Officer Liang spent nearly two hours, finally finishing taking everyone's statements. The last one was Jian Jing. She directly handed over the tablet and exclaimed, "It seems this is more complicated than I thought."
Jian Jing was very curious and started reading it quickly.
Last night around 8 pm, Jian Jing and the others left one after another, leaving Mr. Tao, Wu Writer, Kang Mu Cheng and Chang Painter drinking together.
Around 9 pm, Wu Writer went to the bathroom to throw up for a while, and was helped back to the room by Mr. Tao to rest. About ten minutes later, he returned to the living room, only to find Kang Mu Cheng left, looking unhappy.
He asked Kang Mu Cheng where Chang Painter went. Kang Mu Cheng replied, "She was drunk and went back to rest first."
Mr. Tao didn't care and continued chatting and drinking with Kang Mu Cheng.
The two talked about work for a while. Around 10 pm, they had some dumplings for supper together. During this time, they both mentioned hearing arguing upstairs, one of them was Chang Painter.
But they didn't bother with it. At 10:30 pm, after eating, they left separately.
Mr. Tao said he went back to his room to sleep right away until waken up after 9 am the next day.
Kang Mu Cheng's actions were more complicated: after supper, he stayed in the dining room for tens of minutes to take a call. Later, Chang Painter came downstairs to look for him, and the two sat in the study for a while.
Around 12 am, he returned to his room, did some work and then went to sleep.
Wu Writer claimed that after getting drunk, he went back to his room without seeing Chang Painter again until discovering the body with everyone the next day.
Xiao Lu and Xiao Tian said they went to the studio to paint after leaving at 8 pm. Xiao Lu painted until 10 pm before returning to his room while Xiao Tian until after 11 pm.
Xia Tianxin and Jian Jing were similar. After the gathering, they directly went back to their rooms to sleep, knowing nothing.
Summarized in a timeline, it was roughly:
20:00 Jian Jing, Xia Tianxin returned to rooms. Xiao Lu, Xiao Tian went painting.
20:00-21:00 Chang, Wu, Tao, Kang drank together.
21:20 Wu Writer returned to room.
21:30 Chang Painter returned to room, leaving Kang Mu Cheng alone.
21:30-22:30 Tao, Kang drank and had supper. Xiao Lu returned to room. They heard Chang Painter arguing with someone during this time.
Around 22:00 Eddie spoke with Chang Painter for a while.
22:30-23:20 Kang took a call in the dining room. Xiao Tian returned to room.
23:20-00:30 Kang and Chang Painter talked in the study, then returned to rooms separately.
07:00-07:30 Kang got up for breakfast, met Jian Jing.
07:30-12:20 Jian Jing, Xia Tianxin and Xiao Tian went hiking.
09:00 Eddie went to town.
14:00 Eddie came back. They discovered the body.
Also, at 12:20 pm when Jian Jing returned to the inn, the system released the mission. This confirms Chang Painter was already dead before that.
"There's something wrong with Kang Mu Cheng." Officer Liang said. "Something must have happened between him and the painter."
Jian Jing nodded and asked, "Do you want to ask him directly?"
Officer Liang looked sharp. "Any problem?"
"Nothing, but he would most likely tell you he can't say more without a lawyer present." Jian Jing could totally imagine Kang Mu Cheng's reaction.
Officer Liang understood. She wasn't rigid and thought for a moment before asking, "How about you ask?"
"Success is not guaranteed either." Jian Jing was not confident.
"Try first."
"Okay."
After exchanging information, they separated again.
Jian Jing found Kang Mu Cheng working in the lounge. He was looking at a report. Seeing her come, he directly asked, "Here to interrogate?"
"Why ask that?" She was surprised.
"You and the police get along well." Kang Mu Cheng said calmly. "It's normal for her to ask you to investigate. What do you want to ask? Go ahead."
Jian Jing said, "If you don't want to tell me, I won't ask. Because no matter the facts, I believe it's not you."
The frost on Kang Mu Cheng's face melted a little. "Of course it's not me."
"I'm very curious," Jian Jing didn't ask questions but stated on her own, "Who among those present today has ever formed a grudge with her?"
Kang Mu Cheng glanced at her and scoffed, "I don't know her well. It wouldn't be surprising if someone did."
"Why?"
"Those who toy with love always tend to attract more troubles."
Jian Jing raised her eyebrows. She leaned forward, shortening the distance between them, "Mr. Kang, I want to ask you a question."
Kang Mu Cheng: "Ask away."
"You don't want to tell me about last night. Is it because you feel I can't be trusted, or..." She hesitated and asked, "...embarrassed?"
Kang Mu Cheng stopped.
He had to admit she was right.
It was embarrassing.
In fact there was nothing shameful about last night. He didn't do anything wrong. It was just that he had always seen Jian Jing as a child and subconsciously avoided some sensitive topics.
But at this moment, looking into her bright eyes, he finally realized his thoughts were not accurate.
He was used to listening to her confide in him and giving her care and advice. However, at some point, she was no longer a child needing to be taken care of.
He could confide in her and get help from her.
Although...this was hard to accept, but it was the truth.
Kang Mu Cheng rubbed his temples and mentally calculated the time and energy needed to get a lawyer. Finally he decided to take a more effective approach.
"Okay, I can tell you about last night." He prepared himself and said as tactfully as possible, "After Mr. Tao sent Wu Writer away, some unpleasant things happened between me and the painter. She wanted to chat more with me. I declined. She was very upset and went back to her room directly."
