Against the Light - Chapter 142
Chapter 142: The Little Assistant's Rise to Power
After dinner, Xinran accompanied Yilan for a walk in the courtyard.
The two walked slowly along the stone path, Gu Xinran's arm around Yilan's waist, reminding her to watch her step.
"Were you scared when you watched the show today?" Gu Xinran asked.
"I was. When someone knocked on the door, and when you were all in the living room and saw that the door with someone behind it was locked. It scared me to death."
Gu Xinran chuckled. "Shen Can even said that if you got scared watching the show, the little one in your belly would get scared right along with you."
"I heard her. She said our Xiao Ye is being raised on scares. I even had to comfort the little one," Bai Yilan said, stroking her belly and patting it gently.
"Hahaha." Gu Xinran burst out laughing, finding her wife adorable. She couldn't resist leaning in to kiss her.
"You should talk to the production team and tell them not to do these horror themes anymore. I was breaking out in a cold sweat just watching." Yilan's brow furrowed. There were a few times today when she had been genuinely worried. The most crucial part was that no one in that group was brave. Xinran had to take the lead on everything, but Xinran got scared too!
"Actually, whether it was scary or not wasn't the main thing. The most terrifying part wasn't the NPCs, it was…"
"Shen Can!" the two said in unison.
"Haha~"
"We're not playing with her next time."
"I agree. I'll go talk to the director's team tomorrow. It's either her or me!" Gu Xinran declared.
They both laughed.
"Hey." Yilan tugged on Xinran's clothes and glanced furtively behind her. In the distance, she could see Auntie Ye and her mother busy with work in the living room.
"What's wrong?"
"I was paying attention to Auntie Ye and Mom today." Yilan's voice unconsciously dropped, as if she had a guilty conscience.
"Oh? And?" Gu Xinran's eyes lit up, her interest piqued.
"It's a feeling I can't quite describe. I feel like there's something ambiguous between them at times. But when I think about it carefully, Auntie Ye has taken care of Mom in every detail all these years, both at work and in life. So then I feel like it's not unreasonable for them to be a little closer."
Gu Xinran thought for a moment. That made sense, but gossip was still gossip, and it had to be pursued.
"Any specific examples?"
"Mhm." Yilan described the overly intimate interactions she had witnessed during the day.
"Wait, you said Mom ate the sunflower seeds Auntie Ye shelled for her, and wouldn't let you have any?"
"Right." Thinking about it, Yilan still felt a little wronged.
"That doesn't seem right. Doesn't Mom always put you first in everything? It's just a few sunflower seeds. Why would she be unwilling to share them with you?"
"So… Detective Gu, what are your thoughts?"
"Is it possible that, psychologically, she considers them something Auntie Ye shelled specifically for her? That they're exclusively hers, or rather, a special treatment only she is entitled to?"
"Hmm?"
"To put it more bluntly, does the act of shelling sunflower seeds have a special meaning?"
"What special meaning?"
Gu Xinran shook her head. "That, I don't know. But we can find an opportunity to test it out."
"How do we test it?"
"I have a way."
A mischievous smile touched the corners of Gu Xinran's lips.
After their walk, they returned to the living room and saw Shi Qing and Ye Nan still working.
"Still busy so late?" Gu Xinran walked over to take a look.
"Yes, something came up at the company. It's getting late, you two should go rest. Don't stay up." Shi Qing glanced at the wall clock. It was almost eleven. She quickly urged Yilan to go to bed.
Yilan nodded. Just as she was about to say goodnight, she saw Xinran slip over to Auntie Ye's side.
"Auntie Ye, are there any more sunflower seeds? Yilan wants some."
"???" Bai Yilan froze.
This? This was it? This was your brilliant test??
"Sunflower seeds? Yes, there are. I'll go get them for you."
"Hey, could I trouble you to shell a few for her? I cut my finger while filming today, so it's a bit difficult for me to shell them for her."
Ye Nan sensed something odd but didn't say anything, simply nodding in agreement.
"What are you eating sunflower seeds for so late at night? Eating too many of those isn't good for the baby. Go to sleep." Without even looking up, Shi Qing dismissed them.
Gu and Bai exchanged a look.
"Maybe it's the baby who wants to eat them?"
After saying that, Gu Xinran felt a bit foolish. Under Shi Qing's intense gaze, she scurried back to their room.
