After Joining the Same Variety Show as My Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 12

Before Gu Jingxi could jump in anger, Jian Lan withdrew her hand at just the right moment, turned around, and walked toward the wardrobe beside her.

Gu Jingxi had no time to keep arguing with her. At this moment, she wished she could stay as far away from it as possible.

Fortunately, the terrifying scene she had imagined did not happen. After the wardrobe was opened, nothing occurred, and Jian Lan began searching for clues seriously.

Gu Jingxi hesitated for a moment, then also started moving. After all, everyone was working hard. If she alone slacked off, that did not seem too good.

No matter what, everything happening now was definitely being recorded. Those hidden cameras tucked away in the corners were not a joke. If she really messed this up, forget about her going after Fu Hang to settle accounts—Fu Hang might turn around first, go to his sister, and lodge a complaint against her. That alone would be enough for her to suffer.

She searched through each drawer one by one, carefully not missing a single spot. Finally, in the inner side of one drawer, Gu Jingxi felt a card. She reached in and pulled it out, only to discover that it was an old, yellowed photograph.

“Here.” Joy appeared on her face, and she subconsciously turned around to speak to the person behind her as if presenting a treasure.

By the time she realized what she had done, the smile on her face almost collapsed.

Damn it! What was she doing?! Why was she acting like a child showing off a treasure to an adult?!

This realization made her freeze in place, but Jian Lan seemed not to care at all. She only walked over and asked, “What photo?”

“It’s a group photo.” Gu Jingxi took a deep breath, then said, “But unfortunately, the faces of the people in the photo have all been scribbled out with a pen. They can’t be seen clearly at all.”

There were six people in the photo. One could see a man sitting in the center, with two beauties in qipao sitting on either side of him. Beside one of the women in a red qipao stood a small boy, and behind the four of them stood two more men.

“Six people. Exactly six rooms.” Jian Lan’s brows furrowed slightly.

“Did you find any clues on your side?” Seeing Jian Lan so calm, Gu Jingxi inwardly cursed herself for being useless and making such a fuss.

“Not for now. Let’s keep looking.” Jian Lan shook her head.

“Okay.”

The two continued searching until Lu Bin came to knock on the door.

“Teacher Jian, Sister Gu.” Lu Bin pushed the door open and entered, only to see Gu Jingxi holding onto a chair while Jian Lan stood on top of it, taking something down from the chandelier in the room.

Lu Bin blinked. For some reason, he felt that he should not have appeared at this moment.

Sure enough, when Gu Jingxi saw him arrive, she froze for an instant, but still pretended nothing had happened. Jian Lan, on the other hand, stepped down from the chair. In her hand was a small note.

“What is that?” Gu Jingxi instinctively leaned closer.

Jian Lan unfolded the note. It was a string of numbers.

“What does this number mean?” Gu Jingxi asked in confusion, not noticing at all how close she was to Jian Lan right now.

The fluffy top of her head was right in front of Jian Lan’s eyes, and a faint, fresh citrus scent drifted over. It was a fragrance that did not match Gu Jingxi’s appearance. Jian Lan restrained the excitement in her heart and replied mildly, “I’m not too sure. We’ll have to see whether the others have any clues.”

As she spoke, her gaze turned to Lu Bin at the door. Only then did Gu Jingxi react and hurriedly ask, “Xiao Lu, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, well, it’s getting late. Teacher Owen said we should go down first. He’s going to prepare some lunch. After we eat, we can continue looking for clues,” Lu Bin quickly said after coming back to himself.

“Teacher Owen made lunch?!” Gu Jingxi looked completely incredulous.

“Right? Sister Gu, you also think it’s hard to believe, don’t you?” Seeing someone voice his own thoughts, Lu Bin quickly said the same.

“Teacher Owen is actually very good at cooking,” Jian Lan suddenly said.

Gu Jingxi turned her head to look at her in surprise. Jian Lan smiled and said, “I had the fortune of tasting it before.”

Hearing this, Lu Bin looked envious. “Wow, I’m starting to look forward to it! Anyway, Teacher Jian, Sister Gu, let’s go down.”

“Mm.”

When the three of them came downstairs, Luo Wentao and Fang Zixu were discussing something at the dining table, while Owen was busy in the kitchen.

Seeing this, Gu Jingxi prepared to go forward and ask Owen whether he needed help, but Jian Lan pulled her toward the dining table beside them.

Gu Jingxi: “???”

She could not help looking at Jian Lan, not understanding what she meant.

Seeing this, Jian Lan patiently explained, “When Owen is cooking, he doesn’t like having people around him.”

“Ah?” Gu Jingxi froze for a moment. Then she heard Luo Wentao laugh and say, “That’s right. At first, we said we’d help Teacher Owen, but Teacher Owen chased us out.”

Owen, who was stir-frying, heard this and smiled. “Xiao Gu, don’t overthink it. This is just my personal habit. You all sit there and wait. While you’re at it, sort out the clues.”

Since he had said that, Gu Jingxi could only reply, “Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Owen.”

Only then did she sit down at the dining table with everyone else.

