Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Showstopper (XVIII)

Being one of the last ones to get off the bus, He Xiao yawned. Squeezing some faint tears onto his long lashes. He wasn't actually tired, rather this vessel of his this time around had some small habitual conducts that were acted upon instinctually. One of them was that he yawned incessantly, anywhere, anytime, anyhow. It didn't matter if he just slept or drank some caffeine, he will yawn.

Majority of everyone's faces were blank, while some were flabbergasted on what was going on.

Jiang Man covered his mouth and laughed. It made some of the junior members blush. He pointed to the large building behind him and introduced the mini-challenge, "Welcome to the 'House of Horrors'. This is one of the longest horror houses in the province, and it's only available for a limited amount of time."

There was a large old Chinese mansion that stood in the view. The colors were dark and grungy, some parts of the paint were washed off, giving the look of an aged home. The outside appearance looked dilapidated and broken down, perhaps on its last legs. Creaking noises and shutters banging could be heard from where they were standing. It gave off an eerie and wicked feeling as soon as you chanced upon the grim glory.

Jiang Man had on a playful tone as he continued. "You all must be awed at what your first mini-challenge is~ Was it how you expected it to be?"

Many of the contestants shook their heads. Some of them had watched many reality tv contestants shows to mentally prepare themselves for what was to come... But little did they anticipate that something like this would greet them. A handful who was scared was a little pale and had a strained expression. The cameramen surrounding the small entourage captured all of their expressions beautifully without missing one little bit.

As he briefed them on their role, Jiang Man was delighted at all of their reactions. "Your first mini-challenge is to scare as many people as you can. You will each be assigned a role to play within the mansion, and a location to be stationed at. Your guests will be selected special individuals especially chosen for this mini-challenge. As for whose face you will see after you emerge? That will be our surprise for you~"

"A camera will be positioned at each location to capture the comical scene and we have someone on hand counting how many scares you've given. You will have a time limit of four hours to scare as many people as you can."

The moment the last sounds of his words rang out, some of the staff on the side pulled out a large black game roulette with white questions marks. There were a total of eight slots, meaning that seven roles were going to be given twice and there was a probability of obtaining a single role. All the participants soon came to the conclusion that if they were able to get the role that was singular, their odds of scaring someone was much greater than someone who shared a role with another.

Jiang Man chuckled, "You will each step up here and spin the wheel. After the needle lands on an option, I will reveal your choice and that will be your role. There will be no biased choices being made here. The wheel has been tested and is guaranteed to give a hundred percent fairness to all participants. After you will follow our beautiful older sisters over there and they will go over your props and makeup products with you."

Stating this out loud and beforehand, no one could blame that XR Entertainment was being biased against a specific participant. This meant that obtaining a role from the roulette was purely based on one's luck and nothing else. Many who planned on going after soon hesitated. If it didn't matter which order they went, because the choices were given randomly, doesn't that mean that they should just go and get it done with?

Gesturing to the large roulette wheel right beside him, Jiang Man asked, "Who will be our first volunteer?"

Bai Taohua cheerfully shouted and raised her hand, "I will!"

Jiang Man had worked with Bai Taohua many times before and was fond of this little energetic and eccentric artist. They obviously weren't from the same company, Bai Taohua was from TS Entertainment and Jiang Man came from XR Entertainment. Both should be at odds with each other due to their companies being competitors against each other, but the two of them didn't care; they were doing what they love and wanted to do.

He laughed and welcomed her, "Come, come up, little junior."

Humans were prone to gossip out of boredom and to find entertainment. The way he addressed her caught some of the idols' attention, but they remained quiet. They would just continue to watch and see if it developed anywhere.

It could not be helped as Bai Taohua had only one scandal in her whole entire career and she was at the height of her profession, which was rare at this stage. It was only with Hai Pixiu, and she hadn't gotten into any other scandals with anyone else, always keeping a good distance from others when necessary.

In the entertainment circle, to find someone who was 'pure' was very rare. So whenever shocking news of a celebrity was mentioned and it belonged to one who was considered 'untainted', it always became the talk of the city. Celebrities always had to maintain their image wherever they are; as a single mistake can lead to a life of misery. It was rough and difficult in the entertainment business solely because of this reason. There were too many people out to get you and the best defensive line an artist or actor could have is their fans, but it all leads back to your image and how you portray yourself. The more deplorable your image was, the fewer people will come out to defend you and they would rather throw stones down the well instead.

Many other competitors in the same industry would not hesitate to pull you down so that they could step on you and climb up.

Bai Taohua could already assume these distasteful thoughts from a few and rolled her eyes inwardly. Whenever there were a female and male involved in a friendship, there would always be people who here doubtful if they were just really 'friends' and not anything else. She could have guy friends too, okay? It's not like she's crying to them or latching onto their thigh. They just discussed a shared interest in topics and hang out as a group. So, if they want, they could try. No one was going to stop them. It was just sad that they would only hit a dead end and be forced to jump off the plank they laid out.

She placed a hand on the side and pushed it up before bringing it down. The wheel spun magnificently as the question marks blurred together. Doing ten full spins before slowing down, the sounding of the ticks from the needle brushing up against the small metal bars made everyone stare intensely with anticipation. Coming to a stop, the needle landed on one of the question marks. Jiang Man walked over and tore off the sign covering the slot.