"There's something going on. I saw it. There's definitely something going on!" Gu Xinran propped her chin on her hand, analyzing the situation with a serious expression.
"Heh, forget about them for a second. You should think about your own problems," Bai Yilan said with a cold smile, her arms crossed.
"? Me? What did I do?"
"So your brilliant plan was to sell out your wife? Hmm?"
"Uh, I… no, it's just…"
"You're sleeping on the sofa tonight."
"…"
The next morning, Gu Xinran was woken up by the notification sound from her phone. It had only chimed twice before she shot up from the sofa, quickly silencing her phone and glancing at the bed, afraid she had woken Yilan.
She checked her messages. Yesterday's show had been pushed to the top of the trending list by netizens, and she was being tagged like crazy.
She opened Weibo and saw that Shen Can was being called out and criticized by netizens, who had listed her as someone you should absolutely never bring to an escape room. The woman herself was arguing her case with them. What pleasantly surprised Gu Xinran was that the escape room special of Escape from Death had received rave reviews right after its broadcast. The official account was flooded with fans, all eagerly awaiting the second episode and asking if the original cast would return.
Gu Xinran browsed for a bit, then opened WeChat to find hundreds of messages. The old three-person group chat for Escape from Death had expanded to six members and was buzzing with activity. Shen Can alone had sent 99+ messages.
【Can: Everyone, everyone!! Someone from the director's team just told me that yesterday in the escape room… we were incredibly stupid! Like, mind-blowingly stupid!!!】
【Can: Ahhh, don't sleep! Get up!! I think we were played yesterday!!】
【Can: Sister Ran, go question the director's team and find out what's going on!!!】
Gu Xinran was completely bewildered.
【Ran: What's wrong? Didn't we do pretty well yesterday?】
【Can: Those little cameramen are the worst. They just said we were foolish yesterday and wouldn't reveal anything else. Sister Ran, you have to go and pressure them! The edited version is airing today, don't let them edit it recklessly!!】
【Jie: [Yawn]】
【Xi: [Yawn]】
【Can: ?? What's with you two yawning at the same time? Last night…?】
【Xue: [Starry eyes]】
Gu Xinran was full of questions, feeling like she had accidentally stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip.
"Mmm…" Yilan stretched on the bed, letting out a soft hum.
Gu Xinran glanced over, immediately tossed her phone aside, and tiptoed to the bed to pull her darling wife into a full embrace.
Yilan didn't open her eyes, enjoying the warm hug, but then she suddenly frowned and lifted her eyelids. "Who said you could come up here?"
Gu Xinran immediately put on a wronged expression. Without a word, she lowered her head and kissed her soft lips until Yilan's anger dissipated.
"You're not angry anymore, okay? Hmm? I slept on the sofa all night. I know I was wrong," Gu Xinran murmured in a low, coaxing voice.
Bai Yilan's fire was instantly extinguished. "Alright, alright, you clingy thing."
"Well, let me see if my two little ancestors are awake yet." Ye Nan's voice came from the doorway, and the door was pushed open a crack. The two didn't even have time to pretend.
"Oh, you're awake? Get up and have breakfast."
"Good morning, Auntie Ye."
"Morning. Hurry and get up."
The couple snuggled for a little longer before finally getting out of bed.
Gu Xinran had no work scheduled for the day, so she could rest at home. And so, from the moment she woke up, she clung to her darling wife and wouldn't let go. She washed up and dressed at a leisurely pace, and even during breakfast, they were like conjoined twins.
"Hey, that's enough, you two," Ye Nan said, unable to watch their sickeningly sweet display any longer.
Gu Xinran giggled, released Yilan, and sat down beside her. Just as she was about to start eating, she froze. "Huh?"
Yilan also noticed that on her side of the table, besides a bowl of white porridge, there was a small plate of shelled sunflower seeds.
"Auntie Ye, did you shell these?"
"Mhm. You didn't get to eat them last night, so I'm making it up to you today. Eat up, and don't let your mom see."
"Hey, Auntie Ye, I'm really curious. Do these sunflower seeds have some special meaning for you and Mom?" Gu Xinran asked, getting straight to the point.
"A special meaning?" Ye Nan propped her chin on her hand and thought for a moment.
"I remember when I first became her assistant, I couldn't do anything right. She gave me the cold shoulder every day, and the pressure was immense. Later, to secure my position, I had to find ways to please her. I was struggling with my work, so I could only show more concern for her in her daily life."
