What did I just say? Have I gone mad? Can I still maintain my pure little brother image?
Jiang Baiyan reflected on his mistakes three times, wavering on the edge of his collapsed image.
He wanted to explain but the more he talked about this kind of thing, the worse it got. Claiming he didn't understand anything would seem pretentious and annoyed people.
So he just slapped himself and pleaded pitifully, "I spoke out of turn, forgive me, okay?"
Jian Jing laughed again.
"I'm not blaming you," she handed him a cookie, "Eat it quick, the coffee is getting cold."
With no electricity, the water in the kettle was no longer hot and would soon turn cool in this weather. Drinking cold water on such a cold day would easily upset the stomach.
Jiang Baiyan took it and nibbled on it slowly.
Jian Jing asked him, "Do you know what Xue Zhe meant when he talked about raising little ghosts?"
He nodded, swallowed the cookie, and said in a low voice, "There are rumors about this, but it's not that common in reality. Most people pray to Buddha and donate incense money to buy talismans and the like."
"For fame?"
"Jingjing teacher, have you heard this saying before - a small burst of fame relies on hype, great fame relies on destiny?" Jiang Baiyan said, "That's how it really is. You've gone through ninety-nine difficulties yourself, but if heaven doesn't give you the destiny for fame, you'll never make it big. But if you're lucky, sixty points is enough - who wouldn't pray to gods and worship Buddha?"
Jian Jing said, "What gods did Tao Tao and Shao Meng pray to? Which Buddha did they worship?"
Jiang Baiyan scratched his cheek helplessly and said, "Teacher Jingjing, there's no way I would know that. No one would reveal such things unless you were very close, otherwise wouldn't they be asking for trouble?"
He had a point. She changed her question, "Yesterday you soaked in the hot springs. Shao Meng was there too, right?"
Jiang Baiyan nodded.
"Did you see the tattoo on his lower back?" She gestured, "Here."
Jiang Baiyan: "..."
"Hmm?"
"We wore pants." He said dryly, "To protect ourselves."
"Oh, alright." Jian Jing pretended she didn't want to laugh and switched to another topic, "Can you tell me about Shao Meng and Tao Tao's relationship?"
Jiang Baiyan was very willing to share. He organized his thoughts and said, "Brother Shao didn't graduate from the drama academy. He used to be a singer but later had vocal cord surgery and could no longer sing, so he started acting instead. It seemed he didn't have much success at first. The music scene is different from the entertainment industry. But he later got to know a director and joined the crew of 'Mysteries of Song Dynasty'. "
Jian Jing said, "I heard he played the second male lead."
"That's right. But although called the second lead, his scenes were very few. He just had a good role, a handsome young master. " Jiang Baiyan said, "Brother Xie played the male lead, a commoner, so he wore plain clothes to match the role. Teacher, if you've seen the drama, you'd notice the director deliberately made Brother Xie look bad - too handsome would break the audience's immersion."
Jian Jing was surprised, "So for that reason, Shao Meng became popular but Xie Wei didn't?"
"I can't think of any other reason." Jiang Baiyan said earnestly, "The drama was so popular, prime time slot, I watched it as a kid too. Even the supporting roles became famous, like Sister Tao, she only played a dancing girl with less than ten minutes of screen time, but got the lead female role of the empress going incognito in the next project."
"Wait." Jian Jing noticed a blind spot. "Tao Tao was there too? They were both cast in 'Mysteries of Song Dynasty'?"
Jiang Baiyan nodded.
Jian Jing thought, very good, following the pattern, 'Mysteries of Song Dynasty' likely caused some deaths, so she asked, "Did anything happen during the filming back then?"
Jiang Baiyan: "..."
His figure slowly shrank down, down, curling into a ball.
Jian Jing: "?"
"I don't know," he said softly. "What I said about Brother Shao earlier was also stuff I found online."
Jian Jing was slightly taken aback. That's right, ten years in the entertainment industry was like an era. Jiang Baiyan was a year younger than her. How much could he possibly know? But precisely because of this, the fact that he specifically looked up information just to answer her questions made his thoughtfulness even more touching.
He was an honest and endearing person who didn't annoy others.
"Thank you," she said.
Jiang Baiyan's mouth curved up slightly, a little smug and a little glum. "Too bad the internet got cut off later."
"It's okay, I can just ask the people involved," Jian Jing stood up and ruffled his hair. "You should go back and rest early. Good night."
Jiang Baiyan opened and closed his mouth, not knowing how to ask her to stay. He leaned on his hand in frustration.
*
Knocking on a man's door late at night was somewhat ambiguous. Especially in the entertainment industry, a late night visit to discuss scripts was tantamount to the unspeakable acts below the neck.
But Xie Wei only hesitated for a moment before deciding to open the door.
The person outside held an aromatherapy candle, its weak, warm glow illuminating her fair complexion. The ugly shadows and demons behind her thus retreated three feet, lurking back into the darkness.
"Can we talk for a bit?" she asked.
Xie Wei blinked and let her in with a tilt of his body.
When Jian Jing entered Xie Wei's room, her first impression was that it was too dark. He had no candles, no flashlight, and the curtains were tightly drawn, blocking even the lightning outside, dense as freshly dissolved ink.
She quickly scanned the layout of the entire room, the structure was largely the same as Shao Meng's room, but he had much less luggage, very few possessions, all of which she took in with just a few glances.
What caught her attention the most was the medication he kept on the bedside table, quite a number of bottles and containers.
"I didn't want to disturb you since you're unwell." Jian Jing smiled and sat down in the chair by the window. "But I have some questions I'd like you to help answer."
Xie Wei sat down in another chair and smiled, "Gladly."
