The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 36.1

[“Director Lin, remember this Su Yun’s words are so wise! If we ever quit directing, we can always deliver takeout in Jinguang City!”]

[“Hahahahahaha, only Su Yun could say something like this! She really knows how to comfort people!”]

Hearing Su Yun’s words, everyone whether inside the car or outside burst into laughter.

Su Xue gave Su Yun a thumbs-up. “You really have a way with words.”

“Just being modest,” Su Yun replied humbly before continuing her attempt at comfort. “Sure, we get to ride in an air-conditioned car without walking, but that means we’ll miss out on the local scenery. The other two groups won’t have that problem consider it an extra perk for them.”

Jiang Zhi, who had just boarded the car and removed her sun hat, nodded in agreement as she set it aside.

Lin Yan, whose heart had been stabbed yet again: “I think I preferred it when you weren’t comforting me.”

[Hahahahahaha! What a great comfort love from Su Yun!]

[Not sure if Director Lin feels better, but I’m certainly entertained! With Su Yun around, this show will never be boring!]

[Every time Su Yun says something, Actress Jiang immediately agrees with her, hahaha! No wonder even the other guests get fed up with their PDA.]

[Director Lin must be regretting asking for comfort now, hahaha!]

While they were chatting, Liu Yangran finally retrieved her suitcase, which had been shoved far away earlier. Spotting Lin Yan, she immediately called out, “Director Lin, forget about comfort, why did you sabotage your own teammate earlier?”

During the game, everyone had been too busy scrambling to react in the moment. Liu Yangran had only managed a quick cry of despair before diving back into the chaotic battle of throwing and grabbing suitcases.

Now that the game was over, she finally had time to properly confront her dear teammate.

As soon as she asked the question, all eyes turned to Lin Yan especially those inside the car, who watched with particular amusement.

Su Yun recalled how stunned their group had been when they witnessed Lin Yan tossing Liu Yangran’s suitcase away.

“Our group was just about to award Director Lin an honorary teammate title!” Su Xue said with a laugh, expressing deep gratitude for Lin Yan’s “invaluable support” to their team. “You really helped us out a lot!”

If not for Su Yun secretly placing a suitcase on the car roof earlier, the number of people and suitcases in their car would have been perfectly balanced.

From the final results, the suitcase Liu Yangran lost had been a major wildcard.

Su Xue’s talent for stirring the pot was undeniable, instantly casting suspicion on Lin Yan from everyone outside the car.

Even Xu Zhi couldn’t help but ask, “You didn’t actually have some secret mission from the production team, did you? Like being a spy or something?”

Some variety shows loved throwing in twists like that, a spy secretly sabotaging their own teammates to ensure their failure.

Though this was a travel show, the first season had already proven that it was indeed about traveling.

But whether the trip was luxurious or budget, and what unexpected events might happen along the way, was never entirely up to them. It wouldn’t be surprising if the director had quietly slipped in a spy subplot for this season.

Lin Yan could only sigh under the weight of everyone’s stares, desperate to explain herself.

But before explaining, she first looked at the director and asked, “Director, did you hear that just now? Xuexue said I’m their honorary team member, so does that mean I can ride the car too?”

Her words took everyone by surprise.

[HAHAHAHAHA! I never expected Director Lin’s first response after being suspected as a spy would be this!]

[Director Lin: If I can ride the car, then being a spy isn’t so bad! A wise man knows when to yield, I get it!]

[The expressions on Team Lin Yan’s members instantly changed, LOL! Even Sister Xu didn’t expect Director Lin to say something like this!]

[Thinking back to the first episode, the guests were all as green as fresh vegetables! In just a few days, they’ve turned into seasoned veterans!]

[Lin Yan: Fate wants me to be a salted fish, but I can still flip around in the pan!]

[Speaking of which, is Director Lin’s loophole-exploiting method something she learned from Su Yun? She’s really good at applying what she’s learned!]

The director was momentarily stunned by Lin Yan’s sudden question. After a second of thought, he crushed her wishful thinking: “No, our sightseeing car only has four seats.”

A normal sightseeing car could seat between twelve to sixteen people.

But for the sake of the show’s effect, the program team had modified these two cars, replacing the usual seating with displays of Jinguang City’s specialty products, leaving no extra seats.

Lin Yan wasn’t ready to give up. She continued bargaining with the director, “I can squat in the car, I don’t need a seat.”

“…” The director shook his head, as cold and unyielding as when Lin Yan had tried to negotiate ending the shoot early for hotpot. “No.”

But as he watched Lin Yan’s seamless transition into the enemy camp, he silently considered that maybe future mission segments could incorporate a spy element.

After all, his guests were all excellent actors. No matter who was chosen as the spy, it would surely be entertaining.

Su Yun’s loophole-exploiting was so convincing that one could only regret not thinking of it themselves.

