It was said that after the founding of the country, no more fox spirits were allowed to appear. So why did a male fox spirit show up on the island?
Jian Jing couldn't help but size up Zong Xunmei carefully. To say he looked like a fox spirit was not to say he had the pointy mouth and monkey cheeks of a real fox, but that his entire being seemed to exude a seductive charm, as if beckoning, "Come here, let's have fun," tickling one's heart and making you want to sneeze.
What a dangerous man.
She rubbed her nose and tried her best to look away.
The other wealthy second generation youths were quite experienced and immune to beauty, only taking a couple more glances before settling down.
Zong Xunmei and Yin Coach took their seats and joined the conversation. Everyone was rather curious about this "male fox spirit" and asked about his background.
"I'm a freelance photographer. I signed up for the diving lessons this time to take photos of the island," Zong Xunmei had one arm draped casually over his chair. "But I have limited talent. I couldn't take it long after getting in the water. It must have given you a headache, right Coach Yin?"
Yin Coach smiled. "You're definitely not the worst student I've taught."
Zong Xunmei raised his brows. "Is that meant to comfort me?"
"No," Yin Coach smiled brightly and glanced at A Xu, not naming names. "The worst is sitting right here."
A Xu was very frank and volunteered, "That would be me. I'm hopeless in water. I didn't even learn to swim before starting diving lessons and almost got into big trouble. Thankfully, Tongtong saved me."
Si Yingjie seized on the key point. "Tongtong?"
"Forgot to mention," A Xu put his arm around Yin Coach's shoulder, "my girlfriend."
Yin Coach was a little embarrassed and pushed his hand away.
A Xu was eager to show off and praised, "Tongtong is amazing. Very professional and patient. None of her students dislike her, and they all learned to dive in the end."
Si Yingjie scoffed and rejected the dog food. "Speaking of diving, this place isn't bad either. Why don't you guys stay a few more days and teach another student?" He called out to Jian Jing, "Jingjing, you should learn too, since you're here already."
Jian Jing was sitting in a hanging chair and couldn't help but say, "Then let Coach Yin teach me, and you can teach Miss Yang, okay?"
Snickers arose.
Si Yingjie was embarrassed and grabbed a lemon from the table, tossing it at her.
Jian Jing could tell he hadn't used any strength and it wouldn't hit her. He was just bluffing. So she didn't dodge and instead lifted her arm, pretending to block instinctively.
Sure enough, the lightly tossed lemon dropped onto the table before reaching Jian Jing. But by bad luck, it bumped into a bottle beside it.
Seeing the beer bottle tip over and most of its contents about to spill out towards her, Yang Xiao lightly cried out and leaned back, not wanting her clothes to get wet with beer.
But there were people on either side of her and they were sitting at the tall bar counter drinking, with no way to move aside in time.
Just as the bottle was about to fall and splash out foam, a hand reached out from the side.
It steadily gripped the neck of the bottle.
White foam overflowed, wetting the fingers.
"You okay?" Zong Xunmei had his head propped in his right hand, smiling as he righted the bottle.
Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Yes, thanks."
"You're welcome," Zong Xunmei let go of the bottle, raising his eyelids slightly as he continued enjoying the scenery.
But Jian Jing couldn't help looking over at him.
What just happened took quite a few words to describe, but from when Si Yingjie threw the lemon to when Zong Xunmei spoke, it was at most one or two seconds.
From the bottle tipping over to being caught, it was done in a flash.
And he had used his left hand.
This person wasn't left-handed, yet could react so quickly with his non-dominant hand. There was only one possibility―his reflexes were extremely sharp and he had excellent body control.
A photographer?
How strange.
Especially since he seemed to be gazing out the window right now, yet his peripheral vision just happened to brush over the hanging chair she was sitting on. Was he looking at the sky or at people?
Jian Jing casually jumped down from the hanging chair and walked over to the bar. "One avocado smoothie for me."
As she spoke, she observed through the reflection in the metal cup―if Zong Xunmei was watching her with his peripheral vision, he would reflexively move his eyes to follow―but he had no reaction. His eyes remained fixed out the window, staring intently with a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips.
"That's such a girly taste," Ai Lina laughed. "I'd never guess you were a mystery novelist from that."
Jian Jing held the coffee cup filled with creamy avocado smoothie, puzzled. "What does it matter?"
"Just a feeling, no particular reason," Ai Lina waved her hand as if she'd just randomly commented and turned to joke with Si Yingjie.
She was open-minded despite the awkward ex-wife status and quickly hit it off with the others. It was Yang Xiao who was strangely silent, whether due to physical discomfort or some other reason.
Before long, she stood and said, "I'm feeling a little unwell, so I'll head back first."
"You're not eating lunch?" Si Yingjie asked as he turned to look.
Yang Xiao softly replied, "Lost my appetite from the heat."
Si Yingjie hesitated, on the verge of saying more.
Yao Yao then said, "I'm a little tired too, I'll go with you."
Yang Xiao nodded and the two left together.
After that, A Xu and Yin Coach walked out hand in hand, saying they wanted to stroll around and appreciate the island scenery.
Zong Xunmei also left, saying he wanted to take photographs.
"I'm a little tired too," Ai Lina seemed to see through Si Yingjie's thoughts and took the initiative to leave before he could make excuses to do the same, leaving him with only a meaningful look.
Si Yingjie was somewhat embarrassed, but also relieved. He called Kang Mu Cheng to meet up for lunch.
