Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 28: Chu Ling Covers Sheng Yi’s Mouth

　　Chu Ling, Sheng Yi, and Wen Shu each held up a candle, checking different corners of the room.

　　Without Qin Shuo’s self-proclaimed “protection,” and since all three of them were pretty gutsy, their progress was going quite smoothly.

　　“I’ve got several ‘double happiness’ characters here.”

　　Chu Ling stood on tiptoe, squinting at the wall as she reported, “Looks like the backstory might involve a wedding—or at least something related to marriage.”

　　“Nothing over here.”

　　Sheng Yi raised his candle for a closer look. “Just paint stains everywhere.”

　　“……”

　　Chu Ling couldn’t help but mutter, “Can you at least try to get into the game a little?”

　　“—Okay, it's all blood,” Sheng Yi speculated. “It looks like a major murder has occurred here. Judging by the amount of blood, there might be more than one victim.”

　　He paused, then cracked a joke. “We can't solve such a serious case, so maybe we should call the police.”

　　That's the survival rule of horror movies, right? No curiosity, no death.

　　Chu Ling played along with a dry laugh. “You think I don’t want to? There’s no signal here.”

　　【I’m about to faint just watching this and they’re still joking around… unbelievable.】

　　【Way too calm. Does anyone know what Qin Shuo’s doing right now?】

　　【Just came from Qin Shuo’s stream. After that NPC ghost caught him, he’s been locked in the basement. He hasn’t recovered yet. Looks like he has to wait for his teammates to rescue him, though who knows if anyone’s even going to take that side quest.】

　　Meanwhile, on Qin Shuo’s side.

　　His cameraman was trying to calm him down, chatting to ease his fear. “Do you think they’ll make it?”

　　He honestly hadn’t expected this. Qin Shuo had been in the entertainment industry for years, yet a haunted house still managed to scare him this badly.

　　The director even sent a rushed message, telling the cameraman to keep Qin Shuo talking. Otherwise, they were really worried this big star might get so spooked he’d fall sick.

　　“I don’t know.”

　　Qin Shuo had been scared half to death earlier, but now that he knew he was at least safe, he felt a bit better. He turned toward the camera, trying to salvage his image. “But I choose to believe in them, because they are my teammates.”

　　To be fair, being locked up here wasn’t the worst. At least it meant he wasn’t in danger.

　　With that thought, his fear settled down and his acting skills came back online.

　　“It’s just… I don’t know if they’ll run into any trouble.”

　　“Especially Wen Shu.”

　　Qin Shuo frowned, wearing an expression full of worry. “The other two, well, you know what they’re like. Not the most mature, not great at looking after people. Wen Shu is timid, she might be terribly frightened. I really worry about her.”

　　Meanwhile, the livestream chat said:

　　【I’m dying, stop worrying about Wen Shu and worry about yourself first!】

　　Right at that moment, the supposedly “timid” Wen Shu was busy investigating a coffin.

　　“There’s a coffin here. The lid is partly open. It looks pretty deep inside, maybe there’s a clue.”

　　The coffin was a little tall. Wen Shu noticed a step nearby, climbed up, and slipped right inside.

　　【Oh my god her courage is insane.】

　　【So the fragile little bunny we thought she was is actually the real tank. Who can resist this kind of contrast!】

　　【Remember how much effort it took to get Wen Shu that protective charm? Turns out she never needed it, lololol】

　　【This is why you always have to respect what someone says. Wen Shu already said she wasn’t scared and didn’t need it. Qin Shuo just wouldn’t believe her, probably thought she was playing some kind of push-and-pull trick.】

　　【Lesson of the day: when a girl says no, she means no!】

　　Wen Shu had just stepped inside when she must have triggered some kind of mechanism. The lid slammed shut, leaving only a small vent for air.

　　Wen Shu: “?!”

　　She knocked on the inside of the coffin a couple of times, realized it wouldn’t open, then immediately called for help. “Chu Ling, Chu Ling!”

　　“What happened?”

　　Chu Ling rushed over, then gasped. “Why are you locked in there? Don’t you have the protective charm?”

　　“Looks like the protective charm doesn’t block trap-type mechanisms.”

　　Wen Shu wasn’t particularly scared. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I can’t get out for now. Check if there’s a way to open it from outside, maybe a password or something.”

　　Then she added, “Oh, and this protective charm… maybe you two should use it instead? You’re out there, which is more dangerous.”

　　Chu Ling immediately said, “I don’t need it.”

　　Sheng Yi walked over too and said, “I don’t need it either. If someone has to take it, give it to Chu Ling.”

　　Chu Ling frowned. “So you think I’m the scaredy-cat here?”

　　Sheng Yi paused, then smiled. “Of course not.”

　　“I just think, what if I end up trapped next?”

　　“We’ve already lost two teammates to these traps. There’s a good chance another one of us might get locked up. Between the two of us, I think you’d last longer.”

　　He said it calmly, “Maybe I’ll even need you to save me. It makes more sense for you to keep it.”

　　Chu Ling froze for a moment.

　　Unlike Qin Shuo’s so-called protection, Sheng Yi’s words didn’t come from condescension but from trust. He trusted her skills, believed she was stronger, and wanted her to hold onto the protective charm as their team’s last safeguard.

　　He actually believed in her.

　　Chu Ling hadn’t expected that, and her emotions felt a little complicated.

　　A moment later, she pressed her lips together, then lifted her chin. “So you’re looking down on me, huh?”

　　“I won’t get caught, so I don’t need it. If you don’t want it, then give it to Wen Shu.”

　　The way she said it was arrogant, cocky, completely unapologetic.

