Su Xingyu watched closely and noticed that Fu Qingli was the only one who didn’t duck. He frowned and muttered, “Could she have been scared senseless?”
If she was, that’d make things easier.
Su Tang was also a little surprised, her eyes filled with a hint of expectation. Fu Qingli was so scared of the dark and ghosts, and after last time’s disaster, she hadn’t expected the show to start this intense. She probably would be terrified beyond belief.
Ye Minxing, watching the scene unfold, felt the frustration in his chest intensify. He turned his head away, feeling suffocated.
Suddenly, there was an outburst of screams around him: “Holy crap?”
“Amazing!”
“She caught it!”
Su Tang’s expression of anticipation turned to one of astonishment, her hand tightening around her glass.
Ye Minxing felt a stir in his heart. He turned to look and saw Qingli, eyes closed, holding onto the ghost doll. A chill ran down his spine, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration.
She actually caught it?!
Before anyone could react, the screen flickered and the progress bar moved to another scene. In a brightly lit corridor, Wei Pingnan was pulling the ghost doll, while the other three people lined up, about to open a door.
As soon as the door opened, the lights went out.
Night vision mode kicked in, and a male voice echoed softly, “You… finally… arrived…”
“Shit!” Su Xingyu was so startled by the voice that goosebumps immediately appeared on his skin.
The four people on screen screamed in terror, huddling together. Especially the terrified Xiang Yifei, who was dumbfounded. At that moment, an arrow pointed at Qingli’s actions, drawing everyone’s attention. In the darkness, she was the only one whose face contorted in fear, yet she was still fumbling to turn on the light.
Xiang Yifei’s terrified scream, Meng Ke’s confused response, Wei Pingnan’s bewildered explanation, and finally, Xiang Yifei nearly hopped in panic—it made everyone watching hold their breath, but they couldn’t help but laugh until the lights came on. It revealed that what they had been scared of wasn’t a ghost, but a real person—one of the guest stars for this episode…
A young man laughed loudly, pointing at the screen. “Brother Xing, Big Sis-in-law is amazing! Even though she was scared like that, she still tried to turn on the light. For that brief moment, I swear everyone looked at her like she was a savior!”
Su Xingyu wiped his face and, despite himself, felt that at this moment, Fu Qingli did seem like a savior. If they had stayed in the dark and with a guest speaking in that eerie tone, he would have been too scared to move.
However, after hearing the young man’s words, Su Xingyu felt a bit uncomfortable. He had come hoping to see Fu Qingli make a fool of herself.
Now that the joke hadn’t panned out, he worried things might backfire.
He cautiously glanced over and immediately felt his heart drop.
He noticed that Ye Minxing, who had looked displeased earlier, was now watching the screen with interest. Meanwhile, Su Tang, who had been laughing just moments ago, seemed to have a shadow of a frown on her face.
When she noticed his gaze, Su Tang paused for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, “Ah, I was so scared too. With the environment like that, it’s no wonder she’d be afraid.”
Su Xingyu scratched his head awkwardly, nodding, “Yeah, that makes sense…”
“Yeah, yeah. Now that I see it, she’s brave,” another friend nodded, his eyes fixed on the screen with a wide grin. “It’s so funny. They were all scared, but Big Sis-in-law was the only one who could keep it together…”
After this level, the next stage began, and aside from turning on the light, the five guests were frantically running from NPCs chasing them in the dark. Qingli, the most scared, ran so fast that she left the others far behind. Realizing they weren’t following, she collapsed and dragged them back.
But because she was also terrified, once she was safe, she immediately hugged the only other girl, Meng Ke, unable to stand up straight.
Meng Ke, both amused and exasperated, tried to comfort her, making the audience laugh.
But as they laughed, even those who had once looked at Fu Qingli with skepticism, like Ye Minxing and Su Tang, couldn’t help but feel some admiration.
Her fear wasn’t fake—it was so real.
Yet she managed to endure her fear and complete the tasks, making people laugh but also feel a little sorry for her.
But now, the laughter wasn’t as mocking as it had been before.
Su Tang sighed in relief and patted her chest, smiling. “Well, this is good. Old Xie invited me to the show before. A couple of days ago, I was convinced, and I was worried. But now, Big Sis-in-law isn’t scared anymore. When I go on the show as a guest, she’ll have to take care of me.”
“Wow, you’re going too?!” The young man who had become obsessed with the show exclaimed, surprised.
Su Tang nodded. “Yeah, I’m actually kind of scared.”
Ye Minxing’s expression had completely softened, and he seemed genuinely pleased. With a light tone, he said, “You’ve got guts. You won’t be scared of this, right? You’ll probably end up taking care of your sister-in-law.”
“I can’t guarantee that,” Su Tang teased with a playful smile, getting up. “I’ve been out for a while now, my friend’s calling me. I’ll head out.”
“Bye!” Su Xingyu immediately said. “Su Tang, if you go, I’ll make sure to watch the live stream next time!”
