Chapter 8 – Beauty Saves the Hero.jpg

Seeing Song Yanyan purse her lips slightly, Shang Gubai spread his hands apologetically and said, “Looks like I’m not the person you wanted to pick.”

Song Yanyan quickly looked up at him and explained, “It’s not that. Everyone here doesn’t know each other very well yet. I’m also happy to have the chance to get to know you.”

Song Yanyan did have feelings for Xie Zhiyi. She had come onto the show because of him.

She had originally thought Xie Zhiyi would pick her as well.

But this was just the beginning! She couldn’t get discouraged so soon!

Qiao Qiao-jie had told her that Jiang Wan was a terrible person.

As long as Film Emperor Xie spent a few days with Jiang Wan, he would definitely realize they weren’t compatible.

Shang Gubai smiled faintly, seeing right through Song Yanyan’s thoughts, but didn’t say anything more.

Just as Song Yanyan said, filming had only just begun.

After the groups were decided, the first shooting location was—

The haunted house.

In a confined space, constantly on guard against dangers that might appear at any moment, under this tense atmosphere, the accelerated heartbeat could easily be misinterpreted—thanks to the suspension bridge effect—as attraction to the person beside you.

Moreover, they were going in groups, with only each other around. If they ran into trouble, they’d have to rely on one another.

That was exactly what the director team was counting on.

They were determined to film some romantic “hero saves the beauty” moments inside the haunted house—like the female guest crying and throwing herself into the male guest’s arms…

But reality was far less satisfying.

Before going in, Jiang Wan and Xie Zhiyi exchanged a look.

Jiang Wan asked, “Are you scared?”

Xie Zhiyi replied, “I actually really enjoy horror movies.”

Jiang Wan brightened. “Me too! Have you watched that one, that one, and that other one?”

Xie Zhiyi nodded. “I’ve seen them all, but I prefer the last one.”

Jiang Wan exclaimed, “Me too…! The villain in that was so cool!”

…

The two of them strolled along, chatting about movies, and breezed right through the haunted house without any trouble.

Granted, there were some parts that were pretty intense—like a female ghost suddenly lunging at them, or the alien spider creature skittering across the floor—but they’d seen all of it in films before!

Halfway through, Jiang Wan even stepped closer to examine how the giant spider costume was built to look so realistic. She called out, “Wait up a second!”

The spider creature: terrified.jpg.

It had never been chased by a guest before. It immediately stretched out all eight legs and fled.

It was pitch dark, and Jiang Wan wasn’t familiar with the layout, so she couldn’t catch up. She had no choice but to regroup with Xie Zhiyi and finish the circuit side by side, calmly walking back out as if nothing had happened.

[Good grief…just, good grief.]

[Are you two even human? How can you be this unfazed?]

[I’m more scared here in front of the screen than they were in there!]

This scene made Jiang Qi, who had been nervously straining his ears, instantly relax.

Didn’t seem that scary after all! Hahaha!

The director was stunned, feeling like his entire plan had just failed spectacularly.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked, “Do both of you really have nerves this strong?”

Jiang Wan said matter-of-factly, “This sort of surface-level Western horror doesn’t scare me. We all know it’s fake.”

Xie Zhiyi nodded in agreement.

Next up were Shi Lan and Jiang Qi.

They went in one after the other.

Barely three minutes passed before an ear-piercing scream echoed from inside.

At last, the director’s face lit up with a relieved smile.

Excellent—he knew the haunted house he’d specially selected couldn’t possibly be child’s play. It was just that Jiang Wan and Xie Zhiyi were too abnormal.

If Shi Lan, that cool and indifferent goddess, got startled and showed a rare moment of vulnerability in the tight space, it would make her even more appealing.

…But wait, something was off.

The one who’d just screamed seemed to be Jiang Qi.

Because she had no interest in the alien spider creature, Shi Lan actually finished even faster than Jiang Wan and Xie Zhiyi.

Behind her, the haunted house kept erupting with Jiang Qi’s shrieks, each one louder than the last, laced with a growing note of despair.

Everyone: “…”

The director asked in a hollow voice, “Teacher Shi, what exactly happened in your group?”

“I used to work part-time playing NPCs in escape rooms,” Shi Lan answered coolly. “I’ve gotten used to this sort of thing.”

