The Beauty with Terrible Luck Falls in Love with a Ghost - Chapter 32

“So, you only identified Lihua, huh? The rest of us are invisible? How impressive!” Jiang Pingcheng feigned offense.

Fortunately, Yang Luoyu recovered quickly: “Not at all, Senior! You’re just too legendary, I didn’t dare assume.”

An He laughed: “Haha, so you’re saying Lihua’s less iconic and easier to recognize?”

“No, no, that’s not-” Yang Luoyu flushed crimson.

Han Youyou interceded in a saccharine tone: “He didn’t mean it, don’t bully the new guy! Sister Lihua isn’t that petty, right?”

Though everyone knew it was all in good fun, Han Youyou’s words carried a subtle tone of moral pressure that felt uncomfortable.

Zuo Lihua replied flatly, “I’m very petty.”

An He, who had a low laugh threshold, burst out: “HAHAHAHAHA!”

Han Youyou, slighted, struggled to maintain composure. With a wounded pout, she said, “Sister Lihua, I was sticking up for you.”

Zuo Lihua responded, “Mm,” and added sincerely, “Thank you.”

An He wheezed like a clam: “HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!”

Han Youyou: “…” She hadn’t expected Zuo Lihua to dismiss her so bluntly repeatedly. Her smile vanished, and her expression cooled.

Normally, she’d never be so careless, but the blindfold plunged her into darkness, loosening her guard. Unbeknownst to her, filming had begun the moment they boarded. Multiple cameras were trained on their faces, capturing every moment.

The others, including Zuo Lihua herself, saw it as nothing more than ordinary banter.

Once An He caught his breath, he asked, “Who’s this new friend? I give up, really can’t tell.”

Jiang Pingcheng stayed silent, waiting for the reveal.

Zuo Lihua made to answer, but Yang Luoyu cut in: “Wait, wait! Sister Lihua, let me guess!”

Jiang Pingcheng: “Are you up for it?”

An He: “Yeah, Yang Luoyu, are you? You didn’t even guess me correctly.”

Yang Luoyu’s face flushed again: “What’s so hard about that? I’d already figured it out, this is Senior Jiang Pingcheng, you’re Senior An He, and then there’s Senior Lihua and Senior Jing Ning, right?”

An He: “I don’t think it’s Jing Ning, maybe Zhouzhou?”

Jiang Pingcheng rubbed his chin: “Doesn’t seem like it either…” He slapped his thigh: “Zhao Qian Luming! That’s it, it must be Zhao Qian Luming! I’ve worked with her before, yes, it’s definitely her!”

They were all guessing well-known celebrities. Han Youyou realized for the first time that her voice resembled so many famous people. Did that mean she had the potential to be a star, to become as popular as them someday?

Lost in thought, a smile crept onto her face.

Zuo Lihua chuckled: “None of you got it right. This is my junior, Han Youyou. It’s her debut, everyone, be nice to her, okay?”

An He: “Hahaha, no one won.”

Yang Luoyu: “Hello there. Is Senior Lihua’s junior as beautiful as she is? Feels like the car’s moving a bit slow, I really want to take off this blindfold.”

Zuo Lihua chimed in: “She is very beautiful.”

Jiang Pingcheng: “No wonder. I knew I couldn’t have misjudged.”

An He: “With these blindfolds and this dark van, is this episode about experiencing what it’s like to be trafficked? A social documentary?”

“I don’t think so. I’m too old, why would anyone bother kidnapping me?”

They chatted back and forth, but Han Youyou couldn’t get a word in.

She bit her lip, the blindfold hiding her resentful eyes.

Their tone had completely changed after learning she was an unknown newcomer, they’d even shifted the topic. The blindfolds were meant for them to guess each other’s identities, and including someone no one had seen before was clearly for the show’s effect. They should have kept discussing it until they reached the destination. She refused to believe Zuo Lihua hadn’t picked up on that subtle implication, she was obviously jealous!

No one noticed Han Youyou’s delicate, sensitive thoughts. Everyone chattered away, and soon they arrived at their destination.

Guided by the staff, they got off the vehicle one by one, and their blindfolds were removed.

Staring at the building before them, each of them showed varying degrees of surprise.

It was a derelict manor. The gate was rusted, the ground overgrown with weeds and moss, and the walls, neglected for too long, had faded paint that looked dull and pale. A faint musty smell hung in the air, every detail spoke of its decay.

Zuo Lihua: “…” It looked strangely familiar.

An He: “Could this be a haunted house exploration? How thrilling!”

Han Youyou’s face turned pale. “I don’t want to go in. It looks terrifying.”

“Where is this?” Jiang Pingcheng glanced at his phone and exclaimed in alarm, “No signal! We’re trapped!”

Yang Luoyu craned his neck, staring motionlessly at the building, looking utterly dazed.

“Everyone, as you can see, this is an abandoned hotel in a mountain valley,” a staff member in a suit appeared, his head covered with a brown paper bag, two holes cut out for the eyes, making him look both eerie and comical. “Your task is to get this establishment back in operation. You have one week. If, by the end of the week, the number of complaints and negative reviews does not exceed seven, you pass.”

Yang Luoyu was utterly baffled. “In this remote wilderness, forget about sourcing ingredients, how are we even supposed to get customers?”

Jiang Pingcheng strode over and slung an arm around the staff member’s neck. “This is a show for the living, right?”

The staff member, unable to show his face through the bag, sounded suddenly guilty: “Ahahahaha…”

Jiang Pingcheng gave a strained smile and tightened his arm slightly.

The masked staff member quickly begged for mercy. “Brother Jiang, don’t get worked up. I-I haven’t finished yet.” He freed his neck, coughed twice to clear his throat, and continued reading from the script: “You have one night to prepare. Tomorrow at 8 a.m., the first guest will arrive. Also, it’s worth noting that among you is a mole. The mole’s mission is to ensure the complaints exceed seven. After the task, the winning side will receive a special gift from the production team. That’s all.”

“Oh, and one more thing: Ingredients will refresh in the mailbox at the entrance every morning at 5 a.m. If not collected within half an hour, they will be considered abandoned and taken back. Good luck, everyone!”

Jiang Pingcheng remarked, “Why do I feel like we’re playing a survival game? Anything else?”

“Yes!” The masked staff member nodded. “There’s one more special participant in this show, arriving shortly.”

Jiang Pingcheng blurted out, “How special?” They had been blindfolded the entire way here, wasn’t that “special” enough?

Zuo Lihua’s attention drifted. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her cat. Weren’t they supposed to return it to her once they reached the mission location? Where was it?

Hesitating whether to ask, she saw the director approaching with a bag. The masked staff member spotted him and exclaimed cheerfully, “He’s here!”

Yang Luoyu chuckled. “Is the guest packed inside this bag?”

Zuo Lihua: “…” It might actually be inside. That would indeed be “special” enough.