Chapter 45

The TV drama that was filmed before was finally scheduled to air during the summer holiday, despite the obstacles encountered during the filming process. 

Now that the airing time has been confirmed, it is necessary to arrange for early promotion. 

In general, the promotion of a romantic drama would definitely involve interactions between the male and female leads, and if necessary, even some gossip. 

However, not to mention that Zuo Mingran is already married, just based on her and Ren Luning's hostile relationship on set, if the production company were to pair them up, not only would the fans explode, but the two parties involved might also engage in a public feud. 

Considering all parties involved, the production company decided to promote Ren Luning alone. After all, he is following the idol path, and his girlfriend's fans are more than willing to support him. As for the female lead, Zuo Mingran, she would be promoted together with the supporting actress, Wen Feifei, making headlines hand in hand.

Zuo Mingran didn't pay much attention to all of this. She just casually reposted the poster released by the production company for promotion.

Since she found out that she would be participating in the reality show "Escape Game," she always felt like she had overlooked something extremely important.

In this state of confusion and worry, as the weather grew warmer, the first episode of "Escape Game" was successfully aired. In order to not miss any details, Zuo Mingran specially downloaded the episode and watched it five or six times.

The first episode had a doomsday theme, where six guests were placed in a university campus and had to find clues to escape through a series of games. During this process, they had to constantly evade NPCs chasing them, as well as undercover agents from their own team framing them.

It had to be said that Yin Ruxin's popularity and rise to fame through this show was not without reason.

Firstly, the plot setting was logical, and the scene setup, such as the props and backgrounds, were well done. Three of the six guests had previously participated in reality shows, providing jokes and humorous moments. Coupled with top-notch post-production editing, the first episode received a lot of positive reviews shortly after airing.

The premiere was a great starting point, and anyone would think it was a good sign. However, Zuo Mingran's uneasiness in her heart only grew stronger. If it weren't for the fact that she had already signed the contract and couldn't back out, she would never have agreed to participate in this show.

The filming location was set in City Y, which was several hours away from City B by plane. Zuo Mingran looked at her schedule and realized that besides the reality show, the only other thing she had to do during summer vacation was to help promote the TV drama.

After pondering for a while, she sent a message to An Qi, then got up from the sofa.

It's better to be proactive than stay at home doing nothing. Going there early to check the situation would prepare her for any unexpected circumstances that might arise.

According to the plan, Zuo Mingran should be flying to City Y with several other guests from City B in two days. The news of her participation in the show had been revealed a few days ago, so it was expected that there would be fans waiting to pick her up and send her off.

Now she had decided to go ahead early, and since her legs were attached to her own body, nobody could stop her. Half an hour later, An Qi and Zhuang Bo, who had received the rushed message, hurriedly packed their things and headed to the airport.

***

They arrived in City Y at 8 pm. Before boarding the plane, An Qi sent a message to the staff of her studio, asking them to arrange transportation and accommodation in City Y.

As soon as they got off the plane, An Qi received the contact information and hotel address from the staff. One phone call later, the car was waiting outside, so they grabbed their luggage and headed straight to the hotel. The whole process was smooth, and not even the reporters, let alone the fans, could catch them.

The filming for the reality show was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, and the hotel they were staying at was the same one arranged by the production team. This saved them the trouble of moving around.

The production team naturally had their ways to handle the arrangements, and fortunately, the studio had already been set up. Regardless of its size, there were still a few staff members to support them.

When the production team heard that Zuo Mingran had arrived in City Y ahead of schedule, they were surprised, but it wouldn't delay the filming, so they had nothing to say.

Zuo Mingran took a photo at the airport and then posted a Weibo after checking in at the hotel. She remembered about the fans who were supposed to pick her up and send her off, so she naturally had to explain, to avoid them coming all the way for nothing.

After posting the Weibo, the comment section was filled with lamentations. Zuo Mingran had intentionally reduced her presence recently, and her fans hadn't seen her active for a long time.

But that was normal. Since she was planning to leave the industry, she couldn't do any publicity stunts anymore, except for marketing her relationship with Wen Feifei. During this period, Zuo Mingran had been quiet as a chicken.

On this point, she and Shi Shuangxia were in agreement: reduce exposure, quietly exit the industry. After all, there would always be talented individuals taking over from her. Many beautiful female stars were eager to take her place. If she left, someone else would occupy her position.

Moreover, according to general expectations, she should have left the industry after marrying into a wealthy family. It was only now that she was leaving, which was reasonable.

After replying to a few comments, she was about to log out when a familiar ID quickly rose to the top.

It was Yan Yunyang's Weibo account. He hadn't been active for not just ten days or half a month, but often went silent for a whole year.

