Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Next came the segment where they read the other party’s comments.
Qi Yue, being a newcomer with limited screen time but striking looks, quickly attracted a large number of fans during the brief moments he appeared. Most of the comments about him were friendly.
Host A had previously drawn two comments praising Qi Yue’s appearance and loyalty, which made Gu Yunshuang smile warmly in agreement.
But the third comment was less kind.
It was clearly from a fan of Xue Tinghe: “What’s July even worth? Just a paid pretty face actor—why compare him to Master Xue? If he weren’t lucky enough to resemble the master a little, he wouldn’t even be worthy of polishing Master Xue’s shoes.”
Gu Yunshuang responded with a serious and earnest rebuttal: “Nonsense. Qi Yue is much more handsome than Xue Tinghe and taller too. Qi Yue’s height is 190 cm, and Xue Tinghe definitely isn’t that tall. Qi Yue is scientific, doesn’t dabble in superstition, and doesn’t scam people. Besides, I remember hearing online that Xue Tinghe is twenty-two this year, while Qi Yue is already twenty-three—older by a year. So it should be Xue Tinghe who’s lucky to look even a little like Qi Yue.”
His earnestness in defending Qi Yue showed not a hint of infatuation with Xue Tinghe. It was almost as if he was pointing at Xue Tinghe’s name, accusing him of being a superstitious fraud.
The atmosphere in the living room grew inexplicably heavy and suffocating. Others secretly glanced at Xue Tinghe’s expression, only to see him fixate on Gu Yunshuang on the live split screen, his eyes nearly blazing with fury.
Jiang Mingshuang’s gaze darkened slightly. “I can understand Gu’s eagerness to defend Qi Yue, but there’s no need to belittle Brother Xue like that!”
Sun Zhanyuan sneered coldly, “A pretty face and nothing more, how dare he compare himself to Master Xue? He’s just pretending, thinking that’s how he’ll get the master’s attention. I want to see how long he can keep up the act.”
Xie Yuhua glanced at Xue Tinghe, “He doesn’t seem to be pretending. Maybe he really thinks Qi Yue is more handsome and just likes him more because of it. But no matter how good-looking you are, if you’re empty inside, you’re just a fool. True talent’s brilliance can never be hidden. That’s why I prefer people with real skills.”
Qiao Yuanzhong grinned foolishly, “I know, Little Rain Baby likes people with real skills like me.”
Hu Lijing happily munched on sunflower seeds, finding the whole drama quite entertaining.
On Qi Yue’s side, the comments drawn were not kind to Gu Yunshuang. The so-called real-time comments showed that most of Gu Yunshuang’s usual trolls and bots had disappeared, busy with hospital visits and IV drips, and the moderators had finally gotten a grip. The remaining comments were mostly friendly towards Gu Yunshuang, but Host B, having “bad luck,” drew five comments all insulting Gu Yunshuang.
Qi Yue, of course, knew the comments drawn were controlled by the production team. In the story’s plot, the program was arranged by New Wave Entertainment to feature an actor as a fake childhood friend. This fake childhood friend not only performed poorly but deliberately attracted negative attention to Gu Yunshuang.
Drawing comments was one of the main ways to generate bad press for Gu Yunshuang. Seeing the malicious slander and insults toward Gu Yunshuang, the fake childhood friend’s first reaction was to take the blame and apologize on Gu Yunshuang’s behalf, then join in criticizing him.
Originally, the so-called evidence of Gu Yunshuang’s scandals online was vague and unproven, but apologizing as the childhood friend became “solid proof,” confirming Gu Yunshuang’s alleged misdeeds.
Now, with Qi Yue sitting in that seat, if the production team wanted to keep using this tactic to smear Gu Yunshuang, they were dreaming.
A trace of mockery flashed in Qi Yue’s eyes as he replied to each drawn comment one by one.
When a comment called Gu Yunshuang’s face “plastic surgery,” saying he was ugly:
Qi Yue said, “Nonsense. Our Shuangshuang was born beautiful and cute all her life. You must be jealous that you can’t look this good yourself, so you spread rumors that Shuangshuang had surgery. You should reflect on why you look ugly—and uglier inside.”
When a comment claimed Gu Yunshuang was a diva, disrespecting seniors, ignoring friendly handshakes, and slow to respond:
Qi Yue replied, “At that moment, Shuangshuang was probably so excited and nervous to see his idol. That’s just how he is. When I’m not around, if he gets nervous or scared, he stiffens up like a block of wood, his face blank, slow to react, adorably clueless.”
