NOVEL WEB Chapter 036 – Do You Have a Partner?
As they chatted quietly on the deck, someone suddenly spoke behind them, "Qiao Jinnian!" Startling Meng Hui.
Turning around, they saw the large parrot, over a meter tall, perched not far from them. "When did it get here?!" Meng Hui exclaimed. Yaoguang had been observing Qiao Jinnian, intentionally lowering its presence to watch him closely, and it had noticed something.
"Qiao Jinnian, are you taken?" Yaoguang the parrot asked.
Qiao Jinnian: ...
Meng Hui laughed heartily, "Holy crap, it remembers your name! We're humans, unlike you who have a master, big parrot! Are you a macaw? Do you remember my name?"
Zhao Zhao doesn't like you, so who cares what your name is!
Having a master had an ambiguous meaning, thanks to lazy Zhao Zhao leading it astray. The big parrot thought for a moment and asked again, "Qiao Jinnian, do you have a partner?"
Meng Hui laughed again, "Holy crap, big parrot, are you interested in him? From your voice, aren't you a male parrot?"
Qiao Jinnian gave him a sideways glance, and Meng Hui immediately stopped laughing. "He doesn't have a partner."
"No partner, that's good," the big parrot said, satisfied.
Before Qiao Jinnian could respond, Siren swam to the side of the boat, and everyone looked down at it, giving Qiao Jinnian a chance to avoid the conversation. They all focused on the water below.
Zhao Zhao climbed up the ship's ladder; she didn't have the courage to jump up in front of everyone.
As soon as she stepped onto the deck, she felt something was off. The atmosphere was unusual. Qiao Jinnian, Meng Hui, and the big parrot were all staring at her. She touched her hair, which was wet. Was something wrong?
The big parrot spoke first, "Zhao Zhao, where's your phone? Take it out and scan."
Zhao Zhao asked casually, "Scan what?"
The big parrot replied, "Qiao Jinnian's WeChat."
Help! Zhao Zhao felt her face must have turned red at that moment. What had this parrot spirit been doing while she was away? Zhao Zhao used all her strength to quickly communicate telepathically, "You didn't tell him what I was rambling about, did you?"
At that moment, Zhao Zhao didn't know what expression to put on. Faced with the situation, she forced a smile, "The phone's in the pilothouse. Why do you need his WeChat? Stop messing around, go play." She handed the filming equipment to Meng Hui, lowered her head to unstrap the oxygen gear, and signaled Yaoguang to shut up, trying to look busy and gloss over the topic.
Apparently, the big parrot didn't get the hint to let it slide. "Ah, it's in the pilothouse," it called out in the direction of the pilothouse. "Gun Gun! Bring the phone."
Before she could unstrap the gear, she heard the sound of paws on the quiet deck. Her beloved dog ran over with her phone in its mouth. Thank you both so much!
Meng Hui was about to exclaim again. This dog was Gun Gun? The parrot was commanding the dog? He was completely baffled. Was he dreaming from the start?
The atmosphere was now thoroughly hyped up. Zhao Zhao had no choice but to continue the act. She gently asked the big parrot, "Why do you want to scan Qiao Jinnian's WeChat?" Meanwhile, she was telepathically urging it to stop causing trouble.
Meng Hui, eager to answer, said, "Your male parrot is interested in our handsome guy, ha ha ha... too funny. Could this parrot also be a face enthusiast?"
Hmm? A turn of events!
Just as Zhao Zhao was about to go along with it, her troublesome parrot said, "This guy just called you a sea nymph."
Lord Yaoguang bore grudges and had to settle scores immediately.
Silence.
Thank you! Because of you, I shouldn't have come up here; I should have stayed underwater.
Qiao Jinnian, who had been silent all this time, quietly pulled out his phone, opened the QR code, and handed it to Zhao Zhao. Zhao Zhao opened her WeChat and silently scanned the code.
On the deck, only Gun Gun was carefree, hopping around. Zhao Zhao envied it.
Qiao Jinnian put away his phone and said, "We'll contact you once there's an update. Thank you for your help. You should go change your clothes. You don't need to worry about us."
Zhao Zhao nodded and smiled, "It was nothing." She nodded at Meng Hui, "Thank you, Comrade Meng, for appreciating my beauty."
"You're welcome."
As she left, Zhao Zhao grabbed the big parrot's wing and dragged it into the cabin.
Meng Hui watched them go, then turned to see Qiao Jinnian smiling. "You can still smile! It was so embarrassing to have our conversation about her exposed..."
Qiao Jinnian replied, "Why shouldn't I smile? I didn't say she looked like a sea nymph."
Meng Hui retorted, "I don't believe you... wait!" He looked at the hopping dog on the deck with suspicion. "Are you sure it can't talk? Don't you think that parrot's language logic is bizarre? It's conversing with you, not just mimicking. Didn't you notice? Are parrots this smart now? Didn't your grandpa have one? What's the deal?"
Qiao Jinnian also stared at the hopping dog. "My grandpa's parrot only repeats a few phrases every day. It doesn't command dogs to fetch things."
"Right! This is too smart! What is that dog doing?"
"It's practicing jumping high. It probably wants to jump onto the ship's railing. Look, it practices in the middle of the deck before trying near the railing."
"Damn, this dog is a genius. It knows to practice in an open space before trying the railing..."
In the cabin
Zhao Zhao crossed her arms, staring at the big parrot. "Explain everything. I want to know exactly what happened, or I won't leave this room today."
"I was just asking if he had a partner. His friend said he didn't, so you came up. I only asked that question. At your school, I saw many people do the same thing!" Yaoguang proudly reported.
"You just asked that? That's a relief! You didn't mention my rants?"
Zhao Zhao felt a bit of hope.
"Complimenting him on his looks? No, I didn't. If you had said that, it would have been embarrassing for me too."
"Thank you."
Luckily, luckily.
"No need to thank me. I also saw his potential. He's the second person I've met with spiritual roots. He barely matches you." Yaoguang made a shocking statement.
"He has spiritual roots?" Zhao Zhao was surprised to hear someone else could cultivate.
"You said you liked men. Since he has spiritual roots, I approve. However, you must never reveal the Yaoguang domain to him." The big parrot said sternly.
Zhao Zhao, half laughing and half crying, said, "What are you talking about? I was just admiring Qiao Jinnian's looks. Humans don't choose partners just based on looks. He's a stranger now. He might not even like my type. How did it get to the point where he's my lifelong partner?"
The big parrot said calmly, "He's better suited for you than ordinary people. I didn't know you liked men! Start by adding his WeChat and getting to know him. Isn't that how people date?"
"I don't care. Don't act on your own again! If you do, I'll... I'll just give up! I won't practice! Then if someone tries to take you, no one will protect you!"
"??? Haven't you always been giving up?" The big parrot was genuinely shocked.
"This is not giving up! How many times have I told you, times have changed. This isn't the cultivation world; no one can seclude themselves for ten years just to focus on training... Forget it, I won't argue about this. This time, you made me socially die without my permission, so you must reflect on it. Today, you're going back to the Yaoguang Realm for labor reform. Don't come out until you find a body training method for Da Linzi!"
Without further ado, Zhao Zhao threw the big-mouthed parrot back into the bracelet.
