The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 29.3

Liu Yangran’s group had the same idea.

While Liu Yangran slept, Ye Ying listened carefully for any movement outside.

Like Su Yun, she had picked up a few one-yuan bills. “Probably hidden in the yard by one of the other groups.”

“Added up, that’s sixteen yuan now,” Su Yun said with a smile, then added, “If the boxes aren’t in the yard…”

She turned to look at the rooms behind her, then glanced up at the roof, nothing.

Having ruled out the yard, even if it seemed unlikely, they headed toward the gate outside the courtyard.

Su Yun looked down at the boxes placed just beyond the yard gate and couldn’t help but think: Given a bit more time, could they have hidden them all the way in He Rong County?

Since the boxes were all stacked together, Su Yun couldn’t tell which one was theirs.

She simply grabbed an envelope from inside, took out the money, and handed it to Jiang Zhi. “Keep this on you. The others will probably be out soon.”

According to the rules, money couldn’t be stored inside the rooms.

But since they were both outside, carrying the money on them didn’t technically violate the rules.

She had always been an expert at exploiting game loopholes.

Just as Jiang Zhi tucked the money away, Su Yun heard noises behind her.

To be precise, a lot of noises.

[Hahahahaha!! It’s 5:30 now, and the other three groups all coincidentally stepped out of their rooms at the same time!]

[You’re all so sneaky! Were you planning to pull something in the last half hour?!]

[Su Yun’s predictions were spot-on! Did she foresee everyone’s moves last night?!]

All eight of them stood outside the yard at once.

Liu Yangran was the first to speak up. “Why are all our boxes gone?”

She and Ye Ying had dozed off for a bit. Before sleeping, they still had plenty of money, but when they woke up, even the boxes had vanished.

Su Xue was also awakened by her alarm at five-thirty, groggy to the point of nodding off as soon as she opened her eyes.

But the moment she stepped out and saw the boxes were gone, she became so alert she could solve five math problems on the spot.

Whether she could solve them correctly was another matter.

Su Yun shook her head innocently: “We were asleep all night and only realized the boxes were missing when we woke up. We just got here.”

As soon as she finished speaking, all eyes turned to Lin Yan.

Jiang Zhi looked at the only person who hadn’t spoken yet: “Director Lin, was it you?”

Lin Yan was equally surprised: “I don’t know either. I’m still half-asleep, when would I have had time to do something like this?”

Even if she had done it, admitting it now would be a surefire way to make enemies.

Three groups’ worth of enemies, no less, instantly turning herself into the show’s public enemy.

[Everyone’s an acting master here!]

[Director Lin on the surface: When would I have time for this?!

Behind the scenes: Sneakily moving everyone’s boxes outside the courtyard!]

Su Yun: “…Let’s just say the boxes grew legs and ran away. But since they’re all mixed up now, we can’t tell whose is whose.”

They all knew the money inside had been swapped. If they pointed out which box they wanted now, it would expose what they’d done last night.

Su Yun suggested proactively: “Why don’t we just pick a box at random? According to last night’s agreement, the money inside should be the same anyway, right?”

After a night, the friendly pact they’d made had long been forgotten.

Now that Su Yun suddenly brought it up, guilt washed over them.

Jiang Zhi, feeling the money in her pocket and looking at Su Yun’s perfectly innocent expression: “…”

[So this was Su Yun’s plan all along, hahaha!! I’m dying of laughter!]

[Last night, Su Yun and Jiang Zhi were both asleep and never left their rooms. No wonder the others believed her!]

[When it comes to playing the game, Su Yun’s the best. Not only did she get a full night’s sleep, but she’s already pocketed the money and made everyone else feel guilty! I have to say it again: You’re truly unmatched!]

The other guests naturally couldn’t refuse.

So the already chaotic boxes became even more jumbled after they picked them via rock-paper-scissors.

Lin Yan had originally remembered which box belonged to whom, but now she gave up, simply hoping that the one she ended up with still had money inside.

By six in the morning, the production team finally arrived.

Seeing the guests gathered at the courtyard gate, the director was shocked: “Did you all come out just to welcome me?”

Since when was she this popular on the show?!

The guests: “…”

They pretended not to hear, each carrying their chosen box back into the courtyard.

Su Yun asked Jiang Zhi, “What do you want for breakfast?”

Jiang Zhi: “Soy milk.”

Liu Yangran joined the conversation: “I’d like some too. I wonder if there’s any.”

Meanwhile, Lin Yan walked with Xu Zhi: “Can you check if my dark circles are bad?”

Within a minute, the crowd at the gate had vanished without a trace.

A gust of wind blew past, leaving only a lone leaf swirling in the air before finally landing at the director’s feet.

