Chapter 43: The Greedy Deceiver Part 1

Lunch ended when Lian Mei put down her chopsticks. After eating, the group returned to the living room, sitting on the sofas, quietly awaiting the production team’s task arrangements.

The butler took the opportunity to instruct the maids to quickly clear the dining table, then quietly left the villa with them.

Soon, only the eight guests remained in the entire villa, sitting on the sofas.

[Hey, are you eight dummies? Turn around! They’ve all run off!]

[Rough, all the food was taken away. Betting one dollar there’s no food left in the entire villa.]

[The one above is too stingy. I bet one dollar fifty that food is absolutely hidden somewhere. They can’t really starve the guests for four days.]

Soon, everyone realized the butler and maids had all left. The entire villa was just the eight of them. To ease the awkwardness, singer Han Hao went to turn on the TV. A flash of red text suddenly appeared.

“I—scared me to death!”

Female host Zhang Xingyan read the content aloud in her precise, standard broadcasting voice, finally summarizing: “So it means we can’t leave this villa until the end of these four days and three nights of recording. The second floor only opens at 7 PM.”

Han Hao: “As long as we stay for four days and three nights? No tasks?”

Wu Shuyi: “Could this be them worrying we’re addicted to our phones, wanting us to go on an internet detox?”

Everyone laughed.

Watching the cheerful atmosphere among the guests in the video, netizens wore knowing smirks.

[Hoping you can keep laughing like that. Wishing you happiness.]

[Why do the people above sound so ominous? Is this my first time watching this show? Is it good?]

[Like watching celebrities scared to the point of trembling? If yes, you’ve come to the right place. If no, please click the X to leave.]

[Is that so? I’m diving in then!]

Amidst the laughter and chatter, Xie Moluo suddenly asked, “Did anyone bring in our luggage?”

Netizens: Finally, a second person realized the luggage was missing.

The other three couples all got up to look for their suitcases, but found not a trace.

While the other couples anxiously searched for their luggage, the atmosphere on the sofa between two people was quite relaxed.

Lian Mei took out two towels, two electric toothbrushes, and a tube of toothpaste.

Xie Moluo laughed in exasperation: “These are the most important things?”

Lian Mei nodded: “Dental health is very important.”

Xie Moluo: “…”

Netizens, seeing Xie Moluo’s speechlessness, felt their own minds balanced.

See? Anyone would find it speechless. Such a precious opportunity, and you just grabbed toiletries? Shouldn’t food be the most important thing?

Zhang Xingyan’s scream came from the kitchen: “Oh my god! The fridge is empty! No food!”

The guests rushed to the kitchen, searching frantically, but didn’t find a scrap of food.

At this point, everyone realized the hardest task the production team set for them—four days and three nights without leaving the villa—was the most difficult because they weren’t providing food!

Only Lian Mei, rubbing her overly full belly, said lazily: “I heard humans can survive seven days without food. We only need to last four. Won’t die.”

Xie Moluo: “But humans will be in life-threatening danger after three days without water.”

Lian Mei: “Humans are so fragile.”

[Guys, why do I find Lian Mei so strange? Did she know there wouldn’t be food all along?]

[I think so too. She was also the first to figure out the production team was going to hold the luggage. Then wouldn’t she also have realized that lunch was the last meal, which is why she ate so fiercely?]

[Heavens, that explains it. She’s the only one who only ate meat dishes, and she even fed Xie Moluo quite a bit of meat. The other guests ate non-filling vegetarian dishes!]

[Thinking about it, some details make sense now. If Lian Mei saw through the production team’s plan from the start… Any brave souls dare to watch the later content first? Come back and give spoilers—were those toiletries useful!]

Now everyone was subconsciously drawn into the variety show, starting to guess the plot revolving around Lian Mei. Netizens began magnifying all of Lian Mei’s actions.

Tang Su stepped forward first to analyze the season’s intent. Wang Jianxi echoed her. The guests all gathered around the couple Tang Su and Wang Jianxi. The two unmovable figures on the sofa were easily isolated.

Perhaps Xie Moluo thought the cameras were all focused on Tang Su and the others, so she relaxed her expression on the sofa, even elbowing Lian Mei, gloating. “All the highlight scenes are being stolen by Wang Jianxi’s couple. Don’t you cry.”

[…Why can I hear Xie Moluo’s words so clearly?]

[I can even see her face very clearly! The camera isn’t on Wang Jianxi’s couple at all; it’s on Xie Moluo’s couple!]

[I mean, is it possible that cameras are set up all over the villa, and the production team just chooses the angle they want?]

Lian Mei leaned close to Xie Moluo’s ear and said mysteriously, “Want to make a bet?”

Xie Moluo: “Bet on what?”

Lian Mei smirked: “Bet on whether someone will withdraw from the show recording tonight.”

Xie Moluo frowned: “What if you win the bet? What if you lose?”

Lian Mei: “If I win, tonight I sleep in the same bed with you. If I lose, you sleep in the bed, and I sleep on the floor.”

Xie Moluo huffed and agreed.

[People, key points from the analyst: One, Lian Mei said someone will withdraw from tonight’s recording! Two, Lian Mei and Xie Moluo might not have shared a bed yet!]

