Chapter 39: Playing Truth or Dare in the Haunted House

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Everyone was sent into a panic by the sudden appearance of the “Masked Senior” at the doorway.

Only Ji Yun remained perfectly calm.

He had witnessed the entire incident with his own eyes.

Just now, while everyone’s attention had been fixed on the falling figure, the girl named Cheng Yu had quietly slipped out of the room.

At first, he had assumed she was a plant hired by the livestream crew.

But judging by everyone’s reactions, they seemed to have known nothing about it.

At least Senior Xia Li clearly had not.

......

The “Masked Senior” stood in the doorway without making a move. Instead, she could not help letting out a laugh.

After the scene descended into chaos, everyone finally realized that she probably was not a ghost.

When people were angry, it was difficult to maintain their public personas. Xia Li caught sight of the woman’s shoes and recognized that the “Masked Senior” at the door was someone in disguise. She immediately shouted furiously, “Cheng Yu, what the hell are you doing?”

The moment she said this, everyone turned toward the doorway in anger.

The “Girl in White” at the door was indeed not a ghost.

She removed the wig and mask, revealing a pitiful expression. “Ah... I... I just wanted to liven things up a little.”

It was unmistakably Cheng Yu’s voice.

Xia Li was so furious that her eyes widened. She questioned her again in a rage, “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

Jokes were one thing under ordinary circumstances.

But they were livestreaming now!

Her panicked expression had just been broadcast in its entirety. It would shatter the brave, fearless medium-school-beauty persona she had worked so hard to cultivate through her livestreams.

That was what angered Xia Li the most.

......

As expected, the viewers in the livestream room began questioning her after seeing her beautiful face distorted with fear.

“Host Li, aren’t you a medium? How could you be afraid of ghosts? And it was only a fake ghost... Hahaha.”

“The way the host reacted just now didn’t look fake at all. She was so scared she nearly lost her soul. Could she be a fake medium...?”

“It must have been staged for entertainment. I was startled too just now. I really thought the Masked Senior had appeared.”

“Wasn’t that Masked Senior the same one they encountered downstairs earlier? I knew it. The whole thing had to be scripted.”

“Tch, so they’re all actors after all. I thought this was really a paranormal livestream. Unfollowed. What a bore.”

“...”

Although plenty of fans still defended her and tried to come up with excuses on her behalf, the number of viewers in the livestream was visibly falling.

Only then did Xia Li realize that she had lost control of herself.

She hurriedly put on the pure, sweet expression she had worn earlier and smiled at the camera. “I originally wanted to give everyone a different kind of experience, but it seems Li made a rather foolish mistake tonight~”

Though she said this, she had already begun to resent Cheng Yu.

Admitting that it had all been staged meant that everything she had prepared for tonight had gone to waste.

Even her previous livestreams might now be questioned.

Her entire medium persona would be called into doubt.

For an internet celebrity, the collapse of one’s carefully crafted persona was disastrous.

Forget gaining followers—she would probably lose a great many this time.

Since they were still live, Xia Li did not dare lose her temper and continued trying to salvage the situation.

......

Away from the camera, Cheng Yu acted as though nothing had happened. She merely shrugged and fell silent.

The fat man and the other guests also stared at Cheng Yu, whose attempt to liven things up had spectacularly backfired. None of them looked pleased.

She had ruined the livestream, and as guests, they all felt indignant on behalf of Senior Xia Li.

The young man named Song Wei, who stood beside the fat man, had even been so frightened that he wet himself slightly. Once he came to his senses, he noticed it too and began trying to cover it up, his face filled with embarrassment.

Ji Yun, meanwhile, watched with great interest.

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This was far more entertaining than the ghost-story segment earlier.

Moreover, the commotion had allowed him to notice many unusual things.

Because of Sister Hua Ling, he had previously searched the internet and studied techniques for reading microexpressions and people's thoughts.

He could tell that the entire group had genuinely been badly frightened just now.

But there was one exception.

Liao Feifei.

Although she had pretended to be scared, the dilation of her pupils and the change in her complexion could not be faked.

Ji Yun had also noticed that Cheng Yu was not as innocent as she appeared.

She seemed more likely to have done it deliberately.

And she was quite familiar with Liao Feifei.

After catching the exchange of glances between the two, Ji Yun could not help wondering, “The detective’s files said that Liao Feifei was extremely jealous. Could this whole accident have been a deliberate prank by the two of them?”

Had they intentionally sabotaged Xia Li’s livestream?

What motive could they have?

The thought surfaced in Ji Yun’s mind, but he soon felt that he must have misread the situation.

They were all schoolmates, after all. Surely things would not go that far.

......

An unexpected incident had disrupted the livestream’s planned script. Even though Xia Li was doing her utmost to recover the situation, she had no idea how to smooth things over for the moment.

At the same time, she was hoping that the security guards would arrive soon so she could end this cursed livestream.

But before any security guards appeared, Liao Feifei suddenly produced a lucky cat and suggested, “Senior Xia Li, why don’t we play Truth or Dare?”

They had never discussed including a game segment. A trace of barely perceptible displeasure flashed through Xia Li’s eyes.