Director: “…”

She really shouldn’t have expected anything from these guests.

[Guests: Welcome you? Not a chance. But when it’s time to see you off, we might put on a show like this!]

[Just think about it, they were standing at the door because of a mission, a mission assigned to them by the director. How hilarious is that, hahaha!!]

[Director: See this leaf? Doesn’t it look just like lonely little me?]

–

By the time the director and the crew entered the courtyard, it was exactly six o’clock.

Director: “I believe everyone received a mysterious mission last night and must have had an unforgettable evening.

Today, before breakfast, we will reveal the secret funds each guest has obtained.

Now, please open the envelopes inside your respective boxes—these are the funds you can use to complete today’s tasks.”

They opened the boxes one by one.

Su Yun’s box was empty.

Liu Yangran’s group had forty-five yuan.

Lin Yan’s group had fifteen yuan.

Su Xue opened her envelope to find nothing but a few slips of paper.

Ye Ying, seeing their reactions, asked, “Why are there just slips of paper?”

Su Xue: “…”

She never expected the trap she set for others would end up backfiring on herself.

[Is this what they call reaping what you sow?! Poor Xuexue and Chaochao such terrible luck!]

[I missed a part can someone tell me whose boxes they took?]

[I watched the whole thing, let me explain!

Earlier, Liu Yangran’s group secretly took Su Xue’s envelope, which contained slips of paper instead of money.

Then, Lin Yan’s group took Su Yun’s thirty yuan and, to shift blame, gave fifteen yuan to Liu Yangran’s group.

At this point, both groups had forty-five yuan, while Su Yun’s and Su Xue’s boxes were empty.

Later, Liu Yangran’s group acted again, figured out where the extra fifteen yuan came from, and returned it to Su Yun’s group.

After that, Su Xue’s group made their move, taking one of Liu Yangran’s envelopes and putting it in their own box.

But the one they took happened to be the very envelope they had filled with paper slips, they scammed themselves.

So in the end, the distribution was:

-Paper slips box (Su Xue’s group)

-45 yuan box (Lin Yan’s group)

-30 yuan box (Liu Yangran’s group)

-15 yuan box (Su Yun’s group)

Just now, Su Yun took the thirty yuan and had Jiang Zhi hide it in her clothes, leaving her box empty.]

[Wow, you’re like a detective… this is so complicated…]

[Even though it was just a few hours, the contents of the boxes changed like seven or eight times… What happened to friendly agreements?!]

After they finished presenting their boxes, Su Xue hurriedly said, “Wait, we need to go get our money back first!”

So everyone watched as Jing Chaochao and Su Xue rushed around the courtyard, only to return in disbelief: “There’s really only fourteen yuan left? Did the wind blow the rest away?”

Jiang Zhi pulled out all forty-six yuan she had hidden in her pocket and asked, “Are you talking about the money hidden in the courtyard?”

Su Xue and Jing Chaochao: “!!!”

For the next half hour, the director replayed the entire livestream from last night at double speed for the guests.

The full story behind the money was laid bare!

[You were busy all night, didn’t sleep, and still ended up with nothing!]

[The unluckiest have to be Xuexue and Chaochao, right? Hahaha!! Sorry, I can’t help but laugh!]

[After all that effort, at least you gained something exhaustion!]

Su Xue watched her bustling around the yard in the middle of the night: “…My life is like donkey meat pancakes no, I mean, walking on thin ice…”

It was all her fault for making me hungry last night.

Su Yun chimed in, “Want some cumin with that?”

Su Xue sniffled, “Add it!”

Though Lin Yan’s words had been muffled, their room was right next door, so she caught the gist of it.

She sighed inwardly: So, the contract was fake, the mission funds are the real deal.

Friendship and trust clearly had no place in this show.

As the clock neared 3 a.m., Liu Yangran woke up, and Ye Ying filled her in.

Liu Yangran hissed through her teeth. Everyone claimed to be exhausted, yet behind the scenes, they were all outlasting each other.

“Should we go take a look?” Liu Yangran whispered.

Ye Ying nodded.

Of course, they had to decide whose money to target first.

“How about Su Xue’s group?” Liu Yangran suggested, thinking of what had just happened. “Consider it payback for Director Lin.”

Even though they were up to no good, they might as well justify it with a righteous cause.

“Hahahaha!! As if this is about revenge and not the money!”

“Director Lin: Right, I was just peacefully sleeping, and suddenly I owe someone a favor.”

“But Xue’er’s envelope probably only has scraps of paper now! This is gonna be good!”

At three in the morning, the courtyard was too vast and silent. Liu Yangran and Ye Ying felt the slightly cool air and let out a soft sigh.

