"You guys found out about this place too?" Xu Yi asked.
Chen Sha nodded, her smile fading, leaving her looking puzzled.
"We found it: a ghost marriage between the Yue family. Is this what you found out?"
Xu Yi and Zhao Yuan nodded together, both in low spirits. Even though they knew it was a story, they couldn't help but feel sad, angry, and resentful because of it.
The four people shared the information they had found at the door.
Two years ago, the Yue family held a ghost marriage, marrying two brides who had been married in the afterlife.
The first bride was a professional ghost bride, while the second bride was a girl abducted from the city by the cousin and uncles of the deceased bride's family. She had been driven mad by this ghost marriage.
Ghost marriages have certain requirements; the other party cannot have any defects. People who are mentally unstable are considered to have defects in their souls, so ghost marriages are not valid.
Today marks the third ghost marriage.
Chen Sha: "Zhouzhou and I found out from the hairdresser that the Yue family is holding a ghost marriage tonight. The bride is a young girl, but we don't know the specifics."
Han Muzhou: "I heard she's young and beautiful, and not a local. I'm afraid this tragedy will repeat itself. What we should do is stop this farce."
Zhao Yuan's anger was undisguised, his fists clenched tightly. "I found out that this girl was sent here by her parents. She accepted five thousand yuan from the Yue family."
The scene was silent. Chen Sha's red lips trembled slightly, and she swallowed back a string of witty remarks, for she could not show her anger in front of the camera.
What she didn't say, the comments in the live stream had already said for her, with beautiful Chinese vocabulary filling the entire screen.
"Let's go in and take a look," Xu Yi suggested.
This time, she went up to knock on the door.
The same woman came out to open the door, her smile widening.
"You're here? Come in quickly, we're going to pick up the bride at four o'clock. You've come at the perfect time to see the excitement."
Compared to their previous indifference, the warm and welcoming smiles they received now were anything but pleasant.
Standing next to Xu Yi, Zhao Yuan clenched his fists tightly, wishing he could punch her directly.
Xu Yi glanced at Zhao Yuan, then at Han Muzhou and Chen Sha behind her, and saw that they both looked like they wanted to rush in and fight.
She couldn't help but frown slightly. How could she be so immersed in the role?
"What are you doing standing at the door? Come in quickly. Come on in."
Warm and hospitable, full of joy.
Zhao Yuan suddenly relaxed his clenched fist, his tone becoming sharp and serious, "Let's go. Let's go in and have a drink at the wedding!"
He spoke those few words with gritted teeth.
The four of them went inside. The courtyard had already been decorated, all in white, with a large white "囍" (double happiness) character hanging above the door of the small house.
There were four tables in the courtyard, on which were placed cold dishes and drinks.
There were four benches next to one of the tables, but no benches or chairs next to the other tables, which looked a bit strange.
"Come, come, sit at this table. Once all the guests have arrived, we can start the meal."
The woman seemed genuinely happy and kept entertaining them.
The four were forced to sit at that table.
Two men, dressed in long black coats, came out of the house.
"We have guests! Welcome, welcome! Just wait a little longer. The bride will be here soon." The two men also had smiles on their faces, as if it were truly a joyous day.
Zhao Yuan felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Looking at the dishes in front of him, his brows were furrowed, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Xu Yi gently tapped the back of his hand, drawing Zhao Yuan's attention.
Xu Yi quietly approached him and whispered, "I'll distract them and try to get some information out of them. You guys try to find some clues here."
Zhao Yuan looked at her with a puzzled expression.
At the same time, the eyes of the two men and one woman also swept over.
Xu Yi sat down next to Zhao Yuan, lowering her voice to a level only the two of them could hear, "The first ghost marriage bride was a professional in this field. For her, participating in ghost marriages was as easy as eating and drinking. From what we knew, the ghost marriage ceremony involved bowing to a rooster, then taking the money and leaving. But the second ghost marriage bride was completely terrified. Was it because the matter was so horrific, or is there something else going on?"
A look of surprise flashed in Zhao Yuan's eyes. This was something he hadn't considered, and now that Xu Yi had brought it up, he had even more to think about.
"It's true that the second bride was driven insane, but there's still something we need to figure out. Was she driven insane by the ghost marriage ceremony, or by something that happened after she was abducted, or... was there really a ghost groom?"
"We must find out the truth about this."
Zhao Yuan was so angered by the story that he lost his composure and didn't think of this aspect.
Now, reminded by Xu Yi, he suddenly realized.
Their immediate priority is to determine the definition of this story.
Does the program want them to break free from feudal and outdated cultural practices, fight against human traffickers, or confront ghosts and gods?
This will determine the direction of the story and is a key factor in whether they can succeed.
The two of them got together again and whispered to each other for a while.
In the live stream, fans came up with new and creative ways to express their love.
Yin Yu, who was showing Gu Yueyue her phone, was now laughing without any concern for her image.
"What's wrong? How are you feeling?" Yin Yu asked Gu Yueyue.
Gu Yueyue turned off the 'what a perfect match' comments, but found that the scene on the screen still made her unhappy, so she quickly turned off her phone screen as well.
