After finishing a huge bucket of watermelon, Song Ying felt thoroughly satisfied and had regained quite a bit of energy. She followed Qin Shu to the mission location.
“An amusement park?”
Song Ying hadn’t expected the place the Director had kept so mysteriously secret to be here.
“What kind of task can they arrange here? Scare us with the Haunted House? Challenge the Ferris wheel? Isn’t this setting already overused in other shows? Surely ‘Detective Love Journey’ isn’t that lowbrow?”
Behind the screen, the Director felt a sharp pain in his knees.
“Be confident—remove the ‘isn’t’.” Qin Shu, who already knew the task, added salt to the wound, then turned to ask the following crew member, “Guessing it doesn’t count as breaking the rules, right?”
The crew member was taken aback and could only seek instructions from the Director.
After receiving confirmation that it wasn’t a violation, Song Ying’s eyes lit up. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go, hurry up and tackle the challenge!”
The two headed straight for their destination.
After collecting their props and reviewing the Haunted House rules once more, Song Ying noticed some Haunted House merchandise for sale at the entrance and picked out a few items to buy.
Before entering the Haunted House, Song Ying remembered something and turned to confirm with the crew member, “Sir, your psychological resilience is pretty good, right?”
“…It’s alright.”
The crew member wasn’t entirely sure, but… after all, the Haunted House was all fake.
“Alright then, let’s go!”
Song Ying took the lead, walking at the front with high spirits.
Close behind was Qin Shu, strolling leisurely, followed by the cameraperson.
For filming purposes, the amusement park had specially cleared out the afternoon sessions, so there were hardly any visitors.
The summer afternoon sun was scorching and intense. As soon as they entered the Haunted House, everyone’s vision darkened, followed by a chilling aura that enveloped them. The cameraperson, carrying the equipment, broke out in goosebumps.
As they moved forward, the path grew narrower and the light dimmer.
Under a few strands of dark red lighting, dense cobwebs, tattered and mottled cloth strips, blood-stained graffiti, and skeletons that occasionally appeared around corners or on the floor, accompanied by eerie music, instantly created a terrifying atmosphere.
The further they went, the narrower the passage became, and the sinister aura around them grew thicker.
Just then, several heads suddenly descended from above the narrow corridor.
Long hair hung upside down, with distorted features and crimson tongues curling and twitching, as if they were about to press right against the visitors’ faces.
Hands reached out from the walls on all sides—pale, skeletal, and clawing menacingly.
Two of them grabbed the cameraperson’s ankles, one on each side.
“Ah—”
A scream echoed as the camera shook, and the cameraperson fell to the ground in fright.
“…?” Song Ying turned back. “Are you alright?”
“I… I’m fine.”
The cameraperson wiped away a cold sweat, his voice still trembling.
“You call this fine?”
Qin Shu, standing nearby, shook the equipment in his hand. “I managed to catch it for you this time, but I might not be able to next time.”
The cameraperson was stunned, only then realizing that he had been so scared he’d thrown the equipment. Luckily, Qin Shu had quick reflexes and caught it, preventing it from breaking.
“…” The cameraperson felt instantly embarrassed.
Admitting it wasn’t an option, but neither was denying it.
If he admitted it, he’d have to keep going forward, but it was already this terrifying right from the start. Who knew what they’d encounter later? If the equipment broke, he wouldn’t be able to afford it with several months’ salary.
But if he didn’t follow, how would they continue filming?Just as the staff member was struggling, Qin Shu fiddled with the camera in his hand. “How about this, I’ll help you film.”
“?”
“Wasn’t the task you gave us to have the female guest complete the Haunted House challenge?”
Qin Shu aimed the lens at a ghostly face, focusing for a close-up, then suddenly turned it toward the staff member, capturing only half of his terrified, distorted face on screen.
The abrupt switch to a high-definition close-up startled not only the audience but even the Director, who instinctively recoiled.
The horror effect was far stronger than when the staff member had been filming the two from behind, let alone the surveillance equipment inside the Haunted House.
Qin Shu clearly knew how to handle a camera.
The Director clutched his chest and made a swift decision.
“Xiao Zhang, give the equipment to Qin Shu. You come out.”
The staff member broke free from his restraints and dashed away faster than a rabbit.
After casually adjusting the equipment and fine-tuning the settings, Qin Shu’s arrogant, magnetic voice took on a hint of excitement.
“Ready, Teacher Song?”
Song Ying winked. “Of course.”
The nearby Haunted House NPCs, who had been ignored and were hanging upside down to the point of near hypoxia: ?
Are we just decorations?
This was an outright insult to their professional careers!
After a momentary daze, all hands immediately reached out to grab Song Ying and Qin Shu.
On screen, ghostly faces flashed by, convulsing tongues danced wildly, and eerie ghost claws waved about. Suddenly, two slender, delicate hands moved swiftly, grabbing those tongues, splitting them into two strands, and tying them into a neat bow right on the spot.
The upside-down ghosts tried to break free but found themselves unable to move, tangled together like a messy knot.
Meanwhile, two hands had seized Qin Shu, but he remained motionless, showing no trace of fear.
He simply stood in place, continuously filming.
Suddenly, the camera cut sharply as Song Ying deftly grabbed the two ghost claws holding Qin Shu, slapped them back with a swift motion, and sent the hands flying.
The other flailing hands were quickly dealt with by Song Ying as well.
After handling the surroundings, Song Ying untied the tongue knot above her head and thoughtfully straightened each tongue one by one, giving them a gentle pat.
“Be good, don’t cause trouble. Be obedient.”
NPCs: ?
Audience: ??
Director: ???
