Chapter 47

After more than twenty minutes, Fan Zhenzhen arrived late. According to the program schedule, even if this young lady made them wait for a couple of hours, they still had to warmly welcome her in front of the camera.

　　Zuo Mingran and her had a pile of grievances, and they could count the number of times they had met on one hand. Every time, it was never peacefully, as if they had some deep-seated hatred.

　　Since the whole internet now knew that she had been criticized and was caught in a public opinion storm, Zuo Mingran didn't care whether she had a good expression now. When Fan Zhenzhen came up, she only lifted her eyelids to show that she knew, and didn't even bother to say "welcome."

　　The cameraman was about to bring the camera closer to her face when his hand shook, and he quickly moved the lens to focus on the other people.

　　Who knew, he thought that stars didn't really care about those things and could continue shooting as if nothing happened, even if they were almost hit by eggs. It seemed like they were just suppressing their anger.

　　However, looking at Fan Zhenzhen, who had just come up, the cameraman secretly speculated. Why was it different for her when others were fine?

　　The director in the car behind had the same thoughts. The chief director was a middle-aged man in his forties. Waves of problems kept popping up one after another. If it weren't for his strong mentality, he would probably be lying on the way to the hospital in an ambulance.

　　Looking at the clearly incompatible two people on the screen, the chief director asked in a trembling voice, "What's this situation again?"

　　The assistant stood behind him, holding the phone, also confused and helpless. "I don't know. Did they know each other before?"

　　The chief director: "..."

　　It couldn't be blamed on the program group for not keeping up with the news. If it weren't for the coincidence of this time, there wouldn't be many people who knew about their love-hate relationship. After all, it was true that Zuo Mingran was called a vase. She had been in the industry for several years but had always stayed in the actor circle. On the other hand, Fan Zhenzhen was completely different. Not only was she a newcomer, but she also came from a talent show, following the path of a singing and dancing idol. Currently, she had no connection with actors.

　　Although the two of them were in the entertainment industry, in detailed terms, there was no connection between them. It was normal that the gossip reporters hadn't dug up any explosive material for a while.

　　Anticipating the bloodbath that would occur after the program aired, the chief director painfully covered his chest, wishing to go back a few months and throw the two unsigned contracts into the shredder.

　　It was an industry consensus that reality shows needed a certain amount of conflict to hype up the show, but only within a controllable range, without causing any unexpected consequences.

　　But the two people on the bus, one being a first-tier celebrity backed by the Yan family, and the other being the only daughter of the Fan family, if they were to really fight in the show, it would be a real battle among the gods, and mortals would suffer.

The chief director, in a bad mood, said to the staff, "When we arrive at the location, remember to separate the two of them, as far away as possible. I don't believe that they can still run into each other on such a big mountain."

Once everyone arrived, the driver took them to the shooting location that had been arranged by the program group in advance.

Zuo Mingran and Yin Ruxin sat together, while Fan Zhenzhen sat alone across the corridor, wearing a somewhat unpleasant expression on her face.

Fan Zhenzhen did come with the intention of watching the show and didn't mind causing trouble. She had planned to mock Zuo Mingran, but before she could speak, she was humiliated by the other party.

Not only that, even Yin Ruxin, that despicable person, was two-faced. She thought she had latched onto Zuo Mingran's thigh and had the audacity to give her orders.

Not getting any benefits from Zuo Mingran and being indirectly mocked, Fan Zhenzhen couldn't help but want to slap her, if not for knowing that her actions would be recorded by the cameras.

Although "Escape Game" was promoted as a non-scripted show, in reality shows like this, there may not be a script, but the basic procedures are similar. For example, during the journey from the hotel to the shooting location, they needed to discuss the theme of the episode and what items they had brought with them.

Zuo Mingran took on the role of the prophet. Forget about the theme, she was well aware of what would happen. The things in her bag were all life-saving items.

But she couldn't say anything. Not only could she not say anything, but she also had to follow the train of thought of the others and make blind guesses.

Fortunately, this state of being "the only one sober among the intoxicated" didn't last long. The journey from the hotel to the shooting location took nearly an hour, and one by one, they all became too exhausted. Once they confirmed that there was enough material for the show's editing, they began to catch up on sleep.

