Chapter 47: Filming Begins

With those words, a small, damp, cold hand landed on Lan Qing’s shoulder. Ao Qingxue blurted out, “Holy crap!”

Lan Qing’s pupils shrank. Without even turning her head, she immediately rolled away!

Her back clearly pressed against something, and a voice let out a small “Ouch!” A white shadow darted away from behind her:

“Sister, you hurt me!”

It was because of this roll that Lan Qing’s gaze shifted upward, and she saw the scene on the ceiling.

—The driver wasn’t dead yet. She was suspended by white spiderwebs, struggling desperately, but her mouth and nose were covered, preventing her from making a sound. She could only look at Lan Qing with pleading, terrified eyes.

Beside the driver, a gigantic spider-like monster was perched. It was completely white, with a spherical body topped by a human-like head. A wooden mask covered its face, and the mouth of the mask was open, constantly spewing out silk!

The white shadow that had darted away from behind her was a ghost girl. She seemed to be in pain, hiding behind the spider monster’s claws. And the “ghost girl’s” appearance was even more horrifying, to the point that Ao Qingxue felt a wave of nausea—to be precise, she wasn’t “one” person, but a pair of conjoined twins.

Their faces were both as delicate and cute as a doll’s, with black hair and black eyes. The one who was the main body wore a white princess dress, while the other had only a head and two arms. The head lolled softly down from behind the spine, looking at Lan Qing.

Below their waists, they were severed, constantly oozing blood, with intestines exposed, like a bizarre kite string.

[Help!! This is the first time in my life I’ve found a little girl so terrifying!]

[Aaaah, even without looking at her body, just looking at that face is scary, what the hell??]

[Me too QAQ More terrifying than an adult!]

—Horror films often use the “child” element because when supposedly innocent and pure human children reveal a wicked and bizarre side, the impact on people is multiplied.

“Little Woody, help me!” the ghost girl urged the masked spider, which, like a dog, let out a few hisses and was about to pounce down on Lan Qing.

At this critical moment, a sharp shadow shot from a distance, piercing the body of the masked spider!

It turned out that the General had used the available tools during the day to make a bow and arrow. Now, the bowstring was pulled taut, and sharply honed branches were fired in succession, blocking the masked spider’s attack. Rose-red blood splattered everywhere.

The monster was enraged and spat out white silk. Wu Rui had clearly put a lot of effort into this role; her dodges and movements were almost artistic, smooth and flowing.

Lan Qing also took this opportunity to jump up and grab the driver’s laser gun. She hadn’t used it before, so her first shot missed the girl. But she quickly mastered the technique, burning away a circle of spiderwebs around where the driver was bound, causing her to break free and fall from the ceiling.

Ao Qingxue couldn’t help but shout, “Cool!”

The ghost girl’s expression changed. If she were a normal girl, she’d probably be stomping her feet in anger: “Little Woody, stop them!!”

The spider let out a sharp shriek. Four of its legs were broken, making it unable to move. The General pointed a second branch at the double-headed ghost girl. A flicker of obvious reluctance crossed her face, but she steeled herself, nocked the string, and pulled back again!

“Aaaah!!”

The branch pierced the girl’s soft body, impaling her heart. They screamed.

“It hurts so much, sister, why are you hitting me?”

“Sister, why are you hurting me?”

“I just wanted to take something from you to make soup, don’t hit me!”

“It hurts so much, Mommy, Mommy, come save me, they’re bad people, it hurts so much!”

The two girls’ heads opened their mouths in unison, crying piteously. The same faces showed the same pain.

Ao Qingxue’s hair stood on end. “If they were just a simple monster, it would be one thing, but…”

If you covered the lower half of their bodies, they looked just like ordinary children, crying out in pain, begging for mercy, even calling for their mother. This combination of the bizarre and the ordinary pushed the horror to the extreme!

The ghost girl cried out for her mother, and with their cries, both Lan Qing and the General shivered, feeling the air turn cold. The camera also showed the strange happenings in the room—

Pages of books turning on their own without any wind, an unconnected phone ringing, curtains billowing…

Ao Qingxue’s scalp tingled. Was the villa’s mistress about to appear? Both the General and Lan Qing were injured; they definitely couldn’t win!

But at the same time, the light outside the window was gradually getting brighter. As the sun peaked over the horizon and the first ray of sunlight shone, the strange phenomena in the room suddenly stopped. The ghost girl let out a wail, and along with the masked spider, their entire bodies dissolved into black smoke.

