On the day of the “Escape Room” recording, Cheng Youyou arrived at the recording site in a chauffeured car.
As soon as the car door opened, Cheng Youyou saw a standalone villa right in front of her. The villa was enormous, covering a vast area. Looking into the distance, Cheng Youyou noticed that the villa was surrounded by mountains and water, with a garden that spanned an entire hectare.
It was clear that this castle-like villa was incredibly expensive.
【The production team really spared no expense.】
【Each scene is so realistic.】
【It’s so immersive!】
To give the audience a first-person immersive experience of the thrill of escape, “Escape Room” uses both live streaming and post-edited broadcasting for each episode.
Cheng Youyou stared at the standalone villa, lost in thought. A capable middle-aged woman approached her.
“Hello, Ms. Cheng. This is the fourth episode of the third season of ‘Escape Room’. I’m Elisa, the butler of this villa in this game.”
【Is this episode set in a mansion?】
【Rubbing my hands together, what kind of plot is this episode going to be?】
【What are the players’ identities?】
Cheng Youyou narrowed her eyes slightly as she examined the villa again, “How much would it cost to buy this villa?”
【She’s really getting into character as a wealthy socialite.】
【Cheng Youyou is fully immersed in her role!】
【And so it begins.】
Usually, players only start to get into character after entering the venue and learning their in-game identity, but Cheng Youyou has already found her groove.
Elisa: “Ms. Cheng, I’m just a butler. Your question is outside the scope of my duties.”
Cheng Youyou: “Then who would know the price? The owner of this villa?”
Elisa looked towards the villa with respect, “Yes, you can ask Mrs. Natasha. Today is Mrs. Natasha’s cocktail party, and she is currently preparing her makeup to welcome you all. Please take a moment to rest. Once the party starts and you meet Mrs. Natasha, you can ask her personally.”
Cheng Youyou: “Alright, then take me to the party quickly.”
【So this episode is about escaping from a cocktail party.】
【It’s starting, it’s starting! The players are entering the castle.】
Guided by Elisa, Cheng Youyou went to the dressing room and changed into a luxurious gown. After putting on exquisite makeup, she looked like an Upper East Side socialite.
Cheng Youyou followed the guidance and entered a lounge.
Someone was already there. Cheng Youyou recognized her immediately – it was Qian Siying, the leading actress of “Those Times,” a young film queen.”
Seeing a familiar face, Qian Siying was delighted, “It’s you! That’s great, we can work together.”
Qian Siying held Cheng Youyou’s hand, “You know the theme of today’s game, right?”
Cheng Youyou replied, “Natasha’s cocktail party? Right, I’m going to find Natasha later.”
She wanted to ask Natasha about the price of the villa. She had her eye on it.
Qian Siying was very dedicated to her work. Whenever she took on a job, she would prepare thoroughly. This time, she had watched several previous seasons of the show.
Qian Siying said, “Look at this room. It’s decorated so beautifully, like a palace. I guess this is probably the first room we’ll need to escape from.”
Cheng Youyou replied, “Oh, okay.”
She also glanced around. The room was exquisitely decorated. The relatively small lounge was filled with furniture: sofas, coffee tables, and chests of drawers. In addition, there were priceless paintings hanging on the walls.
The most eye-catching was a dressing table in the corner. The dressing table was designed in a European style, combining luxury with practicality.
Cheng Youyou had her eye on that dressing table.
Cheng Youyou said to Qian Siying, “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can find Natasha.”
“With you saying that, I feel much more at ease.”
【Cheng Youyou is a gaming pro, so if she says that, she must have a plan.】
【I’m so excited!】
The door to the lounge opened again, and the third guest to come out was someone Cheng Youyou also knew: the unlucky Wang Wensheng.
As soon as Wang Wensheng came in, he started shouting, “Hey, isn’t this Youyou? We meet again.”
Wang Wensheng boasted, “Youyou, don’t worry. I might not have been good at the last show, but I’m an expert at this one.”
【What is he an expert at?】
【Wang Wensheng is bragging again.】
Wang Wensheng patted his chest, “I can’t say for sure about other things, but if there are really ghosts or something, I can protect you.”
【Haha, has Wang Wensheng gotten used to being Cheng Youyou’s assistant?】
【But it makes sense. Even though Cheng Youyou is very smart, she’s still a girl. She’s probably afraid of ghosts, right?】
Just as they were talking, another female guest entered the room. Her name was Lu Yao, and she was a singer.
Lu Yao nervously huddled next to the other girls, and she whispered to Cheng Youyou, “Are there really ghosts?”
Qian Siying, who had done her research, replied, “Every season of this show is an escape game in a closed environment, with themes related to horror. Not only are the scenes scary, but there are also NPCs who suddenly appear to scare the guests.”
Lu Yao trembled, “My agent didn’t tell me about this. I only found out when I got here. I’m terrified of ghosts.”
