DTBS - Chapter 172

Chapter 172: Parenting Show 24: Secret Engagement

"It's like this," Tao Qiuyun looked at Ding Yuyan, "We actually came here with another purpose."

"What are you doing?!" Qin Qingshang looked at her in shock, thinking she was going to betray them.

"We want to see the body of the young lady who was taken away today. I wonder if that's possible?"

"She defied heaven's will, and her body is already tainted. It needs to be purified in the ancestral hall." Ding Yuyan frowned, about to say something, but was startled by Tao Qiuyun's sudden step forward.

"What you call defying heaven's will is merely the islanders who have had enough of the restrictions, simply wanting to leave," Tao Qiuyun's expression was serious. While maintaining her persona, she skillfully guided the situation in the desired direction. "There is no such thing as heaven's will at all. I am also someone who wanted to leave the island and even already left. So why hasn't the so-called divine punishment fallen upon me?"

Ding Yuyan didn't expect Tao Qiuyun to suddenly challenge her, but having read the script thoroughly, she played along, "You've left Destiny Island before? You are?"

"I told you before, the Great Witch has always been mysterious, and I know very little," Tao Qiuyun didn't answer her. Instead, she turned to look at Qin Qingshang and the others. "The Great Witch wasn't trained in the facility either, but I once heard some things from the previous Island Master that only the Island Master would know. The lives of the Great Witch and the Island Master are connected, so after he dies, I will inherit Destiny Island, and the Great Witch will assist me. The Great Witch is directly appointed by heaven, and after I succeed, heaven will send down a new Great Witch."

"But," Qin Qingshang looked at Ding Yuyan, finally realizing what was wrong, "The lives of the Great Witch and the Island Master are connected, and you haven't succeeded to the position yet. Logically, there shouldn't be a new Great Witch. Sister Ding is either the Great Witch from back then who didn't die with the Island Master, or else…"

"Exactly," Tao Qiuyun nodded, looking at Ding Yuyan, and continued, "Since ancient times, the Island Master and the Great Witch of Destiny Island have lived and died together. There's no reason for the Great Witch to be alive after the Island Master's death. Either you defied fate and survived through some method, or… you are not the Great Witch at all."

The confrontation came a bit early, but Ding Yuyan wasn't completely unprepared. She even managed a slight smile, "Returning after leaving Destiny Island, this is the first time I've heard of such a situation. Your story is quite well-made."

"Qiuqiu, there are still many things that don't make sense," Qin Qingshang walked to Tao Qiuyun's side and took her hand. "For example, the people on the island, why would they say the Great Witch is not of mortal body…"

"Qingshang, you're stuck in a dead end," Tao Qiuyun's mind worked quickly. "All the clues we have about the Great Witch came from Miss Zhou. She could completely mislead us. She definitely has other purposes for coming to Destiny Island, perhaps even using us to achieve some goal. We can't completely trust her."

After speaking, the woman paused. She held the cat's hand back, "But I am your captive now, Qingshang. I would never lie to you."

"Oh please," the cat shook off her hand. "Don't push your luck right now. I'll still be wary of you."

To prevent being possessed by CEO Tao's fiancée, Ayin. Speaking of which, her name is Ayin, could it be because she's called Qingshang? Ayin's full name couldn't possibly be Qin Qingyin or something, right? She'd want to kill someone!

Tao Qiuyun: "…"

"In that case," Ming Siwen proposed a compromise, "Let's first capture this Great Witch. Anyway, there are six of us and only one of her. We have a big advantage. Let's control her first, then go see the body of the deceased young lady. It's getting late now. After seeing it, we'll sleep in the Witch Shrine, and tomorrow we'll visit and see if the islanders' accounts differ from Linwan's."

Ding Yuyan: "?"

Ming Siwen, whose competitive spirit was ignited, no longer cared about the show's face. Anyway, with Tao Qiuyun and Qin Qingshang's previous actions setting the bar, her current suggestion could only be considered "standard," definitely within the show's acceptable range.

