I Rely On Kisses To Clear Survival Games Chapter 36

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!: Starting tomorrow I'll be on holidays for the next two weeks so I'll be going on semi-hiatus. Instead of the usual daily chapter releases for “I Rely on Kisses to Clear Survival Games”, I'll be releasing a chapter every 3 days until I'm back. Sorry about this!

Chapter 36: Horror Variety (1)

When he heard that Cheng Ling Ling had fallen down the stairs, Cheng Zhi Chu was originally very worried. He wanted to rush home immediately but his mum rea.s.sured him that she wasn't very seriously hurt and was just calling him to let him know. She also reminded him to attend cla.s.s properly and that it is fine to just come home on the weekend.

Too many things had happened on this day. Cheng Zhi Chu felt tired to the point of death. He returned to his dormitory and called to ask his roommates how they were going. Only when he confirmed that nothing else had happened at the hospital, he was able to fall back into his bed and fall asleep.

Fortunately, it looked like his luck had returned back to normal over the next few days. He didn't encounter any lucky situations, nor did he encounter any unlucky situations. Like this, the days pa.s.sed by quite peacefully.

Like the silver coin had disappeared, it never spoke up again, no longer appeared in his dreams and it didn't suddenly appear out of nowhere. If it wasn't for the fact that it was stored in his games' storage s.p.a.ce, Cheng Zhi Chu would have thought that he had lost it.

………..Did its' feelings get hurt?

Faced with the silver coin's silence, Cheng Zhi Chu couldn't help but have this thought.

It had originally appeared to entice and trick him into thinking that it could bring him good luck but the result was that, in less than a day, that bogus good luck that it had promised was quickly broken and it had even turned into misfortune.

At first, Cheng Zhi Chu thought that this silver coin had brought him bad luck but, after seeing it fall silent for the past few days, it seems like it wasn't something of its own doing. Afterall, it had not yet achieved its purpose of deceiving him and it wasn't the right time to strike.

So his eventual conclusion was……….His own bad luck was something that couldn't be reversed even with the coins strange power.

This thought only made Cheng Zhi Chu even more determined not to use the silver coin. Although he had the intention not to use it from the very beginning, what happened over the past few days just gave him a clear reminder.

【 Actually, I don't think that this is necessarily a bad thing. 】

The system said: 【 All those misfortunes that you encountered would balance out with the good luck that came out of nowhere. Like this, you wouldn't have to worry about something unlucky suddenly affecting you in the future. If all these misfortunes added up together, it may likely result in your death. 】

[You're right.]

Cheng Zhi Chu nodded his head in agreement. He then thought: [But there's one more thing that I haven't figured out yet. My sister can't go to Ji Yun Xiao's variety how and I would need to go in her stead. Is that good or bad luck for me?]

【 That…….For a fan, it would naturally be good luck but you're not Ji Yun Xiao's fan, so I'm also not to sure if it's good or bad. 】 The system wasn't certain.

[Then I won't worry about it.] Cheng Zhi Chu scratched his head. [But I'm pretty happy to be able to an audience. I can now be considered as a casual fan of Ji Yun Xiao's.]

After going through an instance together with Ji Yun Xiao and becoming forum friends, they would exchange a few words from time to time. It allowed Cheng Zhi Chu to deeply understand the charm of this nations' male G.o.d and he naturally had a good impression of him.

Speaking of which, Ji Yun Xiao and the Meng sisters also found out about him being selected through the internet. The two sisters were very envious of him and they lamented that they had also made many friends and family partic.i.p.ate but were unfortunately not selected. This made them extremely depressed and they have been unhappy for the past few days.

Later, Ji Yun Xiao comforted them. He said that if there are similar opportunities in the future, he would definitely save a spot for them. This made the two sisters' mood change from sorrow to joy. It was at this point that they suddenly realised that they had really become friends with their idol.

[Chameleon: I'm happy to see that your photo was selected.]

In the forum, Ji Yun Xiao said this to Cheng Zhi Chu.

