Chapter 29
Cheng Lan grinned and said, "Let's choose a group for the first part later, okay?"
Yang Pengfei followed behind and couldn't help but slap Cheng Lan on the back when he heard this: "This is a variety show, is it your turn?"
Thanks to Yang Pengfei's response, Xia Lanzheng nodded in agreement: "I have to wait for the arrangements."
Cheng Lan was a little unhappy, not towards Xia Lanzheng, but simply didn't want to be handed a script by the production team.
Half an hour later, just before the show was about to start, the last guest finally arrived. Everyone was displeased, but upon seeing who was coming, they all put on a smile and said nothing.
The person had a striking light blond hair and wore exaggeratedly heavy makeup, surrounded by a group of staff members. This was the last guest, the young actor Ning Xiyuan who was recently gaining momentum.
Xia Lanzheng didn't show any special expression, but was surprised by Yu Jiawei's strong dissatisfaction.
"I knew it." Yu Jiawei said behind others' backs.
"Know what?" Xia Lanzheng asked.
Yu Jiawei had ended his work with Ning Xiyuan two weeks ago and was concentrating on working with Xia Lanzheng. He raised his eyelids and pursed his lips, saying, "Nothing. Just try to stay away from him during filming."
Xia Lanzheng replied that she knew, and she had not forgotten the last live broadcast when Ning Xiyuan’s fans rushed to the front.
All seven guests arrived, everything was ready, and the cameras began rolling. As usual, the show began with guest introductions, with the script clearly spelling out what to mention, what not to mention, and which guest had sensitive words.
After the first four guests was Xia Lanzheng, a new actor and model, who was not introduced in detail.
Then came Song Xinghuai, and finally Cheng Lan was the finale.
By the time Cheng Lan got to this point, the host inevitably mentioned the movie he had just finished filming. The segment was almost over when Cheng Lan suddenly glanced at Xia Lanzheng and brought the topic back.
"Our Xia Lanzheng and Song Xinghuai will also be performing, I hope everyone will pay more attention."
Everyone present understood that Xing Pai was asking Cheng Lan to bring in new people. The camera crew, respectful and considerate, panned the camera towards Xia Lanzheng's face.
Xia Lanzheng was stunned for a moment before reacting and saying a few sweet words. Song Xinghuai stood on Xia Lanzheng's other side, his face, lightly made up, visible for a few seconds.
Ning Xiyuan laughed, neither loud nor soft. Only Song Xinghuai, who was next to him, heard it and glanced at him sideways.
After the tedious introduction, the host began to read the first game segment - the courage test.
Someone suddenly pinched my fingers.
Xia Lanzheng looked up and saw Cheng Lan, expressionless, making physical contact with him in full view of the high-definition camera.
"Choose me," Cheng Lan quietly approached, covering the wheat on his collar, "I'm very brave."
A mouthful of white teeth flashed before his eyes, and sunlight leaked through a corner of the ceiling, falling on Cheng Lan's muscular arms.
Seeing him trying to take credit, Xia Lanzheng suddenly wanted to laugh: "Okay..."
Before he could finish his words, Song Xinghuai's clear voice came from the other side: "I choose Brother Xiaoxia."
Cheng Lan's expression froze suddenly. Xia Lanzheng turned to the other side. Song Xinghuai was still smiling and repeated the question.
"I want to choose Xiao Xia brother, is that okay?"
Xia Lanzheng had no choice. The groups were arranged according to the order of drawing lots. Song Xinghuai was at the first place, and whoever he wanted to choose had to agree.
Cheng Lan let go of Xia Lanzheng's hand and opened his mouth to say something, but Xia Lanzheng was startled and suddenly pinched his fingers again.
"Okay, then I'll be in your group." Xia Lanzheng replied while pinching Cheng Lan's fingers hard.
Don't quarrel, don't quarrel.
Wouldn't it be good to live in peace and make money seriously?
Cheng Lan rolled his Adam's apple and swallowed his words. When it was his turn, he hesitated for a long time and finally chose Ning Xiyuan from the same company.
"Now we're going to draw the last round of lots," the host said, pulling out a box and shaking it. "Those guests who have drawn the vampire identity, please hide your identity. You can act alone after dark. When the countdown ends, if all members of the human camp fail, the opposition will win."
Xia Lanzheng unfolded his slip and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw "Ordinary Person" written on it. Drawing a special identity would be troublesome. He was just here for fun and didn't want to get too much attention.
