Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 75

Chapter 75: The Ladies’ Bracelet

At the movie’s opening ceremony, Qin Luo stood in the farthest corner of the production.

She was wearing black-framed glasses, as plain as could be, and her short-sleeved shirt had two large characters printed on it: Her Kill.

The two characters on her chest were distorted in sync with Qin Luo’s expression, as if she had really killed someone last night.

The director urged Qin Luo to stand in the middle.

Logos was an investor, and Qin Luo was both the original author and the screenwriter. If her position in the photos was too remote, and the marketing accounts started to gossip, the production couldn’t afford to offend her.

But Qin Luo was not in the mood and lazily refused. In the end, a few of the main actors had to hold her arms and drag her to the front for a group photo.

Two seats away from Qin Luo was Lu Xi, wearing the same T-shirt and a sun hat that all the big-shot cinematographers loved. She was also not in good spirits.

“Are you feeling better?” the assistant director, You Ning, whispered.

Qin Luo covered her mouth with a fan and said lazily, “So-so.”

You Ning was excited. “We’ll be done with the second scene at eleven tonight. Why don’t I take you for a drink again?”

Qin Luo said, “I’m tired.”

You Ning secretly sized up her crush. She was indeed visibly tired. The black-framed glasses were to cover her dark circles.

Today was the opening ceremony, and Qin Luo couldn’t even be bothered to put on makeup. She was probably really tired of playing.

But it wasn’t Qin Luo’s fault for being tired. She was also tired.

Ever since Liu Jia had said that Qin Luo’s white moonlight had ungratefully dumped her, she had been seizing every opportunity to ask her out. She had asked her out five times, and Qin Luo had come out three times, each time drinking until the early morning and saying goodbye with a smile.

At this rate, if her alcohol tolerance were a little better, she could definitely get her drunk and take her home.

“Can I go to your reading group’s celebration?” she asked, trying to get close. “I heard a lot of writers are coming. I want to improve my cultural literacy.”

Qin Luo said, “If you want to go, then go. I’ll have my assistant get you a spot.”

You Ning was shocked. Qin Luo was unwilling to mix the reading group’s affairs with the production. Before, when the production’s promotion team had asked Logos for a package price for promotion, Logos had directly excluded the reading group from the channel list.

At that time, the production’s group chat had also talked about this. They had discussed that the reading group was a money-laundering business for Logos.

After all, the inspiration for Her Kill had come from the reading group. If the production’s business package included the public welfare aspect, it would both make money and gain a good reputation. When the film won an award, it would be a double win.

But Logos had just refused to include the reading group as a promotional channel, and had not allowed the two parties to be connected.

Logos had guarded the reading group like it was its own heart’s blood. Now, Qin Luo had actually agreed that she could attend the celebration.

This was not an official exchange. This was a private friendship!!

You Ning was happy for a long time. “Oh my~ Sister Qin~ You’re the best.”

Qin Luo said, “You can ask who else in the production wants to go, and then you can give the list to Little Zhan.”

…

You Ning realized what Qin Luo meant, but she saw her turn and walk away.

Qin Luo had been so busy these past few days that her feet had barely touched the ground. The counterfeit case that had happened half a month ago, the specific disclosure from the criminal police, the big internet celebrity who had defected to Ranmei coming to seek a truce, the factory that had been shut down wanting to resume production, the production about to start filming, the reading group’s celebration, and the transfer of Shang Yi’s shares.

Work had filled her life again, and she had begun to breathe mechanically.

This was also good.

Without time to think about Shen Yiyi, she wouldn’t think about who had won or lost.

Qin Luo was slumped in a single sofa in the dressing room, her arm on the back of the chair, her head tilted back, her collarbone rising and falling with her swallowing.

She looked like a pile of mud.

“The assistant director wants to go to the reading group.”

“Are there still seats in the back row? Save a few for her.”

Zhan Luo was holding a bottle of mineral water and said quietly, “Didn’t you say that the production crew can’t participate in the reading group’s activities?”

Qin Luo sighed, but she maintained her posture, not even moving when her glasses were about to slip off.

Zhan Luo understood that heavy sigh, felt her dissatisfaction, and the anger that was about to be suppressed.

He unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle and placed it on the table by her hand. Qin Luo’s fingertips were only an inch from the bottle.

He said, “I’m sorry. I’ll go and take care of it.”

Qin Luo said slowly, “Those few who came from the mountains for internships, you can contact Logos’s HR and see if they can be used. Oh, and that front desk girl.”

“She’s indeed good-looking.” She still had her eyes closed, but she reached out and held her glasses. “After the team is disbanded, just send her directly to the live stream department. Just say that I put her there.”

Zhan Luo nodded and then asked again, “The rehearsal is tomorrow night. Should I come and pick you up in advance?”

Qin Luo opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

Zhan Luo smiled wryly and forced a patient expression. “You have to go. Because you have to give a speech at the event, you have to go through the process—”

Qin Luo slapped her forehead. “I have a date for drinks tomorrow night.”

Although she was a screenwriter, she was not good at acting. This clumsy acting was seen through at a glance, especially since Zhan Luo had been with Qin Luo for half a year and could tell her thoughts without even hearing her tone.

“Have you written the speech?”

Lu Xi happened to come in at that moment, saving the Qin Luo who didn’t want to answer. “Sister Qin.”

“You’ve also delivered the materials. You can go back first.”

Qin Luo adjusted her posture to look as decent as possible.

She waved at Zhan Luo. “This is a female artist’s dressing room. It’s not right for you to stay for too long. What if someone takes a picture? They’ll say it’s not an all-female production again.”

Zhan Luo still wanted to remind her about the speech, but he was interrupted by Qin Luo. She turned to Lu Xi and asked, “Why haven’t I seen you drinking these past two days?”

Lu Xi took off her hat. Her hair had grown out a little, a thin layer of short fluff, making her look like a Taoist nun who had just returned to secular life.

She raised her arm and touched the fluff, saying perfunctorily, “I’ve been dealing with something recently.”

“President Li told me.”

Seeing that Zhan Luo was dawdling, as if he were going to pester her, Qin Luo pointed to the door, but she still maintained a smile when she spoke to Lu Xi. “I heard it’s related to Shang Yi?”

Qin Luo asked directly. Lu Xi’s hand, which had been touching her head, stopped. She glanced at Zhan Luo.

Zhan Luo gestured politely. “Then I’ll go back first.”

He closed the door. There were only two people in the dressing room. Qin Luo sat on the sofa, and Lu Xi sat in front of the makeup mirror.

“I didn’t want to ask about your private matters, but after all, Shang Yi is also a shareholder of Logos, and we have a connection, so I shouldn’t be too presumptuous.”

Lu Xi forced a smile. “Okay.”

“Did you know Shang Yi before?”

“I did.” Lu Xi put on her low-brimmed hat again, her expression embarrassed.

Qin Luo asked in a toothpaste-squeezing manner, “How did you know him?”

“I filmed a short film that he invested in.”

Qin Luo had heard from Liu Jia that Lu Xi had a male friend who was Shang Yi’s plaything, so the other was deliberately hiding it.

But she also understood Lu Xi’s vigilance. After all, the entertainment industry was a difficult place to be in, and it was hard to tell the truth from the rumors.

“The police came to me because of Logos’s shares. We have financial dealings. But I don’t understand… why did the police come to you?”

Lu Xi asked back directly, “She came to me to ask about Shang Yi’s private parties. Doesn’t Sister Qin know?”

There was resentment in her tone, and Qin Luo could hear it.

But this resentment was inexplicably placed on her head, and Qin Luo was naturally unwilling to digest it in silence.

She said, “Shang Yi is just an investor to me. I know very little about him. I rarely agree to him interfering in the company’s affairs. If you think that Shang Yi and I are the same kind of person, then you should have refused immediately when President Li invited you to join the production.”

Lu Xi had seen countless shoddy productions in the entertainment industry, so she never casually joined a production. At that time, the production team had sent Lu Xi an invitation with a “let’s try it out” attitude. She had not expected that she would return to the country immediately after receiving the email.

Qin Luo thought… maybe she was overthinking it.

Lu Xi sighed. “Sister Qin, that’s not what I meant.”

The dressing room fell silent. Qin Luo played with the watch on her wrist. After waiting for four minutes, she finally heard the other speak.

