The Fake Heiress's Guide to Self-Rescue - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Heading Out, Filming an Unworldly Variety Show

After taking Qiao Bai back to her room and putting her on the bed, Jiang Jing and Jiang Qianqian went to check on Qiao Bai’s mother. Her mother’s complexion was back to normal, and she was sleeping soundly. Jiang Jing placed her hand on her wrist, and with a little pressure, she could feel that her pulse was steady. It seemed that she was completely fine now.

“Let’s go back once they wake up,” Jiang Qianqian said. She figured that if they didn’t go home soon, her mom would start to worry.

The sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow on the stone path in the yard. Jiang Jing and Jiang Qianqian helped the newly awakened Qiao Bai and her mother out of the courtyard. Driver Xiao Liu had already driven the car over to wait for them. The group finally left the village safely.

“Mom, we’re back!” Jiang Qianqian pushed the door open and shouted.

Jiang Jing followed her inside, also looking around for Jiang Yuying. “You’re finally back. Did you have fun, my darlings?” Jiang Yuying came down from upstairs. She had tried calling Jiang Qianqian yesterday, but couldn’t get through. When she called Jiang Jing, no one answered. When she asked Xiao Liu, he just said that the young lady had gone out to play. She had been so worried.

Jiang Qianqian vividly told her mother about her experiences in Xiaochen Village, but she left out the parts about the white-clad female ghost and the tree demon, afraid of making her mother worry. Jiang Yuying listened to Jiang Qianqian’s story with a smile. She then turned and saw Jiang Jing still standing in the living room with her bag. She immediately reached out to take the bag.

“Qingqing, why are you still carrying your bag? Let me put it on the sofa for you.”

Jiang Jing quickly waved her hands, afraid that Jiang Yuying would find the cinnabar, yellow paper, and brass-coin sword in her bag. It would be difficult to explain.

“It’s okay… Mom, this bag is a little heavy. I’ll take it to my room first,” Jiang Jing said, pausing for a moment. She was still a bit uncomfortable with the term “Mom.”

Jiang Yuying’s face lit up when she heard Jiang Jing call her “Mom.” “Okay, you go on up. Remember to come down for dinner later.”

Jiang Jing nodded and walked upstairs with her bag.

“Oh, by the way, Qianqian, your brother Liu Jin seems to be coming back from abroad. I heard he’s going to be an intern for a big director. Do you want to go see him?” Jiang Yuying was chatting with Jiang Qianqian when she suddenly remembered that she and her husband had dinner with President Liu a couple of days ago. President Liu’s father said that Liu Jin was a director’s assistant abroad and was coming back to China to work.

“Really? I’ll definitely go see him when I have time. I thought he was going to work abroad forever and never come back.” When Jiang Qianqian heard the news, she patted her chest and said that she would definitely go see Liu Jin get overworked. No, she meant work.

After dinner, Jiang Qianqian was lying in bed, catching up on a new show.

“Incoming call! Incoming call!” A voice call from WeChat popped up. Jiang Qianqian looked closely and saw that it was indeed the Liu Jin her mom had mentioned in the afternoon.

“Hey, Brother Liu Jin? How do you, a busy man, have time to call me?” Jiang Qianqian joked with the person on the other end of the phone.

“It’s just a small problem. I was hoping you, Miss Jiang, could help me out,” a slightly awkward voice came from the other end. Jiang Qianqian couldn’t help but smile.

“Tell me, what is it? Don’t tell me you crashed your car again after street racing in the middle of the night?”

“Of course not,” Liu Jin paused. “I’m working under Director Wang now, right? Director Wang is making a new variety show, and this episode’s theme is a haunted villa.”

Jiang Qianqian’s eyebrow twitched. She was already getting PTSD from ghosts. She really didn’t understand why people always wanted to play big jokes with their lives.

Liu Jin saw that Jiang Qianqian didn’t say anything, so he continued, “This episode has a few celebrities and a metaphysics enthusiast living in a haunted villa for four days and three nights. They have to complete some supernatural tasks during that time.”