After being divided into groups, everyone separated, and Xia Lanzheng suddenly had no time to care about Cheng Lan.
The light in the factory was dim, with only a few simple lamps installed, reflecting on the steel pipes and discarded materials, and dust floating in the direct light.
Going further, there are several narrow spaces inside.
There is no need for excessive decoration, and the scrap metal and unfinished buildings create a natural horror atmosphere.
"Xiao Xia brother," Song Xinghuai walked in front, "Are you scared?"
Xia Lanzheng walked around the steel rod at her feet: "It's okay, it's quite fun."
Song Xinghuai probably wasn't afraid either. He had secretly observed Song Xinghuai on the set and found him to be a man of few emotions. Whether he was happy or angry, his face rarely showed it.
Instead, he was always smiling, and it seemed like he was smiling at everyone except Cheng Lan.
As they were thinking this, they were led by the staff into the innermost compartment, which was even darker and completely dark.
Song Xinghuai grabbed Xia Lanzheng's arm and pulled him to the other side.
"Then can I follow you?" Song Xinghuai leaned over and approached, "Brother Xia, I'm a little scared."
“…”
Xia Lanzheng turned around and saw a pair of bright eyes. She was afraid that the word "fear" would not sound convincing when it came out of Song Xinghuai's mouth.
never mind.
Maybe it's for show effect? What kind of persona did the company give him?
"I...Okay, then you follow me closely."
Just as Xia Lanzheng finished speaking, someone pulled her clothes tighter and Song Xinghuai came close to her.
This was different from the feeling of Cheng Lan approaching. Song Xinghuai's presence was faint, and his body temperature was even lower. Their arms suddenly touched, and the cold touch made Xia Lanzheng shudder for a moment.
"Is it cold?" Xia Lanzheng asked in the dark.
There were a few spider webs hanging in front, sticky and covered with something that might be blood plasma or some other liquid.
The sound seemed to come from a deep valley, rushing around in the cramped space, turning several corners, and falling into Song Xinghuai's ears.
Song Xinghuai glanced at the fixed camera at the corner, which was like an eye peeping in the dark.
"A little bit. What's ahead?"
"Hmm... there are some props," Xia Lanzheng said, carefully identifying the items on the ground, her voice steady. "There's a fake skeleton, spiders, and reptiles."
Suddenly, a scream was heard from the other side of the wall. The singer's voice was long and full of energy.
Xia Lanzheng pursed her lips and pulled Song Xinghuai behind her. A sudden cool breeze blew from behind, and the hairs on his neck stood up.
Looking back, Song Xinghuai looked calm and pointed to the blower at the back: "The program crew created the wind."
"Oh, okay." Xia Lanzheng felt a hand full of dust on the wall and shook it off in disgust. "If you feel cold, come closer."
The two voices in the headsets were carried outside the venue. The director laughed behind the monitor: "The people next door were so scared that they had afterimages, but these two are so calm."
"Increase intensity?"
"Go ahead, let the NPC in."
Xia Lanzheng walked a few meters further in, and the space became increasingly narrow. The walls on both sides squeezed her shoulders, leaving only enough space for one person to pass through.
Song Xinghuai frowned and took a step forward: "Brother Xiaoxia, I'll go first."
Before Xia Lanzheng could say anything, Song Xinghuai had already walked into the wall. A pile of things fell down in front of him, and several black shadows flashed past his eyes.
"It's okay," Song Xinghuai said calmly, shaking off the object that had fallen on his shoulder. "Don't be afraid, it's a fake spider."
The wind chasing behind her turned into a low whistle, making Xia Lanzheng's scalp tingle. Faint footsteps could be heard to the left and right, sometimes slow, sometimes fast.
Xia Lanzheng didn't try to control her expression. The directors, who had been observing the situation from the sidelines, quickly pressed their headsets and said, "Film Xia Lanzheng! Film her right in the face!"
The camera zoomed in, revealing a long-haired young man leaning casually against the wall, raising his eyelids to look at the props that kept falling.
The tassel earrings on his earlobes swayed gently, and the silver light flowed through his hair, highlighting the slightly raised corners of his lips.
When she first stepped onto the set, Xia Lanzheng was clearly still confused, but now she seemed like a different person, the sheep turning into a shrewd black cat.
"Cover!" Someone pointed at the face on the screen. "This is an incredible cover! It's absolutely amazing!"