Zuo Mingran was also exhausted, but surprisingly, her mind was clear. Finding an angle that the camera couldn't see, she opened her phone and saw a message from Yan Yunyang that was sent half an hour ago, saying, "I'm here."

The phone in her pocket vibrated a few times, surprising Fan Zhenzhen. Once she made sure that no one noticed her, she quietly took out her phone to read the message.

"Miss Fan, the online public opinion is currently in our favor. According to the agreement, you should now pay us 200,000 yuan as compensation."

Fan Zhenzhen's expression froze, and she replied, "Didn't we agree to settle everything once the matter is over?"

The other party replied, "Miss Fan, some things are not just mere words. We are all adults, and fair exchange is the most basic principle, isn't it?"

Fang Zhenzhen was angry and wanted to say something, but the other party quickly sent a second message, "If Miss Fan cannot do it, I'm afraid we will have to terminate this cooperation. I believe Zuo Mingran would be interested to know who wants to harm her."

The threat from the other party was obvious, and Fang Zhenzhen tightly gripped her phone. After a while, she replied, "Alright, I will transfer the money to you later. But I have one request, please add 'Zuo Mingran takes advantage of her position and oppresses juniors' to the hot search."

***

Putting down her phone, Guan Xinrui pressed her temples and sighed. She didn't want to ruin her relationship with Fang Zhenzhen, as she was the only one who could help them deal with Zuo Mingran. Once their relationship with Fang Zhenzhen broke, it wouldn't be easy to find someone with both a grudge against Zuo Mingran and money and power.

Not long after sending the message, a phone call came in. Seeing the familiar number, Guan Xinrui's face showed a disgusted expression. She took a deep breath before answering the call.

"Where's the money?" a sharp female voice came from the other end of the line. "Let me tell you, everyone is criticizing us online. If you don't give us the money, I'll expose you right now!"

Suppressing her disgust, Guan Xinrui said, "Don't worry, you won't be short of money. I will transfer it to you later. As for what you do after receiving the money, I don't need to say more, right?"

"As long as the money is in place, we can discuss anything."

Ending the call, Guan Xinrui sat on the sofa and angrily threw her phone aside. If it wasn't for the constant money demands from the Zuo family, she wouldn't have had a falling out with Fang Zhenzhen. The other party was the daughter of the Fang family, and if she could really establish a connection, she wouldn't have to worry about pleasing others in the future.

The more Guan Xinrui thought about it, the angrier she became. She grabbed the pillow on the sofa and threw it hard.

"What's wrong?" Tang Wenbin happened to come back from outside and was unexpectedly hit by the pillow. Seeing Guan Xinrui still angry and her phone thrown aside, he immediately understood. "The Zuo family is asking for money again?"

Guan Xinrui gave him a disdainful look. "I've never seen someone so obsessed with money. They talk so nicely, saying that Zuo Mingran is their niece, and even if there are any mistakes, as elders, they should be generous. But as soon as money is mentioned, they act as if they've been poor all their lives and forget about being a niece or an elder."

Tang Wenbin picked up the pillow and smiled as he said, "Recognizing the importance of money is a good thing. Money makes the world go round. Since they want money, it's just a matter of what we want them to say with a few words."

Guan Xinrui's face cleared up slightly. "Having this family is also unlucky for Zuo Mingran."

Glancing at the things Tang Wenbin had brought back, she furrowed her brows. "Why is it the same stuff again? I'm tired of it. Can't you try a different restaurant?"

Guan Xinrui rolled her eyes and critically looked at the food in the lunchbox. She threw the chopsticks and said stubbornly, "I'm not eating. You have it."

After saying that, she picked up her phone and went into her room, slamming the door shut. Tang Wenbin stood there, his face turning red and then pale. Unable to hold back, he spat on the ground and angrily muttered, "What a nuisance."

***

The bus stopped at the foot of a mountain, and several people got off one after another. Upon seeing the filming location, they all let out a horrified scream.

"No way! Are we supposed to climb the mountain again?"