Dawn had arrived.

[Scared me to death, thank goodness it was a close call!]

[Aaaah, was that the ghost witch at the end?? The pressure was too intense!]

[I felt like I couldn’t breathe, even through the screen!]

“Lan Qing…” the driver called out weakly. The two rushed over, only to find that her lips were turning purple, clearly poisoned—of course, how could a spider capture its prey without using poison?

Her hands were covered in blood, as if the skin on her hands had been completely peeled off, corresponding to the “gloves.”

“When I realized something was wrong, I wanted to call you, but… it was too late…” The driver, in Lan Qing’s arms, struggled to hand over something, a diary. “I got this while I was fighting them. Take it.”

Her voice grew fainter and fainter. Ao Qingxue expected her to die, but she didn’t know Shang Jingyan would deliver the death blow so quickly and brutally. She sniffled loudly.

“…I don’t want to die yet…”

Those were the driver’s last words.

[…My tear ducts are so low, I’m already crying.]

[So sad, I’m crying buckets! Director Shang, I’m going to send you razor blades!]

[On another level, I feel the horror and cruelty of the trial…]

Lan Qing and the General’s eyes were both red, but they didn’t have time to grieve. They closed the driver’s eyes and opened the diary.

The content was written in the tone of a young girl. The handwriting was large, somewhat slanted, with some spelling mistakes, and many places used pinyin.

Ao Qingxue’s image observation skills were excellent. She immediately identified: “There are two different handwritings here.”

Considering the conjoined condition of the two girls, they probably shared a diary.

xxxx/12/15

When will Dad come home? Sister asked Mom. Mom said it’s snowing heavily outside, and Dad will come back when the snow stops.

xxxx/12/20

Little Woody went to play in the snow. The snow got heavier, and Mom wouldn’t let it go down to play (a different handwriting, more neat, and the more complex character for “snow” was not written in pinyin, suggesting it was the older sister).

—”Little Woody,” this should be the name of the mistress’s dog. The girl had used this name for the spider monster earlier.

xxxx/1/2

Everything outside is white. I don’t like white.

We are two, three including Mom, and Little Woody. Why does it feel like there’s only one person?

I miss Dad.

We feel lonely (another handwriting).

xxxx/1/7 (Many snowflake drawings next to the date, indicating heavy snow)

Dad came back! Dad came to see us!

Dad has grown a beard and looks much older. It pricks our faces when he hugs us. He put us in princess dresses and called us little princesses. We are so beautiful!

“Hmm?” Ao Qingxue frowned in confusion. Wasn’t it said that only the mother, daughter, and dog were in the villa at that time? She looked up and saw the date, January 7th, and was stunned.

[Holy crap, isn’t that the day the tour group took shelter??]

[?? I’m dumbfounded!]

[Damn, that’s terrifying!]

xxxx/1/8

Dad also brought 12 people. Are they his friends?

I saw them on the second floor.

I don’t look like any of them. They are one.

I want to go downstairs and play with Dad. Why won’t Mom let me?

Because we are different from them (another handwriting).

“What?” The episode ended there. Ao Qingxue’s hair stood on end, and she blurted out, “‘Dad’… So, one of the thirteen people in that tour group was actually the villa girl’s father!?”

It seemed like an amazing twist, but on closer inspection, it wasn’t surprising. It even filled in a plot point that was previously considered a “bug.”

Why would the mistress of the villa, with only a sick daughter and a dog by her side, open the door to a strange tour group?

—Because there was someone she trusted in the tour group, her husband, her daughter’s father!

–

The fourth episode of “Infinite Heartbeat” lived up to expectations, throwing out even more shocking information, making people even more anxious.

It was even more confirmed that the narrator of the “Witch’s Soup Recipe” was the mistress’s daughter, because the second line said “Dad’s lighter.”

At the time, everyone thought that this sentence was just to point to the fat man, because among the thirteen trial-takers, only the fat man had a child and smoked. They didn’t think in other directions—the recipe also had “the General’s finger,” there couldn’t possibly be a general in the tour group, right?

But now it seemed that perhaps only the “Dad” sentence had a special meaning.

The forum was bursting with posts. Because of the girl’s diary, everyone’s previous inferences were no longer so tenable. There must be hidden truths to the whole thing.

