WAM CH9

The news of Yang Yinyin’s suicide shocked the entire entertainment industry.

“Mr. Lu, as Ms. Yang Yinyin’s manager, how do you view her suicide last night? Were there any signs beforehand?”

“I heard that when she was filming her final scene before her death, it was abruptly halted due to her feeling unwell. Was it from that moment on that her physical and mental condition started having problems?”

The moment Shao Si turned on the television, the entire screen was filled with a watertight crowd of media reporters. They stretched their arms desperately, scrambling to surround the man in the very center, leaving no gaps.

Lu Jiahui, Yang Yinyin’s manager, thirty-eight years old this year.

With a buzz cut, a square face, and a simple, honest look, he was currently keeping his head down. His face revealed sorrow, and he clearly did not want to discuss this topic further with the media.

As he walked, the media moved with him, surrounding him like a fluid circle.

At this point, Lu Jiahui had no choice but to stop. He took off his sunglasses, shockingly revealing a pair of red and swollen eyes.

“Yinyin, she… starting from a few years ago, her mental state wasn’t very good… her depression grew increasingly severe,” Lu Jiahui said. “She didn’t want her fans and family to worry, so she always carried it on her own.”

Countless camera flashes aimed at him, and the reporters stretched their arms even longer: “So Miss Yang Yinyin chose to commit suicide because of a depressive episode, is that right?”

Lu Jiahui put his sunglasses back on, waved his hand indicating he didn’t want to speak further, quickened his pace, got into the car with his assistant, and left.

The media reluctantly snapped photos of the car’s rear end click, click, click. Several hosts doing live broadcasts turned their backs to the freshly produced exhaust fumes to deliver their final summaries: “It is truly a pity that a starlet of a generation has perished so tragically. May the departed rest in peace. We will continue to track and report on this for you in the future. You can scan the QR code in the bottom right corner to follow our program’s official WeChat account…”

Shao Si raised his hand and turned off the TV.

The system lamented: [Dead, sigh.]

Shao Si: […Are you very sad?]

[Extremely sad. But according to how it plays out in TV dramas, you should sneak into Yang Yinyin’s house tonight to look for clues.]

[Like a brain-dead idiot?]

[I can’t talk to you,] the system said. [You trample on people’s detective dreams so casually every time.]

[Fine, then I won’t be casual.] Shao Si sat up. [Yang Yinyin’s house is currently the primary crime scene, guarded and investigated by the police. The entire building is cordoned off. What would I go there for? To seek death?]

[…]

After saying this, Shao Si added, [Watch fewer brain-dead dramas in the future; you’re not far from becoming a total retard.]

Shao Si originally thought this matter would end here, and both he and the broken system planned to find a new mission target…

It was just that casual; if one didn’t work out, move on to the next.

Yet, a week later, just after returning to the country from the fashion show and getting off the plane, he received a phone call.

He stopped walking, handed his luggage handle to Li Guangzong, and fished his phone out of his coat pocket. Li Guangzong also stopped, gesturing for the two small assistants beside him to go ahead and make arrangements, lest there be too many fans and media reporters blocking the way.

“Hello, Mr. Shao, this is the Longyan Municipal Public Security Bureau. Regarding the matter of Yang Yinyin, there are some situations we would like you to confirm.” The voice on the other end belonged to a middle-aged man, his pronunciation crisp and standard. “Do you have time to come to the police station tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock? We hope you can actively cooperate with the police investigation.”

“…”

The Public Security Bureau?

Li Guangzong urged from the side, “Who’s calling? Can’t you talk while walking?”

Shao Si gave a hurried “Okay,” then hung up the phone. Although his face showed no ripples, doubts began to surface in his heart.

If there was anything connecting him to Yang Yinyin that could trigger a police investigation, it could only be the matter with the private detective.

What should he say?

Mold himself into a perverted stalker secretly in love with Yang Yinyin?

He smiled and waved to the fans who came to pick him up all the way until he got in the car. Only then did Shao Si let the corners of his mouth droop. He patted Li Guangzong’s shoulder: “Little Son, what schedules do I have tomorrow afternoon?”

Then, without waiting for Li Guangzong to answer, he continued, “Cancel them.”

“…You have an endorsement event to attend. I’m afraid this one can’t be canceled; it was finalized a long time ago.” Li Guangzong checked his phone’s memo. “But giving the company a heads-up isn’t entirely impossible. What urgent matter do you have?”

Shao Si: “If I told you that because I hired a private detective to stalk Yang Yinyin previously, the police now want to investigate me, what would you think?”

Li Guangzong: “You’re… a pervert?”

“Good.” Shao Si rested his arm on the edge of the car window, his face not looking very well. “It seems I have no choice but to be a pervert.”

3:00 PM the next day, at the police station.

While Shao Si was inside being questioned, Li Guangzong was even more nervous than Shao Si himself. As an ordinary citizen, he was currently as panicked as a kid being called into the teacher’s office for a scolding, even though he wasn’t the one being scolded.

Regardless, he was just panicked.

But he didn’t know just how remarkably calm his Shao Si was sitting inside.

Inside the interrogation room.