Gu Xinran chuckled. Trying to please the boss just to secure a permanent position was a little too real.
"Every day when I brought her lunch, I would add extra snacks like nuts and fruits. Later, I discovered that everything I put in there came back untouched, except for the shelled sunflower seeds, which she would grace with her favor. At the time, I thought this person was a bit too picky, but what could I do? She was my boss, and I had to please her. So after that, I shelled a few sunflower seeds for her as a snack every day."
"And then?" Gu Xinran rested her chin on her hand, eagerly pressing for more.
"And then? Then I got the permanent position and became her personal assistant, waiting on her hand and foot. And just like that, it's been nearly thirty years," Ye Nan said with a sigh of emotion.
"So you rose through the ranks with sunflower seeds…" Gu Xinran didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How novel.
"Tsk, what do you mean, 'rose through the ranks'? This clearly shows that my boss saw my dedication, okay! Do you have such a considerate assistant?"
"No, no, I definitely don't." Gu Xinran quickly shook her head. She wouldn't dare.
As they were laughing and talking, Gu Xinran's gaze shifted to Yilan and saw that she was staring into space.
"Yilan? What's wrong?" Gu Xinran looked closely at her eyes. They were deep and dark, as if she were recalling something.
After a long moment, Bai Yilan came back to her senses and looked up at Ye Nan. "Thank you, Auntie Ye."
"Hmm? For what?"
"Thank you for taking care of Mom all these years."
"If you really want to thank me, just spend more time with her. She's quite lonely by herself, I can tell," Ye Nan sighed.
"Okay." Bai Yilan nodded. She picked up her spoon, but just as she was about to eat, she paused and pushed the small dish of sunflower seeds over to Shi Qing's seat.
"She'll be very happy," Bai Yilan said with a faint smile.
"You two eat first. I'll go get her." Ye Nan patted Yilan's head and turned to find Shi Qing in the courtyard.
"Yilan, what were you thinking about just now?" Gu Xinran asked in a low voice.
Bai Yilan looked at the dish of sunflower seeds. "I was remembering some things from my childhood." She fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly.
"The last person who shelled sunflower seeds for Mom was Dad."
Gu Xinran was taken aback and gently stroked her back.
After finishing her morning exercise, Shi Qing came to the dining table, greeted the two, and sat down gracefully.
When she saw the dish of shelled sunflower seeds by her hand, her expression softened, and a smile inadvertently appeared on her face.
Gu and Bai exchanged a look and couldn't help but smile at each other.
"Hey, eat your meal first. Why are you eating sunflower seeds so early in the morning? Did I not give you enough food?" Ye Nan complained, hands on her hips, as she watched Shi Qing eat the seeds one by one.
"Mom, are the seeds good? Are they sweet?" Yilan's eyes curved into crescents as she asked with a smile.
"If you want some, shell them yourself," Shi Qing said coldly.
Yilan pouted and turned to look at Xinran. The two began making faces at each other again, communicating with their eyes.
【Ran: She's so protective of her food~】
【Lan: You have no idea! She's giving her own daughter the cold shoulder over a few sunflower seeds. I'm less important than a sunflower seed T^T】
"You two, eat properly," Shi Qing glanced at them, displeased.
They immediately lowered their heads and ate obediently.
In the afternoon, Gu Xinran had just woken up from a nap with Yilan, and the two were chatting on the sofa.
"Hey, the edited version of your escape room show seems to be out." Ye Nan came out of the bedroom, scrolling through her phone, and excitedly told them.
"Really? Let's watch it together. Who knows what kind of monstrosity the production team edited it into. They didn't even send me the final cut to review beforehand. This group is getting more and more audacious," Gu Xinran muttered as she turned on the TV.
Ye Nan set out the same tea and snacks as yesterday, then went to call Shi Qing. The four of them sat down to watch TV together.
Gu Xinran looked at the people sitting side by side on the sofa and felt the warmth of home.
"Here it comes, it's starting!"
Gu Xinran immediately turned her attention to the TV.
The main feature began with Gu Xinran and the others being led into the escape room blindfolded by the staff. The beginning wasn't much different from what they had watched yesterday, just with some fun text and sound effects added. It was strange—the live version had seemed quite scary, but with the post-production effects, it wasn't scary at all anymore.
