Episode 24: Doubts Abound

Today the sun was bright and beautiful, the sky a clear blue, white clouds drifting overhead like pieces of cotton candy. The sunlight fell upon the lake, shimmering like fish scales, rippling in the light. It was a rare fine day in the plum-rain season, and travellers could finally relax their gloomy spirits.

Meanwhile, within the entertainment world, rumours were flying everywhere. With so many artists having been "judged," the entire industry had sunk into panic, and the artists feared — who would be next?

Xia Zilan was to take part in a variety show, Shine, Brothers! — a reality show, appearing alongside several artists who had debuted in the same period, among them Gu Moyan. They were to show off their many talents, and the audience would vote for the best artist. Since the show first aired, its popularity had remained very high.

Xia Zilan had originally had no interest in this kind of reality show, but Tianze Entertainment had recently fallen into a storm of public opinion, facing a boycott from the public, and its share price had plummeted. It had no choice but to get its artists out in front of the cameras more often. And he was not even a Tianze-signed artist — today, by chance, an artist had suddenly been unable to come, and he had been asked to fill in.

At first he was very unwilling to go, but Jiang Yanzhou had asked him to help out at the last minute. As for Bai Yujing, Jiang said he would explain it to her — after all, they still had a project together, and he could not be too wilful.

Gu Moyan and Xia Zilan were in the dressing room, about to change into the costumes for the next part of the show. Xia Zilan was to play Xu Xian from The New Legend of Madame White Snake, while Gu Moyan was to play Guo Jing from The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Under the makeup artists' careful work, each of them was dressed and made up to perfection. Xia Zilan looked in the mirror, took a selfie with his phone, posted it to Weibo, and added a line: "This Xu Xian looks a little down on his luck!"

It immediately drew hundreds of thousands of likes. He smiled as he looked at the screen, interacting with his fans, while Gu Moyan watched his look of delight and said casually, "Mr. Jiang has also arranged a role for me — in your next drama."

Xia Zilan put away his smile and turned to him, asking quietly, "You're not singing anymore?"

Gu Moyan straightened his wig, his expression calm, and said with a cold laugh, "There are no good songs for me to sing. I can only act a little."

Xia Zilan sighed. "Your voice is actually very good, and you sing well. Why give it up?"

Gu Moyan turned his head and said coldly, "Why did you enter the entertainment industry?"

Xia Zilan froze. He had never thought about the question. After thinking for a few seconds, he pouted and replied, "There was a talent show, and then Sister Bai picked me, and I became her artist."

Gu Moyan finished adjusting his costume, a strange look on his face, and said with a cold laugh, "You really are lucky!"

Just then, Jiang Yanzhou came in. He saw that both of them were ready — especially Xia Zilan, whose white robes and period costume made him look handsome, with a touch of the ethereal. He said gently, "It's your turn to go on stage."

By the afternoon, Xia Zilan had finished performing for the day. As for the audience's votes, he had not the slightest interest — he only wanted it to end quickly, finish work, and go home. Bai Yujing had texted him: something had come up at the last minute and she could not come to pick him up, so a junior assistant would come to take him home.

Gu Moyan watched his relaxed manner, took off his wig, changed back into his own clothes, and said with a cold laugh, "There's a party tonight. Are you going?"

Xia Zilan replied without a moment's thought, "No. I'm going home to study the role for my next drama…"

He put on his own clothes, removed all his makeup, tidied his hair, looked in the mirror, and expressed his satisfaction, a smile appearing on his face.

Gu Moyan turned to look at him and said with great certainty, "Every artist signs many rules. Don't you have to abide by them?"

Xia Zilan put down his phone, looked up at him, and said with a smile, "You can refuse too!"

Jiang Yanzhou came in, having overheard their conversation. He remained calm, his eyes elegant, and said lightly, "Today's ratings reached three percentage points. This episode was very good. The production team has specially arranged a dinner. Let's all go together!"

Xia Zilan shook his head. "Sister Bai has already arranged for an assistant to pick me up. I won't go!"

He gathered his things and set his phone on the table. When he turned back, he saw that the phone had been moved. He looked up at Jiang Yanzhou, his expression gone, and said very politely, "Mr. Jiang, today I only came to help out. I did not come to take part in a variety show. As for the dinner, I won't be going. My apologies!"

With that, he picked up his backpack and was about to leave when he saw Tian Sirong standing in the hall. The moment she saw him, she came toward him with a smile. "Xia Zilan, I've invited you several times now. Won't you give me even a little face?"

Xia Zilan turned to look at her, unconsciously tightening his grip on the backpack strap, his expression tense, his voice trembling. "I don't go to parties."

Jiang Yanzhou came out, seeing that Tian Sirong meant no good, and patted Xia Zilan on the shoulder, saying coldly, "Sister Rong, since he doesn't want to go, don't force him."