“Thanks!” Su Tang smiled back, leaving the room.
As the door closed behind her, her expression shifted back to the somber look Su Xingyu had seen earlier. She pulled out her phone and dialed Xie Yun’s number. “Mr. Xie, I’m going on the show too!”
The horror escape was her gift to Fu Qingli. She wouldn’t allow her to shine on this show!
After the live stream, the previous criticisms had turned into praise by the time the program wrapped up.
During the after-show interview, the director looked at Qingli’s smiling face and said, “You seemed much more at ease during this recording than last time. Did you find a secret to overcome your fear?”
In a normal setting, Qingli smiled with ease, looking sweeter in her European-style dress after a fresh makeover. Her voice was bright and cheerful. “Yes, I did. It’s all about facing your fear. That’s the only way to overcome it. You can see I’ve adapted a lot from the start of the show to the end.”
Though she was still scared in the dark environment.
But her mind was no longer a blank slate.
Her body’s instincts couldn’t be erased all at once, but they could be slowly conquered. After facing fear repeatedly, she realized that it wasn’t as terrifying as she once thought.
However, she still added, “My situation isn’t too serious, so I can handle it this way. In cases of extreme fear, though, it could cause fainting or something similar, so it’s better not to force it and risk something worse happening.”
The one interviewing her was a female director who wasn’t very brave herself, but she had to get through this show every time, enduring shock and fear. She genuinely admired Fu Qingli’s determination to overcome her fears. Hearing this, the director smiled even wider, secretly giving her a thumbs-up before asking more questions.
The post-show interviews wouldn’t be included in the live broadcast. The final edited version would incorporate bits of them as appropriate.
So after the post-show interview ended, Qingli went to remove her makeup.
The heavy clothing couldn’t be taken off all at once, and without an assistant, her manager, Zheng Yue, came to help. In the small room, she quietly said, “You did it!”
The live broadcast had ended, but the trending topic had been up since the beginning. This time, it wasn’t bought; the hype was all organic.
Although it was initially a marketing account Zheng Yue had hired, later, marketing accounts began to promote her on their own, noticing her rising popularity.
By now, after the entire afternoon and evening of trending, the timing was perfect. Not only had the 20,000 lost followers returned, but they had gained several more thousand as well!
Qingli smiled. “Thanks for your hard work, Sister Zheng.”
Zheng Yue couldn’t hide her smile, waving her hand excitedly. “It wasn’t hard. I’m so happy! You won’t believe it, about half an hour ago, someone selling light bulbs called me, asking if you could endorse them, but I turned them down.”
She had never worked with such a popular artist before. Usually, she had to recommend her artists, always facing the possibility of rejection.
But the light bulb endorsement was too low-tier for the Ye family, so she refused.
Qingli chuckled but didn’t comment. The original owner didn’t need money, and there was no need for endorsements. This was just the first episode. Once she truly overcame her fear, the opportunities that came her way would be much better.
After changing her clothes, Qingli had just stepped out of the dressing room when Meng Ke approached with a smile. “We were thinking of going out for a nice meal to calm down. You didn’t go last time after you were so scared. How about this time?”
Zheng Yue slapped her forehead and whispered, “Your little sister-in-law wants you to pick her up for shopping tomorrow morning.”
She had been so caught up in the excitement earlier that she forgot to mention it.
It was already 8 p.m. now, and with a flight to catch, they wouldn’t get home until 1 or 2 a.m. There just wasn’t time for a meal.
Meng Ke, who had heard about Fu Qingli’s tough time with her in-laws, immediately said, “It’s okay, we can do it next time.”
“Sister Zheng, tell her I don’t have time. If there’s anything, just let me know,” Qingli replied softly, taking a couple of steps forward and linking arms with Meng Ke. She smiled. “It’s fine. This time, I need to unwind too.”
Meng Ke looked a little worried. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Qingli pushed her forward. The two had built a good friendship during the live broadcast, and their movements were more relaxed now. “I’m fine. Besides, I’m planning to get a divorce.”
“Hmm?!” Meng Ke gasped, staring at her in shock.
Zheng Yue was equally stunned. How had things already reached the point of divorce?
But then her eyes lit up. A divorce was good!
Her small agency was full of lower-tier artists, and Fu Qingli was the only one with any real potential. If she got a divorce, she could focus on her career, and Zheng Yue could make money too.
She thought about it for a moment, then decisively made a phone call.
“What’s up?!” The voice on the other end was impatient, and it was Ye Minmin.
Zheng Yue spoke sternly, “Your sister-in-law doesn’t have time. You’re going shopping tomorrow morning by yourself.”
Ye Minmin angrily retorted, “Tell her that if she doesn’t go, I’ll tell Mom!”
Zheng Yue, no longer smiling like she used to, said proudly, “Go ahead!”
Were they still afraid of her now, with a divorce in the works?
Ye Minmin, who had never been treated this way by Fu Qingli, was left confused. “???”
This sister-in-law was going to rise above everyone!
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152