As the group was searching for clues in the first room, the screen suddenly split in two. The group's footage was moved to a small window in the top right corner, while the main screen cut to another room.
"Hey, this person looks familiar. Isn't that one of your actresses, what's her name… Lin Guo?" Ye Nan recognized the girl on the screen, looking puzzled.
"Yes, that's her." Gu Xinran nodded, equally confused. Why was the production team suddenly giving Lin Guo screen time? And the place she was in looked familiar, a lot like the room they had waited in before entering the escape room.
"Oh, so they don't know there's another guest yet, right?" A mischievous smile appeared on Lin Guo's face as she looked at the camera.
"That's right. Currently, no one knows we have seven guests this time. They've already been in the escape room for an hour."
"They still haven't gotten out of the first room? It's not that I'm bragging, but these people are really terrible." Lin Guo looked disdainful.
"Not to toot my own horn, but I think I truly deserve the title of Escape Room King. I've played all the escape rooms in Xiyuan City, big and small, all sorts of themes and types. Nothing can stump me."
"That confident, huh? This time, you'll be separated from the others and placed in a room by yourself. Are you scared?"
Lin Guo shook her head. "It's fine, a piece of cake. Not scared at all. Hey, when do I get to go in? I reckon they won't be able to get out today without me."
"Then let's go. Put on the blindfold first."
Watching this, Gu Xinran's brows knitted together.
"Lin Guo was there yesterday too?" Bai Yilan asked.
"I don't think so. I didn't see her."
At the same time, the live comments on the screen were filled with question marks.
【??? What's going on? Lin Guo is in this show too? Huh? Then where was she yesterday? I didn't see her at all!】
【Sisters, can we get a 'confused' in the chat?】
【? Did they air the wrong show? Is this what I watched yesterday?】
【??? I don't get it. What's happening? Where was Lin Guo yesterday?】
On screen, Lin Guo was led into another bedroom alone. After taking off her blindfold, she methodically began to investigate the room, clearly an experienced player.
"Hey, looks like a horror theme today. Is that blood on the wall? Pretty creepy. Good thing I'm experienced." Lin Guo was completely unfazed. She examined the keyhole and started looking for the key.
A short while later, a sound came from the next room. Lin Guo froze, not daring to move, and listened carefully.
The sound from the next room was amplified. It was the part where Gu Xinran and the others had just found the exit to the first room and jumped down from the bedroom's secret door.
Lin Guo pressed her ear to the wall, listening intently. "That sounds like them. Are they next door? Is the room next door an escape room?" Lin Guo muttered to herself, not knowing who she was asking.
After listening for a while longer, she heard the people next door starting to eat hot pot.
Lin Guo's face darkened. "I'm here working my butt off solving puzzles, and they're over there eating hot pot. How outrageous! Just wait and see how I scare them later."
Before long, Lin Guo found the key to the door inside the lampshade above her. She successfully opened the door and entered the first-floor hall.
She found the light switch on the wall and was about to knock on the door next door to meet up with everyone when she suddenly heard a noise from a locked room nearby. It made her jump. After hesitating for a long time, she mustered her courage and walked over. Through the door, she seemed to hear heavy breathing from inside.
"Oh my god, this is too scary." Lin Guo turned and ran, whispering complaints as she went. Just as she reached the door to the room where the others were, another strange noise came from the hall. A floorboard on the ground was pushed open!!
Lin Guo's pupils contracted violently. She immediately ducked back into her initial room to hide, locking the door from the inside and bracing herself against it.
"Your production team really knows how to play. There are actual NPCs. You scared me to death. No, I have to meet up with them quickly."
As Lin Guo was muttering to herself, her expression suddenly changed. She heard heavy footsteps, which scared her into holding her breath, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Then, she heard heavy pounding on the door, as well as the screams and shouts of the people next door, which made her clutch her chest in fear.
After waiting for a while, she heard footsteps again, the sound of a lock opening, and a soft closing door. Lin Guo carefully identified the direction of the sounds. When it was quiet outside again, she gently pulled the door open.
Thankfully, the lights were on outside. Lin Guo looked around and saw that the padlock on the door of the room with the person locked inside was gone. Along with her shock, she instantly realized that the NPC must have gone in there.
"So there are two NPCs in there now, right? I can't take them on by myself…" Lin Guo muttered for a bit, then had a flash of inspiration. She glanced at the lock on her own door and smiled mischievously.
