Xie Wei blinked hard.
The hospital scene before his eyes vanished, along with the doctors, nurses, patients, crowds, and the blurry young man.
In their place was an empty room with just two people - him and the girl sitting across from him.
Xie Wei hadn't taken a good look at a young girl in a long time. He could barely remember when he last paid close attention to someone.
Five years ago? Or was it six?
It wasn't as if his career had been in shambles since The Great Song Dynasty Mystery. In fact, ten years ago, although he hadn't become hugely popular, his performances were still appreciated and some people were willing to give him a chance.
Xie Wei remembered acting in Director Huang's films, Director Ding's period dramas, and Director Chen's idol dramas. The directors were willing to gamble on him, believing his lack of success was just bad timing and that he would soon rocket to fame.
But they had all lost their bets.
Most people only get one shot, and he had gotten so many more than that - it was already the limit. Even as the opportunities grew smaller and the productions grew tackier, it was still a precious chance that was hard to come by.
It was as if he had already sensed that this would be the end. He cherished every hard-won opportunity, pouring everything into each role, no matter how small.
And so his world filled with ephemeral characters and fantastical backdrops.
Xie Wei was no longer Xie Wei, but the characters themselves.
Yet only one no-name assistant director had witnessed such dedicated acting.
And he had said: "Xie Wei, your acting is at the level of a movie star, but I can't use you."
"Why not?" Xie Wei asked.
"Because the male lead can't act at all."
That was three years ago.
His acting could match any movie star, his performance should be directed by the greats, but everyone knew he would never get those chances again.
Xie Wei had faded away into obscurity.
No one would look for him to act anymore.
Ever since then, his world had become like a Picasso painting.
With the help of medication and psychological treatment, he could distinguish between hallucinations and reality well enough to function. But the illusions would come flooding in as soon as he entered that performative state of being.
A hundred thoughts racing by in the blink of an eye.
Xie Wei gathered his scattered mind and smiled at Jian Jing. "I'm not totally clearheaded. Could we try again?"
Jian Jing was taken aback, her fine brows knitting together.
Director Huang simply said, "Then try again."
"Thank you," Xie Wei replied.
He treasured every audition opportunity, because he might never appear on camera again. To be able pretend, just for a moment, was already a rare gift.
Jian Jing sat back down, unconsciously biting her lip.
Xie Wei started his performance over.
Still the same scene as before, but this time, the lurking shadows around him had all vanished.
He himself became an indistinct shadow, neither good nor evil, like a black hole wearing the skin of a human with no discernible difference.
This was a demon.
Jian Jing thought back to Shao Meng's performance. He had acted well, but there was still a perceptible sense of acting. Not like Xie Wei, who had shed his entire self and become someone else entirely.
Director Huang's breathing suddenly grew hurried, his eyes lighting up with irrepressible excitement.
Jian Jing wanted to say something, but the words died on her lips. She could only look at Xie Wei again.
And he looked back, as if asking - this time, did I do well?
Yes, of course. But no matter how good...
*
At lunch, Jian Jing stopped Zhang Hongchun. "Miss Zhang, could we talk?"
Zhang Hongchun hesitated before agreeing.
The two women sat in the courtyard, drinking tea and eating matcha cakes as they chatted casually.
Jian Jing asked about Zhang Hongchun's experiences since her debut, laying the groundwork before finally asking, "Yesterday, you said if Tao Tao had known, why did she even start in the first place. What did you mean by that?"
Zhang Hongchun dimmed her eyes and calmly replied, "She didn't do it because of the photos... She shouldn't have done it if she thought there wouldn't be consequences. But the higher you climb, the more dangerous it gets."
Jian Jing wasn't ready to fully believe her yet, and probed further, "What do you think about Shao Meng's death?"
"I didn't know him well," Zhang Hongchun said tersely.
"What about Tao Tao?"
"We're leagues apart. I didn't have much contact with her in the day-to-day." Zhang Hongchun's tone was calm.
Jian Jing was silent for a moment before slowly asking, "Earlier you said you only debuted eight years ago. What were you doing before acting?"