[Chameleon: But the person who submitted the photo seems to be your sister, not you. Will the person going to the show be you or your sister?]

[Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice: It's me. Something unexpected happened to her and she can't go.]

Cheng Zhi Chu also saw the comment left by his sister. She mentioned that the person in the photo is her brother and you could tell that it was written by a girl just by the way it was written so Ji Yun Xiao was probably able to guess that it was his sister's submission.

Ji Yun Xiao sent over a cute smiley face.

[Chameleon: Welcoming you. I'll see you this weekend.]

[Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice: Okay, see you this weekend!]

The recording of the variety show was set on a Sat.u.r.day afternoon at C City. From where Cheng Zhi Chu is, it is more than 200 kilometres away so he would need to take a bullet train on Sat.u.r.day morning.

On Friday night, Cheng Zhi Chu first went back home to check on his sister who was recuperating at home. Seeing that she was still lively and just upset about not being able to go to the variety show filming herself, he was able to feel relieved. The two of them sat in the living room chatting while watching TV.

"Just when I got the chance to go, I'm unable to. I'm so upset………"

The young girl made a sorrowful expression. She tugged at Cheng Zhi Chu's sleeves and said repeatedly: "Brother, you must help me take in all of Ji Yun Xiao's beauty in my stead. I'll wait for you to come back and tell me all about it. Also, if you have a chance please help me get Xiao Xiao's signature……."

"Okay."

Cheng Zhi Chu nodded his head. This wasn't a difficult request. After all, he and Ji Yun Xiao already know each other but, because it is related to "Infinite Escape", he couldn't tell his sister about this.

"I wish the recording site was somewhere nearby. If that was the case, even if I need to crawl, I would be willing to crawl over."

Cheng Ling Ling muttered grievously. She then suddenly remembered something: "Speaking of which, didn't we go to C City before? Brother, do you remember? When we were young, didn't our whole family go on a short trip to C City?"

"Ah, did we?" Cheng Zhi Chu blinked. "You must've remembered wrong. I don't remember that at all."

"No no no. I clearly remember going there before. Although I was still very young and maybe not even in elementary school yet, I still have an impression of it."

The young girl made a thoughtful expression and muttered: "I even remember that something had happened at that time and mum and dad were very worried………Brother, did you get lost at that time?"

Cheng Zhi Chu was even more confused: "How can that be?"

"Ling Ling, don't talk nonsense."

Their mum who was cooking in the kitchen stuck her head out and said: "We haven't been to C City before and your brother never got lost. Did you get confused after sleeping too much?"

"We really haven't been there?" The young girl furrowed her brows. She didn't seem to believe that she had remembered wrong.

"Since mum said so then we probably haven't been there before." Cheng Zhi Chu patted her head and laughed, "I'll explore around for you tomorrow. If it's fun, let's go together later on."

"Okay!" The young girl smiled happily. "Brother, remember to take lots of photos tomorrow!"

"Okay. I'll do as you say."

Hearing the two converse, their mum seemed to be a little worried: "Zhi Chu, when you go to C City tomorrow, you must be careful. If anything happens, remember to call home."

"Mum, I'm already so old now. I'll be going and coming back on the same day so nothing will happen." Cheng Zhi Chu laughed. He then added, "I know. If anything happens, I won't try to deal with it myself. Thanks mum."

"That's good then…………"

His mum said this but there was still a hint of worry in her eyes.

In the morning, Cheng Zhi Chu took the bullet train to C City. After having a simple lunch, he rushed over to the recording site which was located in a large building. When he reached the building, he saw that there were many people gathered downstairs.

The audience for this show were mainly young people and most of them were girls. They stood around in small groups and appeared to be fans of different celebrities.

This variety show is very popular in China. Cheng Zhi Chu has also watched it before, so he knew some things about it. Every week, they would have four or five guests, all of which are famous stars or newcomers.

