Chapter 17: Fast & Furious
[???]
[HAHAHAHA what kind of new self-intro is that?!]
[And she said it all deadpan, hands tucked in like a little cat, as if nothing was wrong—I’m crying!]
[Film Emperor Chi’s face was literally: ‘Say that again?!’ HAHAHA!]
Gu Hua wasn’t laughing.
She’d thought it was just someone with a similar face. She hadn’t expected that girl really was Chi Qian.
Was her third uncle bringing her on this show to set her up for a debut in the industry?
Back when she had begged him, he never agreed. So why was he giving Chi Qian special treatment?
Ling Qian only glanced at Chi Qian’s direction, then gave a cold snort and looked away.
Attention seeker.
The director raised his megaphone: “Everyone, it’s getting late. Tonight, you’ll all be staying in Xiaohe Village. Tomorrow, once we head up the mountain, the real survival challenge begins!”
Yuan Yaya asked gently, “Then… where will we be staying?”
“Good question! The show has prepared a little game. Whoever clears it first gets first pick of the houses. Of course, Xiaohe Village was underdeveloped. Only two brick houses existed. The rest were tile-roof huts or even thatched cottages…”
The guests tensed up instantly. Losing was not an option!
Chi Qian looked calm, hands in her pockets, watching as the professionals invited by the crew demonstrated the rules.
A long fuse was tied to the demonstrator’s waist. He sprinted to the table, quickly grabbing parts scattered across it, and began assembling. If he succeeded, the fuse was immediately extinguished. If he failed… the fuse went boom—right at the rear.
The whole point was speed and explosive excitement.
Yuan Yaya and Gu Hua’s faces went pale.
The director: “That’s the demo. Who’s going first?”
“Director, we didn’t even see clearly just now!” Qin Yue raised his hand in protest.
“That’s your problem. We only demo once.”
The crew’s malicious intent was clear now.
Chi Fengxiao said to Chi Qian: “Assembling a gun? Your uncle was already bored of that back in middle school. Piece of cake.”
Chi Qian: “You’d better hope so.”
The first to try was Qin Yue. Once the fuse was lit, he dashed forward.
But just as he picked up the parts—bang! The fuse blew at his rear.
“Ahh!” Qin Yue grimaced, losing all composure. “This is… actually pretty hard.”
Yuan Yaya’s face went white. Yuan You’er shoved her forward: “Go on! I want the prettiest house!”
Yuan Yaya bit her lip. This damned kid!
As expected, she failed too.
One after another, everyone failed.
Even Chi Fengxiao, who had said it was “nothing,” ended up blasted, his face covered in soot. Chi Qian couldn’t even bear to watch.
The director was debating lowering the difficulty when Chi Qian stepped up to the starting line.
“Chi Qian, don’t,” Gu Hua stopped her. “Even your uncle—moved that fast and barely made it. How could you possibly do it?”
Chi Qian glanced back at her. “Mind your problem.”
Gu Hua’s face crumpled with hurt, and Ling Qian quickly shielded her. “Ignore her. Let her make a fool of herself.”
[Ahhh! Chi Qian’s tying the fuse! What’s she trying to do, act like some kind of savior?]
[Seriously? None of the adults here could do it, what’s she pretending for?]
[Who is she to say Hua-hua can’t do it? Jealous much.]
[…Wait, what was that blur that just flew by?]
It was Chi Qian.
Her speed was so fast she left an afterimage in the air.
In just five seconds, she reached the table. With only a glance at the parts, she started assembling!
The timer froze at fifteen seconds. The fuse still had more than half left before it was extinguished.
The entire place went silent.
Chi Fengxiao was the first to react. “Holy—! Chi Qian, how did you do that?”
Something he couldn’t even manage, she’d done with half their time.
Everyone else stared, equally curious.
Chi Qian thought a moment. “Running fast saves half the time. After that, you just memorize every part’s position, so you don’t even need to think—you just know the next piece to grab.”
Those hoping to copy her: “……”
What the hell? Hundreds of parts, and she memorized them all?
Chi Fengxiao declared, “Director, we’ll take the innermost brick house. It’s only fitting for the first place winners.”
The director thought, You arrogant bastard, living off your niece’s win…
Just as Chi Qian was about to put down the gun, something flickered in her peripheral vision. She tightened her grip, aimed, and fired straight toward Gu Hua!
Bang!
The sharp crack of the shot stunned everyone!
Gu Hua went sheet-white, trembling under Chi Qian’s suddenly cold, sharp gaze.
Ling Qian rushed to shield her, shouting, “Chi Qian, are you insane?! Were you trying to kill Hua-hua?!”
“This is attempted murder! I can sue you!”
“Wait—look at the ground!” Shen Jing pointed to the tree behind Gu Hua. “That snake just fell down!”
They’d been standing near the tree for shade.
The snake had been coiled on a branch, poised to strike—until Chi Qian spotted it.
If she hadn’t fired, Gu Hua would already be in an ambulance.
Everyone, realizing it, stumbled back from the tree in fright.
“How could there be a snake here? So scary!”
“Her shot hit dead center—it was killed instantly.”
“But… the snake was alive too. Couldn’t she just drive it away? Wasn’t that too cruel?” Yuan Yaya’s eyes grew watery.
Everyone: “???” How many saints-in-training were on this show?
Chi Fengxiao actually laughed from anger. “So compassionate, huh? Why don’t you hold a ritual for it right here, then build a shrine so we can all worship it?”
“I-I just love animals. I couldn’t bear it…” Yuan Yaya said softly.
Chi Qian dropped the gun, grabbed the dead snake with her bare hand, swung it, and tossed it right at Yuan Yaya.
“Ahhhhhh!!”
Yuan Yaya shrieked, breaking into a chaotic dance of flailing limbs and desperate dodging.
She even leapt onto the back of the nearest cameraman.
The whole scene was just… awkward.
[So much for loving and pitying. How many cents a pound is that worth, huh?]
[She even stepped on that dead snake!]
[The way she dodged was clumsier than my seventy-year-old grandma doing square dancing.]
[Chi Qian’s like a Gatling gun—doesn’t care who’s in the way, just sprays bullets first and asks questions later.]
[I don’t even know what to say anymore, Little Qian you’re awesome!]
Only then did Gu Hua realize—Chi Qian had just saved her.
But hadn’t Chi Qian always been against her? Why would she suddenly be so kind?
It must be for attention. She must be desperate for fame.
In reality, Chi Qian didn’t even need to think about it.
She was already famous.
Just the trending hashtags alone, she was dominating two of them—one was “Chi Qian’s Ferrari Cows Carrying Film Emperor Chi,” and the other was the brand-new “Is Chi Qian Literally a Sniper Scope Come to Life?”
In the entertainment industry, it was rare to see a complete newcomer—someone who hadn’t even debuted and had no fanbase—shoot to the top of two hot searches in a row.
Her two clips had audiences rolling with laughter.
And after that round of gunfire, there were so many metaphorical kneeling fans you could barely count them.
More and more people were clicking in, and once they entered the livestream, they couldn’t leave.
Of course, none of the guests on site knew any of this.
After securing the house key, Chi Qian and Chi Fengxiao immediately left.
The remaining guests were left to face the “exploding chrysanthemum” ordeal, all of them dispirited.
If no one had passed, the director would definitely have lowered the difficulty.
But now that someone had succeeded—worse, it was a little girl—how could the grown-ups justify admitting defeat?
Naturally, some of the guests started to resent Chi Qian.
