Chapter 18 Public Apology: "How about we form a group and start a studio too...?"
On the day Jin Yaoyao apologized on her live stream, Qi Yun, being wealthy and generous, invited several friends to Qi Feng Photography Studio, hired several chefs, and arranged a grand banquet in the conference room.
Attendees included: Qi Yun herself, Shu Qing, Shu Qing's programmer best friend, and two little monsters.
Qi Yun originally wanted to invite Jiu Su to come and express her gratitude, but unfortunately she didn't have Jiu Su's contact information. The only person she could contact, Shu Qing, was in an awkward situation with Jiu Su.
She mustered her courage and mentioned it to Jiu Su, who unsurprisingly refused. Given their unpleasant parting last time, she was really too embarrassed to drag him along again.
The big screen was projecting Jin Yaoyao's live stream. It hadn't started broadcasting yet, but there were already quite a few people waiting there. The barrage of comments like "start anew" and "apologize properly" was floating everywhere.
Considering this was a gathering of girls and a little monster, Qi Yun didn't prepare any high-proof liquor. Instead, she prepared several bottles of low-proof fruit wine for everyone to help themselves. She only stopped Shu Qing: "You've just recovered from your illness, can you drink alcohol? There's juice over there, specially for you."
"I can drink," Shu Qing said with a smile. "I'm completely recovered now, and I'm lively and energetic. I don't need to sit at the same table as Niannian."
Practice makes perfect, and this time she wasn't so afraid of the little snake demon anymore. Even in the same room, she could comfortably enjoy freshly squeezed peach juice. Hearing this, it tilted its head, looking at Shu Qing with a puzzled expression.
The scene was doubly adorable, and the only programmer friend present who didn't have a little monster couldn't help but turn her phone camera towards Nian Nian, abandoning the little snake demon who was gulping down lychee wine.
Seeing that she wanted to touch it but was too shy, Qi Yun laughed and said, "If Nan Nan wants to touch it, then go ahead. It's okay, Niannian is very well-behaved and won't bite."
Upon hearing this, Tu Nan gave Qi Yun a grateful smile before picking up Nian Nian and giving her a big hug, glancing at Shu Qing in her happiness.
Shu Qing felt no guilt whatsoever.
Why are you glaring at her? It's not like she doesn't let Tu Nan touch Xiao Hong. It's just that Xiao Hong is fierce and doesn't allow anyone else to touch it.
After finishing the lychee wine, the little snake demon climbed back onto her shoulder as usual and reached out to bite the steamed fish on her chopsticks.
Shu Qing fed it, muttering softly, "Why is it so fierce again?"
The little snake demon gave her a sinister look.
Just as the three of them were enjoying themselves, feeding the monkey and snake, a rustling sound suddenly came from the speakers. Qi Yun slammed his hand on the table: "It's time!"
Shu Qing looked up and saw that the live stream screen had lit up. Jin Yaoyao, with her head down, walked in front of the camera.
Perhaps to show sincerity in her apology, she wasn't wearing colored contact lenses, a wig, or other disguises as usual; you'd hardly recognize her if you didn't look closely.
A series of comments scrolled by rapidly:
"Hurry up and apologize!"
"Is the victim here?"
"After apologizing, properly film a video with Abao, and don't get any funny ideas."
"I'm sorry." Jin Yaoyao, her voice slightly choked with tears, bowed to the camera. "I am Jin Yaoyao, and I sincerely apologize to Ms. Qirijun and Ms. Ashu..."
Tu Nan, who was engrossed in feeding Nian Nian, raised her head upon hearing the sound and gave Shu Qing an inquiring look.
Shu Qing said with certainty, "Yes, she's the one who hired the online trolls for that website I asked you to hack into before."
Qi Yun then recounted the entire incident to Tu Nan—from the moment she asked Shu Qing to film Niannian, to how she presented facts and evidence to demand an apology from Jin Yaoyao.
By the time she finished speaking, Jin Yaoyao's miserable live stream was also coming to an end.
