I don't know if it's because the entertainment industry is too cruel or because Qu is such a failure. When he died, his agent's request was not to conduct a thorough investigation and let the deceased rest in peace, but to make a big deal out of a small matter, and even reluctantly label him as a "funny".
Jian Jing was speechless and inevitably felt strange.
Is the agent trying to cover up some truth with this attitude
But no matter how she tried, the agent refused to give any suspects. Jian Jing had no choice but to let him go back first and then question the most important witness.
The girl felt better now. She wrapped herself in a thick bathrobe, held a cup of hot water, and sat in the restaurant in a daze.
Jian Jing said softly: "I know you are frightened, but I have some questions. Can you help me?"
The girl nodded reluctantly.
"What's your name?"
"Shaomai."
Jian Jing: "Net name?"
She nodded and introduced herself as the vice president of Qu Jie's fan club. She was a big fan of him and often visited the crews or variety shows. She was also quite familiar with Qu Jie.
As time went by, the two sides developed a relationship that went beyond idol and fan.
"Xiao Jie told me that he was in the rising stage of his career and it was time for him to have a relationship." Miss Shao Mai narrated their story with sobs, "I understand him. It was not easy for him to get to where he is today. The competition in the entertainment industry is too fierce... I am very satisfied with the way things are now. I am willing to be his fan forever and support him all the time."
Jian Jing picked up the hair on the ground, was silent for a moment, and changed the subject: "Tell me, what happened today?"
Miss Shaomai: "After filming in the afternoon, I accompanied Xiaojie to the bar. He was so happy that he said..." She hesitated for a moment, stole a glance at Jian Jing, but continued bravely, "He said that someone in the crew was targeting him. First, blood was poured on his car, leaving him without a car to rest, and then they specifically found a scene that he was not familiar with, deliberately embarrassing him in front of everyone..."
When interviewing witnesses, Jian Jing rarely argued unless she was trying to get answers, and just looked at her encouragingly.
The girl thought she agreed with what she said, and her tone gradually became angry: "This circle is full of people who look down on others. Xiaojie works so hard, but no one is willing to see his progress and is willing to give him more opportunities."
Jane listened quietly and patiently.
Miss Shaomai defended her idol for a long time before getting to the point.
"Tonight, he drank a lot of wine and said that someone was targeting him. His agent kept asking him to say less and cherish the opportunity to film, but Xiaojie got angry and kicked him out halfway." Shaomai recalled, "Not long after he left, an uncle came over. Xiaojie said he was, yes, the producer... They talked a lot. I was drunk at the time and didn't hear clearly. I don't know how much time passed before we left."
Jian Jing asked: "What happened next? What happened after returning to the room?"
Shaomai said with a smile: "Actually, I can drink a lot. I drank so much today that I lost my mind. I only remember that Xiaojie and I entered the room, and then I have no recollection of anything else."
"When did you wake up?"
"I know... I was half asleep, and suddenly my face felt itchy, and someone was touching it. I opened my eyes and saw, oh my god, it was all blood." She shuddered, her face showing fear, "Xiao Jie... Xiao Jie has been killed by a female ghost!"
Jian Jing held her hand and said softly, "How do you know it's a female ghost?"
“Really?” Shaomai widened her eyes, her round almond-shaped eyes made her look very childish.
Jian Jing said: "I don't know, maybe it's a male ghost, who told you it's a female ghost?"
Shao Mai tried to reply, "Xiao Jie told me. He said there was a liar who was playing tricks and said he was haunted by a female ghost in the old house and was definitely trying to cheat him out of his money. He also said Director Li was very bad and used such shady tricks to force him. In fact, he was trying to promote the third male lead. He is a relative of the director."
"It sounds like he believes in ghost stories."
"Uh, yes, he said he believed it, but..." Shaomai was a little confused. His mind turned around and he seemed to be confused as to why he thought it was a ghost. He asked in confusion, "If it's a ghost, why is there so much blood?"
"I know that too." Jian Jing said softly, and then continued, "By the way, I forgot to ask you, how long have you been dating Qu Jie?"
Shaomai was a little shy: "Sister, we are really boyfriend and girlfriend."
"What I mean is, how long have you been together?" Jian Jing changed the topic.
Shaomai made a “three” gesture.
"Three?"
"Three months." She said shyly, "Xiao Jie is very principled. We only got together after I became an adult. We were just friends before that."
Jian Jing was like a caring older sister, and asked playfully, "How long have you been friends?"
"It's almost one o'clock." Shaomai said happily, "I just added him on WeChat. It was given to me by our president."
"You all have his WeChat?"
"Of course, you have to be a long-time fan who has contributed to Xiaojie's career and hasn't quit in at least three months." Shao Mai said, "We have very strict management."
Jian Jingxin thought, it’s not that difficult for me to add the movie emperor’s WeChat.
Although she was complaining in her heart, she didn't show any emotion on her face: "Did Qu Jie ever tell you that someone wanted to harm him?"
"Yes." Shaomai nodded firmly, "He said the director wanted to drive him away. Didn't I tell you that? Sister, the entertainment industry is very dark." She mistook Jian Jing for a plainclothes policewoman.
Jian Jing cried and said, "It's not a career, I mean - murder."