“The first model I photographed went crazy in Shang Yi’s hands.”

Qin Luo put her arm back on the back of the chair and leaned back, asking, “So you went to his party on the day Shang Yi died?”

Lu Xi nodded. “My friend was invited to that party. I just wanted to stop him. I happened to run into President Shang at the villa entrance. I just cursed him a few times.”

“It was only a matter of time before he died, but it has nothing to do with me.”

Qin Luo didn’t know what kind of shady things Shang Yi had done, but from Lu Xi’s description, they were probably not things that a human could do.

Why hadn’t she heard any rumors about Shang Yi in the circle? Not a single rumor? Perhaps it was an information cocoon caused by the binding of common interests. We are all pawns for each other, and we are all dishes on the table. No one dares to whisper bad things into her ear.

Just like the public welfare project in her hands. After so many years, she had only observed the social distrust in a single black material.

Annoyance filled Qin Luo. She classified all these emotions as “betrayal.” Qin Luo was tired. She closed her eyes again and didn’t say a word.

“Director Lu, let’s go.”

A set worker with a work pass rushed into the dressing room, holding an art concept book and a lighting white paper in his arms. He took out a copy and handed it to Lu Xi. “Director, the team’s schedule and itinerary.”

With that, he saw Qin Luo behind him and bowed respectfully. “Screenwriter Qin, you’re also here. The production assistant is looking for you everywhere.”

Qin Luo did not reply. Lu Xi slowly stood up and said to the screenwriter on the single sofa politely and reservedly, “Then I’ll be leaving now.”

After Lu Xi had left, Qin Luo finally came back to her senses and opened WeChat.

She sent a message to Liu Jia:

[Have your team monitor the public opinion index. Shang Yi’s matter will definitely affect us.]
Liu Jia: [I also have a premonition. He’s a capitalist, after all. He’s been dead for half a month, and there’s not even a small ripple in the entertainment circle… It’s hard to imagine.]
Qin Luo: [Keep a close eye on Ranmei. Don’t let them use Shang Yi’s matter to stir up another storm.]
Liu Jia: [She’s eaten the two lawyer’s letters I sent out. Now she only dares to play a war of words. And the marketing accounts she bought are not strong enough. Don’t worry, don’t worry!]
Qin Luo: [My sixth sense is very accurate.]
Qin Luo: [I always feel that something big is about to happen.]
Liu Jia: [……]
Liu Jia: [Sister, let’s hope for the best.]
Liu Jia: [Oh right, the psychologist you asked me to find last time, I’ve made an appointment… But since you’ve already blocked Shen Yiyi, can I cancel it on my side?]

Qin Luo didn’t react when she read the first half of the sentence. It wasn’t until “Shen Yiyi” appeared openly that she remembered last month’s matter with a dull ache. She had been thinking of making an appointment with a doctor to consult about her white moonlight’s mysophobia.

Her face darkened, and she replied coldly with two words:

[Cancel.]

The moment she turned off the screen, Qin Luo’s eyelid twitched, and a stuffy, oily smell came from her chest. She felt so suffocated she wanted to vomit. Qin Luo picked up the mineral water that Zhan Luo had unscrewed for her and took two gulps, but she still couldn’t suppress the sour juice in her stomach.

Ridiculous.

Qin Luo laughed at herself in her heart and took another sip of mineral water. When she put the bottle back on the table, she was in a daze for three seconds.

“Ridiculous.”

The VOSS he was used to drinking was right by Qin Luo’s hand. A square, dark green handkerchief was wiping the water stains on his suit pants. A fleeting look of weariness and disgust in his eyes. After wiping, he casually threw the handkerchief away. When he turned to face her, he still maintained a gentle smile.

He reached out and pointed to the assistant standing beside him. The shirt had shrunk back a little due to the movement. She seemed to see a bracelet on Shang Yi’s wrist. It was not the Rolex he usually wore, but a classic ladies’ bracelet.

“My new female assistant. She’s so stupid.”

Qin Luo felt that she must not have sobered up yet, or that without Shen Yiyi, her ability to imagine had deviated. How could Shang Yi be wearing a ladies’ bracelet on his wrist?

And why was it exactly the same as the bracelet on Lu Xi’s wrist?