【Fake cool but actually adorably awkward? So Shuangshuang is cold on the outside but sweet on the inside?】
【What a ridiculous joke. Gu Yunshuang’s personality is arrogant and nasty. Even if you want to redeem him, don’t make it so absurd.】
【Here it comes, the redemption package! No more cold, untouchable white moonlight character—now he’s awkward and cute!】
Qi Yue couldn’t see the barrage of doubts in the chat but continued seriously refuting every insult against Gu Yunshuang. At the end, he wanted the host to draw even more comments.
The interview ended as evening approached. Everyone was exhausted from their travels. The director paused the live broadcast and had the staff bring in the prepared boxed dinners.
Yet the guests showed no sign of relaxing. They hadn’t forgotten that although the show claimed to be about childhood friends, it was actually a supernatural exploration variety show. On other shows, they would have already started choosing rooms by now. The director’s delay clearly meant the real show was yet to come, likely after nightfall.
The purpose was obvious: to scare them.
Sure enough, after dinner, with the last rays of the sun sinking below the horizon, the director resumed the live broadcast and announced that the next segment was for guests to choose their rooms.
Before that, the director introduced the supposedly haunted villa.
The villa was built by a wealthy tycoon as a vacation home.
However, after completion, the tycoon forgot about it. One day, he suddenly remembered and brought his family to vacation there. But on their very first night, a tragedy occurred. All six family members were brutally murdered inside the villa, their bodies dismembered and hidden in the refrigerator. The scene was horrifying.
Because the villa was remote, the bodies were only discovered after two weeks. By then, only the family’s skulls remained in the refrigerator, the rest having been eaten.
The police quickly caught the culprit: a mentally ill vagrant.
After the villa was built, the vagrant somehow sneaked in, pried open doors and windows, and made it his home. When the tycoon’s family arrived, he mistakenly thought they were trying to take his home. So he hid in the villa and, under cover of night while the family slept, killed them one by one. He then dismembered the bodies and stored them in the refrigerator to eat like pork.
The case caused a sensation at the time.
Since then, the villa was said to be haunted.
“People have reportedly heard eerie screams at night—men’s, women’s, and children’s cries. The chilling sounds cause those who hear them to fall ill with high fevers the next day, lasting for days without relief. Doctors then recommend sunlight exposure, after which they slowly recover.”
The director narrated vividly in a haunting tone, accompanied by the setting sun, the howling wind outside, and occasional strange bird calls—all deeply unsettling.
Xue Tinghe added an explanation: “When someone dies with strong lingering attachments, they may become earthbound spirits, doomed to relive their final moments daily. Ordinary people can’t see them, but those with weak spiritual energy or light fate might. This causes them to be haunted, known as spiritual collisions. Afterward, they may suffer colds and fevers for days but recover with sunlight.”
Though he spoke lightly, the guests trembled in fear. Didn’t this just confirm the villa was truly haunted?
The live chat exploded with comments like “So scary” and “Terrifying.”
Only Gu Yunshuang remained indifferent, his posture rigid and upright like a young pine tree unwilling to bend. The director expected him to shout, “Nonsense, ghosts don’t exist.”
“Nonsense, ghosts don’t exist at all,”
The director’s thought was interrupted—wait, that wasn’t Gu Yunshuang speaking, but Qi Yue!
Qi Yue loudly retorted, “This place is so remote, no one lives for miles around. Who would be stupid enough to come here in the dead of night to listen for ghost sounds? This so-called legend is clearly just the director making up stories to scare us. And that story about the tycoon’s family being killed is definitely fake, just made up by the director.”
【True, who has time to come to a deserted place at midnight to listen for ghosts? The director’s story is careless and illogical.】
The chat followed with a series of skeptical comments, pointing out more flaws—if someone had been living in the villa, there would be traces. How could the tycoon’s family not notice?
The terrifying atmosphere the director had built evaporated instantly.
Director: ...
No one but Qi Yue noticed Gu Yunshuang’s previously stiff back slowly relax.
The director could only patch things up: “I didn’t lie. That person was a paranormal streamer who heard about the haunted villa and came to investigate. Then the events I described happened.”
Qi Yue asked, “So, did the paranormal streamer discover the haunting first, or did the haunting attract the paranormal streamer?”
Director: ...
Damn, can you just stop arguing!