"What if there are tigers or snakes? I'm so scared of those things."

"Can we find a photographer who can't run fast? So that if we encounter a tiger, I won't be afraid."

...

Except for Zuo Mingran and Fang Zhenzhen, the other people were already familiar with the filming process after two rounds. They were joking around in high spirits.

The chief director came down from the director's car, holding a microphone that looked official, and said to them, "The theme for this episode is 'Escape from the Mountains.' You have twelve hours to complete the mission and reach the bottom of the mountain. Hand over your phones and backpacks. You can only bring five items, including food."

During the chief director's introduction, Zuo Mingran surveyed the surroundings.

It had to be said that the production team had put a lot of effort into the filming. This forested area was probably a completed but not yet opened tourist attraction. It was extremely remote and desolate, just like she had imagined while reading the novel. She had wondered what kind of place could trap the female lead and even alert the rescue team. Now that she saw it, it was not entirely impossible.

But as the realization sank in that she would soon be trapped here as well, Zuo Mingran couldn't find any joy in the situation.

The group of people put on blindfolds and were taken halfway up the mountain. When they heard the starting signal in their earphones, Zuo Mingran took off her blindfold and looked around at the identical scenery, lost in thought. The photography teacher, dressed in camouflage, dutifully carried a camera and followed her.

It would rain in less than twenty minutes. Rather than completing the mission, she hoped to reach the foot of the mountain before it rained, in order to avoid being trapped on the mountain during heavy rainfall. At that point, it wouldn't matter how Yinyin and Fang Zhenzhen competed against each other, as it wouldn't concern her.

The mountain path was difficult to navigate, and Zuo Mingran looked around before picking up a tree branch from the ground and slowly descended, taking one step at a time.

However, imagination was beautiful, and reality was cruel.

The production team clearly anticipated that the guests would ignore the task and head down the mountain. They arranged a group of NPCs near their landing spot. Just as Zuo Mingran had descended less than a hundred meters and hadn't even had a chance to identify the direction, he saw a group of people rushing towards him moaning and groaning.

Even though he knew it was a reality show, his survival instincts kicked in immediately. Zuo Mingran quickly dropped the branch and turned to run. When he had left the NPCs far behind, he realized that instead of descending the mountain, he had actually gone further up towards the top.

After running for such a long distance and on a mountain path, Zuo Mingran was exhausted. He found a clean spot and sat down to rest.

With the plot in progress, it seemed impossible to go down the mountain. The only remaining option was to find a place to hide in advance, not fearing even heavy rain, as there would be a rescue team coming later.

The dense leaves above blocked the view of the sky. Without a phone, Zuo Mingran estimated the time and after taking a sip of water, he started walking uphill.

According to the arrangement made by the production team, the so-called task point should be somewhere on the mountain. And since there was a task point, there must be a place to rest and hide.

Fifteen minutes later, the previously sunny sky turned into rain. The photographer, who had been following from behind, was surprised and exclaimed, "Why is it raining?"

Zuo Mingran didn't dare to go too far. He stopped and looked down when he heard the question, asking, "How long does it take to reach the bottom of the mountain from here?"

Most likely startled by the sudden rain, the photographer didn't remain silent this time. He looked down and estimated, "At least half an hour."

Zuo Mingran thought for a moment and said thoughtfully, "We should make it."

In the original plot of the book, it rained for twenty minutes before turning into heavy rain. It was because of this that Fan Zhenzhen later falsely accused Yin Ruxin of insisting on going uphill during the light rain, which delayed the time and eventually trapped them. Just now, she didn't seem to be in a hurry to complete the task, just so she could go down the mountain as soon as the rain started.

The photographer hadn't understood the meaning of "we should make it" when suddenly a loud thunderclap sounded from the sky. The drizzle immediately turned into a torrential downpour, pouring down from above their heads.

Zuo Mingran: "???"

The plot was excessively forced!

"Oh my god!" The photographer hurriedly protected the camera and called out to Zuo Mingran, "Let's go down the mountain quickly!"

Zuo Mingran quickly reacted from his shock and looked at the land being washed away by the heavy rain. He used his bag to shield his head and shouted loudly to the photographer, "We can't go down, the rain is too heavy. Where is the task point? Let's find a place to hide first."

