Time sped up and it was Sunday afternoon.
Jian Jing changed into a forest-style long skirt and went to Mr. Qin's newly opened exhibition hall with Kang Mucheng.
The weather was not very good that day. Raindrops were hitting the car windows. The clouds were low and gray, like balls of wet toilet paper.
"Why is the exhibition hall in the middle of nowhere?" Jian Jing leaned her head to the side, puzzled by the choice of location. "It's so far away, will anyone really go there?"
"Because the building itself is a valuable collection." Kang Mucheng held the steering wheel with his left hand and tuned the channel with his right hand. The melodious music floated in the car. "This old house from the Republic of China period was sold for more than 100 million yuan."
The road was difficult to travel on rainy days and the traffic was heavy, so he simply began to explain slowly.
It turned out that Mr. Qin was the boss of an art collection company that specialized in buying and selling art and also opened exhibition halls around the world.
He had taken a fancy to the "Yuhui Villa" five years ago and spent a large sum of money to buy it, but he did not keep it as a residence. Instead, he redesigned it to display his collection of artworks and also to serve as an art salon club.
"There are many treasures on display at the opening ceremony today. You're not bored at home, why don't you go and take a look and use it as material." Kang Mucheng explained why he wanted her to go with him.
Jian Jing had to remind him: "I write a mystery novel."
"Aren't there many cases like theft?" Kang Mucheng gave her some advice. "Maybe it can be used in the next book. Do you have any ideas?"
Jian Jing: “…No.”
She once loved creation, but she didn’t know if she had the talent, so she was always hesitant about whether to stop writing.
"That's great, take advantage of your free time to have some fun. Otherwise, if you start writing, I'll have to call you every day to invite you to dinner." Kang Mucheng seized the opportunity to criticize someone's daily routine.
Jian Jing: Pretend not to hear.
The car drove slowly in the rain and finally arrived at the destination around three o'clock in the afternoon.
Yuhui Villa is a typical American-style villa with red and white exterior walls. The green garden surrounds the three-story building in the center, half-hidden and very beautiful.
As soon as she got off the car, Jian Jing heard a lady passing by say, "Have you heard the rumors about Yuhui Villa?"
The man holding her arm asked, "What's the rumor?"
"It is said that a murder occurred here." The lady lowered her voice and gave a mysterious smile.
Jian Jing paused.
The rain is getting heavier.
The Yuhui Villa was shrouded in dense rain curtains. It was not yet dark and all the lights in the house were on.
President Qin and his wife were chatting with guests on the sofa in the hall, while Editor-in-Chief Guo was sitting on the other side chatting and laughing. There was nothing unusual.
After Jian Jing greeted them, she pretended to admire the ink paintings hanging around, but in fact she secretly took out her cell phone and started searching for "Yuhui Villa Murder Case".
There was no way. The few words she just heard really made her very concerned.
Passersby said that a murder had occurred here.
The old villa, past murders, extramarital affairs... Based on her years of experience watching Conan, these are definitely signs of a crime to come.
Although the system has not issued any tasks, it is better to be prepared.
There is a lot of news about Yuhui Villa, most of which are promotional materials from General Manager Qin's company, explaining how long the history of this old villa is, how profound its cultural and artistic value is, how he transformed it, and how he wanted to make it a cultural center of the city, etc.
It took her a lot of time to sort out the redundant information, and after a long time, she finally found a related post on a ghost story forum.
The title is very shocking: A tragic unjust case in the old villa at 818.
Among them is the Afterglow Villa.
It is said that this was a house that a wealthy businessman spent a lot of money to build in his old age during the Republic of China period, hoping to use it as a place for his family to live in. However, in the second year after moving into the villa, the family suffered a disaster.
A group of bandits heard that the rich businessman had hidden treasures at home, so they colluded with the servants and raided the villa on a rainy night, killing the rich businessman and his young son, insulting the rich businessman's wife, taking away the treasures, and fleeing in a hurry.
From then on, on every rainy night, a wandering dark shadow could often be seen in Yuhui Villa, there would be some inexplicable bloodstains on the ground, and occasionally the crying of a child could be heard.
More importantly, the wealthy businessman was beheaded by someone and his body was left in the bedroom, but his head was never found.
…
After reading the above rumors, Jian Jing felt a little relieved.
This kind of horror legend can be found everywhere, and the routines are similar. In addition, the system has never issued any tasks, so she couldn't help but wonder if she was just being too nervous.
Back in the chat area, screenwriter Xu, who had met him once before, also asked about this matter, saying, "It is rumored that the bandits didn't find the treasure, so they killed people to vent their anger. Mr. Qin, did you find any old items when you were renovating this place?"
"Yes, there are a lot of copper coins buried in the ground. The Feng Shui master said it was a good arrangement to bring in wealth and treasure." Mr. Qin said humorously, "As for the treasure, well, we dug three feet into the ground but didn't see a single silver dollar. Right, wife?"
Mrs. Qin was in her early forties. She was not outstanding in appearance and wore simple makeup, but she was very elegant. "That's right. I personally supervised the construction. I didn't see any good things." After a pause, she smiled and said, "But it's not hard to understand such rumors."
Screenwriter Xu had a keen sense of smell and immediately became interested: "What do you mean?"
Jian Jing also walked closer quickly, waiting to hear what was to come.
Mrs. Qin said: "The villa is designed with many mechanisms and secret doors. If I hadn't measured the data, I wouldn't have discovered so many hidden spaces."
"No wonder. The secret room must be used to hide something. Who knows, one of the servants might have noticed it and spread it out." Screenwriter Xu flicked off a piece of ash and laughed, "Not a bad subject."
