The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 24.1

It wasn’t just Lin Yan who was breaking down Jing Chaochao and Su Xue, staring at the broken halves of the water pipes in their hands, were also on the verge of collapse.

They looked exactly like useless F-grade trash that drops at the start of a game.

Of course, after observing for a few seconds, Su Xue confirmed that these were, indeed, useless trash.

If they tried to cultivate the land with these, they might not make any progress in an entire day.

“Director Lin, I actually think the magic wand isn’t so bad. If we can’t till the land, we can just sit by the side and listen to music,” Su Xue said, shaking the broken pipe in her hand. “This thing can’t even play music.”

[Ahahahaha, the losers’ experience-sharing conference is in session!!]

[I was so focused on the magic wand that I almost forgot about the legendary water pipe duo!]

[HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Su Xue has a point! The pipe can’t even cheer them on, lol.]

Lin Yan: “Look on the bright side your pipe is at least sturdy. You can still use it to work the land, right?”

The magic wand in her hand wasn’t nearly as sturdy. The moment it touched the ground, it would probably bend, giving her a firsthand experience of the heartbreak magic can bring.

“Pfft!” Ye Ying couldn’t hold back her laughter, imagining Lin Yan standing in the middle of a muddy field, raising the magic wand high in her right hand. “Director Lin, I kind of want to see you guys start farming now.”

Su Yun also chuckled but kindly reminded her, “Director Lin, when you take the magic wand outside, try not to be too flashy with it. And don’t break it otherwise, you might end up in a dispute with some kids.”

Lin Yan: “…”

[HAHAHAHAHAHA!! I get it! Even if it’s not theirs, kids would still get upset if they saw someone ruining a magic wand they love!]

[Alternative ideaDirector Lin, why not rent out the magic wand and have the kids till the land for you!]

[OP, your business acumen is being wasted here! A born capitalist!]

Meanwhile, the winning team Liu Yangran and Su Yun tried lifting their hoes and shovels. These were rented from local farmers by the production team, so they were quite heavy.

But it made them feel secure. Happy!

The director, having enjoyed the spectacle enough, announced, “Everyone has now obtained the tools they’ll use for tilling the land tomorrow. The next game will determine the watering tools you’ll be using.”

Laid out before them were a perfect watering bucket, a gourd ladle, a ceramic rice bowl, and a spoon that matched the bowl perfectly.

For the few minutes the guests stood in stunned silence, even the live-stream audience froze momentarily before the comments exploded like a tidal wave.

[!!! Watering with a spoon, it’s been so long since I’ve seen a production team this creative!]

[Director, tell me quietly are the seeds they’re planting going to grow in half a day, just in time for dinner, so the guests can eat straight from the bowl with their spoons? HAHAHAHAHA!!]

[Watching this show has made me realize how twisted I’ve become. The spoon doesn’t even surprise me, it feels like it was meant to be there all along [dog.jpg]]

[+1, so it’s not just me! HAHAHAHA!!]

“…” Jing Chaochao tapped the bowl lightly with the spoon, the crisp sound ringing in her ears.

She turned to the director. “I’m starting to wonder will your show even be able to invite guests for the next season?”

“I have my suspicions too.” Lin Yan glanced at the dozen or so members of the production team, asking with particular curiosity, “Which genius came up with this spoon idea? I’d like to meet them.”

After saying this, she deliberately added in a calm tone, “Don’t worry, I won’t hit anyone. Just want to get acquainted.”

[Director Lin, you really don’t look like you want to hit anyone more like you want to murder someone, hahaha!!]

[“Get acquainted” Director Lin, be honest, is there some personal grudge or old score to settle here, hahaha!!]

Su Yun was equally curious, wondering if some overworked staff member had secretly slipped in their own agenda.

But when she turned to look at the production team, within seconds she saw a familiar face raising their hand.

Well, well, who would have thought the seemingly soft, harmless, and youthful Wang Yue had been hiding her talents all this time? She was actually the mastermind behind these games!

And after promising to be lazy best friends for life, here she was secretly hustling behind my back!

Even though she hasn’t screwed me over yet, this is absolutely unforgivable!

Meeting Su Yun’s gaze, Wang Yue gave an apologetic chuckle, but made it clear she had no intention of changing her ways.

Watching her “Su-jie” play these games made all the hardships of work disappear.

Any of Wang Yue’s colleagues hearing this inner monologue would shout: Lies! All lies!

When it’s time to clock out, Wang Yue bolts faster than a spaceship. She’s clearly just like the director delighting in creating all sorts of challenges for the guests.

Seeing how young Wang Yue was, Lin Yan couldn’t believe it: “You’re really the one who came up with this game’s prop? You weren’t corrupted by the rest of the production team, were you?”