Jian Jing silently nodded. She thought to herself: Saying it so convolutedly, she just wanted to sleep with you right.
Of course, she absolutely could not say that out loud. She looked grave and asked, "Did she seem unusual then?"
"Just very angry." Kang Mu Cheng replied. "But as you can see, she had a temper to do things on a whim. After 11 pm, she came to look for me again as if nothing had happened, saying she wanted to discuss something with me."
Jian Jing really wanted to ask "Weren't you afraid she came back persistently?" Fortunately she held back.
"I was going to decline originally since it was very late." Kang Mu Cheng seemed to see through her doubts and explained, "But she said she wanted to chat about Yang Guan's posthumous works. Of course I would agree to that."
Workaholic talking about work, it's never too late.
Jian Jing didn't expect this: "Yang Guan? The painter's husband right?"
"Yang Guan's real name was Yang Guan. He passed away from cancer two years ago." Kang Mu Cheng said. "Now the copyrights to all his works are in the hands of the painter. She said she wanted to publish a collection, including some unpublished posthumous works."
Jian Jing understood. No wonder Kang Mu Cheng was willing to stay so late into the night. The temptation was too big.
"We were discussing this matter all along." He said. "After talking generally until around midnight, I went back to my room. You heard me typing later right? I was writing a proposal."
It all made sense, both before and after. Jian Jing thought: "Where did you chat?"
"The small study upstairs."
"Did the painter say why she suddenly wanted to publish?"
Kang Mu Cheng carefully recalled for a moment and said, "She should have been organizing Yang Guan's posthumous works all this time, only recently completing it. But if you must ask..."
He frowned, pondering hard for a good while, before saying, "She mentioned she had hesitated before whether to include some letters, originally not planning to do so in order to avoid conflicts. But now she had decided they must be included no matter what."
This was a huge clue.
Jian Jing became interested: "What letters?"
"They should be private letters. Many writers' families would selectively release some correspondence after their death. People are very interested in writers' private lives. These kinds of letter collections generally sell well. Yang Guan's personal experiences were quite interesting. The reaction should be good." Kang Mu Cheng became noticeably more engaged when talking about work.
Jian Jing didn't hide her eagerness. She immediately got up, "I'll go take a look. Mr. Kang, if you remember anything else, let me know right away."
She gestured pleadingly as she spoke.
Kang Mu Cheng said helplessly yet amusedly, "Why are you so enthusiastic?"
"Seeking justice for the deceased, happy, truth prevails, feels great." Jian Jing summarized her feelings.
Kang Mu Cheng couldn't help chuckling. He waved his hand, "Go on. Best if we can resolve this today. I can still make the afternoon meeting tomorrow."
Jian Jing: "..."
Alright then.
She informed Officer Liang about this clue. They were both very excited and immediately started searching.
Letters of this kind were most likely kept in the study. They opened all the drawers and boxes in the study and soon found the manuscript neatly organized by the painter Chang.
It was a thick stack.
Officer Liang beat a hasty retreat: "You're the writer. You read it. I'll keep looking for other evidence."
Jian Jing had no objections. She skimmed through the table of contents, removing the prose that took up most of the space, and focused on excerpting the letters to read one by one.
There were over ten letters total, seven or eight of which were love letters to the painter Chang.
When scholars got amorous, it was quite frightening. These few love letters were written ardently, and Jian Jing read them with great interest.
"My dear Lisa, I've already told Ru that no matter what, I must divorce her. Our daughter can be raised by her. If I don't get this divorce, my body will never be free, and if my body is not free, I'll never be able to pursue you with dignity. I know you're a principled woman who would never entangle with a married man. I'm also ashamed to be someone who plays with two boats, my body and heart belong to you alone."
"In the past thirty years, I've muddled along like a walking corpse, not knowing the meaning of anything I did each day, also not knowing where I should head when I wake up tomorrow... Until that day, when I met you by the lake, the wind and light were so splendid. That moment was like the gods had descended, and used the willow branch to stir my dusty heart. Then I knew, oh, my whole life was just waiting for you..."
Yang Guan's writing style was known to be simple and sturdy. No one could've imagined his love letters to be so unbridled and passionate. It really opened one's eyes.
But even letters this sappy were private matters between a married couple. There was no deep hatred there.
Let's look at the others.
The remaining five or six letters were replies to friends.
"I haven't heard anything about a certain brother's family in a while. I wonder if everything is alright, if the children have any difficulties... Though we're not related by blood, certain brother and I are like siblings. I'm publishing some essays now which can provide the fees. If there are difficulties, I'm willing to help with my meager power..."
"...Met with a certain brother, heard that Brother Wu has been quite proud lately... He thinks highly of himself for his literary skills, and has always looked down on that certain brother. I wanted to advise reconciliation but didn't dare contact him rashly. Though it's an old matter from years past, I don't hold it in my heart anymore, what I can't let go is Brother Wu..."
"Heard Sis has given birth to a girl, gained a tile-roofed joy, specially had the silversmith make a silver lock, ordinary folks don't ask for endless youth, just hope for peace and safety, and joy sufficient for life..."
Jian Jing was a little confused over which brother was which, but it wasn't crucial information either. The most suggestive letter was one she was familiar with.
It mentioned Writer Wu.
She had thought Yang Guan and Wu Writer were friends, but the reality seemed otherwise. The two had some "old matters from years past."