It wasn't a sensitive topic, so Zhang Hongchun answered frankly, "I was a nurse."
"At X Hospital?" Jian Jing revealed her true aim. "When The Great Song Dynasty Mystery had its accident ten years ago, Shao Meng and Tao Tao were sent to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment. That was X Hospital, right? You were there ten years ago, yes?"
She hadn't just randomly sought Zhang Hongchun out, of course.
While investigating the crew accident, the news articles had mentioned the hospital's name. Later, when looking into the suspects present today, Zhang Hongchun's nursing background had caught her attention.
Flipping through the rumor posts (mainly rumors about Zhang Hongchun's relationship with higher-ups), she had found photos with the hospital name posted by the original poster.
It was the same one.
That was the real question Jian Jing wanted to ask.
Zhang Hongchun was caught off guard and panicked for a moment before responding weakly, "Was it? I don't remember too clearly." She composed herself quickly. "Back then I was just a small nurse. I didn't hear anything about it."
After a bit of thought, Jian Jing softened her tone in an attempt to appeal to Zhang Hongchun's emotions: "Miss Zhang, Shao Meng died inexplicably. This is a human life. If you know anything, please tell me."
But Zhang Hongchun insisted, "I don't know anything."
Unable to get through to her, Jian Jing's probing ended fruitlessly.
Fortunately, once the police got involved, they uncovered a good deal of useful information.
In the evening, Liang Yi privately messaged Jian Jing to inform her of the biggest development that day: "Shao Meng's autopsy results came back."
"What was the cause of death?"
"Cardiac hemorrhage. In other words, he was indeed frightened to death," explained Liang Yi. "The coroner ran tests confirming Shao Meng had contracted meningitis when he died."
"Huh?" Jian Jing was confused. "He died from illness?"
Liang Yi elaborated, "You could look at it that way. Meningitis can cause hallucinations. Shao Meng was likely frightened to death in that state."
Jian Jing instinctively pushed back, "There's definitely more to it than that."
If it was just an accidental death, why would the system issue a mission over it? And a special one at that? Shao Meng and Tao Tao both became hugely popular because of The Great Song Dynasty Mystery ten years ago, then fell ill in succession. What were the odds of that just being a coincidence?
Liang Yi thought for a moment before solemnly advising, "Jian Jing, I can call you that, yes?"
Jian Jing nodded, and Liang Yi went on, "Actually, I really understand how you feel. A bizarre death like this does seem suspicious. But I've seen many strange and unbelievable cases. They look odd on the surface, but the truth is often mundane - reality isn't concerned with logic or dramatic flair like fiction is. The truth is the only thing we pursue, no matter how boring or prosaic it might be."
"Officer Liang, there are still inconsistencies in this case," Jian Jing insisted.
"We haven't closed the case yet, so we'll keep investigating," Liang Yi said. "Shao Meng's assistant keeps insisting Xie Wei was behind his death, but he can't provide any substantive information."
"Could I speak with him?"
"You can."
The assistant was very young with eyes that bore a faint resemblance to Shao Meng's, though his other features were much plainer overall. His clothing and style were quite fashionable and trendy - clearly Shao Meng hadn't stinted on his relative.
Jian Jing contemplated how to approach the interrogation as she slowly sat down across from him.
The assistant looked at her in confusion and surprise. "Teacher Jian?" He didn't understand why she was here.
"I already know," Jian Jing straightened her back, head tilted slightly down. This angle made her glasses glint faintly, obscuring her expression.
As expected, the assistant was startled by her, but he didn't fall for it. "Know what?"
"Retribution," she coldly spat out the two words. "Did you think no one knew?"
The assistant's expression shifted drastically as he stiffly insisted, "I don't know who told you that, Teacher Jian, but you can't make baseless accusations."
Jian Jing's lips quirked up as she calmly recounted, "Yesterday you left the inn after lunch to get medicine downtown. The round trip should only have taken an hour and a half. Logically, you shouldn't have gotten stuck in traffic and been late getting back."
The assistant froze, his expression growing tense.
