Only then did Yu Nian learn that after the competition ended, the program crew had edited and uploaded the personal videos of each contestant to the internal website.
Yu Nian wasn't originally interested, but she finally couldn't resist Xu Ning and Xue Yier's nagging. The three of them sat side by side. Yu Nian casually clicked on the video ranked second on the website and was surprised to find that it was actually Fu Sui's personal edit.
Although Fu Sui didn't win the championship, he had a large fan base, and the comment section was surprisingly bustling.
Especially when the video showed several high - light moments of Fu Sui during the competition, the number of bullet comments skyrocketed rapidly. Some people even spammed the screen to confess their love for Fu Sui.
Ming Mingzhong stood beside them and said enviously, "Fu Sui is so popular!"
He became even more curious about whose video was ranked first. When he clicked on it, he only saw a black screen.
"What's going on? Why can't I watch the video?"
Xue Yier gave Yu Nian a meaningful look. "You should ask your sect master about this."
Feeling Yu Nian's confused gaze, Xu Ning explained, "Brother, the video ranked first is your personal edit. Last night, as soon as the program crew uploaded your video to the website, the number of views exceeded 100 million, which directly crashed the server. It even spread to the external network! The program crew had no choice but to upload your video separately to Weibo overnight so that the website could operate normally!"
Yu Nian raised her eyebrows slightly. She didn't expect that a program she casually participated in would cause such a big reaction.
Hearing Xu Ning call Yu Nian "brother" one after another, Ming Mingzhong felt a bit uncomfortable. He intentionally or unintentionally swept his broom towards Xu Ning's feet.
Xu Ning coughed continuously, choked by the dust. When Ming Mingzhong poked the feather duster into his nostril, he finally couldn't bear it anymore.
"What are you doing?!" Xu Ning looked at Yu Nian aggrievedly. "Brother, won't you stop him?"
Hearing this, Ming Mingzhong got even angrier. "What brother? How long have you known our sect master? Do you know what she likes to eat and drink? Do you know her glorious past? You know nothing. Stop trying to get close!"
"I don't care. From today on, I'm Yu Nian's number - one little brother. If you're not convinced, let's fight!"
...
The atmosphere gradually heated up. As the two of them were bickering and rolling up their sleeves, getting ready to fight for the title of "number - one little brother", Yu Nian wisely left the backyard.
She took the Tianyuan Stone and went to Mr. Fu's residence with Feng Chengyuan.
This time, she didn't need the guidance of the butler puppet and walked into Fu Qingxuan's room with ease.
The room was filled with the fragrance of tea. As promised before, Fu Qingxuan had prepared good tea and was quietly waiting for Yu Nian.
Seeing Yu Nian, Mr. Fu stood up with a smile. After making an old - fashioned bow to Yu Nian, he looked at Feng Chengyuan in surprise.
"Why is President Feng here too?"
Yu Nian said calmly, "One of our own. It's okay."
After saying that, she handed the brocade box in her hand to Fu Qingxuan. "I've brought what you wanted."
The smile on Mr. Fu's face grew broader. After taking the box, he coughed twice and flattered, "Sure enough, you're amazing, master - uncle!"
Yu Nian twitched the corner of her mouth slightly but said nothing.
Fu Qingxuan pushed open the door leading to the huge pool. The merman was leisurely swimming in the water, with his moon - like fish tail swaying occasionally, looking extremely comfortable and at ease.
When the merman saw Fu Qingxuan, his eyes lit up instantly.
"Fu Qingxuan, you're here?"
Mr. Fu nodded with a smile. He carefully took out the Tianyuan Stone from the brocade box.
Different from what was imagined, the Tianyuan Stone was only about the size of half a fist. The stone was shining with colorful light, as if it contained countless galaxies.
Fu Qingxuan murmured, "The Tianyuan Stone was formed billions of years ago. It's full of spiritual energy, unique and cannot be replicated. With it, the merman can transform into a human form."
After saying that, Mr. Fu put down his walking stick and concentrated to mobilize his spiritual power.
"Bang!" A loud explosion sounded. The Tianyuan Stone instantly turned into stars all over the sky and gently landed on the merman's tail.
A blinding golden light flashed. The originally calm water surface suddenly churned, and the whole room shook.
Feng Chengyuan instinctively protected Yu Nian in his arms and whispered, "Don't be afraid."
Yu Nian accidentally bumped her nose into Feng Chengyuan's solid chest. It ached a bit, and she blurted out,
"I'm not afraid because you're here."
As soon as these words were spoken, both of them were stunned.
What Yu Nian originally meant was that because Feng Chengyuan was by her side, her spiritual power was very abundant, and she was capable of protecting everyone present.
But somehow, a very normal sentence seemed to change its meaning as soon as it was said... It sounded more like a love confession.
Feng Chengyuan stared at Yu Nian for a long time. He seemed to be in a very good mood and kept smiling softly with his head down.
Looking at the merman in the water again, his huge fish tail had disappeared, and two long, slender and fair legs had transformed. His demonic appearance had weakened. At first glance, he was no different from a normal person.
This was the first time Yu Nian had witnessed the power of the Tianyuan Stone, so she concentrated and carefully observed the naked merman, completely unaware of anything wrong.
Suddenly, a pair of big hands gently covered her eyes. Feng Chengyuan whispered in her ear with an ambiguous tone.
"Don't look."
Yu Nian was stunned. When Feng Chengyuan removed his hand, the butler puppet had already draped a huge blanket over the merman, covering him tightly.
The merman was extremely curious. He couldn't believe it and poked his own leg. He swayed clumsily and accidentally fell flat on his face.
Mr. Fu leaned forward in the direction of the merman, but he quickly realized something and forcibly suppressed the urge to go forward and help the merman up.
The merman didn't seem to care at all. He smiled brightly. "Fu Qingxuan, did you see? I'm just like you now! I have legs!"
No matter how noisy the merman was, Mr. Fu just looked at him with a smile.
After all this was done, Mr. Fu took a step back quietly. Fortunately, the butler puppet supported him.
The master and servant glanced at each other without saying a word and returned to their positions tacitly.
Only then did Yu Nian notice that Fu Qingxuan seemed to have aged a bit more than before. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and lips were more obvious, and his energy was not as bright as before.
Fu Qingxuan stood by the shore and looked at the merman for a long time. Suddenly, he called out, "Merman."
The merman looked up at Fu Qingxuan blankly, but he couldn't understand the emotions surging in his eyes.
He only heard Fu Qingxuan say slowly, "I remember the first time I saw you was in a winter... That winter was really cold. The wind hurt people's faces. You were being chased and killed by people from the Xuanmen and were seriously injured. When I found you, you were lying dying on the shore of the Cold Valley. At that time, you didn't even understand human language and bared your fangs at me and roared."