Chapter 104

The fingers were long and slender, the kind of hands that would be perfect for playing the plano in fans‘ opinions.

Winnie looked up, meeting Kane’s gaze.

His eyes sparkled with an intensity that was disarming and drew you in, “Looking forward to working with you.”

Winnie extended her hand in a swift motion, their hands briefly touching before .

Candace, standing nearby, noticed the exchange with curiosity. “What happened? A handshake outta nowhere? Count me in!”

She reached out and grabbed Winnie’s hand with a firm shake. “I’m Candace. You’re Winnie Bryant, right? I’ll just call you Winnie Winnie wasn’t put off by the enthusiasm and put on a polite smile in return. Gentry then joined in, not to greet Winnie, but to address Candace.

“Hello, I’m Gentry.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, too,” Candace said with a smile, then turned to Mervin, “And you?”

Mervin was still caught up in the emotion of the moment, a seriousness etched on his face. He knew he had to collect himself for the show.

“I’m the nineteenth disciple of the Breeze Monastery, Mervin.”

The room was in silence.

The audience in front of the livestream chuckled.

“This guy gave off the vibe of an old–school sage.”

Someone in the chat said, “Old–school? He turns out to be a legit spiritual practitioner. I thought his social media introduction was just for show.”

“Let’s be real here, Mervin is kinda hot.”

“However, he’s an abstinent man!”

“You guys don’t think contemporary spiritual practitioners are like monks, do you?”

“That other girl is stunning, why didn’t she introduce herself?”

“Didn’t you hear? That’s Winnie, Emerald Bay’s top one in SAT, personally chosen for the Supernatural Department.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope, that’s it.”

As everyone got acquainted, the show’s host finally stepped forward.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Ned, your host for Ghostly Guidance. I’ll be leading you on our adventure. The whole event will be live–streamed. Once we reach our destination, each participant will have their stream. Viewers, you are able to choose who to follow based on your preferences. Now, let’s head over to our haunted estate for this episode.”

As Ned finished speaking, the group picked up their luggage and moved forward.

The location was on the edge of an old district, where wealthy families used to settle, resulting in a view dotted with private villas.

Their destination was a notorious haunted house, the same one Baily had previously scoped out.

The house was a two–story structure with a courtyard, not particularly old in style, but evidently long uninhabited, giving off an aura of desolation.

“This mansion was built twenty years ago by a wealthy merchant as a retreat,” the host explained, lowering his voice for effect. “Since then, it’s changed five times, and each owner has experienced accidents, with residents either getting hurt or worse…

Ned was building a mysterious atmosphere.

“Our guests‘ task is to stay in this house for the duration of three days to uncover the stories behind these walls. Successful participants will earn rewards.”

As the host finished, the guests showed mixed expressions, with Candace being the most expressive.

“So has this place not been lived in for ages? Has it been cleaned? It looks super creepy from the outside.”

Gentry also looked uneasy, “Does staying three days mean we can’t leave the house at all?”

Naylor added, “The place looks big. Will there be anyone else staying with us?”

Kane asked, “What are the requirements for the teams?”

Ned replied to each question, “Don’t worry, the place is mostly clean, no spiderwebs for pillows. You can go out, but be back before dark. The house is just for you Staff will be around but won’t stay with you. Teams are pairs, making three teams total, and you are free to choose your partners.”

After Ned’s explanation, Mervin, who had been silent, stepped forward, “I’ll team up with Naylor.”

Everyone instinctively looked at Mervin. They knew despite the smooth–over earlier, there was tension.

First to decline teaming up with Naylor for the show, Mervin now volunteered to pair with him. Nobody believed there wasn’t a reason.

The chat room buzzed with speculation about Mervin’s sudden change of heart.

But deep down, Winnie understood. Mervin wanted to keep an eye on Naylor.

That was for the best. At least this way, there’d be no trouble during the show.

Naylor, caught off guard by Mervin’s offer, hesitated. After all, it seemed Mervin had seen something, and Naylor instinctively didn’t want to team up with him.

Facing the camera, if he refused, there was a risk of being labeled as petty by the online crowd. Naylor could only agree with a kind smile.

Seeing that everyone, including Naylor himself, had no objections, Candace, who was standing by, had a gleam in her eye and suddenly raised her hand.

ஆட் 1 “Me! Logically, I should be paired with Winnie, but considering the tough tasks we’ll face in the later stages of the show, us girls might be at a disadvantage. So I’ll team up with Kane.” Candace said with a grin, sidling up to Kane before anyone could object.

By now, the others had caught on to her game, but no one could fault her since she was upfront about her intentions. After all, Candace had earned the nickname Bitch Candace because she truly embodied that trait.

But unlike other sly maneuvers, Candace’s moves were always out in the open.

Like now, she was direct, leaving no room for anyone to dispute her move, which left Winnie and Gentry to pair up.

Just when the audience thought the teams were set, Winnie suddenly spoke up. “I can’t be in a team with Gentry.”