Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 125

Chapter 125: Not Wiping Your Mouth Is Already Very Good

Wensi tofu, a famous state banquet dish. The tofu was cut into thin strands like hair, floating in the chicken soup like clouds. The three of them should have been enjoying the delicious food, but they were staring at each other in the room.

“Liu Jia told me that you looked for her after Shang Yi’s incident.”

“Yes,” You Ning nodded.

Qin Luo added, “You and Liang Wei have known each other for a long time.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve known Sister Liang Wei since I was a child. She took good care of me when I was studying abroad…”

Damn it. Everyone in this circle knows each other.
So I’m the only one who doesn’t.

Qin Luo was anxious. “So do you know about Shang Yi’s matter or not?!”

Her voice was a little loud, and her question echoed in the private room.

Shen Yiyi kicked her under the table and took over the conversation. “It was Liang Wei who asked you to find Lu Xi to come back to the country.”

You Ning took a deep breath and thought for a moment. “Yes.”

“I was quite surprised at that time.” She rested her hands on the table and said, “She finally made up her mind to get a divorce.”

You Ning had a hard time telling Qin Luo that her sexual orientation came from Liang Wei.

When they were children, the two of them had known each other because of their parents, and they were of a similar age. She had unknowingly become interested in the beautiful older sister. At that time, Liang Wei was also studying at an international school, and she would always take her with her when she traveled abroad during the winter and summer vacations. But later, Liang Wei was sent abroad to study by her family, and the two had lost contact. It wasn’t until You Ning was in college that they had reconnected.

You Ning would occasionally go to the city where Liang Wei was to stay for a short time. The two would walk their dogs and run together in the morning, and would go on trips to taste delicious food. But before she could confess, Liang Wei had fallen in love with Shang Yi.

You Ning knew that it would be difficult for the two of them to have a result.

To Liang Wei, she was just a neighbor’s younger sister, a younger sister who could not give her a sense of security. Besides, Liang was very straight, and her family would not agree to Liang Wei coming out. Getting married and having children was a path that Liang Wei had to take.

So You Ning had sealed her heart and had not had any contact with Liang Wei since then.

Liang Wei and Shang Yi had gotten married after dating for two years. Before You Ning could react, she had learned that she was pregnant.

“Liang Wei was a little off during the time she was giving birth. She asked me if I could accompany her. But at that time, I was busy with my graduation project, and the filming task was heavy and the schedule was tight. I couldn’t leave the production at all, so I refused her.”

You Ning smiled, but her face was unusually calm. “I thought that since she was already married, it was Shang Yi’s responsibility to take care of her during her pregnancy. Now that I think about it, I still regret it.”

The next time she had seen Liang Wei, her child was already over a year old. You Ning happened to be filming near the city where Liang Wei was and had driven a hundred kilometers to see her.

At that time, Liang Wei had changed a lot. She looked very anxious taking care of the child alone. Seeing that Shang Yi was not there, You Ning had only then learned that the other had already returned to the country.

She had asked Liang Wei why she had not returned to the country with him.

Liang Wei had only said that she did not want to be with Shang Yi. Her words were filled with disgust, and her expression was mixed with fear, as if she wanted to be far away from Shang Yi.

You Ning had not thought much about it and had attributed Liang Wei’s dejected state at that time to her marriage. A married woman was like this. She would gradually fade, lose her liveliness, and become a tasteless glass of plain water.

From then on, Liang Wei had become a beautiful but ordinary woman in You Ning’s eyes, not much different from those rich wives, disappearing into the sea of people, with no more light and shadow.

“After that, we didn’t see each other again. We would send messages to greet each other on holidays.”

You Ning had also returned to the country after that meeting. She was doing well in the country and could often hear news of Shang Yi in the entertainment industry. It wasn’t until last Christmas that Liang Wei had called her to send her blessings and had also mentioned that she wanted a divorce and wanted her to help find a team of divorce lawyers to divide the assets with Shang Yi. The two had talked for a long time, and at the end of the conversation, they had talked about the movie Her Kill that Shang Yi had invested in, and had also talked about Qin Luo.

The shift of fate is always inseparable from a coincidental bet.

