Cool and refined vs. badass lunatic-a perfect match

Ever since the variety show began airing, every day had been utter chaos, with supernatural incidents happening so frequently that they had already defied human understanding.

Ordinary people would probably have been scared out of their wits long ago, screaming that they wanted out of filming.

Yet those three were unusually well-behaved.

The key words were "unusually" and "well-behaved."

They were certainly afraid, but none of them truly wanted to quit.

Only Yang Ruoxi had ever taken action or called for it.

But Jian Ran could tell she was just putting on a show.

Otherwise, her reactions to the terrifying atmosphere would have seemed a little too fake.

Were they really doing this for that paltry appearance fee?

Jian Ran had once caught sight of a deposit notification on Du Yunmeng's phone out of the corner of his eye.

The enormous eight-figure sum had made him terribly envious.

She was so rich, yet she had bought only one talisman, and only during a promotion at that. Her penny-pinching was suspicious.

She knew the Mountain Villa was haunted, yet she resolutely stayed here, never so much as mentioning quitting...

Apart from one reason, Jian Ran could think of no other.

"Jian Ran, you must be joking." Du Yunmeng forced a twitch of her lips. "How could we possibly have anything to do with the Deserted Village?"

"When I saw Li Zongsheng's gravestone, I nearly pissed, shat, and farted all over the floor from fright. How could I..."

Jian Ran waved a hand and frowned. "We're eating. Don't talk about something so disgusting."

"Okay, okay, I won't!" Du Yunmeng laughed it off, thinking she had bluffed her way through, only to see the person beside her put down his chopsticks and stare straight at her.

Jian Ran narrowed his eyes, a sharp, assessing gleam in them. He leaned closer slowly, his lips moving. "Oh my, I actually overlooked such an important detail."

"Du Yunmeng, those eyes of yours..."

Cold sweat poured off Du Yunmeng under his stare. Looking flustered, she had just parted her lips to say something when a mocking voice suddenly came from outside the dining room.

"Director Li, are you filming a dating show?"

"The guests are sitting so close together. Are you creating opportunities for them?"

"Heh, only a low-class show would use romantic rumors as a gimmick."

Jian Ran recognized who was spewing that crap. He immediately rolled his eyes, leaned back, and pushed his bowl and chopsticks away. "I'm full. You guys carry on."

Like prey that had narrowly escaped, Du Yunmeng let out a long breath. She stole a glance at the two people opposite her, then instantly looked away.

As Jian Ran stood, he took in every detail. One corner of his mouth rose in an unrestrained curve.

He turned and saw Yu Fengyi's sour face. Deliberately ignoring him, he started walking, but as he brushed past someone else, he heard a deep, sexy voice ask,

"Did you get enough to eat?"

Jian Ran paused slightly. "...More or less."

How did that saying go again?

Too many people cared how high you flew, but nobody asked whether flying made you tired, or whether you were hungry.

For those words of concern from Emperor Lu alone,

Jian Ran, who was only half full, silently swore

that he would give him a one-percent discount on their next transaction!

Yu Fengyi could not stand seeing Jian Ran being close to anyone else.

His mentality was something like: he would rather destroy a toy he no longer wanted than give it to someone else.

Besides, he had not tired of playing with it at all. He had only wanted to make room for his favorite toy, but now that he had made room, he had failed to get the new toy.

The substitute thus seemed indispensable. He needed to keep it around to console himself for a while.

"You leave as soon as I arrive. Do you have a problem with me?" Yu Fengyi's gaze was dark as he stared fixedly at the distance between Jian Ran and Lu Yanting.

Hearing him, Jian Ran slowly turned back, his lips once again curving into an elegant, handsome smile. "Pah."

"You think you're worth it?"

The camera captured the scene, and the fans in the livestream instantly burst out laughing.

[Pah? You think you're worth it? That was perfect! Jian Ran will roast heaven, earth, and even the air!]

[I don't know what beef Jian Ran has with this self-important CEO, but I absolutely love how he refuses to put up with his crap!]

[Anyone else finding this super relatable?! That's exactly how I want to clap back at my boss! He's always treating me like a sucker. Fuck, I want to tell him, "You think you're worth it?!" so damn badly!]

[Looking at the whole show, it seems Lu Yanting is the only one who hasn't been roasted. Could Jian Ran see him as... special?]

[Girls, am I the only one noticing this? Lu Yanting really dotes on Jian Ran. He speaks up for him every time, and just now he even asked whether he was hungry. Can these two become a couple right here and now?!]

[+1. Cool and refined vs. badass lunatic-a perfect match!]

Yu Fengyi's face turned green at the retort, but he could hardly say much in front of the camera. He could only let Jian Ran stride away.

Li Yuan hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "Mr. Yu, that's just how Jian Ran is. Please don't take offense. He's actually incredibly loyal. He'd never stand by and let someone die..."

As he spoke, he realized he had gone a little off track. Not only did Yu Fengyi look no more reassured, but his expression was growing uglier.

After lunch came a long wait.

Still no one came to the inn. Looking out the window, the entire Taihang Mountains resembled a motionless painting. In the sunset's afterglow, the lush greenery was enveloped in golden light, taking on different hues, so beautiful it seemed utterly unreal.

Li Yuan sat on the sofa, deeply troubled.

This was a tourism business show, after all. Wouldn't they go under if they kept getting no customers?

Perhaps they should hand out flyers in a nearby town and organize a bonfire party?

Would that attract all the ghosts?

At that thought, he could not help shuddering, the hairs on his body instantly standing on end.

In one of the third-floor bedrooms, people were whispering.

"What if we're found out? Do we still go ahead with the original plan?"

"What are you afraid of? No matter how powerful he is, doesn't he still have to deal with those things first?"

"This is only the third day. The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is almost here. Once the gates of the underworld open wide, he probably won't be able to keep things under control, however capable he is."

"Hard to say. This is my first time seeing someone with genuine abilities like his..."

"Stop boosting his confidence and undermining ours. If you're scared, leave!"

"We've already come this far. We have to grit our teeth and do it!"

"..."

Before the argument ended, there was a knock at the door.

The whispers stopped abruptly.

Jian Ran opened the door. Seeing who it was, he immediately tried to close it, but an arm blocked him.

"Do you dislike seeing me that much?" Yu Fengyi asked in a low voice.

Jian Ran's lips curved into a perfunctory smile. "If you settle what you owe, we can still part on good terms."

Yu Fengyi's brow twitched. "Is that little bit of money all you care about?!"

Jian Ran sneered. "That little bit of money?! I'm living in a tiny apartment and can't even afford to run the fucking air conditioner, and you call it that little bit of money?"

Yu Fengyi's expression darkened. Some unnamed emotion seemed to stir within him, and a trace of tenderness entered his voice. "If you're having trouble, you can tell me. You don't have to go to anyone else."

He raised his arm and held out a piece of paper. "Here's a blank check. Fill in whatever amount you like."

Jian Ran lazily lowered his eyes for a glance and scoffed. "What year is this? You're still using checks? Don't you know how to transfer money through WeChat?"

Before he had finished speaking, a sinister gust sprang up in the corridor and rushed toward them.

Feeling an icy chill at his neck, Yu Fengyi sensed something was wrong and instinctively looked back. At the same moment, pain struck his abdomen, and his body went weightless as he flew backward.

"Idiot!" Jian Ran kicked without hesitation and cursed irritably. "You brought everything in the woods back here with you!"