After Entering a Romance Reality Show Disguised as a Man to Win Over All the Female Leads - Chapter 14

The viewers in the live stream felt a collective sense of helplessness:

【Ms. He Huaiting, I suggest you read the following books: 32 Ways to Improve Your EQ, How a Good Woman Chases a Husband, and 108 Tricks to Capture a Cold God.】

【Pfft, sister, don’t lose the game just because you don’t know how to express yourself (.).】

Rong Yu massaged her temples as she looked at He Huaiting. She didn’t say anything more, barely accepting the evaluation. She should have known that He Huaiting was just like Lian Langsheng during her “aloof phase”—you couldn’t count on her to say more than a couple of words.

The second round of bottle-spinning began. This time, it landed on Lin Mengxing. She raised an eyebrow and held up her card—the Ace of Diamonds. Everyone checked their hands; only Sheng Ming raised his: “I have the Ace of Clubs.”

Lin Mengxing crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with a smirk. “Truth or Dare?”

Sheng Ming smiled slightly. “Truth.”

“Good,” Lin Mengxing nodded. She glanced at Rong Yu beside her, then turned back to him, lifting her chin. “What’s your ‘type’ in a partner?”

Sheng Ming thought for a moment and replied, “I’m a bit conservative, I’m afraid. I like a partner who is virtuous, gentle, and obedient.”

“Virtuous, gentle, and obedient”—those four words were the polar opposite of He Jiao’s current personality. Everyone present, as well as the audience, knew Sheng Ming was definitely not talking about her.

Before anyone could comment, Lin Mengxing let out an “Oh,” her voice curling with hidden meaning. “An obedient, virtuous wife and mother? It sounds like you and Qin Wenhan are a perfect match; you share the same tastes.”

Bullet Chat:

【Pfft hahahahaha damn!】

【Lin Mengxing, how many millions did you insure your mouth for? You’re really not afraid of getting hit.】

Sheng Ming’s smile faltered. “Don’t make jokes like that. I don’t like men. Besides, men can’t have children.”

Lin Mengxing nodded with a thoughtful expression. “So you’re looking for a partner just to have kids?”

Sheng Ming instinctively nodded. “What else?” Realizing the camera was right there, he immediately waved his hand to retract: “Just a joke.” He continued, “But having children is the natural order of things. Isn’t marriage for procreation?”

Lin Mengxing narrowed her eyes. “Isn’t marriage supposed to be a certification of a stable relationship with the person you love?” She sneered. “Does your family have a royal throne to inherit?”

The chat exploded instantly:

【Lin Mengxing!! I bow down to your venomous tongue, hahaha!】

【…I actually liked older men like Sheng Ming before, but now… My sister was right, the ‘Father-type’ boyfriend is out of style. He reeks of feudal habits.】

【The problem isn’t the trope, it’s the man (.).】

The chat devolved into a heated debate about gender roles, with trolls and “keyboard warriors” stoking the fire. Meanwhile, the male guests on set remained silent, seemingly agreeing in their hearts.

Only Rong Yu raised her hand. “Personally, I feel that liking someone should just be about liking them. If you have to consider all those external factors, that’s not a partner you’re looking for—that’s a nanny. And that applies to both men and women.”

The female audience members, who made up the majority of the viewers, supported Rong Yu overwhelmingly:

【Ahhh it feels so good to follow the right person! Anyone who liked Sheng Ming must be blind.】

【Yubao is right! I feel the same way.】

Lin Mengxing and He Huaiting both cast glances at Rong Yu. Mu Shuiqing leaned in closer, resting her head on Rong Yu’s shoulder. “Rongrong is right,” she said softly.

Only He Jiao looked at the three of them and let out a disdainful scoff. “Hypocrites.” Even sitting at an outdoor food stall, her posture was elegant and dignified. When she wasn’t glaring at people, even her insults sounded like sweet nothings—she was the quintessential high-born heiress.

He Jiao stood up. “I’m going to the restroom. Continue without me.”

A moment later, Rong Yu also felt the need to go and followed after He Jiao had walked a bit further. Seven watched her leave and muttered about needing to “sober up,” while Mu Shuiqing watched him with a cold, red-eyed gaze.

The nearest restroom was about five hundred meters away, across a small grove of trees. In the dark, the grove looked terrifying. The yellowish streetlights cast twisted, writhing shadows of branches on the ground, making the scene look like a horror movie. A cold wind began to blow, and Rong Yu shivered, rubbing her arms as she walked the two-hundred-meter path that felt like an eternity. She felt a chill down her back.

She spun around, but saw only the pitch-black darkness behind her.

She quickened her pace, but heard rhythmic footsteps following her—not heavy, but very distinct in the silence. Just as she was about to pull out her phone to call for help, she crashed into someone.

A clean, clear fragrance filled her senses. Rong Yu looked up into a pair of sapphire eyes. The golden curls were dazzling even in the moonlight. Her fear vanished instantly.

“What are you doing?” He Jiao asked, her brow furrowed.

Rong Yu realized her hands were still on He Jiao’s waist. She stepped back quickly. “I just…” She had wanted to mention the footsteps, but seeing He Jiao, she assumed it had just been her.