Shi Lan replied in her usual detached tone, then remembered Jiang Qi and added, “I asked him if he needed help. He said he wasn’t scared and that my talking was hurting his ears, so…I just came out first.”

Just as she finished speaking, another hoarse scream came from inside.

Production crew: “…”

A panic-stricken male guest and a cold, indifferent female guest—was this reasonable?

[……………………]

[Coming from Jiang Qi’s stream, here’s a little story: after he split up with Shi Lan, he accidentally opened the staff access door. It was pitch black in there, and since he has no sense of direction, he’s now stuck in a loop, wandering endlessly.]

[Everyone else’s storyline: the bloody ghost jumpscares you. Jiang Qi’s storyline: an endless corridor you can never escape…]

[How did we jump from Western horror to Chinese horror all of a sudden?!]

[When you’re down on your luck, even drinking cold water will get something stuck between your teeth.]

[I knew Jiang Qi was never very brave on escape room shows, but this is still too funny.]

[To be fair, the variety show content is really top-notch.]

At this point, there was no choice.

Someone had to go in and rescue Jiang Qi.

Seeing Jiang Wan frowning in the direction of the haunted house, the director immediately spoke up, “Teacher Jiang! You look worried about Teacher Jiang Qi. How about you help bring him out?”

Jiang Wan slowly raised a finger and pointed to herself.

Huh? Wasn’t Jiang Qi partnered with Shi Lan? Why ask her to go?

She wasn’t worried about Jiang Qi. She was just puzzled.

Jiang Wan loved escape rooms and haunted houses. From what she remembered, back in high school she and her friends used to go all the time—and Jiang Qi was the one who organized those outings. How come she never realized he was actually this much of a coward?

Was this real?

He was putting on an act, wasn’t he?

After not seeing him for so long, had he set himself up with some “fragile little husband” persona?

Was he trying to create a CP narrative with a cold-faced beauty like Shi Lan? But had he overdone it and ended up just annoying everyone?

Shi Lan also looked over at Jiang Wan with pleading eyes and said, still a little shaken, “I can’t. My ears really can’t take it anymore.”

No one else showed any intention of rescuing Jiang Qi.

Xie Zhiyi didn’t want to meddle in unnecessary things. Shang Gubai acted like it was none of his business. Song Yanyan was too timid to help even if she wanted to.

…Fine.

After all, they had known each other for years. If he really was genuinely terrified and ended up traumatized, that wouldn’t be good.

Jiang Wan stood up and walked back into the haunted house.

With some guidance from the staff, she easily found Jiang Qi.

At the deepest end of a shadowy corridor, the young man was sitting slumped against the wall, one hand resting on his knee, face buried in his arm. The other hand hung limply at his side, fingers curling as if trying to grab onto something—anything—to feel safer, but failing.

Hearing footsteps, he didn’t even look up. Instead, he buried his face deeper, his whole posture screaming defeat, looking truly pitiful.

[Jiang Wan, please rescue Jiang Qi… He looks like he’s about to fall apart.]

[Holy crap, this broken look is so satisfying!]

Faced with this scene that could melt hearts, Jiang Wan froze for a few seconds before remembering why she’d come in. She stepped in front of him and held out a hand.

She said, “Jiang Qi, get up. Let’s go.”

The moment he heard Jiang Wan’s voice, Jiang Qi lifted his head in disbelief. Those usually defiant eyes were tinged red.

He almost reached out to take her hand.

But as if suddenly realizing something, he jerked it back and stammered, “W-why are you here? I’ll have you know, I’m not scared at all. I just thought this spot was comfortable and…wanted to sit down for a bit.”

Because he was so guilty, his voice stuttered and he nearly bit his tongue.

Their eyes met.

Jiang Wan nodded and withdrew her hand.

She turned away. “So we misunderstood you. In that case, you can find your own way out…”

She hadn’t even finished speaking when—BANG!

Jiang Qi practically threw himself at her.

His legs were still weak from fear, so he ended up collapsing at her feet, arms wrapped tightly around her calves in a death grip, as if he’d never let go. He looked like he wanted to climb her legs as if they were a tree.

Jiang Wan: “…”

If you’re this scared, why pretend otherwise?

The viewers: “…”

[Saying he doesn’t need help while his body betrays him, truly honest in everything but his mouth.]

[I’m dying of laughter—his entire body is soft except for that stubborn mouth!]