Due to concerns about safety, Jian Jing stayed at home alone for a weekend.
Nothing happened, all was calm.
On Monday, she had to go to school for classes.
Jian Jing was a Chinese major in her third year. Her course schedule wasn't too packed, with just six classes a week - five major courses and one elective.
Today's classes were "20th Century Western Literary Criticism" and "History of Ancient Chinese Literature (Part 5)". The former required an end-of-term paper, so only 20-30 people came to class. The latter had closed-book exams and attendance was taken, so around 40 students attended.
Returning to the classroom, Jian Jing felt a little out of place, constantly worried that her phone would ring at any moment with a new task notification from her work WeChat group.
It took her some time to realize that she was a student now, not a corporate slave.
There was no pressure in the university classroom. Her professors didn't take attendance.
This sudden leisure confused Jian Jing, involuntarily giving her the illusion that "the world is not so bad after all".
"Jian Jing, did you get the boss's text? Do you have class later?" a female classmate asked her, "We've got the equipment ready and are going to start shooting tonight."
Jian Jing thought back - the girl's name was Zuo Xin. They were fairly familiar classmates and members of the same club.
The club was called "Mystery Club". It had around 20 members total, with only 7 or 8 core members. In the past, they had just gotten together to play games like Werewolf and watch movies. But last year, when the new club president took over, he decided it was time to do something big.
They would make a mystery film together.
The club members thought it was pretty interesting and agreed to the proposal.
Of course, shooting a film was no easy feat, even just messing around. It required a massive amount of effort. Many people dropped out midway, but some persisted.
They spent half a year preparing, and today everyone was in position. The president had texted all the members, notifying them to attend the opening ceremony.
Jian Jing was very interested and agreed to come.
Zuo Xin laughed, "Great, you're the investor - you can't miss it."
Jian Jing chuckled. The Mystery Club had limited funds and could never afford to shoot a film. The members had racked their brains to raise 50,000 RMB, but it still wasn't quite enough.
In the end, she, the "wealthy sponsor", had generously funded the club with another 30,000 RMB to make up the difference.
Although not very formal or serious, it was still her first time investing in a film shoot. Since she was free, she definitely wanted to go take a look.
At 5pm, Jian Jing arrived at the appointed location - the old classroom building on campus.
This classroom building was decades old. Green ivy crawled over its red brick walls, providing a cooling sensation when passing by in the summer. Unfortunately, due to its excessive age, the building was not convenient for installing amenities like air conditioning or elevators, so it was no longer used for classes.
Currently, the old building's classrooms were all allocated by the school to student clubs, with activities for clubs like the Literature Club, Film Club, Painting Club, and more, all centered around this area.
"Jian Jing, over here." The club president waved to her.
"The investor is here, everyone better be on their best behavior today." said the cameraman.
The lead actress was putting on makeup, ignoring them.
The props assistant was organizing equipment and props, greeting them hastily before continuing his work.
Zuo Xin was reviewing the script. She was the screenwriter for this film.
"Hey." Someone patted her on the shoulder from behind.
Jian Jing turned around to see a woman in a red kimono with long, messy black hair blowing in the wind like writhing seaweed beneath the ocean surface.
She was silent.
"Did I scare you?" The other person removed her wig, smiling as she said, "This prop is very realistic, right?"
Jian Jing asked strangely, "Are there female ghosts in a mystery drama?"
"It's a hallucination," Zuo Xin explained on her behalf. "A manifestation of the heroine's obsession."
"Yeah, I'm just making a cameo as the female ghost." The person said, "Let me introduce myself, I'm Luo Jun from the Drama Club next door, playing the male lead."
"Nice to meet you." Jian Jing updated her memories.
Hu, the club president. Male, 4th year film student. New president of the Mystery Club and director of this film.
Wang, the cameraman. Male, 3rd year film student. Long-time member of the Mystery Club. Cinematographer for this film. Loves photography, most of the equipment is his personal collection. For some reason, he seems a bit hostile towards her.
Tang, the lead actress. Female, 2nd year journalism student. New member of the Mystery Club. Striking looks, haughty personality. Uses expensive cosmetics, seems to come from a well-off family. Playing the female lead in this film.
Zuo Xin, female, 3rd year Chinese literature student. Long-time member of the Mystery Club and screenwriter for this film.
Deng Props, male, 4th year computer science student. Long-time member of the Mystery Club, props master for this film. Will also make cameo appearances as extras.
Luo, the male lead, male, 2nd year acting student. Member of the Drama Club, playing the male lead and other supporting roles in this film.
And there was her, Jian Jing, 3rd year Chinese lit student. Not a very important investor in this film.
That made 7 people total, the entire crew for the mystery film "Perfect Revenge".
The opening ceremony was extremely simple - prayers to a pig's head, fruits, and Guan Gong idol on their phones. Even the incense was virtual. Not a penny was spent.
After President Hu made a show of worshipping, he eagerly urged, "Everyone, let's get started!"
The plot of "Perfect Revenge" was very simple. There was a pair of twin sisters. The elder sister mysteriously disappeared, and afterwards the younger sister started having nightmares in a distant foreign land, frequently seeing her elder sister covered in blood appearing by her side, seemingly having met misfortune.
So the younger sister returned to China, impersonating her missing elder sister, to find the truth behind the incident.
The scene they were shooting today was when the younger sister took advantage of the night to search for clues in the classroom, and her elder sister's ghost appeared again to guide her.
The night was deep, and the old classroom building was perfectly tranquil. President Hu had gone around to every club, asking them to cooperate with the shoot, and finally obtained an entirely darkened old building for the day.
The lead actress Tang slowed her breathing, tiptoeing up the stairs.
