Chapter 177
Inside the dimly lit villa.
The roars of some unknown creature mixed with what sounded like a lullaby echoed intermittently in Xie Mi’s ears.
Suddenly, a shadow darted in front of her. The person held a clock, swinging it back and forth before her eyes.
A strange, eerie voice sounded.
“Listen. After I count to three, you’ll be hypnotized.”
“One, two…”
At the same time, a cold hand suddenly grabbed Xie Mi’s ankle.
And right then, the eerie voice shouted the third number.
“Three!”
Xie Mi’s entire body stiffened. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell backward like a board.
Xie Lian, holding the hypnotic clock, brightened instantly.
“It worked!”
Lying on the floor, gripping Xie Mi’s ankle, Li Meiyan’s heart leapt with joy.
“Succe—wait! Ow, shit!!”
Li Meiyan’s scream pierced the air.
Because Xie Mi, falling backward stiffly, had landed heavily right on top of her.
She was nearly knocked into a concussion.
“Mom!”
Xie Lian gasped in shock, rushing forward to push Xie Mi aside. But as soon as he touched her arm—smack, smack!—Xie Mi reflexively slapped him twice across the face.
Pop! Pop!
Xie Lian’s head buzzed, stars dancing before his eyes.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
“Cat Landing! Whirlwind Kick! Crow Airplane!!”
Xie Mi kipped up from the ground, grabbed Xie Lian by the collar, and unleashed a storm of kicks and punches.
The blows left Xie Lian so dazed he thought he could faintly see his great-grandmother in front of him. He howled miserably.
“Mom! Save me! Moooom—!”
Li Meiyan scrambled up in a panic, about to rush over, but Xie Mi’s manic appearance scared her stiff.
After two seconds of thought, she chose wisdom over valor.
She smiled fawningly: “As long as you’re hitting him, you won’t hit me, right?”
Another slap from Xie Mi.
“Two birds with one stone!”
Soon, both Xiao Deng and Zhong Deng were thoroughly beaten into submission, miserably covering their faces and standing against the wall as punishment.
Xie Mi turned on the villa’s lights, strolled around, and quickly found Butler Lao Bai tied up in the utility room. She freed him.
The filthy socks stuffed in his mouth had left Lao Bai teary-eyed, his expression full of suffering.
From the bottom of his heart, he sighed.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen Madam and Young Master get beaten like this.”
…
It turned out that while Xie Zhengde was away on a business trip abroad, Li Meiyan and Xie Lian wanted to reclaim their position in the household.
So, knowing Xie Mi would be coming back today, they kidnapped Lao Bai, turned the villa into a haunted house, and even prepared a special hypnosis routine for her.
They didn’t expect her to subdue them in seconds.
…
Now, Li Meiyan dressed as a maid, and Xie Lian in a maid outfit, miserably wielding broom and mop in the living room.
Every so often, they sneaked glances full of resentment at Xie Mi, who was lounging on the sofa like a queen. Each time, Lao Bai tattled.
“Miss, Madam and Young Master just glared at you again.”
Both of them jolted, immediately ducking their heads and scrubbing frantically, inching further and further away from her.
But they could never escape.
With one leap over the back of the sofa, Xie Mi landed and delivered a flying kick to each of them. “One kick each, and be honest!”
Li Meiyan and Xie Lian bawled: “We’re honest! We’re honest already!!”
The vicious stepmother and the twisted stepbrother were utterly subdued.
Xie Mi now lived a life of unrivaled dominance.
She lay on a lounge chair by the pool, wearing a floral shirt and big shorts, enjoying a luxurious fruit platter sliced by Lao Bai, while on a video call with President Zhang.
On the laptop screen, President Zhang’s face was glowing with excitement.
“Look, Teacher Xie! The first stage of Love Observation just wrapped, and the hot searches blew up! Right now, Weibo is flooded with news about you eight!”
Xie Mi opened Weibo to check.
#XieMiEscapingFamine#
#Shen YuqingAirportSighting#
#Xiao JingxiMeetsFilmDirector#
#Xu ShuangrongCharityEventAtElderlyHome#
#Qiu ChengyeOutWithPrettyGirl#
#Lai BingxuanAfternoonTea#
#Liu WoxingFamilyDinner#
#Yu JinzheCampusEncounter#
Thanks to the show’s explosive popularity, the eight guests had all become the center of massive attention.
By afternoon, spoilers and sightings were everywhere.
For example, Shen Yuqing immediately drove to the airport after filming, boarding an international flight—rumored for business abroad.
Xiao Jingxi was seen at a high-end restaurant meeting with a movie director—likely discussing a new film collaboration.
Xu Shuangrong visited an elderly home in the southern suburbs, with photos online showing her carefully picking fish bones for the seniors.
Qiu Chengye drove a convertible with an influencer beauty beside him, flaunting it publicly. When paparazzi caught him, he even posed deliberately for the camera—like he was making a point.
Lai Bingxuan enjoyed afternoon tea at a dessert shop where the average bill was 8,000 yuan.
Liu Woxing was photographed at a family dinner, the photo taken from outside a window: six people quietly eating in a private room. Netizens praised their good family upbringing.
Yu Jinzhe was spotted on campus, surrounded by classmates begging for autographs—a spectacular scene.
“Okay, I get all that. But what’s this ‘Xie Mi Escaping Famine’ hashtag about?”
President Zhang’s laughter boomed from the computer.
“It’s a photo of you and Diao Mao standing on the roadside with big bags. Honestly, you look exactly like refugees fleeing famine! Hahaha—”
“Then why, exactly, were Diao Mao and I photographed like that?”
“…”
President Zhang’s laughter cut off abruptly.
On screen, he suddenly busied himself, flipping files, wiping his desk—doing everything to avoid meeting Xie Mi’s eyes.
While he stalled, Xie Mi enlarged Liu Woxing’s family dinner photo.
In it, Liu Woxing sat quietly with her head down, eating.
Opposite her were three young men, each with different expressions—one cold-faced, one smiling faintly, one aloof.
At the head of the table sat a middle-aged man and woman, both with impassive expressions.
This matched the description in the original text: Liu Woxing’s overly controlling parents, her two brothers who disregarded her, and a younger brother who disrespected her.
Recalling the sight of Liu Woxing sitting in the car when they parted earlier, Xie Mi rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Something about this felt… unusual.
President Zhang’s voice cut into her thoughts.
“The company’s short on funds, so we can’t hire a manager for now. But don’t worry! I’ll act as your temporary agent!”
“To align with your persona as the ‘Entertainment Circle’s Number One Mad Queen,’ I’ve carefully filtered your job offers.”
“Women’s magazine shoots—rejected! Generic TV drama female leads—rejected! Serious interview programs—rejected!”
“In short: no normal jobs! No slightly crazy jobs! Not even moderately crazy jobs!”
“The only gigs we’ll take are—”
“Utterly abstract! Insanely chaotic! So deliriously unhinged even your mom wouldn’t recognize you!”
On screen, President Zhang ranted so wildly that his video lagged.
Xie Mi couldn’t hold back her heartfelt comment.
“You’re the craziest one here.”