He Jiao brushed past her and walked back toward the bar. Not wanting to be alone on the creepy path, Rong Yu followed her. Strangely, the path that had seemed so terrifying before now felt peaceful with He Jiao in front of her. He Jiao walked with the perfect grace of a lady—the exact persona Rong Yu had written for her.

But Rong Yu noticed something wrong. It was… too quiet.

She looked down at He Jiao’s ankles. Her pale legs were in red medium-heeled shoes, and every step was silent. Then she noticed…

He Jiao had no shadow.

Rong Yu felt like she’d been dropped into an ice cellar. She froze, biting her lip to keep from screaming.

Suddenly, two hands reached out—one grabbing her shoulder, the other covering her mouth—and pulled her behind a tree. Rong Yu was pressed against the trunk, staring into a familiar face.

It was He Jiao. The real one.

He Jiao watched the “He Jiao” double disappear into the darkness and pressed a finger to her lips, mouthing: Don’t make a sound.

Once the ghost-shadow was gone, Rong Yu whispered, “What was that?”

He Jiao leaned into her ear. “You turned and walked away before you finished talking to me. I waited for you to get further away, but then I saw ‘her’ in front of you.”

Both the “transmigrated” Rong Yu and the “reborn” He Jiao were at a loss against the supernatural. Rong Yu’s heart raced, and she instinctively grabbed He Jiao’s wrist. He Jiao frowned but didn’t pull away.

“What do we do now?” Rong Yu asked.

“Walk toward the main road,” He Jiao whispered.

As they turned to leave, the forest felt even darker. They walked for what felt like hundreds of meters, but the path never ended.

“The road is too long,” He Jiao muttered, her face grim. “We’ve hit a ‘Ghost Wall’ (a loop).”

As if on cue, the air turned freezing. Mist rose from the ground. At the end of the path, a stiff figure appeared. The blue-streaked hair identified him: Seven.

Seven moved with a series of sudden “teleports,” getting closer every few seconds. His face was pale and stiff, his eyes entirely black and bulging. He stood in a bizarre posture, on his tiptoes with his head tilted forward, as if he were being suspended by an invisible rope around his neck.

He Jiao whispered, “This shouldn’t be happening… this wasn’t in the plot…”

Rong Yu grabbed He Jiao’s hand and ran in the opposite direction, but Seven appeared in front of them again. His mouth split into a grotesque grin, stretching to his ears to reveal bloody gums. He reached for Rong Yu’s neck, his voice a serpentine hiss: “Rong… Yu…”

Just as Rong Yu was about to pull He Jiao around him, the girl reached out, grabbed Seven’s wrist, and performed a perfect shoulder throw, slamming him into the ground and stepping on him.

Rong Yu heard the sound of bones cracking. He Jiao patted her hands and said, “Let’s go.”

Wait, Rong Yu thought, did I give He Jiao combat skills in the novel? I don’t think I did.

But another Seven appeared at the end of the road, this time holding a knife. Behind them, the first Seven was floating toward them again.

“They’re after me,” Rong Yu panted. “You go back, run into the woods!”

He Jiao’s expression was complex. “You aren’t the original Rong Yu. Who are you, really?” She added, “That man would only use me until the last second.”

Rong Yu looked at her. “Is it possible… that I am the real Rong Yu?”

He Jiao froze. Rong Yu was right. The “Rong Yu” in the novel was a gender-swapped version of herself—the person she wished she could be for Lian Langsheng. If He Jiao was Lian’s consciousness, and she didn’t like the “male” Rong Yu, did it mean she only cared about the person, regardless of gender?

Suddenly, a third Seven with a knife lunged from the trees. Rong Yu pushed He Jiao out of the way, the cold blade inches from her head.

Before He Jiao could react, a figure blurred into view. A hand pressed a gold-and-red talisman to Seven’s forehead.

It was Mu Shuiqing. Her crimson eyes were glowing. She began chanting an incantation, and paper dolls threw dozens of talismans into the air, which began to spin around her.

“Five stars set the colors, illuminating the profound mystery…” She drew a golden symbol in the air. “Go!”

The symbol slammed into Seven. A semi-transparent black shadow with horns was forced out of his back—it looked like a deformed monkey. The talismans swirled around it, shrinking the shadow until it was a small ball. Mu Shuiqing caught the ball, threw it to the ground, and crushed it. The black mist vanished. Seven collapsed into a heap on the ground.

“It was just a Danfen,” Mu Shuiqing said disdainfully. “A minor fire demon, also called a Drought Demon.”

Rong Yu was amazed. But as the adrenaline faded, her heart began to pound too hard. Her breath became shallow, and she felt a sense of impending suffocation—her body was having a delayed panic reaction.

Mu Shuiqing and He Jiao both noticed her turn pale.

“She’s hyperventilating!” He Jiao realized. She pushed Mu Shuiqing aside, stepped forward, tilted Rong Yu’s chin up, and kissed her.

Behind her, Mu Shuiqing’s jealous roar echoed: “He Jiao!”