She continued, "Why didn't you come back on time? Was it because you were delayed by your own affairs, which led to Shao Meng's death?"
"It had nothing to do with me," the assistant almost jumped up, "How could I hurt Brother Shao?"
Jian Jing raised her eyebrows, "Then why didn't you come back on time?"
"Brother Shao told me to buy more food, so I went to the supermarket." He answered swiftly.
Jian Jing smiled again, "No, you went to a brothel, a bathhouse."
The assistant had a mixed smell of cheap bath gel, cigarettes, street perfume and something like gardenia on him. The undershirt inside his sweater was not properly tucked in, revealing a corner at the hem, stained with a crimson lipstick.
It’s not hard to guess what he did in this kind of place with this kind of smell.
The assistant's face had already changed from unease to fright.
He stammered, "I...I...How did you know...I didn't mean to."
"Shao Meng was killed by the backlash, and you instigated it, right?" Jian Jing said coldly, deliberately deceiving him, "What good will it do you?"
"I didn't get any benefit from it. Brother Shao's death didn't benefit me at all. I don't even know Xie Wei." The assistant was almost crying, "Really, it wasn't me."
Jian Jing said lightly, "Don't change the subject. What does the backlash have to do with Xie Wei?"
The assistant blurted out, "He lent his life, of course..."
He stopped abruptly.
Jian Jing didn't ask what lending a life meant, but instead said, "Does Xie Wei know?"
When the assistant heard this, he thought she had already found out, so he said honestly, "I don't know."
"You know how Shao Meng died, don't you?" Jian Jing said slowly, "He was scared to death."
The assistant remained silent.
She deliberately said, "Even if Xie Wei knew, could a living person be scared to death by him? Do you think it's scientific?"
The assistant shook his head honestly.
"Is it possible you were deceived?" Jian Jing continued laying the trap.
What was deceived, and by whom, depended entirely on how he imagined it.
Not knowing her intentions, the assistant fell right into the trap: "Actually, Master didn't deceive us either. Brother Shao said that the eminent person who lent him a life back then told him he could only live for ten more years at most. Now that the ten years are almost up, although Master helped, and Brother Shao became popular this time, but..."
The superstitious young man looked fearful and mumbled, "But who knows if things will turn out as expected, right? I think something just went wrong with the backlash."
"So you mean Shao Meng's death was an 'accident'?" Jian Jing deliberately emphasized the last word.
The assistant hesitated and said in a low voice, "If Xie Wei knew about it, he might have done something. Just think, if you were him, would you do nothing?"
The topic finally entered the realm of materialism.
Jian Jing followed up, "Did Shao Meng and Xie Wei meet in person?"
"Yes," the assistant replied, "After Brother Shao became popular this time, there were always paparazzi around the place he lived. We came here a couple of days ago, but didn't see Xie Wei until the day before you guys arrived."
Jian Jing's spirit was aroused, "What happened then?"
"They talked for a while."
"Where?"
"In Brother Shao's room."
"What did they talk about? Was there a quarrel?"
"I don't know. Brother Shao kicked me out." The assistant was troubled, "But I guess there was no quarrel. Xie Wei didn't look well, and Brother Shao...Brother Shao must have felt a little guilty. He even offered to introduce Xie Wei to a doctor."
Jian Jing pondered, and asked again, "After they finished talking, did Shao Meng seem abnormal in any way?"
The assistant said, "Brother Shao was in low spirits and stayed in his room for a long time."
"Any physical abnormalities?" Jian Jing asked caringly.
The assistant didn't even have to think about it. "None."
Jian Jing asked very carefully, "Did Xie Wei bring anything with him when he came?"
"He came empty-handed."
"Did they drink any water or eat anything while talking?"
The assistant smiled awkwardly, quite honest, "Teacher Jian, since Brother Shao did something like this, he must have been afraid too. How could he dare... You know what I mean, right?"
The words were crude but the logic was sound.
Shao Meng felt guilty about what he did to Xie Wei, so he must have been too afraid to eat or drink anything from him.
Could it really have been a pure accident?