A coincidence that could not be calculated with precision had happened to appear in the corresponding plot. The people and things she had pushed had produced a cascading effect, like a domino, and once one fell, it had to fall to the end.

If it weren’t for the fact that Liang Wei and Shang Yi had been in a relationship back then, and You Ning’s crush had come to nothing, You Ning would not have wanted to focus on her studies and had met Wang Lu at a school competition and had become friends. If it weren’t for the fact that she wanted to pursue Qin Luo and had agreed to participate in the filming of Her Kill, she would definitely not have helped Liang Wei to call Wang Lu back to the country.

“No matter from which point of view, Wang Lu is indeed very suitable for our production.” You Ning explained to Qin Luo, “After the producer was rejected by Lu Xi, she had asked me to contact Lu Xi again. At that time, I was hesitant. Lu Xi had said that she did not want to film commercial films. Everyone in the group understood the principle that a forced melon is not sweet. Later, it was Liang Wei who had called me and had said that Wang Lu had to come back.”

Shen Yiyi had seen Li Peipei’s testimony. Hearing You Ning say this, she had a general idea in her mind.

Shen Yiyi said, “Shang Yi killed someone abroad. That person was a good friend of Wang Lu’s.”

You Ning and Qin Luo were both shocked, especially Qin Luo, who gasped. Her high eyebrows and eyes, she put down her spoon and said, “Killed someone? Huh? Is that the… that…”

Qin Luo remembered that Liu Jia had mentioned this matter to her, but she couldn’t remember the specific name when it came to her lips.

She only remembered that it was a director who had been driven crazy.

You Ning added, “Teng Chao.”

Qin Luo took a sip of water to calm herself, looked at Shen Yiyi, and then at You Ning. So it was just her who was confused. “He’s not crazy? How did he die?”

“He died of a drug overdose.” This time, it was You Ning who was direct, her face calm. “It wasn’t Shang Yi who killed him. He just died of suffocation while they were playing. At that time, to prevent any subsequent investigation from revealing other problems, Shang Yi had returned to the country.”

Shen Yiyi followed her train of thought. “It was just when Liang Wei was about to give birth five years ago. This matter had a great impact on her. The fact that her husband was involved in a crime had caused her to have postpartum depression.”

You Ning nodded, but she looked at Qin Luo and explained, “I only found out about this later.”

“At that time, when I was in charge of the artist coordination, I had noticed that something was wrong. It was common for the production to put in actors, but because it involved Shang Yi, I thought that if I could catch Shang Yi’s transaction of power for sex, it would be beneficial for Liang Wei’s divorce. So I went to find Liang Wei.”

Qin Luo glared at her. “You knew at that time?”

“Yes.”

You Ning had never dared to mention it to Qin Luo. Even when Liu Jia had confronted her privately at the reading group, You Ning had always been on guard about these things.

She did not want to admit that she had become a pawn of Liang Wei, luring Wang Lu back to the country, revealing the matter of the actors to test Wang Lu, and including revealing the news to Liu Jia.

“But I’ve never used you.” She was afraid that Qin Luo would misunderstand, that she would misunderstand that her liking for her was a use, a deliberate approach. “I wanted to pursue you first, so I accepted the invitation to Her Kill, and that’s why I was caught in the middle of these messy things.”

You Ning looked at Shen Yiyi. “I’ve never thought of harming Qin Luo.”

Then she looked at Qin Luo again and emphasized, “I really want to pursue you.”

Cough cough.

Qin Luo was so scared she took a sip of water and peeked at the little cat beside her.

Shen Yiyi was frowning and pursing her lips, thinking. She seemed to be not interested in this topic. “What did Liang Wei ask you to do?”

“To invite Wang Lu back to the country, and later to have me reveal the matter of Shang Yi’s transaction of power for sex to her. If Wang Lu wanted to investigate further, I would help her.” You Ning felt wronged when she said this. “I also didn’t want to help Shang Yi put people into the production. This kind of thing is just an unwritten rule in the industry. What can I do? Do I have to fight against capital to the end?”

Shen Yiyi changed the subject. “Then do you know Li Peipei?”

“I don’t.”

Shen Yiyi had seen Wang Lu’s testimony. She frowned. “You really don’t know her?”

