Su Yan smiled warmly and said, “Kidnapping, of course, is to ask for ransom.”
Xiao Hong let out a cold, mocking laugh.
“You’re really dreaming big. You have to know, sooner or later, you’ll get out. We don’t need to do anything, and we can just rescue it. Besides, you can’t hurt it anyway, right?”
Su Yan shrugged indifferently.
She hadn’t planned to make extra money off this guy anyway.
“Since you don’t agree, then hurry up and start the next round. No—actually, since this guy is already tied up, it doesn’t really matter if we proceed or not. Why don’t you just declare us the winners directly?”
Xiao Hong’s expression instantly darkened!
Why was it now coming out to negotiate with this annoying woman?
It was precisely because it didn’t want the situation she mentioned earlier to actually happen!
If they let them win now, the “Childhood Variety Show” production team would definitely trend on social media again.
The director was strongly opposed to having the show’s name appear side by side with the words “No way.”
Xiao Hong cleared its throat and said seriously, “Actually, the money isn’t important. What we really want is to make friends with you. If you want extra rewards, that’s not impossible, but for the next round of the game, you must design the program yourselves and survive for thirty minutes.”
Su Yan’s lips curled into a smile.
She already knew the other party’s intention.
After going through so many rounds of the show, Su Yan had gained a certain understanding of the production team.
At the very least, they were extremely concerned about face.
She had now captured the pursuer and caused this round to end early.
Once the episode aired, it would definitely embarrass the production team.
So, for the sake of face and ratings, the team definitely wouldn’t mind spending some money to avoid trouble.
“How much are you offering?”
Su Yan asked straightforwardly.
Xiao Hong breathed a sigh of relief, leaned close to Su Yan, and gave her a look of doing her a favor, letting her have the upper hand: “You organize the game, and we’ll pay you fifty thousand yuan. Those other freeloaders get nothing. How about that?”
Su Yan raised an eyebrow and teasingly said, “That’s not how it works. If you want those guests to follow my lead, you have to give me enough benefits! Besides…”
When it came to money, she was always extremely clear-headed.
“In the previous show, I was the host buying time to save the situation. Back then, they paid me fifty thousand and the other guests twenty thousand each. How come the treatment has gone down now? Don’t tell me you’re planning to take advantage of someone familiar?”
She laid out the stakes clearly.
Even the Nicksians who didn’t usually care about money understood.
“Wow, I originally thought ‘Yan Jing’ was the one getting a good deal!”
“The production team is really cunning!”
“Really! I also thought it was ‘Yan Jing’ getting the advantage.”
“A boss is still a boss—straight to the point.”
“I really like the little games hosted by ‘Yan Jing’!”
“Hope to hear ghost stories!”
Xiao Hong saw that Su Yan was calculating things so clearly and realized that trying to bluff her was pointless.
It lowered its head to consult with the production team for a moment and then looked up to give the final offer.
“Alright, one thousand each for the guests, sixty thousand for you. There are still too many guests left for this round, we can’t lose too much, right?”
Su Yan thought for a few seconds and then suggested a new idea: “How about this? Since everyone is sure to pass now, I’ll ask how many are willing to stay for ten thousand yuan. Those who stay will play the game with me.”
Xiao Hong hesitated.
“What if no one stays?”
Su Yan answered decisively, “Then raise the pay. Money makes the mare go.”
Xiao Hong said, “Won’t too few people affect the show’s effect?”
Su Yan said, “Trust me. I guarantee satisfaction. But I want eighty thousand for myself.”
Xiao Hong was stunned for a moment, then heard the production team tell it to agree. So it nodded: “Okay, you handle it.”
Su Yan nodded with a smile.
She wasn’t clueless, and she wasn’t insisting on her teammates getting the same treatment as last time. Xiao Hong was right; there were indeed more guests left this time.
If everyone still got twenty thousand, the production team would definitely lose money.
But if she could reduce the number without affecting the show’s quality, that would save the production team a lot of expenses.
Asking for a little more salary was only natural.
Of course, if anyone thought the extra ten thousand Su Yan asked for this time was hush money from the production team, that was clearly a misunderstanding.
There were more guests this time, so the host needed stronger control skills.
The production team was paying Su Yan the extra ten thousand mainly to cover this.
After settling the matter, Xiao Hong, as usual, handed Su Yan an earpiece. Su Yan put it on skillfully and gave it an OK sign.
Xiao Hong proudly introduced, “This is a new product from our production team. You just have to talk to us in your mind, and we can hear and respond.”
Su Yan was puzzled.