“Teacher Jian, Sister Gu, what clues did you find?” Luo Wentao asked.

“A photo, and a string of numbers.” Jian Lan placed their clues on the table.

“A photo?” The group leaned closer.

“This woman in the red qipao is the deceased, right?” Fang Zixu pointed to the woman in the red qipao in the photo.

“That’s what we think too,” Gu Jingxi replied.

“Then the identities of the remaining people are quite interesting. For now, through that diary, we can tentatively confirm one person’s identity,” Jian Lan said.

“Who?” Luo Wentao asked instinctively.

“Xiao Wen,” Gu Jingxi said the name.

“You mean that Xiao Wen who was frightened?” Lu Bin asked in surprise.

“Mm. We can tell that the deceased cared a lot about the person named Xiao Wen. She even clearly stated that another woman in the photo had frightened Xiao Wen. Right now, we can see six people in this photo: three grown men, two women, and one child. Someone who would be frightened by a woman is most likely a vulnerable person. Here, the only person pointing to that role is this child. Also, from the positions in the photo, we can see that this child was very close to the deceased. So, we can judge that Xiao Wen and the deceased had an intimate relationship. We might as well make an assumption: Xiao Wen was the deceased’s child,” Gu Jingxi analyzed seriously, not noticing that Jian Lan, beside her, was watching her with a faint light in her eyes.

Luo Wentao suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Luo?” Gu Jingxi could not help asking.

Luo Wentao’s cheek twitched. Then he said, “Sister Gu, your analysis makes a lot of sense, but now there’s a problem.”

“What?” Gu Jingxi and Jian Lan looked at him at the same time.

Luo Wentao rubbed his arms and said, “My room might be the room of that child named Xiao Wen.”

This stunned both of them. Then they saw Luo Wentao hand over a workbook. The name written on it was Xiao Wen.

“This is Xiao Wen’s workbook?” Gu Jingxi took it and opened it, only to discover that inside, densely written in fountain pen, was one word.

Death.

“Hiss.” Gu Jingxi’s scalp instantly went numb, and she instinctively threw the workbook away.

“What is this? It’s so scary!”

“Right? The first time I opened it, I was scared too,” Luo Wentao complained. “I seriously suspect all the scariest plot points here are concentrated in my room. Brother Lu, how about we switch?”

As he spoke, he looked at Lu Bin.

Lu Bin immediately shook his head rapidly. “Good luck, Xiao Luo. We believe in you.”

Luo Wentao wanted to cry but had no tears. “I don’t believe in myself anymore!”

Everyone was amused by his reaction.

“So, did you find anything else?” Jian Lan asked.

“Yes.” Fang Zixu took out an envelope and said, “In my room, I found a… mm… should I call it a love letter?”

“Wow, that exciting? Open it and let’s see.” Lu Bin urged from the side.

Fang Zixu opened it. On the old letter paper, there was only one line of lyrics.

“How can I gaze upon you and see only flowers blooming like brocade? Such fine scenery, this alone may be called spring upon the earth. Looking at your flower-like face, it truly suits your graceful beauty; I am ashamed that my humble door and poor self are unworthy of your blossom.”

Jian Lan read it out, then concluded, “This is also from Consort Mei.”

Gu Jingxi froze for a moment, then said, “You mean the scary music that played when we first arrived?”

“Pfft.” Lu Bin could not hold back and laughed.

“What! You two screamed louder than I did, okay!” Gu Jingxi said indignantly.

“Hehe.” Lu Bin scratched his nose in embarrassment.

“Ahem, ladies and gentlemen.” Behind them, Owen called out. Everyone turned and saw him smile. “The food is ready. Would you consider clearing the table first, having lunch, and then continuing the discussion?”

“That fast?” Hearing this, Gu Jingxi quickly looked over.

Fang Zixu gathered all the clues and placed them on the small coffee table nearby. Then everyone went to the kitchen together to help carry the dishes.

Owen had made simple dishes: four dishes and one soup. Divided among six people, it looked a little little, but as actors and celebrities, they all controlled their figures carefully, so their carb intake was quite low.

“Wow, I didn’t expect Teacher Owen’s cooking skills to be this good.” After tasting a bite of Owen’s food, Lu Bin could not help praising him.

“No wonder Teacher Jian said so confidently that Teacher Owen is very good at cooking.”

Hearing this, Owen smiled. “That? I once had the fortune of inviting Teacher Jian Lan and a few other friends to my home as guests. I cooked back then. Actually, it’s just alright. Personally, I quite like cooking.”

“Honestly, before today, I never imagined Teacher Owen could cook,” Luo Wentao said with emotion.

Owen chuckled and took a sip of soup. “Actually, my cooking is only average. The one who can truly cook is Jian Shen.”

Hearing this, everyone’s gaze turned toward Jian Lan in unison.

Jian Lan looked a little helpless. She glanced at Owen, then said, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. I just often cook for myself.”

“Teacher Jian Lan is too modest. How about letting us taste your cooking tonight?” Owen said with a smile, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping toward Gu Jingxi.

Jian Lan, who noticed his gaze: “…”

“Alright.”

In the end, she parted her lips and agreed.