Yu Jiawei didn't say anything, but he was also surprised when he saw what was happening behind him. He didn't expect Xia Lanzheng to be so brave.
Inside the factory, Xia Lanzheng and Song Xinghuai left the corner, their view widening a bit, but it was still murky. There were several cabinets the size of a person standing in the room, and Song Xinghuai recognized them at a glance.
"coffin."
Xia Lanzheng spoke at the same time as him.
Then, a mechanical sound came from all around.
"It's getting dark, please find suitable cover quickly."
With a bang, thick white smoke burst into the air.
Xia Lanzheng squinted her eyes because of the choking, and she felt that the footsteps were getting closer and closer, and were densely crawling all over her body.
He turned around suddenly and saw several figures in the smoke, but could not tell the direction of Song Xinghuai.
A familiar voice sounded two meters away. With a click, Song Xinghuai pushed something away: "Brother Xiaoxia, find a place to hide!"
Xia Lanzheng reached out and touched something like a handle.
It's the upright coffin.
This thing looks so unlucky. Is it really safe for a living person to go in there? But there is no other shelter around. The coffin is obviously a deliberate addition by the production team.
This is what the director was waiting for.
Xia Lanzheng took a deep breath and raised his foot to open the door. The next moment, the door was pushed open and a hand stretched out from the darkness, grabbing his arm with great force.
He fell into the small space, and was caught off guard when a scent of lemon came from behind and wrapped him tightly.
Warm breath sprayed behind Xia Lanzheng's ears.
"Zheng Zheng, I caught you."
*
"Xia Lanzheng!"
Song Xinghuai's voice rang out in the room. Xia Lanzheng couldn't figure out the situation at the moment and could only roughly guess that he was on the left.
Click, click.
The sound of footsteps surrounded and lingered around Xia Lanzheng's hiding place.
Cheng Lan covered her open mouth. Xia Lanzheng met his warning gaze with a slanted look: "Shh, don't make a sound."
This scene seems familiar, as if I’m back to the day of the school anniversary.
But this is not a storage cabinet, but a mahogany coffin.
There were crescent-shaped cuts on the inner wall, and the words on the upper side were crooked. When I looked closely, I saw that they were several "正" characters used for timekeeping.
The last stroke extended crookedly, and the person carving the words seemed to be frightened, and the pen stopped abruptly.
For a moment, Xia Lanzheng's heart was beating like a drum. The scent of lemon in her nose was replaced by a gloomy smell mixed with dust. He grabbed Cheng Lan's fingers and pulled them down.
"Can I trust you?" Xia Lanzheng whispered softly to Cheng Lan.
Among the seven guests including him, there are three vampires on the opposing camp, and the situation is unclear.
Cheng Lan, who had entered the dark room first, suddenly appeared, as if he was waiting for something to happen.
Cheng Lan raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "What do you think?"
"I don't know," Xia Lanzheng looked up, her earrings flickering in the darkness, "but I confess to you, I'm a good person."
There was half an arm's length between him and Cheng Lan, just enough for them to see each other's reflections in their eyes.
After a brief eye contact, Cheng Lan licked his fangs and his gaze fell on Xia Lanzheng's earlobe.
"You're so honest, aren't you afraid that I'll do something to you?"
Xia Lanzheng looked at him and blinked, then after a few seconds she crossed her arms and offered her neck to him.
He replied softly, "Then you can do it now."
There are watermelons and cold drinks in the rest area. If you go out now, the watermelon might still be cold.
Xia Lanzheng closed her eyes and let herself be slaughtered, completely ignoring Cheng Lan's reaction.
Cheng Lan was suddenly hit by that slender neck, as if fangs were about to grow out, and a sweet and bloody smell came out of his mouth.
He raised his hand to touch Xia Lanzheng's Adam's apple, and couldn't help but want to cover it with his entire palm.
Just trust me like this?
In the dark space, their breaths intertwined, and every corner was filled with Xia Lanzheng's scent.
However, immediately afterwards, someone knocked on the door.
"Xiao Xia, are you in there?"
Cheng Lan stopped moving and glanced over. Xia Lanzheng's consciousness was pulled out of the watermelon. Song Xinghuai's voice was very soft, one word after another.
"There seems to be no one outside, Xiao Xia brother, do you want to come out?"
The sound of footsteps beside my ears suddenly stopped, and in the air, only the sound of wind drifted in the darkness.