How dare you leech off my traffic and steal my lines too?

She was still furious and had no intention of responding.

But then she saw the gifts flooding across the screen, and her expression immediately brightened.

“Thank you, Brother Huahua, for the Carnival~”

“Ah... Thank you, thank you!”

“Thank you so much!”

“...”

She thanked him again and again.

The new fan was extravagantly generous, sending ten Carnivals in one go.

That was thirty thousand yuan!

Even after the platform took its cut, it was still equivalent to an ordinary person’s monthly salary—or more.

Xia Li knew that a genuine big spender had entered her livestream.

The wealthy patron spoke up as well:

“Hahaha, this is how it should be played. Truth or Dare in a haunted house—that’s what I call fun! The earlier stuff was boring. Give us something thrilling! If it’s entertaining, there’ll be no shortage of gifts.”

Livestreaming was not all that different from street performances in ancient times.

The audience paid real money to request a show, and the performers had no reason to refuse.

Once the wealthy patron had spoken, the viewers immediately began cheering for something “thrilling.”

Seeing the situation, Xia Li instantly changed her attitude and picked up where Liao Feifei had left off.

“Thank you, brothers, for your support and gifts~ Tonight, Li originally planned to play some games here at 426 Hospital. Now, we’re going to begin the game segment...”

As a professional internet celebrity, she was not lacking in the ability to adapt.

After glancing over the comments, she had already thought of several possible segments.

Playing games in a supposedly haunted hospital would indeed make excellent content.

It could completely make up for her earlier blunder.

......

Normally, Xia Li, as the major host, should have served as the emcee.

But before she could say anything, Liao Feifei suddenly stepped forward first.

“Then I’ll explain the rules~”

“There are random tasks and punishments inside this lucky cat. Whoever draws one has to complete it.”

“There will be two rounds. Once you participate, you can’t quit halfway through.”

“If you choose Truth once, you must choose Dare the next time.”

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“...”

They were three perfectly ordinary rules.

Although everyone found Liao Feifei’s taking over the role and snatching the lines a little puzzling, no one said anything.

Xia Li quickly seized back control and continued, “That’s right. No matter how terrifying the dare is tonight, everyone has to complete it~”

The other guests grew eager at once.

The fat man was especially excited.

After all, this was exactly the kind of show he had spent all of yesterday imagining.

......

Ji Yun did not particularly care.

He had already been dragged here to serve as a backdrop, and a game needed its non-player characters too.

However, he noticed that Wu Feng and Zhang Xiaonan, the senior students standing not far from him, had both looked rather unnatural ever since they saw the figure in white jump from the building.

Now, after hearing the rules of the game, they seemed even more concerned, their brows faintly furrowing.

Yet after hesitating for a moment, neither objected.

And so the game began.

.......

Xia Li set up her phone, placing herself in the center of the frame while trying to capture as many of the participants on either side as possible.

The viewers in the livestream were also highly enthusiastic, flooding the comments with all kinds of Truth or Dare suggestions.

Ji Yun glanced at the screen. Almost all the questions the viewers proposed involved Xia Li revealing private matters about herself or performing bold, intimate actions.

This time, however, the game’s punishments had already been predetermined.

Liao Feifei had somehow obtained a lucky-cat game device. The cat’s whiskers served as a box for drawing lots.

The blue whiskers represented Truth, while the red whiskers represented Dare.

The rewards and punishments would all be decided by the draw.

Xia Li thought it was a good arrangement.

It did not matter how everyone played in private.

But livestreaming was subject to regulation.

If they really followed the punishments suggested by the viewers, the stream would probably be shut down by the moderators within minutes.

What none of them expected was that this game would be the beginning of a nightmare.

......

Everyone drew lots to determine their numbers.

There were ten people in all. Ji Yun was number four, and the fat man was number three.

Cheng Yu had just frightened everyone by pretending to be the Masked Senior, and she seemed to feel somewhat guilty about it. She was the first to speak.

“I’m number one. I’ll go first, then. I choose Truth.”

As she spoke, she pulled one of the lucky cat’s blue whiskers and unfolded the slip of paper attached to it.

In front of everyone, Cheng Yu read aloud what was written on the whisker.

“Say one sentence mocking everyone here.”

The moment they heard the question, the livestream audience erupted in disappointment. It was painfully boring.

Cheng Yu was not especially beautiful, but she was still fairly attractive.

The viewers had been flooding the screen with questions such as “When did you have your first time?” and “How many boyfriends have you had?”

They wanted to hear a girl’s private secrets, not some dull question like this.

Seeing how easy it was, Cheng Yu casually smiled and began, “I...”

She had intended to make a quick joke and brush the matter aside.

But she had no idea that her mouth seemed to have a will of its own. Instead, she blurted out a string of words that left everyone dumbfounded.

“You really thought I accidentally dressed up as a ghost to scare you just now? Hahahaha... The truth is, I did it on purpose! I wanted to make all of you embarrass yourselves on the livestream!”

Her triumphant, unrestrained laughter sent a chill down everyone’s back.

The moment those words were spoken, the livestream fell completely silent.

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