She trembled as she inched toward the rosewood furniture at the front of the hall under everyone's gaze.
Aside from the small patch illuminated by the flashlights, everything was pitch-black.
She couldn't help imagining terrifying things lurking in those unknown stretches of darkness.
Suddenly, a decorative picture on a nearby shelf fell with a crack.
The sound of the frame shattering was piercing, and the short girl screamed.
"Holy crap, this girl's got some lungs."
Brother Tiger aimed his livestream camera at the girl, enlarging her fear-contorted expression on the screen.
Sure enough, plenty of viewers made snide comments about how delicate she was.
Chat: "With that little courage, she calls herself a Brother Tiger fan?"
Chat: "I'm telling you, women shouldn't join activities like this. Why not leave the spots for other people?"
Chat: "Seriously, the picture frame didn't scare me, but this woman's screaming did..."
Yin Chao watched the endlessly scrolling chat, the corner of his mouth curling in mockery.
The picture frame was one of the props Brother Tiger's team had set up.
He had probably planned the script from the start: pick a timid fan, then coax her into going forward alone.
When the picture frame fell, that timid fan was bound to get scared.
Instant entertainment.
The short girl shakily stood up, hastily smoothing her disheveled bangs and tucking them behind her ear.
"I got scared. Sorry, everyone."
Her voice was choked with tears. She really did seem to have been badly frightened.
The viewers in her livestream ate it up, and the tide began to turn.
Chat: "Poor girl. Sending hugs."
Chat: "Seriously, I don't even want to read the vile comments in the other streams."
Chat: "She already said she was easily scared. Was nobody listening?"
Chat: "I think they're going too far,