“But the amateur celebrity broke his leg two days ago and is in a wheelchair now. He can’t come to the filming,” Liu Jin said with a mournful face. “I tried everything yesterday, but I couldn’t find anyone. Today, I heard from my aunt that you came home, and I remember you like ghost stories, so I came to you.”

Jiang Qianqian still didn’t want to go. She opened her mouth to refuse. “Uh—”

“I promise there are no ghosts. It’s just a gimmick. I’ll arrange some non-scary tasks for you. Please, my dear sister. The amateur celebrity got hit by a car and can’t make it. If I can solve this, I’ll be able to work with Director Wang from now on.” Liu Jin, hearing that Jiang Qianqian was about to refuse, immediately promised that there were absolutely no ghosts and that it was all just a gimmick. The rest was all up to post-production editing.

“I’ll think about it. The thing is, I have some work from my teacher that I have to do. I’ll go if I have some free time,” Jiang Qianqian said, subtly making an excuse. She brought up her teacher so she would have a reason to refuse later.

“No problem. I’ll be waiting for your call, Miss Jiang.” How could Liu Jin disagree? He quickly hung up, afraid that Jiang Qianqian would change her mind and refuse him outright.

Something still feels wrong, Jiang Qianqian thought, lying in bed. She already knew she was a child of fate. What if a ghost or spirit in that villa discovered her special fate and wanted to eat her to increase its cultivation? She wouldn’t be able to escape.

But Liu Jin was her childhood friend, and he promised there were no ghosts in the villa. Going would be a way to repay a favor. Jiang Qianqian tossed and turned, unable to make up her mind. She looked at her phone. It was only 8:30 PM. She decided to go and ask Jiang Jing directly.

Knock, knock, knock.

Jiang Qianqian nervously knocked on Jiang Jing’s door. She waited for a while, but there was no sound from inside. She raised her hand, ready to knock again, but then she heard a voice behind her.

“What are you doing?”

She turned her head and saw a pale face behind her. The person’s eyes seemed to be all white, staring at her motionless. Jiang Qianqian opened her mouth to scream, but a cold hand covered her mouth.

“Shh, don’t scream. It’s me,” the person whispered in her ear.

This annoying ghost, she deliberately scared me! Jiang Qianqian was so angry that she twisted the person’s body and heard a hiss from above her.

“You’re not allowed to scream either. Get in here now,” Jiang Qianqian said, getting her revenge by covering Jiang Jing’s mouth and pulling her into the room by her ear.

“Why are you like this? You only dare to hit me because you’re a coward. You should go hit a ghost if you have the guts.” Jiang Jing closed the door, covered her injured ear, and protested Jiang Qianqian’s “evil deed.”

“You were the one who was mean and wanted to scare me. This is called a reasonable counterattack,” Jiang Qianqian said, arguing with her while taking out her phone to show Jiang Jing the variety show contract and the internal process that Liu Jin had sent her.

“Are you going to debut?” Jiang Jing was shocked when she saw the title on the screen.

Jiang Qianqian rolled her eyes again in exasperation. She enlarged the words “haunted villa” and held the phone up to Jiang Jing’s face. “Please, look carefully. It’s ghosts again.”

Jiang Jing took the phone and read the contract seriously. She then handed the phone back to her. Jiang Qianqian looked at Jiang Jing’s expression as she handed her the phone. It seemed like there was nothing seriously wrong.

“If there’s no problem, then I’ll go?”

Jiang Jing did another quick divination. There were indeed no problems, so she nodded.

“Filming a variety show should be fun. I remember you played the planchette with your roommate before, so you should like this kind of stuff,” she said. After all, if she were really afraid of ghosts, she wouldn’t have dared to play the planchette in the middle of the night.

Having her past revealed, Jiang Qianqian was a bit guilty and retorted, “I do like these things, but I almost died last time. What if I meet another one that wants to kill me this time?”

Who knew that Jiang Jing would burst out laughing. “It’s not that easy for a ghost to take a person’s life. Besides, you have Sister Jiang Huai’s token. She’s right by your side. Those lonely ghosts are nothing to her.”

Jiang Qianqian was still not at ease and wanted to say more, but Jiang Jing grabbed her hand. She looked up and saw a smile on Jiang Jing’s face, but her eyes were serious.

