After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 43

Modern society is developing rapidly, and Qingnan Mountain, being a strategically important location with excellent feng shui, has seen a steady influx of people moving to its vicinity since the new century began.

However, Feng Jun has always lived on the mountaintop. Qingnan Mountain is an undeveloped wild mountain with no wide, easily traversable paths. Additionally, a section of the mountainside is fenced off and filled with peach trees, so normally no one would deliberately bypass these to come up the mountain. At most, people would climb to the mountainside in spring to see the peach blossoms.

As a result, no one ever knew that people lived on the summit of Qingnan Mountain.

This day, at noon, the business hall of the small village at the foot of Qingnan Mountain welcomed a very special guest.

The guest didn’t look very old, but his eyes were full of stories. His appearance was unremarkable, yet he had a very… special feeling. Dressed in ragged clothes, he possessed a calm and serene demeanor.

It was noon, and most people were at home eating and taking a nap, so there weren’t many customers. The clerk was scrolling through short videos on her phone. Hearing footsteps, she looked up at the newcomer and found herself unable to look away, feeling that this person was like a green mountain—silent but possessing an inherent grace.

Then, this guest, who was literally the personification of the green mountain, Xiao Nan, the mountain deity of Qingnan Mountain, spoke politely. Holding a mobile phone, he said to the clerk, “Hello, I’d like to install an internet connection at my home.”

The video on the clerk’s phone had just finished playing and automatically started the next one, which was a performance stage from Idol 101, making a lively sound.

The clerk felt a little awkward, picked up her phone to turn off the video, but saw the guest glance at the video on her phone, following the sound, and smile.

The clerk couldn’t help but look down as well; it was Tao Nian.

Xiao Nan pointed at the clerk’s phone: “We all really want to watch this show, but we don’t have internet at home, and we can’t watch it on just a phone.”

“Oh—”

The clerk understood a little better. She sat down at the computer, opened the registration form, but thought with a hint of amusement, this customer looks very serious, but I didn’t expect him to be someone who would pay attention to this and install internet for a female idol.

She skillfully asked, “Name, where do you live?”

“Xiao Nan. I live on Qingnan Mountain.”

“Which ‘xiao’? The one with the grass radical, or the ‘Xiao’ from ‘Little Moon’?”

“…It’s the ‘Xiao’ for small/little.”

“Is that a surname too?”

The clerk was a little confused but still neatly filled in the guest’s name, asking, “Where on Qingnan Mountain do you live? Leave an address so the technician can install it.”

The small village at the foot of Qingnan Mountain, of course, had detailed house numbers. The living quarters of the workers in the peach forest on the mountainside also had specific location information.

But the very peak of the mountain where Feng Jun lived truly did not.

Xiao Nan didn’t know what to say. He could only point through the transparent glass door of the business hall to the small peak at the very top of Qingnan Mountain outside: “I live there.”

He carefully glanced at the clerk: “Can it be installed?”

Clerk: “…”

On Qingnan Mountain, there were originally only Feng Jun, Taotie, and some smaller, awakened beasts. Everyone lived on Qingnan Mountain, and the patriarch, Feng Jun, managed all the little ones. Two months ago, the largest and most ferocious of the little ones went down the mountain.

It was during that trip that Feng Jun helped her pack her bags and only then realized how much the world below had changed.

However, the changes below the mountain didn’t conflict with Qingnan Mountain, so Feng Jun, with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, brought some things back up the mountain and didn’t bother with it further.

It wasn’t until that time, when she felt Tao Nian had been bitten, that she felt a little surprised. So she went to ask Lin Qianman what Tao Nian was doing now, and if it was very dangerous.

Lin Qianman: “…”

Lin Qianman respectfully explained to Feng Jun for a while, telling her that life in the human world was now stable, harmonious, prosperous, and free, and that Tao Nian was working hard to earn money through her own efforts. If Feng Jun was interested, she could also pay attention.

So, Feng Jun, as Lin Qianman suggested, bought a mobile phone and installed an internet connection on the summit of Qingnan Mountain.

The steep back cliff of Qingnan Mountain had a protruding flat rock, which concealed a large cave filled with dry grass. Although the smaller beasts now had houses to live in, they still preferred to lie in the cave in their original forms.

Now, in the darkness of the cave, only a small screen emitted light.

