Chapter 273
Xie Mi lay leisurely on a lounge chair at the entrance of the little shop, basking in the sun. Beside her, Shen Moqing had somehow also dragged out a lounge chair to lie down on.
The two of them, sunglasses on and coconuts in hand, looked exactly like they were on vacation.
Meanwhile, right beside them, a fierce financial war was raging.
The broadcast blared:
“Attention! Attention! Someone has used an Asset Plunder Card! This card seizes 50% of every guest’s living expenses and transfers them to its user. Please check your account balances!”
Lai Bingxuan was furious. “Someone do something about Xiao Jingxi! Now most of the money has gone to him.”
“I’ll handle it,” Liu Woxing said. “The asset-shuffling cards are sold out, but maybe we can try something else.”
The broadcast continued:
“Attention! Attention! Someone has used a Call Reinforcements Card! One hundred staff members have been summoned and are heading toward Xiao Jingxi!”
Xiao Jingxi: “?”
The next second, a mob of black-clad staff surged out and instantly surrounded Xiao Jingxi, forcing him to hand over the money on the spot.
Lai Bingxuan gaped. “That’s… daylight robbery?!”
Liu Woxing gave an embarrassed smile. “It was just a card I spun from the wheel. Didn’t expect it could be used like this.”
[Sister Liu is badass!]
[No but seriously, who came up with this? Absolutely unhinged.]
[Director Niu keeps saying he doesn’t want to make chaotic variety shows, yet here we are.]
[Might as well embrace it—this is way hotter than your regular romance show.]
[You really know how to stab where it hurts.]
Liu Woxing’s move suddenly reminded everyone of the wheel they had been ignoring.
Turns out the hidden cards spun from the wheel had such terrifying power.
And so, things spiraled out of control.
“Attention! Attention! Someone has used a Singing and Dancing Card! All guests must come to the Love Observation Square and sing and dance for half an hour!”
Eight guests gathered in the square, flailing around like they were in some massive cult ritual.
“Attention! Attention! Someone has used a Director Card! From this moment, the user will act as the temporary director for ten minutes. Guests must fully cooperate with the director’s instructions!”
Yu Jinzhe appeared in the director’s golf cart, smiling innocently. “Then how about everyone just transfer their money to me?”
“Attention! Attention! Someone has used a Borrowing Card! The user may call someone outside the show to borrow money. Whatever is received within one minute will count as their living expenses!”
Qiu Chengye immediately dialed his father. “Dad, transfer me a hundred million.”
But because the amount was too large to arrive within a minute, the attempt was declared a failure.
“Attention! Attention! Someone has used a ‘Return My Mom’s Money’ Card! Every guest will automatically return any money they previously took from the user.”
Xu Shuangrong smiled faintly. “I just thought the name was amusing, I didn’t expect it to work like this.”
Round after round, the eight guests’ assets shifted wildly, never stable for even a moment.
The endlessly creative ways the cards were used were surreal, leaving everyone dizzy.
[What a card master.]
[Director Niu was right, Love Observation really has entered the magical age.]
[The production team’s brains must be bald from thinking up all these bizarre cards.]
[Finally I understand why Old Xie just gave up. If everyone can buy cards, then assets change every second anyway. No point in holding grudges about Qiu Chengye’s move, since it was bound to change again.]
[So who’s the richest now? Looks like Xu Shuangrong?]
[Wait, don’t tell me there’s still another twist?]
The twist came, late but inevitable.
Just when everyone was exhausted and the Magic Shop announced closing time, Xie Mi—who had spent the whole afternoon lounging on her chair—calmly pulled out a card.
“No more cards left, right? Then it’s my turn.”
The crowd, thinking the game had already ended, all turned to her at once—some nervous, some uneasy, some expectant.
By now, the richest were Xu Shuangrong and Yu Jinzhe.
They had understood the principle of “the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind,” and always waited until everyone else had used up their cards before acting last.
And the sign outside the Magic Shop had clearly stated: the shop was only open for today, closing at 5 p.m.
That meant, as long as they played their final cards before closing, they could ensure there’d be no chance for reversals.
But they had overlooked the one person who’d been lying around like a salted fish all day—Xie Mi.
Her lying around was real, but so was her secret hoarding of cards.
“Now… it’s my turn!”
With a line straight out of a chuunibyou playbook, she flipped off her chair in a perfect carp jump. “The card I’m using is—”
Under everyone’s tense or expectant gazes, she declared the card’s name.
“Mutual Destruction Card.”
Mutual Destruction: After use, all eight guests’ living expenses are reduced to 500.
“Sorry, everyone.”
Xie Mi flashed a mischievous smile. “Nobody gets to live~”
Everyone: “Grim Reaper!!!!”
Shen Moqing had already collapsed backward on his lounge chair, laughing hysterically.
[Somebody save Old Shen, he’s about to pass out]
[Never in a million years did I think it’d end like this, I can’t breathe]
[Great, after all that fighting, everyone’s left with nothing]
[Xu Shuangrong and Yu Jinzhe must be grinding their teeth to dust]
The production team was also falling apart.
To make the game more fun, they had indeed added lots of quirky, showy cards.
But they never expected someone would actually save the Mutual Destruction Card for last!!
Director Niu stared at the battered, ruined villa before him, his hair falling strand by strand in the breeze.
The villa was in shambles, the guests’ money almost completely gone.
The once peaceful town life had turned into a slum in seconds. Truly, a bunch of demons.
Oh well.
With outdoor filming about to begin, maybe letting them suffer a bit wasn’t such a bad idea.
At this moment, the guests in the villa were once again eating their own hand-cooked “dark cuisine.”
With only 500 left each, their only option was to buy ingredients and cook for themselves.
But aside from Xu Shuangrong and Yu Jinzhe, everyone else was happy.
After all, if the earlier ending had stood, Xu Shuangrong and Yu Jinzhe would have monopolized all the money, each with tens of thousands, leaving the others with only a few hundred or a thousand.
Now that everyone had only 500, their hearts felt balanced.
Because—yes, it’s sad to fail, but what’s worse is watching others succeed!
After a couple bites of squid-ink omelet without squid ink, Xie Mi sighed softly and stood up.
“Thinking it over, I was too impulsive earlier. Now that everyone has little money left, the food we can buy is limited. To express my apology, I’ll skip dinner tonight. You all eat more.”
She turned and headed upstairs resolutely.
Shen Moqing also set down his chopsticks. “I’ll go talk to Teacher Xie. You all keep eating.”
Everyone was stunned by Xie Mi’s sudden change of heart. Qiu Chengye even ran to the window to check if the world was ending.
Only Liu Woxing looked worriedly toward the stairs. After some thought, she picked up her own omelet and carried it upstairs.
“Teacher Xie, the food is enough. You should still eat…”
Before she could finish, the door opened. Xie Mi, holding a chicken drumstick, smiled. “Perfect timing, come in.”
Pulled inside, Liu Woxing finally saw the scene in the room.
At the table, Shen Moqing was also holding a drumstick.
And laid out across the table were—
Self-heating hotpots, snacks, milk tea, cakes…
A state banquet?!