　　She was even bracing herself for the chat to roast her.

　　But the barrage had a different reaction.

　　【Wait… she didn’t take it?】

　　【I thought someone as selfish as her would snatch it straight out of Wen Shu’s hands, but she didn’t!】

　　【Sorry, I know I shouldn’t, but Chu Ling being all tsundere like this is kinda funny… No I am NOT a Chu Ling fan, I don’t think she’s cute, I don’t think she’s funny, and I definitely don’t want her mouth back on-screen more often!!】

　　【? Excuse me, the one above sounds like a closeted Chu Ling fan, wake up!】

　　【No, but I get it! You can tell she’s actually trying to be decent, but her tone just makes it easy to misunderstand. Honestly, I’m starting to think some of those “diva behavior” scandals about her might have just been people misreading her personality… maybe she wasn’t acting out after all? This is just how she is!!】

　　The system watching the chat: “…”

　　You netizens are so hard to figure out.

　　Sheng Yi nodded, not dwelling on the protective charm. “Then let’s leave it with Wen Shu.”　　

　　“Wait.”

　　Wen Shu suddenly spoke up. “I think I found a clue.”

　　She held up her candle, leaned closer, and saw red writing on the coffin lid.

　　【Why, why.】

　　【Why… would you treat me this way… Aren’t I family too?】

　　【[Solo mission: find the clues, piece together the story, and tell your teammates how to clear the stage.]】

　　【Note: if the clues are incomplete, the challenge may fail.】

　　Wen Shu finally understood. “So it wasn’t a trap, it’s a solo mission.”

　　And not just any mission—an important one tied to clearing the haunted house.

　　No wonder the coffin had felt so big and empty inside, with even a soft carpet laid at the bottom. It had been suspicious from the start.

　　Wen Shu quickly started gathering the rest of the clues and finally pieced the story together from the fragmented hints.

　　“I hate you… You sold me off into a ghost marriage.”

　　“You were even afraid I’d come back, so you dug out my eyes… I hate you, I hate you so much…”

　　“I’ll get revenge on you, I’ll get revenge on all of you.”

　　She read it all out loud, then said, “So this coffin originally held a woman whose eyes were gouged out, her resentment so strong she turned into a ghost. After she became a ghost, she went out for revenge—probably massacred everyone.”

　　The story was pretty basic, but it lined up with the earlier clues.

　　Chu Ling asked, “Then what’s the way to clear this stage?”

　　After all, this was a haunted house, not an escape room.

　　There were puzzle elements, sure, but they wouldn’t be overly complicated.

　　Wen Shu kept searching for a long time before finally finding a hidden clue tucked away in a corner: “But… who can tell me… where is my marriage contract?”　　

　　“Marriage contract?”

　　Chu Ling thought it sounded right but said, “We just searched this room from top to bottom, there was no marriage contract.”

　　Wen Shu considered it. “If the ghost took revenge on people in this room, then if the contract was here, she probably would’ve found it already. Maybe… it’s somewhere else?”

　　Sheng Yi said, “We can check another room—”

　　But then out of the corner of his eye, he caught something, nudged Chu Ling, and said, “Look.”

　　It seemed some keyword had been triggered. Suddenly, rustling sounds echoed throughout the room.

　　Chu Ling turned and saw countless ghosts of all shapes and sizes crawling out from hidden passages, slowly shuffling toward her and Sheng Yi.

　　“These must be the ones she killed, who turned into ghosts themselves.”

　　Chu Ling reacted first. That also meant they were probably close to the truth.

　　Seeing the NPC ghosts closing in, Chu Ling quickly apologized to Wen Shu, then grabbed Sheng Yi by the wrist and ran for the hallway.

　　If they got caught, they might end up like Qin Shuo.

　　Sheng Yi hadn’t even processed what was happening before Chu Ling was already dragging him along.

　　Her palm was burning hot. She couldn’t wrap her hand fully around his wrist, only half, but her grip was tight and her fingers pressed right against his pulse, causing his heartbeat to erratically beat as he ran.

　　The dim hallway was lit only by a few flickering lamps. Chu Ling tried several doors along the way but none opened, until she reached the very last room at the end. She grabbed the handle and the door swung open.

　　She and Sheng Yi quickly slipped inside.

　　Chu Ling hadn’t forgotten the LED candle while running, so now she lifted it to light the room.

　　It seemed to be the main wedding hall. The place was decorated for celebration, lanterns and red banners everywhere, looking festive—if you ignored the bloodstains.

　　Chu Ling let go of Sheng Yi’s wrist and said, “Start searching.”　　

　　Sheng Yi rubbed his wrist. “Mm.”

　　The NPC ghosts outside the door didn’t come in.

　　But inside the room, another NPC wearing a groom’s outfit was slowly crawling out of a coffin in the corner.

　　Sheng Yi noticed first, his eyelids twitching.

　　There were ghosts both inside and outside the door.

　　No way to escape.

　　In that critical moment, his mind was unusually calm. He wondered if he should just rush forward and act as bait. If this NPC caught him, at least for a while it wouldn’t go after Chu Ling.

　　The groom NPC’s movements also caught Chu Ling’s attention as she rummaged through the room. She was about to run, but in the dim light she realized the NPC was wearing a mask. The eye sockets were hollow, streaming with bloody tears.

　　She remembered the clue about eyes being gouged out. Plus, the way it moved slowly, almost as if it was listening for sound, made her form a bold conclusion.

　　Sheng Yi was just about to leave his last words. “I’ll go first—”

　　Before he could finish, Chu Ling stood on tiptoe, reached out, and clamped her hand firmly over his mouth.

　　Sheng Yi: “?!”

 

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