“Uh… if I’m not mistaken, haven’t you always done this? I’ve never seen you move your lips when negotiating with the production team.”
“Ah, well…”
Xiao Hong was unusually embarrassed, then gave up and said, “It’s specially made for you, alright? You’ve hosted so many times now, the production team foresaw it and thought it better to give you dedicated equipment in advance.”
Su Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Then thank the production team for me. This prop is really useful.”
Xiao Hong waved its hand and ended this round of the game.
The guests who had successfully passed left the show, leaving eleven guests still on stage, looking at each other in confusion.
It withdrew accordingly.
The director’s voice came through Su Yan’s earpiece: “Your segment should definitely include elements of ghost stories.”
Su Yan nodded knowingly and turned to the guests with a serious expression.
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
Seeing Su Yan’s grim look, everyone grew uneasy. If even the big boss looked like that, what she was about to say must be truly terrifying.
“The production team has given us two choices. One: take the 100,000 yuan and quit the show immediately. This game will count as our pass.”
The crowd’s eyes lit up.
This was an unparalleled piece of good news for them!
Winning outright and no longer living in fear—who wouldn’t choose this option?
Seeing their expressions, Su Yan’s lips curved slightly, then quickly fell.
“Don’t get too excited. There’s a second option. The production team will give us another ten thousand yuan, but only if we participate in a small bonus round.”
A girl quickly asked, “What kind of bonus round?”
Su Yan had long expected someone to ask and sighed helplessly.
“I’m not sure either, but it’s said to be very dangerous, and it could even cause irreversible damage to the guests.”
“Shh!”
As soon as she said that, everyone gasped sharply.
The girl who asked before widened her eyes.
“Wasn’t it said this game wouldn’t cause us real harm?”
Su Yan looked at her like she was an idiot.
“Spiritual harm is uncontrollable! Maybe we’ll go crazy after leaving. The production team won’t take responsibility for treatment.”
Nicksians watching her nonsense online laughed themselves silly.
“Wow, holy crap, I’m just gonna say wow.”
“At this moment, an unknown actress walked by.”
“This acting—I’m impressed. She scared those guests stiff.”
“This acting is really authentic. Did the production team tell her something?”
“I think ‘Yan Jing’ is about to make a big move.”
“Stop, I’m already curious.”
Su Yan looked seriously at the crowd.
“That ten thousand yuan is easy to take if you have strong willpower, I think no one will have problems. But if you feel you can’t handle it, it’s better not to risk it.”
After saying this, she snapped her fingers. A door appeared in front of everyone.
“Now, guests who don’t want to take the risk can leave immediately. Once this door closes, you have to participate in the bonus round.”
Upon hearing this, three people rushed toward the door.
The remaining seven guests exchanged glances, then two more left.
Looking at the six guests still left with her, Su Yan frowned slightly.
It was still a bit too many.
Thinking of this, she added fuel to the fire: “I advise everyone, if you’re not that desperate for money, you should leave. I feel like the production team’s setup isn’t simple—it’s probably designed to trap the guests.”
Production team: Forced to take the blame 🙂
Seeing the big boss say that, two more guests hesitated and left.
Now only four people remained on stage.
Su Yan looked at these four. One was the high ponytail girl who asked earlier.
She looked young and innocent, with no makeup, about twenty-one years old.
Another was a buzz-cut man, looking serious and upright.
He was the oldest among the four, at least twenty-five.
Then there was a boy with bright green hair, looking even younger than the girl, probably just eighteen. Su Yan couldn’t accept his green hair—it was like he was giving her a green hat for no reason!
Four people—two men and two women—just right.
Su Yan silently whispered to the production team, and the door immediately disappeared.
“Looks like you three really need the money. Now the door is closed, and even if you want to regret it, there’s no way out,” she said with feigned pity.
The high ponytail girl replied firmly, “I won’t regret it. I’ve got my mind set on that ten thousand yuan!”
The buzz-cut man’s expression remained unchanged.
“I trust my willpower.”
The green-haired boy laughed carelessly.
“Stop making a fuss. I want to see what the production team has planned.”
Four people, four personalities.
The high ponytail obviously stayed because she really needed the money.
The buzz-cut stayed because he believed in his own willpower and thought he wouldn’t go crazy.
As for the green-haired boy, in Su Yan’s eyes, he was just a rebellious emo kid, determined to stay and die for the sake of showing off his uniqueness.
She pretended to say a few words to the production team, then turned seriously to them: “The little bonus round we’re going to play is a famous spirit-summoning game called
One Stroke Immortal.