure he could treat them equally.
He’d play favorites.
And he’d favor Yan Yan—a lot.
A tall man walking around with a tiny pearl bird was quite the sight and quickly attracted the attention of nearby shopkeepers.
He casually picked a store and walked in, immediately greeted by a large flock of lovebirds.
Even Yan Yan’s eyes went wide.
Whoa OvO
So many birdies.
“Hey, handsome! Want to check out some parrots?” The shopkeeper spoke with a thick accent, pointing out birds one by one. “All their wings are clipped, they can’t fly far. We’ve got the beautiful Green Gold-capped Lovebird, and the popular Green Peach-faced and Yellow Peach-faced ones…”
Si Jingce followed his gesture…
Ah yes, unripe mango, ripening mango, and fully ripe mango.
Yan Yan had grown up surrounded by pearl birds and had never seen parrots before.
He curiously examined them from head to toe.
Bigger than him, taller than him, fluffier than him.
The little bird looked at his own colors, then at theirs.
Not the same—not his kind.
He quickly lost interest. Si Jingce waved it off too. “No parrots. Do you have pearl birds?”
“Sure do!” The shopkeeper smiled and led them toward the back.
Just as Si Jingce was about to move, a slightly raspy voice called out—
“Hey, tiny one!”
He immediately froze and looked around for the source.
It was a Green Peach-faced Lovebird.
Lovebirds were considered the dunces of the parrot world—poor mimics, rarely able to speak.
But this one spoke clearly and crisply.
Still, the parrot wasn’t addressing Si Jingce.
It tilted its head and looked straight at Yan Yan inside the backpack, then burst into laughter. “Kekekeke… tiny one! Tiny one!”
Yan Yan opened his beak in a daze, his expression slowly turning blank.
A bird that talks?!
Why can that bird talk?!
Does that mean he could learn to talk too?!
Yan Yan looked up at Si Jingce, trying to engage his vocal cords and say “Gege” (big brother).
“Chirp… chirp chirp!”
Couldn’t say it. QAQ.
The lovebird seemed even more amused and laughed louder.
“Kekekekeke! Can’t talk! Dummy! Mute!”
Si Jingce sensed something was wrong and instinctively covered his ears.
Blood rushed to his head. Yan Yan smacked up against the backpack wall, screeching angrily: “Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp—”
What’s so funny?! Just because you can talk, doesn’t mean you’re better! You flightless land chicken!
LAND!! CHICKEN!!!