Xia Lanzheng subconsciously looked at Cheng Lan. Cheng Lan frowned and put his arm around his shoulders.
"Don't answer," he whispered, "Song Xinghuai is a vampire."
White mist seeped in from the cracks in the coffin lid, and the air inside became thinner and thinner.
Two voices came into her ears, one after the other. Xia Lanzheng simply covered her ears and pondered Cheng Lan's words without changing her expression.
He suddenly remembered another thing: "Where is Ning Xiyuan?"
Cheng Lan was suddenly stunned, his eyes evasive: "We got separated."
"Lost?" Xia Lanzheng repeated with narrowed eyes.
Song Xinghuai seemed to be still outside the door. Cheng Lan made a "tsk" sound and pressed his palm against the door panel, making a "bang" sound.
"Yes, we got separated."
Xia Lanzheng's suspicions resurfaced, but before she had time to think about it, a bright light suddenly shone from the side.
Song Xinghuai pulled open the coffin lid, Cheng Lan lost his balance and fell forward. Xia Lanzheng suddenly reached out and grabbed his collar from behind.
Cheng Lan pushed back hard, and Xia Lanzheng let out a muffled groan.
Song Xinghuai stood outside the door with his back to the light, his eyes passing over Cheng Lan's shoulder and falling on Xia Lanzheng's face.
"Xiao Xia, the NPC has left."
Xia Lanzheng was squeezed into a corner and raised his head with difficulty, but Cheng Lan stood up straight, blocking his view.
"Come in." He raised his chin and said to Song Xinghuai.
Song Xinghuai straightened the corners of his mouth that had been curled up, still looking at Xia Lanzheng intently, and stretched out his hand and said, "Xiao Xia, do you want to come out?"
Cheng Lan also turned around to look at him and turned the subject to Xia Lanzheng, who seemed to have the final say.
But the two eyes in front of him were scorching, as if they were going to eat him alive if he answered incorrectly.
Xia Lanzheng swallowed, and a bead of cold sweat dripped down her forehead.
Isn’t this much scarier than escaping a room?
My back suddenly felt cold, and something rustled as it crawled up my neck.
Xia Lanzheng raised her hand and touched something slippery. Song Xinghuai and Cheng Lan both saw him open his eyes, and then -
With a "swish", he waved his hand and a slender black shadow passed by his eyes.
The wet and sticky thing touched the back of Cheng Lan's hand. It was icy and cold, and covered with scales.
Cheng Lan was startled and subconsciously dodged to the side, with one foot stepping out from over the coffin lid.
It was a pitch-black snake that almost hit Song Xinghuai's face.
Song Xinghuai's expression also changed and he quickly stepped back.
Xia Lanzheng, the person involved, clutched her chest, glanced at the ground, and said calmly, "Luckily it's fake. I was scared to death."
Cheng Lan almost laughed out loud at his flat tone: "Xia Lanzheng, what scared you? You scared me..."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone slapped his shoulder hard.
Cheng Lan turned his head in disbelief and saw Song Xinghuai slowly narrowing his eyes.
"Teacher Cheng, the game is over."
The mechanical announcement sounded again from above my head.
It's dawn.
The pale yellow light bulbs in the four corners of the room lit up, barely illuminating the faces of the three people.
Song Xinghuai was confident, Cheng Lan was in disbelief, and Xia Lanzheng... had a look of having eaten a piece of melon on her face.
So wonderful.
Song Xinghuai's trick of taking advantage of every opportunity was really brilliant.
Two screams came from the next room, and it sounded like they came from the singer with huge lung capacity.
"You..." Cheng Lan shook his hand away, grabbed a handful of hair and admitted defeat, "You're pretty good."
He glanced at Xia Lanzheng, who was pretending to be an ostrich, raised an eyebrow and asked Song Xinghuai, "Your identity has been exposed. Are you going to wait here for him to come out or what?"
Xia Lanzheng thought to herself that he was not stupid, and there was no way he could get out of here even if the game was over.
Song Xinghuai shook his head: "Brother Xia, come out. I'll let you go and won't arrest you."
Xia Lanzheng let out an "Ah" and subconsciously covered the microphone on her collar: "Is this something I can say?"
The sound was clearly heard by the wheat harvester. Cheng Lan laughed meaninglessly and said in a drawling tone, "Isn't it a bit unfair?"
Song Xinghuai didn't respond. He winked at Xia Lanzheng and turned to walk towards the exit.