Two more people entered the room. One was a male actor named Dai Yuze, and the other was an athlete named Wu Hao. Wu Hao was strong and fast, and he was the group’s muscle.
Wu Hao said, “Don’t worry, if there’s really a ‘ghost,’ I’ll just knock it out.”
Dai Yuze said, “I’ll take care of the girls, and Wu Hao can deal with the ghost.”
【Hahaha, I can’t stop laughing.】
【What? Fight a ghost?】
【Is Wu Hao the comic relief? He’s going to fight a ghost?】
Qian Siying interrupted the two male guests who were only focused on protecting the girls, “The key to our game is escaping the room, right? What’s with this fighting ghosts thing? Shouldn’t we be trying to escape together?”
【Pfft, haha.】
Wu Hao scratched his head, “Then what do we do? I’m only good at using force.”
【A mindless tough guy is here!】
【I already have a feeling that this season will become a comedy show because of Wu Hao.】
【I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to die laughing.】
Qian Siying turned around and saw Cheng Youyou sitting at the dressing table. “Youyou, what are you doing?” she asked.
Cheng Youyou examined every detail of the dressing table carefully. “Can I open this dressing table? Don’t you think it’s very unique?” she asked.
Cheng Youyou meant exactly what she said. She really liked the unique design of the dressing table.
She wanted to buy it.
【Cheng Youyou is so into it, she’s already started exploring.】
【Finally, someone remembers this is an escape room variety show.】
【That’s right, let’s figure out the mechanism before the task is released.】
【I also think the dressing table appeared very abruptly.】
【I’m going to predict that this dressing table definitely holds an important clue.】
While everyone was discussing, Elisa came in.
Elisa announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mrs. Natasha’s party. Your identities today are all…”
“I can’t tell,” interrupted one of the guests, “I just think this painting is weird. The woman in the painting seems to be staring right at me.”
Cheng Youyou was also looking at the painting intently, deep in thought.
Qian Siying asked, “Youyou, can you see anything strange? I also thought this painting might have some clues, but I couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard I looked.”
Cheng Youyou shook her head, “I just feel like the woman in the painting looks familiar, as if I’ve seen her somewhere before.”
Qian Siying caught on, “You said you’ve seen her somewhere before. Try to think about it.”
Cheng Youyou thought for a moment more but shook her head. “I’m suddenly drawing a blank.”
Wu Hao was still banging on the door.
Cheng Youyou turned to look at the dressing table in front of her. She really liked this dressing table.
Qian Siying noticed that Cheng Youyou’s eyes never left the dressing table, so she asked, “Do you think there’s something strange about this dressing table?”
Cheng Youyou replied, “I really like it. Can I open it and take a look inside?”
Cheng Youyou wanted to see the structure inside, mainly to see how many skincare products the dressing table could hold.
Qian Siying said, “Of course.”
Just as Cheng Youyou was about to open it, Wang Wensheng stopped her again. “I told you, obvious things are often misleading. You might as well look for some well-hidden clues.”
Lu Yao asked, “You mean the painting from earlier?”
Wang Wensheng replied, “Yes.”
Lu Yao, who was a bit timid, retorted, “We’ve been looking, but there are no clues.”
【Hahaha, seemingly casual retorts are the highest level of sarcasm.】
【Lu Yao is pretty good.】
Wang Wensheng said, “Youyou, tell me, am I right? Since we’ve both participated in variety shows, you know that plot twists are the essence of variety shows!”
【Wang Wensheng is always stuck in the past, that’s why he’s always unlucky.】
【Not all variety shows are the same, Brother Sheng, wake up.】
【Will Cheng Youyou be swayed?】
Cheng Youyou pointed at the dressing table and said, “I don’t have that many ideas, I just want to open it now.”
While opening it, Cheng Youyou said, “Besides, opening a dressing table won’t waste any time.”
【Hahaha, Cheng Youyou’s comeback is great.】
【Wang Wensheng is just overthinking it.】
【He doesn’t think when he should, and thinks too much when he shouldn’t.】
【As a three-season veteran of this show, I can tell you that there’s definitely a clue in this prop!】
After opening the dressing table, Cheng Youyou was a little disappointed.
The space inside wasn’t as big as she had imagined, and Cheng Youyou decided she wouldn’t buy a dressing table like this after all.
But Qian Siying got excited. “There’s a perfume bottle.”
Wang Wensheng was stunned. “There’s actually something here?”
【Everyone said there would definitely be something, but Wang Wensheng didn’t believe it.】
Qian Siying removed the perfume cap and searched for clues by rummaging through it. “I’ve watched this show before, and a lot of clues are hidden in these props as notes.”
But after searching for a while, she couldn’t find anything.
