NOVEL NEXT Chapter 55 - Holding on
Tang Yuan didn’t expect the production team to be so unpredictable.
After a satisfying meal, she contentedly strolled with Jiang Zi, following the navigation to their assigned forest-themed cabin.
The three-story building resembled a moss-covered tree from the outside.
After collecting their room key from the front desk, Tang Yuan glanced at the forest-inspired decor that filled the cabin. For a moment, she hesitated. “The production team wouldn’t actually put us in a room with real snakes, would they?”
She even had the energy to joke, “Does this mean we’ll have to sleep with our eyes open tonight?”
【Good luck, little Tang Yuan.】
【Definitely overestimated the production team’s professionalism, haha!】
【It’s obvious Sister Jiang isn’t scared, but Tang Yuan is totally faking it.】
Standing in front of their assigned room, Jiang Zi caught Tang Yuan’s hand just as she reached for the door. “Are you sure?”
“Sure about what?” Tang Yuan’s confidence wavered under Jiang Zi’s pointed question.
After a moment’s pause, Jiang Zi asked, “If there really are snakes inside, are you afraid?”
“Of course not!” Tang Yuan twisted her wrist free and firmly pressed the keycard to the reader. With a beep, the door unlocked.
Pushing it open, she was greeted by complete darkness.
Tang Yuan inserted the card into the slot to turn on the lights.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
She shot up like a startled monkey, leaping onto Jiang Zi and crashing them both back out the door.
Jiang Zi, momentarily flustered, quickly steadied herself and caught Tang Yuan.
“There are so many snakes!”
One or two snakes might have been manageable, but a whole room full of them? Anyone would be terrified.
Tang Yuan buried her face into Jiang Zi’s neck, too scared to open her eyes. The brief glimpse she had caught felt like a living nightmare.
From the doorway, Jiang Zi glanced into the now-lit room. The setup was clear at a glance: whoever designed this “romantic” themed room was, without a doubt, a twisted genius.
The floor was made of transparent glass, beneath which snakes of varying sizes and colors slithered. The three walls were glass panels filled with shelves, each stacked with coiled snakes.
Even from outside, the sound of hissing was unmistakable.
The fourth wall featured a floor-to-ceiling window, its heavy blackout curtains printed with snake patterns.
Jiang Zi held Tang Yuan tightly and hesitated. “Do you still want to go in?”
Although they were filming a show, Jiang Zi decided they wouldn’t if Tang Yuan didn’t want to enter. The program requirements weren’t important. If necessary, they could just cut the livestream.
Tang Yuan clung to Jiang Zi, silent for a long time. Finally, she peeked up at the camerawoman following them and, gritting her teeth, said, “Let’s go in.”
[It’s live, I can’t chicken out.]
[But my legs are shaking, I’ll cling to sister for now, sob sob sob.]
Hearing Tang Yuan’s internal monologue exposed her real thoughts, Jiang Zi was struck by her cuteness and gently patted her back in reassurance.
“Alright, let’s head in.”
Tang Yuan’s back instantly tensed up as she silently reassured herself.
[There won’t be any venomous snakes. I’m destined for a long life.]
[Even the male lead can’t kill me, what harm can a few snakes do?]
[It’s perfectly safe. It just looks scary.]
Once the camerawoman finished setting up the livestream cameras and exited, kindly closing the door behind her, Jiang Zi carried Tang Yuan to the bed and sat her down.
Tang Yuan took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself, and cracked her eyes open—just a sliver.
Only to lock eyes with a vibrantly patterned snake flicking its tongue at her.
She immediately shut her eyes again. Then, out of nowhere, she jumped off Jiang Zi’s lap and marched up to the glass wall, facing the snakes directly.
“What are you staring at?”
She scoffed, “Pfft, just a lowly snake wine.”
The patterned snake: ???
Hisssss— The snake seemed baffled, wondering why it was suddenly being verbally attacked.
Tang Yuan’s bravado quickly ran out. She returned to Jiang Zi in a few quick steps, sitting as close to her as possible.
Clearing her throat, she muttered, “There’s actually nothing to be afraid of. The snakes can’t actually come out…”
But the moment she caught sight of a snake slithering under the glass floor below her, she instinctively pulled her feet up.
Jiang Zi couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction and patted her on the head. “I’ll go grab the disposable slippers.”
Even though junior sister might’ve also spent her past life in the cultivation world, maybe it was because she never ventured out of her sect. Even the lowest-level snakes scared her like this.
So cute.
The room was spacious, with a large crystal screen set up on a long table opposite the bed. A pair of disposable slippers was neatly placed under the table.
Jiang Zi picked up the slippers and placed them down before heading to the floor-to-ceiling window to examine the curtains. She thought maybe pulling them open to see outside might ease the atmosphere.
However, the curtains wouldn’t budge, and there was no remote control in sight. Instead, she found something unusual on the windowsill.
Jiang Zi tilted her head slightly, crouched down, and picked up a box resting on the windowsill.
She opened it and took out its contents.
It was a fake toy snake.
Pure white with bright red, round eyes. Observing it carefully, she noticed a mechanism in its belly. Pressing the mechanism caused the snake’s tongue to dart out and sway from side to side.
Jiang Zi: …?
This doesn’t seem decent. She pressed the button again. This time, the snake moved like a real one—its tail wiggled enthusiastically, even heating up a little.
Another press turned it off.
She confirmed it: definitely not decent. She shoved it back into the box.
This was clearly a love hotel.
But since Tang Yuan was afraid of snakes, there was no way this toy could be used on her.
However, the other items…
Jiang Zi returned the toy to its original spot, her slender fingers reaching for another box.
【What’s Sister Jiang doing? She’s been out of view for so long.】
【Come on, we all know the answer. Do you think any proper person would walk into a room like this?】
“Sister, what are you doing? What’s taking so long?” Tang Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed, watching Jiang Zi fuss with something out of sight for a suspiciously long time. She couldn’t help but ask.
Jiang Zi’s hand slipped at the sound of her voice, and a small, vacuum-sealed packet fell to the floor.
She calmly bent down to pick it up and slipped it back into the box. The packaging bore a logo and the word “finger cots.”
“Oh, nothing. Just found some small toys,” Jiang Zi said casually, as if it were no big deal.
The live-stream audience, hearing only Jiang Zi’s voice, immediately flooded the chat with enthusiastic comments.
Tang Yuan blinked, still clueless. “What kind of toys?”
Jiang Zi walked back over. “Nothing we’ll be using anytime soon.”
Tang Yuan stared at her blankly for a moment, then mumbled softly, “Are they… those kinds of items?”
Before Jiang Zi could nod, her own realization dawned, and her face turned a deep red.
“Um,” she stammered, scrambling for a topic change. “When can we turn off the live camera?”
“The program set it to shut down at nine. Just two more minutes.” Jiang Zi glanced at the camera, then added, “Well, two minutes won’t make a difference.”
With that, she decisively covered the lens with a cloth.
The live-stream audience, now facing a black screen, erupted into complaints. Two minutes later, the program officially ended the broadcast, marking the end of the day’s filming.
Tang Yuan, who had been monitoring the stream on her phone, let out a sigh of relief once it officially ended.
After all, nighttime was private, and having a horde of viewers watch her every move was more than a little embarrassing.
Jiang Zi pulled two disposable bath towels from the cabinet. “Do you want to shower now?”
Tang Yuan looked toward the bathroom. It was made of frosted glass, and its spacious interior was partially visible. But judging by the shared floor and wall design, there were likely snakes under the glass flooring and against the walls too.
She was scared. What should she do?
Ask for company, of course.