She bowed deeply to the camera again and said, "All of the above are mistakes I made because of jealousy. I have deeply realized my mistakes. In order to make up for my mistakes, from now on, the account 'Jin Yaoyao' will no longer be updated. I also ask for the understanding of Ms. Qirijun, Ms. Ashu, and all netizens."
When she straightened up again, tears finally fell. She turned off the live stream, leaving behind only a black screen and a screen full of question marks.
Shu Qing asked curiously, "Did we also ask her to stop updating her account?"
“No,” Qi Yun picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks, “It’s a requirement of her studio… Well, she’s not a sole proprietor; she’s affiliated with a studio called ‘Jinzhao,’ which mainly makes short videos about monsters. Her black snake demon ‘Abao’ is actually kept by the studio.”
"You and she are similar in type, but in terms of monsters, Xiao Hong's energy level has already reached its limit; in terms of people, your videos are better than hers. Today Studio thinks she can't beat you and suggested she consider a career change, but instead, she comes to buy us black potion."
"In short, this dark history is now permanently etched in our minds. Rather than letting her continue operating an account with a dark history and a particularly deadly competitor, it's better to hand Abao over to someone else to manage and create a new account after a while... Anyway, her fans were originally there for the monsters."
Shu Qing glanced at the screen. Although the live stream had gone black, the chat was still buzzing.
"Waaaaah, I can't bear to part with Abao!"
"That side is too domineering. Isn't an apology enough?"
"At least update Abao's social media once in a while!"
"It's one thing for someone to leave the internet, but Abao didn't do anything wrong."
"Waaaaah, Abao—"
Shu Qing felt a bit conflicted – she knew that most of the viewers of pet content creators were indeed there to see the pets, but the thought that if she were to leave one day, people might only miss Xiao Hong made her feel a little uneasy.
“But our situations are different,” she thought optimistically. “Xiao Hong belongs to me alone; I don’t have a studio.”
As if by some unspoken connection, Qi Yun excitedly suggested at that moment, "How about we form a group and start a studio?"
Shu Qing suddenly turned her head to look at her, and even made an exaggerated gesture of protecting the little snake demon.
"Hey!" Qi Yun glared at her, both amused and exasperated. "I don't mean to take Xiao Hong away from you. Even if I wanted to, it would have to be able to accept me! I'm serious, I don't think my photo studio business is doing very well. But the video we made last time was pretty good. Maybe we should give it a new location."
“Yesterday my dad saw our video and said that no one in our family does self-media business. I think I can bring in ready-made investment!”
Shu Qing quickly shook off that irrelevant empathy and seriously considered the proposal—she had previously thought about a long-term collaboration with Qi Yun, but it was limited to renting venues and sets, not a strong, binding relationship like opening a studio together.
But opening their own studio...
“I’m mainly in charge of the venue and securing investment, and you’re the general director,” Qi Yun pointed to Tu Nan. “With the technical director here, and a monster research expert as an external helper, doesn’t this sound much more reliable? Isn’t this much more promising than something like ‘Jinzhao’?”
Tu Nan was just there for a meal when she was inexplicably dragged into the rich second-generation's entrepreneurial plan. She was too embarrassed to refuse outright, so she could only silently lower her head and eat her rice.
Shu Qing solemnly cupped his hands in greeting: "May I ask what insightful opinion my 'lord' has?"
"Please take a seat, sir, and let me explain," Qi Yun said, getting into the swing of things. "Right now, only Nian Nian and Xiao Hong are capable of making big plans. But if other like-minded people join us in the future... ah, I mean, 'fellow enthusiasts,' then we can film other monsters together. In short, we can learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses, and work our way up step by step. Maybe we can even make it into a monster zoo series, and then our great undertaking will be accomplished!"
Tu Nan couldn't even eat anymore, and the three of them were so embarrassed that they burst into laughter.
The little snake demon swam away silently, pretending not to recognize these good-for-nothings; Nian Nian, still unable to understand human jokes, stared at them in bewilderment.
