Jian Jing killed two birds with one stone by guarding Ai Lina while repeatedly asking about the seven minutes between 10:38 and 10:45 AM.
However, Ai Lina was perfunctory, either saying "I already told you" or "I was drunk and don't remember clearly." In short, she didn't give a straight answer.
Jian Jing was not in a hurry. She had already guessed Yao Yao's approach. As long as she got the murder weapon, it didn't matter if the time mystery was not solved. So she was calm and composed as she wasted time with Ai Lina.
Once in detective mode, her usual laziness and socializing persona transformed. Endless energy surged through her body and her entertaining skills steadily increased. They chatted from makeup to food to movies and novels. Her patience was excellent.
Ai Lina was a little caught off guard.
In her impression, Jian Jing had an aloof personality, self-centered, willing to entertain you if she wanted, ignoring you if she didn't. Arrogant yet delicate, easy to dismiss.
But now, she was nothing like herself. Her attitude was so sincere, as if a few drinks made them bosom friends.
Ai Lina was uneasy at first, then calculated that Jian Jing was on good terms with Si Yingjie. Perhaps she was a breakthrough, and prepared to pave an escape route. She slowly opened up.
Seeing this, Jian Jing also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She was motivated to detect, but social charm could not be solved by unleashing a supernova. So, sorry, she cheated again.
This was the limited edition card she drew at the beauty salon in June.
[Name: Limited Edition Charm Card]
[Description: Strengthen any one ability in "Appearance" or "Temperament"]
[Note: Choose one, basic enhancement +50%, basic time 3 hours/day, resets at midnight daily, can use courage to extend time or increase enhancement, +50% costs 5 points, +1 hour costs 5 points; special contributions can unlock more options]
In short, it was similar to the five senses cards, but the charm card only had two options.
Enhancing appearance was like applying an ultra low-key killer makeup look. Features unchanged, beauty score soared. Temperament charm was more profound, including but not limited to easily obtaining goodwill/trust from others.
Yeah, not limited to humans.
It worked on petting cats and dogs (crossed out).
She used the charm card to enhance her temperament charm, then got Ai Lina drunk through enthusiastic conversation and drinking. By now, the new bottle of bitter wormwood liquor was almost empty.
With that alcohol tolerance, there was no way she was drunk last night.
Even now, Jian Jing firmly believed Ai Lina still retained some sobriety.
Then it was time for a battle of wits.
Ai Lina pretended to be drunk first. Jian Jing staggered up, grabbed a blanket to cover her, then slumped in the armchair with her back to the door, half asleep and half awake.
Outside, the wind and rain grew stronger. The typhoon lashed the villa, the sound terrifying.
Such frightening weather made people uneasy even normally, let alone with a stranger nearby. To say Jian Jing felt no fear would be a lie.
But gradually, she realized Zong Xuanmei was right.
- Ai Lina was not scary.
On the surface, she had a mysterious background. Marrying Si Yingjie seemed to have ulterior motives. She hid a gun in the safe, as well as mystery pills, exuding the aura of a spy film heroine. Especially alluring, comparable to Alice from Resident Evil.
But if she was really that capable, why did she retreat at every step?
Ai Lina deflected her questions and played along pretending to sleep, not making any decisive moves. But tonight the wind and rain were strong, even more suitable for committing crimes under the cover of darkness.
Didn't she want to act? She probably couldn't.
Ai Lina was also wary of her.
Thinking of this, Jian Jing was no longer so afraid - she herself had no deterrent, and someone who would be deterred by her probably wasn't much more capable than herself.
As long as she kept Ai Lina busy tonight until the typhoon passed and let Kang Mu Cheng take Si Yingjie away, she would have no more worries.
Jian Jing thought through the causes and effects, increasingly calm as she rested her eyes.
The clock struck two-thirty in the morning.
In the second half of the night, drowsiness peaked and sleep was deepest.
Ai Lina silently opened her eyes. She moved carefully, pinching the thin blanket and slowly getting up, her fleeting gaze sweeping the room.
Once her vision adjusted to the dim room, she tiptoed upstairs barefoot.
Jian Jing was speculating whether she would sneak out when, in less than two minutes, she came back down and softly called, "Miss Jian."
According to the script, she should be fast asleep, letting Ai Lina take action, then following her to find out her real purpose.
But Jian Jing didn't want to take risks.
Ai Lina had a gun. If provoked, what if she hurt someone? So when Ai Lina tested the waters, Jian Jing pretended to wake up startled, murmuring groggily, "Ai Lina?"
In the darkness, Ai Lina's expression froze, stone-like, taking a good while to find her voice again, "You fell asleep, be careful of catching a cold."
Jian Jing sat up rubbing her eyes and glanced outside. Purple lightning streaked across the night sky, the turbulent sea seeming about to crash onto the roof and swallow everyone into the depths.
She exclaimed in half real half feigned surprise, "The wind is so strong, will this place be okay?"
"It'll be fine, we won't face the full brunt of the typhoon here. The cliffs will block most of the wind," Ai Lina's acting recovered.
Jian Jing looked worriedly at the grass and trees bent by the wind, "I didn't expect the wind to be so strong. People walking outside could get blown away right?"
Her concern was unreasonable. Getting injured by going out in a typhoon was common. Logically, Ai Lina could not tell her to leave.
Well, she wouldn't be sure of making it out herself in this weather.