"Hey." Yin Yu looked at the black screen of her phone and laughed, "Are you angry because you're embarrassed?"
"..."
"Have you seen your own heart now? Do you still think there's no possibility between you two?" Yin Yu felt that she had given her friend enough of a jolt. She wanted to help her friend see her own heart clearly, and also take a look at what that little guy Xu Yi was thinking.
Now she understands that there's a high probability that the two of them are heading in the same direction, and all that's left is to persuade her friend not to be too awkward.
"Not everyone is lucky enough to meet someone they like, and not everyone is lucky enough to meet someone they like who also likes them."
Gu Yueyue pursed her lips and remained silent. After thinking for a long time, she slowly asked, "How do you know that Xiao Xu likes me?"
"It's not that I know, it's that you know." Yin Yu raised her hand and tapped Gu Yueyue's chest. "You dare say you know absolutely nothing?"
"..." I dare not.
Yin Yu laughed and said, "I've created this opportunity for you, so don't miss it."
"Xiao Xu and Zhou Zhou are a couple now. Although this is a variety show, who knows if they might actually fall in love?"
"Zhouzhou is so great. She's young, beautiful, and successful. She has an excellent reputation both inside and outside the industry, and she's always been clean-living and never has any romantic scandals with anyone."
"Do you know how many followers Xu Yi has gained? She's almost catching up with Xia Lan. Xu Yi is the new synonym for traffic."
Gu Yueyue unconsciously gripped the bed sheet tighter, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.
"What if they really got together?" Yin Yu led her on a daydream.
"Enough!" Gu Yueyue covered her mouth. "Stop talking."
"Mmm..."
Yin Yu broke free from her grasp and laughed, "Now you understand? Why don't you hurry up and chase after them?"
"..."
Gu Yueyue reopened her phone to watch the live stream. Xu Yi had already gotten all the information out of the woman and was now sharing it with Han Muzhou and Chen Sha.
When Gu Yueyue saw the two of them standing together, with Han Muzhou half-pressed against Xu Yi, anger rose in her heart.
"How am I supposed to pursue her? Didn't you arrange for her to be with someone else?" Gu Yueyue was furious. Yin Yu clearly knew what she was thinking, yet she deliberately pulled strings and separated them.
Yin Yu was scolded, and she explained with a wry smile, "Isn't this to help you? If Zhouzhou's girlfriend hadn't owed me a favor, do you think I would have been able to invite Zhouzhou over?"
The anger in Gu Yueyue's chest dissipated instantly.
"Does Han Muzhou have a girlfriend?"
"Yes. And she's an extremely controlling woman. See her left pocket? If I'm not mistaken, she has a cell phone in there, and it's always on the phone."
Gu Yueyue suddenly felt a chill run down her spine; she couldn't quite understand this almost perverse desire for control.
"Zhouzhou has no romantic history and is very talented. She came to participate in this program to promote her new drama and to help her girlfriend repay a favor to me."
"You don't need to worry about Xiao Xu being flirted with by her. Haven't you seen how Zhouzhou has been avoiding you two? Her life is much harder than yours. She has to act out the ambiguous feelings between the couple according to the script, but she also has to be careful not to make her jealous husband angry."
Yin Yu sighed, "Heaven knows how much effort I put in to find such a talented person for you."
"Xiao Xu is her 'first love' whom she collaborated with on her first variety show, so it's very meaningful. It won't cause hostility from Zhouzhou's fans, and of course, we won't take it too seriously. Everyone can rest assured, and you can too."
Gu Yueyue felt a little relieved, but the displeasure was still bottled up inside her, so she could only hit Yin Yu hard with a pillow.
When will it be changed?
Faced with Gu Yueyue's question, Yin Yu suddenly seemed embarrassed.
Seeing that her expression was off, Gu Yueyue sensed something was wrong and asked her, "What's wrong?"
Yin Yu explained with an awkward smile, "I thought it would take you a while to figure things out, so in the second round of pairing, Xu Yi and Zhao Yuan were paired together, and you were paired with Xia Lan."
"...The third round is between you and Xiao Xu." Seeing Gu Yueyue's face getting worse and worse, Yin Yu quickly added, "Don't blame me. I also need to make sure Xiao Xu is interested in you before I can help you with the underhanded stuff. Otherwise, wouldn't it be like we're conspiring to scheme against a young person?"
Gu Yueyue lay down sullenly, pulling the blanket over herself to hide her head.
Yin Yu tried to pull the blanket, but couldn't.
Yin Yu comforted her, "Don't be angry, don't be sad, I'll change it for you in advance, okay?"
"No need." Gu Yueyue's voice was muffled, her annoyance conveyed through the blanket.
Yin Yu smiled and asked her, "What? Regretting it again?"
It's not that she regrets it, it's just that Xu is currently seeking popularity, and being with Zhao Yuan is a good choice; otherwise, Yin Yu wouldn't have made that arrangement in the first place.
After all, Yin Yu had promised her that he would help make Xu Yi famous.
A note from the author:
Almost there! Almost there! Ahhh!