Tian Sirong's smile vanished. Hands on her hips, she grabbed Xia Zilan's wrist hard and snapped, "You brat, I've invited you several times. I'm doing you a favour — don't throw it back in my face. Believe me, I can get the investors to pull their funding, and have you blacklisted."

Xia Zilan broke free of her grip, his face set, stepping back several paces, and said unhappily, "You just have some money and can control the capital, always threatening artists. It's people like you who have made this entertainment industry stink."

Even so, he could not hold back. The repeated pestering had stirred him to defiance — and the moment he had spoken, he began to fear what would follow.

"Xia Zilan!" Qin Shaohua came over from a distance. He had received a call from Situ Hengyi saying that Bai Yujing had called the police — someone was harassing Xia Zilan — and he had no choice but to come alone. "Tian Sirong, you are coercing and threatening an artist. If the media find out about this, his fans will tear you apart. He is a top star, after all, with fans numbering in the tens of millions. You had better think carefully about the consequences."

He glanced at Jiang Yanzhou, keeping a cool head, his face betraying nothing, a refined smile on his lips, and explained in his capacity as a professional legal adviser, "As far as I know, you do indeed have resources at your disposal, but Xia Zilan is not a Tianze-signed artist. He is not obliged to attend any social engagements. And as for the unspoken rules you propose — otherwise, the cooperation project with Tianze will be voided, and your company will have to pay many times over in damages for breach of contract."

Tian Sirong could not get a single word out. Her face went pale, and she could only clench her fists in anger, kicking at the wall with her foot, nearly stubbing her toe.

Jiang Yanzhou, however, apologised repeatedly, an apologetic smile on his face, and said in a low voice, "Zilan, go home early!"

After they had left, Jiang Yanzhou's face broke into a cold, sinister smile, his eyes venomous, as he turned to Tian Sirong and cursed, "Are you mad? A leopard can't change its spots. How many times have I told you — he is not for you!"

Tian Sirong could not get a single word out under his scolding. She lowered her head, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead, and stammered, "I… I'm sorry, Mr. Jiang! I… I just… felt… he looks too much like that person!"

Jiang Yanzhou tried his best to control his emotions, putting away his venomous look, resuming a gentle expression and a faint smile. "It's best not to set your sights on him. He is so popular now, he is quite beyond control."

On the other side of the wall, Gu Moyan had heard their entire conversation. Holding his phone, he recorded all of it, glanced at the clock on the wall, his expression cold, and, as if nothing had happened, put on a mechanical smile and went out.

Late on the second night, Situ Hengyi and Qin Shaohua had obtained the most crucial person's information from Qian Musheng, and arrived at the gates of Xiangya Psychiatric Hospital. Rain was falling again, tapping on the tin eaves, sparse and scattered, like some kind of code — echoing through the corridors of the psychiatric hospital.

Lin Fan had found another person from the photograph left by the Judge — Wang Xiaochen. She had once been Tianze Entertainment's most promising screenwriter, and a senior figure at Tianze. In that photograph, she stood with Jiang Yanzhou and several senior executives. After the Yu case, she completely broke down and was sent to the psychiatric hospital by her family.

Qian Musheng and Lin Fan had given information about the same person, so they had no choice but to brave the rain to look for clues.

When Situ Hengyi and Qin Shaohua entered the visiting room, the woman sitting in the corner was hugging her knees, her hair dishevelled, her face pale, murmuring softly to herself.

Qin Shaohua looked at her, his gaze blank, and said in a low voice, "Her medical records say that after the incident, she saw certain things she 'should not have seen.'"

Situ Hengyi nodded and stepped forward.

Wang Xiaochen suddenly looked up at him, her expression strange, her eyes mad yet unusually clear, and murmured, "You… have come looking for him?" Her voice was hoarse as she hugged her knees and shook her head. "He screamed so loudly… They killed him…"

Situ Hengyi's heart tightened. He turned back to look at Qin Shaohua and said coldly, "What did you hear?"

Wang Xiaochen reached out, clawing at the air, as if tearing open an invisible curtain. Her expression shifted, her face changing, her look strange, and she cried out, "Blood… There is so much blood… Blood all over the walls…" A tear fell from the corner of her eye, and drool dripped from the corner of her mouth onto the floor —

She went on, "He said he would not yield. I tried to persuade him… but he would not listen to me… I loved him so much, yet he just would not listen…"

Before she had finished speaking, she suddenly slapped her own mouth, made a "shh" sound, her eyes wide and wild, shaking her head hard, as if afraid of being heard by some presence.

Qin Shaohua leaned against the wall, arms folded, his expression cold, his eyes indifferent, and said in a low voice, "Did you kill him? Yu Mengge will never forgive you!"

