Chapter 275
The corner of Xu Shuangrong’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. She couldn’t understand how Xie Mi’s 37-degree mouth could spit out words so cold.
Was she really the King of Hell incarnate?
But since the act had already gone this far, even if the audience refused to play along, she had no choice but to keep going.
“I just… suddenly feel like I can’t figure out the direction of my life.”
Xu Shuangrong slowly sat on the bench by the pool, gazing toward the distant sea, her eyes hazy with confusion.
“I used to just want to push forward with all my strength—reckless, headlong, ignoring everything.”
“But when I actually stopped to think, I felt lost.”
“Is climbing to the very top really what I want?”
“Maybe not.”
“From the moment I entered the entertainment industry, my life was no longer simple. Every step required calculating a hundred more, never a moment to breathe.”
“I feel like…”
She lifted her head, meeting Xie Mi’s gaze. Her misty eyes welled with tears, one sliding down her cheek.
“…I’m really tired.”
The night breeze lifted her hair, droplets dripping from the ends.
She just sat there in the dark, smiling with her face but crying with her eyes.
If this scene were on screen, it would surely be praised as breathtaking.
Xie Mi pondered a moment after listening, then suddenly raised a finger, her eyes flashing with “wisdom.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea.”
Xu Shuangrong immediately acted intrigued. “Does Teacher Xie have a way to help me?”
Xie Mi nodded solemnly, her gaze growing even more “wise.”
“Quit the industry.”
Xu Shuangrong nearly cursed. “?”
“The entertainment world is a place where greed easily clouds people’s minds. Anyone without strong will wavers easily. Like you said, once you entered this world, life stopped being pure. The solution is simple—quit.”
Xie Mi nodded to herself as she spoke. “Wouldn’t that solve the problem at its root?”
[System: That… actually makes sense. I can’t refute it.]
[Xu Shuangrong: Shut up.]
Xu Shuangrong steadied her breathing, suppressing the madness that Xie Mi provoked.
“But hasn’t Teacher Xie done well in the industry too?”
“That’s different. I’m a little purer than you.”
Xie Mi declared righteously, “I purely want to make money.”
Xu Shuangrong: “?”
You just can’t reason with someone this abstract.
[System: A true bystander. I’m on her side this round.]
[Xu Shuangrong: …Shut up.]
The bitter-flesh ploy had ended in failure. Xu Shuangrong had no choice but to treat Xie Mi as a serious opponent.
She was harder to handle than anyone Xu Shuangrong had ever faced.
Not just because she was a book-transmigrator.
But because…
She was a sick book-transmigrator.
“Welcome aboard the Love Observation special custom bus! That’s right, the much-anticipated outdoor trip is here!”
At 10 a.m., the eight guests boarded the production team’s bus bound for the city.
Director Niu, wearing a little clip-on mic, stood in the aisle giving his speech, reminiscent of Season 1’s Nanhai special.
The difference was this time the bus wasn’t pink.
It was…
Plastered with giant glossy headshots of the eight guests, surrounded by dreamy bubbles and hearts.
From a distance:
Shen Moqing’s light smile, Qiu Chengye’s wicked grin, Yu Jinzhe’s innocent downcast gaze, Xiao Jingxi’s weary hand-to-forehead smile.
Xie Mi’s playful wink, Xu Shuangrong’s flowery grin, Liu Woxing’s gentle smile, Lai Bingxuan’s proud tilt of the head.
Lined up in a row, the vibe screamed Love and XX otome game.
On the bus, the guests all sat with their heads hung low.
[Who made this poster? Come out and take your beating.]
[For a second I thought we’d time-traveled back to the non-mainstream era. Is this a nostalgia special?]
[Judging by Director Niu’s expression, he actually seems satisfied.]
[Where’s the bus now? Is it too late to go take pictures?]
[One show, and their blackmail material for life is locked in hahaha.]
“Today is the outdoor dating special. All eight guests will go on dates, but the itineraries are decided entirely by netizens.”
“Before boarding, we posted the first vote on Weibo.”
“Should they go boating in the park this morning, or do an escape room?”
“After half an hour of voting, a total of 184,753 netizens participated.”
“Among them, 148,237 chose the escape room.”
“So, our first activity today is—escape room!”
[Who the hell goes to an escape room for a morning date!!!]
[Confirmed: Love Observation is a boot camp.]
[Now that I think about it, the show never denied being a training camp. Terrifying. My hands are shaking even as I type this…]
[And what were the 30,000 others thinking, not voting escape room?]
[Leave things to the netizens and watch the guests suffer. [heart hands]]
At the mention of escape rooms, veterans Xie Mi and Shen Moqing, who had played last season, were unfazed. But a few others’ expressions shifted uneasily.
“Did any of you hear something strange last night?” Qiu Chengye suddenly asked, looking uneasy.
Xiao Jingxi’s face changed. “You heard it too?”
“I heard it!”
Lai Bingxuan frowned. “In the middle of the night, there was a woman crying, louder and louder, more and more mournful.”
“That’s not all—I saw a white shadow fall from upstairs,” Xiao Jingxi added.
“This morning, didn’t you see that pile of slippers in the yard? How could slippers just appear like that?!” Qiu Chengye grew more agitated.
Though Yu Jinzhe stayed quiet, his face had turned pale.
Xu Shuangrong closed her eyes, resting as if nothing concerned her.
“…”
[That sounds creepy as hell. Is the villa haunted at night?]
[Even in broad daylight I’ve got goosebumps. Are they serious or just playing it up?]
[Clearly the production team’s doing, to set the mood for today’s escape room.]
[That theory makes sense.]
Director Niu and the staff trembled. What crying? What white shadow? What slippers?
They knew nothing about it!
Was the villa really haunted…?
Half an hour later, the bus stopped at a popular escape room in a busy shopping district.
The crew had booked the place, so there were no other guests. The shop was famous, a top recommendation by many Weibo users.
“Welcome to the ‘I Won’t Let You Leave Alive’ Escape Room!”
“Today you’ll be playing an eight-person large-scale, ultra-scary theme. Before entering, please sign this waiver.”