Countless beasts, large and small, piled on top of each other, watching the tiny phone screen.

On the screen, Tao Nian smiled shyly and innocently, dancing among a hundred trainees.

While the little beasts were piled together watching the show, Feng Jun was diligently reading the popular science magazine that Lin Qianman had sent her.

Lin Qianman explained to Feng Jun that Tao Nian’s previous bite was from a mortal dog, and she had already been vaccinated, so there would be no problems.

Feng Jun had never heard of needing vaccinations after being bitten and frowned in confusion.

Lin Qianman then sent her a popular science magazine about rabies and the rabies virus. It was very scientific and well-organized.

The last time Feng Jun lived down the mountain was over a hundred years ago. At that time, the concept of “science” was just emerging, and Feng Jun knew a little about it.

But this presented a paradox.

Feng Jun herself believed in science very much, but her very existence was not very scientific…

Anyway, apart from some unscientific existences, everything else was very scientific and credible.

Feng Jun studied that popular science magazine day and night, forgetting food and sleep, on Qingnan Mountain.

On the third night, she sent a message to Lin Qianman under the light of a kerosene lamp: “Almost all warm-blooded animals carry the rabies virus… Does Taotie?”

Lin Qianman: “…”

Lin Qianman then began to consider a very scientific yet unscientific question.

Almost all animals carry the rabies virus. Taotie is not a cold-blooded animal, which means she might also carry the rabies virus. Both Lin Qianman and Huang Li were bitten by her… The incubation period for rabies can be very long. The fact that she was fine now didn’t mean she would always be fine.

Lin Qianman was deeply worried.

Tao Nian was scalded by hot steam when boiling eggs the last time, but she didn’t actually get blisters. Zhang Jingyue applied medicine for her, and she wasn’t hurting the next day.

However, she kept pretending to apply the medicine without any particular reason, other than that the burn cream smelled good and had a very cool sensation.

Tao Nian would always apply it to her hand, then secretly lick her fingers.

Lin Qianman didn’t know she was licking the medicine. She thought Tao Nian’s finger was still hurting from the burn, and asked with some concern, “Is it still not healed?”

Tao Nian looked left and right, then very sheepishly told Lin Qianman, “It’s healed.”

“If it’s healed, don’t lick your fingers; there are bacteria.”

Lin Qianman had never told Tao Nian these things before, because she implicitly assumed Tao Nian’s existence was unscientific, so there was no need to worry about scientific minor details.

But now it was different. Now, alerted by Feng Jun, she realized something very important, and from that, she noticed even more important things.

She sighed, unable to resist asking Tao Nian, “Tell me, do you carry the rabies virus? All warm-blooded animals do.”

Although she knew before that Taotie’s blood was warm, Lin Qianman still naturally touched Tao Nian’s arm: “You are a warm-blooded animal. If you bite someone, will you also transmit the rabies virus?”

Tao Nian: “…”

“If you carry it too, should I also get a shot?”

But then there was a very important matter. Lin Qianman frowned: “If I get it hundreds of years later, will it still be effective?”

Tao Nian: “…”

Tao Nian couldn’t help but think of something.

When she was bitten by Huang Li’s dog, Huang Li paid for her hospital treatment and vaccinations.

So, if someone she bit had to get vaccinated, she would be responsible for paying.

A regular vaccine costs 79 yuan, a more expensive one 300 yuan. One person needs five shots, so the cheapest would be 395 yuan. Huang Li got her the expensive 300 yuan per shot vaccine, which meant 1500 yuan for five shots…

I bit… one, two, three, four… many, many more…

The little Taotie anxiously chewed on her fingers, feeling a little like crying.

Lin Qianman glanced at her, and gently reminded her: “Don’t chew your fingers; there are bacteria on them.”

She didn’t care much when she wasn’t paying attention to these things. Lin Qianman had lived down the mountain for a long time and was used to a scientific life, but ever since meeting Tao Nian, she subconsciously separated Tao Nian from science.

Now that she thought about it, Tao Nian ate every day but had no concept of washing her hands before meals, so who knew how many bacteria she ingested.

Lin Qianman thought about the dust on her hands, various E. coli, staphylococcus…

She sternly slapped away Tao Nian’s hand from her mouth and earnestly lectured her: “No chewing on fingers! You must wash your hands frequently from now on, no eating your fingers! No rubbing your eyes with your hands! And no eating random things anymore!”