Ai Lina sighed inwardly at her misfortune.
But she was used to such situations, abandoning one plan to make another. "Don't go back now, wait until the rain stops," she immediately calculated a new scheme.
Jian Jing was unexpectedly successful, appearing embarrassed, "Sorry to disturb you."
"Don't be polite, I'm happy to have someone to chat with and pass the time," Ai Lina paused, intentionally hinting, "Talking with you all, time always flies. It was like that yesterday, and today too."
Jian Jing murmured in agreement, meeting her gaze.
A jagged lightning bolt zigzagged down, instantly illuminating the room.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Ai Lina's lips.
*
After the typhoon passed, the island was a mess, the ground stained red. But the sky was extremely clear, a semi-transparent, moving pool of cerulean, extremely touching.
Unfortunately the sunlight was too glaring. After appreciating the beautiful scenery for a few minutes, they had to retreat to the shade.
Jian Jing got up early in the morning, first waking Kang Mu Cheng to ask about last night.
Kang Mu Cheng said Xū, Yao Yao, and Si Yingjie were drinking and chatting the whole time. Later when the wind and rain grew too strong, he also didn't let them go back, until this morning when everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
"Director Kang, you've done me a huge favor," Jian Jing was extremely happy and immediately said, "I hope I can resolve Yang Xiao's murder before the police arrive. If this matter grew bigger..." she trailed off with a sigh.
At this moment, the tragic ending of the story was already apparent, yet she could not stop from acting.
And the owner of room 6 seemed to also realize his fate upon opening the door, his complexion slightly pale, "Miss Jian, why are you here so early?"
Jian Jing looked at Lin Yao.
Yang Xiao was capable and cheerful, Ai Lina seductive and glamorous, Coach Yin bursting with health and vigor, each a beauty with distinct characteristics. Only Lin Yao, although also fair-skinned and beautiful like a porcelain doll, always lacked a memorable highlight.
"I wanted to talk to you before the police arrive," Jian Jing replied.
Lin Yao bit her lip, "I don't understand."
"No, you understand, because the person who killed Yang Xiao is you," she stated.
Lin Yao said, "Please don't slander me, Xiao Xiao was my friend."
"She was also your love rival," Jian Jing said objectively. "Jealousy defeated friendship and you killed her."
"Unfounded accusations. You say I killed Xiao Xiao, what opportunity did I have to kill her?" Lin Yao retorted coldly. "I was with Ai Lina the whole time that day. I had no time or way to commit murder. Or are you saying I poisoned her when I sent her back to her room?"
Jian Jing unhurriedly said, "Perhaps you thought of doing so but didn't find the chance."
Lin Yao was about to say something more, but Jian Jing cut her off and said on her own, "Time, time is the most useful absent evidence, and also the easiest evidence to tamper with."
"You have three points for your alibi - your phone rang at 10:30, you arrived at the bar at 10:40, and Ai Lina saw the time at 10:43. There are too many corroborating details, making it look flawless, but that's not the case." Jian Jing saw through it in one go, "You were just lucky."
Lin Yao pursed her lips tightly, as if forcing back the urge to refute.
"At first, I thought the problem was 10:30, your phone, your alarm, very easy to manipulate. But on closer thought, that would be too risky - what if Ai Lina had checked the time midway, the plan would have failed. So the more likely possibility is that you secretly altered Ai Lina's phone clock."
"Smartphones automatically sync to local time, but I've been to the observatory, there's no signal there. You only needed to change the time once, move it 10 minutes forward, and when back in a room with signal, the phone auto-syncs, no need to do anything to correct it."
Jian Jing laid out her method: "That way you'd have enough time to commit murder, and when back you just had to make sure Ai Lina checked her phone, turning her into your witness."
"Everything you said is just speculation," Lin Yao said. "Where's the evidence? Are my fingerprints on Ai Lina's phone?"
Jian Jing smiled. "No, even if there were fingerprints that wouldn't prove anything. The phone isn't key evidence. What proves you killed Yang Xiao is the murder weapon."
Lin Yao's expression changed ever so slightly, the muscles along her cheeks tightening just a little, bringing out the contours of her soft, beautiful face.
"I've been to your room several times, and saw no traces of any weapon. Daring to commit murder in your own bathroom means you must have prepared flawlessly, choosing a weapon that can be taken apart."
Jian Jing paused, slowly letting out a breath, and said unhurriedly: "I kept thinking back to every detail of your room, until I finally found a clue. At that time, the sweater on your bed was very small, not meant for a person, but a pet, right?"
Lin Yao gave a faint smile, as if to say "That's all?" and responded: "I founded a stray dog shelter, is it so weird for me to knit sweaters for pets?"
"Not weird, but since you take in stray dogs, it's also not weird for you to have a blowgun dart, right?" Jian Jing shot back.
Lin Yao immediately fell silent.
"I'm not too familiar with these, but network just got restored so I did a quick search." Jian Jing picked up her phone and read off the checklist. "The process for making a blowgun dart requires the following tools: stainless steel tube, disposable syringe, rubber band, needle..."
Lin Yao cut her off, impatience showing on her face. "Do you see any of that stuff in my room?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the rubber bands are hidden among your pile of hair accessories, and the stainless steel tube..." She reached out and pushed Lin Yao, who had been standing deliberately in front of the kitchen door, aside, and grabbed the mop leaning against the wall, "Should be this."