This reverie intertwined with Shuqing's own vision, deeply tempting her—if the speaker doesn't believe in a bright future, it's nothing but empty talk; but if the speaker firmly believes in it, then it's "I have a dream."
However...
She couldn't help but sigh when she thought of the "foreign research expert" she had envisioned.
Tu Nan finally calmed down and asked her, "What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Shu Qing smiled and twisted off the head of a lobster. "I was imagining the recruitment plan, and I thought of some difficulties. I'm figuring out how to pry open a certain stubborn mouth."
The little snake demon paused slightly, abandoned its aim at the shrimp meat in her hand, and nonchalantly ate a quail egg instead.
Tu Nan suddenly had a question mark.
The meal ended with a discussion about "setting up a studio." Since it was the weekend and they had plenty of free time in the afternoon, the three of them decided to go to a nearby karaoke bar to sing and dance.
They weren't far apart, and they walked hand in hand under the shade of the trees, chatting and laughing as they strolled along. Qi Yun was chattering away about her ideas for opening a studio when a sudden, dark shadow lunged at her, startling her. "What's that!"
Shu Qing, with her sharp eyes, caught it immediately: "It's just a bird. Hey, is this a magpie?"
She tried to get a closer look, but the bird, which looked like a magpie, seemed to have been startled and frantically flapped its wings, trying to escape. Shu Qing lost her grip, and it broke free, frantically flying towards the other side of the road—but before it had gone more than two meters, it crashed headfirst onto the asphalt road.
Luckily it was a red light and there were no cars on the road, otherwise I probably would have been crushed into a paper bird.
Tu Nan quickly picked it up, and Shu Qing took out a tissue to wipe the blood off her hands. She then peered inside and asked, "It looks like its wing is injured?"
Qi Yun took out his phone to search for the nearest pet hospital and quickly pointed out the direction: "It's not far, go back, about 600 meters."
The three of them turned around on the spot. The little "magpie" was much more obedient in Tu Nan's hands than it was in Shu Qing's. It seemed to understand that they were going to take it to the hospital and stopped struggling.
However, as soon as Shu Qing approached, it flapped its wings and tried to run away again. Fortunately, Tu Nan learned from her mistake and caught it firmly.
Shu Qing and Qi Yun switched places, with Qi Yun standing in the middle to separate them. Shu Qing complained helplessly, "Ever since I got Xiao Hong, I've basically become an animal-free person."
The little snake demon flicked her tail. After all, she was tainted with the aura of the Little Demon King, so ordinary animals and monsters naturally dared not approach her.
“Niannian is a monster, so she’s afraid of Xiaohong.” Qi Yun’s imagination ran wild. “Could this one be a little monster too?”
Shu Qing took off her watch and handed it to Qi Yun: "Try it." She explained, "This is a simplified version of a 'natural energy measuring instrument,' specially designed for everyday use by Muggles like us. Just stick it over and check the reading."
Qi Yun took the watch. The electronic screen on the dial displayed a large "6". The hands were originally pointing at the boundary between the light yellow and red areas. When she tested it, the hands moved slightly, jumping for a moment into the red area displaying "7", but before it could sound an alarm, it returned to the limit of the light yellow area, and the number displayed was still "6".
What does this mean?
"It's just a simple Muggle-style testing device, how accurate can you expect it to be?" Shu Qing shrugged. "Besides, Xiao Hong and Niannian are interfering with it. However, the pointer just moved slightly, which means it might be, but the energy fluctuation is too weak to be certain. Let's send it to the Supermarket Management Bureau for a complete test later."
Qi Yun was skeptical, but he held the watch against Niannian's body. The watch face reacted almost exactly the same as before, only the amplitude was more pronounced.
Niannian's innocence has been proven—it seems the main source of interference is Xiaohong, and it has nothing to do with her.
A note from the author:
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1. The apology letter referenced some handwritten apology letters found online.
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