Comeback from a 2-0 deficit.
Just as expected.
"Damn, TRG actually lost!"
"Getting reverse-swept 2-3, how embarrassing!"
"What's wrong with Nie Xuan? His jungle pacing in the last three games was complete garbage. I could scatter rice on my keyboard and a chicken pecking at it would have better pacing than him."
"Is Xuan God possessed? That really doesn't look like the pacing he'd play with."
"He's playing so badly I'm stuffed just watching."
"Nie Xuan has always had this problem—serious when behind, cocky when ahead. Maybe this loss is a good lesson for him."
"TRG's win streak is broken. WYG is awesome!"
"Just came from God Rang's livestream. Reverse sweep 2-3, heh! He actually predicted it exactly right!"
"Does anyone have that young lady's livestream room number? I want to go get my fortune told by her!"
"What young lady? Can someone fill me in?"
"Want the tea. Leaving an ear right here."
Shen Zhiyi switched to her alt account and posted her room number under the comment asking for the livestream link.
…
The Shen family's small restaurant was located near the scenic area of Jiangcheng. During summer vacation, there were many tourists, and business was booming. Shen Ke and Zou Hong had to go to the restaurant early in the morning to prepare for the day's operations.
The moment they opened the front door, they ran straight into a delivery courier.
"Hello, excuse me, is this the home of Ms. Shen Zhiyi?"
Ms. Shen Zhiyi?
Zou Hong was caught off guard for a moment before snapping back to reality: "Yes, it is."
"This is a package for Ms. Shen Zhiyi. Please sign for it."
"Alright."
Shen Zhiyi came out of her room and happened to overhear the courier explaining.
"This package arrived yesterday. I delivered it to the Shen Manor according to the address on it, but the gatekeeper told me that Miss Shen Zhiyi had moved out yesterday. I was thinking about returning it, but luckily I ran into a kind young lady who gave me this address."
Shen Zhiyi walked to the door and asked curiously, "A package for me?"
"Ah." Seeing her, Shen Ke quickly made way for her. "It's yours."
Shen Zhiyi took it, thanked the courier, and opened it right there in the living room.
After tearing off the outer cardboard box, a finely wrapped rectangular gift box was revealed.
Guessing what it was, Shen Zhiyi quickly untied the ribbon and opened the gift box, pulling out a framed ink-wash landscape painting.
Towering mountains, mighty rivers, surging waters—the brushstrokes were bold and free, grand and imposing.
Shen Nianqing also studied traditional Chinese painting, and having been exposed to it over the years, Zou Hong and Shen Ke could roughly tell good art from bad.
"Zhiyi, you can paint too?" Shen Ke exclaimed in admiration. "This is really well done."
"I studied it for a while before—Dad, does the restaurant need any decorations? Why don't you take this painting to hang up at the shop?"
Zou Hong asked curiously, "You painted this yourself? Why was it shipped from the imperial capital?"
"I had a friend help me frame it."
"This painting is really beautiful." Zou Hong smiled. "Let's take it to the shop and hang it up!"
She looked at the seal in the bottom right corner and murmured, "What character is this?"
It was wild and unruly, like some kind of ghost scribble.
"Yi." Shen Zhiyi said. "It's a signature I designed, incorporating some rune techniques. It can attract wealth and treasure."
"Haha." Zou Hong laughed. "Then we definitely have to hang it up at the shop!"
Shen Ke picked up the painting and glanced at the address on the packaging box: District 3, Artists Association, 99 Prosperity Avenue, Ping'an District, Imperial Capital.
This painting was sent from the Imperial Capital Artists Association? That sounded quite prestigious. It seemed the Shen family had put a lot of effort into nurturing Zhiyi over the years.
…
After seeing her parents off, Shen Zhiyi received a call from the imperial capital.
"Zhiyi, did you receive the painting? I see the tracking shows it was signed for."
"I received it."
Shen Zhiyi brought out two steamed buns from the kitchen, sat down at the table, and ate them slowly.
"Thank you."