Before Ji Yun Xiao debuted and became famous, this program had invited him to partic.i.p.ate. After that, there was another time so this would be his third time appearing in this variety show. This week, he was one of the more famous guests so most of the audience members were his fans.

Before arriving, Cheng Zhi Chu had already read through the rules. One point specifically mentioned that the audience would be arranged such that fans of each celebrity are seated together so it would be best to wear supporting clothes or to bring along supporting banners and the such.

Cheng Zhi Chu thought about it and decided to just wear Ji Yun Xiao's fan s.h.i.+rt. After all, it wasn't very convenient bringing around a light stick and, not to mention, he had already worn the s.h.i.+rt in front of the person himself.

However, when he saw Ji Yun Xiao's fans his expression couldn't help but stiffen a little.

He suddenly discovered that all the fans of Ji Yun Xiao's here were female fans. There wasn't a single man fan. If no other male fan turns up later and Ling Ling was able to attend, then Ji Yun Xiao's part of the audience would pretty much be an army of girls……

Faced with a group of female fans, Cheng Zhi Chu suddenly didn't dare to approach them. Just when he wanted to find a quiet corner to stand in and wait until time was almost up before quietly mixing in, he was discovered by one of the staffs on-site.

"You're Ji Yun Xiao's fan?"

The staff looked at Cheng Zhi Chu's T-s.h.i.+rt and smiled. She asked kindly: "You're the first male 'Yuan Lan' to come. Tell me your name and phone number and I'll check you in.

"Ah, it's a real male fan! It's my first time seeing one!"

"It really is……..That little brother is so cute. Look, look. He's blus.h.i.+ng……."

All the fans of Ji Yun Xiao immediately looked over at Cheng Zhi Chu with bright eyes. Cheng Zhi Chu pretended to be oblivious of this as he talked to the staff but, in fact, his ears were bright red.

This is killing me………

After the staff left, he found himself surrounded by the female fans and was unsurprisingly asked about his s.e.xual orientation. After all, most of Ji Yun Xiao's male fans were gay fans.

Cheng Zhi Chu felt a little helpless. He was only able to breath a sigh of relief when the audience members were allowed to enter, and the fans rushed inside. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel at loss. Turns out, he really is the only male fan……

Before they entered the recording studio, the staff gave them a quick briefing. They also collected everyone's phones to prevent them from secretly taking photos or disrupting the filming. The phones were to be returned when the filming was over.

After the recording of the show, the staff had also arranged for some time for the audience to get signatures and take photos with their celebrity.

When they took their seats, the director came over to give his greetings. He then briefly talked about how the program worked.

"Everyone here may have already seen our show before. Generally, the show would be divided into indoor and outdoor parts. This episode is the same. The indoor parts would include………"

"……..After we finish recording the first half, the guests would go and film the outdoor activities. You can choose to wait here for them to return or you can choose to take the bus that we have prepared and follow them. You are free to choose whether or not you want to come along."

The director then did a simple rehearsal of applause and cheering. When the filming was about to start, the audience gradually quietened down.

It was Cheng Zhi Chu's first time being an audience of a TV show so he was quite excited. Besides Ji Yun Xiao, an actress that he liked would also be appearing, so he was looking forward to it.

After waiting for a while, the filming officially began. The host appeared on stage, said a few opening remarks before introducing the guests while the audience cheered and clapped along.

Especially when Ji Yun Xiao appeared, the cheers and applause from the audience seemed to reach a new high. Even the fans of the other stars cheered for him. It was enough to show how popular he was.

"h.e.l.lo everyone."

Ji Yun Xiao said this with a smile and waved at the audience. When he saw Cheng Zhi Chu sitting in the front row, a very faint flash of light pa.s.sed through his eyes and his smile softened even more.

Under the bright and soft lighting, Ji Yun Xiao looked even more beautiful and eye-catching. Even when he is just simply standing on the stage, he looked like he was glowing. Next to him, the other guests paled in comparison. Like this, Ji Yun Xiao was the centre, the focus of everything.

