The Film Queen Is Cold and Ruthless, Only Sends Money - Chapter 42.1

Chapter 42

After listening to Su Yun and Jiang Zhi’s descriptions, the other guests grew even more fearful of the sandwiches in their hands.

Liu Yangran asked, “Director, do we really have to eat this?”

“I actually brought some canned food. I didn’t expect it to come in handy so soon,” Su Xue said, having just recovered from the wasabi flavor. She suddenly remembered the canned food she had specifically brought for the show.

Wasn’t this the perfect time to bring it out?!

Lin Yan also recalled this and felt her mood instantly lift. “Right! We still have canned food. We don’t have to eat the wasabi sandwiches!”

At this point, only Su Yun, Su Yun, and Jiang Zhi had tried the wasabi sandwiches, the others hadn’t yet suffered through the ordeal.

Su Yun, still haunted by the lingering taste of wasabi in her mouth, suspected the director wouldn’t let them off so easily.

Sure enough, just as the guests were about to set down their sandwiches and head back to their rooms to open the canned food, the director spoke up.

Director: “We don’t have any rules stating that guests can’t eat food not provided by the production team. However, these sandwiches were specially chosen for everyone by the live-stream audience. We hope you won’t disappoint their expectations.”

Lin Yan, who had almost reached her room, turned back in disbelief. “Since when did you start playing the emotional card?”

In previous tasks, the production team had always set strict rules to prevent the guests from exploiting loopholes, no rules? They’d make some up.

But today was the first time the director had told them that the rules allowed this behavior.

Yet, she had to add, “These were specially chosen by the live-stream audience,” effectively playing the emotional card. How could they refuse now?!

[Hahahahahaha! Director, you really dragged us viewers into this battle!]

[Let’s see how they choose now, doge. This is the breakfast we all picked for them!]

[They’re hesitating. Seems like they still care about us, hahaha! Why do I feel a little guilty now?!]

After three seconds of hesitation, those who had almost reached their rooms turned back and picked up the sandwiches from the table again.

Su Yun and Jiang Zhi had never left their seats, watching as the others happily walked away, only to return dejectedly moments later.

Su Yun smiled and said, “You should really give it a try. It’s just the first bite that’s bad.”

Now, she could even detect a faint, refreshing aroma from the wasabi itself.

She seriously suspected her taste buds had been conquered by wasabi otherwise, why would she even consider taking another bite?!

“Really?” Lin Yan was half-convinced, but since she had to eat it sooner or later, she pinched her nose and took a big bite under Su Yun’s encouragement.

Inspired by her bold move, the others followed suit, doing their best to ignore the smell as they closed their eyes and bravely took a bite.

Su Xue, as a seasoned veteran, took on the role of supervisor. “Ye Ying, you only nibbled the edge of the sandwich. Make sure you try the wasabi inside too.”

Ye Ying: “…”

How did she even notice?!

Though their actions seemed slow and reluctant, the reaction came within just two or three seconds of swallowing.

The lively chatter from moments ago fell into complete silence. The only signs of life were their tightly furrowed brows, proof of the wasabi’s lingering power.

“This is so disgusting.” Liu Yangran couldn’t even swallow the food in her mouth before blurting out these words.

Eating breakfast made her feel like she was about to die!

Su Yun: “Finish eating before you speak. I feel like the entire room is filled with the smell of wasabi now.”

The pungent aroma of wasabi was already strong, and with several people eating it together, it seemed to have permeated every corner of the room.

The others wanted to laugh but had to restrain themselves, still feeling the lingering burn of wasabi in their mouths, making their suffering even worse!

Finally able to speak again, Lin Yan chimed in, “I don’t just feel it in the room, I feel like my entire body is made of wasabi now!”

From head to toe, she was thoroughly infused with the scent of wasabi.

“Hearing you say that makes me start to dislike even myself,” Jing Zhaozhao said, lifting her wrist and arm to take a sniff before immediately recoiling.

Liu Yangran had already downed an entire glass of water. “What do you think is under the lid on the right?” she asked.

She had been curious about it since eating the sandwich earlier.

After all, the food under the right lid had also been one of their breakfast options. She hadn’t expected the production team to leave it there untouched.

“Surely it can’t be worse than the wasabi sandwich, right?” Su Xue was also curious, though after their earlier ordeal, her tolerance for surprises had grown!

[I want to know too! I voted for the right side earlier, what kind of breakfast is it?]

[+1, but it’s probably better than the wasabi sandwich, right? Though I love watching them suffer with wasabi, haha!]

[If the food under the right lid turns out to be delicious, the guests might just burst into tears! I’m already feeling sorry for them!]

Director: “If you all want to know, you can lift the lid on the right.”

Since the guests had already endured the wasabi sandwich and completed the challenge, there was no need to keep the other breakfast hidden any longer.

This time, Jiang Zhi was nearby. She lifted the lid, revealing the other breakfast option to everyone.

Su Xue: “Is that porridge?”

Jiang Zhi, being the closest, had a clearer view: “Wasabi-infused porridge.”

Whether left or right, neither option seemed to be a good choice for them.

The guests: “…”

Is there any kind of culinary horror this show can’t come up with?!

Liu Yangran: “Just put the lid back on.”

Out of sight, out of mind. They could pretend they never knew there was a bowl of wasabi porridge waiting for them!

–

After breakfast, the guests gathered by the window, watching as the sun slowly rose above the horizon.

During these early moments of sunrise, the sky displayed its most vibrant colors. The lingering darkness and deep blue of night had yet to fade, while golden rays of light began to emerge. Hues of red and orange gradually blended into yellow, and the silhouettes of buildings and trees, once hidden in shadow, slowly came into view.

The clock struck 5:30.

“At this time on a normal day, we’d probably just be waking up, right?” Ye Ying mused, reflecting on the past with a sense of unreality.

It felt like they had worked tirelessly for so long, only to realize that the new day had barely begun stretching endlessly ahead of them!

Su Yun and Jiang Zhi sat on the other side of the window. “Doesn’t that look like a polar bear?” Su Yun pointed at the clouds, their shape indeed resembling a bear.

Jiang Zhi nodded, though her attention wasn’t on the sky, it was on something else nearby.

Although she and Su Yun were sitting on the same side, the distance between them wasn’t far, yet there was no physical contact at all. Even the hems of their clothes hung neatly by their hands without the slightest overlap.

This wasn’t like usual, Jiang Zhi concluded silently.

Ever since waking up today, she had sensed this difference it seemed Su Yun was deliberately keeping her distance.

In the past, though they weren’t particularly close, they hadn’t actively avoided casual contact, interacting more like friends.

But today, while jogging, Su Yun had been careful with her movements; when returning to the house, she had lagged a step behind; and when passing a sandwich, Su Yun had hastily withdrawn her fingers at the slightest brush of their fingertips.

It was as if she was intentionally creating distance.

Yet Jiang Zhi couldn’t figure out why. From yesterday to now, barely a day had passed, and nothing had happened between them that could have altered their relationship.

Lost in thought, she didn’t realize she had been staring at Su Yun for a long time until she heard her voice.

“What’s up?” Su Yun asked with a smile.

It wasn’t dislike that made her avoid me, Jiang Zhi thought to herself, observing the faint smile on Su Yun’s face.

Jiang Zhi shook her head. “Nothing, just thinking that the cloud earlier looked like a polar bear or maybe cotton candy.”

Clouds were ever-changing, shifting from a polar bear one second to an eagle the next, which was part of the fun of cloud-watching.

Su Yun wanted to take another look to verify Jiang Zhi’s observation, but the cloud in question had already vanished. “Though most clouds could be said to resemble cotton candy.”

Jiang Zhi nodded with a smile.

–

[Woke up this morning and saw the trending topics! Can’t believe how many great moments I must have missed!]

[#MyShowMyRules# Who came up with this hashtag? LOL, I envy your creativity!]

[Don’t worry, everyone! From what I gather, the guests’ entire schedule today is determined by us viewers. There’ll be plenty more voting opportunities!]

[Logged into the livestream today, and instead of seeing them yawning and stumbling out of their rooms one by one, they were all sitting neatly by the window watching the sunrise hilarious!]

As time passed, more viewers joined the livestream, tuning in just as the guests debated what the distant cloud on the right resembled.

For some reason, the audience felt an unusual air of world-weary wisdom about the guests today, a stark contrast to their livestream demeanor from the previous days!

Curious newcomers immediately took to forums to ask why, receiving explanations from viewers who had been watching since the start.

“Having the audience vote to decide the guests’ itinerary, Dear Them must be the only variety show bold enough to do this?!”

“I should’ve stayed up gaming last night! Might’ve caught the show’s midnight announcement at 3 AM!”

“Worst of all is me, I got the livestream notification before turning off my phone but thought it was a mistake. Didn’t even click in! Was planning to suggest to the Dear Them team tomorrow to stick to a schedule!”

“HAHAHAHAHA, so they’ve already completed so many missions! No wonder they have this air of weariness, it’s probably mental exhaustion, hahaha!”

“Enough talk, enough talk. From now on, I’m focusing on the show. I’ll definitely cast my precious vote carefully, hehe!”

Amidst such discussions, Dear Them quickly soared up the trending charts with several new hashtags.

#MyShowMyChoice
#WakingUpAt3AMOr5AM
#HorrorMovieIRL

However, aside from the buzz around Dear Them, another trending topic caught their attention.

#SuYunReleasesThemeSong”WanderingImmortal”forTVSeries

Once they saw the content of the hashtag, the discussion threads exploded.

[Did you all see the trending topic? Su Yun’s new theme song is out! My feelings are so mixed right now!]

[+1, I was really starting to like Su Yun after watching Dear Them, but I’m scared that listening to this might shatter my illusion of her!]

[You guys are making me nervous. Maybe I should just pretend I didn’t see this hashtag and peacefully enjoy my variety show!]

[Stop babying her. Sure, Su Yun’s variety show presence is good, but isn’t it common knowledge that she lacks skill in acting and singing? I don’t get why this is even up for debate.]

[+1, honestly, I was really looking forward to Wandering Immortal. I just hope the theme song doesn’t ruin it!]

For a TV series to be good, the actors, director, and script are all indispensable. If any one of these falters, the result is the same, a flop.

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