Indeed, after they controlled the "shouting" Ding Yuyan, the production team didn't intervene or remind them to restrain themselves, clearly tacitly approving this behavior.

【Director, stop filming kid shows, seriously, go film a mystery variety show】

【Ah, Sister Ding, my Sister Ding is truly miserable, came to save the day and got backstabbed by Sister Ming (dog head emoji)】

【《We Are Family》】

【《Backstabbing Your Own Family》】

【Hahahahahahaha, I feel like Sister Yuyan was about to burst out laughing just now, when Gu Yunfei went to tie her up, I think they almost broke character】

【Sister Ding making herself laugh, that's something else】

【Actually, there were supposed to be daily life segments, I think it's because the guests' actions were too wild, they forcefully pushed the main plot forward】

After getting the key, the six female guests successfully unlocked the door and found the body of the "deceased young lady." Upon examination, they indeed found a wound on her back.

"This looks like a single stab straight into the heart," Qin Qingshang furrowed her brow in thought. "To accurately find the heart from the back, does this mean the killer has some medical knowledge?"

"The old man with the white beard?" Mu Kaitai suddenly realized. "He's a doctor, a single fatal blow shouldn't be difficult."

"Could the chef also be a possibility?" Lü Fangting speculated. "After all, they are very skilled with knives."

"If you say that, then the painter is also possible," Gu Yunfei looked at Ming Siwen. "Painters should also know a bit about the human body, right? I heard they sometimes start by drawing the skeleton, not to mention she lied to us."

"But Qiuqiu said this method of death is the same as Ayin's," Qin Qingshang paced the room. "Does this mean it's possibly the same culprit from ten years ago? Or an imitator? If it's the same person, then Sister Zhou's suspicion can be cleared, as she only came to the island later."

"If it's an imitator," Tao Qiuyun followed her line of thought, "This means Miss Zhou's scheme might be related to the culprit who killed Ayin back then. She wants to lure the snake out of its hole?"

"Let's sleep first," veteran variety show participant Ming Siwen offered her idea. "The clues we have now are all one-sided, either fake or very likely fake. It's better to wait until after visiting tomorrow, collect more information, compare it, and then discuss."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The next day, while the children were still asleep, the group of six was full of energy. They temporarily split into three teams and began inquiring about news on the island.

Tao Qiuyun, Qin Qingshang; Ming Siwen, Gu Yunfei; Mu Kaitai, Lü Fangting… It was supposed to be split like this.

But Qin Qingshang saw the awkwardness in Ming Siwen and Gu Yunfei teaming up. Coincidentally, she, who had always favored Zhou Linwan more, decisively stepped in and objected to the proposal, "Wait! If I team up with Qiuqiu, what if she catches me off guard and captures me for sacrifice? Teacher Ming, why don't we team up!"

Hearing this, Tao Qiuyun was about to speak up and guarantee, but she was stepped on by the cat and promptly shut up.

"Okay, that makes sense," Ming Siwen didn't realize Qin Qingshang was actually deliberately helping her. Fooled by her superb acting, she thought Qin Qingshang was genuinely worried about being dragged away by CEO Tao for sacrifice. While relieved, she didn't forget to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, we won't let you be alone with CEO Tao in the future."

"Exactly, exactly!" The enthusiastic Mu Kaitai also wanted to reassure her, "We will protect you."

Gu Yunfei teamed up with Tao Qiuyun. She was a bit reserved. Although she maintained a steady expression, her eyes revealed her timidity. She felt that a certain online comment was very accurate:

[Netizen A: Getting along with a beauty like CEO Tao is definitely good! But being with her is like being with a tiger, I'm still a little scared.]

She was now very scared.

Tao Qiuyun noticed her unease, so she took the initiative to talk and distract her, starting from Gu Yunfei's accent, moving on to her hometown, and quickly helping her relax. She was adept at knowing when to advance and retreat, her topic introductions were natural and not abrupt, perfectly maintaining social distance.