Infected by this atmosphere, Cheng Zhi Chu also couldn't help but feel excited. He applauded enthusiastically until his palms went red. He became very excited about what was to come next.

This variety show is one of the best variety shows in China and it would always have a lot of jokes. This time it also didn't let down the audiences' expectations.

Although Ji Yun Xiao is dazzling on stage, his real personality is more on the gentle and quiet side. He has been recognised by everyone as someone who has a good personality but is also a little dense so, throughout the whole filming process, Ji Yun Xiao was the most unfortunate one. Even his own teammates teased him and tricked him into drinking mustard and bitter melon juice.

Ji Yun Xiao didn't suspect his teammates at all and drank half the cup in one go. In an instant, his eyes went red and he couldn't help but cough it back out, but he still didn't realise that his teammates had done it deliberately. When he finally realised what was going on, he revealed a wronged expression.

The people present laughed like crazy. Even Cheng Zhi Chu in the audience laughed until his stomach hurt. After this round, because of his teammate's sneaky moves, Ji Yun Xiao ended up losing the most points and he entered the punishment round.

"But before the punishment round, Yun Xiao has a chance to save himself. It's the "Guess What I'm Acting?" game that you all know about."

The host said this while smiling: "We will provide phrases that Yun Xiao will need to act out. One of your fans will come up on stage and they will try to guess it. There are five questions in total and the fan will need to guess them within the specified time. If three out of the five are correct, you can be exempt from punishment. There can only be a maximum of two wrong words in the sentence. Yun Xiao, do you want to take this challenge?"

"Yes." Ji Yun Xiao nodded.

"Then Yun Xiao, please select your fan." The host gestured towards the audience. "If any of the 'Yuan Hao's' wants to be selected by Yun Xiao, please cheer loudly and let Yun Xiao feel your pa.s.sion!"

With the hosts encouragement, Ji Yun Xiao's female fans immediately started to shout and wave their hands. Some even got up and jumped around hoping that he could notice them.

Cheng Zhi Chu wasn't as pa.s.sionate as the female fans, so he didn't shout out. He just sat quietly in his seat and looked both weak and helpless while being surrounded by a group of crazy, screaming female fans.

"………This time, I want to choose a male fan."

After looking at the audience for a while, Ji Yun Xiao smiled and said this.

The female fans let out disappointed cries and could only sit back down. Their eyes then moved over to Cheng Zhi Chu because he was the only male fan of Ji Yun Xiao's.

W-what? They want me to go up? But he doesn't know how to guess these things!

Being looked at by everyone, Cheng Zhi Chu suddenly felt nervous but, when he saw Ji Yun Xiao looking at him with a faint expectant smile, he could only get up from his seat and walk on stage. His ears flushed red and he was somewhat embarra.s.sed.

Ji Yun Xiao smiled at him comfortingly and indicated to him not to be nervous. Seeing this, Cheng Zhi Chu gradually relaxed and he managed to be able to stand on stage more naturally.

"Today, you are the only male fan of Yun Xiao's. You're really lucky." The host laughed, "May I ask for your name?"

"h.e.l.lo everyone, my name is Cheng Zhi Chu."

Cheng Zhi Chu took the microphone and said this slowly under the gaze of everyone: "I am very honoured and happy to be chosen by Yun Xiao today. I hope that I can live up to Yun Xiao's expectations and help him avoid punishment."

"I also thank you for coming to support me."

Ji Yun Xiao added with a smile.

"Well then, good luck!"

The host smiled and nodded. The director below the stage signalled to the props team to pa.s.s over a whiteboard with several cards stuck on it. From these, the host was to randomly choose the card and give it to Ji Yun Xiao to act out and let Cheng Zhi Chu guess.

The host stood before the whiteboard and he took a card off. Ji Yun Xiao received the card and looked at its contents. His originally happy expression suddenly stiffened a little.

……..What on earth is written on it?

Cheng Zhi Chu was a little nervous. He started to worry about what he should do if he couldn't guess any of it.