“Although Jiang Huai has lent you her power, you also need to learn how to use it. Using her power to deal with some lonely ghosts will help her cultivation, and it will also protect you better.”

Jiang Jing stroked her chin and gave Jiang Qianqian an example. “It’s like the Chuma Xian (spirit mediums) in the Northeast. The spirits lend their power to the disciples, and the disciples do things to accumulate merit for their cultivation.”

Jiang Qianqian nodded after hearing this. Since Jiang Jing said it was fine, she might as well treat it as a chance to train.

When Liu Jin heard that Jiang Qianqian had agreed to be on the variety show, he immediately booked her a first-class ticket from City H to City J and arranged for a special car to pick her up.

The official Weibo of Let’s Go, Seniors: Dear travelers, the last episode is finally here. High-energy alert! Official cast! Film Emperor Li Sheng leads the challenge of the haunted villa! Xiao Hua Zhang Man, and the clumsy Zhao Wen scream the whole time! Special guest Lu Yige teams up with a mysterious amateur metaphysics enthusiast to exorcise evil! Next Friday at midnight, enter at your own risk! #HorrorVarietyShow #LuYigeExorcism @ActorLiSheng @ZhaoZhaoZhaoWen @ZhangManIsNotZhangMan @AFBoyGroupLuYige @JiangJiangDoesntEatGinger

@CompassCan’tTurnAnymore: Finally, my favorite haunted villa episode!

@LuYige’sTeleprompter: Lu is such a coward. How did he dare to accept this episode?

@DidYouEatFriedChickenToday: Am I the only one who noticed that this amateur celebrity’s Weibo looks like a new account?

@CoffeeToKeepMeAliveBot: Working overtime is getting so old. Next Friday at midnight, please give this wage slave some comfort!

@LiSheng’sThermos: Brother Li, be careful with your heart. You’re getting old and can’t be scared.

At this moment, on the plane to City J. Jiang Qianqian was sitting on the plane, thinking about what Jiang Jing had said to her when she saw her off at the airport.

“If this time you can really master some tricks on how to use the tree demon’s ability, then we can try to use it for offense. It’s better to fight back than to sit and wait to die.”

With this thought, Jiang Qianqian touched the token in her pocket. There were also a few ghost-repelling talismans that Jiang Jing had put in her jacket pocket. She wearily rubbed her temples, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the seat diagonally behind her, a pair of slender hands were flipping through a severely yellowed ancient book. The man had long hair, tied into a ponytail with a rubber band. He had a Zweiwei (crape myrtle) taboo peach wood plaque around his neck.

The short-haired young man next to him saw that he had been flipping through the book and couldn’t help but ask, “A’zhe, we took on this job, and the other party swore that this show has what we want. Could it be a trap?”

The man looked up at the young man next to him. They clearly had the same doubts. He remembered the message he received on his phone three days ago. The other party claimed that this show had a clue to something he had been looking for and told him to come if he wanted. So he called his friend. His friend was young and good-looking and was a descendant of the Xuanmen. He pretended to be his assistant and went with him. It would be more convenient to take action when the time came.

The plane landed at the airport in City J. A pre-arranged car picked up Jiang Qianqian and drove her to the filming location on Mount Qi. The villa was located halfway up the mountain. The air here was fresh, and there was a light mist in the morning. A developer had built a resort here years ago. Ever since the villa’s housekeeper saw a ghost at night ten years ago, strange things have been happening frequently in the nearby villas. Over time, almost no one came to this resort anymore.

Director Wang Zhibin chose this place as the filming location for this episode. He had his crew do a check three days in advance, and no one on the crew encountered anything strange. He felt confident and set up the equipment, ready to start filming.

When Jiang Qianqian arrived at the villa, the other cast members were already there. They all introduced themselves to each other.

“Hello, Brother Li, Brother Zhao, and Sister Man. I’m Lu Yige. You can just call me Xiao Lu.” As a special guest, this was Lu Yige’s first variety show. He had already read the script his assistant gave him and had stayed up for two nights memorizing it, afraid of making a single mistake.