The OP of the ID [Doesn’tLikeSweets] said: [I told you so, you didn’t believe me.]

Everyone below: “…”

Why did she have to be so infuriating?

Everyone had wised up and refused to take the bait, flooding the thread with comments:

[You’re really a fan, coming to the forum to notify everyone right away.]

[Big analysis fan! OP, why don’t you continue to share your thoughts? Prophet, Director Shang is optimistic about you!]

[I want to learn from you and become a good fan who can guess Director Shang’s ideas.]

Sure enough, the OP was enraged in a second: [I said I’m not Shang Jingyan’s fan!!]

However, everyone was laughing and joking, and the OP was so angry that she was stamping his feet. The thread was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Besides this obsession with analysis, the second hot topic of the fourth episode was the driver’s death. Although she was a small character who only appeared for a short time, she caused countless people to shed tears. Her death also completely set the tone for “Infinite Heartbeat.”

[Director Shang is really a terrifying person, no matter how you look at it… such a heartless woman! QAQ]

[I really want the driver to be resurrected, but I know it’s impossible. This background is too heavy, it’s heartbreaking.]

[I watched this episode and thought for a long time. Before Director Shang, most works focused on the heart-wrenching emotions of love, which is too narrow. In fact, there are many other things that can move people more. I used to cry over romance dramas, and even family dramas didn’t move me much. This is the first time I’ve shed tears for another kind of feeling…]

–

Gamma Star System.

“Aaaah, stop tempting me! You all know I never follow long-running serialized dramas! Before the first unit is finished, I’m definitely not going to start watching it!”

Lu Zibing frantically scratched at the table. Even though he had banned spoilers, those spoiler-free snippets still made him itch to know more.

He had been having a very miserable time lately. He was holding off on watching “Infinite Heartbeat,” and he was watching helplessly as the Main Star System opened a haunted house and theme park. In a word: the excitement was for others, he had nothing.

[Okay, okay, we won’t tease the streamer anymore. If you don’t watch the series, you can at least look forward to the variety show, right?]

[The guest list for “Starry River Wandering Kitchen” is something else. I thought I wouldn’t know anyone besides Director Shang, but they actually invited Yun Yongxue and Sheng Pingsha.]

[Yun Yongxue is the most unbelievable one. Isn’t he famously aloof?]

Lu Zibing was indeed excited about the variety show news tonight, and he planned to watch it live when it aired.

He browsed the web to find more information and saw that Yun Yongxue’s fans were going crazy, setting off firecrackers and spreading the news.

Yun Yongxue barely even showed his face, and fans could hardly even know what he looked like now. And he actually agreed to participate in a variety show, like the moon hanging in the clouds suddenly descending to the mortal world.

Sharp-eyed fans also found that Yun Yongxue’s name was not listed separately, but in a group with Shang Jingyan.

This seemed like a signal, symbolizing that the two were collaborating more closely.

[What’s going on? It feels a bit shippable, double geniuses, a top musician and a newly rising purple star… someone wake me up!]

[Calm down, everyone. Rational analysis: If Yunyun really wants to become long-term teammates with Director Shang, then dating isn’t a good choice. Research shows that 80% of partners who develop romantic relationships end up parting ways.]

[Aaaah, I’m so conflicted! I want them to cooperate for a long time, but I also want something to spark between them…]

As long as the object is good enough, Dreamweaver fans don’t reject their idol’s relationships; in fact, they’re happy to see it.

But for most interstellar people, this was just casual shipping. Which genius Dreamweaver hadn’t had ten or eight relationships? It was still too early to say anything, and they were far from a romantic relationship.

As for Sheng Pingsha, Lu Zibing had also heard of him. When he was a child, he even followed his most famous work, “Moonlight River,” for a while.

“Moonlight River” was a classic wuxia romance drama. The overall framework was very old, telling the story of a young man who descends from the mountains, experiences the world, and finally finds a love to retire to the jianghu with.

In those years, the wuxia style also happened to be experiencing a retro revival. Sheng Pingsha’s work had excellent romance and plot lines, so it took advantage of the trend and stood out, becoming one of the most popular wuxia dramas of the year.

And the most commendable thing was that his works back then had a kind of “youthful spirit.” Unfortunately, that spirit was no longer visible in his later works.

“It’s pretty lively…” Lu Zibing raised his eyebrows at the trending searches in the Exile Star System.