"Yun Xiao, are you ready? Okay, the time starts now!

 After the host said those words, Ji Yun Xiao looked over at Cheng Zhi Chu and began to gesture. He first pointed at himself, patted his chest and made a gesture similar to tying a tie before raising his right hand over his head.

"I…..heart…..tie?"

Cheng Zhi Chu was confused. Ji Yun Xiao shook his head and again raised his right hand above his head. This time Cheng Zhi Chu understood, and he blurted out: "Young Pioneers of China??……Ah, the red scarf?"

Ji Yun Xiao nodded his head. He then patted his chest, interlocked his fingers in front of it and then spread it open, like he was doing a 'glowing' gesture. Cheng Zhi Chu frowned for a few seconds before suddenly understanding. He quickly guessed:

"The red scarf on my chest has become more vivid?"

"Congratulations you got the first correct answer!"

The host and the audience immediately applauded. Seeing that he had guessed it right, Cheng Zhi Chu secretly sighed in relief. At the same time, he couldn't help but think about how nonsensical that sentence was. It looks like the next questions may be even harder to guess.

Sure enough, the next question stumped Cheng Zhi Chu. He completely couldn't understand what Ji Yun Xiao was gesturing. He guessed several phrases but none of them were right. Seeing that this question seemed to be difficult to guess, Ji Yun Xiao quickly gave it a pa.s.s and moved on to the third question to avoid wasting too much time.

But for the third question, Cheng Zhi Chu also didn't have a clue. Seeing that he couldn't guess it at all, he could feel his palms sweating and he started to get nervous. His mind went blank and his answer started to get further and further away from the correct answer.

[I saw the answer. It's "Since the older sister can, the younger sister also can"……]

At this moment, Cheng Zhi Chu heard a small voice in his mind. It was from the silver coin that had not spoken for the past few days.

[Why are you out again?] Cheng Zhi Chu was surprised but fortunately he didn't reveal it on his face.

[………..So that I can atone for my mistakes, my master.]

The coin's voice appeared to sound a little down.

[And I needed to prove to you that, as long as you free me, I would be able to bring you countless benefits…..]

Cheng Zhi Chu couldn't help but dig at its sore spot: [Is it just on the level of helping me guess riddles?]

[……….] The silver coin kept silent.

"Cough……" Cheng Zhi Chu almost couldn't hold back his laughter. He even felt pity for the silver coin, but he still definitely wouldn't use it. This is something that won't be changed.

Looking at the coins att.i.tude, it didn't seem like it was lying to him. Cheng Zhi Chu who now knew the answer felt a little relieved. After deliberately giving the wrong answer twice, he said the correct answer which was then followed by the applause from the host and the audience.

 For the fourth question, Cheng Zhi Chu also managed to "guess" the answer with the help of the coin. Like this, Cheng Zhi Chu had already answered three questions correct and Ji Yun Xiao would be exempt from punishment. But according to the rules, he still had to guess the last one for the game to end.

[You don't have to tell me the answer for the fifth question.] Cheng Zhi Chu said this to the coin. [If I can guess it, I'll guess it. If I can't, it doesn't matter.]

He deliberately placed emphasis on the word, "doesn't matter".

The silver coin didn't make a sound and had seemingly disappeared somewhere to be depressed alone.

"Here, this is the last question."

The host handed Ji Yun Xiao a card. When Ji Yun Xiao saw the contents, he froze for a moment and suddenly appeared to be a little shy.

He looked up at Cheng Zhi Chu with the tip of his ears faintly red. He first opened both his hands and made a big circle. He then pointed to himself and then made a heart gesture with his hands before finally pointing at Cheng Zhi Chu.

"I, love…..ah, like…..you?"

Cheng Zhi Chu guessed seriously and managed to guess the words "I like you" correctly. Ji Yun Xiao pursed his lips and nodded shyly. He then gestured a big circle and then moved two fingers to gesture a small human walking.

Human and circle? What…..?

"Ah……..Is it 'Earth'? 'World'?"

