Knock knock knock, the door to the study was knocked on.
Jian Jing looked up to see Xia Tianxin carrying in a bowl of dumplings with a smile, "Hungry? Little Tian and I made some dumplings, try them."
As she said this, Jian Jing suddenly felt hungry. Glancing at her watch, it was already 6pm.
"Thank you," she took the dumplings, hurriedly eating them while they were still warm. Frozen dumplings weren't tasty, but her mind wasn't on the food. She just wanted to appease her stomach.
Xia Tianxin didn't leave, instead curiously asking, "Are you looking for clues to help Officer Liang?"
There was no hiding this for long. Jian Jing readily nodded in admission.
"Oh," Xia Tianxin made a meaningless sound, both curious and somewhat envious as she asked, "So you write mystery novels because you really like mysteries?"
Jian Jing was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "I think so." No matter which version of her, they all had a passion for mysteries, which led her to today's path.
"That's really nice," Xia Tianxin sat down, propping her chin in her hand. "Being able to write what you want to write, you're very fortunate."
Jian Jing was puzzled. "Aren't you? Morning Star wouldn't force you to do writing prompts."
"The publisher certainly doesn't dictate topics, but they have to consider the readers' tastes," Xia Tianxin explained. "If a book sells well, the editor will do a post-mortem with you to analyze what resonated with the market. If it doesn't sell well, they'll also collect reviews to analyze what readers didn't like to avoid next time."
She lowered her voice, "Morning Star's philosophy is 'the reader is God'. Whoever can gain the readers' favor can gain a foothold. Every year we also have a collaborative writing event where readers vote for the plotlines they most want to see, and we work together to write a New Year's story."
Jian Jing's eyes were opened to whole new ideas. She couldn't help but ask, "Don't you like writing romance?"
"I do," Xia Tianxin laughed. She seemed suddenly world-weary, "I just don't believe in love."
Jian Jing was even more confused. "How can you convince readers if you can't even convince yourself?"
Xia Tianxin blinked. "Readers don't want to be convinced by me. I weave a dream, they have a dream. We both know it's not real, but having a beautiful dream still makes you happy, right?"
Jian Jing was rendered speechless.
Xia Tianxin turned the question back on her, "I've read your novels, they rarely have love stories. Do you believe in love?"
Jian Jing nodded. "I haven't experienced it, so I believe in it, like believing aliens exist even though I haven't seen proof."
Xia Tianxin was stunned for a second before letting out a laugh.
They both felt they understood each other better.
Jian Jing made an effort to eat the dumplings while Xia Tianxin looked around curiously. Finally her gaze settled on the letter Jian Jing had been reading.
"This is a letter from Yang Guan, right? Oh!" She leaned in close to look. "Is this about Wu Writer? Could the rumors be true?"
Jian Jing immediately perked up. "What rumors?"
"You haven't heard? Yang Guan and Wu Writer used to be close friends, but they suddenly became distant. Wu Writer was spreading rumors that Yang Guan abandoned his wife and child and has questionable morals." Xia Tianxin was lively and outgoing, privy to much gossip, and eager to share. "Then we all said he's no better, lucky his wife died early or he'd be harassing girls all day, vexing them to death."
Jian Jing raised an eyebrow. "Why would Wu Writer smear Yang Guan?"
"Wu Writer is savvy about causing trouble. The girls he harassed were either new authors or recent graduates, so they likely wouldn't offend Yang Guan." Xia Tianxin leaned on her hand reminiscing. "But I think I heard someone say Wu Writer wrote a book...that seemed very similar to Yang Guan's style."
Jian Jing was shocked. "You mean...?"
Xia Tianxin made a shushing gesture, implying with her eyes, "Rumors and hearsay, nothing certain. They're veteran authors from over a decade ago, much we're unsure of."
Jian Jing nodded. "I understand."
She immediately went to confirm with Kang Mu Cheng.
Kang Mu Cheng seemed to have heard something: "You mean that book Lost Jade Gate?"
"You know about it?"
"I've heard of it. Wu Writer is from Sichuan while Yang Guan is from the northwest. The two have very distinct regional styles. Jade Gate was a long novel Wu Writer wrote after spending two years in the northwest. It was well-received in the industry, but there were some...controversies with the details." Kang Mu Cheng chose his words carefully.
Jian Jing cut to the chase: "What do you think?"
"Hard to say for sure." This was Kang Mu Cheng's professional assessment.
She understood.
Jian Jing hurried to update Officer Liang on the new clue.
As it happened, Officer Liang also had a lead: "I just noticed something strange. Eddie said he went to the painter's place after 10pm, but Cao and Kang didn't mention this."
After a brief thought, Jian Jing grasped the key point: "There must be another staircase."
"There's a side stair near the back door." Officer Liang took her to examine it.
As it turned out, near the back door there was a hidden narrow staircase just wide enough for one person. It led directly to the study next to the upstairs studio.
"Eddie must have come up the back way, that's why they didn't see him." Officer Liang's eyes flashed. "The one arguing with the painter might not have been Little Tian or Little Lu, could be someone else entirely."
Arguments were common between people. But having a fight just hours before the painter's death was crucial to get to the bottom of.
Jian Jing considered: "Did either student hear anything?"
"We'll need to question them again." Officer Liang's tone was cold. "I suspect someone's lying."
Upon questioning Xiao Tian and Xiao Lu again, more inconsistencies emerged.
Officer Liang interrogated, "Little Tian, I heard you were criticized for your painting yesterday. Did you go see the teacher last night? Did she say anything to you?"