The cat listened with pricked ears, grinding her teeth in secret…

You weren't this good at talking when we first met!

Tao Qiuyun has two different attitudes towards her and towards others!

The three small teams had clear goals, but Destiny Island was truly too big. They kept asking until noon, only then returning to Zhou Linwan's small courtyard to gather for lunch. Ming Siwen repeated her trick, taking charge, and the six began their first group discussion.

Perhaps it was because she was labeled as "Ming Siwen's wife," Ming Siwen's live stream gave Zhou Linwan, who was forced to walk around the courtyard, a shot. The woman's smiling expression made the audience exclaim, "We're shipping it!"

【Sister Zhou, she's truly so loving, I'm done for, I'm joining the Aspirin ship too】

【Aspirin!!! I'm gobbling it up】

【Don't eat randomly!—】

【Sister Zhou diligently cooked for them and left the house for them to discuss, she really is... I'm crying】

【Why show this Zhou? This is my Sister's stream, speechless】

【Is this Zhou trying to debut? Trying to climb using my Sister?】

【Solo stans are triggered】

【No, maybe it's anti-fans pretending】

【Suggest you check how amazing her teacher is, painters don't need to borrow female stars' popularity, thank you】

After the three teams shared their known information, Manager Sister Lü Fangting, who was excellent at organizing and summarizing information, took over the task of summarizing. "Based on the information we've gathered so far, problems on Destiny Island began ten years ago, which is after CEO Tao's fiancée, Ayin, passed away."

"And after comparing the islanders' testimonies, we've made a preliminary guess: their memories have been tampered with. For example, in their memories, the Island Master was not seriously ill ten years ago as CEO Tao said, but rather they all uniformly claimed the Island Master was engrossed in communicating with heaven, which is why he stayed behind closed doors, and the new Great Witch was in charge."

"Several doubts arise here: Is the Island Master still alive? If he died, what about the previous Great Witch? And who controls the black-clothed people from the training facility?"

Ming Siwen raised her hand, "I lean towards the idea that both the Island Master and the Great Witch are still alive."

"I also agree with Teacher Ming's idea," Qin Qingshang nodded. "Having the black-clothed people from the training facility kidnap Qinqin and the others might have been ordered by the Island Master, because the black-clothed people obey the Island Master's orders, right? And they kept calling Qiuqiu 'Young Commander.' Doesn't this also indicate that the Island Master is actually still alive, which is why the Young Commander is still the Young Commander? Otherwise, they might have just called her Island Master directly."

Gu Yunfei pondered for two seconds, "So, is all of this being manipulated by the Island Master behind the scenes?"

"What kind of person is the Island Master?" Mu Kaitai asked Tao Qiuyun.

"Decisive, loyal, very wise…" Tao Qiuyun recalled the content from the script.

"Wait, Qiuqiu," Qin Qingshang suddenly remembered something. "You are the heir to the Island Master. What was your fiancée's identity?"

"She… I don't know," Tao Qiuyun shook her head. "I met her by chance in the training facility. She didn't talk about her family, and I didn't ask."

"Your fiancée," Ming Siwen wanted to laugh but didn't dare, "Was that approved by the Island Master, or did you two secretly engage?"

"I swore I would only marry her, and it didn't matter if the Island Master disagreed, because I would inherit the position of Island Master sooner or later, so I considered her my unmarried wife… cough cough, of course, my current wife is Qingshang, I've already forgotten Ayin."

"Hmph, secretly engaged." The cat was angry.

Ming Siwen poked her, "What are you angry about? You and CEO Tao weren't exactly not secretly engaged."

"Qiuqiu and I weren't secretly engaged," the cat was dissatisfied.

She and Tao Qiuyun were clearly married because of their daughter! The kind where even the parents would agree with both hands and feet!

Qinqin: Right, you were secretly engaged by me

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