Wang Wensheng seemed triumphant. “You found nothing, right? I told you there were no clues here. I’m telling you, we should look in the nooks and crannies. I think the more hidden the place, the more likely it is to hide clues.”
Qian Siying, having found nothing, put the perfume back in its original place.
Cheng Youyou took the perfume and said, “The brand is Annlinsoo.”
Wang Wensheng replied, “Annlinsoo is just a brand, what’s so special about that?”
Cheng Youyou said, “That’s exactly the point.”
【Ah? Did I miss something?】
【What did Cheng Youyou discover?】
Cheng Youyou: “We came here for Mrs. Natasha’s party, and the whole house belongs to Mrs. Natasha. But the room we’re in now has the same style as the main hall. This means it’s not a servant’s room or a guest room. This room belongs to Mrs. Natasha herself.”
【That’s a very detailed observation. I just remembered that this room does have the same style as when we first entered the villa.】
【That’s something.】
【What did Cheng Youyou discover?】
Cheng Youyou picked up the perfume again. “Butler Elisa has already mentioned that this ball is for top-tier socialites. So we can assume that the hostess of this party must be very wealthy and of high status.”
She held up the perfume. “A wealthy and elegant lady like her is unlikely to use a perfume that costs less than 500 yuan.”
【Ah?】
【That makes sense.】
【Cheng Youyou knows so much about prices. How many perfumes has she bought to accumulate this experience?】
Cheng Youyou said, “I guess this door is a combination lock.”
Meanwhile, Dai Yuze, who had been searching around the door, shouted, “I found a tablet.”
【My scalp is tingling, Cheng Youyou’s deduction is too meticulous.】
【Yes, yes, it’s definitely a combination lock.】
Qian Siying hurried over. She picked up the tablet and confirmed Cheng Youyou’s guess: “Yes, the tablet shows a long row of blank grids with a keyboard below.”
Dai Yuze said, “The tablet is right next to the door, so we can reasonably guess that the perfume brand is the password.”
Cheng Youyou still stared at the perfume bottle doubtfully.
Dai Yuze typed the perfume brand in English: a-n-n-l-i-n-s-o-o
He clicked confirm, but the door didn’t budge.
Wu Hao continued, “Don’t waste time, let me break down the door.”
Bang, bang, bang, Wu Hao kept banging on the door.
【Hahaha, why add a comedic moment during such a tense deduction?】
【Isn’t Wu Hao tired? Banging on the door is unreliable, take a break haha.】
Qian Siying looked at the long row of blank spaces on the tablet, “The spaces don’t have a specified length, so we don’t even know how many digits the password is.”
Wang Wensheng said, “Ten digits.”
Qian Siying replied, “Ah, why?”
Wang Wensheng said, “Look at the woman in the painting on the wall, look at her hand gesture.”
Lu Yao, who was already scared, said, “I don’t even dare to look, and besides, there’s nothing different about her hand gesture.”
Wang Wensheng walked to the painting, “Her ten fingers are crossed. What does that mean? Isn’t this a hint that the password is ten digits?”
Qian Siying said, “But everyone has ten fingers, that’s not a very detailed hint. It would be more convincing if she was missing a finger or had an extra finger.”
【Hahaha, Qian Siying is much more rational than Wang Wensheng.】
【Can Wang Wensheng please focus on the important points.】
【Wang Wensheng is seriously misleading everyone.】
【Qian Siying: I can’t believe I have to deal with Wang Wensheng.】
Cheng Youyou had already walked to the sofa. She looked at the table in the middle and said, “Why is this table glowing?”
Everyone finally noticed this detail. Wang Wensheng realized something. “I got it!”
【My brother Wang has learned to answer quickly!】
【I suspect he’s wrong again.】
Wang Wensheng said, “The decoration style of this table is obviously inconsistent with the rest of the room. I suspect there’s something fishy here. Quick, let’s find the logo on the table. Maybe it’s the password.”
【Showing off as soon as he learned something?】
【Teaching a fish how to swim, doesn’t he feel embarrassed?】
Cheng Youyou walked over and gently pulled, revealing a drawer underneath the table.
“It’s a jewelry table,” Cheng Youyou explained. “That top layer is glass.”
She continued seriously, “How could there be a logo on glass? Besides, a glass jewelry table doesn’t seem out of place in a villa like this.”
【Hahaha, Cheng Youyou’s debunking Wang Wensheng.】
【Cheng Youyou is so knowledgeable, she immediately recognized it as a jewelry table.】
【Wang Wensheng: We’re both celebrities, why do you know so much?】
【Blind guess: Cheng Youyou is a jewelry expert.】
【Cheng Youyou knows so much!】
Cheng Youyou has been looking into jewelry tables recently. Many luxury homes use tinted glass for the top layer of their jewelry tables.
Cheng Youyou isn’t necessarily knowledgeable, she just happens to be interested in buying one, so she’s done some research.
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