The shifting lights and shadows were like evil spirits lurking in the darkness, seeming ready to drag her into another world at any time. Silently, when she looked up, a woman in red had appeared out of nowhere, lifting a hand to eerily point towards the classroom.
The heroine went inside. The classroom was very ordinary and normal - desks, chairs, blackboard, posters - all familiar sights.
But in the next moment, bloodstains suddenly appeared on the snow white walls.
Trickles of blood ran down, faintly forming the words "The one who killed me is..."
Director Hu signaled: "Cut!"
"Ah, I'm exhausted." Tang the lead actress instantly dropped her expression, looking around, "Where's my bag?"
Luo the male lead removed his wig, moving next to the camera: "How was that?"
"Props, give that to me, don't drag it on the floor." Deng Props snatched away the expensive wig and carefully set it aside.
The terrifying atmosphere instantly dissipated.
President Hu and Wang Cameraman stood together watching the playback window, occasionally exchanging a few words.
"The expression is still a bit stiff."
"I think it was pretty good. It's everyone's first time shooting, this result's not bad."
Lead actress Tang shot them a contemptuous glance.
"It's natural to be a little unnatural in front of the camera, everyone's like that," Luo the male lead suggested. "Why don't we take a break and try again?"
Zuo Xin raised her hand, "Jian Jing bought fried chicken and Coke, let's take a snack break first."
Wang Cameraman looked up, "How generous, as expected of our investor."
President Hu glared at him, laughing as he urged, "Just in time, I'm starving. Let's eat something together and discuss how to shoot the next parts. I called in a lot of favors to get the other clubs to clear out today and give us space, so we've got to film enough footage to make it worthwhile."
After struggling for half the day, the others were also happy to rest a bit. They brought over tables and chairs and started feasting on the fried chicken.
Zuo Xin and Jian Jing were the most familiar. She asked her, "You took two days off last week, something happen?"
"I was sick," Jian Jing replied concisely.
Wang Cameraman was fiddling with the equipment, not eating the snacks. "I saw in the news you committed suicide?"
Jian Jing feigned surprise, "You believe those tabloid rumors?"
"It wasn't just tabloids, several major provincial media reported you killed yourself because your new book wasn't selling well." Wang Cameraman pushed his glasses up. "Very detailed reports."
"Then they're unethical media," Jian Jing said breezily. "When I release a new book, they try to profit off the hype. It's nothing new."
She acted unconcerned, which only highlighted Wang Cameraman's unconcealed jealousy.
President Hu asked, "All fake news, huh?"
"I really did go to the hospital, the rest is made up." Jian Jing blinked. "It's like when a female celebrity goes to the hospital - even a checkup gets reported as an abortion. If they don't sensationalize it, who will pay attention?"
Lead actress Tang remarked, "It's all like this nowadays, gotta grab eyeballs or you get no traffic."
"Times have changed," President Hu sighed twice, then called to Wang Cameraman as if nothing had happened, "Come eat something, what are you filming?"
Wang Cameraman said, "Behind the scenes footage, to commemorate today's first shoot."
President Hu didn't want to force him and asked Deng Props again, "Don't pack up yet, eat first."
"Let me wash my hands." Deng Props displayed his dirtied hands. "You guys go ahead."
Lead actress Tang had only eaten one wing before saying, "I can't eat any more, fried foods are bad for my skin." She dabbed her mouth with a napkin, saw the lipstick stain, and hurriedly stood up, "Can't do, I've got to go touch up my makeup."
"Good thing I don't need any," Luo the male lead said heartily as he wolfed down food. "This place's seasoning is pretty good, the chicken's nicely marinated."
They chatted while eating. After Deng Props had tidied up and joined them, they started discussing the next scenes to shoot.
Zuo Xin said, "We should film some more exterior shots later, they'll definitely come in useful."
"Good point, aerial shots from a drone would be best, shame we couldn't borrow one." President Hu said.
"There are trees around, maybe we could climb up and shoot from one of them?" Luo the male lead suggested.
Upon hearing this, Wang Cameraman hoisted up the camera, "I'll go take a look outside." And he headed downstairs without waiting for the others.
A while later, his voice sounded from outside, "Old Hu, come down here."
"I'll go see what's up." President Hu hurriedly went down after wiping his mouth.
Just then, Zuo Xin's phone rang. She picked it up and went outside to take the call, "Hey Mom, I'm at school..."
Her voice gradually faded away.
The remaining three people weren't close with each other and quietly ate their chicken and drank Coke.
No one knew how much time had passed before President Hu came back up, his shoulders slightly damp, "It's raining, let's just shoot Scene 10 next. Male lead, go get your makeup done."
"Got it." Luo the male lead was also eager, taking his toiletries bag and heading briskly for the bathroom.
Deng Props busied himself with restoring the previous scene setup.
About 10 minutes later, the others gradually returned, except lead actress Tang was still missing.
President Hu was anxious, afraid the rain would stop and they wouldn't be able to continue shooting. He hurriedly asked, "Where's Tang Yuran?"
"Didn't she go touch up her makeup?" Jian Jing asked strangely.
"It's been half an hour already, does it take that long?" President Hu said, "Jian Jing, Zuo Xin, can you go to the bathroom and hurry her along?"
Jian Jing was about to agree when the familiar subtitles appeared again.
[System: New mission released]
[Mission name: Mystery Club Murder Case]
[Mission: On the night of the Mystery Club's opening shoot, the actress playing the female lead Tang Yuran dies under mysterious circumstances. Please assist the police in finding the real murderer and bringing them to justice.]
[Rewards and penalties: Success rewards 20 Bravery points. Failure has no penalty.]