You Ning said, “When the project had just landed, I had seen her twice at the production and had some impression. Later, I helped Wang Lu get a ticket to the party and found that the party was organized by Li Peipei, and that Li Peipei was pregnant at that time. I knew that her relationship with Shang Yi was not simple. Later, I told Liang Wei about this, thinking that instead of letting Wang Lu expose Shang Yi and have a messy fight, it would be better to let Liang Wei directly catch Li Peipei in the act. That way, she would have a greater advantage in the divorce and division of assets.”

“What did Liang Wei say?” Shen Yiyi asked.

“She just told me that Li Peipei had evidence of a transaction of power for sex, and asked me to tell Lu Xi about this.”

“And then?” Qin Luo asked.

You Ning said, “Nothing.”

So it wasn’t just her who didn’t know. You Ning also didn’t know that Liang Wei and Li Peipei had joined forces.

“Do you know about Li Peipei’s miscarriage?” Shen Yiyi asked.

You Ning said, “I remember this matter very clearly…”

This meal had lasted for three hours, but not a single dish had been touched. The whole interrogation process, Shen Yiyi had been very polite, and had even said thank you to You Ning at the end.

To be so polite to a love rival was a huge joke.

Qin Luo watched as the two exchanged WeChat at the elevator entrance, saying that they would contact each other again if there was anything about the case. She was about to die of a daze.

What was going on now?

The day before yesterday, because of a single sentence from her that You Ning was just an NPC, Shen Yiyi had flown into a rage on the spot, had stomped on her and had cursed at her. Then what was the meaning of this polite farewell? She didn’t care about the person she had kissed anymore? Had she become a bodhisattva?

The elevator doors closed.

Qin Luo stood behind her, her height a head taller, and peeked at her phone.

“Why did you leave her your WeChat?”

Shen Yiyi was typing on her notepad. “There are still some details that don’t match. I’ll have to ask her for some details later to sort out the context.”

“Didn’t you say that You Ning was very suspicious?”

Shen Yiyi nodded. “As long as the killer is not caught, anyone is very suspicious.”

The elevator went up. Qin Luo bent down and rested her head on her shoulder, hugging her waist tightly from behind. With her arms, she bundled Shen Yiyi into a small ball and held her in her arms.

Shen Yiyi was a little stressed by this posture.

It reminded her of how she had also been curled up like this during the thick milk incident last night.

“Don’t be in heat.”

Qin Luo did not let go and lightly kissed the side of her neck. “You’re so fierce. I’m just hugging you.”

“Let go.” The hug was getting tighter and tighter. Qin Luo even forcefully bent her small arm, and her phone was almost knocked out of her hand. “You haven’t washed your hands after eating. Don’t be like this.”

“Didn’t you just wipe them for me?”

Qin Luo’s arm span was long. With this hug, her nose could still touch her hand. There was still a strong smell of alcohol on her hand. “Besides, you should be desensitized to my hands by now.”

Shen Yiyi snorted coldly and pinched the acupoint on Qin Luo’s wrist with her fingertips, using force.

“Ouch ouch ouch ouch.” Qin Luo was in so much pain she surrendered and immediately let go.

Shen Yiyi was really strong. She had a slight case of tenosynovitis in her wrist from typing all year round. Just now, that press had made Qin Luo break out in a cold sweat. “No, you really did it? You’re so willing to do it?”

Shen Yiyi did not look at her and continued to type. “Hugging someone without their consent is called sexual harassment.”

“Then you—”

The elevator doors opened.

“Then aren’t your rules a little too many?” Qin Luo blocked the elevator and let her out first, then followed the Director Shen who was concentrating on typing. “There are still ten days left until the end of the month. If we can’t do it, we can at least hug, right?”

Shen Yiyi nodded. “Hugging is fine, but you can’t hug me if you haven’t washed your hands just now.”

“Smell it.” Qin Luo held her hand in front of Shen Yiyi’s nose and complained, “It’s all the smell of alcohol. My hands are about to crack from being wiped by you these past few days.”

Shen Yiyi stopped in her tracks and looked back at Qin Luo. The fire that had been suppressed all night from her meeting with You Ning was rushing from her chest to the top of her head.

“Qin Luo, I’m already being very kind by not wiping your mouth with alcohol.”