But Lin Yan’s loophole attempt left the director in a dilemma, her teammates heartbroken, and successfully provoked their anger.

Ye Ying protested, “Director Lin, your teammates are still here!”

“Yeah, and you still haven’t explained the whole spy thing to us!” Liu Yangran knocked on her suitcase, trying to awaken Lin Yan’s sense of team loyalty.

Xu Zhi, standing by the car with her arms crossed, found Lin Yan’s blatant attempt to switch sides so brazen that it made her doubt whether her earlier spy theory was even correct.

[Betrayal is fun in the moment, but explaining it is hell! I can’t wait to see how Director Lin plans to justify this to her teammates!]

[Look at the people in the car, LOL! This could totally be turned into a meme! [Grabs popcorn.jpg]]

[If this episode had a title, could it be called A Suitcase That Sparked Love and Hate?!]

Su Yun and the others were also shocked, never expecting Lin Yan to actually abandon her teammates. They all stayed silent, peeking out from behind the car’s curtains.

Having failed to secure a ride, Lin Yan coughed twice and wiped the sweat from her forehead whether from Jinguang City’s scorching sun or her own guilt, it was hard to tell.

After wiping off her sweat, Lin Yan turned to her teammates and began explaining what had just happened: “When I threw the luggage, I genuinely didn’t know it was Yangran’s suitcase. If I had known, I definitely wouldn’t have thrown it. And the very next second, didn’t I throw down Chaochao’s suitcase? I couldn’t possibly be a spy.”

Her explanation was quite convincing mistakes happen when you’re in a hurry.

Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Lin Yan sighed in relief. “I’m glad you all believe me.”

But the moment she said this, Xu Zhi gave her a subtle look. “We believe you about throwing the wrong suitcase. But as for you wanting to switch to the other group’s car earlier, there’s no other excuse for that, right?”

Honestly, when Lin Yan had asked the director if she could switch cars, she was already considering changing teammates.

Lin Yan turned to Xu Zhi, trying to remind her of their years of trust and friendship. “What if I said I wanted to get intel on their group’s next move? Would you believe me?!”

[Xu Zhi: Sometimes I really want to request a teammate swap!]

[Hahahahaha! After all that explaining, Director Lin circled right back to the starting point. She’s struggling!]

[Director Lin, just give up and admit you were trying to defect earlier!]

“Director Lin, that excuse is so weak!” Su Xue chimed in, fanning the flames and exposing Lin Yan’s lie.

She was determined to further destabilize the already shaky team dynamic. “The director hasn’t even announced the next task yet, how could we possibly have any intel in our car?”

Jing Chaochao added, “Director Lin, maybe pick a less ridiculous-sounding answer? Then maybe Sister Xu might forgive you.”

Xu Zhi chuckled and nodded, agreeing with Su Xue and Jing Chaochao’s points.

A few seconds later, Lin Yan decided to just admit defeat. “I was wrong. From now on, I’ll cooperate fully with all of you!”

Mainly because she couldn’t think of any other excuses!

The others in the car, having enjoyed the drama, now stepped in to help Lin Yan save face.

Jing Chaochao looked down at Liu Yangran’s suitcase. “Yangran’s suitcase does look a lot like mine. I almost mixed them up earlier too.”

Both her and Liu Yangran’s suitcases were the most common silver-gray color, with similar sizes and shapes, and neither had any distinctive markings.

“That’s true!” Liu Yangran said, spotting Jing Chaochao’s suitcase in the car. “I only just noticed now. During the game, I was in such a rush that I didn’t pay attention to a lot of things.”

When they had gotten off the program’s vehicle earlier, they hadn’t noticed each other’s luggage.

Once the two-minute game timer started, they had relied purely on memory. Only now did they have time to inspect the suitcases they had been tossing around earlier.

Su Xue lifted her own suitcase. “Thankfully mine is covered in stickers, no way to mistake it!”

Her suitcase was the polar opposite of Jing Chaochao’s, plastered with all kinds of colorful decals.

But perhaps because Su Xue was an artist, she had a knack for color coordination. Despite the abundance of stickers, it didn’t look messy instead, it had an artistic flair, somewhat matching the vibrant colors of the tour bus they were riding in.

Lin Yan nodded. “The moment I saw that suitcase, I knew it was Xuexue’s! So I didn’t hesitate at all, I just wanted to throw it down immediately.”

Upon hearing the earlier remarks, Su Xue had been all smiles, but now she was speechless.

She hadn’t considered that aspect at all.

Su Yun also noticed Su Xue’s suitcase, but her attention was entirely captured by a particular sticker on it. She asked Su Xue, “Is this a limited-edition sticker from Deliberately Falling?”

Deliberately Falling was a yuri manga she had been staying up late to binge recently. The push-and-pull dynamic between the two protagonists had her hooked, making her wish she could read it nonstop until the final update.

