Failed to Transmigrate, I’m Back Again - Chapter 11

Tang Wuyun ground her back teeth in annoyance at Shi Shuwu. If baring her teeth wouldn’t have been so undignified, she would have snarled at her.

Shi Shuwu had a knack for getting under her skin, scolding her for being “sick” with such a straight face.

Under Tang Wuyun’s furious glare, Shi Shuwu couldn’t help but sense the other woman’s thoughts.

Shi Shuwu muttered under her breath, “Ungrateful…”

She was the only one who cared about Tang Wuyun’s well-being, yet Tang Wuyun not only refused to appreciate it but also glared at her fiercely. Honestly!

But after replaying her earlier words in her mind, Shi Shuwu guiltily rubbed her nose. Okay, they weren’t very nice. No wonder Tan Qingyu told me to watch my mouth.

Tang Wuyun wasn’t truly angry. If she had to describe her current mood, she’d say her annoyance was layered over a surge of surprise. This Shi Shuwu was so different—she liked this version much better.

Shi Zhimiao opened the treasure chest. With both her teammates present, Zhang Rui stood no chance of snatching it alone.

Zhang Rui stared intently at Shi Zhimiao, as if trying to burn holes through her hand as she reached for the clues.

Unfazed, Shi Zhimiao calmly retrieved the clues and offered Zhang Rui some well-meaning advice: “Instead of wasting time here with us, why don’t you hurry and look for other clues?”

Zhang Rui stared at the glass bottle Shi Zhimiao had pulled from the treasure chest, her tone casual. “It won’t make a difference if I wait a little longer. If you give me that, I’ll leave right away.”

Shi Zhimiao stood up and moved behind Shi Shuwu and Tang Wuyun, opening the bottle while keeping a wary eye on Zhang Rui. “Mine. Not giving it to you.”

Tang Wuyun fixed Zhang Rui with a serious gaze, sensing this was Shi Zhimiao giving her a chance to prove herself. She needed to seize this opportunity to talk properly later, seeing it as Shi Zhimiao offering her a way out.

Zhang Rui clicked her tongue, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes as she sized up Tang Wuyun. “How about this?” she suddenly said. “Explain why you blocked me before, and I’ll let you all leave.”

Tang Wuyun’s expression froze.

Shi Shuwu hadn’t expected Zhang Rui to bring this up so bluntly during the live stream. Curious, she turned to Tang Wuyun.

Sensing Tang Wuyun’s stiffness, Shi Zhimiao peeked out from behind them. “What’s this?” she asked Zhang Rui. “Planning to take on all three of us alone?”

Zhang Rui tapped her smartwatch with a smirk, her voice smug. “My teammates are on their way.”

Tang Wuyun: “……”

If Tang Wuyun remembered correctly, Zhang Rui belonged to the Yellow Team, the only group that hadn’t used a card against her. Tang Wuyun still had a card in her hand, but she had no idea what it did and hadn’t used it yet.

Not wanting to burden herself with another debuff, Tang Wuyun started rambling nonsensically: “We’re such good friends! Why would I block you for no reason? I just lost my mind for a while, you understand, right Xiao Rui? Our revolutionary friendship… you must understand, right? Remember when we used to…”

Zhang Rui’s eye twitched, and she quickly cut her off: “Shut up.”

Who wanted to listen to Tang Wuyun reminisce about the past?

The things they had done together back then were hardly suitable for public discussion.

Tang Wuyun obediently clamped her mouth shut. It was indeed inappropriate to mention in front of everyone that they had once trapped their company boss in a trash can and beaten him up—the boss from Tang Wuyun’s previous company. That’s why she had been sidelined for two years.

Zhang Rui had simply happened to be there and, in a moment of “righteous indignation,” had helped kick the trash can countless times. With her powerful connections, she faced no repercussions.

Shi Zhimiao and Shi Shuwu were clearly aware of this incident as well. Shi Zhimiao had even offered to help Tang Wuyun, but she declined, saying she wanted to rest for two years until her contract expired.

The boss knew Shi Zhimiao was backing Tang Wuyun, so he didn’t dare blacklist her outright. Instead, they were locked in a stalemate, each trying to disgust the other.

As for Shi Shuwu, it was impossible for her not to know. Back when they used to play games together, Tang Wuyun loved to brag about her “heroic deeds” to Shuwu.

Zhang Rui glared at Tang Wuyun, her face wary. “Stop acting crazy.”

She was genuinely terrified of Tang Wuyun, unsure what had triggered her.

Before blocking Zhang Rui, Tang Wuyun had warned her that if she ever contacted her again, she would expose her “dirt.” The sheer audacity of it was infuriating, especially since Zhang Rui had no idea what “dirt” Tang Wuyun was referring to. When she asked, Tang Wuyun refused to elaborate, rambling on about it herself. Zhang Rui suspected Tang Wuyun had too many people to block and had simply sent out mass warnings without bothering to tailor them.