Now, the top trending search there was the news of the variety show announcement, and the next trending topic was #NewAndOldNumberOne#.

[In the generation before last in the Exile Star System, Sheng Pingsha could be said to be the number one, right? The new and old number ones competing on the same stage, wow, it feels like there’s a lot to watch.]

The top comments of the post were all similar, directly binding the two people together.

There were also people who questioned, [I remember the data from back then, Senior Sheng didn’t seem to be the number one of his generation?], but they were drowned out in the wave of anticipation. The Star Network data stream was huge, and ordinary viewers with no grudges didn’t have the patience to search through decades-old data, so they just assumed they misremembered.

Lu Zibing, after all, was a content creator, and he had a natural sensitivity to marketing methods. He hissed, scratching his head, and had a bad feeling: “Yikes, I have a feeling that there’s going to be some drama between the guests on this variety show…”

–

Exile Star System, V066.

After the guest list was announced, “Starry River Wandering Kitchen” gathered the guests at the filming location for this season to hold a launch ceremony.

It was called a ceremony, but it was really just bringing everyone together offline to meet each other.

As the commercial center of the Exile Star System, V066 was full of prosperity. Anyway, for Shang Jingyan, a former Earthling, she was greatly impressed.

Since transmigrating, Shang Jingyan had always been a lone wolf. She hadn’t paid respects to any big shots and hadn’t even met many other Dreamweavers.

The only circle gathering she had attended was the one before the entrance exam, where she added many Dreamweavers of similar age. This launch ceremony could be said to be the second time.

Yun Yongxue was even more withdrawn than her, and he wasn’t even a local of the Exile Star System. On the way here, he followed her like a ghost, and after arriving, he didn’t say a word, sitting outside the crowd like a snowman.

“Director Shang! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for you for ten minutes and twenty-six seconds!”

A familiar voice caused Shang Jingyan to turn her head.

“…” Shang Jingyan looked him up and down, not bothering to hide her disdain. “Why are you here? You’re not on the list.”

This person was, of course, You Yao. He had originally been wandering around the venue socializing, but when he caught a glimpse of Shang Jingyan out of the corner of his eye, he immediately abandoned the person he was talking to and rushed over.

You Yao whined and complained, “Why can’t I be here? Honestly, it’s your first time on a variety show, and I came to see you off, and you’re scolding me!”

Shang Jingyan: “…What do you mean ‘see me off’? I think you’re just looking for a beating.”

Yun Yongxue, seeing this scene from afar, was taken aback. “So she’s that close to You Yao…”

Although the two were bickering and clearly looked down on each other, their familiarity was obvious. Shang Jingyan had always been polite to him, even subtly treating him like a younger brother.

Yun Yongxue had previously only known that You Yao had played a crawling corpse in Shang Jingyan’s “Rouge Comb,” and that his emoji pack had gone viral. He thought they had only had a short-term collaboration.

“Jealous?” his agent, Lin Changjie, immediately understood.

Yun Yongxue: “…I’m not.”

He sat down on his suitcase, put his hands in his pockets, and stared blankly for a while, then lowered his head and started playing a rhythm game.

Lin Changjie: Still saying you’re not jealous? I can see you hitting the wrong notes.

However, after Yun Yongxue played for a while, that inexplicable frustration suddenly dissipated, because he saw Noel.

—Ever since the last time at the Sauvignon Manor, Noel had fallen into unrequited love.

To put it more plainly: Hey, woman, you’ve caught my attention.

Noel wasn’t completely without self-awareness. He wouldn’t pursue the kind of genius who had “anyone not as good as me can get lost” written all over their face. But Shang Jingyan, at first glance, just looked coolly dressed and had a friendly personality. He wanted to give it a try, only to run into a brick wall.

And in his range of pursuits, there had never been anyone as unmoved as Shang Jingyan.

He had recently been sharing sad love songs in the middle of the night. Now, even his fans could tell he was suffering from unrequited love. With a little deduction, they knew the object of his longing was Director Shang.

And at this moment, Noel was dressed like a peacock, just like last time at the manor. He was clearly here, like You Yao, specifically to congratulate Shang Jingyan on participating in the variety show. But he still said, “Oh, what a coincidence, Director Shang is here. I just happened to have an event nearby, and I saw you as I passed by.”

Shang Jingyan nodded casually. “Then keep passing by.”

Noel: “…”

The production team leader’s aircraft had malfunctioned and was stuck in traffic, so everyone had to chat idly.

