Chapter 178: Chapter 178: She Will Soon Do Herself In

In the end, at Gu Shi’s arrangement, the show’s cast ended up staying in the ocean-view villa that Meng Xiaoxiao had drawn.

The villa wasn’t very large to begin with, only two stories. Suddenly packed with six cast members and a throng of staff, it felt rather cramped.

More importantly, to prevent them from causing trouble, the police had surrounded the villa with patrol cars. It was as if they were being held like prisoners.

Citing a ban on filming, the police also confiscated all their camera equipment and cell phones.

This meant that not only could they not leave, but even calling for help would be difficult.

Everyone started to panic. Meng Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, seemed to have a sudden idea and quickly asked Shen Zhiyao, “Yaoyao, don’t you know how to tell fortunes? Can you figure out who killed Master Qin?”

At her words, everyone’s eyes fell on Shen Zhiyao.

Shen Zhiyao said, “Actually, you’ve all already met the killer. I just can’t say who it is right now.”

The director urged anxiously, “Who is it? What’s there to hide?”

Zhao Jing snapped impatiently, “If you knew who the killer was from the start, why didn’t you point them out to the police! Now look, our show has been forced to stop filming, and we’re locked up here like criminals. Are you happy now!”

Shen Zhiyao shot Zhao Jing a cold glance. “Because pointing them out wouldn’t do much good. In fact, it would just tip our hand.”

With the cameras gone, Zhao Jing couldn’t be bothered to maintain her “nice girl” persona anymore. She sneered, “If you can’t figure it out, why not just say so? What kind of fucking excuse is that!”

Shen Zhiyao gave a faint smile. “Haha, think whatever you want.”

Her aloofness and arrogance were particularly grating to Zhao Jing.

’A female celebrity who slept her way to the top with her body and looks, and she’s still getting special treatment, both openly and behind the scenes, on a variety show.’

Zhao Jing had long found Shen Zhiyao disagreeable, but she couldn’t say anything on camera.

But now, they were all about to become prisoners, and Shen Zhiyao was still sitting there acting so high and mighty. ’What does she have to be so cocky about?’

The long-simmering resentment, combined with the previous lot drawing and the current situation, made Zhao Jing exceptionally irritated. Her temper flared. “Stop putting on an act! Didn’t you just sleep your way to the top by climbing into the bed of the Jin family’s young master? Who are you trying to fool, acting all pure and unbothered? You really think you’re better than everyone else!”

“SLAP!”

A crisp, clean slap landed across Zhao Jing’s face.

Zhao Jing stared at Chen Yan in disbelief. “You hit me?”

“So what if I did?” Chen Yan retorted. He then held up his palm, displaying his long fingers. “I’m not one to hit people, unless… someone’s mouth is just too foul!”

Zhao Jing was stunned by the slap. It took her a long moment to realize Chen Yan was insulting her.

’Chen Yan is just some poor kid with no connections. How dare he talk to me like that?’

Humiliated, Zhao Jing was about to fly into a rage.

Seeing things were getting out of hand, the director quickly tried to mediate. “We’re all in this together now; we should be united. Zhao Jing, you’re the senior here, you should be a little more lenient with the younger generation. And Chen Yan, you were in the wrong too. No matter what, you can’t go around hitting people!”

The director motioned for Chen Yan to apologize to Zhao Jing. Chen Yan just shrugged and said, “It wasn’t on purpose. Zhao Jing’s mouth was just so foul, I couldn’t control my hand.”

Seeing that Zhao Jing was about to erupt again, the director rushed to block her path and turned to Shen Zhiyao. “Why can’t you tell us who the killer is?”

Shen Zhiyao explained, “You’ve seen it for yourselves. The people here are extremely hostile to outsiders. They called the police, but even the police couldn’t find the killer. If we stand up and point fingers now, do you think anyone will believe us? The reason I didn’t tell you is because…”

She turned to look at Zhao Jing. “I was afraid someone would leak the information and cause even more trouble.”

Zhao Jing rolled her eyes disdainfully. “Who are you calling a blabbermouth? If you can’t figure it out, just say so. There’s no audience here now; your reputation won’t collapse!”

Shen Zhiyao ignored her.

The director was now frantic. “What are we supposed to do? We don’t have our phones, we can’t contact the outside world. By the time they finish their investigation, this season of the show will be over, and we’ve only been filming for two days!”

Just then, Shen Zhiyao’s phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Jin Fan.

Shen Zhiyao said a few brief words and hung up.

After she hung up, the other cast members stared at her in shock.

The director asked, “Weren’t all the phones confiscated?”

Shen Zhiyao looked down at her phone nonchalantly. “They were! But I have two phones. One for live streaming, and the other for checking messages. If Jin Fan hadn’t called me, I would have almost forgotten I had another one.”

The director’s eyes instantly lit up. “Let me use your phone! I need to call the station head and have him sort this out.”

Shen Zhiyao handed the phone to the director.

The director explained everything that had happened in the Island Country to the station head, asking, “Sir, what should we do now? How about you send someone to get us back to the country first, and we can deal with the rest later?”

But the head of Mango TV disagreed. “No! The show must go on; it cannot be interrupted. The buzz for *Qing Qing Wo Wo* is soaring in the country right now, and everyone online is waiting with bated breath. Finding a body in the middle of filming is an unprecedented, sensational event. The fans are all clamoring to see what happens next. If you come back, what are we supposed to do about them? So, you can’t come back. You have to finish filming the show.”

The director was completely speechless. “But all our camera equipment has been confiscated! How the hell are we supposed to film!”

The head of Mango TV said, “Don’t you still have a phone? Use that phone to live stream, and Mango TV will officially share it! If you ride this wave of popularity, you’re guaranteed to set new viewership records.”

In the end, the director was convinced by the head of Mango TV. He then returned to discuss it with the cast.

The cast didn’t object. The show’s popularity was at an all-time high! Only a fool would stop filming now.

The director continued, “Alright then, we’ll start the next ’instance’: Find the real killer.”

Shen Zhiyao cooperatively logged into her Douyin Live Stream.

The moment she went live, the number of viewers in the stream skyrocketed:

[You’re finally live! Host, we missed you to death! Are you okay? Are you hurt?]

[Oh my god, did they really find a body on the show? What’s the situation now? Have they found the killer?]

[I’m so curious too. I was just getting into the live stream when it suddenly cut off. WAHHH… such a cliffhanger…]

[Our Xiao Xiao is quite delicate, you guys have to take good care of her!]

[I wish I was there, then I could protect Chen Yan up close. He looks so thin and small, how can he manage without my protection?]

[Fuck, get lost, you damn gay. Don’t even think about making a move on Chen Yan!]

[Whoa, Actor Sun’s mental fortitude is on another level. He’s so calm through all this!]

[Host, what’s the situation over there? Can you share any details?]

Fans of all the cast members flooded into the single live stream. The bullet comments flew by like cannonballs, asking all sorts of questions.

Before Shen Zhiyao could say a word, Zhao Jing stepped right in front of the camera and recounted everything that had happened to the show’s crew.

Meanwhile, Shen Zhiyao subconsciously took a few steps back, quietly watching Zhao Jing put on a show.

Because she had foreseen that Zhao Jing was about to play herself to death…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep