301: Chapter 281 Midnight Mantis

The test shoot had been underway for five minutes, but the atmosphere in the living room still carried a subtle "performative feel."

Bae Joo-hyun sat on the sofa, flipping through a few pages of a magazine, but her eyes were unfocused; she was clearly distracted, merely maintaining the idol pose of "reading quietly."

Yeri and Joy huddled together, their initial whispering turning into slightly deliberate roughhousing and joking, their laughter sounding a few decibels higher than usual, and their eyes constantly drifting unconsciously toward the camera.

Wendy pulled a music theory book from the shelf, looking very "serious," but the speed at which she flipped the pages was as if she were counting them.

Kang Seulgi was the most genuine; she really went to look for food in the thermal container again, but her movements were cautious and her eating was extremely refined, completely devoid of the usual "Bear Seulgi" style of devouring food.

Behind the monitor, Jiang Zhiyu looked at the steady, exemplary "idol showroom" footage on the screen, frowned slightly, and then, the corners of his mouth curled into a slightly wicked smile that said, "As expected."

He picked up the internal intercom, his voice clearly transmitted through the hidden sound system to everyone in the living room, his tone tinged with a bit of regret and a bit of provocation:

"Ladies of Red Velvet, this is a test shoot, and it's also a process for you to get used to the camera. However..." He paused, "Too bland, too 'correct' a daily life is not what our 'the collapsed daily life' wants. Think about the theme song just now, think about the essence of 'collapsed'—it's relaxation, it's authenticity, even if it's just a small accident, a little bit of 'unsightliness,' or a little bit of 'being off-guard.'"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a small pebble thrown into a seemingly calm lake. The five girls' movements paused almost imperceptibly.

Jiang Zhiyu was right; they were too nervous, too eager to perform "well," and as a result, they were tied up.

Just then, as if responding to Jiang Zhiyu's "call," or rather, as if it were the carefully laid plan of some mastermind behind the scenes—an accident arrived.

Kang Seulgi, who was wandering in the kitchen area and itching to get at the leftover The Shilla Hotel dessert (Mango Pomelo Sago), suddenly let out a short, terrified scream!

"Ahhh!!!" The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally jarring in the living room, which was being kept deliberately quiet.

"What's wrong?" Bae Joo-hyun was the first to put down her magazine (though she hadn't really been reading it), stood up, and furrowed her brows slightly.

"Seulgi Unnie?" Yeri and Joy also stopped their deliberate roughhousing and looked over.

Wendy closed her book, pushed up her glasses, and cast her gaze toward the kitchen.

Kang Seulgi was pale, pointing at the corner under the kitchen counter near the trash can, her voice trembling: "Th-there... s-something ran by! It was pitch black... and so fast!"

"Something? What something?" Yeri, who was bolder, took a few steps closer, but didn't dare to get too near.

Joy followed, squinting to look: "Where? Did you see wrong? Was it just the shadow of a plastic bag?"

Kang Seulgi stomped her feet in anxiety: "Really! I saw it clearly! It was like... like a cockroach!" When she said the last two words, her voice changed pitch; she clearly had a natural fear of such creatures.

"A cockroach?!" Wendy gasped, her expression turning serious. They had always been very careful about dormitory hygiene, and the appearance of a cockroach was no small matter.

Bae Joo-hyun's expression also darkened. She walked quickly to the kitchen entrance and looked carefully in the direction Kang Seulgi pointed. Under the kitchen counter, it was clean, and the trash can had a new bag; there was nothing there.

"Seulgi, are you sure?" Bae Joo-hyun asked, her tone carrying a leader's caution.

"Unnie, I really saw it!" Kang Seulgi was on the verge of tears, looking aggrieved, "It just went 'whoosh' and dove into the crack under the cabinet!"

Just as everyone was suspicious and uncertain, peering from the kitchen entrance, the scoreboard on the secondary screen began to change silently.

Kang Seulgi: +2 (Terrified scream, authentic emotional outburst)

Bae Joo-hyun: +1 (Quick reaction, demonstrating leadership responsibility)

Yeri & Joy: +1 (Curiosity and interaction, driving the atmosphere on site)

Wendy: +1 (Showing concern and rational thinking)

The increase was significantly larger than the bland period just now.

"Did you see wrong? We've been cleaning the dorm very diligently lately." Joy was still somewhat skeptical.

"Maybe... maybe your eyes played a trick on you? Or maybe it was just a small bug?" Yeri also tried to soothe Kang Seulgi.

Kang Seulgi pouted, her eyes turning red, and she shook her head stubbornly.

At this moment, Bae Joo-hyun's cold and firm voice rang out: "Seulgi wouldn't lie."

Her words were simple, but they carried unconditional trust in her member.

Ding-dong! Bae Joo-hyun: +1 (The power of trust, demonstrating team cohesion.)

The corners of Bae Joo-hyun's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. This lousy system... it even gives points for something like that? But right now, she had no energy to dwell on this; the fact that there might really be a cockroach in the dorm was the important thing.

"If there really is a cockroach, it must be dealt with." Wendy pushed up her glasses and began to think of a plan, "Find tools? Or contact property management?"

"Wait!" Yeri's eyes suddenly lit up, she raised one hand high, and announced in a tone full of drama (and inexplicably familiar): "At a critical moment like this, there is only one way!"

Everyone's gaze focused on her.

Yeri puffed out her little chest, enunciating clearly and powerfully: "Red Velvet Cockroach Extermination Squad! Assemble! Codename—midnight fierce roach!"

The air was silent for a second.

Then, Wendy, Joy, Kang Seulgi, and even Bae Joo-hyun, all looked at Yeri with an extremely complex expression. That look was filled with: shock, absurdity, realization, and a hint of "as expected" condemnation.

To be able to come up with such an abstract, chuunibyou, and Jiang Zhiyu-styled team name and codename... Kim Yeri, you're acting suspicious!

Yeri felt a bit creeped out by everyone's gaze, shrank her neck, and blinked her big eyes innocently: "Why... why are you looking at me like that? Isn't my suggestion good? It's so vivid! Midnight! Fierce Roach! It sounds so impressive!"

Joy crossed her arms and huffed: "It is quite 'vivid.' But the vibe... it's too strong. Kim Yeri, be honest, were you 'bought' by someone?" She glanced significantly in the direction of the control console.

Wendy also looked at Yeri thoughtfully: "This naming style and on-the-spot reaction really aren't like the usual Yeri. Unless... someone gave you 'inspiration' in advance?"

Although Kang Seulgi was still afraid, she also whispered in agreement: "Yeri-ah, this 'midnight fierce roach' of yours... did you learn it from PD Jiang?"

Facing her teammates' silent condemnation and direct questioning that said "you know it yourself," Yeri's face slowly turned red, her eyes began to drift, but she still stubbornly insisted: "No way! I... I came up with this in a moment of desperation! Original! It's absolutely original!"

Bae Joo-hyun looked at Yeri's guilty attempt to cover things up, and thinking of how Jiang Zhiyu always seemed to be extra "attentive" to Yeri, she probably understood seven or eight tenths of it. She helplessly supported her forehead and sighed: "Yeri-ah..." Her tone carried the helplessness of a leader toward a maknae's mischief, but there was also a hint of imperceptible doting.

Ding-dong! Bae Joo-hyun: +1 (The leader's helplessness and doting, demonstrating humanized leadership.)

Bae Joo-hyun: "..." She turned her head speechlessly, looking directly at the figure behind the control console who was taking things easy.

Jiang Zhiyu was leaning against the back of his chair, smiling and watching this side. When he met Bae Joo-hyun's gaze that said "it was definitely you who caused this," not only was he not guilty, but he raised his hand, gave her a thumbs-up, and added a brilliant wink and a standard smile revealing eight teeth, as if saying: Well done! The variety show effect is maxed out!

Bae Joo-hyun felt a surge of heat rush straight to her head, a mix of shame and anger, and she secretly gritted her teeth.

Ding-dong! Bae Joo-hyun: +1 (Shame and anger reaction toward the PD, creating interesting interaction.) A screenshot of her gritting her teeth and glaring popped up on the big screen at the right moment, her cheeks slightly flushed, her eyes filled with feigned anger.

Bae Joo-hyun saw the screenshot and almost laughed in anger—this system really captures things accurately!

Ding-dong! Bae Joo-hyun: +1 (The contrasting moment of being laughed at in anger.) Another screenshot, this one of her laughing in extreme anger, her expression vivid with the corners of her mouth half-raised.

Jiang Zhiyu watched the brilliant, rapidly changing expressions on Bae Joo-hyun's face on the screen and the rapidly rising points, shrugged his shoulders, and made an innocent expression that said "I can't help it, the system judged it itself," but the smile in his eyes was about to overflow.

Bae Joo-hyun completely lost her temper and turned her head away, no longer looking at him. The little person inside her was already frantically pounding the wall and screaming: So annoying!!! Jiang Zhiyu!!! And this lousy system!!! And Kim Yeri, that traitor!!!

Meanwhile, the culprit Yeri, under the baptism of her teammates' "loving" gazes, finally couldn't take it anymore and said in a small voice: "Um... PD Jiang said... if our show's effect is good, when TG films a drama next time, he can save a role with lines for me to cameo..." The more she said, the smaller her voice became, and in the end, it was almost like a mosquito buzzing.

Everyone: "..." As expected! Bribery! Naked bribery! For a cameo in a drama that's far off in the future, you sold out the organization's purity? Kim Yeri, where is your stance!

However, things had reached this point; the codename "midnight fierce roach" had been called out, and the threat of the cockroach (truthfulness questionable) seemed to remain. This "Red Velvet dorm cockroach crisis," directed by Jiang Zhiyu, assisted by Yeri (half-forced), and triggered by Kang Seulgi (possibly scared by a prop), had already become the first true climax of "the collapsed daily life" since the test shoot began.

Everyone's attention was mobilized, the previous deliberate performative feel had vanished, replaced by genuine suspicion, interaction, complaining, and a little bit of team instinct when facing a "crisis" (even if it might be fake).

Jiang Zhiyu looked at the footage on the monitor that had finally come alive, filled with all kinds of real reactions, and nodded with satisfaction. He spoke into the microphone, in a tone that feared nothing but chaos, and encouraged softly:

"So, 'midnight fierce roach' squad, how do you plan to act next? The audience is waiting to see."