The NPCs, who had been working hard to scare people just moments before, all shrank back upon realizing they had encountered a tough opponent.
After all, the boss had warned them earlier that today’s filming was different from the usual Haunted House rules—guests were allowed to tease and scare the NPCs in return.
Next, everyone watched as Song Ying put on the Ghost Claw Gloves she had bought at the entrance and the same Rubber Ghost Tongue Mask as the NPCs, brushed her hair aside to partially cover her face, and continued forward.
The further she went, the more ghosts she encountered.
And the more screams she heard.
But without exception, all these screams came from the NPCs. Every frightening obstacle was effortlessly deflected by Song Ying, who even managed to tease and scare them back.
At one point, an NPC even dropped a Prop Leg. Song Ying called out several times, but the NPC refused to come back to retrieve it, disappearing without a trace.
Left with no choice, Song Ying picked it up and, in the next challenge, used it to scare another NPC.
By the end of the journey, not only had she cleared all the regular challenges, but even the hidden ones were smoothly conquered by Song Ying.In addition, she also picked up a prop leg, a long-haired ghost face hood, half a skeleton, and a blood-stained embroidered shoe…
When Song Ying came out carrying this pile of items, the staff waiting outside were completely stunned.
“Song… Teacher Song, what is all this?”
“The NPCs dropped these, and they didn’t even want them back when I tried to return them. I was afraid they’d have trouble finding them if left behind, so I picked everything up. I’ll return them to the amusement park management later.”
As she spoke, Song Ying placed the items in her arms on the ground.
The cameraman, Xiao Zhang, looked at Song Ying with a changed expression. “Teacher Song, aren’t… aren’t you scared?”
Even after basking in the sun for half an hour, he still felt the eerie atmosphere hadn’t completely dissipated…
Song Ying blinked. “When I was in school, I worked part-time at an amusement park haunted house to earn living expenses.”
Trying to scare her with a haunted house?
Little did they know, this was like a ghost entering the gates of the underworld—coming home.
[No wonder Qin Shu looked so relaxed and amused when they were receiving the task earlier. Turns out he already knew Song Ying isn’t afraid of haunted houses.]
[Song Ying’s courage really shocked me. When that ghost face appeared earlier, I screamed so loudly in the office that my boss came over and asked if I was slaughtering a pig (bye bye).]
[Song Ying, the Haunted House Slayer. The more scared I was, the braver she became! In terms of courage alone, I’m convinced.]
[Hmph, it’s all fake. She even copies other people’s personas, so the haunted house is most likely scripted too. In my opinion, it wasn’t that scary at all—it was all just a show. It’s only because Qin Shu filmed it so well that you all got so frightened.]
[Although I don’t agree with the first half of the previous comment, the second half is true. Qin Shu’s camerawork is absolutely amazing, with such clever angles. Watching the livestream earlier felt like watching a horror movie.]
[Such a handsome guy, talented and good-looking—how could he fall for a copycat like Song Ying, who’s such a drama queen and a show-off?]
[Don’t understand +10086. Song Ying isn’t worthy. Break up already!]
Shengshi Entertainment, Sister Hong’s office.
Xiao Lu stared at the barrage comments, angrily pounding the table. “These people are so hypocritical! When they see Qin Shu, they praise him endlessly, but when it comes to Sister Ying, they just keep hating on her. It’s as if they think they’ll have a chance if they break up.”
“Isn’t that just how society is nowadays?” Sister Hong flipped through some documents. “Harsh toward women, lenient toward men.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Is there ever absolute fairness? If everything were truly fair, no one would be born with a silver spoon in their mouth while others struggle their whole lives just to reach someone else’s starting point. There wouldn’t be gender discrimination in the workplace, either. In the entertainment industry, male celebrities who cheat would never get off so easily, while female celebrities who do the same would have their careers ruined.”
“But should we just do nothing?” Xiao Lu bit her lip.
“Of course not. But arguments or anger won’t solve the problem. Society operates on the law of the jungle. Only with absolute strength can the scales of injustice possibly tilt back toward balance. Have a little faith in A Ying. Believe that she can turn public opinion around on her own. Since she’s entered this industry, this is a required lesson for her.”
After saying this, Sister Hong marked a few lines on the document with a pen, neatly closed it, and handed it to Xiao Lu.
“Take this document to Huatian Media.”
Xiao Lu quickly took it with both hands, her eyes lighting up when she saw the title on the cover.”《Tempting the Star》 casting?! Sister Hong, is it that wildly popular comic adaptation by Teacher Wen Xiaowen? I absolutely love it! I even bought the collector’s edition of the manga! Which role is Sister Ying going to play?”
“Shh!”
Sister Hong raised a finger. “There’s been a lot going on lately, keep it low-key. We’re still in the stage of submitting materials to compete for roles. The female lead Qi Xing has already been cast. I’m eyeing the supporting female role Qi Yue—the character has depth, and if played well, it could be a huge boost for the actress. But I’m not sure if they’ll choose A Ying. After all, Huatian’s self-produced dramas are all hits, and many people are eyeing this opportunity.”
“Sister Ying can definitely do it!” Xiao Lu’s eyes sparkled. “Wen Xiaowen is my favorite manga author, and Sister Ying is my favorite actress. If they could collaborate, I’d be laughing in my dreams! I’ll go deliver it now!”
Xiao Lu bounced toward the door but turned back just before leaving, remembering something.
“Oh, right, Sister Hong, take a look at the live stream comments. Someone just said that Sister Ying and Brother Qin’s relationship story was copied from a blogger named Redamancy. Even though it was quickly flooded out, I have a feeling someone is planning to stir up trouble again, just like when they falsely accused Sister Ying of being a mistress last time.”