Chapter 3: Relying on One’s Own Strength.

Qin Youran has emerged as this season’s dark horse!

The production team originally planned to promote Li Manman from the same company, but unexpectedly, Qin Youran took the lead in popularity with her impeccable performance.

The village chief has always been protective of talented contestants.

Normally, he would have agreed to Qin Youran’s attempt to gain favor, but today, he stubbornly shook his head, “No, according to the rules, the last-place contestant cannot accept ingredients from other guests, nor can they use their own money to buy anything. They also cannot borrow from others…”

The village chief mercilessly blocked their path, a hint of anticipation flashing under his gaze.

Seeing this, Qin Youran helplessly spread her hands, apologizing to Yan Yueqing: “Sorry Yueqing, I tried my best, but I can’t help you……”

Yan Yueqing responded with a slight nod and looked at Tang Tang.

The little girl’s lips were pouted in anger and her eyes were welling up, as if she was upset about the lack of dinner.

So well-behaved!

Even angered to this extent, she didn’t lash out!

It’s obvious how much suffering the original host had inflicted on the poor child.

As compensation, Yan Yueqing patted her shoulder reassuringly: “Don’t worry, we’ll have a big meal tonight.”

“Ah?” Tang Tang exclaimed in surprise.

The other guests were also stunned by Yan Yueqing’s sudden confidence.

Seeing this, the village chief rushed over to remind her: “Yueqing, according to the rules—”

Yan Yueqing calmly interrupted: “I know, I can’t accept anyone’s help, I have to rely on my own strength to go down the mountain for dinner.”

Looking at her nonchalant expression, the village chief’s little head spun rapidly, hastily recalling if he had forgotten to mention any additional conditions.

But Yan Yueqing didn’t give him time to think and said to Tang Tang: “Let’s go.”

The hiking task took place on Mount Yanshan in T City. Although it wasn’t the weekend and the mountain wasn’t particularly famous, there were still quite a number of visitors.

Yan Yueqing singled out a middle-aged woman waving a scarf and taking photos: “Tang Tang, what do you think of that auntie?”

“Hm?” Tang Tang blinked in confusion. “She seems quite kind.”

“Kind is good.” Yan Yueqing smiled, had the crew look after Tang Tang, and approached the woman herself.

“Hello, sister,” she greeted politely.

The woman lowered her scarf, her face blooming with a smile: “What sister? Young lady, you should call me Auntie!”

“Auntie? You don’t look it at all,” Yan Yuequing feigned surprise.

The woman was even more pleased: “Girl, what did you need me for?”

Yan Yueqing pointed to Tang Tang, then to the bright phone cameras behind her: “Sister, we’re filming a show, and I ended up in last place for today’s task, so the little girl has no dinner. I was wondering if I could perform for a bit of money.”

The crew was dumbfounded!

This kind of move exists?!

[Hahahahaha I’m dying of laughter!]

[The village chief must be stunned, right? He said no accepting help from other guests, so she went straight to the tourists.]

[Haha, no wonder Yan Yueqing walked away so quickly earlier. She must have been afraid the village chief would realize what she was up to!]

[To be honest, in previous tasks, even the last-placed contestant would get some food! But today, they suddenly changed the rules. I can’t help but feel that they’re targeting someone.]

After hearing Yan Yueqing out, the woman glanced at the cameras, feeling a bit wary.

So she wants money…..

This couldn’t be some new scam, could it?

Don’t think that she didn’t know about these things. Recently, the Liu family’s daughter-in-law was swindled out of 200,000 yuan by a stranger who approached her. The old couple was even considering divorce!

The woman cautiously probed: “You……how much money do you want?”

Yan Yueqing bluntly stated: ” 5 yuan.”

The aunt immediately relaxed, having thought it would be 5,500 yuan or even 5 million yuan! But it turned out to be just 5 yuan! She burst out laughing, “In that case, no problem!”

The livestream exploded with laughter.

[Did you guys see the aunt’s expression just now? That “you won’t fool me! I’m already holding my purse ready to run” kind of look.]

[Auntie: You think you can trick me? Bring out your Italian…pasta and let me have a taste^[1]This comment humorously implies the aunt’s initial suspicion. The “Italian pasta” is a metaphor for the aunt wanting to verify Yan Yueqing’s intentions. It’s equivalent to saying, … Continue reading.] 

[Five yuan is such a bargain, I’d gladly pay to see what kind of performance Yan Yueqing has in store!]

[Agreed! After she’s done performing, I’ll throw the five yuan in her face and tell her to stay away from my little princess Tang Tang!]

[Hahahaha, the person above, I can already picture that scene.]

While everyone was busy flooding the livestream chatroom with comments, Yan Yueqing had already discussed with the auntie and decided to sing for her.

She chose an 80’s song, “Don’t Come, Dawn”, which was the theme song of the old movie “A Chinese Ghost Story”. It was a Cantonese song.

After her debut, Yan Yueqing had been arranged by her company to participate in various meaningless variety shows. She had never been part of a drama crew, and even in reality shows, she was always given unpopular personas.

Those labels that other artists often have like “singer”, “actor” – those had never been associated with her!

Now that she said she wanted to sing, everyone in the live stream was waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

Yan Yueqing gazed distantly at the setting sun and slowly started to sing.

“🎶Dawn, please don’t come, just let our fantasies of this night last forever … 🎶”

The moment she opened her mouth, the comments froze for five full seconds!

Her clear voice drifted through the air, ethereal and otherworldly.

Following her voice, a tragic and touching love story slowly unfolded, portraying the complex emotions of Nie Xiaoqian towards Ning Caichen—a mix of entanglement, reluctance, and melancholy.

[Too beautiful, right?! Is this really Yan Yuequing?]

[Damn, I’m actually starting to see her in a new light!!!!]

[Is the livestream using a voice filter? I don’t believe it! If she sings this well, why didn’t she go on shows like The Voice?]

[Bro, I study music! I can’t hold it in anymore! She’s amazing!]

“🎶I open my heart and embrace you in the darkness, do not let the morning sunlight seep through…🎶”

As the song ended, Yan Yueqing’s expression remained calm, as if the person who had just sung wasn’t her.

“Sister, what did you think? Was it worth five yuan?”

The aunt was entranced, as if revisiting her own youthful, blissful days with her first love.

Snapping back to reality, she had already lived over half her life…

She raised a hand, pretending to sniffle like she had a cold: “Beautiful, so beautiful! Girl, are you a singer? My daughter studies music too, but she can’t sing as well as you!”

Yan Yueqing politely replied: “I’m not a singer yet.”

The aunt was very excited, “Then you’re the type my daughter always talks about, what’s it called? A natural talent! You’re amazing! This is worth way more than 5 yuan! Here, take 500 yuan, buy more delicious food for the child! And give me an autograph too! With that voice, you’ll definitely be famous someday!!”

500 Yuan?

Is this for real?!

Before Yan Yueqing could respond, the village chief materialized from somewhere: “Yueqing, you agreed on five yuan earlier!”

Tang Tang hurried over when she saw the village chief intervening: “Uncle Chief, it’s the Auntie who insists on giving us 500 yuan, we didn’t ask for it ourselves.”

The woman nodded vigorously: “Yes, yes, I’m the one offering it!”

The village chief waved his hands, looking fair and just, “Auntie, we’re filming a program here, and Yueqing is with this little girl. Think about it, if she agreed on 5 yuan with you but ended up taking 500 yuan from you, wouldn’t that set a bad example for the child?”