Tao Nian’s hand, which had been slapped, hurt a little, and not being able to eat random things was also somewhat impossible. But now Tao Nian didn’t have time to worry about this. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She asked Lin Qianman: “What should I do? My monthly salary is only two thousand yuan, it’s only enough for…”

The little Taotie counted on her fingers: “It’s only enough for one person’s shots!”

Tao Nian was referring to the actual money she received each month, which was the 5,000 yuan basic salary Liu Xiaobai initially told her, minus her meal expenses in the cafeteria. She had filmed three commercials that aired during the show, and although the salary wasn’t much, it was still over a hundred thousand yuan. However, the payment was still being processed and hadn’t reached Tao Nian yet, so she didn’t know about it.

Now Tao Nian was in despair: “I can only afford twelve shots a year. I’ll have to pay for many, many years!”

This conversation between Lin Qianman and Tao Nian was known only to the two of them. So, in Fang Wen’s eyes, it appeared that Lin Qianman had said something to Tao Nian, and Tao Nian suddenly became dejected, disheartened, and even a little anxious. Sometimes she would suddenly want to bite her fingers, but then she would glance at Lin Qianman, carefully lower her hand, and sigh.

…What’s going on?

Could it be that her boss couldn’t help but confess and was rejected, and Tao Nian felt very guilty, thus paying extra attention to her boss?

Look how conflicted Tao Nian is.

Fang Wen couldn’t help but sigh and tell Lin Qianman, “Tao Nian is about to be in the finals.”

“I know.”

You know, and yet you’re shaking Tao Nian’s morale at this time? What if she’s distracted and doesn’t perform well in the finals?!

Fang Wen looked at Lin Qianman in disbelief, then suddenly lowered her head, feeling immense sympathy for Tao Nian.

Is this love? If you can’t have it, destroy it.

But her own boss is also so miserable, being rejected.

Meanwhile, Lin Qianman, completely unaware of what Fang Wen was thinking, was still deeply concerned about the matter.

Tao Nian carries the rabies virus. I was bitten. Is it still not too late to get vaccinated now? Rabies has a 100% mortality rate.

Tao Nian had also been thinking about this. She had no appetite for lunch and ate less.

Well, actually, it wasn’t that she had no appetite; she could still eat the same amount even when she was in a bad mood. She just wanted to save some money to vaccinate one more person. One dish costs two yuan. If she ate a little less, six hundred dishes would be enough to vaccinate one person!

Tao Nian pitifully ate the free rice dry.

However, the Taotie, who had been fed by everyone for two months down the mountain, even with a dull sense of taste, had become accustomed to delicacies. Now, just eating rice, she found it a bit bland.

So, she didn’t eat much and quickly left the cafeteria.

Fang Wen looked at Tao Nian, who had only eaten a little today—compared to before, these three bowls of rice and two dishes were indeed very little—then looked at Lin Qianman, who hadn’t looked at Tao Nian the entire time, and couldn’t help but say, “Tao Nian ate very little today.”

“Hmm?”

“She used to eat so much, but today she only ate three bowls of rice!”

“…”

Three bowls was indeed little for the usual Tao Nian. As a Taotie, she used to be able to…

Huh?

She was a Taotie, even though she looked human now, she was still a true Taotie.

Even she herself, though human-shaped now, was still a Qilin.

If a dog bites a cat, does the cat need to be vaccinated?

No, right?! Because both carry the virus!

Lin Qianman suddenly realized how she had been overthinking. She couldn’t help but chuckle softly and shook her head.

Fang Wen didn’t know what was wrong with her boss, almost thinking she had gone mad after being rejected in her confession.

And Tao Nian, who had already returned to her dorm, lay on her bed with a look of utter despair.

Zhang Jingyue stood by her bed, looked at her face, and felt her forehead: “Why did you eat so little today? Are you sick?”

Tao Nian desperately shook her head. Her stomach rumbled.

Zhang Jingyue knew Tao Nian wasn’t full and persuaded her, “If you’re hungry, just go eat.”

Tao Nian bit the corner of her blanket and shook her head.

No eating. I need to save money for vaccinations.

If you ask me, I regret it immensely.