"Why be so polite with me?" Qin Huainian laughed. "When the old man came to my office last time and saw that painting, he insisted on taking it back to the old mansion. When I refused, he called me an unfilial descendant."
Shen Zhiyi let out a small laugh.
Qin Huainian continued, "The Autumn Moon Flowers and Birds painting you asked me to send to the auction sold for two million. Should I transfer the money to the impoverished children's foundation in the mountain areas as before?"
"Mm, thank you."
"Also, the Artists Association is holding an exhibition in the second half of the year. Two of your works were selected. Grandpa asked when you're coming to the capital."
"I'll see."
This person was always so cold and aloof, keeping everyone at arm's length.
Qin Huainian was used to her personality. He chatted about a few more trivial things before hanging up.
…
At the Shen family estate.
Shen Nianqing tore open the envelope, and upon seeing the sender's name on the invitation, shrieked and jumped to her feet.
Startled by her daughter's sudden outburst, Zhou Wanran smiled and asked, "What's got you so happy?"
"It's an invitation to the Capital Artists Association exhibition," Shen Nianqing said. "Brother Haoyu helped me get it!"
The Capital Artists Association rarely held exhibitions, and when they did, they showcased masterpieces from renowned artists, with all the big names of the association in attendance. If she could get the Cheng family to introduce her around, she might even be able to become a disciple of the great traditional Chinese painting master, Qin Yi.
Only then did Zhou Wanran remember that Shen Nianqing studied traditional Chinese painting.
"Speaking of which, Haoyu's grandfather is also a master of traditional Chinese painting. Since you're close with Haoyu, you should learn more from Old Master Cheng."
"I know, Mom."
Old Master Cheng was indeed a well-known painting instructor, but compared to the Qin family and the masters of the Capital Artists Association, he was still far behind.
…
When the call from Shen Zhiyi came in, Yu Qing was still in bed, making his final struggle to get up.
Seeing the name Shen Zhiyi, he jolted awake in an instant.
The young man sat up abruptly, forcefully cleared his throat, and said, "Sister Zhiyi."
"There's a banquet at the Liang family tonight. Get me an invitation—I need to get in."
"The Liang family of Chenxing Group?"
"Mm."
"Alright." Without asking what she planned to do there, Yu Qing dutifully agreed. "I'll get it for you right away."
"Thanks."
After hanging up, Yu Qing rubbed his brow and suddenly froze.
How did Shen Zhiyi know the Liang family was hosting a banquet tonight? What was she planning to do at the Liang family's event?
Could it be that Liang Yousheng's words last night had gotten under her skin the more she thought about them, and she was going to crash the party tonight?
…
Since she had to go to the Liang residence in the evening, Shen Zhiyi moved her livestream to the afternoon.
She was always casual about her streams—no scheduled announcements before going live. But to her surprise, the moment she started broadcasting today, someone immediately sent gifts and requested a video connection.
"Hello, streamer."
Once the connection was established, the other party greeted her politely.
Shen Zhiyi looked at the screen.
The person requesting the connection was a woman, wearing a mask and sunglasses, wrapped up tightly from head to toe. Even her voice was altered with a system voice changer into a baby-like tone.
"Streamer, I have a friend who's run into some trouble recently."
She glanced at the livestream and saw there weren't many viewers, then let out a sigh of relief.
"My friend seems to be haunted by Little Ghosts. Streamer, can you handle something like this?"
"Yes, I can."
Everyone had their own privacy they wanted to protect, so Shen Zhiyi didn't ask her to reveal her true identity.
"Send me your friend's birth date and time in the backend, and also tell me what they've been through recently."
The woman quickly agreed and sent her friend's birth date and time through the backend.
"Here's what happened.
"The first sign something was wrong was a month ago. My friend came home and found that things in the house had been moved. We thought there was a burglar, but when we checked the surveillance footage, we found—found that those things had moved on their own.
"There wasn't a single person in the house! The fridge door opened by itself, and all the fruit inside crashed to the floor.
"The curtains and sofa were shredded to pieces, and cups, vases, and things like that were shattered all over the ground!
"It was really terrifying…"
The woman murmured.