Now, just seeing Tang Wuyun’s smug face made Zhang Rui’s bl00d boil.

“Let’s compromise,” Zhang Rui said. “I won’t take the chest. If it contains a clue, we’ll examine it together. If it’s a prop, your team can’t use it.”

Since Zhang Rui had originally found and pointed out the chest, her demand seemed reasonable. Shi Zhimiao quickly nodded in agreement, eager to seize the opportunity and avoid a “bloody scramble” when the opposing team arrived. After all, Shi Zhimiao valued her public image above all else.

“It’s a clue,” Shi Zhimiao said, pouring the contents of the glass bottle onto the ground. “Let’s take a look together.”

As she opened the container, Shi Zhimiao reminded everyone, “You don’t need to be too careful with your words. Any inappropriate parts will be edited out later. The live stream should end once Wuyun enters.”

Zhang Rui paused, then quickly understood, sighing, “It’s ending already? I thought it would last the whole day.”

The show’s initial live stream focused on the audition process. Subsequent episodes would be edited and released weekly, like a typical variety show.

But the production team was even more of a tease than she’d expected. This would drive the fans crazy!

Tang Wuyun looked utterly bewildered, glancing between Zhang Rui and Shi Shuwu. Neither of them seemed surprised, leaving her the only one completely in the dark.

So, they weren’t live-streaming the entire thing after all.

She immediately asked the cameraman beside her, “It’s off?”

He nodded silently. It had indeed been cut off—right after Shi Shuwu joked about having an alpaca spit on Tang Wuyun.

Shi Shuwu, standing nearby, looked puzzled. “But my manager said the live stream would last all day.”

Shi Zhimiao raised an eyebrow slightly. “There’s a major scandal trending online right now. Everyone’s attention has shifted, so they decided to end the stream early.”

Tang Wuyun scoffed. “Just because of that? A single scandal is enough to change the production team’s plans?”

That was incredibly unprofessional. Did the director really lack such confidence?

With her on the show, they shouldn’t be worried about ratings!

Shi Shuwu chimed in, equally curious, “Could there really be something more exciting than Tang Wuyun’s drama?”

Tang Wuyun: “……”

Tang Wuyun snapped, “You’re being incredibly rude!”

Shi Shuwu retorted casually, “Rude yourself! You’re so rude, you can’t even handle the truth.”

Tang Wuyun: “You’re being rude!”

Shi Shuwu: “You’re being rude.”

Zhang Rui: “……”

Shi Zhimiao: “……”

Zhang Rui chose to ignore the two childish bickering and continued eating her melon seeds. “So, what’s the real story?”

Shi Zhimiao didn’t want to keep them in suspense. She signaled everyone to mute their mics before saying, “I really am here as a last-minute replacement. Lu Lin didn’t just have something come up—he was taken away by the police as soon as he arrived.”

“His scandal broke just minutes before I was supposed to appear.”

“He’s a guest on the show, and he retweeted the livestream announcement before the premiere. Now everyone’s focused on his situation. The production team doesn’t want to get involved in the controversy, so they simply shut down the livestream.”

Zhang Rui’s eyes widened. “He got canceled?”

Such sudden news!

Simultaneously shocked, Zhang Rui turned to stare directly at Tang Wuyun, the one who had threatened to expose others’ scandals.

She remembered Tang Wuyun had mercilessly cursed Lu Lin the day she blocked them all. Lu Lin had been so provoked by her insults that he publicly dissed her on his social media.

Tang Wuyun: “?”

Confused, she asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

She couldn’t shake the feeling that their gazes were strange.

Shi Zhimiao studied Tang Wuyun thoughtfully. After a moment, she shook her head and said, “We couldn’t trace anything back to the account that leaked the information about him. It probably wasn’t Wuyun; she doesn’t have the skills for that.”

Tang Wuyun’s eyes widened as she pointed at herself. “Me? You suspect me? Me?!”

Strictly speaking, she had only just woken up. She was completely innocent!

Shi Shuwu couldn’t understand why they suspected Tang Wuyun either. After a moment’s thought, she said, “It definitely wasn’t her. Her mental illness is too severe; if she had any dirt, she’d just blurt it out herself.”

Tang Wuyun bristled. “You’re being incredibly rude!”

She pointed at the other two. “You’re being rude too!”

In her anger, Tang Wuyun felt a surge of fury. She genuinely hadn’t expected Lu Lin to end up in jail. This meant the plot from the book wouldn’t happen to her—truly a stroke of good fortune.

This time, Shi Shuwu didn’t argue with Tang Wuyun. She simply nodded in admission. “Yes, I was being deliberate.”

Zhang Rui rolled her eyes. “Who could be ruder than you?”

Shi Zhimiao scoffed coldly. Indeed, no one could outdo Tang Wuyun in rudeness.

Tang Wuyun: “……”