The others laughed.
President Qin smiled and said, "So, sometimes we have to admit that our ancestors are still capable."
Screenwriter Xu nodded in agreement and asked regretfully, "Didn't you keep one or two places?"
"One or two places?" Mr. Qin laughed and put his arm around Mrs. Qin's shoulder affectionately. "You guys underestimate this man of ours. The new security in the museum is based on the original mechanism. If any blind thief comes in, he won't be able to find the place."
"So amazing?" Editor-in-Chief Guo was full of surprise, glancing at Mrs. Qin vaguely.
President Qin's expression was flawless, and he worked hard to create a loving wife persona: "That's right, my wife has won several architectural awards, she is much better than me."
"Oh, don't say that." Mrs. Qin shook her head and humbly changed the subject. "I'll take everyone upstairs to have a look."
Editor-in-Chief Guo smiled and said, "I just arrived and I've already taken a look around. You guys go ahead, I'll have a cup of coffee." Then he pointed to the cafe at the other end of the hall.
Mrs. Qin nodded with a smile and greeted Kang Mucheng: "I was in France a few days ago and didn't have time to attend Jinwu's anniversary celebration. How is your mother?"
"All good." Kang Mucheng replied.
"When I'm free at the end of the year, I'll ask her out for a vacation." Mrs. Qin changed the subject and spoke gently, "I haven't seen you for a long time, Mucheng, when are you going to get a girlfriend? I have a female student who is beautiful and talented. Do you want me to introduce you to someone?"
Kang Mucheng said: "I'm busy with work, so I won't consider it for now."
"Mr. Kang has been busy with the film and television department recently, and has become close to several female stars." Screenwriter Xu revealed, "Many people have asked me about him."
President Qin smiled: "Mucheng is blessed now."
Jian Jing noticed that Mrs. Qin's brows were slightly furrowed, but she quickly relaxed and said nonchalantly, "I'll introduce you to each other when I have the chance. Here we are."
She walked to the second floor and opened a door: "Here are the sculptures, next door are the paintings, and across from them are the porcelain."
"There aren't many things, please feel free to look around." Mr. Qin said modestly, and suddenly took out his cell phone to check, "I have a call, honey, I'm going to leave for a while, you can entertain the guests."
"You go ahead, leave it to me." Mrs. Qin didn't care at all. She helped Jian Jing who was at the end and said softly, "Be careful with the steps."
Jian Jing took her arm and said, "Thank you, ma'am."
"You're welcome, you can be Jingjing." Mrs. Qin praised, "You are beautiful and talented, it's amazing."
Jian Jing was embarrassed by her praise: "You are too kind."
Mrs. Qin smiled slightly: "You are such a lovely child. Come, I will take you for a walk."
The host was so polite that Jian Jing couldn't refuse, so she had to follow her around. However, this was not a difficult process. Compared with the hypocritical Mr. Qin, Mrs. Qin was generous and gentle, and she introduced the exhibits in a very clear and logical way, which was not boring at all.
Jian Jing knew nothing about art, but after listening to her explanation, she was able to resolve many of her doubts.
After visiting several theme pavilions on the second floor, Mrs. Qin led them to the third floor, saying that Mr. Qin had collected a lot of film reels and invited everyone to watch them together.
Jian Jing's legs were sore from walking around, so she quickly agreed.
The private cinema was very small, with only seven or eight seats, but the chairs were very comfortable. At the back was an old-fashioned projector that had long disappeared, which immediately brought the atmosphere back to the cinemas of 20 or 30 years ago.
Older people like screenwriter Xu have begun to feel nostalgic: "I haven't watched film for a long time. What films has Mr. Qin collected?"
"There are a lot of them," Mrs. Qin casually pulled out a volume and joked, "Let me see, how is Nezha's Conquest of the Dragon King?"
"Okay." Screenwriter Xu lowered his chair. "This is a movie from the 1970s. I wasn't even born then. Mu Cheng, have you seen this?"
Kang Mucheng said, "I have seen it."
"What about Jingjing? You must not have seen it." said screenwriter Xu.
Jian Jing said: "Well, I haven't seen it."
"Then you'd better take a good look. Although the technology was not good before, the films made now are not bad at all." Screenwriter Xu made the same mistake as most middle-aged men and couldn't help but mutter.
Jane remained silent politely.
"Look, I'll go get you some drinks." Mrs. Qin said, and reminded him, "By the way, if you change the film, remember to put it back to its original position. They are all arranged in order."
"Got it." Everyone responded casually.
Mrs. Qin left. A quarter of an hour later, she came back with coffee and milk tea, sat down with them, and watched patiently.
During this period, Mr. Qin never came back, and Editor-in-Chief Guo naturally disappeared as well.
Jian Jing suspected that they were having a tryst.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Qin was sitting next to her and noticed her subtle expression.
Jian Jing covered it up and said, "I want to go to the bathroom."
"Follow me." Mrs. Qin stood up and led her.
Jian Jing was surprised by her enthusiasm and thoughtfulness and had to follow her.
The bathroom was on the other side of the third floor. Mrs. Qin said as she walked, "The rain outside is getting heavier. You won't be able to go back for a while. I'm really sorry for picking such a day."
"It's nothing. It's worth coming here." Jian Jing was polite verbally, but she was quite concerned about the rainstorm in her heart.
It was already pitch black outside. Under the streetlights, the rain curtains were dense as white curtains, and the only sound between heaven and earth was the sound of the rain. The weather was so bad that I really didn't know how to drive back later.
Boom.
Blue lightning flashed across the sky.