One table, three chairs.

Shao Si sat on one side, while the other side was occupied by two police officers.

Sure enough, the questions were exactly as he expected, relating to that private detective he hired with incredibly poor execution skills.

“This is the detailed ledger of the financial transactions between you and Huang Kangkang. The times are before March 18th and April 20th of this year, respectively. You paid him approximately 40,000 yuan in total to help you follow Yang Yinyin. Did this happen?”

Shao Si merely paused slightly before admitting, “Yes.”

Of the two police officers, one held a pen and was responsible for recording, while the older one was responsible for questioning. Perhaps not expecting Shao Si to answer so decisively, they were somewhat surprised and momentarily stunned. They paused before asking the next question: “Why? Why did you hire someone to follow her?”

Shao Si didn’t answer this question immediately. He lowered his eyelids, seemingly trying hard to conceal his emotions, and only spoke after a long time: “…Because I’m secretly in love with her.”

The two police comrades fell silent together for a moment.

“We met through the drama The Young Wife Returns to the Village…” Shao Si practicedly brought out his prepared spiel, his words laced with a thirty-percent tone of agony. “But she doesn’t like me. I’m usually very busy too, and I wanted to be able to see her at all times and know what she was doing…”

“Stop.” The police comrade rubbed his temples. “Okay, we basically understand your situation.”

Shao Si graciously accepted the out, not saying anything further, stopping exactly where he needed to.

Actually, the matter of him hiring a private detective was a bit sensitive. Because no illegal methods like ‘wiretapping’ or ‘computer hacking’ were used—he just simply followed her like a paparazzi. China’s regulations regarding the invasion of privacy weren’t very comprehensive. For example, when paparazzi stake out all day and obstruct a celebrity’s normal life, is it illegal? No, it’s not.

“We can understand your feelings of liking someone, but this method really isn’t recommended…” the officer in charge of questioning said. “Thank you very much for supporting our work. Don’t worry, we won’t speak of this matter to outsiders.”

Shao Si closed his eyes slightly, then opened them. “Thank you.”

Two minutes later, Shao Si walked out of the interrogation room.

Li Guangzong’s hands were originally twisted together in nervousness, his toes tapping the ground irritably. Seeing Shao Si walk out, he immediately stood up: “How did it go? Did you explain everything clearly? The police didn’t do anything to you, did they… You’re not a criminal suspect, are you?”

Shao Si took his jacket from Li Guangzong and put it on. While adjusting his collar, he casually comforted him, “It’s nothing, don’t overthink it.”

Li Guangzong waited for him to put on the jacket, then handed him his scarf: “How can you tell me not to overthink it? Ah?! Why did you hire a private detective? What kind of play are you acting out here…”

After tying his scarf, Shao Si habitually checked his reflection in the glass door of the corridor. He casually reinforced his perverted stalker persona by reciting a line of poetry: “Love, inherently, is unreasonable.”

Li Guangzong: “…”

Just as the two were preparing to exit through the emergency stairwell, two familiar faces approached from the opposite direction.

Chen Yang, Gu Yanzhou.

The four people—who couldn’t exactly be called familiar but weren’t strangers either—now faced each other, looking at one another in silence.

Li Guangzong felt a bit awkward and touched his nose: “Um… are you guys here to cooperate with an investigation too?”

Chen Yang was also very awkward: “…Yeah, fulfilling our civic duty.”

Another bout of silence.

It wasn’t until Li Guangzong secretly poked Shao Si’s back that Shao Si finally spoke up: “Hello, Senior Brother Gu.”

Gu Yanzhou had a long coat draped over his shoulders, looking clean and sharp. As he raised his eyes, his expression was unreadable. He also gave a slight nod: “Hello.”

At this moment, a female police officer carrying a large stack of documents walked over: “Mr. Gu, is it? This way, please.”

Gu Yanzhou signaled for Chen Yang to wait for him here, then followed the female police officer toward the interrogation room.

Who would have known that this female police officer seemed to suddenly remember something. Her footsteps abruptly paused; she turned around and called out, “Oh right, Mr. Shao, please come along as well.”

By the time she said this, Shao Si was almost at the door, having already put on his sunglasses and mask. Hearing this, his figure halted.

Li Guangzong’s heart started pounding again: “Didn’t they finish asking?”

Shao Si: “…Who knows.”

It was still the same interrogation room, still the same two police officers.

But the difference was, this time, Gu Yanzhou was sitting right beside Shao Si.

The older police officer took off his badge from his chest, pressed it against the edge of the table, and slowly slid it over to them with his fingertip.

Accompanying the action of sliding the badge, he spoke in a deep voice: “I apologize, I didn’t reveal my identity earlier. Now I want to formally introduce myself to you both. I am the Team Leader of the Sixth Major Crimes Unit of the Criminal Investigation Division; my surname is Wang. This time, I actually have an unreasonable request. I want to ask for your help to assist the police in solving a case.”

Officer Wang continued, “This matter is extremely complicated, and equally, extremely dangerous. Of course, we absolutely will not force you. After hearing what I am about to say, regardless of your considerations, you have every right to refuse.”