Jian Jing described the chaotic morning to Kang Mu Cheng, unable to hide her curiosity. "I always feel like you've been avoiding Ai Lina's gaze."
"Did something to wrong her?" Dressed in casual vacation clothes instead of his usual suit and dress shirt, Kang Mu Cheng looked much more relaxed.
In normal times, he might not have joked like this, but it seemed perfectly natural now.
Si Yingjie waved his hand emphatically. "Even though we divorced not long after marrying, it was a bit much on my part, but I don't regret it at all―Ai Lina... sigh, I was too rash back then."
He regretted a little, "When I first met her at my cousin's funeral, I was like bewitched, wanting to be with her every day. It wasn't even like that with Xiao Xiao. We used to argue all the time."
Jian Jing listened raptly. "So affectionate, why did you get divorced?"
Si Yingjie hesitated briefly before giving a vague, roundabout answer. "No reason, we just wanted to, that's all." He changed the topic. "Seeing each other after the divorce is of course awkward."
That answered Jian Jing's earlier question.
"If you're awkward seeing each other, then see each other less," Kang Mu Cheng's thinking was clear and straightforward. When faced with a problem, solve it.
He immediately came up with a solution, "Make some excuse to get them to leave the island. Say you need to go ashore to get supplies and ask if they want to catch a ride. Then they probably won't stay."
Si Yingjie hesitated a little. "That's practically kicking them out."
Jian Jing shrugged at Kang Mu Cheng and mouthed "Yang Xiao."
Kang Mu Cheng helplessly shook his head. "Then just minimize contact."
"I suppose that's best," Si Yingjie absentmindedly agreed. He never imagined this decision would leave him with lifelong regret.
Because the next morning, Yang Xiao was dead.
*
This was what happened:
The next day, around 6 AM, Yao Yao and Yin Coach went together to Yang Xiao's room. They had agreed to start diving lessons this morning when the temperature was most comfortable.
But no matter how they knocked, Yang Xiao didn't open the door.
Yao Yao was very worried and said she didn't know if Yang Xiao was unwell again. She specifically asked the butler for the key to open the door and check inside.
At that time, Yang Xiao was lying motionless in bed.
Yao Yao was shocked and rushed over to check her forehead, only to find her body was already cold and she had stopped breathing.
She was frightened and horrified, exchanging startled looks with Yin Coach, both unable to react for some time.
In the end, it was Yin Coach who reacted quickly and immediately went to get Si Yingjie. When the others heard the commotion and came over to see what was going on, they finally learned of the tragedy.
Si Yingjie collapsed on the spot, hugging Yang Xiao's body while repeatedly calling out her name. He also told the butler to contact the hospital to send her for emergency treatment.
In the end, it took Kang Mu Cheng dumping cold water on him for Si Yingjie to come to his senses.
"What madness is this, with her in this state." He said coldly, "You're muddled, only willing to let her killer go free."
"Killer? What killer?" Si Yingjie mumbled, though his eyes were slowly regaining clarity.
Jian Jing said: "There are two small holes on her arm, and no other wounds. It looks like she was bitten by a snake and died."
"Looks like?" With Kang Mu Cheng's support, Si Yingjie finally regained his ability to think, "That's right, there don't seem to be snakes on this island, I've never seen one."
The butler said: "Sometimes you can see a few non-venomous snakes, but none of the venomous, deadly kind have been seen on the island."
Si Yingjie slowly said: "So someone killed Xiao Xiao?" His gaze swept over everyone, as if trying to discern the killer from their expressions.
But their faces showed only shock, grief, and bewilderment, with no cracks.
Including Ai Lina.
"It's only a possibility," Jian Jing corrected him, "Based on the condition of the corpse, time of death was around 4 AM, but snake venom takes time to take effect. If it was murder, time of attack would be even earlier."
"There's no necrosis around the wounds, looks like a cobra bite," Zong Xunmei said. "That would mean she was bitten around 10-12 PM."
Jian Jing stared at him: "Didn't expect you to know so much, Mr. Zong."
"I travel a lot, spend a lot of time outdoors, I know common venomous snakes. Is that so strange?" Zong Xunmei was calm and unruffled. "Miss Jian, suspecting me is meaningless. Don't forget, I didn't have a chance to do it - we were together all of last night."
Jian Jing pressed her lips together and said coldly: "No need to remind me, I remember clearly."
Kang Mu Cheng glanced at her, then put his hand on Si Yingjie's shoulder. "Let's call the police first."
Si Yingjie nodded, and told the butler: "You call the police, and the embassy too."
Si Yingjie took a deep breath, straightening his back, and said clearly: "Xiao Xiao can't die here for no reason. Until we find the killer, no one may leave this island."
The others all nodded, with no objections.
Jian Jing suggested: "Since we have an approximate time of death, let's go over where everyone was last night, and what they were doing."
She recalled: "I remember Miss Yang was last seen by us at 7 PM, after dinner."
"That's right, she said she was a bit tired, ate a little then went back to her room," Yao Yao chimed in, seeming slightly uneasy. "I walked her back, but at that time she was fine, didn't mention feeling unwell anywhere."
A Xu quickly added: "Yao Yao isn't lying. I called Xiao Xiao after 8 PM, and asked if she wanted to continue scuba lessons tomorrow. Tong Tong can vouch for me."
Coach Yin said: "I was the one who told A Xu to call and ask. I heard Miss Yang's voice too."
Jian Jing frowned.