A person who doesn't usually use Weibo and doesn't even bother to open it on their own can know that they have posted on Weibo and receive comments, so they must have set a special concern for her.

Biting her lip and smiling, Zuo Mingran replied with an emoji, then got up from the bed and quickly tidied up her outfit. She had already removed her makeup when she entered the room, so she just applied a thin layer of lipstick before sending a video invitation to Yan Yunyang.

Outside the door, Angel, holding the late-night snack, tried her best to hide in the shadows and reduce her presence, then quietly opened the door and went out.

The ceiling light in the room was bright enough, so she didn't need to go in and be a third wheel.

***

Y City is located in the south, with many low hills and hills. The weather in early April was warm, and the sun shone on her.

Since she came to investigate, she had to start with the environment. Zuo Mingran had asked Angel to find a map of Y City, and a large one was spread out on the bed. Zuo Mingran sat cross-legged beside it, holding a highlighter pen and drawing circles on it.

Although she knew the general development of the original book's storyline, it had been a while since she came here, and with so many books, it was normal to forget the beginning after reading the later parts, especially on some details, which were difficult to remember clearly. So she couldn't recall what exactly happened during the filming of "The Escape Game" for a moment.

If she could remember, be prepared, she wouldn't be too worried.

The plot's forced arrangement to have her come here was definitely not just to let her meet the female lead Yin Ruxin, there must be other purposes.

Y City is larger than B City, with more mountains and hills and high vegetation coverage. Zuo Mingran was at a loss while looking at the map, and she turned to ask Angel beside her, "Did the production team mention the filming location or theme?"

Angel shook her head, "They said it was kept secret before filming to give the guests a surprise."

Zuo Mingran scoffed, "Surprise? I'm afraid it's a shock."

She continued to study the map. Since the chosen filming location was Y City, there must be a reason for choosing it.

Zuo Mingran rested her chin on her hand, thinking for a while, her gaze resting on the mountains covered by green plants. Compared to other places, the mountainous areas of Y City were indeed a unique presence.

A flash of inspiration exploded in her mind, and she suddenly sat up straight, "Angel, do you know which guests are participating in this filming?"

This was not a secret. Angel listed the names of the six regular guests and added, "And there's Fan Zhenzhen."

Upon hearing that name, Zuo Mingran rolled her eyes and almost fainted. No wonder she felt something was off. It turns out she was waiting for her here.

There was no need for the production team to keep it a secret. The theme of this filming was crystal clear to her. It was called "Deserted Island Survival," which was a crucial plot point in the original book's storyline. However, the flying guests participating were Fan Zhenzhen and a not-so-famous male actor. But now, they replaced the male actor with her, clearly intending for her to intervene in the plot.

Zuo Mingran sat on the bed with a hopeless expression on her face, wishing she could grab that unknown male actor and switch places with herself. People who transmigrate into books get whatever they want, while she, on the other hand, transmigrated to her own demise.

Seeing her expression, Angel quickly asked, "Ranjie, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Zuo Mingran leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and sighed in a wooden voice, "Angel, do you think I can call the production team and tell them I don't want to film anymore? I really want to go home!"

"That's not possible!" Angel was startled. While others might say things without acting on them, Zuo Mingran was the type who said something and actually did it. If there was no way to stop her, she might really call the production team and cancel the agreement.

After organizing her thoughts, Angel earnestly said, "Ranjie, we've already signed the contract, and the news has been released. If we cancel now, not only will we have to pay the breach of contract fee, but we'll also have to handle the public opinion online."

Zuo Mingran muttered, "That's still better than losing my life."

Her voice was extremely low, and Angel didn't hear it clearly, so she subconsciously asked, "Ranjie, what are you saying?"

Zuo Mingran lay on the bed and sighed. Although she really wanted to leave, she knew it was practically impossible.

Putting aside whether to breach the contract or not, since the plot forcefully brought her here, there must be full preparation. Even if she escapes this time, as long as she stays around, there will definitely be another time.

You can't avoid it forever. Instead of constantly anticipating when it will happen again, it's better to accept it openly and honestly.

While Angel was still trying to persuade her to dismiss the last-minute escape idea, Zuo Mingran sat up and interrupted her, "I need something. Let Zhuang Bo tell the driver to go out and buy it."

As long as she doesn't leave, everything is negotiable. Angel immediately nodded decisively and asked, "Ranjie, what do you want to buy?"

What to buy... Zuo Mingran thought for a moment, opened her phone's browser, and searched for a bunch of items. "Just buy these."

Angel stared in shock at the list of items. "...Professional mountaineering and search and rescue tools?"

She didn't understand and asked, "Ranjie, are we supposed to rescue someone? I think it's better to call the police."

Zuo Mingran casually found an excuse, "I was just curious and bought it for fun. Let Zhuang Bo go buy it, as long as it's tools, forget about the high-tech stuff."

