The Cold Queen is My Exclusive Little Snack - Chapter 10

The filming location for this season of Escape to Freedom was a newly constructed theme park. To facilitate the shoot, the park management had cordoned off a section specifically for the production crew to set up their equipment.

The car drove straight through the entrance and stopped in front of a flat-roofed building that resembled the park’s service hall. After getting out, they walked a few dozen meters and rounded a corner to see the production crew’s filming set, a mysterious exhibition stand covered in black drapes, and a white sunshade tent. Under the tent, several people were either sitting or standing—the guest stars for this season’s episodes.

“Shiyin, over here!” A female celebrity with her hair half-tied up was the first to notice their arrival. She waved and rushed over, giving Chu Shiyin a big hug. “Long time no see!”

Yang Na, a multi-talented artist active in both film and music, was known as the “Little Black Hand” on the show, always drawing the most useless skill cards.

As Zuo Xingning mentally reviewed the information she had recently crammed, Yang Na and Chu Shiyin finished their greetings.

“My manager told me you’d be on this season, but I didn’t believe it! Who knew Director Meng would actually get you to come?” Yang Na teased before turning to Zuo Xingning and proactively introducing herself. “And this young lady is?”

“Hello, Teacher Yang. My name is Zuo Xingning.”

Zuo Xingning stepped forward to shake hands. The people under the sunshade had been observing them for quite some time, but unfortunately, their relationship with Chu Shiyin was only lukewarm. They had to wait for the conversation to end before seizing the opportunity to introduce themselves and strike up a conversation.

Since the microphones weren’t yet recording, they spoke freely without restraint.

After a few exchanges, someone asked about Zuo Xingning’s school. She named it, and another person chimed in with a smile, “What a coincidence! I graduated a few years ahead of you. Call me ‘Senior Sister,’ and I’ll look out for you today!”

“Thank you, Senior Sister,” Zuo Xingning replied with a sweet smile, her eyes curving into crescents. But her words belied her innocent demeanor: “If I remember correctly, you were the one who enjoyed player-versus-player elimination the most, weren’t you?”

In the final phase of the game, if the undercover faction hadn’t been completely eliminated, the game would transition into a mutual elimination phase. Players and undercover monsters would each tie balloons around their waists and engage in a chase until one faction was completely eliminated. Under these rules, most player-faction guests would choose to team up, but He Yachuan, the self-proclaimed “Senior Sister,” preferred to fight alone, taking on everyone at once. She’d rather mistakenly eliminate a thousand than let a single one slip through.

He Yachuan choked, sputtering, “How can you call player actions ‘mutual elimination’? It’s a sacrifice for victory, not mutual elimination!” She then trailed off into murmurs about “factional triumph” and “collective interests,” her voice fading into silence.

“Alright, it seems Xingning did her homework before coming here. You can’t fool her,” Li Jiaonian, the singer who had brought up the topic earlier, said with a smile. “Don’t you have another ‘Junior Sister’? Just focus on fooling her. Don’t get greedy.”

Junior Sister?

Zuo Xingning’s expression flickered, and the first thing that flashed through her mind was the bright yellow she had seen last night.

No way… could it be such a coincidence?

“What do you mean ‘fool’? Can an actor’s work really be called ‘fooling’?” He Yachuan huffed indignantly, but Zuo Xingning cut him off before he could continue.

“Um, Senior Sister Yachuan, Sister Jiaonian, could you tell me who this ‘other Junior Sister’ is?”

“Ask her yourself. She was on the same flight today, and we stayed at the same hotel. She should be here any minute. Speaking of which, you two are about the same age and went to the same school. You might even know each other,” He Yachuan said, glancing behind Zuo Xingning with a grin. “Speak of the devil—look who’s here.”

Zuo Xingning turned around and saw a striking head of golden-yellow hair, styled into two low ponytails. The moment the girl’s almond-shaped eyes met hers, they widened in surprise.

Jiang Shuqing.

How ironic—small world.

It’s often said that rivals in the same field are natural enemies, but Zuo Xingning didn’t entirely agree. Even those in different fields could become rivals.

Take her and Jiang Shuqing, for example.

She couldn’t even remember the origin of their conflict. To be precise, she had no idea how she had provoked Jiang Shuqing in the first place. After racking her brain, the only explanation she could come up with was, “Maybe she’s just fiercely competitive.”

Though Zuo Xingning studied acting while Jiang Shuqing studied music, theoretically, even with Jiang Shuqing’s competitive nature, she shouldn’t have seen Zuo Xingning as a rival.

But beyond that, Zuo Xingning couldn’t find any better reason for their animosity. The conflict between them intensified during the Student Council President election, which Zuo Xingning won by a single vote.

“I never would have guessed,” Yang Na whispered, covering her mouth in surprise. “Xingning, you’re the Student Council President?”

Everyone present was sharp enough to sense the strange tension between Jiang Shuqing and Zuo Xingning. When Yang Na saw Zuo Xingning seemingly whispering to Chu Shiyin, she immediately moved closer to eavesdrop.

“That’s not it, actually…”

“Not it? Don’t tell me you voluntarily withdrew to resolve the conflict and gave up the Student Council President position?”

Yang Na was even more astonished. She raised her arm to embrace Zuo Xingning, her natural familiarity with others, especially other girls, making her physical affection even more unrestrained. Chu Shiyin had disciplined her once for this “bad habit,” but Yang Na hadn’t changed. At most, she’d learned to automatically avoid Chu Shiyin.

However, her outstretched arm didn’t land on Zuo Xingning as expected. A slender, jade-white hand gripped her wrist, the familiar strength instantly making Yang Na’s face sour. Turning her head, she saw Chu Shiyin holding her wrist, slowly and deliberately lowering it.