This immediately drew protest from the director nearby: “Our production team brings in fresh talent every year. We need exactly this kind of creative genius. How can you say we corrupted her?”

Faced with praise, Wang Yue maintained her modest, prudent, and unassuming demeanor: “There’s still so much I need to learn. I hope to make even greater progress.”

“!!!” Lin Yan hurriedly interjected, “Please, no more progress.”

If she’s already coming up with such diabolical games now, who knows what she’ll think of next!

–

Soon they began the second game.

This time, even before the director could explain the rules, all the guests sat ramrod straight, expressions serious, firmly suppressing any wandering thoughts.

The first round had taught them this lesson well:

Never try to guess what the director and staff are thinking. Not only had they never guessed correctly, but they’d only ended up sabotaging themselves.

The director was quite pleased with the guests’ demeanor: “Our second game is a Couples’ Compatibility Test.

Before coming on the show, each guest was asked to fill out a questionnaire covering lifestyle habits, preferences, etc.

In this round, we’ll select some questions from those forms. Guests must provide their partner’s answers.

For example, if the question is ‘What is your partner’s favorite color?’ and your answer matches what they wrote on their form, you earn one point. The team with the highest score wins.”

[This game seems so simple? Feels too normal, totally unlike this production team’s usual chaotic energy.]

“Hahaha!! Don’t be too naive, the battlefield often only requires the simplest games. You have to believe in the production team’s capabilities!”

“Is my favorite segment coming up?! The thrilling and exciting couple’s compatibility test!”

“+1, it’s my favorite too! I wonder how many couples have been exposed in this segment!”

“Speaking of which, I remember there was a couple guest in the last season who was particularly sweet when they appeared, having reportedly been in a relationship for five years. The question from the production team was about the other person’s favorite food, the simplest first question. But the answer given was exactly the food that her girlfriend was allergic to, something even the fans knew about. It immediately shot to the top of the trending list.”

“I remember that too! At that moment, her girlfriend’s face turned green, and she directly gave up on the following tasks. After the live broadcast ended, she broke up!”

“By the way, their follow-up was particularly interesting! Even after breaking up, her girlfriend didn’t give up on recording the following episodes of the variety show and decisively switched to another person, hahahaha!!”

“Got the scoop! Thanks to the person above for the info, turns out it’s this exciting!”

Hearing the director’s words, the guests, who couldn’t see the barrage in the live broadcast room, all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Although this game would still have rankings, it was actually more about competing with oneself.

As long as the relationship was good and they understood their girlfriend well enough, there was nothing to worry about.

Whether it was about what the other person liked to eat, drink, or their hobbies and sports, they should be able to say it off the top of their heads without any difficulty.

Since entering the production team and starting the live broadcast, Su Yun had never felt nervous.

But at this moment, she had to admit that her heartbeat was a bit faster than usual.

Not to mention that she and Jiang Zhi didn’t have a real couple’s relationship, even the time they had actually spent together since they met was less than two months.

This game segment, rather than a compatibility test for couples, was more like a test to see if they could avoid revealing their true feelings.

Su Yun glanced at Jiang Zhi beside her, wanting to ask what would happen if she guessed wrong.

But since they were live, she simply skimmed over Jiang Zhi’s brows and eyes before retracting her gaze, maintaining her usual expression.

Director: “Alright, for the first question of the couple’s compatibility test, please write on the board: What does the other person do when they can’t sleep at night?”

This question was first limited to “at night.” If the guests weren’t familiar with each other, they would definitely struggle to answer. Secondly, there were too many things one could do when unable to sleep, and it was easy to overlook them if not careful.

So, for the two people’s answers to be completely consistent, in a way, it was quite difficult!

“Wow! Is the first question really this exciting?”

“But there are so many things one can do when sleepless, I feel it’s hard to guess?”

“Even though I’m still single, I still want to boldly guess! If they both have girlfriends, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess what they do when they can’t sleep!”

“Thinking along the same lines. Nighttime is so precious, just don’t know if the guests dare to write it down, hehe!”

“Hmm, is there a car running over my face?”

After hearing the question, the guests began to write their answers on the board without hesitation.

Su Yun listened to the rustling sounds around her, especially from Jiang Zhi, who was closest to her. Jiang Zhi was also writing, and from the way she moved, there was no hesitation at all, she handled it with ease, as if she knew exactly what Su Yun did when she couldn’t sleep.

Wait, come to think of it, Su Yun seemed to have forgotten what she had even written on her own information form.

The director noticed Su Yun’s gaze and reminded, “Please answer independently, everyone. No attempts at small tricks or cheating.”

Su Yun: “…” It wasn’t like she was trying anything, she was just curious, that’s all.