"Okay."

Anqi noted down the items and went out to find Zhuang Bo, half in disbelief. The room quieted down, and Zuo Mingran lay back on the bed, sighing deeply.

Survival on a deserted island was a direct confrontation between the female protagonist Yin Ruxin and Fan Zhenzhen, and naturally ended with Yin Ruxin's victory, but it also led to a complete enmity between them.

Y city had many mountains, and although the vegetation coverage was high, one never knew when heavy rain could trigger a jungle flood. Although the probability was low, it was forcefully included in the plot, and anything impossible could happen.

In the original story, after the rain, Fan Zhenzhen insisted on continuing the filming and entering the mountains, ultimately causing the staff of the program and the guests to be trapped in the mountains by heavy rain and having to call the fire department for rescue. Although there were no casualties, it caused a great discussion online, with many blaming the program for disregarding the weather conditions and not taking the safety of the guests into account. However, the program also felt wronged, as shortly after the rain, they proposed to end the filming. It was Fan Zhenzhen who insisted and even wanted to enter the mountains. If it weren't for her, the current situation wouldn't have occurred. However, Fan Zhenzhen was still the daughter of the Fan family, making it difficult for the program to speak out. They were planning to negotiate a solution with Fan Zhenzhen's manager when a message from an informant appeared on the internet.

A certain informant claimed that it was Yin Ruxin who repeatedly assured that it wouldn't rain heavily and insisted on entering the mountains.

At that time, Yin Ruxin was just a member of a talent show girl group, with fans but obviously not as strong or influential as the others. Fan Zhenzhen saw this and was convinced that Yin Ruxin couldn't turn things around, so she fearlessly pushed the blame onto her. However, Yin Ruxin was already prepared for a counterattack with her rebirth script, and when the situation reached its peak, she directly threw out key evidence, biting Fan Zhenzhen hard. In the end, it was only with the intervention of the Fan family that Fan Zhenzhen was saved.

Zuo Mingran didn't care about the grievances between Yin Ruxin and Fan Zhenzhen, she only cared about the heavy rain that was enough to trap them in the mountains.

Although in the original plot, there were no casualties, the situation had now changed. Zuo Mingran was not only involved, but also had a bit of disagreement with Fan Zhenzhen. If something happened, it was uncertain who the blame for this would fall on.

Zhuang Bo worked quickly, and by late evening, all the items had been bought and moved into the room where Zuo Mingran was staying.

There were all sorts of things, some of which were not convenient to carry. Zuo Mingran squatted down and picked and chose, selecting the lightweight and easily portable items to bring with her, leaving the rest in Anqi's care.

As an assistant and makeup artist, Anqi and Zhuang Bo would accompany them, but they would only stay at the base camp at the foot of the mountain and not follow them in. Leaving these items behind would also make it easier for them to find help as soon as possible.

Anqi watched Zuo Mingran busying herself and was filled with doubts. She didn't understand what Zuo Mingran was really doing. She had come two days early, but hadn't even stepped out of the room. She even had Anqi find a Y city topographic map and bought a bunch of search and rescue tools.

Something doesn't seem right no matter how I look at it.

I'm hesitating whether to give Shi Shuangxia a call. Meanwhile, Zuo Ming has already completed his selection work and is looking at the pile of things in front of him, feeling a sense of security.

No matter what, at least we have the tools. As someone who knows how the plot unfolds, it's better to be prepared mentally compared to those who are not.

Now everything is ready, we just need the east wind.

The other guests arrived in Y City the night before the shoot. During dinner, Zuo Ming went downstairs to see if he could spot Fan Zhenzhen, but she wasn't there. According to the staff, they had the dinner sent to her room.

Out of sight, out of mind. With her not coming down, Zuo Ming happily enjoyed his dinner and had a brief chat with the other guests. However, when he was talking to the female lead Yin Ruxin, both of them seemed a little uncomfortable.

The production team had booked all the rooms on the same floor. After dinner, Zuo Ming went downstairs to get some fresh air. As he was going back up, he coincidentally ran into Yin Ruxin, who had just come out of another elevator.

It must be said that as the female lead, Yin Ruxin's appearance was truly outstanding. Unlike Zuo Ming's bold and flamboyant presence, Yin Ruxin exuded more of a gentle and beautiful aura.

Exclaiming at the small world, Zuo Ming was about to walk past pretending that nothing had happened when he heard a soft sentence as he passed by Yin Ruxin, "The sky is blue."

Zuo Ming paused in his steps, certain that he didn't mishear because Yin Ruxin's steps also noticeably slowed down when he stopped. After a moment of confusion, Zuo Ming hesitantly replied, "The temple suppresses the river monster?"