Perhaps it was the night or the medication, but he seemed somewhat listless, his words lacking the aloofness from before, replaced by a lazy casualness that tickled one's ears.
"What would you like to ask?" he said.
Jian Jing said, "I heard that Shao Meng and Tao Tao were both cast in 'Mysteries of Song Dynasty'."
When speaking of this drama, Xie Wei's tone was somewhat strange, "That is true."
"Did anything happen during the filming of that drama back then?" Jian Jing followed up.
He laughed. The omnipresent darkness cast a natural shadow on his face, further accentuating the allure of his features. Staring at him for too long would bewilder one's mind.
"I don't understand what you're referring to," Xie Wei said. "Many things happened that year."
Jian Jing paused briefly before averting her gaze from his face, "Were there any deaths?"
"No."
"Was anyone harmed in a way that ruined their future? Like their career being destroyed."
This time, Xie Wei finally laughed out loud and said, "Me."
Jian Jing immediately looked back at him, "Was that a matter of luck or human intervention?"
Leaning back in his chair with his hands crossed over his abdomen, it took Xie Wei a good while to say, "It was fate."
Fate was not within Jian Jing's considerations. She was a little disappointed and could only move on to the next topic, "Are Shao Meng and Tao Tao close?"
But Xie Wei did not answer right away. He laughed softly, "Miss Jian, I've already answered many of your questions."
"So?" She raised her brow.
He studied her carefully. In his field of vision, the interplay of light and shadow was infinitely amplified, making the night seem like a beast lurking in the jungle. Yet she and the candlelight were so bright and sacred, pushing back the darkness steadily.
"It's my turn to ask. Miss Jian, have you ever had your fortune told?"
Jian Jing: "I don't believe in that."
"I didn't use to believe either." Xie Wei looked up with his gaze settling on some invisible spot. "But strangely, since I was little, people have said I have very good fortune and will definitely become famous one day. That was the case ten years ago, and eight years ago as well. Even when I hit rock bottom, they adamantly told me that my destiny was excellent."
Jian Jing pressed her lips, rather skeptical of such metaphysics.
He asked, "Don't you think that's strange?"
Jian Jing said, "I think you are the strange one."
There was a certain inexplicable aura around Xie Wei. It was as if his entire being was on stage, with dazzling spotlights above his head, yet a terrifying black hole underneath that was slowly devouring him.
And she seemed like an audience member who had wandered onto the stage, stunned by his charm, yet more attracted to the turbulent undercurrents below, unable to resist exploring the mysteries within.
"What meaning is there in you telling me all this?" she asked.
Xie Wei closed his eyes. His face vanished into the darkness for a moment before he smiled and sighed, "You're probably right." He suddenly got up and poured her a cup of water from the thermos, "Have some water."
Jian Jing hesitated for a bit before taking it.
Xie Wei brought the cup closer to give to her.
Jian Jing's fingers touched something icy cold, freezing to the bone. She asked, "Your hands are so cold. Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's fine, let me answer your previous question," Xie Wei responded normally, "Shao Meng and Tao Tao didn't interact much when filming The Great Song Dynasty Mystery. Shao Meng was a famous singer while Tao Tao was a newcomer. However, they briefly dated after finishing the movie."
Jian Jing immediately discarded her random thoughts, "What happened next?"
"It's said their relationship stemmed from an accident," Xie Wei's tone suddenly rose, full of implication, "Moreover, not just one accident occurred on set at that time. Many said the filming location was haunted."
Jian Jing: "..."
Superstitious feudal nonsense again?
*
After saying goodbye to Xie Wei and returning to her room to sleep, it was already midnight.
Jian Jing quickly washed up and collapsed into bed, closing her eyes and immediately having nightmares.
There were ghosts in the dreams.
She woke up the next day drenched in cold sweat.
It really was creepy.
Luckily, the rain had stopped at some point, and warm sunshine shone through the window, dispelling the ghosts and ghouls of the previous night.
Jian Jing took a shower and put on clean clothes before going downstairs for breakfast.
The power had been restored, and the owner had prepared steaming hot breakfast foods like buns, fried rice, and hot porridge, all very authentic.
Jian Jing buried her head eating. Suddenly, she noticed a cup of coffee appear before her.
A cappuccino, with a poorly made leaf design.
"Teacher Jian," she saw a bright, beautiful face, "Good morning."
Jian Jing smiled. "Good morning."
"Coffee," Jiang BaiYan pushed the cup forward again, asking concernedly, "Did teacher not sleep well last night? Me too, I felt it was so creepy and scary."
"Thank you," Jian Jing took a sip of the hot coffee and sighed contentedly, "I had nightmares all night, and now my head hurts to death."
Jiang BaiYan immediately looked anxious. "Is it because you caught a chill? Do you need medicine?"
She shook her head and instead asked, "Has the police arrived?"
Before she even finished speaking, there was noise at the entrance as someone called, "Police, who reported the case?"
Jian Jing immediately put down her chopsticks, swallowed the bun whole, and strode over.
Jiang BaiYan glanced at the coffee, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, but he didn't say anything.
But it seemed Jian Jing realized, as she turned back, smiling at him and downing the coffee in one go.
Jiang BaiYan bit his lip, smiling very happily.
Jian Jing didn't see this as she hurried to the entrance, "Me."
"We meet again." The policeman this time was familiar, Liang Yi, who had worked with her on the case of the famous painter. She had cut her hair short, looking heroic and valiant. She finally had a partner by her side.
Jian Jing breathed a sigh of relief, getting straight to the point, "Officer Liang, this case is a bit unusual."
Liang Yi's eyes immediately lit up.