Xiao Tian bit her lip. "No, Teacher didn't look for me."
"So you were downstairs painting the whole time?"
"Yes."
Officer Liang's tone grew steadily colder. "But your studio is right below the painter's place. People sitting in the living room heard her arguing with someone, yet you heard nothing?"
Xiao Tian pressed her lips together and looked to Xiao Lu.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Lu rubbed his nose and said, "Actually...we went out for a bit midway."
"Where did you two go? Why lie at first?" Officer Liang pressed.
Xiao Tian seemed on the verge of tears, her face pale. "It was because I, I forgot...I forgot to bring Teacher her medicine. I'm sorry, it wasn't on purpose."
The girl seemed under tremendous mental strain. Her emotions erupted as she confessed everything: "I was supposed to bring Teacher her medicine, but today she said some very harsh things to me. I sat in front of the easel feeling like a complete failure. I studied under her for three years and she's always scolded me, said my work was worthless.
She sobbed, venting her long-held resentment: "She treated me like a maid, assigning endless homework every day that I couldn't possibly finish. She said I have no talent and should give up now, just become an average artisan since that's the best I can do."
Xiao Lu felt bad for her and put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Teacher means well. Look how she agreed to help publish our art book and is holding this exhibit for us."
"You believe her just because she says so?" Xiao Tian gave a cold laugh, resentfully saying, "She's just trying to make me give up hope. Of course she's nicer to you, maybe she really does want to recommend you."
Xiao Lu was embarrassed for a moment before changing the subject. "That night, Xiao Tian and I went out to clear our heads and didn't come back until after 10pm. So we didn't hear Teacher arguing with anyone."
Officer Liang fixed her gaze on Xiao Tian, demanding, "What's this about medicine you mentioned?"
Xiao Lu quickly explained, "Teacher has a bit of a lung condition from smoking too much. She's been taking prescribed Chinese medicine lately."
"You didn't bring her medicine today?" Officer Liang asked Xiao Tian.
"I, I forgot. I really didn't mean to." Xiao Tian pleaded, mumbling, "I was just so angry at how she treats me, I was too upset to notice the time."
"I understand, I believe you," Jian Jing soothed her emotions and pivoted the conversation. "When you came back, did you notice anything abnormal?"
Xiao Tian hesitated before saying, "We came back around 10pm. Xiao Lu went straight to his room. But I thought Teacher would scold me if I didn't finish today's work, so I came back to paint for a bit. On my way here, I think I saw someone."
"Do you recognize him?" Officer Liang asked.
"I didn't get a good look at his face, but Mr. Kang is tall, Eddie is short, and Mr. Tao is fat. That man was quite muscular, so he definitely wasn't Writer Xia or Writer Jian," Xiao Tian said. "I think it was Writer Wu."
Officer Liang and Jian Jing exchanged a glance. Writer Wu had gotten drunk and returned to his room around 9 PM, but had gone out again around 10 PM? Considering Writer Wu's feud with Yang Guan, his suspicion suddenly rose.
*
When Jian Jing and Officer Liang came to his door, Writer Wu was irritably scrolling through his phone. She zoomed in with her binocular-like phone camera and saw it was a map with navigation that said "Road closure ahead, unable to pass."
"Wu Xing, I need to verify some details with you again," Officer Liang said.
Writer Wu looked up with a frown. "What do you mean by that? You're treating me like a suspect? Which police station are you from? Have your superior come talk to me."
Officer Liang also had a stubborn temper. She immediately said, "We're investigating a series of arson cases. Mr. Wu wants to speak to my superior, is there more serious information you need to disclose?"
Writer Wu was so angry his face turned ashen. "Do you know how to speak properly?"
"Mr. Wu, I'm going to have to ask you to cooperate with the police investigation," Officer Liang stared at him. "Did you see the victim after 8 PM last night?"
Writer Wu was impatient. "Didn't I already tell you everything? Don't you take notes when you work? How do you do your job?!"
Officer Liang's face hardened. "Mr. Wu, please cooperate so we can do our job, otherwise I'll have to take you down to the station for my superiors to ask you some questions directly."
After provoking him twice in a row, Writer Wu finally realized the woman in front of him was not as easy to intimidate as an ordinary girl.
He softened his tone. "I didn't see her."
"Someone saw you go looking for her around 10 PM," Officer Liang pressed aggressively. "How do you explain that?"
Writer Wu blustered, "Just because someone claims to have seen me doesn't mean I actually went. I say they were mistaken."
He was so defiant that Officer Liang was at a loss. She could only make empty threats, "I'll remember every word you've said. If I find out you did go see her..."
"Then look into it and come back when you have evidence," Writer Wu, who had eaten his fair share of salt in life, immediately became emboldened when he saw Officer Liang had no tangible proof.
Jian Jing had to step in, "Since you're so open, why not let Officer Liang inspect your luggage?"
Writer Wu blew up like a dog that had been stepped on. "What gives you the right?"
"A wager," Jian Jing took out her phone and showed him the saved photo. "If I don't find anything, I'll delete this picture."
Writer Wu scoffed. "It's just one photo, go ahead and post it if you dare."
There was definitely something in the suitcase. Of course Jian Jing had no intention of actually betting with him, she was just bluffing. "The photo could still hurt your reputation. Yet you refuse to take a risk-free deal. Looks like whatever you stand to lose is much more valuable than a mere photo."
Officer Liang didn't know what was in the photo, but it didn't stop her from playing along. "Mr. Wu, I must inspect your luggage."
As she spoke, she moved to open Writer Wu's suitcase.
Writer Wu finally lost his composure.