[Hahahahaha!!! The director finally caught Su Yun red-handed and had to call her out the moment he saw her!]

[Speaking of which, I’m really curious, what does Jiang Zhi do when she can’t sleep?]

After all, there’s usually a divide between celebrities and ordinary people. Most of what’s shown to the public is carefully scripted and curated.

That’s precisely why Dearest Them stood out among variety shows, it was broadcast live with no scripts whatsoever.

[I’m curious too. Maybe reading scripts?]

[That would fit Jiang Zhi’s workaholic persona. The real question is, what will Su Yun guess?]

When Su Yun tried to come up with an answer, the first thing she recalled was how she and Jiang Zhi slept at home.

Jiang Zhi had excellent sleeping posture she basically stayed in the same spot from the moment she fell asleep until she woke up.

Su Yun, on the other hand, often crossed boundaries, opening her eyes only to be met with Jiang Zhi’s magnified beauty.

But from what she’d observed, Jiang Zhi didn’t seem to suffer from insomnia often.

Since she couldn’t guess based on reality, Su Yun decided to rely on her tried-and-true method: random guessing.

From childhood till now, it had never failed her she guessed wrong every single time, but she kept at it.

After all, the odds of getting it right might be slim, but leaving it blank guaranteed no chance at all.

The director said, “Alright, it seems all our guests have finished answering. Now, everyone can reveal their answer boards.”

First up were Lin Yan and Xu Zhi. Lin Yan’s answer was: “Go to the flower room.”

She explained, “When Xu Zhi can’t sleep, she often goes to the flower room. Usually, staying there for about an hour helps a lot.”

Xu Zhi smiled faintly and nodded. She added, “When Lin Yan can’t sleep, she loves reading work emails in her inbox, especially those related to scripts.”

So, the answer on Xu Zhi’s board was: Read scripts.

The two had been together for so long, they were the couple with the longest relationship among all the guests that answering this question was effortless for them.

Liu Yangran, hearing this, couldn’t help but ask Xu Zhi curiously, “But Director Lin, what if the scripts she reads are horror or gory? Wouldn’t that make her insomnia worse?”

Xu Zhi: “Lin Yan loves horror scripts the most.” If anything, reading horror scripts might actually cure her insomnia.

On the other hand, Xu Zhi preferred lighthearted, healing films. Despite being together for so many years, the two had never reached a consensus on this matter.

“Correct answer. Lin Yan’s team earns two points.”

Next were Su Xue and Jing Zhaozhao.

Su Xue’s answer: Make me listen to her new songs (I often can’t wake up).

Jing Zhaozhao’s answer: Make me accompany her while she paints.

Su Yun, seeing this, let out a thoughtful hum. “You two are both so domineering, if one can’t sleep, the other can’t either?”

Is this what young couples call romance?

Su Xue chuckled mischievously, “Painting alone gets a bit boring, so I thought I’d wake her up.”

Of course, she knew it wasn’t exactly the most ethical thing to do.

That’s why she had specifically promised Jing Chaochao that no matter how deeply she was sleeping, she could wake her up anytime if she wanted an audience.

Jing Chaochao, who had been quietly listening to Su Xue ramble on, finally chimed in at this point: “The first time I tried waking her, I waited five minutes, thinking she was up.

But the moment we stepped outside the bedroom door click she locked me out.

And then she mumbled something about ‘what kind of villain disturbs her sweet dreams in the middle of the night.'”

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I’m dying of laughter! Xue’er, you’re way too sharp when you’re half-asleep!]

[Chaochao: That year, amid the light rain and apricot blossoms, you swore you could get out of bed HAHAHAHAHA!!]

[If Chaochao hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve totally missed the part in parentheses after Xuexue’s answer LOL!!]

Su Xue coughed awkwardly, trying to defend herself. “Well, I did apologize the next morning, and we agreed to forget about it.”

It was just too embarrassing!!

Jing Chaochao nodded. “You said it was the first and last time. But the second time I tried waking you, you swung a slap at me. Clearly, you didn’t remember your apology then.”

Thankfully, she dodged fast, otherwise, Su Xue would’ve felt even worse.

Su Xue: “……” At the time, she thought it was a monster in her dreams provoking her. Of course, she had to fight back.

Their exchange had everyone laughing. Xu Zhi turned to the director and asked, “So, are their answers correct?”

Director: “Both answers are correct, two points.”

[HAHAHAHAHA!! They still got it right? Chaochao, just admit it, you’re absolutely whipped!]

[Only now do I realize I’ve been unknowingly feasting on dog food this whole time!! Suddenly feeling stuffed!]

[They might bicker nonstop, but you can tell they genuinely care about each other!]

The third pair was Liu Yangran and Ye Ying.

Liu Yangran’s answer: “Go for a walk.”

Support