Chapter 135
Chapter 135
In a flash of inspiration, Luo Yunmeng pointed beneath the tree and screamed, “A ghost! Aaaaaah!”
Then she turned and ran, exiting the scene cleanly. She was more cunning than anyone.
Encouraged, Zuo Qingquan and Bian Feibai staged their own rout, shouting as they fled behind her.
This was a horror movie. Surely screaming and running after seeing a ghost was normal?
The Prince of Lanling had died at the beginning. If he stood beneath a tree, what could he be but a ghost?
Their improvisation was perfectly reasonable and faultless.
“Imperial City Storm-scene four, take two, action!”
“A ghost?”
The male Ghost walked toward the tree. Just as his rotting hand reached out, the door creaked open.
“Zhuyue?”
The male Ghost stared sinisterly at the “tall” princess consort with elaborate hair and red makeup, addressing him without respect.
Shang Yan said nothing. His displeased gaze settled on the hand resting among the leaves.
In the silence, Qiao Yu suddenly received a warning.
[Ding-character deviation: 10%.]
A frigid wind blew through, and scattered clouds surrounded the blazing sun.
Was it his turn to appear?
Qiao Yu had a sudden inspiration and jumped out. “Insolence! You see Her Highness and refuse to kneel!”
The male Ghost: ??
Shang Yan: “…”
-My secondhand embarrassment is acting up again.
-What kind of plot development is this? I’m dying.
-That’s not the Prince of Lanling. That’s the princess consort’s lackey.
-Hahahaha, you’re wicked…
[Ding-the male lead has broken character beyond all possibility of repair. Deviation has reached 100%. The Instance’s Forced Plot Progression mechanism has been activated.]
[Punishment: Charm increased by 10%.]
Current Charm: 92%
Huh?
Qiao Yu went blank.
The restless clouds instantly overlapped and sealed away the sun. In the gale, the male Ghost raised an eerie smile, no longer hiding the greed in his gaze.
Shang Yan changed too. Veins stood beneath the skin of his tense neck as he fought for control. He strode forward, dragged Qiao Yu into his arms, and caught a button on Qiao Yu’s collar between his teeth.
Hot breath spilled across Qiao Yu’s neck and rushed along his veins straight to his brain.
With a rattle, the silver chain bound the male Ghost, immobilizing him. His corpse-spotted, rotting face grew even more hideous.
“Don’t…” Qiao Yu covered Shang Yan’s face, trying to stop him.
He had no desire to make out in public.
Shang Yan easily seized his wrist, the burning palm imprisoning him.
“Behave.”
His gaze fixed on the tiny red mole at Qiao Yu’s collarbone. Pink against cool-white skin, it stripped away all reason.
Faint moisture covered the collarbone, lingering… tracing…
Qiao Yu felt as though someone had clubbed him from behind. His mind went blank.
[Ding-the male and female leads have both broken character. Deviation has reached 100%. The Instance’s Forced Plot Progression mechanism has been activated.]
[Punishment: Charm…]
Alarm bells exploded in Qiao Yu’s mind. As Shang Yan bit open his third button, Qiao Yu shakily raised the Review Card, tears shining in his eyes. “No more filming… Cut!”
The Charm increase was forcibly halted, but a greater problem appeared.
With the cameras off, every possessive, predatory gaze around them was exposed. Qiao Yu shoved Shang Yan away and began another escape.
As he ran, he took out the Eyebrow Pencil.
He was searching for somewhere to write a name when his gaze caught the Live Stream Room comments.
-So beautiful. I wish I were Sister Painted Skin. Then I could appear beside the streamer and kiss his palm…
-Painted Skin is gone. She left during filming.
Qiao Yu searched the earlier comments and found her farewell.
-Painted Skin: Baby QY, don’t summon me. I don’t have that kind of self-control. Goodbye, bye-bye, no time to shake hands.
Well, then…
A pair of red embroidered shoes suddenly appeared in Qiao Yu’s path, drops of blood pattering onto the ground…
He stopped short, glanced at the Bridal Ghost reaching for him, then turned and plunged into the bamboo grove.
At the same time, the heavy clouds withdrew, revealing an uncanny red sun.
-What the fuck? Why did the signal cut out again? Didn’t the streamers escape already? They even resumed filming, so how were they dragged back into her Ghost Domain?
-Looks like the Bridal Ghost came prepared this time!
-Of course. When has she ever appeared without wiping everyone out? Once the ghost marriage begins, no one can stand against her.
-Her cultivation runs deep. How could she stop before killing them all? Just watch.
-Sadako: My darling isn’t afraid of her. Instant kill.
-Li Xiaoqin: I hope so. I’m a little worried…
Qiao Yu darted through the bamboo, avoiding the Ghosts affected by his Charm while guarding against the Bridal Ghost.
Seriously, why had she fixated on him?
His attention elsewhere, Qiao Yu soon ran into a dead end. He turned to retreat, saw the blood-soaked bridal robe drifting nearby, and hesitated.
A scarlet-nailed hand suddenly reached through the brick wall behind him, seized his collar, and hauled him to the other side.
“Follow me.”
“Ren Yan?” Qiao Yu breathed in relief and followed her into the bathroom beside the servants’ quarters.
The door slammed shut. A shadow fell across Qiao Yu as the Pen Spirit extended a pale hand toward his cheek. Her black eyes looked like overturned inkwells.
“How did I never notice how good-looking you were?”
Qiao Yu’s newly relaxed nerves pulled taut. He swiftly produced a bright-red banknote. “Take it.”
The Pen Spirit accepted it, her gaze still suggestive. “Are you dismissing a beggar? Ah, why are you so beautiful?”
Qiao Yu understood. Watching the hovering hand, he angrily took out another bill. “Fine, fine…”
The Pen Spirit pocketed it instantly. “Not enough. Eighteen hundred.” A petty, triumphant smile curved her lips. “Not one yuan less.”
“Fuck! Ren Yan, don’t go too far!”
“Too far? Compared with you… this is drizzle.”
“Did you fail language class? That’s not how you use ‘drizzle.'”
“Bullshit! I always ranked first in Chinese!”
Qiao Yu curled his lip. “You still call it Chinese studies? Forget it. I won’t argue. There are more than thirty generation gaps between us.”
“I don’t care about generations. Pay up.” The Pen Spirit held out her palm righteously.
Qiao Yu took a deep breath and endured the humiliation of handing over another sixteen hundred yuan.
Fuck. All debts truly came due eventually.
“You had to pay sooner or later. Why not do it cheerfully? You made me waste my breath.” The Pen Spirit counted the money with smiling eyes and kept provoking him. “This Instance is great. Money comes fast.”
Qiao Yu ground his teeth. “You’d better pray you never need my help.”
The Pen Spirit shrugged fearlessly. “We’ll talk when that happens.”
Fuck. He had failed to hurt the enemy and lost eighteen hundred himself. What a terrible deal!
“Can you stop counting? Isn’t it annoying?” Qiao Yu turned away in fury.
Knowing when to stop, the Pen Spirit pulled open her collar and stuffed the money… against her chest.
“Are you sick?” Qiao Yu frowned. “Doesn’t your outfit have pockets?”
She clicked her tongue. “What do you know? It feels safer here.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Qiao Yu strongly disagreed with her method. Instead, he asked, “Why aren’t you affected by the Charm?”
The Pen Spirit raised an eyebrow and gave him a meaningful look. “You should ask yourself that.”
Qiao Yu: ??