Perhaps the demonstration by Cen Yueyue had made an impact, as everyone gathered the courage to cross the suspension bridge.
As she moved forward, Cen Yueyue glanced back at the bridge several times.
The rickety suspension bridge seemed to signal something to them; Cen Yueyue kept her thoughts hidden.
The path to the villa wasn't spacious; long uninhabited, it was covered in weeds, causing much distaste among the group, even the director bore a grim face.
However, the house was sponsored; they couldn't make negative comments.
"Ah..."
A scream broke the silence.
It was the girl who had glared at Cen Yueyue earlier.
"Squeak..."
Following a few fast, fleeting figures, the girl's suitcase was snatched away. She was terrified, her face pale, and everyone was suddenly petrified by the scene.
Then, there were more screams, suitcases were being snatched from more than one person, and seeing the chaos escalating, Cen Yueyue quickly opened her suitcase and took out a slingshot.
In a small bag, she packed her specially made steel pellets and took a shot at the swiftly running crazy figure.
With a thud, something fell from the tree, it was a wild monkey. Its head seemed to have been injured and bloodied, it rose and bared its teeth at Cen Yueyue.
Cen Yueyue aimed her slingshot at it and said,
"I'll give you a chance to change. Next time, your brain will literally bloom. I heard monkey brains are delicious; I've never had them. Would you like to provide me with this opportunity?"
The monkey: ...
A wise monkey knows when to run; eventually, it ran off with its tail between its legs.
The monkey ran off, and the group finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Cen Yueyue put the slingshot back and stood up, only to realize that everyone was staring at her as if she were some sort of monster.
"What, adults can't use slingshots?"
Everyone: ...
No, the point is why would someone bring a slingshot to a dating show?
"Don't be scared; I'll protect you."
Yu Jieqi actively moved close to the pale-faced girl, hoping to win her favor. But what he didn't expect was for her to turn around and ask the adjacent male,
"Could you lend me a hand?"
Yu Jieqi's face darkened.
The adjacent male paused, then came to her aid.
Undercurrents were swirling.
It hadn't started yet, but there were already glimpses of a vortex of love and hate; Cen Yueyue found it particularly entertaining.
After about an hour of walking, they finally came upon the villa.
It must be said, as expected of a house provided by a sponsor; the villa was huge, not old-fashioned, instead it had a modern style, looking like it was only built a couple of years ago, complete with a swimming pool.
However, the tastes of the rich are incomprehensible, to build a villa here to let it decay; do they have more money than they know what to do with?
The assistant director unlocked the villa, entering the living room revealed a luxurious chandelier, a long table that could seat dozens underneath, and many paintings hanging on the staircase.
"How interesting, Van Gogh's sunflowers and Da Vinci's The Last Supper."
Speaking was a short-haired girl with bangs.
She seemed to have a keen interest in paintings.
Yet Cen Yueyue noticed the crossbow hanging on the wall. Amidst the artistic pieces, it exuded an aura of solemnity and coldness.
More importantly, the crossbow was ready-to-use, rather than a mere decoration.
"The girls' rooms are on the third floor, and the boys' are on the second. Choose your rooms," said the assistant director.
Unknown to them, all their movements, from the moment they entered the villa, were being streamed around the angles by the multitude of cameras placed around the villa.
And this live broadcast was named - "Pink Love Experience".
【What the heck is going on?】
【Holy Cow, it's the real film king... for real! And the best actress Xie Er'lan, how come I haven't heard of this live stream?】
【Really, why was there no official announcement?】
【Isn't that Zou Yunshu and Yin Baixue, the A-list young actresses?】
【Aren't those Fei Zhemin and Bi Yuanshang? This cast lineup... are they going to fall in love? Epic! Let's follow this, I'll let our other fans know!】
Quickly, the numbers in the live broadcast room skyrocketed from hundreds to tens of thousands, and still climbing.
The people in the villa knew nothing and were happily choosing their rooms; while the comments and chats were already ablaze.
【The man who just passed by, I think it's the famous director Zhang Weiyi. Xie Er'lan was the leading lady of his film and when she won the best actress. Wait...are they in a relationship?】
【What are you thinking? The director must be directing, he might be the director of this love reality show. I didn't expect him to shoot this, bit strange.】
【What's so strange about it? If not for him, could we have such a stellar line-up for this love fest? Just be grateful.】
【Wait, I don’t recognize a couple of people, do you? Who's the girl with curly hair, why did she take Yin Baixue’s room, so annoying.】
In reality, Cen Yueyue didn't take Yin Baixue's room. It was just that Yin Baixue was dithering over two rooms, and Cen Yueyue wasn't going to yield, so she moved in directly, not expecting to provoke such resentment.
The rooms didn't have any cameras, so everyone could only watch from the outside.
Once settled, the director asked everyone to gather in the living room.
"Alright, everyone sit down. Let me speak," said the director, clapping his hands, and everyone sat around the dining table.
"Considering that the official filming begins tomorrow, you should familiarize yourselves and introduce yourselves first."
The director then took his seat at the head of the table.
【Is it weird that they're showing us this live broadcast even if it isn't being filmed yet?】
【I thought it had already begun, so if it hasn't started, is this like behind-the-scenes?】
【Can’t recognize some faces, how considerate of the director to help us out, but we're not really interested in the rest of the people...】
【The film king is so cool. I like it. Shaa~~】
【That woman chewing bubble gum, stop it. It's making my cheeks hurt.】
Cen Yueyue didn't hear a thing and blew a big bubble. Pop! It burst.
Everyone looked over, their eyes filled with disapproval.
【Can't you stop blowing your bubble gum when others are talking? Such manners.】
【Can we get this person out first? No matter how good-looking, it's useless.】
"[Don't focus on her, I want to see the Best Actor and Actress.]"
And so, the formal introductions start.
"My name is Nangong Yi."
The Best Actor’s introduction is brief, but everyone knows him.
"My name is Xie Er'lan, nice to meet you all. This is my first time on a variety show, so I hope you'll be patient with me."
[Wow, the Best Actress is so approachable.]
[How else could she have won Best Actress? She's humble, not aloof at all. The entertainment industry needs more of this purity.]
[The aloof Best Actor and the gentle Best Actress, I ship this couple. I’ve even thought of a name for them: Unsettled.]
[Hah! You’ve already cast the ship before it's even started.]
"My name is Zou Yunshu, I'm an actress."
This is the same slender beauty who woke up Cen Yueyue earlier.
"My name is Yin Baixue, I'm also an actress. My goal is to become someone like Xie Er'lan."
After saying that, she looks at Xie Er'lan with admiration.
Xie Er'lan smiles, as if to reassure her.
[Eek! The Best Actress and the budding starlet, the mentor and the admirer, I ship this couple too. I’m calling them First Snow.]
[Enough with the shipping! How can you ship everything? The Best Actress belongs to our Best Actor, stay away.]