Thus, even though Su Xue’s suitcase was covered in stickers, Su Yun immediately spotted the two main characters from Deliberately Falling.

At the mention of Deliberately Falling, Su Xue’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Yes! It’s the latest limited-edition merch. I managed to snag it last week shipping was super fast, so I stuck it on my suitcase as soon as it arrived.”

She always bought multiple copies of merch not only did she decorate her suitcase with them, but she also kept several spares at home for her collection.

[What?! My favorite manga is collabing with my favorite variety show?!]

[I can’t believe both Xuexue and Su Yun are into the same manga as me!]

[Can someone explain what Deliberately Falling is about? I’m so curious!]

[I got this! Deliberately Falling is a recently released manga on a certain platform. Not only is the art style gorgeous, but the chemistry between the leads is amazing, and the emotional tension is next-level!]

[My daily mood while reading: One second, PLEASE just get together already, no more angst, I need fluff! The next second, How could the protagonist say that?! The other one had no choice but to hide the truth, time for a mini ‘chase-your-lover-into-a-crematorium’ arc!]

[Hahahahaha! So not only are the characters in the manga constantly in a push-and-pull, but you readers and the author are locked in your own tug-of-war!]

[Just hearing your descriptions has me hyped! I’m gonna check it out after the livestream! Perfect timing, I’ve been in a content drought lately. Thanks!]

Su Yun also adored the manga and was instantly charmed by the merch, already itching to buy some. She said to Su Xue, “Could you send me the link later?”

She wanted manga merch too!

“Of course!” Su Xue nodded, her eyes sparkling with the thrill of finding a fellow fan. “I’ll send it to you after we wrap up filming! Though I’m not sure if it’ll still be in stock by then. If it’s sold out, I can mail you one from my collection.”

The manga was wildly popular, and the merch had sold out within minutes of release. Su Xue had only managed to secure a first batch by setting an alarm.

Since then, she hadn’t checked whether there would be a restock, so she gave Su Yun a heads-up.

“Sounds good!” Su Yun nodded. “We’ll see how it goes after we get back.”

Once their merch discussion wrapped up, Jiang Zhi finally asked Su Yun, “Is Deliberately Falling really that good?”

While they had been talking about the manga, the others nearby had grown curious too, so when Jiang Zhi posed the question, they all nodded in agreement!

“It’s fantastic,” Su Yun replied, recalling the agony of waiting for updates. She enthusiastically recommended it to everyone: “If you have time, you should definitely check it out!”

The suffering of weekly updates shouldn’t be hers to bear alone!

[I can confirm now Su Yun is a hardcore Deliberately Falling fan! Because whenever someone asks about it, we fans always push it on them, making sure everyone shares in the pain of waiting for updates!]

【Hahahahaha! Although, now that I think about it, “Knowing Yet Falling” seems to have quite a few “ambiguous” scenes. If a couple watches it together, it might even deepen their feelings!】

【What?! Are we really talking about the “ambiguous” scenes I want to see? It’s not just me overthinking it, right?! I wasn’t even that interested before, but now that you mention it, I’m genuinely excited!】

【Don’t worry, it’s definitely not just your imagination, I promise! And there are quite a few of them too. The author is a master at getting past censorship! I love watching them argue while being all “ambiguous”!】

【Speaking of “ambiguous” scenes, I’m reminded of Su Yun’s trending topic, it was hilarious!】

【I think we saw the same trending topic! I went and checked out Teacher “Moon Pumpkin’s” work out of curiosity, and it was so good! Honestly, whether it’s comics or fanfiction, Su Yun has such great taste!】

【Hahahahaha! Keep it down, you guys. If Su Yun sees this, she might never post on Weibo again! Reading one fanfic and she’ll be introverted for life!】

Su Yun and Jiang Zhi’s suitcases were relatively simple, each adorned with a photo of their cat, “Xiao Bai.”

After a few days of being cared for, the kitten had become much livelier. Su Yun and Jiang Zhi had taken plenty of embarrassing photos of it and had them printed the day before the show.

While packing, Su Yun stuck one photo of the cat on each suitcase bringing the pictures along was like bringing the cat to the show!

Even though they weren’t at home, they’d still miss their little furball.

Liu Yangran’s eyes lit up with affection when she saw the photo. “This kitten is adorable! Is it yours?”

“Yes, her name’s Xiao Bai,” Jiang Zhi nodded.

“Xiao Bai?” Lin Yan glanced at the photo and did a double take. “But the cat in the photo is black?”

Jing Chaochao guessed, “Maybe it’s like ‘compensating for what’s lacking.’”

Even though the name was odd, interpreting it as an antonym made some sense.

When she said it, both Su Yun and Jiang Zhi nodded in agreement. Su Yun added, “Chaochao guessed right!”

【I don’t even need to think this name was definitely Su Yun’s idea. I’ll bet a pack of spicy strips on it!】

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