She had a point. Mountain paths were already difficult to traverse, and with the rain pouring down, one wrong step could send them slipping and sliding. Also, without any rain protection gear, it wouldn't be easy to safely descend even with just a half-hour journey.

Without any time to spare, the photographer led her to the nearest task point, and they both took shelter inside.

Fortunately, the task point arranged by the production team was a cave, equipped with task cards and some other items.

The heavy rain showed no signs of subsiding, and the wind started picking up, making Zuo Mingran realize the predicament they would have been in if they hadn't chosen to seek refuge.

Luckily, their communication devices with the director team at the foot of the mountain were still working. The photographer kept the equipment in a dry place and started contacting the team below. Zuo Mingran appeared unaffected, standing at the entrance of the cave and looking outside.

To increase the difficulty of the task, the production team had chosen a challenging cave. Once outside the cave, there was a steep slope, with only one entrance from the left. The protective equipment that was supposed to be set up on the slope had been washed away by the heavy rain, leaving the entire slope exposed.

As Zuo Mingran looked at the muddied ground, she cursed in her mind.

The plot was indeed forcing her into a corner, all to make her stay here, by advancing the heavy rain by twenty minutes.

But since she was left here, Yin Ruxin should be nearby.

Lost in her thoughts, Zuo Mingran heard a faint cry for help coming from nearby. She was taken aback, thinking she had misheard. However, the sound grew louder and she glanced towards the left, where she could vaguely see a figure approaching. It seemed to be a girl.

"Over here!" Zuo Mingran shouted loudly and then turned to the photographer, saying, "Quick, help her."

The person also seemed to have noticed them and followed the sound. Zuo Mingran took out the rope from her bag, holding one end herself and tossing the other end towards the girl. Together, they pulled the girl towards them.

Clearly unprepared for the rain and unable to find shelter in time, the girl was not only drenched but also covered in mud. It was hard to recognize her without a closer look.

Zuo Mingran stared at her and hesitated, "Are you Fan Zhenzhen?"

The girl glanced at her but didn't say anything. She just took a few steps away from her.

Damn, what kind of luck was this?

Zuo Mingran wished she could go back a few minutes and cut the thread of fate with her own hands. She had thought she had found the female lead, but who would have expected it to be a supporting character, and one with all sorts of problems at that.

Since they were already here, it was not good to push people out now. Zuo Mingran could only comfort himself by saying that saving a life is better than building a seven-tiered pagoda.

Seeing that Fan Zhenzhen was alone, the photographer seemed a bit anxious. "Miss Fan, where is your filming photographer? Did you get separated?"

Zuo Mingran's heart skipped a beat and quickly looked at Fan Zhenzhen. However, she just glanced at them and said expressionlessly, "I don't know."

The photographer asked, "You don't know? Weren't you together?"

"In such heavy rain, how would I know where he went!" Fan Zhenzhen's tone was not good. The photographer wanted to ask more, but was stopped by her.

Zuo Mingran frowned. She couldn't remember if there was this scene in the original book, but she was sure that no one was seriously injured. Seeing the photographer's obvious concern, she asked, "Can't you contact him?"

The photographer shook his head. "I just contacted the team below, and three groups have lost contact. It should be because their equipment got wet."

With this weather, it was inevitable that the equipment would get wet. Zuo Mingran didn't know what to do for a moment. After thinking for a moment, she turned and walked to Fan Zhenzhen, squatting down in front of her. She asked, "Where did you lose each other?"

Fan Zhenzhen glanced at her but didn't say anything.

Zuo Mingran narrowed her eyes and grabbed her collar, pulling her up from the ground and slamming her back against the stone wall. "Then let me ask you another question. Which direction did you come from?"

She didn't expect Zuo Mingran to suddenly turn hostile. Fan Zhenzhen screamed, "Zuo Mingran, what are you doing?"

Zuo Mingran held her face with one hand and said seriously, "I can save you, but I can also kick you out. After all, there are only three of us here, right?"