As they were talking, a commotion arose in the distance. Shang Jingyan raised her eyes and saw a middle-aged man approaching, surrounded by a number of followers.

He had short gray hair, was well-groomed, and wore a string of prayer beads on his wrist. It was another highly anticipated guest on the list—Sheng Pingsha.

“Senior Sheng.”

“Is that little Shang? I’ve been hearing my old friends talk about you, the ‘newcomer who created the horror genre.’ It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Sheng Pingsha walked over, and this area became the absolute center of attention. You Yao was subtly squeezed out, while Yun Yongxue somehow ended up next to Shang Jingyan. Hua Feitian was also not far away, but there was a vacuum around her; no one was bothering her.

Shang Jingyan entered social mode and began interacting with everyone. Unexpectedly, after only a few words, the topic shifted from their works to their personal lives.

“Little Shang, you’re so young and accomplished. Have you considered finding a partner?”

Sheng Pingsha said with a chuckle, patting Shang Jingyan’s shoulder in a fatherly manner. “A genius like you should pass on your genes. I also know some excellent young people. I can introduce you next time we meet.”

Shang Jingyan raised an eyebrow. The first thing she felt wasn’t offense, but a sense of dark humor.

—In her previous life, her family ties were weak. Her adoptive parents had never pressured her to marry, and the seniors in the industry who genuinely cared about her wouldn’t say such things. The only time she was asked a similar question was by a gossip reporter.

The fact that Sheng Pingsha was overlapping with that unscrupulous reporter was, frankly, a bit comical.

The people around him chimed in:

“That’s right, that’s right. Senior Sheng has brought together quite a few couples.”

“If being on this show can help Director Shang find love too, it would definitely be a wonderful story!”

Interstellar people, though romantic at heart, were, after all, a society one stellar calendar more advanced than her previous world. Most people respected privacy.

Shang Jingyan hadn’t expected to encounter marriage pressure in this lifetime, something she had never faced in her previous one. At these words, the people on Shang Jingyan’s side were a little embarrassed.

Yun Yongxue frowned and spoke before Shang Jingyan could, looking directly at Sheng Pingsha. “Are those young people you mentioned as outstanding as Yanyan?”

“You can’t say that! Even if there aren’t any in the Exile Star System, we can look in the Main Star System. I know a few talented young men there, too.”

Sheng Pingsha also looked at him, asking with interest, “Little Yun, I went to your first concert back then! Have you been single all these years, too? I think you and Little Shang could make a good match. You’re good at music, and Little Shang is good at plot and setting. Wouldn’t that be perfect?”

“I—” Yun Yongxue was also encountering this kind of topic for the first time. Whether it was anger or embarrassment, a faint blush appeared on his face. He controlled his voice, speaking somewhat urgently. “…Senior, I’m not that close to you. Please don’t try to be familiar.”

Shang Jingyan was a little astonished. Sheng Pingsha’s words both boasted “I also have connections in the Main Star System” and implied “I’m also very familiar with Yun Yongxue, I’m his senior.” But in reality?

Any of Yun Yongxue’s fans knew that he was still brooding over that concert, because he had fainted midway through due to exhaustion and had been mocked for a long time. Sheng Pingsha was really hitting all the wrong notes, stepping on every landmine.

X71 was very indignant, interjecting a comment: [How can a senior be like this!]

Shang Jingyan was more open-minded: [Countless examples throughout history tell us that talent does not equal character, and style does not equal personality.]

She had seen even more outrageous seniors in the industry in her previous life. At least Sheng Pingsha was doing this in private. Too many “old artists” didn’t even realize how bizarre their words were when facing the camera.

In this world, Dreamweavers had even higher status, and there were countless young, successful geniuses who had been spoiled.

Sheng Pingsha hadn’t expected to be so directly and ruthlessly rebuffed by Yun Yongxue. He was a little embarrassed, and was about to speak again, when Shang Jingyan cut in directly: “Senior, I have a great idea. Why don’t you open a matchmaking-themed restaurant? Then, when you see a single guest, you can go up to them and ask: ‘Do you want to find a partner? I have connections, do you want to take a look?'”

That was so scathing! “Pfft,” a few stifled laughs came from around them, including one from Hua Feitian.

Seeing Shang Jingyan look over, she immediately put on a straight face and looked away, pretending to admire the scenery.