[Where are my million elite troops? Go investigate for me whether anyone withdraws from the recording tonight!]

Xie Moluo fans: They haven’t shared a bed yet?!! Does that mean Xie Moluo’s love for Lian Mei isn’t that deep? Xie Moluo can still be saved!

[Wishing divorce]

[Wishing divorce]

[Wishing divorce]

…

Seizing the moment, the screen filled with green [Wishing divorce] comments.

[Are you crazy? This is clearly sweet as can be. What’s with all the divorce-wishing?]

[None of your business. Friendly reminder: no true passersby here. Irrelevant personnel, please step back.]

The comments argued noisily until a red comment drifted across the top of the video screen, silencing the debate.

[I skipped to the back and came back!]

[Brave one, spill the details!]

[This video only goes up to the second floor and then ends. The toiletries and stuff haven’t appeared yet.]

[Ah, could it be split into two videos? Is there another one not uploaded yet?]

[Probably.]

The group in the video still had some time before 7 PM, so they chose an obscure movie to watch.

When the movie started and the two-character title appeared, its name was finally seen: “Spirit Child.”

[I saw it on a business trip abroad. The front part is dog blood, the back part is horror!]

The production team seemed unwilling to waste time showing the movie, so they sped it up. The movie plot flashed before the netizens’ eyes like a slideshow.

Netizen: I mean, if you didn’t want us to watch, just say so. After all that, was there even a point?

The fast-forwarding stopped when the movie’s female lead, holding her newborn baby wrapped in cloth, walked through a pitch-black, windy alley. Just as netizens hugged themselves, waiting for the terrifying scene, the video perspective suddenly cut to the eight guests on the sofa. They were wide-eyed, intently watching the movie.

Netizens’ faces darkened: Damn, I had already braced myself, and you’re not showing it to me?

Suddenly, a terrifying, ethereal ghostly wail sounded. “Woo-wah—”

“Ah—”

The netizens, unable to see the film, heard the ghost’s wail but saw even more clearly Wu Shuyi, Zhang Xingyan, and Wang Jianxi screaming in fright in the video.

The comments were empty for a bit, then flooded again.

[Hahahaha… laughing so hard, they got scared to tears, huh?]

[Cough cough, the ones above are too cocky… The production team is also something else. How could they scare all the ladies to tears on the first day? Not afraid of scaring them too much?]

[Hahahaha, the production team is so brave. Could those ten movies they could only watch all be horror films?!]

[Hahahaha, if the celebrities are scared, I’m not. Terror transferred!]

Those who dared to click in late at night after “Sweet Travel” was labeled with a horror-themed villa survival generally had stronger hearts. Now, seeing the celebrities with tear-streaked faces, their own faint fear was washed away, replaced by pure amusement.

Wu Shuyi’s side was noisy. The two on the very edge, Lian Mei and Xie Moluo, were very quiet. Lian Mei looked utterly bored, clearly not satisfied, while Xie Moluo sat with her back ramrod straight, eyes open, staring blankly into space.

Feeling mischievous, Lian Mei leaned half-up behind Xie Moluo and said eerily, “What are you looking at?”

[If someone scared me like that while I was watching a horror movie, I’d really get violent!]

[Ahh, don’t you think Xie Moluo is so cute? Clearly scared, yet stubbornly keeping her eyes open, refusing to admit defeat!]

[Is that a reason to scare her?]

Wu Shuyi made her partner Zhao Chun turn off the movie, which helped calm the frightened female celebrities’ heartbeats a bit. However, because the lights were turned off and curtains drawn for the movie, the living room was dim and shadowy, keeping them feeling like they were still in a semi-horror environment.

Wang Jianxi then ordered Lian Mei, sitting on the edge, to open the curtains.

Lian Mei raised an eyebrow: “Are you sure?”

Wang Jianxi: “Of course. Can’t you see how dark the living room is?”

Netizen: Why did Lian Mei’s raised eyebrow seem unusual?

After everyone signaled Lian Mei to open the curtains, a flicker of amusement passed through her eyes. She yanked the curtains open.

“Aaaaah—”

Not only were the guests in the video terrified and screaming, but netizens watching seriously were also so frightened that refined curses slipped out continuously.

[, there should have been a high-energy warning! Seriously terrifying! Damn production team, actually gave the snake a close-up!]

[Wuwuwu, I’m not afraid of ghosts, but can you not use snakes to scare me? Seriously scared to tears, wuwu.]

A long snake was crawling on the French window. Rays of light from outside streamed in. The snake, caught in the shadows, looked even more terrifying. The guests all held their breath, not daring to move, staring at the snake on the window.

Xie Moluo unconsciously hugged one of Lian Mei’s arms. Lian Mei, wearing a faint smile, said unhurriedly: “The snake is outside, can’t get in. Won’t die.”

The guests relaxed slightly hearing Lian Mei’s words and immediately went to shut all the first-floor doors and windows. Snakes were no joke!

When the guests returned, they found Lian Mei actually standing in front of the French window, face-to-face, staring at the long snake.

Lian Mei turned to the guests: “Actually, it’s a fake snake, placed there deliberately by the production team.”

“Ah—it’s moving!”

Lian Mei turned back. The long snake was now level with her eyes.