Wang Xiaochen's body began to tremble violently, her fingers digging under the table — she suddenly curled herself up, her voice small, like a confession. "He was not killed by me… If he had listened to me… he would not have died… I betrayed him… I told them about the evidence he had collected… But I loved him so much… Why did he not understand… His manager… he is not human… The phone… his phone…"

She began to scratch at the desktop with her fingernails, scratching and scratching, until she had carved out a single character: "Seven."

Qin Shaohua saw it, his gaze shifting, keeping a cool head, and deliberately provoked her. "You did not kill him, but he is dead. You wanted his life just like they did. You are an accomplice too. You say you love him? And yet you sent him to his death. You are pitiful. No one will pity you. He will live forever in people's hearts, while you live in hell."

Wang Xiaochen shook her head, turning to look at the ceiling. After thinking for a few seconds, her mind drifted again, and she muttered to herself, "I didn't… The phone… his phone… can prove… I am not lying…"

Her hands clawed at the wall, as if she had seen something, and she stepped back several paces, her eyes full of terror, shrinking into the corner, shouting, "Don't kill me… Blood… So much blood…"

She clutched at her hair, her eyes blank, staring at the corner of the wall, shaking her head and crying out, "There is a ghost… He has come…"

Situ Hengyi stepped forward and stopped him. "Lawyer Qin, you have gone too far. You provoked her just now — what if something happens to her?"

Qin Shaohua turned to look at him, his expression cold, without a trace of sympathy, and said with a cold laugh, "Although she is not one of the seventeen, she is still not free of responsibility. Do you still think justice will come? This is clearly a premeditated murder — planned in advance, with protection, and even people inside the police… and this is not the first time they have killed. Can you still not see it?"

Situ Hengyi froze for a moment, his eyes resolute, and blurted out, "Even if someone wants to cover up the truth, I will find them!"

Just as the two were about to leave, Wang Xiaochen suddenly stood up and seized Qin Shaohua's wrist. Her face turned strange, her eyes unfocused, her terrified eyeballs staring, and she murmured, "Find Seven…"

Her grip was unnaturally strong, as if driven by fear, her expression turning ferocious as she chanted madly, "His phone… his last words… are all there… That person… has come back…"

She suddenly looked up, revealing a strange and fearful smile. "You are being watched… like him… like Qiao… many people… those artists… more than just the two of them died…"

After Situ Hengyi and Qin Shaohua came out of the psychiatric hospital, they went over her words. Situ Hengyi asked, "Seven — the seventh shadow? What exactly does it mean?"

Qin Shaohua gazed into the distance. The rain had stopped, the night was hazy, the road ahead growing clearer and clearer, and the cold in the air was bone-chilling, calming him down. He said coldly, "That song mentions an art gallery." He took out his phone and pointed at the address he had searched on the map. "Gallery No. 76."

Situ Hengyi looked at the photograph, and in an instant his eyes lit up. This was the art gallery he had seen in his dream —

At the same time, inside the police station, Su Yizhou sat on a sofa smoking a cigar. The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt. In recent days, Situ Hengyi had been acting very strangely — not letting him touch the case — yet he showed no emotion at all, instead going to work on time every day. That was not like his character. He took a few puffs of smoke, his brow furrowing. Could he be overthinking it?

Just then, Luo Jin came in. He walked up to Su Yizhou, sat down quite naturally, picked up the teacup on the coffee table, took a sip, and looked up at him, saying quietly, "Chief Su, has Situ been getting suspicious lately?"

Su Yizhou exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at the ceiling, his expression unnatural, and changed his tone, saying coldly, "Luo Jin, you'd better not act recklessly. We are colleagues, after all. He is, after all, the youngest detective on the force."

Luo Jin looked up, an expression of disdain on his face, and said coldly, "There has been no turning back for us since the very beginning."

Su Yizhou's expression hardened, his face changing, and he gripped his cigar, thinking for a moment, then said slowly, "They have already achieved their goal. This matter has been suppressed for so long. Who would have thought that with the Judge's appearance, the whole thing would be brought up again…"

Su Yizhou put down his cigar, stood up, put his hands behind his back, leaned against the window, narrowed his eyes, and sighed, "The Yu Mengge case can no longer be suppressed!"

Luo Jin said coldly, "Chief Su, you were also there at the scene three years ago. You know what happened that day?"

He put down his teacup and added, "Neither of us can escape!"

Su Yizhou turned around and said angrily, "Luo Jin, don't push your luck!"

Luo Jin laughed. "Chief Su, you know Situ's character. He will never give up."

With that, he stood up and left.

Su Yizhou gazed at the city in the night, still shrouded in mist, but the gloom in his heart lingered, refusing to lift. He turned and walked to his desk, opened the drawer, and looked down at the document inside — it recorded all of his sins, and he could no longer turn back.