Cheng Zhi Chu had a lightbulb moment. He suddenly remembered a song by Ji Yun Xiao that he once heard his sister mention: "Is it, 'I like you the most in the world'?"

"Congratulations Zhi Chu, the answer is correct!"

White mist spurted out from the edge of the stage and the audience applauded loudly. Ji Yun Xiao looked over at Cheng Zhi Chu with a slightly red and embarra.s.sed expression that also looked a little s.e.xy.

The female fans screamed loudly. Because Cheng Zhi Chu is a male fan, they didn't think nor care much about it. Instead, they were even more excited. There was even someone whose cheap mouth shouted "Kiss!" which resulted in laughter from the others.

Of course, a kiss was naturally impossible, but Cheng Zhi Chu also received a gift. It was Ji Yun Xiao's CD with his signature on it and a hug from Ji Yun Xiao. When they hugged, the audience again started to cheer.

When Cheng Zhi Chu happily returned to his seat with the alb.u.m, the female fan next to him began to look at him differently. It was as if he was suddenly glowing.

Ji Yun Xiao saw that Cheng Zhi Chu didn't react much to that sentence nor his hug and his eyes darkened a little, revealing a trace of disappointment. He then quickly covered it up and continued to smile.

 After this stage, the director gave everyone a ten-minute break. After that, it was time for the outdoor part of the filming. When they started filming again, the celebrity guests were supposed to draw lots and be a.s.signed to different locations to complete different tasks.

"Although Yun Xiao lost the last stage, but because he and Zhi Chu answered four questions in "Guess What I'm Acting" correctly, he has received the benefit of being the first one to pick."

The host made his introductory commentary. Ji Yun Xiao nodded and placed his hand inside the box. He pulled out a slip of paper that had the words "Villa Courage Test".

"Ah…..It looks like Yun Xiao isn't very lucky today. He has actually picked out the hardest task."

The host shook his head with a smile. He then began to introduce this task.

"The so-called Villa Courage Test involves entering a villa that has been rumoured to be haunted. The task is to enter the villa to get a specific item before leaving. As for the details regarding the villa, please look at the big screen."

The fans present were a little surprised. Some of the timider fans revealed scared expressions. Along with mysterious and eerie music, a video about the villa started to play on the big screen.

"'Rose Manor' is a villa located southeast of C City, by a lake. With very little human life, beautiful scenery and a quiet and peaceful environment, it was a secret garden that no one could enter."

"But one day twelve years ago, its peacefulness was suddenly broken………"

"A young painter named Zhou Luo Chen was discovered dead in the villa. After the police inspected the scene, they concluded that it was death by suicide. However, it has been rumoured that the dead had pa.s.sed away very mysteriously, and many believe that it was not because of suicide………."

 Zhou Luo Chen's photo appeared on the screen. The young painter in the photo was beautiful and elegant but there was s hint of gloom in his eyes. He looked out a window and behind him was a wall covered with many paintings.

Most of the paintings were portraits and they were mostly of children. The children in the painting laughed brightly and innocently. Enveloped by the faint sun rays coming from the window, they looked particularly lovely.

But as they continued with the introduction, the photo gradually changed from colour to black and white. A few drops of red blood also appeared on the screen.

" ……Rumours about his cause of death continued to spread. Some say that Zhou Luo Chen had died of homicide. He had owed lots of money from gambling and couldn't pay it back hence resulting in his death………"

"Others say that his death wasn't something that was done by humans and, instead, it was by something inside the villa…….."

"Since then, twelve years had pa.s.sed. All the unanswered questions from then were gradually forgotten over time and no one knew what had truly happened……"

"The guest's task is to enter this villa to find an item. Perhaps you might uncover some of its secrets in the process."

Bai Yi's Diary (Part 36)

On strike.

<>

KK has something to say:
Oh man, Ji Yun Xiao once again raises a death flag…
I can't wait till Bai Yi finds out about Zhi Chu's ‘confession' HAHAHA