Timely thunder rumbled outside, and Fan Zhenzhen looked at Zuo Mingran, gritting her teeth. "Southwest, he seems to have fallen and insisted on retrieving his equipment himself..."

Zuo Mingran didn't need to hear the rest of her words, she let go of her hand without any sympathy and left her sitting on the ground without any grace. Fan Zhenzhen stared at her departing figure and clenched her teeth.

According to Fan Zhenzhen's description, the place where she and the filming photographer got separated was not far away. After failing to contact him, the photographer hesitated for a while before deciding to go out and look for him.

Once he left, there were only Zuo Mingran and Fan Zhenzhen left in the small cave.

After taking a glance at Zuo Mingran who was tidying up his things, Fan Zhenzhen sneered, "Zuo Mingran, do you think you can continue to be arrogant? Someone like you, Yan Shushu would never let you stay in the Yan family." 

Taking out climbing tools from her bag, Zuo Mingran didn't even lift his head and said, "I married Yan Yunyang, not his father. As for you, you keep mentioning Yan Shushu every other day, one would think you want to marry him." 

"You!" Fan Zhenzhen stood up abruptly, "You can only be arrogant with your words. Your uncle is already preparing to sue you. By then, your reputation will be ruined and there will be plenty of people cursing you on my behalf. And your education, haha, do you dare let others know that you didn't even graduate from high school?" 

A thought flashed through Zuo Mingran's mind as he looked at her, "You seem to know a lot." 

The incident happened in the morning, and after they arrived here, they handed their phones to their assistant. It had only been less than two hours, even if Fan Zhenzhen had been constantly monitoring online activities, she wouldn't know the details. Thinking of what Shuangxia had said about someone bribing her so-called uncle, Zuo Mingran's gaze turned cold. 

"Was it you?" 

The sound of rain outside made the surroundings even quieter. Fan Zhenzhen clutched her hands tightly and raised her chin, "So what if it was me? Your reputation is already ruined, and Yunyang gege will definitely divorce you!" 

Looking at Fan Zhenzhen's unrepentant face, Zuo Mingran suddenly found it incredibly amusing. "Do you really think you're the only smart person in the world?" 

Fan Zhenzhen was taken aback, "What do you mean?" 

Zuo Mingran looked at her with pity, as if he was looking at a fool. "If even you can think of it, do you think Yan Yunyang wouldn't know? Since he's willing to marry me, it means that he doesn't mind those things, whether they're true or false. It's you, even if you spread rumors online, it's considered a crime. Have you ever thought about how your Yunyang gege would see you in the future?" 

Killing someone with words, Zuo Mingran looked at Fan Zhenzhen's rapidly changing expression and shrugged indifferently. He continued to examine the climbing tools in his hands. 

The sound of rain masked some subtle movements. When someone suddenly pushed Zuo Mingran from behind, he couldn't even hear when Fan Zhenzhen had walked behind him. In the pouring rain, Fan Zhenzhen said with a sinister tone, "Then I'll have to make you disappear from this world." 

When Zuo Mingran stopped halfway down the hill, he was extremely grateful that he still had the climbing equipment in his hands. He rolled down at least a dozen meters, drenched by the pouring rain. For a moment, she thought she couldn't hold on any longer. 

"Zuo Mingran! Hold on!" 

"Don't let go!"

A few voices came from the side, and she struggled to look sideways and realized that it wasn't a hallucination. Her filming crew had rushed over with a few people, and the one shouting the loudest was Yin Ruxin.

A few minutes later, someone used a tree branch to pull Zuo Mingran back up from the steep hillside.

Yin Ruxin helped her clean the wounds caused by the broken stones, and asked, "What happened?"

Zuo Mingran shook her head, "I didn't expect her to dare to do something like this."

Although she didn't know the consequences of falling down the hillside, judging from Fan Zhenzhen's words, it was clear that she intended to kill her. Zuo Mingran, who had followed the rules all her life, never expected someone to so readily break the law, so she had no guard up.

With the help of the photographer, they returned to the cave. Fan Zhenzhen didn't leave, but hid inside. Yin Ruxin took a look inside and lowered her voice, "The incident that just happened was captured on camera. The memory card is with me."