Taking the padlock, she tiptoed over and, without hesitation, locked the room with the NPCs in it from the outside.
"Tsk, impressive, right?" Lin Guo raised her eyebrows at the camera smugly.
And at that exact moment, the lock on the door where the others were was opened almost simultaneously.
Hearing the sound, Lin Guo immediately tiptoed back to her room, turning off the light on her way, and hid inside to listen to the commotion outside.
"This room isn't locked, so they'll definitely come in here first. Just watch how I scare them, ha~" Lin Guo grinned with particular pride.
From outside came the sounds of the group discussing in low voices. She also heard someone exclaim, "That door… was locked from the outside!"
Hearing this, Lin Guo nodded and pointed at herself for the camera. "That's right, it was me."
Lin Guo waited a while longer but didn't hear any strange noises. Instead, she heard everyone praising Xinran, which left her completely baffled.
A short while later, she heard that it was quiet outside, which confused her even more. It wasn't until she tried to pull her door open that her face turned pale. She tugged hard, but it wouldn't budge. She knocked on the door. "Is anyone there? Sister Ran? It's me!! Lin Guo!!"
"Hello? Hey, where did you all go!!!"
At this point, Gu Xinran and the others had already jumped down the secret door in the living room. :)
The post-production team had even playfully filled the screen with question marks.
【…】
【Holy crap, hahaha, so the person Xinran locked up yesterday thinking it was an NPC was Lin Guo, hahahahaha】
【Hahahaha, I'm dying. The Escape Room King title belongs to you, hahahaha】
【What in the actual…】
【This has to be the guest with the least participation in variety show history, right? Hahahaha】
【No wonder I didn't see her yesterday… Truly zero participation, hahahahahaha】
【Hahaha, I'm laughing so hard I can't find my head. Lin Guo is so tragic, hahahahahaha】
The moment Gu Xinran saw Lin Guo return to that room, she realized what had gone wrong and nearly burst out laughing.
"So that's what happened…" Yilan was also at a loss for whether to laugh or cry, clutching her stomach and not daring to laugh too hard.
"Don't, don't, don't, laugh gently, laugh gently." Gu Xinran quickly soothed her belly, trying her best to hold back her own laughter.
Her phone was buzzing with notifications. Gu Xinran picked it up and saw that the WeChat group was flooded with "hahaha." It was as if everyone was afraid their laughter wasn't loud enough.
【Can: Oh my god, no wonder the director's team had such strange expressions when we finished yesterday, hahahaha】
【Ran: Did no one go to comfort Lin Guo?】
【Can: She just posted on Weibo, hahahahahaha】
Curious, Gu Xinran opened Weibo. Unsurprisingly, Lin Guo was trending.
【Lin Guo: The party involved is currently feeling wronged. Very wronged. :)】
The comments below were also a stream of "hahaha."
And under the trending topic of Lin Guo feeling wronged, Gu Xinran was called out by netizens again.
#Sister Ran's Brain…
Seeing this topic, Gu Xinran threw her phone away again.
There would be no second season of this show. :)
"Hahaha, Lin Guo is quite cute, looking all pitiful." Ye Nan had also slyly gone to check Weibo and was immediately captivated by the interactions between Lin Guo and the netizens.
Shi Qing suddenly frowned and glanced at her phone.
"Didn't I tell you to uninstall that app?"
"!!" The smile on Ye Nan's face froze instantly.
"Feigning compliance?"
"No, no, no, it's not like that."
"Saying one thing and doing another?"
"…Please let me explain."
"Insincere?"
"I'm not…"
"Heh."
"…"
"???"
Gu and Bai stared blankly at the two of them. What on earth was going on…???
"I'll uninstall it right now. It's gone, it's gone, look!" Ye Nan held her phone out to Shi Qing, but Shi Qing turned her head away, refusing to look.
"Boss?"
"I don't want to look."
"…"
Gu Xinran tugged on Yilan's sleeve and gave her a look. The two tiptoed back to the bedroom and peeked through the crack in the door for a while.
"When these two argue, they're like little kids," Gu Xinran said with a smile.
"Isn't that the truth? I've never seen Mom act so childishly before."
"Auntie Ye is pretty cute too~"
"I was just saying yesterday, I can suddenly understand how netizens feel when they ship a CP," Bai Yilan said with a star-struck smile.
Gu Xinran gave her a helpless look.
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