Shaomai was stunned for a long time before she said, "Maybe, I know." She racked her brains to recall, but she had no similar impression at all, "Did someone kill Xiaojie?"
He almost instantly became angry, "That person must be jealous of him!"
"This still needs to be investigated." Jian Jing comforted, "What I want to know is whether you heard any quietness when you were asleep, even a little bit will do."
Shaomai shook his head: "I have a very low alcohol tolerance. I get drunk as soon as I drink. I don't remember anything."
Jian Jing nodded. Since she had no clothes to wear, she said, "Your clothes are all dirty. I'll lend you mine. Don't worry, they're all new."
Shaomai was still a little embarrassed: "I'll take a shower first, I feel so uncomfortable."
"Then come back to the hotel with me and rest in my room."
"Thank you, sister."
Jian Jing sent Shaomai back to the hotel, gave her a set of spare clothes to change into, and arranged for her to rest in the room, while she herself returned to the B&B.
The next question is more difficult.
The first person to come back was Miss Bei, but she had already gone to bed, so Jian Jing had to skip her for the time being and go directly to ask the third person to come back, the production manager.
He was a middle-aged man in his fifties, thin, with very white hair. He was sitting on the doorstep smoking.
Jian Jing asked: "Director Li has said that, right? I have something to ask."
The stage manager nodded and said succinctly, "Do you want to ask me?"
"Did Qu Jie have a quarrel with you these past two days?" Jian Jing opened the door and asked.
The production manager admitted, "Yes, his car was splashed, so he asked me to transfer one to him, which I did. But we only had a commercial vehicle, which of course couldn't compare to his RV, so he said I was deliberately making things difficult for him. We had a quarrel."
After a while, he added, "It happened yesterday. Oh, yes, the day before yesterday." He then laughed at himself, "I'm old now, so my memory is good."
Jian Jing said: "I think he is very popular in the crew."
"Some people know that we are here to work, so they are very polite to us. Some people think they are here to be the boss, and we are just servile, so of course there is no need to coax them." The stage manager said bluntly.
"Does this happen often?"
“There’s always that one.”
"Have you ever met one?"
"There are always five or six. However, someone like him is still in the top three."
Jian Jing nodded, then changed the subject and asked, "Did you work a lot last night? I saw you all came back very late."
"I'm fine." The stage manager said, "Everything has been arranged. Old Li is having a headache. All the plans have been disrupted."
"You came back at eight o'clock?"
"It was around eleven o'clock. I didn't pay attention to the details."
"And stayed in the room the rest of the time?"
"What? You will suspect that I killed him, right?" the stage manager asked, "Just because of the train shunting?"
"If you say you doubt it, then you doubt it. Everyone needs to be asked to prove their presence." Jian Jingxin explained calmly, "Just answer me."
The stage manager said, "Just like you said, I'm resting in my room and will fall asleep soon."
"Have you called or video chatted with your family?"
He shook his head.
"I see."
The next one was the producer who came back with Qu Nanpei. According to Shaomai, he went to the bar to talk to Qu Nanpei.
"Yes, I went to look for him." The producer was in his thirties or forties, slightly plump, with stylishly shaved hair. "There's nothing I can do. After such a mess with Lao Li today, someone has to mediate."
Jian Jing asked: "Are you on good terms with him?"
"It's OK. His boss and I are familiar with each other and we often drink together. I know this guy quite well." The producer said, "In fact, my impression of him is not wrong. He knows how to deal with things. Mr. Jian, in our line of work, you don't have to have acting skills or good manners. I'm also surprised that it turned out like this today."
He shook his head regretfully: "It must be what happened this morning that irritated him. He's a young man, full of blood, and there's a little white girl as a foil, younger than him, and he's the leading male. He felt a surge of anger in his heart, and he got angry."
Jian Jing deliberately looked surprised: "What happened this morning? How could this happen?"
"Ah, as the old saying goes, there is no smoke without fire." The producer said as soon as he saw it, and he stopped talking when it came to the pretty girl. He said mysteriously, "Old Li wanted him to shoot the film before, but the contract was signed but nothing was done, so he used some tricks. He found out about it and felt that it was targeting him."
"I'm telling you, it's inevitable to encounter this kind of thing when you enter society. We're all not related, so of course we care about interests. Do you think we should talk about human feelings? We're in the same circle, we all care about human feelings, how can we justify it?"
Jian Jing: “…”
She silently endured the resentment of being in class and asked, "Did he listen?"
The producer slapped his thigh and sighed, "Listen, I had to persuade him to apologize to Lao Li tomorrow - we have to continue filming, right?"
"I remember you came back together." She got to the point, "Did you send him back to his room?"
"Nonsense," the producer said. "He's so drunk, what if he falls? A star's reputation depends on it."
Jian Jing: "Was the situation in the room normal at that time?"
"Except for being a little messy, it was pretty normal." The producer said, "As for the blood, I didn't see it at all. I really don't know where it came from."
"Is Qu Jie still awake?"
"It's normal. I drank a little too much."
"Did you chat for a while longer, or did you leave right away?"
The producer said: "I persuaded him again, and I went back only after he agreed to apologize."
"Do you know what time it is?"
"About 12 to 1."
"How's the girl doing? Is she drunk?"
"It's okay, talking nonsense."
Jian Jing: "I understand, thank you."