The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 41.2

Seizing the rare chance to see Su Yun refuse something, the guests eagerly expressed their “concern” for her.

Lin Yan nodded at Ye Ying, “I remember it too. We can take turns narrating to ensure Su Yun gets the most authentic experience.”

Su Xue added, “I haven’t seen it, but I can help with the soundtrack guaranteed to make Su Yun feel like she’s right there!”

Su Yun: “…Are you guys seriously planning to perform it live here?”

[HAHAHAHAHAHA! Can you be any more ridiculous?! Even the soundtrack’s involved now?!]

[First time seeing such deep camaraderie among the guests, truly heartwarming reasons behind it!]

[Honestly, I’d love to see how absurd their performance turns out, LOL!]

“Performing here might scare other passersby,” Lin Yan actually considered Su Yun’s words seriously, without a hint of jest.

Liu Yangran: “Actually, it’s not impossible. There’s barely anyone around, so no worries about scaring people.”

“Yeah, it’s not like there’s anyone here,” Su Xue cleared her throat, ready to set the mood with some improvised background music.

Before she could start, Su Yun shook her head and corrected them, “There is someone.”

Aside from Jiang Zhi, the rest of them had their backs to the path behind them. They laughed it off, saying, “How could there be anyone? We just ran over from that direction.”

“Yeah, we’re not that easily scared. No need to try and spook us.”

Su Yun’s gaze remained calm as she repeated, “There really is someone.”

The moment she said it, the others turned around skeptically, looking toward the area illuminated by the streetlights. “There’s no way anyone’s there.”

“AHHHHH! MOM, THERE REALLY IS SOMEONE!”

“!!! SAVE ME! SAVE ME!”

“AHHHHH! WHAT’S THAT BLACK SHADOW?!”

Su Yun and Jiang Zhi covered their ears in unison, blocking out their piercing screams.

If there had been a roof above their heads, it would’ve been blown off by the sheer volume.

Su Yun and Jiang Zhi exchanged glances. She remarked, “I think horror movies,  might not be that scary after all?”

After all, Ye Ying, who loved horror movies the most and was considered an expert in the genre, was now screaming louder than anyone else.

Though her courage might be a bit lacking, it didn’t seem any worse than others’.

After all, from start to finish, she had spoken no more than three sentences, yet managed to reduce all of them to this state.

Jiang Zhi chuckled lightly and asked, “Feeling better now? Not scared anymore?”

Su Yun was still covering her ears. “Seeing them like this, I think I can handle it.”

[I quickly turned down the live stream volume! Weren’t you all bragging about how fearless you were?! How come you’re screaming so hard now? Hahaha!]

[Who would’ve thought that the same people yawning about being sleepy just minutes ago are now shrieking in terror! Thanks to Su Yun, I’m wide awake now!]

[How is Su Yun still holding the reins at a time like this? Hahaha! She’s making them question horror movies altogether!]

[What did they even see just now? The camera angle was so dark, I couldn’t make out anything!]

When the others screamed, they curled up in fear, nearly jumping out of their skins, their eyes tightly shut, terrified of opening them and seeing that horrifying scene again.

A few minutes later, the screaming stopped, but their hearts were still pounding, and they didn’t dare open their eyes.

Lin Yan asked in a trembling voice, “Did you all see that just now? The shadows under the streetlights, there were so many of them.”

It had happened right after Su Yun said, “There really is someone!” The shadows had appeared out of thin air!

The scene could only be described as spine-chilling.

Su Xue, eyes still shut tight, added, “I saw it too, but I don’t know what it was… or if it’s still there now…”

Su Yun glanced at the people ahead, then at her teammates, who were still squeezing their eyes closed, and asked considerately, “Do you want to open your eyes now?”

“No!” they all answered in unison.

Jiang Zhi said, “Go ahead, open them. It’s fine.”

If they kept this up, dawn might break before they moved.

Jiang Zhi’s words carried far more credibility than Su Yun’s though there was always the chance the couple was playing a prank.

The guests wrestled with their nerves, but curiosity eventually won out. Slowly, they opened their eyes, wanting to know what had flashed past them earlier.

But when they finally looked, the scene before them left them dumbfounded.

Lin Yan stared at the figures in front of her and murmured, “What we saw just now…”

Su Yun finished the sentence for her. “…was their shadows.”

The people across from them spoke up. “Girls, did we scare you just now?”

They were retired elderly residents from the neighborhood. Over the past few years, they had organized regular group activities every few days.

Sometimes it was group jogging, other times evening square dancing.

Today, they had set out early because they wanted to hike up the mountain maybe even catch the sunrise.

When they heard voices ahead, they assumed it was fellow fitness enthusiasts and had stepped out from behind the streetlights to greet them.

But before they could even say hello, the screams of the young women had silenced them mid-step.

Liu Yangran asked, “It’s alright, aunties… you saw everything just now?”

“Of course,” the aunties replied, looking far more energetic than the shaken guests. “We were just coming over to say hello.”

Liu Yangran’s reaction: My anxious heart has officially given up.

Now, they weren’t scared anymore, just thoroughly embarrassed.

The aunties didn’t mind at all and cheerfully asked, “Are you all here to hike the mountain too?”

“This is where we usually run,” Su Xue explained to the others. “We thought no one would be here at this hour.”

If she could go back a few minutes, she would have checked the situation before screaming.

She had intended to scare Su Yun, but ended up terrifying herself instead.

[Their embarrassment is impossible to hide, hahaha! The aunties were so calm even after hearing their screams!]