Li Sheng, as the oldest permanent guest, was the first to show his signature “Li Si” smile. His hearty laugh echoed throughout the villa. He reached out and hugged Lu Yige, introducing him to the other two permanent guests. “I watched Xiao Lu debut. His popularity was pretty high in our team.”

Zhao Wen, hearing what Li Sheng said, also wanted to latch on to Lu Yige, the new hot topic. He quickly handed him a cup of lemon water. “Here, little brother. Try your Brother Zhao’s secret recipe for lemon water. Everyone who drinks it says it’s good.”

Zhang Man next to them gave a shy smile and reached out to shake his hand.

Let’s Go, Seniors is a variety show where Li Sheng and Zhao Wen act as “seniors” and host a different “junior” at a different location each episode. The show had already aired ten episodes. In this show, Li Sheng plays the role of a caring and wise senior, while Zhao Wen plays a funny and straightforward “worry herb,” responsible for making jokes and telling stories. The only permanent junior, Zhang Man, has always played the role of a shy and cute junior on the show. As a new actor of Gen Z, she has provided countless laughs about the generation gap. The most classic line was, “Grandpa Li and Uncle Zhao don’t understand.” This line was screenshotted by viewers, and they photoshopped the words “Uncle” and “Grandpa” onto Li Sheng and Zhao Wen’s faces, becoming a permanent emoji on the official Weibo page.

Jiang Qianqian’s role in the show, according to Liu Jin and the director, was a metaphysics enthusiast with no special background. Since the originally invited metaphysics blogger had a million followers, Li Sheng and Zhao Wen were disappointed when they heard about the replacement. After they were done with their small talk, they pretended to call Jiang Qianqian’s name.

“Qianqian, welcome to our Let’s Go, Seniors. Welcome aboard the ‘Senior’s Express’! Let’s go, go, go for the rest of our journey!” After saying the symbolic welcome speech, Li Sheng pulled Lu Yige aside to go over the script. Zhao Wen, still in his funny persona, took the cameraman on a tour of the villa while providing a commentary.

The rest of the production crew was setting up the equipment for the next three days of filming. No one paid any attention to Jiang Qianqian. Jiang Qianqian was happy to be left alone and sat on the sofa, playing with her phone.

“Hey, are you a big fan of metaphysics?” a gentle voice said next to her. The sofa next to her sank a little. Jiang Qianqian looked up from her phone and saw Zhang Man, who had her hair in a bun. She was surprised for a moment, then nodded. As a loyal horror movie fan for ten years, she had come face to face with a planchette, fought with a water ghost, and had her soul leave her body. She was an “authority” in the world of metaphysics.

“That’s great. I’ve also done a lot of research on these things,” Zhang Man said, winking and leaning closer to Jiang Qianqian’s ear. “I can read palms, you know~”

“Really?” Jiang Qianqian raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. She didn’t expect a guest on this show to have some “skills.”

“Let me take a look,” Zhang Man said, grabbing Jiang Qianqian’s hand without a second thought and examining it carefully.

Jiang Qianqian: Is this really a shy persona? She’s so friendly. The cold touch made Jiang Qianqian instinctively try to pull her hand away, but it was held firmly. She gave Zhang Man a strange look, a little surprised by her immense strength.

“You have a big obstacle before you become an adult. If you get past it, you’ll have a peaceful life, but you’ll have to travel a lot when you’re young and won’t be able to stay idle.”

Zhang Man spoke with great conviction. Jiang Qianqian listened and thought that what she said was true, so she patiently continued to listen.

“Your body has never been very healthy, but you have a benefactor in your life who will have a way to solve this problem for you.”

“Then…”

Jiang Qianqian wanted to ask for more details, but Zhang Man let go of her hand and shook her head. “What I’ve learned is very basic. I can’t see anything more.” Her tone was a bit dismissive. Seeing this, Jiang Qianqian closed her mouth and didn’t say anything more.

“Everyone, come over here! Let me introduce you to our metaphysics consultant for this episode—Li Weizhao.” The director’s voice attracted the attention of all the guests. They all looked at the young-looking man standing next to the director.