Xia Lanzheng poked her head out stealthily and pushed aside Cheng Lan who was blocking the doorway. "Is he really gone?"
"Leave," Cheng Lan looked at the figure a few steps away, raised his head and said to the high-definition camera, "Teacher Song has let the water go. Is there anyone to take care of it?"
Xia Lanzheng knew that this was a show effect, so she looked up and smiled at the camera.
He jumped out of the coffin and pushed Cheng Lan: "Go, go, go, I'm still alive, I have to go."
Cheng Lan was pushed forward and muttered, "Can you please have some conscience and just throw it away after use?"
Xia Lanzheng always felt that there was something inside his clothes, such as a fake spider or a prop snake... He was not actually afraid of these, but he felt uncomfortable having them inside his clothes.
"Help me take a look," Xia Lanzheng said without hesitation. She rushed in front of Cheng Lan and lowered her neck. "Is there anything inside?"
Cheng Lan watched him lift up his long hair, exposing his neck.
"What are you looking at?"
Xia Lanzheng lifted her collar, revealing a small piece of skin, and urged, "It looks like a spider has fallen in there."
Cheng Lan regained consciousness, cursed himself in his heart, walked slowly forward, and looked inside quickly.
A thumb-sized fake spider was stuck on Xia Lanzheng's back. Cheng Lan reached out and took it out, pinching it maliciously.
A pitch-black object appeared in front of Xia Lanzheng's eyes, shaking with the sound of Cheng Lan making babbling sounds.
Xia Lanzheng opened his hand and the spider fell to the ground with a gurgle.
"Cheng Lan, are you childish?"
"Why aren't you afraid of anything?"
Xia Lanzheng straightened her collar and stepped over the spider without hesitation: "You're the only one who'd be scared by a horror movie that looks fake at first glance."
"You mean the time we went to see a horror movie? That was because the air conditioning in the theater was too low," Cheng Lan followed. "The wind was blowing on your neck, but you had long hair, so you didn't feel it."
"It was clearly winter then," Xia Lanzheng debunked him, "How is that possible?"
Cheng Lan was about to argue when Xia Lanzheng in front of him suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"then……"
Xia Lanzheng opened her mouth, but she saw Cheng Lan and the wheat on his body out of the corner of her eye and swallowed her words.
That memory just now was too real.
As far as I can remember, he and Cheng Lan were still in elementary school. They lied to their parents and said they were going to the library to read, but ended up secretly going to see a movie.
The two kids were so caught up in the thrill of trying to hide something from the world that no one noticed what movie they had bought their tickets for. Only when they sat down did they realize it was a horror film. Including the two of them, there were only five other people in the theater.
On the way out of the room, Xia Lanzheng kept thinking about this.
Cheng Lan obviously also has this memory. It really happened and it was their common experience.
Could it be that he didn't travel through time and space in a book?
Xia Lanzheng was so frightened by this idea that when Cheng Lan put his hand on his shoulder, he trembled all over.
Cheng Lan finally caught the opportunity and laughed out loud, "What are you doing? Aren't you afraid..." He bent down and looked over, "The road is getting narrower. Do you want to go first or me?"
As he was speaking, the lights around him suddenly went out again.
The countdown to the last minute echoed in the room. Xia Lanzheng tightened her clothes and quickly got into the passage.
"I'll go first. You're dead anyway."
Cheng Lan's voice came faintly from behind him: "What do you mean I'm dead? Can you say something auspicious?"
Xia Lanzheng didn't respond. The road became narrower and narrower, and he walked faster and faster in the darkness.
There was a little light ahead, less than ten meters away.
He quickened his pace. If he could survive the first round of the game, he would have a chance to shoot one more round.
The announcement fee given by the program team is not low, and victory is just around the corner.
After walking another two meters, a hole suddenly appeared in the wall beside him.
Xia Lanzheng's eyes went dark, and she was pushed hard by a hand that appeared out of nowhere, and her other shoulder hit the wall.
In the chaos, he could see the face in the dark passage.
Ning Xiyuan smiled and waved at him: "Sorry, Teacher Xia, you've been caught."
A notice from the program team came from above.
"Game over, the vampire wins."
Cheng Lan's slightly cold voice followed closely behind: "Zheng Zheng, are you okay?"
Xia Lanzheng hissed and looked at Ning Xiyuan in the dark.
Has this person been waiting for him here?
What a great hatred.
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