The boxes from each group were still securely in place, seemingly undisturbed.

With clear objectives in mind, they headed straight for the door of Su Xue and Jing Zhaozhao’s room.

To avoid making noise and to save time, Liu Yangran simply took the envelopes out of the box, forgoing the step of extracting money from them.

After checking the thickness to confirm everything was in order, they placed the envelopes into their own box.

Their next task was to guard their own funds!

Lin Yan and Xu Zhi had naturally also set their sights on Su Xue’s group.

But Liu Yangran and Ye Ying had acted slightly faster. By the time Lin Yan stealthily reached the fourth room, only an empty box remained.

“Looks like someone beat us to it,” Lin Yan whispered.

Xu Zhi quickly made a decision, signaling to Lin Yan with her eyes: “Then let’s go for Su Yun’s group and Liu Yangran’s group.”

However, the moment they arrived at Liu Yangran’s group’s spot, they came face-to-face with the exhausted pair.

Even so, the two were still fiercely protecting their box.

[Hahahahaha!! This scene feels so familiar Director Lin just saw Su Xue’s group like this earlier!]

[Director Lin’s inner thoughts: No one’s asleep at this hour? Are they really going this hard to win?!]

“Sorry for disturbing!” Lin Yan swiftly retreated. But when she and Xu Zhi stood in front of Su Yun’s room, she hesitated. “Are we really doing this?”

After all, they had just thanked Su Yun and Jiang Zhi yesterday!

At this moment, Xu Zhi proved more decisive than Lin Yan. “Take it. We’ll split half with Liu Yangran’s group.”

[Hahahaha I get it! Split half the money with Liu Yangran’s group, and half the guilt too! Hahaha!!]

[Su Yun, Jiang Zhi wake up already! Stop sleeping!]

[I can already imagine the shocked, disbelieving expressions on everyone’s faces when they find out what happened after six o’clock!]

At five in the morning, Su Yun and Jiang Zhi woke from their slumber.

Su Yun stretched lazily. Though she hadn’t slept as long as the previous nights, she felt refreshed, with most of her fatigue gone.

She glanced at Jiang Zhi. “Even though I haven’t stepped outside yet, I can guess our money is definitely gone.”

Jiang Zhi chuckled. “Then let’s go get it back.”

[Ahhhh! You’re finally awake!]

[Having witnessed the entire livestream, all I can say is, this is intense! And way more exciting than any of the previous games!]

[I can confirm! The money in their boxes has changed hands like, N times already!]

[I only saw the part where Director Lin took Su Yun’s group’s money! Did someone else make a move after that?!]

[Yep! Later, Su Xue’s group and Liu Yangran’s group both came out. Not only did they take from each other, but they even started hiding the boxes!]

The last one to hide the boxes was Lin Yan. To ensure she could get a good two hours of sleep, she decided to muddy the waters by hiding everyone’s boxes preventing anyone else from tampering with them.

Since the boxes looked identical with no clear markings (the production team hadn’t anticipated contestants mixing them up), they had to carefully remember their positions to retrieve them just before six.

By then, Liu Yangran’s group and Su Xue’s group were also utterly exhausted.

In a dazed state, firmly believing she had already secured the money, she fell asleep and thus didn’t notice anything.

When Su Yun came out, what she saw was that all the boxes at the doorways of the four rooms had disappeared.

Su Yun: “…”

It seemed the competition between the groups was even fiercer than she had imagined.

“I’ll search the east side of the yard,” Jiang Zhi said, dividing the tasks with Su Yun. “You take the west side.”

Su Yun gave an OK sign. After all, the boxes could only be placed outside the yard and not hidden inside the rooms, which significantly reduced the difficulty.

Freshly awake, they were particularly alert and quickly got to searching.

[!! Watching them move, why do the other guests who stayed up all night seem so clueless?]

[The last hour before the game ends is the most critical! Anything can happen at this point!]

[But the other guests pulled all-nighters they definitely won’t have as much energy as these two now!]

Su Yun headed toward the west side of the yard. As she passed the tree in the middle, she accidentally brushed against a leaf.

She paused mid-step and, under the dim light of the yard, noticed the leaf that had just bumped her head, it had a one-yuan bill clipped to it.

No wonder this leaf felt so large.

After retrieving the one-yuan bill and the hairpin, Su Yun pocketed them first.

If she saw it, it was hers now!

During her search, Su Yun gradually picked up four or five more bills.

But the missing boxes remained nowhere to be found.

She walked over to Jiang Zhi. “Did you see the boxes?”

Jiang Zhi had also roughly searched the east side of the yard. “No sign of the boxes, but I found some lose money.”

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