“The live broadcast is about to start. Your height—don’t ruin her makeup and styling.”

“…Your mouth is truly—” Yang Na flexed her wrist, looking like she wanted to stroke a tiger’s whiskers. “It’s just a few centimeters taller than me. We’re both over a meter tall, aren’t we?”

“A few centimeters, is it?” Chu Shiyin lowered her gaze, glancing meaningfully at the soles of Yang Na’s shoes.

“You!”

Yang Na stomped her foot and stormed off in a huff.

“Jiejie,” Zuo Xingning asked, her face still bewildered, “Is Teacher Yang angry?”

“No, she’s just pretending,” Chu Shiyin replied, tilting her chin slightly to indicate a direction. “The producer is adjusting the speakers. She probably saw the live broadcast was about to start and did it on purpose. Come on, let’s head back too.”

“Okay.”

The seven guests gathered, and two minutes later, the director indeed raised the megaphone and announced the start of the live broadcast.

The main camera focused on the assembled guests. As soon as the broadcast began, the livestream room was instantly flooded with fans who had been waiting eagerly.

Ahhhhh! Goddess! You’re finally back! sobs

Shu Qing’s outfit today is so beautiful! Baby, you look like a golden bunny!

My wife is so gorgeous! Seeing this beauty makes even my boss’s sudden death seem okay.

Nana, don’t draw a bad card today!

Hehehe, I won’t tell you I’m here in person. All the sisters are so beautiful! slurp

“Drawing aggro, getting the upstairs fired, munch munch munch munch.”

“……”

Fans from various groups were enthusiastically cheering for their idols, but Chu Shiyin’s fans made up the largest contingent. As a regular guest, she needed no further introduction, and the cameraman zoomed in without hesitation.

Chu Shiyin gave a slight nod to the camera, her eyes brimming with a warm, gentle smile that radiated reassurance.

“Hello, viewers of the live stream and Second Hand Friends. It’s Chu Shiyin. Long time no see.”

“Second Hand” was the nickname for Chu Shiyin’s fans. A second is the smallest unit of time, and countless seconds together form eternity.

“Who understands? Only Second Hands know what ‘long time no see’ truly means.”

One comment voiced the feelings of countless others. After Chu Shiyin’s appearance, the live stream’s popularity quickly peaked and continued to climb.

Behind the monitor, the director grinned at the soaring metrics, but as the saying goes, excessive joy often leads to sorrow.

The live stream froze for a second, then abruptly went black.

Is it just me, or is the stream frozen?

Mine went black too.

+1

…

I think we’ve lost connection.

Frontline reports indicate a technical malfunction. Workers are fixing the equipment now.

The production team is dragging their feet! They’re fired! I’m gonna chop them into pieces!

System Notification: User “New Lanxiang Excavation Chef” has been muted for two hours due to inappropriate language.

After a flurry of activity, the livestream resumed. A staff member in the show’s mascot costume appeared on screen.

“Viewers, we sincerely apologize for the technical difficulties earlier. To express our regret, we’re giving away ten signed photos. Simply send a comment to enter the raffle…”

As the staff member apologized to the camera, the director learned his lesson and opened individual livestreams for the seven guests in advance. With the audience split across multiple streams, the pressure on the main broadcast equipment finally eased.

He had underestimated the impact of Chu Shiyin’s first public appearance in two years. Still, this favor had certainly paid off!

In the control room, Meng Zhi wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Filming continued. Jiang Shuqing, a member of a wildly popular girl group, appeared before the camera, greeting the audience and igniting another wave of fervent comments. She was followed by the final guest star of the day.

On the monitor, a young woman wearing a lilac-purple plaid shirt and dark blue jeans walked to the center of the frame.

The stylist had opted for a simple look: light makeup that accentuated her striking features and a similarly understated hairstyle. Her long hair was styled into a modern Chinese bun at the back, with two braids left to drape over her shoulders.

When she smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, a refreshing autumn breeze seemed to emanate from her.

“Hello everyone, I’m Zuo Xingning. I’m so glad to be here…”

As she bowed and straightened, sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating her clear irises with a tea-like hue.

The photographer, with his keen eye, immediately zoomed in, capturing this fleeting moment.

The cooperative sunlight and the photographer’s quick reflexes transformed a medium shot into an unexpected close-up. Stunned by her beauty, everyone reacted the same way:

Where did the production team find this ethereal newcomer?!

Meng Zhi took a sip of her tea, calmly thinking to herself, Zuo Xingning isn’t exactly a complete newcomer.

In theory, getting into the Film Academy meant having one foot in the entertainment industry. Some students, however, aimed to go further, such as the top-ranked performance majors who drew considerable attention each year.

Zuo Xingning was one of them. Those with good memories might even recall her as the girl who had burst onto the scene five years ago, sweeping first place across all five major art schools.

Meng Zhi was one of those who remembered. That’s why she agreed to Yu Siya’s request to add Zuo Xingning to the project without hesitation.

Having navigated the industry’s ups and downs for years, Meng Zhi understood the importance of connections. She didn’t mind giving someone a leg up, nor did she hesitate to provide a stepping stone for promising newcomers.

However, after seeing Zuo Xingning’s debut, Meng Zhi found herself sharing the audience’s curiosity: Where had Chu Shiyin unearthed this girl?

She had long heard that Chu Shiyin had established her own studio, yet after a year, she still hadn’t signed a single artist. Meng Zhi had kindly recommended several candidates, all of whom were rejected—either this wasn’t good enough or that wasn’t right. After repeated rejections, Meng Zhi lost her patience and stopped wasting her energy on the thankless task.

Now, seeing Zuo Xingning, she finally understood what Chu Shiyin had been so picky about.

This masterpiece of nature seemed to have set her signing standards based on her own otherworldly beauty.