[Contestants, can your nerves be any frailer? Hahaha! You started screaming without even seeing what it was!]

[I’m seriously starting to doubt who among you is actually afraid of horror movies. The way Su Yun and the aunties just stared at each other had me dying of laughter!]

After exchanging a few words with the aunties, they bid them farewell, not wanting to delay their prime hiking time.

Once the sun rose, the difficulty of the hike would increase something they knew from firsthand experience.

After the aunties left, the road fell silent again.

Su Yun blinked and asked, “Is the opening of Nightmare like this too? A bunch of people screaming? What about the rest of the plot? It seems pretty interesting.”

After all, they had just talked about reenacting Nightmare in real life.

Admittedly, she hadn’t felt any fear just a lot of amusement.

Jiang Zhi’s lips curled slightly. This was the Su Yun she knew, never missing an opportunity to turn things to her advantage.

“…”

No matter who answered that question, the response would undoubtedly be negative.

Lin Yan leaned against the streetlamp, the same one that had scared her earlier and declared, “I’m never recommending horror movies to you again!”

Su Yun then turned to Su Xue, ready to praise her for the excellent background music, but before she could speak, she saw Su Xue flash a perfectly practiced eight-tooth smile: “No one on this show actually likes horror movies, right? I wonder who even suggested it!”

Her indignant expression was so convincing that even a professional actor would need a lesson to replicate it.

Seizing the moment, the director removed his earplugs and announced, “Everyone’s had enough exercise and should be fully awake now. Time to head back for breakfast!”

Hearing this, the contestants stopped in their tracks and turned around, leisurely making their way back.

If not for the director’s reminder, they would have forgotten the original purpose of their morning run.

Liu Yangran glanced at the sky, still dark, and estimated it would be another hour or two before dawn.

“Breakfast already?” Liu Yangran remarked as she walked alongside the others. “This might be the earliest I’ve ever eaten it.”

Jing Zhaozhao wasn’t as optimistic. “Based on today’s rules, breakfast is probably still up to the live audience, right?”

The combination of the program team’s preparations and the audience’s choices, truly a “powerful alliance.”

–

Just as Jing Zhaozhao had guessed, when they returned, two covered dishes were already set on the table, hiding the contents from view.

The director declared, “Our team has prepared two delicious breakfast options. Now, it’s up to the live audience to decide whether the contestants get the one on the left or the right.”

The audience loved this blind-box format. Even though their choices were random, enthusiasm ran high, with many speculating about what the program team might have prepared.

A minute later, the results were announced. The director said, “The guests may now open the breakfast on the left.”

Xu Zhi was closest to the table, so she helped remove the cover on the left. Everyone then saw the breakfast laid out on the table.

Su Xue exclaimed, “Sandwiches? Not bad at all!”

She had mentally prepared herself for some unusual or exotic food, especially after the director emphasized the word “delicious.” To her surprise, the breakfast turned out to be something as ordinary as sandwiches.

“But… don’t you smell something unusual?” Liu Yangran frowned slightly, sniffing the air carefully.

After a few seconds, Su Yun reacted, “…It’s mustard.”

As she spoke, Xu Zhi had already picked up a sandwich. The moment she brought it closer, the pungent smell of mustard hit her. “It really is. And the entire sandwich is just vegetables and mustard.”

There was no way this wouldn’t overwhelm their taste buds with the distinct flavor of mustard.

[! Mustard in sandwiches? What other surprises do you have in store for us?!]

[Hahahahaha! I love this blind box randomly picking something so unexpectedly thrilling!]

Since this was the “love” from the audience, they had no right to refuse. Each of them picked up a mustard sandwich, eyeing one another and egging each other on: “You try it first, and I’ll eat right after.”

Just bringing it near their mouths made the mustard’s sharp aroma sting their noses and eyes, let alone actually eating it.

“I’m actually not that hungry right now…” Lin Yan desperately searched for an excuse to stall. “You guys go ahead. Didn’t Ye Ying say she was hungry when she came back earlier? You should eat first.”

Ye Ying shook her head vigorously. “I’m not that hungry either. I was just joking earlier.”

“Is mustard really that scary?” Su Xue leaned in to sniff it. She had never actually tried it before, and curiosity got the better of her. She took a bite.

In an instant, Su Yun saw Su Xue’s expression twist dramatically proof enough that mustard was indeed terrifying!

“Hahahaha,” Lin Yan couldn’t help but laugh as she watched Su Xue struggle to swallow. “Xue’er, did your soul just leave your body from shock?”

Otherwise, how could she have been brave enough to take such a big bite?

Su Yun looked down at the mustard sandwich in her hand, took a deep breath, and turned to Jiang Zhi. “Should we give it a try?”

They had to eat it sooner or later might as well be bold about it.

Jiang Zhi nodded and took the first bite. The mustard flavor exploded in her mouth, but thanks to her exceptional composure, she managed to keep a straight face.

As she ate, Su Yun also took a small bite.

Once the two of them finished, everyone else stared at them expectantly.

Jing Zhaozhao asked, “How does it taste? Can you describe it?”

Just so they could mentally prepare themselves.

Jiang Zhi handed Su Yun a glass of water before answering, “Hard to describe. Think of it like the spicy tofu Yangran once made.”

As for which was worse, she felt they could still compete for the title.

Meanwhile, Su Yun had finally recovered enough to say just one thing: “Endure bitterness to grow stronger, but this just makes your heart sink harder.”

Kudos to the production team for creating such an inedible sandwich!

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